Dina

I'm the proud owner of all the books in this series, and I heartily recommend it for any fan of the fantasy genre. I gravitate more towards contemporary or urban fantasy but I enjoy a trip to a completely different universe if the author does a good job. Give me characters that I care about and give them interesting stuff to do -- it's all good.

I didn't really warm up to these folks after reading this first book. I was, however, intrigued enough to grab the second, and then the third, and by then I was hooked. The main character, Kaylin Neya, is one of those uber-charged kick-ass heroines that are so popular these days, but this author manages to pull it off without making you detest the little darling. Kaylin had a crappy childhood and works her butt off and is totally irreverent and oblivious of much and is just learning as she goes along. She has a couple of love interests but has way too much baggage to indulge. She has this vast potential power but lives in a one-room flop because that's all she can afford on her private's salary. I guess I just like her, and I like all her friends, and I really like Severn (the childhood friend/protector/potential lover). The stories are each inventive and interesting and follow a very satisfying arc.

Others here have written stellar reviews and I won't try to duplicate. I just want to say WOW. I just finished the book because I decided to start the series over and hold the new book out like the last morsel of some incredibly rare treat. So I've been totally immersed in Dresden's world for awhile now and I'm feeling a little bereft. I can't wait for the next book! I listened to this series more often than anything else I've ever owned and they just don't get old.

I absolutely HATED the book where Harry was dead. I didn't hate the book as a book, I mean it is a well-written piece of fiction by one of my absolute favorite authors, I mean I just hated Harry being dead! In retrospect I think it is perfect that the other guy did the narration for it. So now when we hear his voice well, it's because Harry is dead! I hope that poor guy gets work on other books that aren't quite as well established because he has talent and didn't deserve the thrashing he got here... but thank you James Marsters for coming back to life along with Harry!

My admiration for Jim Butcher has only increased with this installment. As others have noted, most series are losing steam and direction by book 14 but it seems that Mr. Butcher has lots left for our wizard. It must be so incredibly satisfying to be the creator of such a body of work and have such a loyal following. Good for you Mr. Butcher! Thank you.

I have to put a plug in here for his Codex Alera series too. Even if you're not a huge high fantasy fan these are worth a listen. Same high quality writing and character development.

Love this author. I've read all of the October Daye books at least twice, and I'm delighted that she's publishing another series (although I hope there is more Toby to come!) Since my favorite genre is Urban Fantasy, I've got a lot of practice with "suspending disbelief" and I needed those skills for this book.... The premise is fun and different, the overall story is great, but the details kind of poked at the edges of what I'm willing to swallow. I guess I found the lead characters just a bit too perfect. It almost seems like an earlier effort that was written before the author had fully developed her style, and is just now getting published. You know that anything titled "book 1" the hero is not going to die, but the whole time there never seemed the slightest possibility of anything other than falling in love and beating the bad guys. There is, however, some really good stuff unexpected stuff here (the dragon! the mice! love them!)

I'm afraid I never did warm up to the narrator. The writing makes up for what I found as an annoying voice and other folks seem to like Ms. Bauer just fine. I'm in for Book 2 regardless but would be pleased to see a switch in the narrator choice.

I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a series. The characters are fun and interesting, very creative plot, nice romance that was an integral part of the story. Not overdone and not slapped in as an afterthought. I'm giving it four stars because to me the pace of the story is kind of choppy and I had some trouble staying with it, but I'm not some kind of pro literary critic and it didn't detract much from a really good book. Amanda Ronconi is over the top as usual, and she is a perfect choice for the characters.

The author has a nice foundation here and I'm definitely in for the next one. Fun stuff.

This is the fifth book in a series that for some reason Audible doesn't have grouped as a series. I guess the title makes that pretty clear but these really should be read in the series order to get the most enjoyment out of the story.

This series is one of many where there are a group of strong male characters who get paired off with their true loves, one per book. This group of strong male characters also happen to be paranormal and immortal. Neither of these characteristics are in any way unique or unusual, the market is flooded. So here's the difference: Great characters, really interesting and powerful and funny and vulnerable and of course sexy and strong. The plots are also interesting and suspenseful and well researched. The narrator does a great job and she really adds to the story.

The main reason I'm giving this one such an enthusiastic review is that this author chose to do something fairly unusual for the genre. She went back to a previous "pair" and gave them a second book. I like it, especially because the two main characters are from Book 1 and are really the most interesting of all of the couples. Good idea, and I hope more authors follow suit. The ending of this book is wonderful. Ms. Harrison has created quite a few strong characters that are still unattached so I'm hoping she'll continue the series... I'll be buying.

I love paranormal fantasy, paranormal romance, really most anything in the Fantasy genre. I also love to read a good series. I own way more titles than any one person should, but this is my main form of entertainment. That being said... this is probably one of the most unusual series I've ever read. Really different!

This book, the first in the series, started off a bit slow and at first I didn't care for the narrator at all. I was thinking I'd wasted a credit and the story was stupid and the narrator sounded like an uneducated gang member. I thought the narrator sounded like that because the heroine WAS an uneducated gang member and so were the rest of the characters. I was outside pulling weeds and had dirty hands and was basically too lazy to wash up and change books. Thank goodness! I now own all five in the series and I read them back to back.

The main character, Chess, is a fairly powerful witch in a very nasty world. The premise is that vengeful ghosts got loose somehow and killed a large segment of the world's population. In this world ALL ghosts are vengeful and want nothing more than to kill the living, and somehow they all got out at once and started wreaking havoc. The only people that could put the ghosts back where they belong and protect the living are witches that get completely tattooed in protection and power symbols. Since these witches are the only people who have this ability they basically take over the world, create a giant bureaucracy & government structure, outlaw all organized religion, and kill anyone who tries to release or contact any of the ghosts. Okay, that sounds bizarre but we all know how to "suspend disbelief", right? Then comes the fact that our heroine is a freaking drug addict. Huh? And she's sleeping with her pusher. Really? And falls in love with the gang enforcer who might be forced to kill her if she screws up. Yeah, okay.....

Well, this all just works. Chess is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read -- she alternates from being totally fascinating to infuriatingly stupid to amazingly heroic. She is profoundly damaged by her childhood and the state of the world, but she is loyal and dedicated and really tries to do good and to help people. She just has this tiny little problem where if she can't get a fix every so often she goes into full meltdown withdrawl. She works for this new government and they've basically saved her life by educating her and giving her a quite respectable job that almost pays enough to keep her in pills, cigaretts, blow, and booze.

Each book in the story has a core mystery/adventure/deathly situation solved by the end of the book. However, the books are chronological as far as her personal and work relationships and should be read in order. With her bosses and coworkers on the one side, and the gangs, pushers, prostitues and junkies on the other side, Chess is in constant conflict even without all the nasties she has to deal with. The plots are original and suspenseful, never boring. The narrator is a perfect choice, but I would love to hear her talking to someone in real life. She does the job so well I can't decide if she'll sound like a college professor or a suburban snob or actually an uneducated gang member. Which is it?

I guess these books would not be for everyone. If you've never made any bone-head mistakes or dipped your toe into the less-than-savory parts of the world then you probably would hate Chess and all her friends. If you've ever skirted the edges or have some understanding of the subculture then these people will ring true and are even sort of admirable. Good job Stacia Kane & Bahni Turpin, thanks.

I love Urban Fantasy and this series is one of the best I've read. The author has taken the classic races of Faerie and brought them into the 21st Century, where many choose to live partly in the modern world and partly in the Summerlands. With a name like Seanan McGuire I'm wondering if this author is recounting stories learned at her Grannie's knee :) The folklore is well researched and has such an air of authenticity that I can get totally involved in this world. Great characters!

This is the 6th book and doesn't disappoint. When this book came out I started over again at book 1 and had a total October Daye marathon. I'm so bummed to have come to the end of the available books! I'm fairly certain that there will be a book #7 although this one had a nice happy ending, there are lots of story lines left to explore. Mary Robinette Kowal is absolutely fabulous, does a great Irish accent when called for. I can tell a great narrator because after about 2 weeks of almost non-stop listening I'm not totally sick of her voice.

If you've been listening to this series don't hesitate to grab this one. If you are new to this series, stop and get book 1 (Rosemary & Rue). These books could be stand alone but much more enjoyable to listen in order.

I just finished listening to all the books in this series back-to-back and in order of publication. I just wanted to leave a note here for anyone new to this series -- if you like the urban fantasy, paranormal romance or similar genre you'll love these books. Read 'em all and read 'em in order!

Unique and interesting characters, adventure, romance, fun, and peril. I especially like that Kelley has released a couple of short story books that fill in more details and the back story of many of the characters.

Thank you Kelley Armstrong for some great entertainment.

I'm giving this book four stars only because I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I picked up this book because it had offerings from some of my favorite authors. They were all very good, not a clunker in the batch.

One of the best things about the short story format is that is offers an author of a long-running series the opportunity to write something from one of their supporting character's point of view. Sometimes this can be disappointing, but not here. I don't want to give any spoilers.... but Jim Butcher does a great job here.

I like this author and I love this narrator. The characters in this book were interesting and fully developed. (here comes the "however"..) However, I found the world setting of the story to be terribly depressing. Bleak. Violent and cruel. Maybe it's just me, weird mood or something, but wow.... don't read this is you are at all depressed or suicidal. Fortunately, this did not prevent me from listening to the very end and being glad that I did.

I couldn't tell if this book is to be a stand-alone or the start of a series, could go either way. If this author does write another book about this world I'll snap it up in an instant to see what happens next. Maybe the protagonists will have it a bit better next time.