From KC's Facebook page

I’ve been waiting for Kresley Cole to tell the Enemy of Old’s tale and we get it with LOTHAIRE. But I’m beginning to wonder if Cole is losing her touch with her Immortals After Dark series.

Her heroines and heroes used to be funny and goofy in an endearing way. Sure, her Alpha males are overbearing and oversexed but in previous novels she’s balanced that with humor,  romance and loyalty.

Lothaire continues what I think is a disturbing trend in Cole’s IAD series. This is the second book in the series where the hero abuses the heroine, and I just don’t think that’s cool.  (Remember how icky Declan was in DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR? See my review HERE.)

This time around, our heroine isn’t a supernatural but a mere mortal. Ellie — born and raised in Appalachia –  is possessed by a horribly weirdo demon named Saroya and is desperately trying to get rid of her.  Ellie is so strong that she can keep Sayora hidden deep within her, but not always. And when Sayora “rises,” she’s a bloody killer.

Our so-called hero thinks Saroya is his bride and is determined to help her survive by extinguishing Ellie’s soul. I am not going to even bother with the plot details here. Suffice to say, Lothaire only steps in to protect Ellie — to save Saroya. Yes, we finally find out what he needs that ring for — to get rid of the mortal’s soul — but funny thing is — he can’t find it. When the real Ellie is present, all Lothaire does is tell her how pitiful and horrible she is, and the mental abuse is so horrific that any woman in her right mind would never forgive this jerk.  And that’s where I think Cole stumbles again — big time. While Ellie is smart and clever, Cole never gives her a fighting will to push Lothaire away. He takes everything away from her and she still loves him. It makes no sense.

There was nothing in this story to indicate why Ellie should even love Lothaire — even after he finally recognizes she is his bride. (Boy — what an arrogant dummy!) He did nothing. Made no sacrifice. He hated her.  And he said it over and over again. He never gave her any choices.

And then poof! All is OK in lovey-dovey land? It just doesn’t work for me.

If this is how the rest of the books are going to be written  — count me out. I can only hope when she tells Nix’s story that she returns to her old form and stops writing these gross, abusive stories.

Today Karen Marie Moning posted this snippet from ICED — Dani O’Malley’s story — on her Facebook page:

Four nights he’s come to me, murmuring my name, making it an exquisite melody with which not even the divine orchestral choir of all the angels in heaven could compete.

He chimes my name in the language of the Unseelie and it makes my ears ring until my mind is emptied of all thought, until my eyes are incapable of beholding any vision other than him. He is so beautiful that merely looking at him makes me weep and when I brush tears from my cheeks, my hands come away stained red with blood.

He wakes me but doesn’t wake me.

He takes me to a place that is so perfect and serene and free of worry that I want to stay there forever.

My name is Cruce, he says. Not V’lane. I was so weary of wearing his golden shining face. He was never half the Fae I am. I have you in the Dreaming, is it not beautiful? Do you not feel divine here with me? You need not fear me. I am not what I seem.

I’m in danger.

LOTHAIRE — Kresley Cole (Jan. 10)

Next up in her IMMORTALS AFTER DARKNESS series is the tale of the evil vampire Lothaire, who has cropped up in several of the IAD books. I love this series because Kresley Cole has a wicked sense of humor and her stories feature strong heroines.  I thought the last book she did  — DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR  — was way too dark for the series (read my review HERE) but I’m hoping she gets back on track with LOTHAIRE.

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness — until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience

FAIR GAME — Patricia Briggs (March 6)

Most of us know Briggs for her  Mercy Thompson series, which chronicles the adventures of her shape-shifter/coyote/auto mechanic heroine. But in Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series — which is loosely connected to Mercy’s story but in a slightly earlier time frame — Briggs focuses on werewolf Samuel’s brother Charles and his newly acquired mate Anna. This is the third book in the series. (On her website, Briggs said she set the story in Boston — a city she’s never visited. CLICK HERE to read her author’s note about how she selected Boston.):

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind. Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can’t afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father’s dirty work is taking a toll on Charles. Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights.

DEADLOCKED – Charlaine Harris (May 8)

Last year I was disappointed with DEAD RECKONING, book No. 11 in the Sookie Stackhouse series. It was my stinker of 2011 because I have come to expect so much from this series. (CLICK HERE to read my top books of 2011 and what I said about the stinker!)  So why is this on my “to read” list for 2012? Because I enjoy the characters that Harris has brought to us and am so hoping that she can restore some magic and intrigue to Sookie’s story for us. Remember — she’s said she’s planning to end the series with book No. 13. And we all want to know if Sookie gets a happily ever after and who she winds up with in the end:

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard — especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank. Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

ICED — Karen Marie Moning (Oct. 30)

Fans of Mac and Barrons from KMM’s FEVER series will be happy to know that the spinoff series for Dani O’Malley — the super fast sidhe-seer — comes out right before Halloween. Last month on her Twitter feed, KMM said she was about halfway done. (Other titles in Dani’s series — but no release dates: BURNED and FLAYED.) Here’s what KMM says on her blog about the series — and other FEVER storylines that are coming:

I’m currently working on a trilogy that features Dani, Christian MacKeltar, Ryodan, and the mysterious ‘Dancer,’ set primarily in Fever-Dublin. Each installment in the trilogy is a stand-alone mystery, however there are larger plot arcs unfolding in the background. Where Mac was introspective and her story could feel somewhat esoteric, Dani is down and dirty in the streets. Lots of details, lots of action. There’s a different feel to the two series, totally different vantage points. I’m having a blast writing it.

For those of you who have been worrying—the trilogy is not YA. If I had to categorize it, I would say it straddles the line between YA and adult uneasily. I don’t pull any punches. It may be controversial in some ways. But whose teen years weren’t? LOL! Many of the questions I left unanswered in the FEVER series are addressed in this new series.

Exciting news: I’ve agreed to write two more books after that. Once the new trilogy is complete, I’m returning to the core story begun in the FEVER series, and will resume writing about Mac, Barrons, V’lane, Cruce, the Unseelie king, the concubine, the Song of Making.

All in all, there are five more books coming about the Fever World!

Because I know you guys, I know this is going to make some of you as nervous as it makes you excited. Trust me. I’m making no compromises with the characters or the story. It’s all unfolding exactly as it should, true to itself-which means, it’s a sometimes rocky road. Dark times ahead, guys. But I write it all with genuine love for the characters, the world, and you the reader.

Meanwhile — my friends over at www.sookiestackhouse.com added my 2011 list to their site. You can read their 2011 book picks — and stinker — HERE.

See you online in a few days!

Diana

1. SHADOWFEVER by Karen Marie Moning
Karen Marie Moning wraps up her fantastic Fever series with a finale that whipsaws the reader in an oh-my-gosh page turner that never lets up until the last page. (And that would be page 594 …. it’s a long book!) After waiting two years for SHADOWFEVER and debating countless theories on Mac and Barrons, KMM delivers all of the answers her fans demanded — and leaves us with a few more questions. (We want more books!)

2. GRAVEMINDER by Melissa Marr
Loved this. All about family rituals and how to keep the dead where they belong. A gritty, urban fantasy about one new graveminder. Makes you wonder if people really do have a choice about who they love and why.

3.THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater (pronounced “Steve-Otter.”)
A  magical, lyrical story about a boy, a girl and the capall uisce (pronounced “copple ookshka”) — flesh-eating Celtic water horses that come from the sea to terrorize the townspeople of the fictional isle of Thisby. Only a few brave riders race the horses. Only a few riders survive.

4. MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
OK — I know this came out last year but I didn’t get a chance to finish the Hunger trilogy until this year and oh — what an interesting ending to a scary and fascinating story. (Did you all like how she ended it?) Can’t wait for the movie.

5. DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR by Kresley Cole
This is her ninth Immortals After Dark book — and it’s the darkest. We hope next year’s LORTHAIRE will make up for that!

STINKER,  if we’re really picking and being honest:
DEAD RECKONING by Charlaine Harris
I had to force my way through this one and while I will finish the series, I hope the writing picks up. Now — Charlaine on an off day beats most writers hands down. But this is the story about Sookie and so my expectations are high. I hope Charlaine can finish the series the way she wants. But this installment just didn’t do it for me. (Think about the great series you’ve read and how the good ones do not peter out in the end … think about when you first read this series how you couldn’t wait to get the next book. It’s not like that now! I hope Charlaine can finish strong!)

It’s available, according to Teresa Mears, a business journalist who wrote about the Bella/Edward rental on her Listed blog for MSN Real Estate.

Here’s what she said:

The beautiful house where Bella and Edward spend their honeymoon (what happened to Jacob?) is on the rugged coast of Brazil, between Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. You can rent it for about $3,900 to $8,400 a night. You will have to bring your own vampire — or mortal love interest.

To read her entire post CLICK HERE!

Other links to the house:

• Slideshow on the house in Architectural Digest

• The rental listing website for the house with photos

• How movie crew filmed the house

It’s a tad bit on the expensive side for moi. Plus — that’s just for rent. I’d still have to jet over there with my TwiHard friends. But just think how fun it would be to rent it for a TwiHard party!!! What do you think?!

My buddy Maria over at SookieStackhouse.com tipped me off that we’d be getting two GRIMM shows in another week from NBC. And that’s great because the show wasn’t on last week — as were a lot of programs because of the Thanksgiving holiday I guess — and I don’t see anything scheduled for Dec. 2. ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME also was on hiatus last week. Yup — I like both shows. And they’re both different. Believe they have both been renewed for second seasons. Anyone else out there watch these?

I went to the GRIMM website and here’s a description of the next two shows:

Special Night on Thursday (Dec. 8)
“Danse Macabre” — A beloved high school music teacher’s body is destroyed by rats.

Friday (Dec. 9)
“The Three Bad Wolves” — Nick and Hank investigate the explosion of a Blutbad’s home.