Bathtime Books

Description: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief My Review: As the novel begins we find Rachel loafing around with few jobs to her name and even fewer dollars.  We find she and Ivy shopping on the far side of town, the only place where Rachel can gain access after her shunning.  Suddenly a woman approaches Rachel and without properly identifying herself attempts to drag Rachel off.  Rachel does not comply, of course, and we find ourselv...

Description: Seattle police detective Joanne Walker started the year mostly dead, and she's ending it trying not to be consumed by evil. Literally. She's proven she can handle the gods and the walking dead. But a cannibalistic serial killer? That's more than even she bargained for. What's worse, the brutal demon can only be tracked one way. If Joanne is to stop its campaign of terror, she'll have to hunt it where it lives: the Lower World, a shamanistic plane of magic and spirits. Trouble is, Joanne's skills are no match for the dangers she's about to face—and her on-the-job training could prove fatal to the people she's sworn to protect…. My Review: After finishing Murphy’s last novel, Walking Dead, I swore to myself I wouldn’t bother reading her series until it was finished and I could read it through – book one to whatever. Well that didn’t quite work out. Due to my having a lot more free time than usual (read: unemployed) I decided to pick up...

Description: Thorn is a member of the Pilot’s Guild—those who possess the magical ability to navigate Crosspointe’s deadly seas. When a malevolent master within the Guild bans him from the sea, it seems his life is over. Then he is kidnapped and forced to serve aboard the rogue ship Eidolon —pitch black from bow to stern—and Thorn finds himself battling a mad captain, a mutinous crew, and the terrifying magic of the sea. But there is a saboteur on board, trying to make sure the Eidolon never arrives safely in port. Thorn begins to realize his kidnapping may have been no mere chance— and that the cargo the black ship carries may seal his doom…  Review: The Black Ship is the second novel of Crosspointe, not a true sequel it can stand on its own.  The novel doesn't follow the main protagonists of the first novel, although there are some cameos late in the book.   As the book starts we are introduced to Sylbrac, a Pilot who is attending the guild's spe...

Description: Raine Benares is a seeker. She finds lost things and missing people- usually alive. But now she's been bonde with the Saghred, a soul- stealing stone of unlimited power, and must hunt down its escapees. Especially since one of them is also hunting her.... Review: Shearin starts the book by plunging the reader into the chaos that has become Raine Benares' life.  We find her chasing down the spirit of an uber bad guy whose soul has managed to escape from the Sahgred.  If I just lost you its time for a quick recap: the Sahgred is a big bad rock that has the power to suck souls out of body to increase magical power of the one who is 'in-control' of it.  At this point in time Raine is in control of the Saghred, but she doesn't want to be.  Sarad Nukpana on the other hand desperately does want to be in control of the rock.  Unfortunately for him he was sucked into the darn thing when trying to gain control of it from Raine.  However he just ...

Description: Distant member of the royal Rampling family, Lucy Trenton's ability to detect majick has embroiled her in a dangerous intrigue that threatens her very life. Her only hope lies in her most persistent suitor, ship captain Marten Thorpe, but Lucy isn't sure she can trust him.... Review & Summary: This is a review from Curled Up with my own comments added. The intital entry in a series of novels about the port city of Crosspointe, The Cipher  also works completely as a stand-alone book. Lucy Trenton, a customs official and distant cousin of the king - she calls him "Cousin William" is a loyal servant of the crown. Still, although she thinks of herself as a law-abiding citizen and looks down on anyone who dares to bend the rules, she has a few secrets, too: since childhood, she has been able to sense majick. The only one who believed her when she was a child was a mysterious stranger who scared her thoroughly. After her experience with him, she sto...

Description: Being a mechanic is hard work. Mercy Thompson, for instance, just spent the last couple of months trying to evade the murderous queen of the local vampire seethe, and now the leader of the werewolf pack - who's maybe-more-than-just-a-friend - has asked for her help. A book of fae secrets has come to light and they're all about to find out how implacable - and dangerous - the fae can be. OK, so maybe her troubles have nothing to do with the job. But she sure could use a holiday ... My Review : This book picks up more or less where the last one ended.  Mercy is still working on her issues with intimacy after her rape and the subsequent panic attacks that it has left her with.  We are also trying to figure out what she is to the pack, and what this means for her relationship with Samuel. There are three concurrent plots in this novel.  1) Adam and Mercy's relationship. 2) Samuel and his attempted suicide. 3) The kidnapping of Finn, a bookstore owner w...

Description: Harper Blaine was your average small-time P.I. until she died—for two minutes. Now Harper is a Greywalker—walking the line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she’s discovering that her new abilities are landing her in all sorts of “strange cases.” But for Harper, her own case may prove the most difficult to solve. Why did she—as opposed to others with near-death experiences—become a Greywalker? When Harper digs into her own past, she unearths some unpleasant truths about her father’s early death as well as a mysterious puzzle. Forced by some very demanding vampires to take on an investigation in London, she soon discovers her present troubles in England are entangled with her dark past back in Seattle—and her ultimate destiny as a Greywalker. My Review: Harper Blaine is an intriguing and engaging heroine.  Although parts of the plot move a little quickly overall Richardson does a commendable job pulling the reader into the story. ...