Review: The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires #2)

Good news, girls. Your dates are here. Bad news, girls. They're dead.

The Dead Girls' Dance, by Rachel Caine, is the second novel in the Morganville Vampires series. On on the one hand, lare Danvers has her share of challenges--like being a science genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and learning that her college town is overrun with vampires. On the other hand, she has great roommates (one of whom tends to disappear at sunrise) and a new boyfriend named Shane--until his vampire-hunting dad brings him along with his biker punks to wreak havoc in the small college town.

She receives an invitation from a campus fraternity house for the annual Dead Girls' Dance. Along with her equally outcast and goth best friend, Eve, they get dressed up to find out why. Unfortunately, hell breaks loose and bodies turned up dead. Meanwhile, a vampire is found dead and Shane has been arrested for a crime he did not commit. Clare must race against time to prove his innocence because everybody's hungry for blood in Morganville.

This novel picks up right after the end of Glass Houses. A major change happens to two members of the main cast (I won't spoil it, but let's say it was inevitable for one and a surprise for another). The gang seem to get into more trouble that puts them in the middle of Founder's Square. Readers will also learn more about Amelie, the most powerful vampire in Morganville. For now on, the main cast will encounter more dangerous cases as they battle it out against the vampires who lurk in the shadows. So far, I am enjoying this series and can't wait to read the next novel!

Stay tuned for the next novel in the Morganville Vampires series, Midnight Alley.

Review: Nightwalker (Stormwalker #4)

Stormwalker Janet Begay must choose between protecting Ansel or facing the most powerful magical beings in the world, who are willing to destroy Janet, Mick, her hotel, and everyone she cares about to get to Ansel and his secrets.

Nightwalker, by Allyson James, is the fourth book in the award-winning Stormwalker series. Janet Begay is a Dine stormwalker, one who can gather energy and power from storms. She is also the proprietor of the Crossroads Hotel, a place where out-of-town guests and the paranormal stop for a safe night's rest in the touristy desert town of Magellan, Arizona. However, a new case has Janet shaking her head and fearing for her own life

A slayer is targeting Ansel, a Nightwalker (vampire) who has become more-or-less a permanent resident and friend at her hotel. When she and her lover Mick intervene to rescue Ansel, they find that the attack is only the beginning of an unraveling mystery. The most powerful beings want access to ancient magic that no mere mortal should ever possess. It seems everyone is chasing Ansel, who holds dangerous secrets about the item in question.

Janet already has her hands full with her crazy half-sister and grandmother, the upcoming marriage of her father, the return of a woman claims to be Coyote's wife, a couple of dragons who are willing to destroy her, and the increasingly strange behavior (and disappearance) of Mick. Complications have increasingly become a norm in Janet's life. Nevertheless, Janet must protect those she cares about from the dark forces that may ultimately seal her own fate.

This was another excellent book by Allyson James. In the last four books, Janet Begay has become a more confident and wiser young woman. Her enemies (human and supernatural) continue to test her abilities and resolve in these cases. In this novel, Janet must survive the impossible when an ancient pot with powerful magic disappears from a museum. She must race against time to convince her friends and enemies that her best friend, Ansel, did not murder an innocent woman. I admire her courage, intellect, and determination to solve mysteries with the best solution (and the least casualties). Having a sexy dragon as a lover and partner in investigations doesn't hurt either.

Meanwhile, I enjoy learning about the cultures and topography of the American Southwest. Since I have visited Arizona, I can vividly envision the mountains, mesas, high broad basins, plateaus, and desert lands. I also have a deeper appreciation of American Indian mythology and the importance of not disturbing ancestral lands. I look forward to reading more Stormwalker novels. I highly recommend this series.

Stay tuned for the next novel in the Stormwalker series, Dreamwalker.

Review: Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1)

New York Times betssleling author Nalini Singh introduces a world of beauty and bloodlust where angels hold sway over vampires...

Angels' Blood, by Nalini Singh, is the first novel in the Guild Hunter series. Vampire Hunter, Elena Deveraux, knows that she is the best in her line of work. As hunter-born, he can smell the presence of vampires she targets for return to their masters. When her reputation reaches Angel Tower in New York, even the dangerously beautiful archangel, Raphael, requests her services for an important, top-secret mission. Elena knows that failure is not an option, and she doesn't know if she's good enough for the impossible task at hand. Because it is not a wayward vampire that she's chasing. It's an archangel gone rogue and bloodthirsty.

Elena must chase a powreful killer that has no intention of stopping the killing spree. During the hunt, she is pulled so passionately into Raphael's seductive charm that she wants him so badly. Even if the mission does not destroy her, she will never be the same after her association with devious archangels.

A friend recommended that I experiment with this breath-taking series about angels and vampires. I thought the concept of angels creating vampires was very intriguing. Although I have no clear idea of the timeline, archangels rule the various regions of the world. They can create a toxin that turns humans into vampires. Elena, disowned by her own family, is hunter-born, meaning that she has a genetic gift for hunting down rogue vampires. Her world changes when she meets the archangel of New York, Raphael.

I like the protagonist's personality: Elena is a free spirit who stands up for justice and speaks her mind. She refuses to follow traditional (submissive) customs for women. However, this mission will transform her life and her relationship with Raphael. I thought the plot was interesting and addictive. I look forward to what comes next in this riveting series about angels. The action, suspense, and romance were excellent. The mystery in the next novel already looks very tempting. I recommend this novel.

Stay tuned for the next novel in the Guild Hunter series, Archangel's Kiss

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Ancient Egyptian Statue Moves On Its Own Inside Glass Case in British Museum

Wow! According to the Huffington Post, an ancient Egyptian statue (nearly 4,000 years old) moves on its own inside a glass case in a British museum. The statue eventually faces the east once it stops moving. Is this a magical statute trying to show us something? You decide!

Staff at the Manchester Museum in Manchester, England say the 4,000-year-old statue, recovered from a mummy's tomb, has been spinning without anybody moving it, NDTV reports.

The 10-inch tall statue of a man named Neb-Senu was originally an offering to the god Osiris and has been in the museum for 80 years.

Price returned the statue to its original position and set up a time-lapse video, which he says shows the statue moving without the help of humans.

New TV Show: The Haunted Hathaways (Nickelodeon)

Nickelodeon will broadcast a brand-new live-action comedy series, The Haunted Hathaways, debuting Saturday, July 13, at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Life in The Big Easy gets a little more complicated and way more spirited when the Hathaway siblings move into a house occupied by a family of ghosts.

You can view the teaser video at Nickelodeon and additional coverage about this supernatural show at Broadway World.