WoWwA ~ Skin Game

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible

Title ~ Skin Game

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #15

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 27 May 2014

Genre ~ Fantasy | Paranormal

Length ~ 15 hrs 49 minutes

WoWwA ~ Cold Days

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible

Title ~ Cold Days

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #14

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 27 November 2012

Genre ~ Fantasy | Paranormal | UF

Length ~ 18 hrs 50 minutes

WoWwA ~ Side Jobs

*Book source ~ Local library

Title ~ Side Jobs

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #12.5

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 11 November 2010

Genre ~ Fantasy | Paranormal

Length ~ 13 hours 13 minutes

WoWwA ~ Small Favor

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible.

Title ~ Small Favor

Series ~ Dresden Files, #10

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 14 January 2009

Genre ~ Fantasy

Length ~ 13 hrs 50 mins 

WoWwA ~ White Night

*Book source ~ From the library.

Title ~ White Night

Series ~ Dresden Files, #9

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 30 April 2009

Genre ~ Fantasy

Length ~ 14 hrs 13 mins

My Rating ~ 5 bites

Narration ~ 5 bites

Harry Dresden, wizard and PI extraordinaire, discovers that witches in his city of Chicago are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Not just alarming, but suspicious. Digging into the matter Harry finds out the magical community is afraid him now that he’s a Grey Cloak or Warden of the White Council. If someone had only talked to him about the suspicious deaths then lives could have been saved. But digging into the matter doesn’t just involve finding who is responsible. Oh, no. That would be too simple and nothing in Harry’s life is ever simple. Harry needs to figure out the players and the end game fast before more people, himself included, die.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-yr-old daughter

T ~ my 15-yr-old son

K ~ my 13-yr-old son

This series continues to entertain, but I’m sure that’s no big surprise. The humor, as always, is a big hit and the mystery kept us guessing and involved. We learned more magic and with Harry training Molly we like how he’s becoming more focused and disciplined with his powerhouse talent. Learning about the magical community was interesting since not much has ever been mentioned about the lesser powers in Chicago. Elaine is back in town and we find out what she’s been up to and there are more machinations by the White Court.

Favorite characters are back: Thomas, Murphy, Marcone, Ramirez and, as always, Mouse. Everyone agrees the magical fight towards the end was awesome and Harry’s solutions are always so much fun. Lasciel is also back and what she does is…unexpected. New baddies are introduced and an unexpected baddie turns up, one we thought was dead. Also, everyone agrees that Harry’s idea of setting up a network for the magical community is a good idea. He doesn’t like being seen as a boogeyman for the paranormal community simply because he has to be a Warden.

Favorite quotes:

“Bring it, Darth Bathrobe!”

“She gave me a hard look. ‘No one likes a wiseass, Harry.’

“Are you kidding? As long as the wiseass is talking to someone else, people love ‘em.”

“There was a sound like a human yawn, and then the skull turned slightly toward me and asked, ‘What’s up, boss?’

‘Evil’s afoot.’

‘Well, sure’, Bob said, ‘because it refuses to learn the metric system. Otherwise it would be up to a meter by now.’”

Walking on Weds w/Audios ~ Dead Beat

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible.

Title ~ Dead Beat

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #7

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 6 April 2010

Genre ~ Fantasy

Length ~ 15 hrs 14 min

Rating ~ 5 bites

Narration ~ 5 bites

Halloween is right around the corner and Chicago is experiencing some really weird things. Weird and bad. Murphy goes out of town for a little R&R and Harry gets sucked into the bad happenings in his town when Black Court vampire Mavra demands Harry bring her the Book of Kemmler or some incriminating photos of Murphy killing defenseless ‘humans’ will be sent to the police. While looking for the book though Harry finds out something big and catastrophic is going down on Halloween night and it’s up to him to stop it. Since when is Harry’s life ever easy?

My Guest Reviewers:

A ~ my 16-yr-old daughter

T ~ my 14-yr-old son

K ~ my 13-yr-old son

This series continues as a favorite. Everyone loves the magic and the humor as well as many of the characters. This book talks about necromancy and they enjoyed learning about how it works in the Dresden universe. The plot was a good one with twists, turns, new far-reaching plot points (such as about the War and info about the Erlking and the Wild Hunt) and imminent peril to Harry and it was extremely enjoyable to listen to. As far as narration goes, James Marsters has reached his stride and we would have a very hard time listening to another Dresden book if he wasn’t narrating it.

Favorite characters besides Harry:

A ~ Ramirez, Bob and, of course, Mouse. She was disappointed Michael was not in this book.

T ~ Lasciel, Ramirez and Mouse

K ~ Sue and Mouse

Favorite moment:

A ~ Butters thought Harry was gay and there’s a part towards the end with Bob and Sue that I won’t mention due to spoiler avoidance

T ~ The whole part with Sue, Harry’s threat to Mavra

K ~ The whole part with Sue

While there were many to choose from we whittled it down to a tie for favorite quote:

“We are not going to die.”

Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. “We’re not?”

“No. And do you know why?” He shook his head. “Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I’m too stubborn to die.” I hauled on his shirt even harder. “And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die.”

“What's with that?' Butters screamed, his voice high and frightened. 'Just covering his head with his arms? Didn't he see the lawyer in the movie?” 

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ Blood Rites

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible.

Title ~ Blood Rites

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #6

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 15 April 2010

Genre ~ Fantasy

Length ~ 13 hrs 11 min

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Narration ~ 4 bites out of 5

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only wizard and a private investigator, agrees to take a job recommended to him by White Court vampire Thomas Wraith. Arturo Genosa, film producer, appears to be targeted by an entropy curse and Thomas would like for Harry to protect Arturo & the people on the set and find out who is behind the curse. Since Thomas had helped Harry rescue a litter of Tibetian Temple puppies from a pretty dicey situation, Harry agrees to look into it. Little did he know he would end up with a puppy, working on the set of a porn film and getting in the middle of White Court vampire politics. Some days he really shouldn’t leave his apartment.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-yr-old daughter

T ~ my 14-yr-old son

K ~ my 13-yr-old son

I think, by far, the most favorite addition to the growing cast in the Dresden Universe is Mouse the puppy. Everyone loves him. There’s news about Thomas that was a surprise, but everyone cautiously likes, Ebenezer and Kincaid are back and still favorites though Kincaid is a mystery that needs solving and Anna particularly liked meeting Murphy’s family though no one liked her sister. They thought it was interesting to see Thomas’s Hunger and the whole bit in the picture gallery was a big surprise.

The fight with the Black Court vampires was a hit and we thought the part where Murphy had to take her pants off was funny. It really is. You’ll see. A & T did not like what happened to Harry during the fight (his injury), but K did. When asked why his reply was: “It looks cool and I know what happens in future books.” Well, ok then. :D

Favorite moments:

A ~ meeting Mouse or any part with Kincaid in it. (Hmmm…)

T ~ the conclusions to any and all fights

K ~ when Trixie died because she was really annoying

Favorite quotes has a tie:

“Everyone stopped to blink at that for a second. I mean, come on. Impaled by a guided frozen turkey missile. Even by the standards of the quasi-immortal creatures of the night, that ain’t something you see twice. “For my next trick," I panted into the startled silence, ‘anvils.”

“An errand is getting a tank of gas or picking up a carton of milk or something. It is not getting chased by flying purple pyromaniac gorillas hurling incendiary poo!” ~ Thomas

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ Death Masks

*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible.

Title ~ Death Masks

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #5

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Penguin Audio

Published ~ 29 October 2009

Genre ~ Fantasy

Length ~ 11 hrs 21 min

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Narration ~ 4 bites out of 5

Harry Dresden, wizard and PI, is hired by Father Vincent to find the Shroud of Turin. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing on Harry’s plate. The Red Court has sent Ortega to Chicago to kill Harry, either outright or in a duel. It’s Harry’s choice, but if he doesn’t agree to the duel then Ortega sees nothing wrong with killing anyone Harry cares about. Of course Harry agrees to the duel. All three of The Knights of the Cross are in town looking for the Shroud and trying to keep Harry away from it because they believe he will be killed, his girlfriend Susan is back, but not for the reason she tells Harry and the Denarians are also sniffing around Chicago. Poor Harry. When it rains, it pours.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-yr-old daughter

T ~ my 14-yr-old son

K ~ my 13-yr-old son

Ok, there is a lot going on in this book, but everyone is still loving the series. Big surprise there. Not. :D The humor continues to entertain and is a big part of why this series is a favorite. The plot had several things going and we worried Harry would drop one or more of the balls he was juggling. With help he manages to not only stay alive, but return the Shroud to the Church. How could we have doubted him?? Everyone agreed that it was nice of Harry to give Marcone the ultimatum at the end and they didn’t doubt that Marcone would comply.

New faces won approval: Kincaid, The Archive, Butters, Sanya, Shiro, Molly and even Ms. Gard. Old faces have returned: Bob, Susan, Murphy, Thomas, Michael, Marcone, Ebenezer (phone appearance) and Mac from McAnally’s. Oh, and Anna’s favorite…Mister. Can’t forget him. Some new faces were not liked such as Ortega (though we saw him very briefly in Grave Peril), all of the Denarians, but Nicodemus in particular and we’re on the fence about Martin.

Everyone thought the duel was pretty cool and that Ortega was a liar liar pants on fire. They loved meeting the other two Knights and Ebenezer impressed the crap out of them with this little thing he did at the end. I won’t say what because that would spoil it, but it’s frickin awesome. The fight for the Shroud at the end was pretty good and what’s a helicopter swooping in to fight without Ride of the Valkyries playing? Which is actually a pretty funny inside joke that will come up in a later book. K & I laughed since we’ve read the books.

Favorite quote:

“…The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the morgue. This, all by itself, is enough to really ruin your day. I was lying on the examination table, and Butters, complete with his surgical gown and his tray of autopsy instruments, stood over me.

‘I’m not dead!’ I sputtered. ‘I’m not dead!’”

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ Grave Peril

*Book source ~ Purchased from Audible

Title ~ Grave Peril

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #3

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Buzzy Multimedia

Published ~ 10 June 2009

Genre ~ Fantasy/Paranormal

Length ~ 11 hrs 59 minutes

Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Narration ~ 3 bites and a nibble out of 5

Marsters is getting better, but he's still not up to snuff.

Harry teams up with Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Cross, when the ghost world starts going haywire. Something is stirring up the spirit world and Harry is determined to figure it out and put it to rights, if at all possible. Because nothing is worse than spirits gone wild.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-year-old daughter

T ~ my 14-year-old son

K ~ my 13-year-old son

We meet some new characters in this book, ones the kids hope will continue on in the series. Everyone loves Michael and his sword Amoracchius. Actually, I think they just like any swords, but Amoracchius does have special abilities since it has a nail from the crucifix in its handle and not just any Tom, Dick or Harry can wield Amoracchius. Thomas, a vampire of the White Court, is also turning out to be a cautious favorite. The kids do not like Harry’s faerie Godmother, Leanansidhe, who is a Sidhe of the Winter Court. T said she is a ‘B’ meaning bitch which I can say and he is not allowed until he’s older. Father Forthill is another favorite. A thought the Nightmare was a very interesting character and the barbwire spell was pretty cool if nasty. T & K thought the Nightmare was a badass baddie.

The plot was twisty enough to keep them interested in the proceedings and the description of the Nevernever wasn’t quite what they expected. A said she thought it would be more like the Nether (from the game Minecraft), but overall it was pretty cool.

Favorite part: When Harry goes to the Bianca’s Vampire Masquerade Ball dressed as a vampire including fake fangs. 2nd favorite: When Harry encounters the Nightmare in his dreams.

Favorite quote:

“Holy shit," I breathed. "Hellhounds."
"Harry," Michael said sternly. "You know I hate it when you swear."
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.” 

Bring on Summer Knight!

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ Fool Moon

*Book source ~ Purchased from Audible

Title ~ Fool Moon

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #2

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Buzzy Multimedia

Published ~ 30 April 2004

Genre ~ Fantasy/Paranormal

Length ~ 10 hrs 6 minutes

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5

Narration ~ 3 bites out of 5

Chicago’s only wizard, Harry Dresden needs some jobs or he’s going to be even skinnier than he already is. When he steps in as a special consultant on one of Murphy’s cases, he thinks he’s dealing with a werewolf. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more going on than Harry knows, but he’s about to find out.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-year-old daughter

T ~ my 14-year-old son

K ~ my 13-year-old son

Book 2 still has the kids loving Harry and his world. A in particular likes the descriptions on how to make potions and the explanations of the various types of werewolves. They like the new characters of Tera, MacFinn and the Alphas.  They did not like the FBI agents and thought Agent Benn was particularly creepy.

They really liked the whole scene in the jail when the loup garou (MacFinn) goes nuts and escapes while Harry tries to fight him. Again the humor throughout the book is a big hit and Harry’s use of magic is considered extremely cool.

Favorite quote: “Don’t mess with a wizard when he’s wizarding!”

Book 3, Grave Peril, here we come!

Walking on Wednesday w/Audios ~ Storm Front

*Book source ~ Local Library

Title ~ Storm Front

Series ~ The Dresden Files, #1

Author ~ Jim Butcher

Narrator ~ James Marsters

Publisher ~ Buzzy Multimedia Publishing

Published ~ 2 February 2003

Genre ~ Fantasy/Paranormal

Length ~ 8 hrs 1 minute

My Rating ~ 5 bites out of 5 (book)

2 bites and a nibble out of 5 (narration)

Harry Dresden is the only wizard in Chicago. He has an office where he works mostly as a Private Investigator and is a special consultant to the Chicago P.D. for the weird cases. Lt. Karrin Murphy is the Director in charge of SI, Special Investigations and she only calls Harry in when things are very weird or very weirdly bad. Murphy calls Harry in for a double homicide that is particularly nasty. In addition to figuring out how they were murdered using magic he gets a missing persons case. The wife of Victor Sells wants Harry to find her husband who has disappeared after acting strangely. Just another day in the life of Harry, Chicago’s wizard.

Guest reviewers:

A ~ my 16-year-old daughter

T ~ my 14-year-old son

K ~ my 13-year-old son

Ah, it looks like I’ve hit upon a winner with The Dresden Files. I am now a hero in my kids’ eyes. I’ll be able to dine on my brilliance in picking this series for many months to come as we work our way through the series. *preens* K has actually read all the books already, so he knows what’s going on, but has been very good about not giving anything away to A or T.

Harry is a hit with everyone and is the favorite character. A likes Murphy next and Mister (Harry’s cat). Toot Toot (or as A said Fart Fart when she couldn’t remember his name) the dewdrop fairy is another character they want to see more of (and I know that they will). Gentleman John Marcone, the local crime lord and his main henchman Hendricks are also interesting to A and she would like to know more about them. Bob is also a favorite and Bianca the vampire is not. 

They all like Harry’s explanations about magic and potions in particular and thought the drug 3^rd Eye is very weird. Everyone loves the humor throughout the book and the mystery had enough twists and turns to keep them guessing.

Favorite quote: “Little pig, little pig, let me in…” as Harry blows the doors of Gentleman John Marcone’s  club the Varsity into little wood splinters. Damn, Harry.

It’s no surprise that we will be diving right into book 2, Fool Moon.