The Lace Reader
By Brunonia Barry

Look into the lace... When the eyes begin to fill with tears and the patience is long exhausted, there will appear a glimpse of something not quite seen... In this moment, an image will begin to form... in the space between what is real and what is only imagined. Can you read your future in a piece of lace? All of the Whitney women can.

The Lace Reader retains the strange magic of a vivid dream, though Barry's portrayal of modern-day Salem, Massachusetts - with its fascinating cast of eccentrics - is reportedly spot-on. Some of its stranger residents include generations of Whitney women, with a gift for seeing the future in the lace they make. Towner Whitney, back to Salem from self-imposed exile on the West Coast, has plans for recuperation that evaporate with her great-aunt Eva's mysterious disappearance and drowning. Fighting fear from a traumatic adolescence she can barely remember, Towner digs in for answers. But questions compound with the disappearance of a young woman under the thrall of a local fire-and-brimstone preacher, whose history of violence against Whitney women makes the situation personal for Towner. Her role in cop John Rafferty's investigation sparks a tentative romance. And as they scramble to avert disaster, the past that had slipped through the gaps in Towner's memory explodes into the present with a violence that capsizes her concept of truth.

Told from opposing and often unreliable perspectives, the story engages the reader s own beliefs. Should we listen to Towner, who may be losing her mind for the second time? Or should we believe John Rafferty, a no nonsense New York detective, who ran away from the city to a simpler place only to find himself inextricably involved in a psychic tug of war with all three generations of Whitney women? Does either have the whole story? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the swirling pattern of the lace?

A really good read. When you get to the ending, you will re-evaluate everything that you read previously in the novel. I really enjoyed this book.

The Outlaw Demon Wails
By Kim Harrison

Witch Rachel Morgan has a demon after her, but that's just one of her many troubles in this action-packed sixth installment of Harrison's Hollows series . A nice guy, Marshal (the witch from Mackinaw Island), might be moving into Rachel's town and life, but she's still getting over her last boyfriend, Kirsten, whose murder she has yet to solve. Elf politician Trent Kalamack wants her to go to the ever-after on a dangerous mission. Rynn Cormel, Cincinnati's new master vampire and ex-leader of the free world, is interfering in her life. Her friend, former demon familiar Ceri, is unexpectedly pregnant, by an unexpected partner. Rachel's mom has a very dark secret related to Rachel's father and Keasley's true identity is revealed. On top of all this, Rachel worries she may have had a too close encounter with a vampire and soon becomes concerned about her own abilities with demon magic. With the help of her feisty mother, Alice, and her pixy partner, Jenks, Rachel boldly tackles every challenge amid a cascade of plot twists that will delight Harrison's fans.

Love the book, love the series. Answers questions that had been stirring in the under current but the book's main mystery is still unanswered. You don't always get all the answers when you expect them and thats what makes this series fun. Kim's a masterful story teller and has a way of making fantastical characters seem like people you know. If Kim keeps writing them I'll keep reading them.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
By J.K. Rowling

Here in this seventh and final book, Harry Potter discovers what fate truly has in store for him after the moments of calm as he inextricably makes his way to that final meeting with Voldemort.In this thrilling climax of the bestselling series J.K. Rowling reveals answers to the many questions that her readers have been so eagerly waiting for.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission - not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man - and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience.

A Fistful of Charms
By Kim Harrison

This strong entry in Harrison's intricate Hollows series (number four) plunges headlong into the action as Rachel Morgan finishes up her latest bounty hunting mission by taking down an alpha Were. The book swings into gear when she returns home to find that her ex, Nick, has recruited her partner Jenks's son in a criminal enterprise—and gotten them both imprisoned by Weres in Michigan, apparently for stealing a priceless Were artifact. With the help of some borderline black magic, Jenks—a pixie—is given human proportions in order to accompany Rachel on a mission to rescue his son. Finding the jailed pixie ends up the easiest task in an operation that quickly spirals out of control after Rachel decides she must also rescue the errant Nick. Harrison provides conflict aplenty as Rachel debates how far into the black arts she'll venture to accomplish a good end; past and present boyfriends vie for her attention; and Weres battle vampires for supremacy.

This series just gets better and better. Harrison's characters are lively, interesting and unusual. She has a knack for building an intricate story line that is suspenseful, action packed and entertaining. It is definitely a requirement to read the story from the first novel, Dead Witch Walking, otherwise the relationships and supernatural lore are too complicated to understand. Highly recommended!

Every Which Way but Dead
By Kim Harrison

In Harrison's third Rachel Morgan novel, the witch strikes a deal with the devil. To get demon Algaliarept to testify at the trial of evil vampire Piscary, who poses an imminent threat to witch Rachel, she agrees to let Algaliarept become her familiar and share her aura. Rachel is certain she can maintain control, since she is keeping her soul. When she changes places with the demon's old familiar, Ceri, she takes pity on the girl and rescues her from the demon's clutches. Rachel is distracted by the two men in her life. Boyfriend Nick is pulling away after Rachel accidentally made him her familiar. Unsure of how to reconnect with him, Rachel finds she isn't immune to the charms of Kisten, a sexy vampire who worked for Piscary. As she finds herself falling for Kisten, she learns that Algaliarept poses a greater danger than she first expected.

This book felt to me like Kim Harrison was really hitting her stride in writing. Although the first two books were really good reads this one was definitely better. There was actually less relentless action in it and much more time was spent with the characters - Rachel, Ivy and Kisten mainly. Jenks and his family are in the story, of course, as light relief and I love their interactions; this book was a bit more steamy than the previous two and there was more focus on the relationship between Ivy and Rachel. Overall this was another really good read from Kim Harrison. Less spells, more character, and I felt that was a definite improvement in direction and made for a more enjoyable and meaty book.

The Good, the Bad and the Undead
by Kim Harrison

Former-bounty-hunter Rachel Morgan has it pretty good. She's left the corrupt Inderland Runner Service and started her own independent service. She's survived werewolves, shape-changing demons, bad-hair days, and sharing a church with her vampire roommate Ivy. She even has a cute (if human) boyfriend - what more could a witch want?

But living with a reformed vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be, particularly when your roommate's very bad ex-boyfriend wants her back, and wouldn't mind you in the process. And especially when he's six feet of sheer supernatural seduction, and you've got a demon mark that makes vampires literally hotter than hell....

To save herself and Ivy, Rachel must confront the vampire master-and the dark secrets she's hidden even from herself. The second book in the series, it lives up to the standard set by Dead Witch Walking. Again, the word play on the title is clever.

Dead Witch Walking
by Kim Harrison

Dead Witch Walking is a fantastically fun, first novel by Kim Harrison. The world Kim Harrison has created is marred by tomatoes. In our search for genetically engineered food and medicine, we created a nasty virus in tomatoes that has nearly wiped out mankind. This virus has exposed paranormal races to the world as they are immune. Society has splintered with all the upheaval and paranormal races have set-up residence in the Hollows.`Day-trippers' frequently take a walk-on-the-wild side to meet and mingle in the Hallows with werewolves, vampires, witches, and so on.

Rachel Morgan is a witch and an I.S. runner - similar to an FBI agent but for the paranormal world. Her career is going nowhere. It seems as though she can do nothing right and is given the lowest assignments available. Each day and night of work has become drudgery and Rachel is looking for a way out.

Dead Witch Walking quickly immerses the reader in a vibrant cast of characters. We meet Ivy, a living vampire; Jenks, a pixie with a lot of children; Trent, a businessman who may or may not be human and is believed to be dealing in Brimstone, a very nasty drug.

Kim Harrison has created a fun book with laughs that are unexpected. The story line is not completely predictable and has many different twists and turns. I hope that this series lives up to the standard of this, the first book in series. Oh, and I love the word play on the title (think spaghetti westerns).

Haunted
by Kelley Armstrong

Eve Levine made a bargain with Fate, and now she's come to collect, sending Eve off on a quest to retrieve the soul of an escaped demi-demon. Playing ghost world bounty hunter isn't exactly what Eve had in mind for an afterlife career, but a deal is a deal. Eve never breaks a promise...even when the cost of repaying that debt turns out to be more than this ghost can afford.

This is part of a wonderful series of books. You can jump books - they are written so you can pick it up anywhere and not be totally confused. Although the narrator changes, the books take place in chronological order, in the same universe with the same cast of characters. A narrator from one book will appear as a character in another. Events from one book will be referenced in others. Some subplots carry on from novel to novel, bridging narrators. It's done very cleverly and there are always characters that you build a relationship with. Another series that I have to order from my local Dymocks. There are also quite a few shorter stories dealing with teh same characters on the web.

http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com