Harrison

Once Dead, Twice Shy (Madison Avery, Book 1)
$16.99
Once Dead, Twice Shy, started out really slow, and really confusing. It took awhile until I completely grasped the concept of what was going on, which seems to be the general feel of most reviews I've read as well. (It would have been really helpful to know beforehand that there was a preceding short story called "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper" in the Prom Nights From Hell anthology. That however, wasn't mentioned on her site, or on the book anywhere at all.)

Overall the story was nice, it had a good plot as well as decent characters, but my absolutely favourite thing about this book was Madison's guardian angel. About halfway through the book we meet Grace, who is assigned to Madison for reasons I can't tell you (dun dun dun!), but she's basically a beautiful limerick singing guardian angel. Here is two small examples of Grace's quirky mini-songs:

"There once was a girl with blond hair, whose tresses were short like a mare, she brushed and she preened, like she was a queen, till I laced her shampoo with some Nair."
Excerpt pg. 50, Once Dead, Twice Shy

"There once was a girl from Lake Powell, whose mouth was something quite foul. The crap she did spew, like an overfull loo, til I smacked her right into a wall."
Excerpt pg. 111, Once Dead, Twice Shy

Other than my insane love for Grace, I really like the way that Madison and Josh's relationship ends up. You learn a good amount about both characters, and they fit into the world that Kim made just perfectly. The scenes are well described, so much that you don't have to question anything, I could easily see everything that Kim described as if I had been there. So, other than the slow and slightly confusing start, the book was good, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

Harrison's Manual of Medicine
$59.95
Fauci is a very poor scientist. He lets his own political beliefs bias his medical opinions. As he has been in high positions in NIH this serves to greatly retard medical science and cause much suffering to disabled Americans. An example is his steadfast support of the Dr. Mengele of modern medicine Stephen Straus in his disinformation campaign on ME (aka CFS).

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Self-Assessment and Board Review (PRETEST HARRISONS PRIN INTERNAL MED)
$67.95
Fauci is a very poor scientist. He lets his own political beliefs bias his medical opinions. As he has been in high positions in NIH this serves to greatly retard medical science and cause much suffering to disabled Americans. An example is his steadfast support of the Dr. Mengele of modern medicine Stephen Straus in his disinformation campaign on ME (aka CFS).

The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows, Book 6)
$7.99
This is a great addition to the Hollows series, probably the best as far as pacing and action go. There were very few, if any, spots were the action lagged, which made it hard for me to get the dishes and laundry done before they both overflowed. ;)

I don't want to post any spoilers, but will say that Rachel faced a lot of hard truths this time around, as well as worked through a lot of relationship issues - becoming closer to her mother and seeing her in a different light, coping with the death of Kisten, coming to an understanding with Ivy (however tentative), learning that it's okay to love, trust, and depend on her friends, and learning to accept herself as she is - warts and all. As much as her heart hurt in this book, it also healed, and it was a wonderful thing to see.

Looking forward to the next one. :)