Review: The Siren by Tiffany Reisz

There are a thousand reasons why this review *should be* biased. Tiffany is a twitter friend. I got the book from NetGalley for free. Tiffany is the Editor of Felt Tips, the anthology that my first published story is featured in. ( It's being released 12-12-12, BTW ;) )

So there are many many reasons to discount my opinion here.


But that doesn't matter. Because the book is very, very, very good.

BOB Blurb (stolen from Amazon) It's a man's world, but she's the one on top. 

Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different-more serious, more personal-and she's sure it'll be her breakout book...if it ever sees the light of day.  

Zachary Easton holds Nora's fate in his well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: he wants complete control. Nora must rewrite the entire novel to his exacting standards-in six weeks-or it's no deal. 

Nora's grueling writing sessions with Zach are draining...and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has her wondering which is more torturous-staying away from him...or returning to his bed? 

Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.

The thing about this book is, it's a loves story-- many loves, many kinds of loves. But it isn't a romance. Like the main character's anything but vanilla life, this story is amazingly beautiful in it's brutality. It is incredibly pretentious to say, but I see myself in Nora Sutherlin. 

Hopefully, I will have Tiffany round these parts so we can chat about the book, BDSM, D/s relationships and... stuff. 

Review: Already Dead by Charlie Huston

Vampire books have gotten a bad wrap of late. I've heard it all. "Oversexed!" they say (as if such a thing were possible). "Under-scary!" "Over exposed!" 


But then a book-- nay a character-- like Joe Pitt comes along and blows that shit out of the water.

BOB Blurb- ( from Amazon) Those stories you hear? The ones about things that only come out at night? Things that feed on blood, feed on us? Got news for you: they’re true. Only it’s not like the movies or old man Stoker’s storybook. It’s worse. Especially if you happen to be one of them. Just ask Joe Pitt.

There’s a shambler on the loose. Some fool who got himself infected with a flesh-eating bacteria is lurching around, trying to munch on folks’ brains. Joe hates shamblers, but he’s still the one who has to deal with them. That’s just the kind of life he has. Except afterlife might be better word.

From the Battery to the Bronx, and from river to river, Manhattan is crawling with Vampyres. Joe is one of them, and he’s not happy about it. Yeah, he gets to be stronger and faster than you, and he’s tough as nails and hard to kill. But spending his nights trying to score a pint of blood to feed the Vyrus that’s eating at him isn’t his idea of a good time. And Joe doesn’t make it any easier on himself. Going his own way, refusing to ally with the Clans that run the undead underside of Manhattan–it ain’t easy. It’s worse once he gets mixed up with the Coalition–the city’s most powerful Clan–and finds himself searching for a poor little rich girl who’s gone missing in Alphabet City.

Now the Coalition and the girl’s high-society parents are breathing down his neck, anarchist Vampyres are pushing him around, and a crazy Vampyre cult is stalking him. No time to complain, though. Got to find that girl and kill that shambler before the whip comes down . . . and before the sun comes up.

This tale is dark and in places brutal, but I devoured it in an evening. If you are a fan of the Sandman Slim series and that type of noir meets paranormal meets punk type book, hie thee to a bookstore.  

I like my boys dirty.... (antiheroes)

Dark, Dirty, Violent, Mean...

No, I'm not talking about my last boyfriend... but my favorite kind of hero. 

Antiheroes.

A dear friend asked what defined an antihero, and I pondered it. What qualities do they share? 

1) The Ends Justify the Means- 

     An Antihero is a True Believer. It doesn't matter particularly what her/his cause is, who they are defending, what they are trying to accomplish. The Antihero attacks their duty with a sort of blind devotion. Anyone or anything that gets in the way is toast.

2)They Aren't Evil, They were Drawn that Way-

    Something happened. Something awful. And When it did, something inside of our hero was broken. Whether she was pushed in front of a Train and lost her legs and fractured her mind or his best friends sent him to Hell alive, something set them on the path they are on.  

3)They Did it THEIIIIIIR Way-

   Righting the wrongs of the world should be heroic type stuff. Golden boy stuff. Not the purview of the dregs of society. But, thing is, *if* an antihero *could* do it the *right* way... they probably wouldn't. But it doesn't much matter, cause our beloved antiheroes have problems that can't be taken to the local constabulary. Things are complicated. The Antihero's answer tends to be simple. Keep going till the wrongs have been righted.

Okay, kids, what are your thoughts? Who are your favorite Antiheroes? Did I miss an important characteristic?