Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

The Hollows series has never let me down and I am happy to say it is still going strong and is still surprising me after 9 books.

In this ninth book of the series Rachel needs to get to the west coast to have her shunning rescinded and go to her brothers wedding. Trent also has to make it to the west coast on a tight lipped mission that he says he needs Rachels help with. What do you get when a witch, an elf and a pixy all get into a car with each other? A pixy swearin, elf anxsting, witch ass kickin, rip roarin hell of a good read!

Everyone grew in this book. Some together, others apart, but all well done. Rachel has come a long way since Dead Witch Walking. She is coming into her own and realizing who she wants to be.

I absolutely love Trent. We get to drool over him in this book and we get to see more than one side of him. All I can say is...Yum!

Al as always is one of the best characters in the series. I don't know how the series will end for him but I hope he gets a HEA.

It is always a pleasure to have Rachels mom in the series. And even though her part was small in this book, it's memorable.

And of course Rachel can't be without her business partners/friends/roommates Ivy and Jenks. Rachel and Ivy's relationship comes to an understanding in this book that I think is good for the both of them. And Jenks of course is always dependable for comic relief, although I wish just this once he had kept his mouth shut!

We are coming into the home stretch of this series with only a few more books to go. I am looking forward to the ride!

Visit the authors webpage @ www.kimharrison.net

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

I am a big fan of young adult books, and The Darkest Powers series is one of my favorites. The Reckoning, is the third installment in the series. If you haven't read them, start with The Summoning.

My name is Chloe Saunders. I'm fifteen, and I would love to be normal.
But normal is one thing I'm not. For one thing, I'm having these feelings for a certain antisocial werewolf and his sweet-tempered brother—who just happens to be a sorcerer—but, between you and me, I'm leaning toward the werewolf. Not normal.
My friends and I are also on the run from an evil corporation that wants to get rid of us—permanently. Definitely not normal.
And finally, I'm a genetically altered necro-mancer who can raise the dead, rotting corpses and all, without even trying. As far away from normal as it gets.

I like how the characters don't have control of their powers. They come together, this rag tag bunch of kids, and have to take care of each other while trying to learn how to control the new, and sometimes scary, powers they possess and stay away from the group of supernatural/scientists that tinkered with them.

My favorite character has to be Derek. He is bossy and pushy and doesn't like to have his orders second guessed. But he is also sweet and caring and puts others safety before his own. I really like how Armstrong makes him vulnerable as well. She created this big bad werewolf, but made him not in control of his powers, so we get to see the fear and uncertainty right along with him. I love the interaction between him and Chloe. I have been rooting for them since the first book.

Each character in this series has grown and developed. I am happy with the outcome of the series and only wish it wasn't the end for Chloe, Derek, Simon and Tori.

Visit the authors' website here