Selena Blake: Fangs, Fur and Mistletoe

Christmas reads are fun. I usually read them one year in advance for you (at Christmas though) and expect absolutely nothing of them since they are free and I'm just killing time between various chores connected to this time. So I need a no-brainer which wouldn't let me think and which I wouldn't have problems abandoning at any time when someone needed me in the kitchen or around the house.

That's why this short story from a festive time on a mysterious island where only supernaturals can go was the right choice. Once sworn enemies who couldn't kill each other in a war one hundred years ago and who didn't forget each other though they spent only a brief moment together, a vampiress (is it word already?) and a werewolf, meet on this island where supernaturals go only to scratch an itch.

Will it be like that for them or will they develop some feelings despite being labeled as enemies even in the time of peace, and against the vampiress's coven's prejudiced opinion of werewoles?

The story is short so it doesn't really explain a lot of stuff that happened between vampires and werewolves (which I'd appreciate) but then again, it's not a saga about that. It's a hot read which is supposed to make you feel good because the love at first sight exist.

GENRE: hot romance

FANGS OUT: it's a holiday read, okay?
FANGS RETRACTING: it's not innovative enough and the characters' behaviour needs more background
TOTAL SCORE:

Robin McKinley: Sunshine

A girl living in the maybe not so far future where the humankind knows about the creatures of the night and then some meets a guy who happens to be a vampire (her enemy in general) but their common enemy unites them and they start bonding. How is it it different from the gazillion books with the same topic I've (and I bet even YOU HAVE) read?
The writitng style - is absolutely excellent and it reads fast and leaves you craving for more. It's entertaining and funny.
The protagonist - even though the "hidden prodigy" theme is here, she's so normal. She failed at school, winded up in a bakery, fights with her mom constantly, has moods etc. And all she asks of life is to feed people. And to be in as much sun as possible (her nickname is, after all, Sunshine).
The romance - is very subtle and well executed. Sunshine has a cool biker boyfriend who might be threatened by the arrival of the "other" one but you don't really want her to pick sides or leave one for another. It's not even complicated. Just almost nonexistent.
The universe - oh boy, I absolutely adored the setting after the Voodoo Wars with bad spots where nothing could thrive, those living protection tattoos, the charms and wards and all those inanimate objects with life and all those people with some demon or were blood in them.
All in all, it's dark and thrilling, those who like sarcasm here and there will find it, those of you who like action will see it, those of you who like supernatural elements will be surprised and those of you who like romantic element will probably have to go somewhere else since it's a different kind of romance (I'm saying this because the blurbs on the cover describe it as romantic). If I think of it, I've read books like this but none of them was so good. All these clichés which are in every vampire book well so well-balanced in here that it made a perfect story.

GENRE: dark tale of believable characters

FANGS OUT: the story reads so well
FANGS RETRACTING: let's not retract them, okay?
TOTAL SCORE:

Grandma's Bundt Cake

I'm not sure if any other cake evokes more emotions than bábovka (bundt cake). Every family has its own recipe which is, of course, THE recipe. 

I actually dislike the typical bundt cake because it's too dry. But for the old time's sake (hey, grandma!) and because I got a new cool bundt cake form, I decided to make the old school dry cake which must be eaten while sipping some hot beverage. 

Ingredients:

•  4 eggs (separated)
• 150ml sunflower oil
• 100ml water
• 250g sugar
• 250g flour
• 4 tea spoons cocoa powder

1) Mix the egg yolks and sugar till the mixture pales.

2) Slowly add water, oil and flour.

3) Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks (some people need a pinch of salt to make it happen but if you have a clean bowl, they will do the trick on their own) form.

4) SLOWLY! fold the whites in the mixture. As you can see, there is no baking soda or anything to help you. If you fold in the whites gently, the air bubbles will stay in the cake, help it rise and be more sponge-y. That's actually what makes this cake magical.

5) Divide the mixture into two bowls and add the cocoa powder in one of them. Sloooowly. ;-)=

6) Either butter your pan or spray it with some oil and pour in the mixtures as you want. 

7) Put it in a preheated oven and bake for about 50 minutes at 180°C.

Antony J. Stanton: Twice Bitten, Twice Die

Okay, let's take a deep breath and plunge right in. You knew it was coming. Those who follow me on certain social media or read my blog know I can't but give it five vampire kisses. Why? If you are an unsuspecting person, then I'm gonna keep you in the dark. But let's say I have my selfish reasons to promote this book. Just joking, I'm gonna spill it out. I won a contest a few months ago and became a character in this book. Yeah, I'm still living from that. You, who have never become a character, can't probably understand the feeling (I don't mean it in some snobbish way, it's a genuine thing) but whoa! It's better that drugs. I think. I don't do drugs.
This book is a last piece of a trilogy (I guess, the word "series" on the cover probably gives the author open doors should he ever feel like writing more) and we finally get to see who of our favourite characters gets to live and how it all turns out for those rare few in the zombie-infested world.
Meanwhile, in the vampire camp things don't go smoothly either and authorities are questioned and deaths occur even in the immortal world. But at least the humans already know for sure the blood-suckers exist and can stop questioning their own sanity and start acting. Because vampires are just another threat since they have a very specific diet, right? Or can they help with the zombies? Should humans eliminate one enemy at a time or kill them all at once?

The author's writing skill is amazing, too. I know that some people hate adjectives but those are exactly what gives the reader the right description of stuff. I could really imagine the characters and scenes in the book. Just perfection :-)=
It's a roller-coaster ride without seatbelts since so many die but hey that's what the apocalypse is about. I advise you not to get attached to characters much. :-)=

GENRE: postapocalypse now

FANGS OUT: thrilling, well-built
FANGS RETRACTING: keep them out
TOTAL SCORE:

Antony J. Stanton: Once Bitten, Twice Live

In the first book, the apocalypse was introduced to the world and a couple of survivors had to come to terms with it - and with the fact that their beloveds may have turned into hungry zombies and they might actually need to kill them.
This book picks up where the first one left off, of course. So we see our survivors again, we see their attempts at making some kind of order in chaotic world and we also develop feelings for some because only times of trouble show who your friends are.
Aaaaaand the vampires! Finally! They were in the first book, too, but only a little bit for my taste. Here, however, they finally take up more space and start interacting and interfering. Within the clan two fractions appear and no one knows which stand to take. Oh, the decisions. Enslave the humanity and treat them like cattle or keep hidden in the shadows..
Except some of them haven't got the "we are not decided, do not act now" memo and showed their true nature to some survivors. So not only are the survivors scavenging for supplies and walking on tiptoes so that they don't wake up the zombies, now they have to face the fact that they're going crazy because surely vampires... that's too much for this crooked world, right?
This book is just as thrilling and adventurous as the first one. It develops the characters more and brings cruel plot twists so it's definitely a wild ride.

GENRE: postapocalyptic-thriller ride

FANGS OUT: vampires are finally out in the open
FANGS RETRACTING: not so many important things happened plot-wise (I mean, a lot of people died but you kinda get used to that)
TOTAL SCORE:

Robert Tomoguchi: The Scribbled Victims

I'm getting Anne Rice vibe here and I'm not mad. On the contrary. I haven't read a book about morality of vampire life in a while. Way to go Rice lovers, I wish there were more of you to pick up her tradition.
I got this book from the author to write a review and I'm always happy (because free books, duh!) as well as scared of this because the authors who send me their stuff are so enthusiastic that they can get their books out there in the world and have people talking about them but, honestly, I dread the day I get a shitty piece and have to write about it. For them, the books are like children. Try to tell them their beloved child they put so much effort in sucks. But fortunately today is not the day.
The story follows Yelena, a beautiful immortal, who is plagued by guilt and often starves herself. She kills in order to sustain her own life but she feels bad because she doesn't see people as cattle. And before you ask, no, there are no sparkly vampires in here so feeding off animal blood is a no go. One day, she meets a child cancer patient who can see evil in people through her scribbles. That cheers Yelena up a little now that she can kill criminals who do horrible things to others.
But many questions arise - how long till the girl dies? Can she even start contemplating turning a child and doom her to an eternal life in a small body? Can she replace the love of a lover gone with that for a child? Isn't she making the child a murderer when she takes the scribbles from her? And way more. I loved the philosophical aspect of the story. It was thought-provoking and refreshing.
It's true that the story is centred on Yelena but other vampires with different life views are introduced to contrast what she feels and to show the reader what the average vampire looks like.
All in all, it was great! If you like to think a little while reading, this is it - your next vampire read. ;-)=

GENRE: personal horror story

FANGS OUT: Rice's tradition is very prominent
FANGS RETRACTING: out the fangs go
TOTAL SCORE:

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Certain Dark Things

In an alternative world, where all kinds of vampires exist (basically all folklore myths apply here), many countries decided to get rid of them. That's how Mexico became a host for these creatures and how they got their hands on the drug trade. And when two drug lords fight for their turf, it's always messy.
The story follows a young vampire Atl who wasn't supposed to get into the mess. Her women-oriented family put effort into her older sister who was supposed to get the hang of things since she was the better and older warrior. Alt was ever the care-free party girl. But somehow Atl finds herself on the run and tries to hide in a vampire-free zone Mexico City where an old ally should reside. But that's where it gets worse. It is another drug territory so once she is spotted, she must be eliminated. With the help of a naive boy (of almost her age *eyeroll*) from the streets she tries to evade her not so pretty future.
I loved the variety in vampires- there were vampires from old European myths, there were the ones from Americas and so on. And each subspecies had qualities from the particular place of their origin. I personally find that "counting" trait very funny in vampires though this book is anything but funny. It's adventurous, it's dark and it's full of blood... and other body parts.
Oh, and one more thing - there were glimpses of Renfields' lives - those are the people who serve or are controlled by vampires. It was nice seeing what happens to the or how they feel. If it weren't for the general lack of je ne sais quoi, it would be a five-star read.

GENRE: drug-lord's noir future

FANGS OUT: the folklore mix
FANGS RETRACTING: not action-packed enough
TOTAL SCORE: