I am looking forward to this book a little too much.

ISBN: 9780441017805
I purchased this book.

In the Kate Daniels urban fantasy series by husband and wife writing team “Ilona Andrews” sarcasm, action and things that go bump in the night rule, so I was eager to pick up another Andrews world to delve into.

In this world there is The Weird, where magic rules and beasts run rampant, The Broken, our world where magic is dead and guns run rampant, and The Edge, which sits between and has a little of both. Rose is a single mom, by courtesy of being the adult left to raise her two younger brothers after her mother died and her father abandoned them. She has just enough power to hold her own, but too much for the other residents of The Edge to feel comfortable with her (or ignore her). Like has happened many times before since her powers surfaced, one day a handsome, arrogant man shows up on her lawn demanding to have her as his bride<~~Cross out broodmare and unwilling to give her a choice in the matter.

The gorgeous blueblood from the Weird, Declan, triggers every bad male instinct Rose has and threatens her family and her sanity. But no matter what the pretense, Declan is not just in The Edge for Rose. He’s come for a monster stalking the woods as well. Declan, Rose, and the distrusting community of The Edge must find a way to come together before the monster picks them all off to feed.

On the Edge has a very urban fantasy feel, and Andrews retains a balance of action, humor and darkness that I truly enjoy. In many ways this is an urban fantasy book, but the differences are enough to push the still new genre into a wider interpretation.

Translated into the horror genre, On the Edge would be set in a mysterious backwoods community that’s hiding a strange power, but represents a real danger to any outsider who doesn’t leave them be. Washed with urban fantasy influences instead, readers will still find the mysterious and potentially dangerous community that lives in a rural area (that particularly speaks to me with the experiences I’ve had in rural central Kentucky communities) which has formed a unique kind of magic, some would see as a bastardized form of high or formal magic.

The community here has a good reason for their wariness of outsiders. The Broken sees them as freaks, and in some cases illegal aliens. The Weird sees them as weak mongrels. Rose herself can’t even trust the neighbors since a few of them tried to sell her into “marriage” to bluebloods who expect her power to breed true.

On the Edge is a deliciously complex debut world, with full, unique characters and enough plot and intrigue to keep it out of the paranormal romance genre. It has elements of fantasy, romance, mystery, thriller and awesome. I eagerly await the second book in this series and can’t wait to see how this family evolves in the world that challenges them.

House of the Night book one
ISBN: 9780312360269
I bought this book.

Everything changes for Zoe Redbird when she walks to her locker one day only to be marked, given a magical tattoo that sets her apart from the rest of the world as one of the chosen of Nyx, goddess of the night. Instantly Zoe goes from a normal girl with a less than spectacular home life and disloyal friends to someone destined to be powerful and special—if she survives the Change.

If switching to the vampyre school, House of the Night, her parents not talking to her and facing the real possibility that she’ll just fade and die rather that graduate wasn’t enough there’s something seriously wrong going on in the vampyre world. Zoe must start by standing up for herself against a school bully, made more dangerous with vampire powers and premonitions.

Marked is a paranormal YA novel, complete with to-be-expected subplot lines about peer relationships and boys. There’s also moments of morality intrusion, that can read like the teen voice trying to reassure readers of their intelligence or like thinly disgusted adult lecturing. There is a lot of cliché here, from super sexy and powerful vampires to the mean-popular-school-queen girl. There’s also a matter of the authors clearly and definitely drawing lines between a male-dominated religion that seeks to enforce control on people, and a female/magic led religion that is beautiful and wonderful, etc. These aspects are heavy handed at times, though the pacing and rush to explain everything needed for the story might be a contributing factor.

Underneath is a strong tale of a girl looking for acceptance, for a connection to the things and people around her. In this story being special, favored and working her way toward a power-laden immortality doesn’t make things any easier.

I found Marked to be a dynamic, hard to put down book. Zoe was a driving force comparable to the adult urban fantasy heroines I enjoy. Equal parts humor, personality and intelligence makes Zoe a lead character easy to connect to, which sets the series up to be interesting and fun. After encountering so many books featuring characters I just couldn’t connect with it’s Zoe and her friends who will carry me on, as a reader, to the next book despite other aspects that provided momentary flashes of irritation.

Review by Jason Lush
This book was received through the LibraryThing Early Reader’s Program.

ISBN: 9781932603774

First off, the subject matter narrows the reader pool down to those living with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and the people who care for them. But that is where the problems end. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury is written by leaders in medical research and successfully avoids, or explains where needed, medical jargon. But the writing also isn’t dumbed down to the point of being patronizing either.

At first, I was skeptical about how useful this 200 page tome would be, but with the clear, helpful illustrations and truly useful tips about life style changes that will be beneficial no matter the degree of damage sustained by the patient, my mind has been changed. The unique thing about this title is that the authors did not focus solely on the effects SCI has on the patient’s spine, the book also thoroughly explores the effects SCI has on the patient’s other systems, such as cardiac, nervous and digestive. It also sheds light on the psychological effects on patients and caretakers. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury is a pleasant, easy read, suitable for anyone affected by an SCI.

This book was donated to the Primal Faith Foundation by author Michele Lee.