The Literate Kitty

A bed-and-breakfast, to me, involves a large Victorian house--bedecked with ornate, pastel gingerbread on the outside, with uncomfortable sofas protected by embroidered antimacassars, ruffled floral curtains, and old porcelain pitchers full of cut flowers perched precariously on doily-covered, three-legged tables, on the inside--sitting on a large corner lot in a quaint small town, and run by a nice, older couple clad in matching cardigan sweaters. (And no, I’ve never actually been in a B-and-B, in case you’re wondering.) Something that’s definitely never been part of that picture, though, is for said establishment to be run by a young witch (complete with broomstick and some crazy-ass magic powers), or for a werewolf to be living just down the street.  Trust Ilona Andrews to think of those quirky little touches--suddenly making a B-and-B sound like a much -more interesting place--in the nifty new urban fantasy, Clean Sweep . ####### Twenty-something Dina Demil...

Although I can't technically  say this with any degree of authority, I suspect that most people picture one of two things when thinking about the rural Deep South here in America.  Many of them likely conjure up some Tara-esque ideal--an immense plantation house surrounded by lush trees and flowers, with genteel, white-frocked ladies wearing beribboned sunhats, and dapper, pale-suited men in straw boaters, lounging on verandas and idly sipping juleps. (Whether or not that's ever been a remotely accurate portrayal of any part of the South, I have no idea, but nowadays such an idyllic tableau is probably only to be found by going on one of those scenic antebellum tours.) The other popular depiction is that of a dirt-poor family, living in a ramshackle house that's seen better decades... a hound dog or two lounging on the yard out front, a rusting old pickup on blocks under a shade tree, and some discarded appliances cast haphazardly in the overgrown backyard... with the fe...

It's official: no longer am I a book-signing virgin (and note that this achievement was free of any of the awkwardness or fumbling so typical with-- ehem --that other type of virginity). Yes, it's true: having attended my very first signing, I'm now quite the experienced woman. (Note that I do NOT plan to start putting notches to commemorate future signings in my lipstick cases, however; they are far too expensive for me to risk ruining them.)  Really, though, I was the proverbial "sure thing", here. (And yes, cue the '80s theme music if you must.) 1). The author I specifically went to see (technically, authors , since it was husband-and-wife team Ilona Andrews) is one of my absolute favorites. Really-truly. 2). The signing was held on the release day for Magic Bleeds (book #4 in the fabulous Kate Daniels series), which I'd already read. And ADORED. (What, you don't think it's possible to be in love with a book? Bah. If you think that, then you...

Okay, let's start by pulling out our handy-dandy Urban Fantasy checklist.  Kick-butt heroine? Check. Kinda mouthy, with attitude to spare and a stubborn streak half-a-mile wide? Check. Complicated family, work, and/or relationship issues? Triple-check (and gosh, that’s like the holy trinity of kick-butt heroine problems right there, isn’t it?). Forever in serious peril, alwaysthisclose to cashing in her chips for the very last time? You betcha.  It sounds so simple, doesn’t it, and somewhat derivative of far too many other works in the crowded UF field? Well, yeah... and it likely would be , too, were it in hands other than those of the über-talented, wife-husband writing team better known as Ilona Andrews. Now with four books (plus a short story) in the “Magic” series under their collective belt, you could say that the Andrews duo are really hitting their stride with this story and these characters... although for me, that sort of implies that their earlier stories weren’t as...

I was messing around on Amazon late one night, when I found— {gasp!} —another work by Ilona Andrews! Something that was neither part of the Magic nor the Edge series! I felt like I’d won the lottery when I found this little gem. ( Okay, a tiny little lottery, but still... ) Silent Blade is a short story, available only by itself (rather than as part of an anthology). The fact that it seems to be available solely as an e-book is the only possible downside I can see, here.  It's definitely NOT like the other Ilona Andrews books I’ve read (and fallen in love with), and yet, in a way, it does remind me just a bit of them.  For starters, Silent Blade is really not an Urban Fantasy story (although it is classified as such on Amazon), simply because there's no "F" involved. It isn't a Paranormal Romance, either, because there's no "P" aspect to it.  If pressed, I'd have to make my own new classification for this one: USFR (Urban Sci-Fi Romance). ...