Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts

This is the first book in the Circle Trilogy. In 12th-century Ireland, sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith does battle with a centuries-old vampire named Lilith, who has turned Hoyt's twin brother, Cian, into a fellow bloodsucker. Unable to defeat her, Hoyt is visited by the goddess of battle, Morrigan, who charges him with the task of leading a battle, "the greatest ever waged," against Lilith and her demons. Hoyt must gather five others to fight alongside him: "the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one you've lost." He travels in time to present-day New York, where he encounters his vampire brother, Cian, and Glenna, a beautiful red-haired witch. Two more warriors, Moira and Larkin, join them back in the Mac Cionaoith ancestral home. Romance ignites between Hoyt and Glenna as enemies emerge from the shadows, and the "circle of six" prepare for the big showdown with Lilith.

The romance is a bit rushed, the dialogue is witty and there is action. Overall an entertaining read.

Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters

Monk's-Hood is Ellis Peters' third Brother Cadfael mystery. It is set at the close of the year 1138 in the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul where Cadfael is a Benedictine monk.

Brother Cadfael is called upon to help a poisoned guest at the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. Upon reaching the dying man's side, Cadfael discovers two very disturbing things: the poison was taken from Cadfael's own workshop, and the dead man's widow is Cadfael's former fiance. Cadfael feels that it is his responsibility to find the guilty man and to prove the widow's son innocent of the murder of his stepfather.

Cadfael is brave, compassionate, and worldly, but above all a shrewd observer of human nature--both clerical as well as secular.

I'm glad I've got another couple of Cadfael's in my TBR's.

The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine

Martin Nanther-biographer and member of the House of Lords-discovers some blighted roots on his family tree while researching the life of his great-great-grandfather, Henry, an expert on hemophilia and physician to Queen Victoria. Martin contacts long-lost relatives who help him uncover some puzzling events in Henry's life. Was Henry a dour workaholic or something much more sinister?

I did find it a somewhat entertaining read, and I actually liked all the local color -- the time Martin spent at the House of Lords, the travels to Switzerland etc. As far as the extensive familial research we had to plow through, I understand that Martin needed to do this for the biography he was writing, but it was terribly confusing at first, tho I did get a better grasp of timelines and family relationships the further I read.

For a biographer doing such research Martin did a lot of guessing, hypothesising, and presuming. I could work out what his ancestor had done a lot earlier than Martin. I got the impression he was blind about what he didn't want to know. Either that or he was a bit thick!

13 Bullets by David Wellington

Special deputy Jameson Arkeley stopped a vampire rampage 20 years earlier, during which he whittled down all known bloodsuckers to a single survivor, Justinia Malvern. Kept alive at a sanitarium in rural Pennsylvania by minimal life support and bizarre laws preventing her extermination, wispy Justinia seems a threat to no one—until a series of vampire killings in the area suggest that she has found a secret way to spread her taint. Convinced that Justinia's minions plan to spring her and revive her to full power, Arkeley commandeers state trooper Laura Caxton to help him find their lair and wipe them out before they can get their vampire queen the blood she needs.

This was better than I had expected. The vampires were icky...definitely not sexy. The heroine was a lesbian, the hero was neither handsome nor compassionate but it worked. The ending was totally unexpected. It finished this story nicely, but at the same time left the storyline wide open to continue in a sequel.

I'm glad Lani lent it to me.

Life Mask by Emma Donoghue

Oct '06 - Jan '09

The story follows the loves and lives of Eliza Farrow, actress, Lord Derby who is in love with Eliza, and Anne Damer, a sculptor who also appears to be in love with Eliza. Thus we are introduced to their triangluar relationship and become privy to open and closed secrets.

It was rich in historic detail, sometimes a little too rich. But overall an enjoyable read.

Keeping It Real by Justina Robson

The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric that kept the universe's different dimensions apart was torn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elven, elemental and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are exotic, erotic, dangerous and really bored with the constant Lord of the Rings references. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left to themselves.

Special agent Lila Black used to be pretty but now she's not so sure. Her body is now more than half restless carbon and metal alloy machinery. A machine she's barely in control of. It goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. As for her heart ... well ever since being drawn into a Game by the elven rockstar she's been assigned to protect, she's not even sure she can trust that anymore.

It took me a little while to get into this, but the more I read the better it got.

A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon

When a rural landowner discovers the body of Roberto Lorenzoni, who was kidnapped two years earlier, Brunetti immediately suspects the victim's family. The Lorenzoni clan bears the legacy of betraying the Jews of Venice during World War II, and from these ashes, its members have created a thriving enterprise. Roberto's cousin Maurizio, who's next in line to inherit the family fortune and business, is the logical suspect, but Brunetti senses something more insidious at play. As he works his way through Italian three-course meals and family crises, he uncovers disturbing details about the Lorenzoni family.


This is another of Donna Leon's wonderful Comissario Guido Brunetti mysteries set in Venice.