White Cat by Holly Black

I was a little disappointed when I read the description of White Cat and saw nothing about faeries. I love faeries and I love the way Holly Black writes about faeries so I wanted more. Then I read White Cat and I was no longer disappointed. What a fantastic world she has woven into our own. Much like mutants are every day citizens in X-Men, curse workers are in this story. Everyone wears gloves because workers need to make contact with skin in order to perform a charm. Workers can change your memory, change your feelings, or even kill you. White Cat focuses on Cassel, the only non-worker in his family. Cassel wakes one night teetering near the edge of the roof on his boarding school dorm following a white cat. His subsequent suspension sends him home and leads to all kinds of family trouble. This is a suspenseful crime story that just so happens to have magic in it. I eagerly await book two, Red Glove due out Aprill 2011.

Football and Romance

I was reading the latest Romantic Times and noticed an article on a new series from Kimani Press, which is an imprint of Harlequin. Harlequin has a series of novels that revolve around NASCAR so I wasn't too surprised to see a series involving football. I don't read many romance novels, but I love football. I was super excited to see the author of the first two football themed romances, Farrah Rochon, is Brian Robiskie's cousin! Brian played for The Ohio State Buckeyes and is currently playing for the Browns. I hope Kimani uses this imformation to market her books in Ohio. It might seem silly, but it will probably get the books a second glance from people who might not normally read romance. I know I plan on purchasing the first two for our library's collection.

Blood Price by Tanya Huff

I read this because a good friend loves this series. I've also seen several episodes of Blood Ties, the Canadian tv show based on this series, and enjoyed them. Vickie Nelson was a decorated homicide detective in Toronto before her degenerating eyesight forced her out at age 30. Refusing to take a desk job, she quit and opened her own PI office. When murder victims across the city are found with their throats ripped out newspapers begin blaming vampires. Vickie is hired by a victim's girlfriend and while investigating meets an actual vampire. Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of Henry VIII, wants to stop the murders and remove the media spotlight from the undead. It was nice to read a vampire novel that doesn't revolve around a romantic couple. The reader knows who is behind the murders so it definitely falls into the thriller category rather than mystery. It's also fun to see Vickie working and arguing with her former partner Mike while figuring out how to work a homicide without police backup. Vickie working the daytime angles while Henry works the after hours shift makes them a great pair. I will definitely read the second book.