A Dance with the Devil and a Mad Man with a Box

          Good afternoon! And how is everyone on this fine Tuesday? Well, it's fine here, anyway, because it's sunny and 56. These are the days I do not missing living up north. Just sayin'.

          So anyway, I have a beaut to show you today! (And all I hear in my mind is Clark's Dad in Christmas Vacation...)

          This gorgeous little number coming up is Pahlish's Mad Man with a Box from part 1 of the Dr. Who Collection.

                                          (Source: consulting-detective-who)

          If you know me, and you probably don't now that I think of it, I am a Whovian through and through. I started watching in the late 70s and never stopped. So of course anything Dr. Who is going to get my attention, but this...well, words are superfluous. Just look at my craptastic pictures. Not sure how well the pics are transitioning from iOS so if they look blurry on your end, drop me a line. Suggestions welcome. So. The second pic is more accurate color-wise, but look at all of that beautiful magenta and olive green shimmer! *dies* The magenta is sneaky, but trust me, she's there.

Wonky cuticles can kiss my tailfeather, but loooooook at how beautiful this polish is!!

    

          This is 2 coats with top coat. It dried down a tad dull and with an almost textured finish, but top coat will fix that right up if you're partial to a smoother surface. I'll have a couple more of Pahlish's Who-themed lovelies up in the next few days. In the meantime, I'm going into day 2 with this one because I don't want to take it off.

So on to the paranormal part! Excelsior! 

I'm currently reading this:

            "This" being book 6 in the Blood Singer Series. As I've read all 6 books, I can tell you that the whole series is worth reading. The story lines are good and solid, there's always plenty of action, and Adams never fails to toss in a few twists to make it more interesting. 

Book 1:

                                                    (Source:waterjewelemi)

          So if you've never read any of of her books, of course you'll want to start with Blood Song. Celia is a regular human bodyguard for both her world and the supernatural.When she is double-crossed by the people she is supposedly helping, her life is changed forever- probably literally. After a failed attempt on her life, Celia is left a partially turned vampire. Of course as a bodyguard, vampire strength and sense are added benefits. The blood lust, however, is not, for reasons that are obvious. As she struggles to come to terms with the changes her body is undergoing, she has to find out who did her dirty before the humans manage to put her out of her misery or her sire comes back to finish the job. 

          Have you read any of Cat Adams' books? Reading anything else I need to know about? Inquiring minds want to know...

TJ

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Black Ice

Good evening to anyone who happens to have stumbled upon my tiny little pocket of the universe,

     Just wanted to share a couple of photos of the very aptly named Black Ice by Elevation Polish. It's an amazing asphalt colored matte with very fine pinky-purple, green, and even hints of blue shimmer. My camera just couldn't catch the fullness of this polish's majesty, but here are my sad attempts at swatches because this is just too good to keep to myself.  And just so you know...this has an excellent formula and if you're careful this could be a one-coater. Of course I did two because that's how I roll. Oh, and pardon the nubs, I had a bad break on ye old index finger and now they all look a little pitiful.

Black Ice outside

 Black Ice inside (ambient light)

Black Ice inside (overhead lamp)

Black Ice inside (overhead lamp)

       So that's the beauteous Elevation Black Ice, which can be purchased here. Restocks usually happen on the 7th and 22nd of each month, however this month's will take place on the 14th and 22nd.



    Currently reading:

disclaimer: books and polishes purchased by me.

     If there's anyone out there (I feel like I ought to be singing a Duran Duran song right about now...), comment and tell me what you're reading and/or sporting on your nails!

Cheers!
TJ

Clean Sweep

Good prevening!

     Since right now I'm basically just talking to myself, I don't suppose I need to make excuses for taking as long as I have to post my first review.  Still, there's no sense in wasting time, so I'll can the chit chat and get on it with it. I know my layout blows, but I'm working on it. Just so you know.

     Anywho, let's just put it out there - Ilona Andrews (who is actually a husband and wife team, but for the sake of my sanity I'll refer to them in the singular...) is brilliant.  I've loved everything she's written and that's saying a lot. So here's the latest, Clean Sweep, which is the first book in The Innkeeper Chronicles series. Finished it in one sitting the other night. (Kids don't need to eat, do they?)

 


 So from the title and the front cover, you think "broom, cape... must be about a witch."

                                                 (Source: waterjewelemi)

     And I suppose our heroine is, in a way.  Dina runs an inn (or in our parlance, a bed-and-breakfast) in a small town in Texas. Sounds quaint, right? Yeah, not so much. The inn is almost sentient and Dina is much more than she appears, even to those of us familiar with the urban fantasy genre. Dina lives quietly, her life revolving around attending to her mysterious, bloodthirsty guest and taking care of the inn until something with wicked sharp teeth and claws starts taking down neighborhood pets.  Her strong sense of responsibility, as well as the feeling that the culprit is not just some wild animal, compels her to concern herself with events on behalf of her neighbors.

     Enter her hot, ex-military neighbor Sean, who also happens to be a werewolf.  (Sigh...I love me a good werewolf...) A typical alpha, he tries to take over and order her about and of course she ignores him and does what she feels is the right thing to do. Dina is not without power of her own and as any woman of spirit would, she resents him not treating her as an equal and shows him in no uncertain terms just how it's going to go down. To further complicate her life, Dina is accosted by vampires also intent on catching the beast (Not to be confused with Beast, capital B, who is Dina's dog and a badass in her own right) for reasons of their own, about which they are not forthcoming. So in the midst of fighting for her life and the lives of her neighbors, she ends up having to keep the peace between an alpha werewolf and a vampire marshal who both want to run the show.  You'll see how well that works out for them.

**I wasn't joking about those spoilers now, so don't blame me if you keep reading.**

     So here's the twist: werewolves and vampires are not earthly supernatural creatures, they're alien species. What the?! And you know, it's the mark of a great writer that I only paused for a moment to think to myself, "Huh. Didn't see that one coming." before resuming my reading. I mean, I'm already suspending belief enough to believe in witches, werewolves, and vampires, what's a few aliens thrown in, right? By the by, did you see that episode in the 2nd season of Dr. Who, Tooth and Claw? Or the one in the 5th season, The Vampires of Venice? No? Well you ought to, because those creatures are totally where my brain went when I found out these guys were from other planets.  But I digress...

     Other cool things about this book- it was originally a serial on their blog and it includes original illustrations. I always read like I'm watching a movie in my head, so of course I picture the characters but I have to admit the illustrations are a nice touch. And there's a doozy of Sean in there. Whew! Wouldn't mind being ordered about by him, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, know what I mean?

                                                    (Source: kookaburrito)

     No, this is not exactly like what you might be expecting if you're a fan of the Kate Daniels series, but then her Edge series is nothing like that either. So what I'm saying is The Innkeeper Chronicles is nothing like either of them, save that there is plenty of action, excellent world-building, and strong characters. The only issue I had with this book was that it was too short (It was about 100 pages short of her other novels) which left me with the vague impression that there were a few details missing and too many loose ends that ordinarily would have been supplied and tied up. But then they wrote it on the blog as a serial, so I'm sure that necessitated some changes. Besides, I'll take anything I can get from her. And of course as this is only the first book, I have a feeling we'll get more information as we go along.     

     So there you have it.  My first official book review.  If you dig these kinds of books, I invite you to check out my Pinterest board, In Which Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Books are Pinned.

Last but not least, here's the snowy manicure I promised:

This is Indigo Bananas Immortal Game under Girly Bits Smurf Dance. Perfect for the winter storm on its way down south. This isn't the best picture ever, but I'm working on that, too.

Polish can be purchased here:
Indigo Bananas
Girly Bits 
or
Llarowe

disclaimer: all of these books and polishes were purchased by me. 

     Since Nashville will go nuts at the first sign of a snowflake, I'll be staying indoors, curling up with a good book and a cup of Twinings Christmas tea that I'm hoarding like a little dragon. Sadly the kids have to go back to school Monday, but I have another week off before I begin the last semester of my master's program, which I'm sure will be nightmarish. So I'll be enjoying every last free second before it's back to the front for me. (Why, yes, I have been listening to Metallica's Master of Puppets today. Thank you for noticing.) Stay safe and warm!

Cheers!

TJ

As Good a Time As Any

Hello book-reading, polish-loving (probably imaginary) friends!

     So I've had this idea in my head for about 6 months now, but I've never bothered to do anything about it. Until today, of course. It's the first day of the new year so it seemed like as good a time as any to get off my dead ass and give regular blogging a shot.  I won't make any promises to (prospective) readers or to myself that I can't keep, so let's just go into this without any expectations, shall we? Then we can all be pleasantly surprised when this blog is frakkin' awesome but we won't be too disappointed if it ends up being lame. I'll tell you right now, the odds are not ever in my favor, but my mojo has been pretty good lately, so what the heck...

     This week, I'll be posting my first book review (on my blog, that is) as well as my super sweet snowy weather manicure in honor of the snow we're theoretically getting here tomorrow.  I'd be honored if you guys would take a peek.  In the meantime, I'd hate for anyone to feel cheated, so I'll leave you with my New Year's Eve Skitlette (or skittlette if you prefer.)

Thumb: NerdLacquer Argentum; Index and pinkie: piCture pOlish Atomic; Middle: A-England Excalibur (new edition); Ring: A England Merlin

Polishes may be purchased here:
NerdLacquer  
piCture pOlish
A England

disclaimer: all of these polishes were purchased by me.

Until next time, I bid you adieu.
     
Cheers,

TJ