(very belated) ARC review

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

i received this arc a long long time ago and finally read it while we were in kansas. the good news is that it is first in a series and i managed to wait long enough that the second book should be coming out soon and i wont have to wait!

from the back cover:
dear reader,
i've always been drawn to the paranormal. maybe it's because i grew up watching the outer limits and the twilight zone. stephen king has been one of my favorite authors since i read carrie on the bus home from college.

i discovered urban fantasy with laurell k hamilton. i wanted to write something just like that. i wanted to create stories about one character who rises and falls, moves forward, steps back and who lives and learns and loves like the rest of us - but in a world very different from our own.

elizabeth phoenix resembles you and me in many ways. she's lost things - her partner, her job, a man - but she keeps going on. even when she discovers that the end of the world is bearing down, and she's the only one who might be able to stop it.

of course liz is different too. she's psychic, which has caused her no small amount of trouble in life. but liz is about to discover that she was born for a reason, and the powers she has are only the beginning.

travel with liz from her hometown (and mine) milwaukee to the gorgeous vistas of new mexico, then on to the glittering world of manhattan where she fights demons of biblical proportions. with a little help from the two men in her life, neither of whom is completely human.

if you enjoy books that are scary and sexy, as well as funny - liz will say anything - then you'll love any given doomsday and the world of the phoenix chronicles as much as i do.

all best wishes,
lori handeland

basically liz grew up in a foster care like situation and her foster mother is killed. this is when liz realized her higher calling. with help from another boy (man now) that she fostered with she will fight to save the world from some pretty scary dudes.

it was a fun read, and i think i will enjoy the second one more. the first book in a sci-fi/fantasy series always has a lot of set up of the "world" the characters live in and so moves more slowly in parts. this book had some of that, but still kept me interested in the story the entire time. i'd recommend it if urban fantasy is a genre you enjoy. :)