Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow

I passed this book by quite a few times at the store b/c it didn't look quite worth buying. Well, as every good reader knows, there comes a time when you are desperate to read something and none of your authors have a book coming out for a couple weeks. So, I picked this book up. After a brief period of time I actually started reading it and eventually, I finished it.

Working for the Devil is about a necromance named Dante who on top of her raising the dead duties also does some bounty hunting and various other retrieval/investigative enterprises. A demon names Japhrimel shows up at her house one day to bring her to see Lucifer. He has a job that he wants to hire her for. It shouldn't be too difficult to understand that she doesn't turn him down. With Japhrimel's aid and that of a few of her friends she agrees to hunt down another demon and retrieve something he had stolen from Lucifer. Dante's glad to undertake the mission as this demon turns out to be a serial killer whom she had met a few years earlier when he killed her friend and attempted to kill her. What follows is a narrative introduction to this futuristic paranormal world and sympathetic adventure that brings us along on the grave changes that are taking place in the life of Dante Valentine.

What I liked: This new world. I enjoy fantasy books and reading about other peoples perceptions of alternative realities. The new understanding that is being presented about demons & hell is intriguing. Saintcrow seems to be setting up Demons as the new Vampires in terms of dark romantic leads.

What could be improved: This is tough to say. It needs a little something. A greater understanding of Dante's work and daily life? What exactly does she do, how does it benefit society, what position is she held in by her peers? Some of this is alluded to or may be inferred, but not clearly enough that the questions are answered. A little more plot to the fantasy adventure. Maybe more sympathy for many of the characters which just never came about. Many of these could be resolved in future books, we'll see.

Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

Sunshine is one of those books that takes place in an alternate, contemporary reality - much like the Charlaine Harris and Laurell Hamilton books. There are Vampires and shape shifters, demons and magicians. This book differs from those in that it doesn't take a fun, lighthearted approach. The main character is named Rae, or Sunshine to her friends. She works in her step-father's coffee shop as a baker and she is definitely lower-middle class. Her friends are all from this sphere being employed in various blue-collar jobs. Rae is a bit antisocial and one night when she can't take it any more she goes for a drive in her crappy car to the lake where she vacationed as a child. Alone, in the dark, she is abducted by vampires. Some plot is afoot she realizes b/c the vamps don't kill her, rather they take her to a house and chain her to a wall in a room with another vampire. For the next 2 days Rae gets to know this vampire and when she remembers long ago magical abilities that frees her she takes the vampire with her. This begins the major conflict in the story between the abductor vamps and Rae. It seems by remembering her forgotten abilities she has made herself very desirable by the bad guys. What follows is a small part mystery- in discovering her past, small part romance- in her developing relationship with this vampire, small part literature - with Mckinley's excellent writing style, adventure, fantasy, and horror - creepy vamps.

Mckinley does a good job of writing this atmosphere in a realistic manner - she's not making us feel sorry for the economic situations, nor is she idealizing it. It is what it is, and tells us about it. This approach makes the story come alive and is very easy to become involved in. There was a variety of characters - normal, ugly, old, fat, bald, plain. They all had their own personalities and relevance to the life of Rae and the developing story. Most importantly, the vampires aren't idealized hotties - they're living-dead things, they look alien to the rest of humanity, a marked difference to most paranormal type books out there.

What I liked: Everything. I'm not usually a fan of "literature" elements in my genre fiction (introspection, metaphor, much description), but I hope I got across above that this is really only marginally genre-ish. The description is evocative and relevant-in the sense that the author isn't going on and on about things the reader doesn't really give a flip about-the historical elements are parceled throughout the book as necessary to further the overall story. The characters were all realistic; no one was over the top or completely outside the realm of possibility. You felt you could know people like that. They all had the perfect ratio of reveal-mystery so that our imaginations had enough to see the character just as we might want them to be. The story developed at a good pace and while I could tell what the ultimate outcome would be I was happy just going along for the ride.

What could be improved: Author could write a sequel! :)

Speak Now: Married to Mystery, by Margaret Dumas

Speak Now: Married to Mystery opens up with the lead character, Charley, on a plane back to San Francisco with her new husband. It should be obvious that this is the set-up for the series. Charley's a socialite and the director/patron of a local theatre company. When she and the new husband arrive in town they discover the body of a woman in their hotel suite. At first glance its just a coincidence. Soon, however, it seems that the woman was sent as a warning for the new husband, a man Charley finds she really knows little about. When Charley goes back to work at the theatre company we learn that the murder may have more to do with her than was first thought.

What I liked: The characters. Charley and Jack are off to a good start and I think there is room for good character development in the future. There are also amusing situational elements that aren't absurd, ex. Jack's meeting the crazy uncle/father-figure. The setting in San Fran is fun. Good plot if not a little far fetched (the whole spy stuff).
What could be improved: Trim down the cast a bit. There are a lot of people to try to keep straight, a focus on a few a book could help move things along. The theatre stuff got a little boring, but that could be b/c I have no interest in it.