Cephalopod Coffeehouse - book club! (+ my birthday)

This month I'm going to cheat a little, since I haven't read any books in the last month that I have not already reviewed on my blog. So I will mention a book that I read back in June, that I never reviewed, instead (I need to learn to not include all my read books in my "mini-reviews" posts, or at the very least I need to learn to finish a new book in time for each month's Cephalopod Coffeehouse. ;) ) The book I'm going to mention today is Ali Cross's "Become" (Desolation #1), which I read and did really enjoy.

I thought this was a great read, and I will definitely pick up the next book in the series. I have to say I'm not hugely into angels and the teachings of the Bible, and this book obviously has a fair bit to do with both. Well, the Bible stuff isn't really that obvious but there's just a lot about sin and all that. I really do hate the idea that people who really don't do things that are all that bad (i.e. being alcoholic - yes, it's bad but it's not like it's murder or something) are candidates for a life in Hell. But that is really MOSTLY beside the point, and despite my aversion to all things Christianity-related when it comes to fiction, I was able to immensely enjoy this book. Particularly as it wasn't just Christianity but Norse myth as well that came into it. I do enjoy a bit of myth, as my history of university study will indicate. ;) 

The story moved nice and quickly, and there was action around every corner. Desi is a kick-arse character and I definitely could envision breathtaking action scenes from a movie version of the story. I loved Michael and thought he was pretty hawt, all things considered. *waggle* And the supporting characters - Desi's version of the "Scooby-gang" as she referred to them - were cool to read about as well. I did think it was a bit funny that Buffy was referenced in a few places. The idea of Satan's daughter being pretty familiar with that TV series amused me. To be honest, when I read that part I actually went, "HUH?" and remembered that a while back I started re-watching Buffy and want to pick that up again.

Anyway, I would definitely recommend this book if you like kick-arse action with a fantasy/paranormal/whatever slant, and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

In other news, yesterday I turned 33, and because I am a rabid Smashing Pumpkins fan and have for many years daydreamed of being able to say "Hey, I'm 33 too!" (no, really, I have), I thought I'd share this beautiful video that still makes me ache with its beauty (as does the beautiful song itself, which is featured on my favourite album of all time, incidentally), all these years later: