Wedding Anniversary

Today is my seventh wedding anniversary. I'm supposed to be itchy right about now but I have to admit that I'm not - I'm content. We've technically been together for fourteen years, so I suppose if we were going to jump ship we would have done it a few years ago - so there must be some love there.
I have to admit, though, it kind of blows me away that I have lived in the same house with someone that long and not plotted their ultimate demise. After seventeen years under my parent's roof I was hankering to get out on my own, my teenage mind convinced I was being suppressed from any form of fun. Yet oddly enough, fourteen years later with hubby, I am comforted by the thought of waking up to the freight train snoring that pours forth from his mouth each night. I also like that he drives me crazy with his non-stop talking in the car to and from work (he never shuts up). I like that when I ask him, 'do I look good in this?' he always says, 'you are one skinny bitch' even though he is clearly lying.
I especially love that after fourteen years he conveniently still does not know the difference between synthetic and cotton clothes and thus cannot operate the washing machine. I love that every job he attempts in an effort to help around the house is half-assed, but at least started. I love that I can always find him the grocery store because he has the voice of a foghorn. I love that I constantly abuse him about his poor driving skills, yet he continues to drive me around because I'm too lazy to claim the driver's seat. I love that his idea of weeding the garden is throwing mulch over the top so you just can't see them. I love that he can open cupboard doors and draws in the kitchen but can't seem to reverse the action with any real finesse. And, of course, I love that his terrible sense of humour sometimes takes me by surprise and has me bent in half, gasping for breath. Oh, and I love that when I fart, he screams at me with things like 'I'm gonna die!', a slow smile plastered across his face.
Hubby, I love your guts. Despite our combined flaws, we fit together like a jigsaw puzzle - always unfinished, but constantly in a state of revealing something quite special. So, in light of the fact that I'm now erring on the mushy side, I found this song that sums up my feelings of you perfectly.

Okay, I'm kidding - here's the real one!

Kristy :)

Book Review: Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane

What can I say? As a fellow author I bow down to the talent that is Stacia Kane. Yet again she has produced another novel that had me gripping it between the sheets into the wee hours of the morning. There is just something about the style of writing and concept that I find absolutely fascinating.
First of all, let me break it down for you. The Downside Ghosts series follows Cessaria Putnam, otherwise known as Chess, a church employee well versed in the art of magic and debunking - dispelling ghosts. Haunted week, some decades previous, saw the mass murder of human kind, ghosts uprising from the city of the dead and going on a rampage. The church, now far removed from any form of discernible religion, helps to protect people with the application of spells, potions, and ritual. The balance is mostly restored and the human populace relies on people like Chess to debunk their homes, offices, and schools.
Now, despite this concept we have a more interesting feature piece within this ongoing saga. Chess Putnam is a major drug addict. At first this put me off reading the novels, I didn't want to read about some jittery, helpless nutcase. But alas, Stacia Kane has created a complex and determined protagonist that leaves you feeling a little bad for ever doubting the competency of this pill-popping witch.
Sacrificial Magic is the fourth book in the installment and once again I was not let down. This time Chess is ordered by 'Bump' one of the crime bosses of Downside (who also just happens to be her dealer) to investigate a grisly murder. Storage facilities are burning to the ground, bodies mutilated in some sort of intense and dark ritual. Naturally Chess does her best not to get the Church involved in her personal affairs, but once again this case and a new seemingly unsolvable case of a fellow church employee begin to draw parallels.
To top off this twisted little plot that is determined to keep you guessing right to the very end, we have the interwoven love interests. Terrible, Bump's second in command - a craggy, solidly-built man that makes the heart race with his soft nature and soulful eyes. And, Lex, son of the opposing crime boss - another man intent on keeping Chess well stocked with pills, pliable and in his bed.
All in all I have nothing bad to say about this novel. It might not be for everyone, but to walk on the dark side and see the struggle between normality and the intense and deeply saddened, often depraved side of an addict was, for lack of a better word ... enlightening. The characters were consistent in every aspect, though some personal growth from Chess was to be expected and was clearly executed. Language and dialogue was, as always, very entertaining.
I am giving Sacrificial Magic an easy five out of five fangs. I simply cannot get enough of this series and can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Synopsis:
When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss - who also happens to be her dealer - to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess's boyfriend, Terrible, doesn't trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess.
Plus there's the little matter of Chess's real real job as a ghost hunter for the church of real truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a high school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead - and if Chess doesn't watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks.
As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she's not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.

Kristy :)