Okay. Okay. Okay. So, Anita Blake and I have beefed back and forth for years. I stopped reading the series for a few years, jumped back on, stopped again, and recently decided to jump back on to catch up on Blake’s (and Hamilton’s) latest offering with 2020’s Sucker Punch and 2021’s Rafael. I had some deep, ripping issues with 2018’s Serpentine; I welcome you to find the video in which I shared my concerns.

Nevertheless, my continuing to read Hamilton on and off is driven chiefly by the state of nostalgia her work generates. Summer of 2007. Just discovering how the urban fantasy/action woman stories stretched outside Buffy meant everything during that time. Not to mention how incredible the first nine Anita Blake books were (though I’ve gradually become accustomed to the tone change after book nine).

Anyway, enough of that. These omnibus limited book club editions of the first ten books have always had the most fabulous covers (I particularly love the rendering of Blake on Club Vampyre; Luis Royo is the artist behind all four). I’ve always wanted these books. To me they capture the absolute best of Blake during all her early-to-late 90’s glory days of vampire hunting and zombie raising. Also, as a fan of 80’s horror and specifically Night of the Comet, they just look freakin’ desirable. The original mass market covers featuring character renderings are my favorite as well.

Nonetheless, when you attempt to purchase these rare books online through resellers, you need to know what condition they will actually arrive in. That has been my biggest hesitation.

So despite the blistering negative-something-degrees cold this Friday before Christmas, I was going to have a day out to myself and made it to 2nd & Charles after a Walmart run. And mannnnn, was I shocked to find all four of these rare Anita Blake omnibus books on the shelf in GREAT condition. Did they come from someone’s estate collection? Or did somebody’s partner make a spiteful-ass move on an ex and gave this collection away as a getback. They have obviously been read, but were well taken care for. Even down to the freakin’ dust-jackets’ spines being virtually trauma less. Regardless, there was no way I would overlook this opportunity. Whether I’m beefing with Anita Blake or not.

They were grabbed. They were paid for. They were brought to my collection with little hesitation. Maybe after fifteen years it’s time to reread the early Anita books…

December 27, 2022 0

Two Weeks' Worth of Booktail Therapy Equals…

October 9, 2022 0

Friday Friends of the Library Shopping

SOMEBODY COME OVER HERE AND STOP ME! Dude, listen. I am STILL on this “reaching to reclaim urban fantasy” nostalgic reading kick.

Even though half the books I have attempted to read and/or revisit have not worked out. Yet, here I am with this again. Though, truthfully, it happens; one week you’re into this, another week you’re into that. With that said, I went to the library early in the afternoon and just HAD to stop by the Friends of the Library Bookstore. What else would one do with $5 in his pocket, right? Well, yeah. Subsequently, this is the urban fantasy madness that followed…

Urban Shaman by C. E. Murphy has been on my reading wish list since 2007 (which I think admitting is part of my problem). Anyway, the story features a woman ex-cop named Joanne Walker who is part Native American and I believe Irish. The dilemma consists of Joanne attempting to save a woman fleeing a Celtic god who is running what we all understand as the folkloric Wild Hunt. Either way, I crave the adventure of it all. Don’t know why. But I do.

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells is another long standing familiar cover/book/possible face. Or, to put it simply, a “want to read ” from back in the day. It’s the first book in Wells’ Sabina Kane urban fantasy series. Ms. Kane is half-vampire and half-mage. Occupationally: assassin. When a friend of hers is killed, Ms. Kane must get to the bottom of the business as a spy dipped in vampire intrigue. That sort of thing.

Lord, where am I going with all this.

Lastly, I found this really good copy of Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind. Now God rest the man’s soul, but I have heard a few not-so-pleasant things about this author. However, having read The Wheel of Time, Goodkind’s work is often featured in my recommended reading algorithm per having read Robert Jordan’s work. And though I am hesitant, what captured my attention came in a suggestion. A few weeks ago some guy at Barnes & Noble asked if he could suggest a book as I browsed the fantasy section. Needless to say, Wizard’s First Rule was it. He appeared extra enthusiastic about it, while I listened and considered. Though at the time I was still in my current urban fantasy phase, I kept the book in mind when I wanted a chunker to get into. And, well, weeks later I found a copy for $1.50. Anyway, the dude said something about people being punched in the face as a means of greeting one another.

Lowkey: I hope the book punches me with a gripping, entertaining high fantasy adventure tale.

So that’s it for today. I haven’t read much else this week. Work and all that jazz. But I’m due for a reading reset.

September 17, 2022 0

Sailor Moon & Mini (mini) Book Haul & Possible Karen Chance Reading

Tuesday seemed like a day for some minor retail therapy. It appears the stars have aligned for some small, small fortunes.

I went to Gamestop early in the afternoon looking for some of those thumb grippers for an Xbox Series X controller. And while that mission was successful, I happened across these Sailor Moon travel hand sanitizer sleeves (or whatever). Now, for any other item/IP/brand/whatever I wouldn’t even look twice at purchasing something unnecessary like this. But finding these stacked up shook me to my core. So much so that I knew right away if I didn’t buy one of each character now, I ran the risk of never finding them all at once again. Therefore, I got one of each and kept it moving. The guy at the register was pretty much like “you ain’t playing around.” Never with Sailor Moon, buddy. Never!

Will I actually use them? That’s the real question. Hell if I know. I’ve pretty much stood them on my bookshelves as figures, and I’m good with that. Maybe if I can convince myself to buy a ticket to Tokyo I’ll slap one or two on a traveling bag.

Enjoying the afternoon out, I decided to run by Barnes & Noble to see if I could find an opportunity to buy something and help keep the story open. You know, stuff like that. Surprisingly, I ran across the second book in Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels urban fantasy series, Magic Burns. And, seeing as I had so much to say about my recent reading of the first book, I actually bought it. Sometimes the second book in a series can change my mind about sticking with a book series (here’s looking at you Sookie Stackhouse). Plus, according to some online reviewers, Andrews’ second offering is where matters improve drastically over the first. Incidentally I ran across Magic Burns outside of its proper shelving. I perceived this line of events as the framework of the “book gods” in action saying “try the second book, man.” I guess we can all justify anything.

We’ll see about that, though. One more shot.

Lastly, I finally bought a longstanding wishlist item known as The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson. While the biggest draw for me lies in the book representing black, LGBT characters given their own course in a fantasy piece; the publisher’s website best lays out the synopsis in stating:

“Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors’ artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight.

The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive.

The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.”

Regardless, the book is a gem–I’m sure. So glad I’ve finally found a copy to own for myself. With the added excitement that there is a second book available as well.

Well, that’s it for a Tuesday. I’m between books right now and have been tip-toeing around continuing my urban fantasy nostalgia reads by once again (after over a decade) trying to read Karen Chance’s first Cassie Palmer series, Touch the Dark. I kind of think it’s not going to happen–to be completely honest. The enthusiasm to go for it just isn’t quite there. Nor is the enthusiasm to completely discard it without another attempt, seeing as lately I’ve been combing through this genre to find whatever sticks.

September 13, 2022 0

CHOP IT UP: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

“When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…”

Oh, MAN! Check this out, I tried to read this book back some almost-decade ago when I was still in my urban fantasy reading bag. Back then, I couldn’t seem to get around the first chapter. Now–as of my writing this–I’ve read the book page for page successfully. And I have to say the delay wasn’t worth it. Though I have to admit it’s one of those books I’ve been curious about since, and am now happy the experience is behind me. Still, the Kate Daniels series is certainly popular with at least ten books released since her story’s 2007 debut. However, I don’t feel any desire to go further than said debut, Magic Bites.

So what happened to me with Magic Bites?

For starters, the first 100 pages had it going on. There was a crime scene. Murders to investigate. A law enforcing institution of sorts that’s geared toward investigating and solving paranormal/preternatural crimes. Then there’s Kate, our local mercenary heroine. She steps on stage appearing as clear-headed and competent in bringing justice to a crime that has unfortunately resulted in the murder of her guardian. So, off the bat, she has a closeness and even deeper stakes in solving this case (“story” box checked). Furthermore, she came armed with a directive and motive as a character (“plot” box checked).

In those first 100 pages, Kate was doing the damned thing; researching, interviews, morgue visits, document gathering, deducing, analyzing, and determining her next angle/action. I was all in, thinking to myself how nice it was to see an urban fantasy character doing actual investigative and procedural work that made sense. No illogical and desperate conclusions. Not too much fumbling. But actual steps. Now I held my breathe a bit because I knew soon she would be swayed to have sexy time with a local vampire or pack leader, per urban fantasy tropes (especially given the book’s 2007 publication)! Yet, it was undeniable how Kate in motion provided a level of groundedness to the story, as well as character.

Sadly, the bottom fell out somewhere around 100 pages…

That’s when all I can describe as an over-the-top freakshow extravaganza hijacked Kate’s investigative journey, and Kate herself. Now you can take my use of the term “freakshow” as either good or bad when you consider how we’re talking about urban fantasy books where werecreatures and vampires generally take center stage. Yet, for darn sure, this change in tone seen in Magic Bites made for a disappointing and unpleasant reading affair.

So Kate lost focus and her groundedness. The book suddenly shifted into a matter of how tough and indestructible yet vulnerable Kate was determined to be in the face of a host of freaks. One freak set is shapechangers hiding their society and politics under rubble. Another consist of puppet vampires crawling on walls. Said vampires driven by a “queen” of sorts that has her guts ripped open for hand-stuffing. Twisted, grimy, ugly creatures who do nothing but banter, eat flesh, rape women, and tie up their bodies over some pre-developed motive run amok in this world. A dragon consisting of its skeletal frame comes out of nowhere. There were murders, killings, bones broken, blood splayed, tissue showered, guts yanked, and bullshit all over the damn place. I mean, the freaks ran the city of Atlanta with seer, incomprehensible madness. And I was over the show.

Speaking of which, Atlanta was mostly described as an apocalyptic bag of leftover rubble and waste from some destructive magical world-building incident that further discouraged me from the second book. How ever the setting was explained just didn’t land well to me. In retrospect, a lot of the world-building components didn’t land as Kate went to freak holdout to freak holdout to seek information through threats and posturing and bravado (several times I found myself forgetting who characters even were). To me these scenes featuring Kate and “leader freak” were interactions designed to redefine what traditional paranormal creatures were in Kate’s world. Like to make what we traditionally see as a vampire as something anew. However, to me, all the characters just came across as a bunch of bloodthirsty, gut-sucking, power hungry, cryptic-magic freaks. Just about everything about these paranormal creatures and Kate was so over-the-top. I had to wonder what was the point of this paranormal crime force guild when it’s apparent they are overpowered and outnumbered by the freaks who truly run this desolate version of Atlanta.

Because that’s what Magic Bites was–a freakshow! So much so that I lost the actual drive to care about Kate solving her guardian’s murder, despite managing to keep reading until the book’s end. I suppose Kate’s voice was a large part of my dedication to keep reading. At times I could appreciate her one-liners, but she was largely too much of a comic book action hero Mary-Sue by the book’s end. She’s the urban fantasy special one, with an obscure and mysterious lineage that allows her to do the magical things others can’t. That sort of thing. But keeping in tune with urban fantasy, of course there was a romance present in the book. The issue is that both Kate and her variety of interests often threatened and express violence against one another. The key romance figure even yoked Kate up against the wall toward the end of the book. But I guess all the good he does outweighs the abuse because it’s obvious this universe deems them a pair.

And while there’s more I can say, what really left a bad taste is the ending. You see, the impetus or even premise of Kate’s story began with her determination to solve the murder of her guardian. There was absolutely zero mention of him at the end. No introspection on her journey and his life at the end. No reflection on her history with him at the end. I wasn’t surprised because as the story moved, any acknowledgment toward him gradually dissipated to get the freaks on the road. And there flushed what I felt was the true story behind Magic Bites. Nevertheless, there was no warm path for Kate to travel toward losing her guardian. Unless said “warm path” had to do with her trampling through the guts of the freshly disemboweled to go do god knows what with god knows who. And “who” probably ate a human head on his way to meet her there. Definitely as both a power source and aphrodisiacs. Sex and power. Gotta have those two things in order…

Yeahhhhhh… NO!

I’m through!

Just a bunch of f’ing FREAKS is all this book left me thinking.

LOL.

September 8, 2022 0

No Jane For Me

“Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.

Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission—or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…”

Another urban fantasy is an unfortunate non-continuing. About 65 pages and I was rather done with Jane Yellowrock. Her vibe was… unusual. I could only see hot leather and a motorcycle fantasy. And an extraordinarily beautiful tough woman who easily woos the extraordinarily handsome number of men who breathe near her ecosphere. Everybody was hot and hot to trot and rather over-the-top. And much of this spinning of who can be the most desired and sexiest one in the room was all a distraction from a pretty decent plot involving a rogue vampire who is fighting death by draining the blood of many New Orleans relatives. But… but… if only the story, characters, and Jane could have remained focused on this detail.

Don’t get me totally wrong, as I thought Jane had an engaging mystery provided within her backstory. And I did like her ability to shift shapes (though I question the Native American angle the author used to shape this). But, overall, the book read too much like hot girl/bad boy. Leather and night teddy for the girls. Tight white t-shirts (with rolled-up sleeves) and ass-hugging jeans for the boys.

If only. If only.

The author was less compelled to enforce those areas instead of the plot.

Keep the plot/story moving.

Stop getting distracted.

Stop with the desperate, romantic side drama…

Leave it to authenticity.

Or give it time to cultivate.

Then again.

Everybody is super hot in looks, as well as desire.

Oh, and don’t forget the sexy energy behind a motorcycle.

September 3, 2022 0

#WEEKENDREADS: Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older

In all my latest desires to dive back into reading urban fantasy, I’ve finally fallen onto my copy of Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older. It’s the first book in this Bone Street Rumba series (two other books were released), featuring the first-person narrative of a Puerto Rican man named Carlos Delacruz. Carlos is half-dead. Or what they call an inbetweener. He works for an organization called Council of the Dead. I’m going to spare you and myself in trying to round out and encapsulate what each “inbetweener” and “Council of the Dead” conceive of. Just know Carlos is like an agent of sorts ushered out to put a stop to supernatural problems. In the case of the first book, he has to stop a sorcerer who is also an inbetweener. As well as put a stop to a slew of ngks attacks. Ngks are a phylum of imps. Only they cause plagues and a host of other fatal disturbances. When we’re first introduced to one, it’s actually rather creepy.

I’m 100 pages into the book and, while I don’t follow 100% with the story, I’m enjoying this book a lot more than I thought I would. I was hesitant over the years, but Half-Resurrection Blues is winning me over so far. Placing some of the issues I have so far aside, I think I like the voice of Carlos. There’s a bit of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins in it–to a degree (I stress “degree”). Carlos is smooth and charismatic. Though, most of all, he cusses. With him in the lead, the story just kind of propels and glides me forward. Even and despite the work it takes to understand and conceive the urban fantasy landscape the author has built. Now in terms of urban fantasy, Carlos is obviously in the minority as a male protagonist and triple as a man of color. And can’t I express how MUCH I appreciate a voice similar in likeness to my own. Call it swag or vernacular or whatever. I just appreciate it and it is what’s largely keeping me engaged.

Still got 226 pages left to see how much happens. And, of course, I’ll always be the first to drop out and say if and why something doesn’t work. But as of now, this is my #WEEKEND READ.

September 3, 2022 0

No Greywalker For Me

“Harper Blaine was your average small-time P.I. until a two-bit perp’s savage assault left her dead for two minutes. When she comes to in the hospital, she sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.

But Harper’s not crazy. Her “death” has made her a Greywalker- able to move between the human world and the mysterious cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift is about to drag her into that strange new realm-whether she likes it or not.”

Whew, chile. What and where do I go from here? Listen, I got about 51 pages into FINALLY reading Kat Richardson’s Greywalker before I decided to bail. And I mean my reading spirit was absolutely flooded to the brim with disinterest along this 51-page mark. Despite desiring to read the book for years (and owning it for probably longer), things just didn’t work.

So where did it all go wrong for me, personally?

Harper Blaine is the first-person main protagonist, and had a voice about as gray as the title itself. Some books can have a decent voice but a good premise to work with. Sometimes it’s the opposite, but the voice keeps you glued. Here, Ms. Blaine didn’t seem to come alive on the page. It’s one of those cases where the author sees his or her character’s liveliness differently than the reader, for sure. Which is natural, just like the impression of his or her character will not land with all readers. Blaine didn’t land with me. I get the hard-boiled outlook, but she wasn’t giving me much else.

The book led with the trigger moment before even establishing who Harper Blaine was as a person, woman, and character. Her profession as a private investigator was all we had. So not knowing anything about Blaine’s backstory and rise to become a P.I. did not sail the trigger moment when her world goes upside down (literally) after surviving an attack from a client. And a client who left her dead for a few moments until she awoke to this ability to see into the grey world. Jumping off a story with action is a good deal. But I still feel as if the lack of just a bit of backstory, along with a voice vacant of charisma, didn’t keep me invested. With those two established quickly before the author sped us to the trigger moment would’ve helped.

There was no crime scene nor body to nail the stakes. Harper was retained for a missing person situation and one about a piece of missing furniture. So about 51 pages in, I asked myself, “where the hell is the body?” For me, I needed a crime scene and a body established. However, I believe the author could have gotten around to that if she had taken Harper to the dwellings of the missing person she was searching for to start energizing the investigative portions of the book. Doing so would have fueled not only my curiosity and imagination as to what actually happened and the promise of what was to come, but it would establish the stakes involved. I believe what the author did instead was put the grey walker situation ahead of the procedural portions. While interesting, doing so, effectively, caused me to look towards something else to read. I wish the author taught Harper and the reader about the grey world as we went.

Oh, I almost forgot. There was no hint or ascertaining of time in the book that I managed to come across. However, being published in 2006, Harper was sporting an actual pager. For whatever reason, that bugged me. Secondly, she’s a private investigator but had some off market, bootleg, brandless dude come and hook up an alarm system in her office after it was broken in to. Afterward, they went to have a steak. For whatever reason, that bugged me as well. I think the word confidence and competency in her abilities was my concern. As well as this sort of narrative shaping Harper to be of the much scrappier, ideal variety of P.I. that I just wasn’t buying.

Whelp. That’s pretty much it. Unfortunately, in my advancing age, I can only take what I can take.

August 31, 2022 0

CHOP IT UP: Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

In my recent travels to help satiate this nostalgic need to read urban fantasy books–per my discovery of the genre in 2007–I have finally read Seanan McGuire’s Rosemary and Rue. This is the first book in her October Daye series. Ms. Daye is a half-human half-fae P.I. residing in San Francisco. Nonetheless, being born a mixture of the two, October lives between both the human world and the fae world. P.I. profession aside, there was a time she was a check-out clerk at a local grocery store, alongside a time when she could travel through gateways into fae dwellings. Cool stuff. Right? Well, indeed it was–though I had some problems.

As far as plot/story, the prologue gives readers a moment into October’s role as a P.I. She’s on a tracking mission, which ultimately finds her cursed into the body of a koi fish for fourteen years. In the meantime, she’s lost her family, which consists of her human husband and child. Essentially, it is believed she ran away from her family or was killed. Anyway, fourteen years later the curse has lifted and she’s back in the world anew. And while her family has moved on, October has to start completely over without them. With the help of one duchess-like fae woman named Evening, October slowly gets back on her feet. And it’s here that the same woman who helped October finds herself hunted down and assassinated. But not before cursing October to solve her murder and bring her killer(s) to fae justice. Or, heck, justice in general.

So, what were my aforementioned problems?

· There was a big deal about how October was a private investigator who did pretty dang well for herself. Well, having taken on this new mission to solve a fellow fae’s murder, October seemed rather sloppy as a detective to me. Blame it on her being in the body of a koi fish for fourteen years. Blame it on her readjustment to not being so. Blame it on something. Sure. But, otherwise, she wasn’t so great at it. To me, she couldn’t seem to infer much. Was constantly caught off guard. Suffered multiple bullet wounds and continued to fight her way through bleeding set piece moments. No discernment. No intuition. But there is a reason for that: the actual investigation and plot lacked much for her to even work with. Even so, I wasn’t being sold on October’s detective abilities. It came across as a vanity title stitched along like many urban fantasy protagonists.

· The detective work was simply a loop with many connecting points where, instead of gathering new information to further deduce October’s friend’s killer, a lot of the points October hit were just places where the author could fae-drop. There was a cat-like fae in the alley. Cool. Visited him two and a half times. The water-fae? About three times in the cycle. The half-fae kingpin guy; three times. As a matter of fact, October went to him to ask for help and all he really did was give her a cell phone (which made for a poor clue). October even went to the actual QUEEN of the fae, only to have the woman yell at her and throw her out of the dwelling. The scene was drilled as a potential connection between the queen and the murder, but not a thing else came about it later in the book. Which was unfortunate because I knew for sure we were about to get into some deep fae intrigue and politics.

· At each point, October hardly came away with any new information to move the investigation forward, nor bring shape to the mystery/premise. She even went to the fae dwellings of the victim only to run across an old (married now) flame for a moment of them running out of the place to flee assassins. Meanwhile, October got nothing out of that place but said titillating moment. But think about it investigative-wise. This was the dwellings of the victim. So not only did it happen extraordinarily late in the book but, as readers, we got nothing out of the trip. There were even several opportunities for October to get information out of one of the assassins of her friend himself. But each reasonable opportunity to gather a clue was deduced into an action piece instead. Nevertheless, October’s investigation bumbled along in a circle. Visit here. Have a moment to share a fae creature’s history. Visit there. Have another moment. Even the supposed big badass creepy fae everyone feared was…. Well, basically a conveniently late plot point that left me curious as to what was the point of visiting. Other than having a moment to talk about said fae’s history and do ominous setups. The book did a lot of the whole obscure and ominous thing.

· Another thing that was weird to me was how October was so totally conflicted with the shattering of her previous life with her husband and daughter. I kind of got the sense that there was some grief and work that needed to be done to heal her from that separation. Yet, we found her drawn to an ex-lover who once was also her abuser. She was also drawn to an individual who she once had a brief flame with as a youth. Though now he’s married, the chemistry between him and October remains. So, apparently, she’s open to her abuser and a married ex-lover. Looks like she has fallen into a well. Nevertheless, the real kicker to me was when a creature appeared to October in the disguise of one of her family members. Post the discovery and dispatching of the creature, October hardly felt anything emotionally from the experience. A creature disguised itself as a member of the family you once had who moved on from you. I don’t know about you, but dealing with that grief and then such a sense of betrayal of oneself to have invited a creature into my home with the face of someone I love… well… I would be feeling traumatized, distraught, disturbed, and angry. October’s response was anything but. The emotional investment and grief just didn’t add up to me. Then again, the whole scene was put there just to acknowledge what the creature was. And, of course, to create another unnessary action moment to hide how there wasn’t any actual investigating going on.

Final thoughts. Will I read the follow up book? Maybe. One day. One of those days where the spirit of reading is pushing me moreso in that direction. But not any time soon will I go for it. As they say, the math wasn’t mathing with Rosemary and Rue.