That’s right. Forget it. Who cares if someone in Germany got a hold of DEAD EVER AFTER and spoiled the ending on Amazon.com. (I won’t post it because you can easily google it. And yes — I read the spoiler.)

One scientist even says that spoilers don’t spoil a story. (In full disclosure this report on the scientist was written by my husband — a science writer!)

But I’m mostly ticked off at the number of fans who have been trashing Charlaine Harris — the creator of the  Southern Vampire series and who has given us these wonderful characters. (Just go check out her FB page and see some of the nasty comments. Be warned — you’ll see the spoiler.) They don’t like the ending. Cry me a river. You try writing a series and ending it so that everyone is happy. It’s her story. Let her tell it.

Here’s what Charlaine posted on her Facebook page:

“By now some of you know that a reader in Germany obtained a copy of DEAD EVER AFTER and decided to post the ending online. While this is unfortunate, I wanted to say this to all of you: Even if you *personally* are unhappy with the ending, please don’t spoil it for other readers. DEAD EVER AFTER goes on sale on May 7th; after that date, you are more that welcome to come here and tell me how much you like – or don’t like – the choices I’ve made for Sookie. But from one Sookie fan to another, I’m asking you all to please not spoil the book for other readers. Thank you so much for your continued support.”

We can all cite books and series of books in which we didn’t like how the story unfolded or we were disappointed at the ending.  We talk about it a lot. I blog about books I like and don’t like. But this is different. Folks have been downright rude and threatening.  Maybe you should read the book first to see how the story unfolds before declaring you aren’t going to buy it. Of course, that’s your choice as a reader. But have some respect for this wonderful author.

I find it sad that Charlaine Harris isn’t going to tour with this last book because she’s concerned about her fans’ reaction to the ending. Personally, I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to talk to a bunch of ungrateful, whiny readers, either. I certainly wouldn’t mind hearing why she ended the book the way she did, but I don’t think we’ll be getting that interview right away. I think Charlaine Harris will just want to keep out of the spotlight and work on her next creation. In the meantime, I am very excited about the May 7 release and will be reading it as soon as it hits my iPad!

In other Sookie news: Charlaine Harris told SciFiNow that there would be devils in this book: “

The plot will also feature the Devil. “Well, there’s a Devil, not the Devil,” Harris clarifies, “If I have the fae, some of whom are trying to become Angels, I think by implication it can be assumed that there are Devils, too.” To read the entire article — check out her comments on a HEA — CLICK HERE.

Been reading on several websites that actor Jason Mamoa, who played Khal Drogo on the first season on GAME OF THRONES, has been cast as   Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.  According to several reports (this one from Examiner.com): “Mamoa was called in to screen test for James Gunn’s upcoming superhero film and delivered such a positive performance that the studio went ahead and offered him the part.”

The film is due out in August 2014. (Photos courtesy of HBO and Wikipedia)

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

ICED is intriguing but I will say there is a kind of “ick” factor to it that I hope will smooth out as Dani grows up.

Dani’s story takes place right after SHADOWFEVER and so we know:

•  Cruce  is imprisoned under the Abbey.

• Mac has found out Dani’s part in her sister Alina’s murder.

•  Christian is turning into an Unseelie Prince.

• The walls between the human world and the Fae have come down.

Dani is still as fearless as ever. She carries the Sword of Light, one of the only two weapons that can kill the Fae. And she’s still a super fast sidhe-seer. None of this goes unnoticed by Ryodan, the owner of Chester’s. Yes, he is one of  Barron’s men — or whatever they are. Ryodan forces Dani to work for him after a hoarfrost monster “ices” part of his club. The same monster is icing parts of the city, killing both humans and Fae. And that forms the basis for the plot — who or what is freezing the hell out of everything — that brings Dani. Ryo and Christian together.

In the Fever books, Dani annoyed me because she — well — just seemed to always be bugging Mac. Here she sort of still bugs me with her constant jabbering and eating — to keep up her super fast speed — but I like her a lot better because she just tries so hard to do the right thing and protect not just humans but those she loves.

One thing that is throwing me for a loop? Dani’s age. She’s 14. But she’s got two older beings after her. Both Ryodan and Christian see her potential and know she’ll grow up to be an amazing woman. And it’s kind of creepy to see them either directly going after her (Christian) or making weird comments that obviously have a double meaning (Ryodan). And Ryodan’s extracurricular behavior — even if he really does care about Dani — is gross. Blech. Won’t even go there. (Suffice to say I feel really sorry for Jo.) Dani seems kind of clueless right now about these affections. She knows somethings going on but because she’s a confused teen can’t figure it out. It would work better if she weren’t confused about guys — whatever they are — who are tons older than she is. (Thank goodness for Dancer. He balances things out but does he stand a chance?)

Mac and Barrons are definitely in the book. And if you’re like me and usually turn to the last page of the book first — don’t do it. (I actually didn’t do it this time so avoided what I kind of figured was coming!)

Fever fans will want to pick this up to keep up with the weird world KMM continues to create.

I also want to see where KMM takes Dancer. He’s always there for Dani and is the sexy smart nerd boy who might grow up to be something else?

The next book in the Dani trilogy is titled BURNED. No clue on when that’s due out. Hoping this fall.

(Sorry this has taken me so long to post. Been swamped with the day job but am back vamp blogging now! — Diana)

Sorry for the lag between posts. Wish I could say I was out time traveling but it was something more mundane: work! However, I’m back. So here’s a look at my fave reads from last year and what I’m looking forward to reading in 2013. (This is part of a post I did for my friends at www.sookiestackhouse.com. You can read their faves here!) Did I miss any of your faves? Let me know in the comments section. Happy New Year!

MY FAVE 2012 BOOKS:

1. Poison Princess (Book No. 1 in Arcana Chronicles) by Kresley Cole (This is a YA book but it’s a combo of a dystopian world/Tarot card characters and a smoking hot attraction between the heroine and lead male character. Great read.)

2. Iced (Dani O’Malley series No. 1) by Karen Marie Moning (Ending is predictable but I just wanna know more about the Fever world!)

3. Deadlocked (Sookie book No. 12) By Charlaine Harris. (Coming off the disappointing Dead Reckoning, I liked this second-to-last book in the series.)

4. Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr (Promising start to a nifty series set in world of daimons vs. witches)

5. Days of Blood & Starlight (Book No. 2 of Daughter of Smoke and Bone) by Laini Taylor (Fantastic sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, whose opening line is “Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”)

BOOKS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO READING IN 2013:

1. Dead Ever After (Last of the Sookie books) by Charlaine Harris

2. Frost Burned (Book No. 7 of the Mercy Thompson series) by Patricia Briggs

3. Dead Silence (Book No. 4 in the Body Finder series) by Kimberly Derting

4. Endless Knight (Book No. 2 in the Arcana Chronicles) by Kresley Cole (tentative title)

5. Burned (Dani O’Malley Book No. 2) By Karen Marie Moning

THE FINAL SOOKIE STACKHOUSE NOVEL

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie — and could destroy her heart….

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated. Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime. But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

Here it is. The cover for the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series. Charlaine Harris revealed the new cover earlier in the week to USA TODAY. The 13th and final book in the series will be published May 7.

When asked why she was ending the series, Harris told USA TODAY:

“I felt that I’d told the story I set out to tell. I thought continuing it, which I could have done, would have been a disservice to readers who have stuck with me this long.”

Thoughts on the cover? I think it is bright. The colors pop more than on any other cover. All of her friends are on it — her shifter friends. She’s looking back at them. For support? To bid farewell? Is that a sunrise or a sunset? I think Sookie is wearing a lot of red — Eric’s fave color. Is she following the bats or saying goodbye to them? Are the bats leading her  somewhere or fly off? And what the heck does a rose, tomato and purple daisy signify? I’ll have to look those up for another post, but if you have any thoughts on this — post below!!

I’m a big fan of Melissa Marr’s books and so I couldn’t wait to read CARNIVAL OF SOULS, a tale that revolves around the mistrust and hatred between daimons and witches. It’s an intricate YA story — and it will hold your attention — but it’s not fully developed and Marr obviously has a sequel planned. Here’s the description from the book that’s posted online:

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures — if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father — and every other witch there — fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it’s only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

Marr’s story focuses on Mallory,  the daughter of the daimon ruler Marchosias. But she doesn’t know she’s a daimon. She thinks she’s a human because her mother let a witch — Adam — raise her in the human/witch world. He teaches her how to fight. And to fear and hate daimons. (Why did her mother give her up? Most daimon babies don’t survive the rough city.)

But other daimons — from the daimon world — have been hired by Mallory’s biological father and his enemies to find her. Mallory’s daimon father says she was stolen from him and wants her back. In the daimon world — daughters are meant for one thing — making little daimons. One of the searchers is a lower caste daimon named Kaleb. He finds Mallory and befriends her in the human/witch world.

But there are other story lines going on in Marr’s richly created world of daimons and witches, and if you aren’t paying attention it is easy to get lost in the different characters. There is Aya — who lives in the daimon world and has decided that despite her high-class birth, she will fight in a deadly competition that will let her help rule the city if she wins. She’s the only female to have ever entered and she is pitted against her former betrothed — Belias. Belias can’t understand why Aya won’t marry him, why she feels she has to fight (she does have a good reason!)  or why she doesn’t want to “breed.” He truly loves her and wants to protect her. This in itself or Mallory’s story alone would have held my attention, too. But Marr packs in the plot lines.

On top of this story, we learn more of Kaleb — called a cur in the book — and his packmate Zevi. The two are tight and are like brothers. Zevi heals Kaleb after each battle. We also have the back story of Mallory’s foster Dad — Adam — and his all-powerful sibling Evelyn.

I loved the different characters Marrs creates in this story. And the two worlds are so different, especially the daimon world with all of its rigid class structures. You realize that they are going to be part of the sequel or sequels. But I found toward the end that everything was speeding together too fast in the story. The ending was cramped. Another zinger plot point is flung in near the end of the story and all of a sudden — BAM — you are on the last page with a gigantic thud.

I was a bit flabbergasted at the way Marr just ended the story. Without spoiling anything, you know where the next book will pick up. I know this is what authors do now — especially in YA. But it’s a total downer to be left standing out there — giant cliff hanger — with such an abrupt ending. Despite it all — I really liked this story and want to know more. I would just advise you to wait until the sequel is out before reading CARNIVAL because then you won’t have to wait to find out what happens next.

If you like Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series for adults, you’re going to love POISON PRINCESS, her first   paranormal YA novel.

The story is dark — very dark — but Cole’s witty dialogue, creative new world and characters based on Tarot cards — the Arcana — and just the right amount of weird teen angst make this a page turner. Here’s Cole’s description from her website: (And scroll to the bottom to see YouTube video of her talking about the book!)

22 Arcana cards. 22 young assassins. May the best hand live.

Sixteen-year-old Evie Greene’s horrific hallucinations predicted the apocalypse, and the end of the world brought her all sorts of new powers. With the earth scorched and few survivors, Evie teams up with handsome and dangerous Jack Deveaux in a race to find answers. They discover that that an ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens have been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…

Her heroine is Evie — a popular Southern belle in high school who is dating a hunky quarterback and who seemingly has the world wrapped around her finger. But when we meet Evie, we are not in her cheerful high school world — but  in a different world — one that’s been laid to waste by something called the “Flash” with loved ones killed. It’s a world where lawless groups  roam the countryside. Zombie-like creatures are everywhere. And it’s literally every man – -because most women died in the “Flash”  — for himself. But when the story opens, Evie is being lured into an old house by a young man named Arthur, who is exceptionally cruel and evil — and a total mystery.

And that’s how Cole tells her tale. She alternates between the sadistic Arthur  and Evie’s past until we are caught up at the end and back in Arthur’s house. We go back in time to find out that her idyllic teen life wasn’t so perfect because Evie had visions of the end of the world. Her mother put her in an institute for the summer because she was worried Evie would follow in her grandmother’s footsteps — insanity. Or what Evie’s mother thought was insanity.

As Evie struggles to mainstream her way back into school and with friends, she meets bad boy Jackson Deveaux, a Cajun from the wrong side of the tracks who is fascinated by Evie and what is haunting her. They tug at each other — both repulsed and yet attracted to each other at first. It’s a pretty intense and hot relationship — just right for this story.

Cole weaves in the story of Evie’s visions — the strange creatures she sees. A witch, Death, a girl who shoots arrows and a boy who beckons to her as a friend. Bloody battles from ancient wars.  Evie sees desolate landscapes, death and oddly enough — plants. Evie is called the Empress in these visions and later on after the “Flash” but she doesn’t understand who or what she really is. Without giving too much away, I will say that Cole has based her characters on Tarot — what she calls the Arcana — cards. In the end, the story and subsequent books in this series will amount to a sort of THE HUNGER GAMES among these card characters. But the relationships are more complicated in this frightening post-apocalyptic world.

And then there’s Jackson — who is dark and handsome and not part of the Arcana — at least that we know in this first book. He seems to want to protect Evie, who — fast forward into the world after the “Flash” — is determined to find her grandmother, who was put away somewhere in North Carolina. Evie is convinced her grandmother is still alive and can help her figure out what her role as Empress should be in this new world.

Suffice to say, Cole leaves us with a giant cliffhanger and it’s going to be a long wait between this book and the sequel. But if the second book is anything like the first, it will be well worth the wait.

I wasn’t going to buy Karen Marie Moning’s FEVER MOON because I’m just not a big fan of book series I’ve read being turned into graphic novels. But my friends over at SookieStackhouse.com liked the novel so I thought I’d read it.

I should have trusted my gut. Didn’t care for it. Here’s the book blurb:

In Fever Moon, we meet the most ancient and deadly Unseelie ever created, the Fear Dorcha. For eons, he’s traveled worlds with the Unseelie king, leaving behind him a path of mutilation and destruction. Now he’s hunting Dublin, and no one Mac loves is safe.

Dublin is a war zone. The walls between humans and Fae are down. A third of the world’s population is dead and chaos reigns. Imprisoned over half a million years ago, the Unseelie are free and each one Mac meets is worse than the last. Human weapons don’t stand a chance against them.

With a blood moon hanging low over the city, something dark and sinister begins to hunt the streets of Temple Bar, choosing its victims by targeting those closest to Mac. Armed only with the Spear of Destiny and Jericho Barrons, she must face her most terrifying enemy yet.

The cool thing about the novel is you get the back story on the Fear Dorcha. But that’s it for me. The rest is — as billed — a retelling of some events that occur during SHADOWFEVER. And that’s OK.

But my biggest complaint? The characters are — well — drawn way out of character. Both Mac and Dani look too old. Mac looks like she’s a hard-bitten 30-something. And Dani — who is supposed to be a teen — looks like a 20-something. And I know graphic novels like to sex things up but some of the outfits they put Mac into — they are not Mac. Oh — and big continuity problem in one chapter. Mac sets off going to Chester’s in a green dress — and then we switch to a flashback scene — but when we return to the present Chester’s scene, she’s not wearing the green dress. She’s wearing a red dress. Maybe I missed something but it’s more likely someone missed something in editing this?

As for Barrons? Not a thing like I pictured. He sort of looks Asian at times. I was perfectly happy with his monster appearance though! I thought Inspector Jayne was handsome and I didn’t think of him as good-looking in the novels.

The artwork isn’t bad. It’s just that most of the characters looked too harsh and hard bitten. Even the Fae who are supposed to look shiny and gorgeous look like oafs.

Not sure I’d recommend it. I suppose diehard fans will go out and read it anyway! I did. Maybe you’ll like it. (Of course — these graphic novels are super fast reads. A plus!)

Here’s hoping Dani’s story — ICED – which comes out Oct. 30 — will be a more satisfying read!