Released: 10/30/07                 384 pages                          
Publisher: Harper
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0061239090

The last novella is The Harvest, which features character’s from Vicki Pettersson’s Zodiac series. It focuses on Zoe, who tries to rescue her infant granddaughter from the Shadow agents during Thanksgiving.

While the story is interesting, the complexities of the world are hard to follow for new readers, I felt completely like too much of the story was missing, having never read any of the other books in the series. The villains come across as comic bookish in their extreme evil and shadow, with knowledge of world workings that may not be the case.

Released: 10/30/07                 384 pages                          

Publisher: Harper

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-0061239090

In Run, Run Rudolph normal girl Jill gets hit by a ray and begins to go through some changes. She finds herself hunted by an evil scientist bent on performing some experimentation on her, and goes on the run through a parade and Christmas party with longtime crush, Nick, in tow.

It’s a fun romp, with Jill changing sometimes being both absurd and hilarious. It’s only about 90 pages of the 384, but it is a pretty complete story. The whole lets pause and make out seemed a little out of left field, but there was enough action to make the story still enjoyable.

Release Date: December 22, 2010
Run Time: 110 minutes

Merry Christmas! Of course, that means movie time. I decided on True Grit. Let me just say, if you hate westerns, GO SEE THIS MOVIE! The Coen brothers wrote a superb script, adapting this screenplay from the 1968 novel by Charles Portis. The story follows a drunken U.S. Marshall “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and a 14 year old girl, Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld). Mattie hires Rooster to find the man who killed her father, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Mattie hires Rooster for his “Grit”, but as the story progresses, it is clear that Mattie also possesses just as much, if not more “Grit.” A Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), also looking for Chaney, joins the posse. LaBoeuf feels a young woman has no business on this hunt and along with Rooster, tries leaving her behind.

The character of Rooster Cogburn could easily be over played, making him laughable. It could also have been under played, making him dull and unrealistic. Jeff Bridges literally just leans back and delivers lines like he doesn’t give a shit what people think. His performance shows Rooster’s experience, strength and power. A feat very few, if any, could pull off.

Speaking of pulling off difficult feats, Hailee Steinfeld holds her own opposite Bridges, Damon, and Brolin. She makes her character stand out and carry the movie equally along with Bridges. In fact, Bridges’ Rooster is more a supporting character to Steinfeld’s Mattie.

When I left the movie theater, I immediately called friends and family, stating Bridges deserves another Oscar and Steinfeld should also be nominated. The Coen brothers really put together a stellar cast. True Grit has the right balance of comedy, danger, suspense and bonding needed to make this is a great movie, with truly great acting for all involved. The script and performances are unforgettable.

Released: 12/21/10 352 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0373210275

Kaylee and Nash's relationship is complicated, to say the least and while ex-girlfriends to a struggling relationship are always nightmares, Nash's is one literally. She's a Mara, a parasite that eats the nightmares she causes.

Kaylee can't seem to decide what she wants from Nash until Sabine walks into the picture and makes it clear she wants Nash back, and she's willing to fight dirty to make that happen. Kaylee doesn't trust Nash, she wants what she can't have, and is completely unfair stringing him along.

And Nash, he's all alone fighting the hardest battle he's had to face, may ever have to face, and she can't support him in that. But not only can she not stand by her man, she doesn't want the only person who can help and accept him to.

Tod shows so much intuition, and stupidity at the same time. He is the best written character in the series. Readers are drawn to him, even if he isn't center stage. After reading his short story Reaper I can't help but to wonder what happens to one's soul mate if one's life is given to another. There are clearly some feelings that are being left unsaid, and I can't help to be grateful for that.

And throughout, the school is erupting in chaos, and Kaylee is pointing fingers, which just furthers the feelings of pettiness, not her brightest moment. Overall, the story is well paced, but Rachel Vincent never does what is expected, and although that is usually a good thing, I'll have to wait to see how the decisions in the end play out. Kaylee has grown up a lot, and now its time to see if the relationships that have been formed can grow and change too.

Released: 10/30/07                 384 pages                          

Publisher: Harper

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-0061239090

In Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel, Kim Harrison takes us back to before Rachel had all her current hang-ups and heart break. Instead it finds an 18 year old Rachel determined to follow into her father’s footsteps and join Inderland Security (the preternatural FBI) as a runner even though she suffers from chronic fatigue and weakness from a childhood disease that should have killed her.

Her brother, trying to push her towards Earth magic, gives her a spell so that she can summon her late father and ask for advice, but when the ghost summoned isn’t her father, but instead the ghost of a murdered ghost, Pierce, she may have gotten much more than she bargained for.

 Pierce proves to be plenty of trouble, and Rachel is absolutely hooked. She’s always been a bit of an adrenaline junky. Rachel is full of spunk and spirit, and still very tenderhearted, willing to put others ahead of herself.

The story is very touching and moves very quickly. The story is completely capable of being a stand alone, and a great introduction for new readers without alienating readers already in love with the series.

Released: 4/3/07                     374 pages                           

Publisher: ROC

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 978-0451461520

With Cassandra, it seems to be much of the same, which is both good and bad. Cassie has some new and unwanted power, a very sexy love interest whose off limits and she’s on the run. Alliances have shifted, and who the bad guys are is a little up in the air at the moment. Everyone’s motivations put them at odds with Cassandra in any given situation.

War mage Pritkin is perfectly acerbic, and I’m sure as the series continues he’s gonna be the guy to watch. He’s not nearly as smooth and sexy as vamp Mircea, but he is a whole new ball of trouble. Cassie’s character development seems to have taken a little back slide.

At the end of Touch the Dark she seemed a little more in control, a little more assertive, but as Claimed by Shadows starts, she’s back to being unsure of herself. This may be in large part to her powers being uncontrollable and stronger than before, so I’ll wait for the next before making an decisions. Even still, Cassie is one of the most likeable heroines who leaps from one disaster to another.

The pacing and action are still incredible fast, and the world is expanding greatly with the bad guys now in Faerie. The Geis puts a damper on things, but if its plot point is done right, it’ll be worth the drag it causes to the story. And the comedy is so pitch perfect, it makes this already great story even better. Warning, do not pick up this series if you’re not prepared to lose hours to it. Once I picked up the book I could not put it down. Another excellent head rush from Karen Chance.

Released: 12/1/10
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: E Book
ASIN: B004AYD50E

Just as the title indicates this is all about everyone's favorite Reaper, Tod. The Soul Screamers series is has thus far been completely from Kaylee's point of view, but Kaylee isn't in this one at all, and until this point we know little about Tod. He's Nash's brother, he died, he became a Reaper, but the how's and why, not so much.

This takes place before we ever meet Kaylee, before Nash's betrayal, when Tod was still alive. It's short, but fast paced, and makes you question all the chemistry from the previous novel.

Tod acts like he's the bad guy, especially now, like he doesn't care, but his actions scream louder than anything Kaylee can manage that the exact opposite is true. He has all the makings of a hero if he lets himself take that spot, and bravo for the masterful writing. His death is equal parts heartbreaking and delightful.

To resoul or not to resoul, that is the question. And both boys are working extra hard this time, to get their way.

The distance turned out to not last so long, as Dean tells Bobby and Sam his plan to resoul his brother.

With the help of his father’s old friend, Dr. Robert aka Freddy Krueger, Dean dies so he can have a little chat with Death. Before he dies, he gives him a note for Ben, just in case he doesn’t come back, but has nothing for his brother Sam.

Death offers Dean the option of bringing back Adam, who is also his brother, and Dean asks for both. But when Death tell him to choose one, its clear who he’s going to choose. He only has eyes for one brother, which I’m sure Death already knew, cause he was prepared with a deal. He’ll retrieve Sam’s soul and even put up a wall to block of the hell Lucifer and Michael have inflicted upon it, and in exchange Dean must don the ring, and be Death for a day.

Dean agrees, and Tessa returns to be his death dealing guide. The first death he has to deal is to a guy who robs a convenient store. That death was simple. The guy was scum and deserved to die.

Next up was the fat guy scarffing down pizza. Dean comments that he’s a heart attack waiting to happen, and well he was. Dean takes him just as easily as the first.

The next is a 12-year-old girl in the hospital. She’s been sick for a long time, but the doctors are optimistic, too bad Death has come calling.  Dean cannot bring himself to take her life. Tessa urges him, but still he refuses.

And his actions have consequences. The girl’s nurse goes home early and gets into a car accident, and Dean is forced to take her when she should have lived a very long life. The woman’s husband, distraught over her death tries to kill himself, and Dean takes the ring off early so that he can save him.

Even though he’s broken the deal, he’s learned a valuable lesson about not messing with the natural order, and so he goes back to the hospital to complete his last act as Death, taking the 12-year-old girl.

Meanwhile, Sam is ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that he remains soulless, so he contacts Balthazar to see how to make sure that his soul will reject his body. The sexy rogue tells him about a spell, but he’ll need to resort to patricide. Bad news, since John’s been dead for a few seasons now, but it need not be his actual father, just a father figure, poor Bobby.

There are some great Shinning-esque moments of Sam chasing Bobby around, trying to hunt him down, and when its all done Bobby ends up tied to a chair. Dean shows up just in the nick of time, and knocks Sam out, taking care to tie him up.

Death comes for his ring, and he and Dean have a little heart to heart. Death wanted to teach him a lesson, and Dean picked up what he was putting down. Death agrees to restore Sam’s soul, because the boys are onto something big. He’s cryptic, but just as Balthazar did, he refers to the high value of souls, which can only mean that there is something major going with Purgatory.

It ends with Sam getting his soul back, and death erecting the wall to protect him, that’ll sure fall before the season is out, as Death tells Dean not to him scratch at it, like that’s gonna happen. And so begins the hiatus…

The CDC looked like salvation. After some testing to make sure none was affected, the group got to forget for a time everything they’d lost. Little things taken forgranted for so long, like a hot shower or a glass of wine became the ultimate luxuries.

This storyline, greatly departed from the comics, but it really did a great job of stripping down every character’s emotions to the core, and created a greater bond within the group.

But the happiness could not last. Shane tries to reconnect with Lori, who wants nothing to do with him. He really did think Rick was dead. As the zombies closed in, and the military began to kill the patients, Shane protected Rick, but when he put his ear to his chest he heard nothing. Between the fear and the chaos, it was an honest mistake, but he did truly believe he’d lost Rick, and he truly felt that loss.

They soon learn that the doors are locked, and they cannot be reopened. In fact, Jenner had activated the CDC fail safes, and when he let them in, he knew the doors would never reopen once they closed. He was saving them, in his own way, because he hadn’t been able to save his wife.

She had been far more brilliant than he, and she’d run the CDC until she became infected. The group saw video of the electrical impulses of the brain as it changes over to zombie mode. She became Test Subject 19, and as he revealed that Andrea felt the loss of her sister all over. As the count down to the destruction of the entire facility continued, the others looked for a way to escape.

Andrea and Jacqui had no desire to make it out as the group looked for any way out. Luckily Carol had a grenade that Rick had on him when he first joined the camp. They used it to blow a hole out of the side of the CDC, but Dale refused to leave Andrea’s side, and ultimately his loyalty saved her. And as the CDC blew up only Jacqui and Jenner remained inside, thus ending the first season.

I’ve been pretty blown away by the level of acting and the high caliber of writing throughout the season. I expected action, but never the raw emotion that has been so beautifully done. And the fact that next season is so wide open is a definite plus. The writers have gone so far off the comics that they really open the story to a plethora of paths they can go down from here, and maybe even rebuild some of the lost hope.

Meg is back, and I’m loving her just a little bit. Sam gets kidnapped by Meg and her demon goons, and he convinces Dean to work with her, She’s a Lucifer sympathizer and Crowley wants her dead. Bottom line, they all hate Crowley, and she’s willing to torture him to get Sammy his soul back. So the boys reluctantly agree to team up, and even take back the demon killing knife. 

 The boys need a little help locating Crowley, so they call upon Castiel, whose been a little MIA. When he doesn’t come upon first call, Sam lies about finding the Ark of the Covenant, but when Cas comes and he can’t deliver he goes to leave, Sam promises that he will hunt and kill the angel if he doesn't help out. Can we say worse idea ever? But he’s suddenly seeming like he actually wants his soul back even if Castiel and Crowley agree it’s kind of a bad thing.

His soul’s been trapped in hell with Michael and Lucifer all this time, and they’ve been taking their frustrations out on it the entire time. His soul is in shreds, and it’s a good likelihood that if Sammy does get his soul back he’ll be drooling in the corner. But onward he pushes.

As the boys research, Castiel watches porn, curious to see why the pizza boy was repeatedly slapping the babysitter’s bottom. Hilarious, and awkward.

Once learning the location of Crowley’s prison, the boys, Cas and Meg make it inside, but Crowley’s got hellhounds guarding the place. Meg’s gonna cause a diversion while the guys get away. She plants a wet one on Cas, stealing his angel blade, and he kisses her back harder, the way he learned from the pizza boy.

Samuel Campbell betrays the boy, giving Crowley a heads up that they’re coming his way. And he finally reveals why he’s been Crowley’s bitch all season, Crowley plans to bring back Mary if Samuel cooperates. As the boys are locked up Dean promises to hunt him down and kill him.

Having no feelings finally comes in handy when Sam takes a bite out of himself. But its for a good cause, he uses the blood to draw a devil’s trap on the ceiling of his cell. Not only getting himself free, but he manages to free Dean as well.

Demon Christian tortures Meg for some information, which does him no good, and Dean kills him for his trouble. Turns out Meg is much better at whole torturing thing, when she turns her charms on Crowley, he ends up spills the beans on ole Sammy’s soul.

And when it became apparent that Crowley could do no more for Sam, Cas arrives bones in hands, ready for a little bonfire, and its bye bye King of Hell. I’m more than a little sad about that one.

Sam decides he doesn’t want his soul back, he’s fine without it, and it’s too damaged, whereas Dean wants nothing more than to have his brother back, soul and all.  Instead of getting into the Impala in the end, Sam walks away. I don’t blame him for not wanting it, but at the same time, he can’t keep down the path he’s on.

Saying goodbye is never easy, and in an apocalyptic world it can be even harder. In the aftermath of the attack on the camp, they start the episode off getting rid of the corpses, in separate burials, their dead and the others. Andrea is obviously grief-stricken, unable to let go of her baby sister, and because of that we get to see the first reanimation.

Andrea sat there apologizing to her sister as Amy’s eyes opened and she began to twitch and the panic level in everyone else began to rise. She says “I always thought there’d be more time,” tearfully, and Amy is beginning to reach for her, she tells her she loves her and then calmly blew her brains out.

The rift between Rick and Shane grows. Shane lashes out at Rick, blaming the deaths of Ed, Amy and ultimately Jim on him, had he and his little gun-running crew been there, those deaths would have been avoided. But Rick fires back, had they not gone for the guns, then more could have been lost. But it doesn’t really matter, because they were lost, and nothing can be done about it now.

And the tragedies didn’t stop there. Jacqui revealed that Jim had been bitten during the zombie attack as well. He’s slowly dying it won’t be too long before he becomes a zombie, but they don’t shoot him, they leave him by the side of the road as they head towards the CDC in search of answers.

Inside the CDC there is someone still at the CDC, Jenner is still working on a cure, but he appears to be the only one left.

The group finally make it to the CDC, but the doors are locked. Jenner tells them to go away, but Rick pleads as the zombies surround them. They know that the whole mission was reckless and impulsive, but they needed answers and they needed hope. Jenner, asks if they’re sure they want this, and of course the group does, though surely they don’t know what they’re actually asking for as the doors open in a wash of bright light.

Released: 3/20/07                    456 pages                         

Publisher: EOS

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 978-0060788384

Rachel is back in Cincinnati, with more problems than ever before. She’s brought home the focus for safety, and not only do the Weres and Vampire seek to possess it, so does one tricksy elf and one dubious demon. But the focus isn’t the only problem when Al goes on a rampage, the very vampire that nearly destroyed her is cut loose to protect the city.

The twists and turns are rough and heart rending in this one, and the little bit of sunshine and hope that Rachel has is horrendously smashed to little bitty pieces.

Rachel and Ivy’s relationship is again on focus in the series, greatly weighing it down, with everyone telling Rachel to just sleep with Ivy. Honestly I liked Ivy in the beginning, the angsty vampire in need of saving, but if Kisten or any male for that matter pulled half the crap Ivy pulls, Rachel would have staked them long ago. Rachel wants to save everyone, but some people are not worth saving if it means losing yourself completely.

The demons are expanded a little more, with Newt leaking knowledge in her crazy way, and there’s a little Ceri time, which means getting a little more on elves. David looks to be stepping into a larger role, and for a lone wolf, he’s slowly finding himself surrounded, and stepping up in his role of Alpha.

The plotting while intriguing, some of the timing was off. The world is always well written, but I’m not sure if it was the shocking blow this one delivers, or that so many crucial elements took place in the background and were merely discussed. Rachel appears stronger than ever, and that’s always a good thing. Because the story was so good, I’m willing to give a few inconsistencies a pass so long as the next one ties up the loose ends of this plot a little better.

And then there are the first casualties. Sure there are zombies, and it’s kind of expected, but did it have to be so touching too?

At camp, Andrea announces that tomorrow is Amy’s birthday, and Jim is digging graves. He had a dream that they would need the graves. He’s totally losing it, and the camp has to resort to tying him to a tree, total zombie bait.

In Atlanta, Rick, Glenn, T-Dog and Daryl search for Merle. He isn’t where they left him, only his hand is. Daryl shows that his racist streak is just a prevalent as his brother’s, but he’s more useful, and a far better team player than Merle is. And Daryl proves that he’s a badass, taking out walkers even after he gets injured.

The guys continue their search for Merle, believing that he was with a local gang in the area. In fact, the whole episode his presence looms over, but he’s never seen. After finding out that his brother is not with them, Daryl still helps Rick rescue Glenn, who’s taken hostage by them.

What they find instead is the Vatos have gathered their elderly, and others abandoned when the city fell prey to the undead. They end up splitting their gun cache with them, and they guys head back.

At camp around the fire, everyone is gathered. For a second it seems like a perfect moment, and then the moment passes. The zombies begin attacking out of nowhere. They take out bigot Ed, and sweet Amy. And the guys make it back in time to kill a few, but the damage is already done.

Supernatural pays homage to the X-files ­complete with a hilarious themed open, pitch perfect music, and alien encounters.

Sam and Dean are investigating some disappearances, but Sam is driving Dean a little crazy with all his questions, since his morality compass is kinda broken. Dean finally tells him to just pretend like he has a soul, and they separate to do some more investigating.

Things take a turn for the worse, for Dean as he investigates a crop circle. A bright light arrives, and Dean freaks, worried he’s about to have a close encounter. Robo Sam mocks Dean over the phone warning”

While investigating the crop circle a bright light arrives and Dean freaks out because he's having a close encounter. The whole time soulless Sam is on the phone mocking Dean because he doesn't care. "You better run, man. I think the fourth kind is a butt thing." Sam tells him right before he gets abducted.

With Dean off with the aliens, Soulless Sam heads off to check out some UFO nuts. There he meets a girl and he hooks up with her. He totally used Dean’s abduction to score. It went something like this: "Your brother was abducted?" "Yeah." "Oh my God!" "It's fine. I mean, I've had time to adjust." "Did it happen when you were a kid?" "No, like half an hour ago." Sam is pretty hilarious this episode.

Dean returns to find them in a compromising position. Sam tries to offer Dean comfort, but it’s just awkward. And Dean tries to get Sam to see how wrong it was to go hook up with some random when his brother was getting probed. But Sam just didn’t get it, thinking he did enough. "What about when they're no more leads for the night. I mean are you just supposed to sit there in the dark and suffer even when there's nothing to be done at that moment?" "Yes." "What?" "Yes. You sit in the dark and you...you feel the loss." "Absolutely, but couldn't I just...do all that and have sex with the hippie chick?" "No!" And then he’s off again, leaving Dean alone in the motel room.

But he’s not alone for long before the bright lights are back. His encounter this time comes in the form of a fluttering ball of light, a fairy. Dean has a serious smack down with the fairy, chaos, and awesomeness rolled into one. All the while David Bowie’s Space Oddity is playing. Dean comes out victorious after throwing the little bug into the microwave and nuking it.

Once they know what they’re after, the boys seek out a crazy fairy loving lady to find out how to fight the fairies. While drinking out of tiny tea cups, the boys learn five simple rules. 1) Only people who have been to the fairy realm and back can see them; 2) To win favor, leave a bowl of fresh cream for them; 3) Fairies hate iron; 4) They burn when touched with silver; 5) If you spill sugar or salt in front of them, no matter how powerful they are, they must stoop to count each grain.

Later Dean is followed by a fairy.  He hides, before he mounts his attack on a little person he calls a fairy. Due to the fairy’s trickery, he’s arrested, because the person he attacked is actually the DA. As Dean is hauled away he shouts “Fight the Fairies! You fight those fairies!”

Sam is left to solve the case on his own. He figures it out that this all started with the watch maker. He made a deal with a leprechaun because he could no longer make them. The leprechaun had the elves help him, in exchange for his first born, but they didn’t just stop with his.

The leprechaun offers Sam a deal to restore his soul, but Sam spills some salt, and while the leprechaun is distracted he sends all the fairies back to their universe.

In the end Dean asks him why he didn’t take the deal to get his soul back, and Sam claims that making deals is never a good thing, but Dean wonders if Sam is having second thoughts about getting his soul back, but Sam says he isn’t though he doesn’t sound very sure of that.

Released: July 2010 355 pages
Publisher: New American Library
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-451-23064-5



Merit became a vampire, not against her will, but couldn’t really say no since she was unconscious and dying. It’s not what she would have chosen, but has decided to embrace it.


I love this heroine. She’s headstrong, sexy, intelligent, and flawed. She embraces her new strength and speed, continuing to become the best fighter in Cadogan House. You won’t want a hero saving this female. She’ll fight along side any man and probably end up saving him. She makes the difficult decisions and sticks to them. She’s the complete package.

Merit’s life is anything but calming down. An old nemesis continues to threaten, an ignored desire demands attention, a new mystery must be solved, and new friendships are made. Sounds like a lot going on, but the book reads smoothly thanks to its author, Chloe Neill. Since the series is narrated by Merit, we are able learn the rules of her new life as she learns them. Rather than taking precious time to explain how a noviate and Sentinel is suppose to act, we learn through Merit’s mistakes, challenges, and friendships.

Speaking of friendships, Merit is grieving over her fallout with best friend, Mallory. Mallory is the only person that truly understands what Merit has gone through with her wealthy, high society parents. A lifestyle that Merit shuns yet is coerced back into for the sake of her new House by the Cadogan House Master, Ethan Sullivan.

Ethan is difficult to read sometimes, but that is because we see him through Merit’s eyes. Darth Sullivan, as Mallory calls him, is impressed by Merit’s determination, strategy, and though he won’t admit it, her constant defiance toward him. Merit is drawn to Ethan for his, well…his looks. Loyalty and protectiveness of his people are also a plus, but she also creates a distance when she sees similarities of her father. There is a political hierarchy with the vampire houses and human society. Ethan plays this role perfectly and will use whatever means are at his disposal.


That currently means Merit is loaned to Gabriel, Apex (alpha) of the North American Central Pack of shape-shifters, to be head of security at a convocation that will decide whether the pack stays in Chicago or retreats to the wilderness of Alaska. Ethan wants the pack to stay, power in numbers if there was ever a human uprising against vampires. The shifters consider leaving to avoid possibly being outed and part of a war if humans attack. Of course, there is someone, or someones, that want the shifters to leave the city and will kill to make that happen. There are fires, gunshots, hand-to-hand fighting, and also some killing. It may sound like this book is all serious, but as always, we have comic relief provided by Merit’s friends, Catcher, Lindsay, Mallory and a few others within the Cadogan House. Catcher’s dry sarcastic comments on everything from Ethan’s behavior to chocolate to Mallory’s growing powers (she’s a witch), and furniture rearranging had me chuckling throughout the entire book. And let’s not forget Neill’s talent for lively banter among all her characters.

I really enjoyed this book. Merit shares a story about an autographed baseball from her childhood that gives insight to her determination even when she is tormented by the outcome. We get to delve more into what has molded Merit into the person she is today. And just like Ethan, that mold is still pliable. I particularly like how we see the strengths and weakness of Merit and Ethan beginning to affect changes in the other, most of the time for the better. And of course, we get to indulge in Merit’s affair with food.

The episode opens on Merle, still in the predicament he was left in the previous episode. He’s still handcuffed on the roof, surrounded by dead held back by a single chain. It’s a tough situation, but there’s hope he’s gonna make it, just not in one piece, as he eyes a hand saw.

Rick was finally reunited with his family, which a bit of a surprise for Lori. She thought he was dead, which leads her to question a little what’s been happening with Shane.

But for the moment it’s a very happy reunion, until Rick and the others return to the city to retrieve the guns that had to be left behind. The camp is going to need them if they’re going to survive. And there’s also Merle. The camp is actually looking to save him. Plus, Rick wants to warn Morgan and Duane that Atlanta is not safe. So Glenn, Rick and Merle’s brother Daryl head to Atlanta.

Back at camp, Lori gives Shane the cold shoulder, for his horrible lie. It’s left pretty open how the lie was delivered, but there’s no doubt that the little love affair they had is definitely over.

It’s wash day at camp, and that task falls to the women. Ed sits around smoking, Shane and Carl frog hunting, as the women wash everyone’s clothes. The women laughed and bonded over missing vibrators and other luxuries, seemed to anger Ed. He lashed out at the group and proceeded to beat his wife in front of them.

And Shane came to the rescue, using Ed’s outburst as the perfect reason to take out his frustrations all over Ed’s face. Everyone’s emotions are running high, with the possibility of being a zombie’s lunch likely at any moment.  When a zombie falls upon their venison dinner, again we see an unnecessary overkill of emotion as the guys mangle the zombie.

And, the zombie coming so close to camp leads to further problems. The camp is no longer safe, it’s only a matter of time before more zombies show up. Shane is acting as leader at the moment, but he’s not thinking clearly. He wants to stay, but it’s almost as if it’s just to make a point, not because he truly believes it to be the right decision.

Crowley has a new case for the boys. He wants them to find the Alpha responsible for animalistically ripping out the heart of his businessman. Dean and Sam bristle a little, but Crowley dangles Sam’s soul and they run off to do his bidding.

 Sam and Dean are on the road investigating the case, but Dean's not comfortable working for the King of Hell; while nothing really bothers Sam. He admits it's a bad  situation, but if it gets his soul back, what’s the problem. Robo Sam tackles case head on. He’s extremely cold when he questions possible suspects, jumps to conclusions, wanting to hurry and bag the suspect, Cal the boyfriend of the woman around which these events have occurred, even though he doesn’t really have proof the guy’s behind it.

The signs point to a werewolf, even though it isn’t a full moon, and that would be completely off base, if we and the boys hadn’t see other monsters behaving differently. But it isn’t. It’s a skinwalker in the guise of the family pet, a German Shepherd  named Lucky. He lives with Cal and Mandy, and Mandy and her son treat him really well, so well that he’s become overly protective of Mandy and gets rid of any threat to her, including Cal.

When Sam and Dean figure out that it is a skinwalker they’re hunting they chase down Lucky who gets hit by a car and ends up in a animal hospital.  There Dean and Sam grab him and make him spill the beans.He’s a homeless man that was recruited into this life to infiltrate families and create more skinwalkers when the time is right. But he’s come to love and care for his family, he’s even fallen for Mandy.

Sam and Dean decide to use Lucky to set up a sting operation to catch the others, but their plan backfires. The other skinwalkers have kidnapped Mandy and her son and they want Lucky to kill them to prove his loyalty. Dean plans to kill the pack leader to save the family, even if it angers Crowley, and the boys take down the pack.

Having been outted as the family dog, Lucky goes to Mandy’s house and thanks her for the kindness she showed him. She’s obviously angry that he lied to her, and he turns back into a down leaving alone.

Dean wants Sam to stop pretending that everything is alright that he’s the old Sam. And Sam admits he’s not that person. He's been acting like he cares about Lisa and Ben; he doesn't. Heck, he doesn't even care about Dean. He said he's killed innocent people in the name of duty;  maybe he should feel guilty that but doesn't.  And part of him thinks this lack of feeling thing isn't that bad, that the other Sam had it harder because he could feel. But as much as he says he’s ready to get his soul back, it sounds like he’s saying what he thinks Dean wants to hear.

Released: 11/1/10  Pages: 141
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Subterranean
ISBN: 978-1596063280

The latest offering in Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld, follows Paige as she, Lucas and Savannah investigate the recent deaths at a Superntural fight ring.

Maybe not the most original premise, but its pretty good. Lucas and Paige have been growing apart, and its a little heartbreaking to see, since we've seen the relationship grow since Dime Store Magic. But as Paige gets deeper into the case, and the distance between Lucas grows you wonder if the gap can ever be bridged.

This is definitely a bonus story, easy enough for a new reader to get into, and a lovely morsel for fans. The relationship is written in a way that not only is it believable, but also it doesn't weigh the story down.

The plot isn't as tight as I normally expect from Ms. Armstrong, nor are the supporting characters, and the ending, it left a little to be desired. But the interactions between well loved characters like Savannah more than make up for it.

Last time we saw Rick he was in the tank, and he’d received a call over the radio, turns out that voice wasn’t alone. The zombies had Rick surrounded, but he somehow made it out, after a little running and into what may become a bigger mess in a department store.

The group he’s landed into isn’t exactly a cohesive, and a big part of that is because of bigot Merle, who was such a hindrance he ended up cuffed on the roof.  The group is in the city for supplies. Usually only, Glenn, the smart-aleck from the radio, comes to the city because he’s faster on his own, but he can’t carry many supplies. He seems like the bright point. He cracks jokes to lighten the mood, and he’s braved the streets the most.

There’s also Andrea, who isn’t as good with a gun as she would like to think, which is unfortunate when she’s tested, but she kept a level head amidst the chaos.

T-Dog, has a temper he has trouble controlling, but he also has a good heart and is looking out for everyone around him.

But Merle tried to explain that even though “your kind” and “my kind” should be mixing, doesn’t mean they can’t work together to pacify Rick.  But it doesn’t work. He’s not very pleasant, and I have to wonder why the group brought him along in the first place.

Glenn and Rick go to recover some of the guns that Rick had to leave behind when the zombies surrounded him, which was the most nerve racking scene. Covered in zombie stink they walked unnoticed into the horde, but when the thunder rolled, there was a sense of dread. The rain would ruin their guise. So once again there is lots of running to safety, this time to a truck to get everyone the heck out of dodge, err, Atlanta.

In the end, they lose the key, and when they’re forced to abandon the building as the zombies come in, T-Dog makes an effort to chain up the door and hopefully keep Merle safe. Glenn runs diversion, making lots of noise to get the zombies to follow him, and follow him they do, as everyone else gets away.

And Glenn makes it away too, driving a mustang, to mirror Rick’s entrance into Atlanta.

Sam awakens, feeling like he was hit by a freight truck, in the form of his brother, he’s tied up with Dean and Castiel looking for some answers. Sam has none to give, so Castiel sticks his fingers inside to see what he finds, and he finds nothing. Sam is, as was feared, soulless. And Castiel is off to see where it is.

After doing some checking they find that it’s still trapped in Hell in the cage with both Lucifer and Michael. Probably not the best place for it.

Grandpa Samuel Campbell, who does have a soul, is working for Crowley; he’s behind the whole Alpha round up. Crowley is the one that brought back Sam san soul, and he’s the one that pulled out Samuel as well. But it’s not revealed why Samuel is doing Crowley’s bidding.

Big surprise, well not so much since he was kinda of a douche, but Christian is a demon. He was sent to make sure Samuel and crew did Crowley’s bidding. Crowley is looking for purgatory, and the Alpha’s are gonna lead him to it, and he wants Sam and Dean to help too.

He’s holding Sam’s soul hostage, and once he has the location he’ll snap his fingers and give it back, you know just like he did Bobby’s. And if not, he’ll send Sam back to hell. All Crowley wants is the souls of purgatory, as the Alpha vamp says its “filled with the soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this earth."

The war in heaven is getting serious, which explains the lack of Castiel. He tells the boys that he’ll be in touch.

Crowley implies that Samuel knows more than he’s letting on, and the Alpha Vampire talks about his mother, which I’m guessing we don’t want to meet, but will.

 And finally even though Dean is down he’s not out. In this episode we finally see Dean taking control back. He tells Sam how things are gonna be, that if he wants to work together then Dean is gonna call the shots. Which makes sense since Sam can’t tell right from wrong anymore.

 Sam goes “undercover” to talk with Samuel, trying to pump him for some information, but Samuel doesn’t fall for it, so Sam actives the GPS in Samuel’s phone to find out the location of the Alpha Vampire. Sam returns to the Impala, and Dean is more than a little surprised to see he came back.

...opened the 2010 Seattle ZomBCon. He was dressed in his finest Red and black suit because he was ‘performing Zombie weddings later in the day.’ He never really needs to explain his wardrobe to me. He can pull off anything.



The entire cast of The Evil Dead was there led, of course, by Bruce. As you can see in the video, his sarcastic humor sometimes leaves you wondering if he really isn’t joking and thinks we’re all weirdos.


It took me 3 hours, but I finally got to the man, Bruce. He asked me, “What are you doing? And I replied, “I’m getting your autograph.” How dumb can I be? Pretty dumb it appears. I should have stayed a redhead for 1 more week. Then, I might not have felt like a dumb blonde when he replied, “Uh, no. What are you doing for a living?” That’s right, I don’t even have to try, embarrassment follows me where ever I go.













Luckily, the conversation could only get better from there. He asked what I did for a living and his eyes widened when I told him I worked in veterinary critical care and internal medicine. He asked about the animals I help and thanked me because he felt my profession rarely gets thanked.





At the end, I asked if he had heard his name was mentioned during the True Blood panel at Comic Con. He hadn’t and asked what happened. I told about a character, Bubba, that the fans want on the show, but Alan Ball doesn’t want an Elvis impersonator and didn’t know of an actor that could play Bubba. Then someone suggested Bruce Campbell and the entire room cheered for him. He seemed flattered, but hadn’t heard anything from Alan Ball yet. I think we need to make this a reality.


They announced at the signing that Bruce was going back on stage after autographs to show us “10 Ways to Kill a Zombie.” Unfortunately, I could only stay a short time because I had to work, so I missed that.

ZomBCon was the most disorganized event I’ve been to. The events started out with lines, but when the ushers left, everyone just rushed for the front. There were no chains or barriers for the lines to weave through so the rude people in back just pushed their way through the line. Even though I started in the second line, I ended up in the sixth line.

Overall, I enjoyed my brief 3 minutes with Bruce and chatting with all the crazies in line with me. I was disappointed to find that everyone charges for autographs at ZomBcon. I had just been at Comic Con a few months prior and the autographs were free. Since I was short on time and funds, I wasn’t able get the entire cast to sign my Evil Dead poster, so that bites (no pun intended). I definitely don’t regret going because, I’ll tell you again...I met Bruce Campbell.

AMC has another sure hit on their hands! The much anticipated Walking Dead premiered last night. As a long time reader of the comic I was filled with both excitement and trepidation. How could they capture the boldness, the heart of this brilliant and captivating series?

Well to start with the brilliant Robert Kirkman, the man behind the comics, is on board. As well as Frank Darabont of the Shawshank Redemption fame. And a fantastic cast including, Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies.

This first episode sticks pretty close to the comics, with Rick waking up alone in a hospital, with no knowledge of what the heck happened, but added so much more.

The moment with Morgan and his son was heartbreaking, as he couldn't kill his zombie wife, and she continued to come the home she knew in life, to tried to open the door. Or Rick, trying to save a little lost girl, only to realize she was the exact thing he was hiding from. Little moments like these brought the heartbreaking reality of this horrible world.

The acting was wonderful, capturing both the strength and the vulnerabilities of their characters. I love how Rick isn't your typical Zombie movie hero. He's strong and capable, intelligent, but he's so focused on getting to his family, that he almost doesn't survive the first episode. The show is graphic, the death of Rick's horse was beyond brutal, and make me a little gleeful that AMC wasn't going to shy away from the darkness that comics delved into. It was a wonderful visonary feast, and I cannot wait for the next episode!

A waitress asks for the truth, and she gets far more than she was expecting, from everyone. Unable to take the full weight of everyone’s confessions she commits suicide, and she’s the first death of many. There’s also the dentist, who drills his patient to death when he reveals that he lust’s after said dentist’s daughter. And everyone learns some hard and sometimes hilarious truths.

Bobby’s truth: he likes to be pampered, so much so that he gets regular pedicures. Dean is his favorite, and theres a juicy tidbit about his first girlfriend, that we miss.

All the while investigating Dean’s very uncomfortable around Sam, to the point that he doesn’t even want to ride with him. Instead of following up on a lead, Dean chooses to instead stay and do research, very unDean-like.

And to make matters worse Dean’s drinking. You know it’s bad when he drowns his sorrows, and he has many.  His brother may be back, but he’s not the man he know. He’s like a total robot, super focused and devoid of emotion. Lisa still remains out of contact, he’s still working on what happened when he was a vamp. Outside of a couple of phone calls from Bobby and the chance sighting of Castiel, he’s essentially alone.  

Dean and Lisa finally talk via phone, and what she had to say is brutal. The truth doesn’t always set you free, most of the time it manages to mess you up more. Lisa knew Dean had issues, but once Sam returned she knew that his twisted codependent relationship with Sam would take him away. She pointed out that the relationship is completely unhealthy and that she and Ben would not be a part of his life. The look on his face said it all, that was a bigger blow to him, than any could have expected, even if he knew it was coming.

And the hard truths weren’t done. He confronts Sam about letting him get turned, but Sam claims he froze and Dean accepts it. Because everyone is being forced to tell the truth, so Sam must be as well, but I’m not so sure of that.

Finally the boys make it into the Goddess’ lair, which is in desperate need of a maid. There are body parts everywhere. But Veritas, the goddess of truth, quickly captures the boys. Veritas asks Dean what he thinks of his brother, and he has no choice but to answer.

At one point he wanted to kill him, because he thought he was a monster. But he’s come to realize that they’re acting the same way, that void, that one track mind about hunting. He goes further confessing  that he thought he wanted to have a regular life, but he realizes he can’t, he’s just a killer.

Veritas focuses on Sam, but realizes that he’s not affected by her. He can still lie, that perhaps everything he says is a lie, which means that he cannot be human, though she doesn’t know what he is. The boys manage to get free and kill Veritas, but her damage has been done. Dean pulls a knife on Sam, and its finally real confession time.

Since he’s returned he feels nothing. He’s a better hunter because there are no emotions getting in the way. He pleads that he needs help, and Dean loses it. He’s angry about so many things, and punching Sam in the face repeatedly seems like the right thing.

You read right. Turns out one of our favorite resident werewolves, Joe Manganiello who plays Alcide on True Blood, is just as scruffy and sexy in person, and he has a hidden talent. He DJs.


For those of us not lucky enough to have caught his act in college, he gave a little show last night in Santa Clara for the Pinkberry Opening, giving us yet another reason to love Pinkberry, decides the deliciousness they serve.

Joe swirled up free yogurt for a few lucky patrons, the rest was still rewarded with good ole free Pinkberry served by their perky employees.

Before spinning a few records, Joe took pictures with fans and signed autographed anything that was presented to him.

And the big softy that Joe is, he went down on his knees on the concrete to chat with his youngest fan while he signed her poster. He even asked for her autograph, which she gladly gave him.

If you want to check out more pictures from the event you can see them at out Flickr album!

Released: 10/26/10 304 pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1607063278

The saga of survivors in a post apocalyptic zombie filled world continues with the story arcs of "Fear the Hunters" and "Life Among Them." Our hero Rick, is somewhat more himself. Last we saw him, he'd pretty much given up, but he's baaack.

Growing up is never easy, but its especially hard when you're constantly in fear of your life. And as much as the story has focused on the adults so far, we also get a glimpse how the dire circumstances of the world have had on the children.

And as if the dead walking among them wasn't bad enough, the group finds religion, and a shady man of the cloth, and that's not all. There's also an extremist group who wishes to take a bite out of them, literally.

The second half of the book finds the group back on the road to D.C. and they end up at a new community, which seems too good to be true. Kids are playing with no fear, safety all around, hell, there are cocktail parties here, when they've been starving on the road. This place seems like heaven compared to what they've experienced so far, and needless to say they're more than a little wary of it all. And I can't blame them after the year they've had.

This six book covers issues #61-72, and keeps the standards just as high as the previous 60. The plotting is tight, the arcs are magnificent with a wonderful natural flow. The characters are fleshed out, and believable, and the artwork continues to be superb.

Plain Jane flannel wearing Kristen fawns over the pale brooding Robert. His every word is all angst, and longing, and she eats it all up letting him lure her into an alley where a vampire is waiting.

Sam goes off to gather information, while Dean phones home to Lisa, telling her he’ll be home once this case is wrapped. The boys go to Kristen’s room, to search for clues and they’re all over her walls literally. She’s obsessed with all things vampire. Her room is filled with red velvet and twilight-esque everything everywhere. The boys come to the easy conclusion that real vampires are cashing in on the twi-mania.

Back at the bar, and last place Kristen was seen Dean and Sam see two suspicious pretty boys, and they split up to go after “Efron” and “Bieber.” Dean saves the girl, but gets a mouthful of vamp blood, as Sam sits by and watches the entire thing.

Back at the motel, Sam locks Dean in the bathroom. Poor guy is feeling the full effects of the vamp juice. He breaks free of the bathroom, and goes to see Lisa, doing the exactly, creepy, rapey thing he was making fun of vampires doing earlier, he watches he sleep. When she awakens he tells her his life is ugly and violent and doesn’t want that for her or Ben. He says goodbye, but Ben interrupts his leaving, and Dean shoves him out of the way.

But all is not lost, Grandpa Campbell says that there’s a cure, in fact he’s disappointed that Sam didn’t tell Dean about it earlier. It’s simple, Dean cannot drink a drop of human blood for it to work, and he needs the blood of the vampire who changed him. They can use this opportunity to infiltrate the vampire nest and gather intel on the alpha vampire.

Just like any other time, Dean quickly adapts to a sticky situation, but he’s still at a disadvantage with Boris, the vampire that changed him, until all of the vampires collapse. Dean included. He sees and hears the Alpha. By the time Grandpa and Sam catch up, Dean is not only up, but he’s taken care of the entire nest, Boris included.

Grandpa gives Dean the cure, and as he goes through its effects he has a vision. Dean sees not only that Sam watched Boris give him blood, but that he could have stopped it, which leaves him with no one. Lisa won’t return his calls after his little visit, the Campbells are crazy, and he’s not sure where Sam’s loyalties lie.