Review: Feast of Fools, Lord of Missrule, and Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires #4-6)

Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just south of normal. Don't stay out after dark.

Feast of Fools, Lord of Missrule, and Carpe Corpus, by Rachel Caine, make up the second trilogy of the Morganville Vampires. I labeled these specific three books as the "Mr. Bishop" saga.

Feast of Fools

In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans have learned to live in relative peace. Still, students like Claire Danvers know that after dark, studying can take a back-seat to staying alive. But the tenuous good neighbor policy is really turned on its head with the arrival of Mr. Bishop.....

Lord of Misrule

IN the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans have coexisted in (relatively) bloodless harmony...until the arrival of Bishop, a master vampire who threatens to put the evil undead and smash the fragile peace. But Bishop isn't the only threat....

Carpe Corpus

In the small college town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace---until all the rules got rewritten, when evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He's kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants--the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires be content to go back to the old rules after having had such a taste of power?

I enjoyed reading the "Mr. Bishop" trilogy in the Morganville Vampires series. In a matter of three stories, Claire became an incredibly brave young woman who not only saved the town but also her family and friends. Although she can be naïve and troublesome (she just turned seventeen), I believe her strong faith and determination helps her persevere through the most difficult (even life-threatening) situations. While she is not from Morganville, she has become entangled with the city's secrets and functions. As a result, I don't think she will be leaving Morganville anytime soon. Despite several sacrifices, humans have equal rights to vampires. In the post-Bishop Morganville, it is only a matter of time before trouble brews again.

Stay tuned for the seventh novel in the Morganville Vampire series, Fade Out.

Review: Small Favor (The Dresden Files #10)

In the novels of the Dresden Files follow the cases of Chicago's only professional wizard, Harry Dresden, and his never-ending battle against the evil that plagues his world....

Small Favor, by Jim Butcher, is the tenth novel in the Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden's life seems to have calmed down. The White Council's war with the Red Court has reached a stalemate and no one has tried to kill him for nearly a year. He also trains his apprentice, Molly Carpenter, in the art of wizardry. For once, his future looks bright and peaceful.

However, everything was going too well to last forever. The past comes back to haunt Harry Dresden when an old debt resurfaces by the Winter Court Fae Queen, Mab. He still owes her two favors, and it was time to pay one of them off. This one small favor turns out to become a nightmarish trap that pits Harry Dresden between an extremely dangerous foe (fallen angels) and an equally deadly ally (Summer Fae Court) that threatens to straight his loyalty to his friends and colleagues.

Butcher delivers another action-packed mystery that continues to test Harry Dresden's survival skills against all odds. As Harry battles dangerous situations that would frighten most action heroes, he uses his wit and improvisation to outsmart his intelligent enemies. His love life still stinks, but fallen angels and dark fae occupy his mind. Too often, his friends have come very close to the brink of death. My only concern is can Harry actually survive the impossible in his next investigation...

Stay tuned for the eleventh novel in the Dresden Files series, Turncoat.

Review: This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5)

Danger waits on both sides of the grave.

This Side of the Grave, by Jeaniene Frost, is the fifth novel in the Night Huntress novel series. Half-vampire Cat (Catherine) Crawfield and her vampire husband, Bones, have fought for their lives as well as for their relationship. Just when they thought they've overcome the odds, rumors of her new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset the long-standing balance in the supernatural world. A powerful zealot, who is inciting tensions between ghouls and vampires, plans to destroy Cat at any means necessary.

When vampires begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances, Cat and Bones can no longer ignore the rumors. Barely surviving an unexpected ambush of ghouls, the couple are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally"--the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of the supernatural war. With her ailing uncle near his final days, Cat must set aside her emotions and concentrate on the evil ahead if she wants to live six feet above the grave.

It has been over a year since I read a Night Huntress novel. Life gets in the way, and other supernatural series catch my eyes. I must say that Cat and Bones did not disappoint in this story! I thought Cat would have to sacrifice herself so that no more innocent lives would be lost. Her encounter with the ghoul queen is an experience she vows never to repeat. When she has another crisis on her mind (her dying uncle), it further clouds her judgment and confidence. Nevertheless, Cat stops an ancient supernatural war from erupting on U.S. soil. Plus, the ending reveals a new twist that will continue to engage readers for more action from Frost.

Stay tuned for the sixth novel in the Night Huntress series, One Grave at a Time.

New TV Show: Almost Human (FOX)

Watch the trailer for the upcoming new television science fiction series, Almost Human. It premiers November 4, 2013 at 8:00pm EST on FOX.

This action-packed police drama set 35 years in the future centers around the unlikely partnership between a part-machine cop and a part-human robot.An unlikely partnership is forged when a part-machine cop (Urban) is forced to pair with a part-human robot (Ealy) as they fight crime and investigate a deeper cover-up in a futuristic new world.