Today’s WLP Wants To Know is going to be fun, it’s all about Character’s We Love To Hate and I have brought over KindleVixen (Tiffany) to debate this with me. The idea for this post started a few days ago when Tiffany and I were discussing Anton Strout’s Simon Canderous series. We both absolutely detest Simon’s girlfriend Jane and we have no idea why. I think she just grates us the wrong way, but we found out via Twitter that we weren’t alone on the hate, others don’t like Jane either. (Sorry Anton) It went as far as Tiffany making a hate poster for Jane.

I realized, there are a lot of characters in PR/UF that I cannot stand so I asked Tiffany to join me today so we could talk about them!

Jean-Claude/Older Vampires: We have came to the conclusion that most old vampires creep us out (Jean-Claude from LKH’s Anita series for instance), they just seem to slick even for us and come across as dirty old men.

KindleVixen: yep, creepy old men. Mircea from Karen Chance’s series is included. *shudder*

Trent (Kim Harrison’s Hollows): Tiffany said it best “He’s all sneaky & shit”. Trent is nothing but a sneaky sneak, he’s always showing up and starting something. Not cool Trent, NOT cool. Though I love him for his sneak, Tiffany not so much.

KindleVixen: He is cocky…. and not in a good way *eyebrow waggle*

Lash (BDB by JR Ward): He’s nothing but a bully. Plotting and scheming. John Matthew better kick his arse in the next book.

KindleVixen:Words can’t express how much I hate Lash. JM is going to destroy his baby powder smelling behind in Lover Mine.

Annie (Makers Song Series by Adrian Phoneix): Annie is Heather’s sister, Heather is Dante’s woman. Annie is bi-polar and uses it to snap and attack both Heather & Dante at any chance she gets. What kind of sister is this? I’d have left her ass along time ago. If she’s not telling Dante off, she’s trying to sleep with him. Bitch. But Heather keeps protecting her, so she needs a smack upside the head too.

KindleVixen: seriously…. a girl should take only so much from a sneaky sister.

Anita Blake (LKH): Oh yes, we are going there. Anita started out as a likeable character who kicked ass and took names. Not so much now, she can usually be found on her back with any number of people. There is using sex to your advantage and then there is using sex as an excuse to be a dirty slut. Guess which one Anita falls into? Nevermind what she did to Richard. Bitch.

KindleVixen: I adore Richard *sigh* I blame Anita entirely for what his character has become. Ironic that he is supposed to accept her now that she is an easy slut but it was her not being able to accept him that had her running into Jean Claude’s bed.

Zach (Kimberly Frost’s Southern Witch): Zach is Tammy Jo’s EX husband, yet he’s still all up in that. Zach back off and left Tammy Jo find out more about Byron. You had it and lost it Zach, move on!

KindleVixen: I haven’t read this series so I have no witty commentary, BUT I will add in my own….Frost (LKH, Merry Gentry). He is such a whiny bitch, I want Doyle to lock him in a closet somewhere.

Amanda Feral (Mark Henry): Well, we don’t really hate her, but she is a disgusting, foul-mouthed bitch. That just makes us love her more.

KindleVixen: well that and she introduced me to the wonders of the fleshlight

As you can see, between just the two of us, this could have went on for ages. But now I turn to you Readers, WLP (& KV) Want To Know: What Characters Do You Love To Hate?

My Immortal friend V, the resident Vampire at Vampire.Com sent me an email tonight  to let you all know, for the remainder of February you can get 10% off at the Vampire Store just enter VLOVE at Checkout.

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• List Price: $7.99 US/$9.99 CDN
• Publisher: Pocket; (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439137293
• ISBN-13: 978-1439137291

Buy Beneath The Skin at: 

• Chapters/Indigo
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

CHAOS CONTROLS HIS FUTURE. ONE MORTAL WOMAN COULD BE HIS SALVATION. THE COUNTDOWN TO ANNIHILATION WILL BEGIN WITH DANTE’S CHOICE….

The dark pieces of vampire rock star Dante Baptiste’s past are violently emerging, and it is only a matter of time before the Fallen discover he is the creawdwr they have sought for thousands of years. The destruction he left behind in Oregon threatens to reveal his identity as Fallen Maker and True Blood, exposing the young nightkind to shadowy predators — mortal and supernatural — who will do whatever it takes to win his favor…or destroy him. 

When beautiful FBI special agent Heather Wallace went AWOL on assignment, she chose irresistible Dante over the shady government forces that now stalk them both. Heather has her own secrets of the past to uncover, but she is also the only one who can hold her nightkind lover together when his dangerous quest for the truth threatens to send him over the edge. And as she and Dante fight for their survival, she realizes they must work together to protect their future — before his mysterious destiny tears them apart…

I am a huge fan of Adrian Phoenix and her Dante series, but this book just didn’t do it for me. To sum it up, after the events of last book (In The Blood) Heather, Von and Annie try to get Dante back to his home in New Orleans, whilst trying to save his life from various different “people” and trying to help him keep his sanity.

This book is NOT a stand alone, you must read the previous two books before you’ll have any idea what is going on. That said, within the first 100 pages there were SIXTEEN different characters. I know because I had to take a piece of paper and write down names and occupations. Seriously. I will list them for you, just so you have an idea of the character list. I am missing a few too.

1. Dante Prejean/Baptise/S
2. Heather Wallace
3. Von
4. Annie Wallace
5. Brisa Rodriguez
6. Mr. Dion
7. Emmett Thibodaux
8. Merri Goodnight
9. Sam Gilliespie
10. Caterina Cortini
11. Celeste Underwood
12. Agent Holmes
13. Agent Miklowitz
14. Monica Rutgers
15. The Morningstar
16. Gabriel
17. Lucien
18. Renata Cortini
19. Giovanni Cortini
20. Hekate
21. Trey
22. Silver
23. Simone

Now the ones in bold have a major part in the book, which sometimes makes it  difficult to figure out since it switches between POV throughout the book. There’s the Shadow Branch, The Fallen, The Vamps, The FBI all after Dante, most have bad intentions on our hero. On top of it, Dante is loosing his grip with reality so the book switches between here and now to past events. At the starting of the book is a glossary, ruh roh. Cajun and Italian have major roles in the book, so I found myself flipping to the front so often, I contemplated cutting out the glossary so I wouldn’t have to keep flipping back to the front.

I am sad to say that the plot-line just wasn’t clear enough, with the constantly shift POV’s, the language changes and the overabundance of characters, it was just to hard to follow and it made it un-enjoyable. Even though I really love the main characters, I just couldn’t take all the extras that made it muddy. I was disappointed with the ending as well, it was so sudden and cleared nothing up. I really wish most of the extra characters had been edited out which would have made the book flow better. Thankfully Dante’s attitude is still intact and he carries the best parts of the book with his middle finger held high.

For the most part, I am pretty adept at picking books out that I end up loving. I picked up MaryJanice Davidson in a bargain bin and haven’t looked back since. But, I love nothing more than getting a ton of recommendations at once so I can go nutty in the bookstore and blame others for the amount of money I spent.

Tonight my evil twin KindleVixen just happened to be around when I went online “browsing” at The Book Depository. In less the 1 second, I had bought 2 books because she said I’d love them. If I don’t, she’s eating both books (Rachel Vincent Stray Series). I’m kind of having a bad streak of books right now, I need something that will keep me up all night.

So I want to know, What Should I Read? I’m not talking popular new releases here, I do that all the time. I want hidden jewels, books that aren’t on my shelf.

WLP Wants To Know WTF Should I Be Reading?!

I know I know, I don’t post covers but it’s my homey Nicole & I love Nicole’s covers so I had to post it! This book three in the Jane True Series due on January 2011, click here for all the covers. 

Jane True has become proficient in basic magics, confident in herself and her abilities, and happily rooted in Rockabill. Her life is still divided between her supernatural brethren and her human friends and family, but it’s a division she maintains with very little trouble.

Everything changes, however, when Anyan brings Jane news that will force her to confront her dichotomized existence – supernatural females are being murdered, or have simply disappeared.

Jane and Anyan must embark on a desperate search to find out who is abducting these women, and how Jane can be protected from them. Aiding them is Jane’s former flame, Ryu. But can his stated motivations be trusted? And who are the mysterious figures dogging Jane’s and Anyan’s footsteps if not minions of Jarl?

Eventually, the trio stumble upon a secret so huge that it threatens to disrupt the tenuous traditions keeping humanity safe from the supernatural community that has, up until now, been content to lurk in the shadows.

Will they uncover the truth in time to save Jane’s friends? And just how far will Jarl go to protect his secrets?

• Paperback: 352 pages
• List Price: $7.99 US/$9.99 CDN
• Publisher: Signet; Original edition (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451229312
• ISBN-13: 978-0451229311

Buy Steamed at:

• Chapters/Indigo
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

When one of Jack Fletcher’s nanoelectromechanical system experiments is jostled in his lab, the resulting explosion sends him into the world of his favorite novel-a seemingly Victorian-era world of steampower, aether guns, corsets, and goggles. A world where the lovely and intrepid Octavia Pye captains her airship straight into his heart…

Jack Fletcher and his sister Hallie are in Jack’s office when they have a workplace accident. They end up on Captain Octavia Pye’s airship in a “steampunk” world, though it’s the 2010 there as well. Jack is a huge Steampunk fan, as well as a Quaker (I still don’t understand why that was mentioned a lot) and he’s extremely excited to have landed in a Steampunk fantasy. His sister, not so much. Jack and Octavia end up falling for each-other, among wars between the revolutionaries and a band of pirates.

This is Katie MacAlister’s first book in her Steampunk Romance series and I have to tell you, it leaves a lot to be desired. The point of view alternates between Octavia and Jack at the drop of a dime, which is sometimes confusing though it reads okay. Jack is a Quaker, yet he drinks, swears and is a ladies man in his office. I have no idea why he was a Quaker, but it was mentioned many times through-out the story.

There were some really cheesey lines: “Your mind says no, but your body says yes” that really had me rolling my eyes. There were way too many references to Steampunk which made me feel like Ms. MacAlister was trying hard to let us all in on the fact that the book is Steampunk.

Overall it was an okay read, I enjoy Ms. MacAlister’s writing but if you are a true Steampunk fan this book isn’t going to do it for you. Just because it’s set in a Steampunk world and things are run by steam, doesn’t make it Steampunk.

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• List Price: $7.99 US/$10.99 CDN
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345511670
• ISBN-13: 978-0345511676

Buy Original Sin at:

• Chapters/Indigo
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

Haunted by chilling memories of demonic possession and murder, Moira O’Donnell has spent seven years hunting down her mother, Fiona, whose command of black magic has granted her unprecedented control of the underworld. Now Moira’s global search has led her to a small California town that’s about to become hell on earth.

Tormented by his own terrifying past and driven by powers he can’t explain, ex-seminarian Rafe Cooper joins Moira’s dangerous quest. But Fiona is one devilish step ahead. Hungry for greater power, eternal youth, and stunning beauty, the sorceress is unleashing upon the mortal world the living incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Together with a demonologist, a tough female sheriff, and a pair of star-crossed teenagers, Moira and Rafe are humanity’s last chance to snatch salvation from the howling jaws of damnation.

This is my first ever DNF (Did Not Finish). From page one, I was so confused that I had to re-read the chapter twice to kinda get a feel for what was happening. I swore a chapter was missing, it was that confusing. I found out later from Abigail at All Things Urban Fantasy that there was a short story in an Anthology before this book came out, back in 2007. That would have helped, but not that much.

After struggling with this book for 4 days, I gave up. I couldn’t get into it, it just didn’t do “it” for me. I wasn’t involved with what was happening and to be honest I couldn’t have cared less, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I honestly can’t tell you what I read, it just didn’t stick. There was no draw and not a single love scene, funny this book is classed as a Paranormal Romance. I don’t think so.

A lot of my fellow reviewers loved this book and after speaking with them, they agreed that it took to about page 90 for the book to gain any momentum. I’m sorry, if at page 20 I am not involved, I will put the book down. I am linking to two reviewers (Abigail and Fiction Vixen) if you’d like to read their reviews of Original Sin for a better idea.

Abigail gave the book 2/5

Fiction Vixen gave the book 4/5

You all know my favorite topic to snark on is Twilight. From sparkles to the poor mimic attempts of Edward Scissor-hands, I just can’t hold myself back. Last night whilst being snarky on Twitter, I saw a flurry of Tweets about Details Magazine & R-Patz. Being all things Anti-Twilight, I didn’t look…but this morning I came across them in my online travels and HAD to post about them.

Let’s start with the cover. Hmm. Not too bad, though someone must provide this boy with a razor. The weak attempt at a beard/goatee isn’t doing it for me. He just looks well, like a bum playing dress up.

Moving right along, we come to this lovely photo.

Excuse me while I full on cackle, because I can’t help myself. From the chest hair, to the dirty pervert look in his eyes, it’s FABULOUS. Let’s say this all together: P-H-O-T-O-S-H-O-P. Say it will me, because it’s way obvious here and I couldn’t work photoshop if my life depended on it!

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. You know what, I’m not even touching this one. It’s just that terrible, the fur, the clothing & those spats. R-Patz cannot rock the spats.

I am not going to deny it my friends, this is HOT. See how much better this boy looks with a shower & a shave (and a blur). Model more than likely wouldn’t have wanted anywhere near R-Patz who admits he’s not the cleanest of clean. Either way, HOT. Those lips.

And then we come to this.

I lied, I can add strategically placed stars to cover nips. That’s all my talent right there people! I admit it, this truly one of the best pictures of R-Patz ever taken. I wouldn’t kick him outta the tub, nope I wouldn’t. I can’t snark on this at all. It’s just that hot. The photographer deserves mad kudos for turning this Pixie’s face into one of awe.

So yes, R-Patz can look really dirty and real hot..but really, I don’t wake up being cute neither do any of us. So I may have a little love left for R-Patz and I have the bathroom floor to thank for that. Read the article too, it’s umm interesting.

I have to say, this is the best contest I have ever run in terms of comments. You all made me laugh and cringe, and from now on I think I will be changing the way I run contests thanks to you! But you want to know if you won right? Well a special thanks goes to Dakota Cassidy for helping me judge the winners and for throwing in a THIRD prize! Now on with the show. The winners of the Worst Valentine or Date Story:

1st Place (2 Bags of Vampire Coffee & 4 Vampire Chocolates of their choice) goes to Qwill who said:

My absolute worst Valentine’s Day ever occured in 2004. It was the day my DH passed away. BUT it’s a great day to remember him. (Did I mention I am not overfond of Valentine’s Day.)

2nd Place (1 bag of Vampire Coffee & 2 Vampire Chocolates of their choice) goes to Jason who said:

Worst valentines- I’ve been with my partner for over 6 years now but on our first valentines day together, we came home from work and were planning to go out to dinner together. He checked the mail on the way in and found a card addressed to him. It was from his ex-girlfriend (he is bi) telling him that he had a child (2 months old) and they needed to talk. He freaked and needed time alone to think so I spent valentines day alone and worried that I was losing him. It all worked out and now we help raise his daughter.

3rd Place (A copy of Dakota Cassidy’s Accidentally Demonic or Kiss & Hell) goes to Liz (who damn near made me pee myself) who said:

Worst date ever? Go pee first, then read. Trust me.

So, this guy who was in my circle of friends asked me out after my divorce. I thought, hey, this will be a great way to get back into the dating game with someone I was already comfortable around. Apparently he was too comfortable around me b/c at dinner he proceeded to drink beer after beer after beer. Okay, no problem. The movie theater was within walking distance and he kept getting funnier so… First big mistake.

We arrive at the quaint little theater in this rejuvenated area of town that still served beer and pizza in the theater. My date proceeded to order a pitcher for himself. Then he turns to me and leers. “I heard this movie was sexy as hell.” I should have paid more attention to what we were going to see. Second big mistake.

So about halfway through “Sin City” my date passes out.

As the credits roll, I begin beating my date to try and wake him up. The lights come on and he finally stumbles out of his seat. I start walking towards the exit when I hear water hitting the floor. Thinking he’s spilled the rest of his pitcher, I turn around to find my date peeing across five rows of seats. I’m so stunned I can only stare and marvel at his coolness.

There’s no point counting the mistakes anymore because the hits just keep coming…

The manager of the theater walks into the theater, and I literally had to throw myself at him to distract him from the urinary festival. My date finally notices I’m about to leave with someone else and stumbles up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and slurring, “Let’s go for a walk, baby.”

Trying to sober him up, we walk up and down the shopping center promenade where several bistros have tables setup outside and people are bustling about. I keep getting these odd looks, but I figure it’s due to my drunken date stumbling around. He turns to me and again with the leer. “It’s getting chilly outside, isn’t it?”

I figure he’s still so drunk he thinks I’m gonna let him put his arm around me, so I shake my head in wonder. That’s when he wiggles his hips to get his point across. Yup. His itty bits are dangling out of his pants, now doing its own drunken dance to the jerking of his hips. At this point, my ex is starting to look good to me again.

I decide I’m going to steal his truck and drive myself home and leave his ass where it wiggles, so I start to stalk off toward the parking lot-which I have to pass through an alley to reach. My date thinks I’m eager to get him alone and proceeds to tell me in graphic detail all of the sexual things he’d like to do to me later as he tries to keep up with me. Of course, now I realize that all of his sexual “creativity” is born from scenes in the movie he’d apparently let seep into his subconscious while he was passed out. Yay me.

It’s been four years and I STILL haven’t set foot in that theater again yet I do run into my “date” every time all of our friends get together. He swears he has no memory of the evening. Lucky bastard.

Qwill, Jason & Liz please email me at: wickedlilpixie(AT)hotmail(DOT)com to give me your snail mail addy’s as well as your choices!

Thank you all for commenting, it’s nice to know we ALL have had a crappy date or not had one at all on Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

• Paperback: 320 pages
• List Price: $7.99 US/$9.99 CDN
• Publisher: DAW; Original edition (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756406145
• ISBN-13: 978-0756406141

Buy A Girls Guide To Guns & Monsters at:

• Chapters/Indigo
• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble

Thirteen urban and paranormal tales of strong women, armed with weapons they are not afraid to use, as well as fists and feet of fury, who face monsters and bad guys-and are not above rescuing men in the process.

Elizabeth & Anna’s Big Adventure by Jeanne Stein is a short story (page 81-92) in A Girls Guide To Guns & Monsters. It focuses around Elizabeth (a child) finding out that her “aunt” Anna is a vampire during a home invasion. Elizabeth’s father is works for the District Attorney’s Office and one released convict knocks on the door while Anna is out of the room, Elizabeth lets him in and all hell breaks loose.

I loved that this story is told in the point of view of a child and her discovery that Anna isn’t all that she seems. This is the first Anna story I’ve read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the series after reading this short story!