Hump day hey-Yo! Seismic Evil style...

Hump day again? How ever did it happen so quickly???? The world will never know - it's like Mr. Owl and his how-many-licks-to-the-center-of-a-TootsiePop? I love a good mystery. Almost as much as I love some good eye candy. So, in lieu of a life-time supply of Tootsie Pops, I give you a calorie free and just as tasty treat - Eye Candy! Breathe in, breathe out, pause and enjoy! (With a sentiment like that, how can you not make it two more little ole days????)

So, humpty humpers - let's talk about my other favorite treat, books! This weeks showcase on Heather Long's Chance Monroe series has been a real delight for me. I am really enjoying the stories - but I am a fan of thrillers, urban fantasy and witch craft (although it is a fact that Chance Monroe parts with her designer shoes way too easily for my tastes - there, are you happy Kim?) So, without further ado - next installment:

Seismic Evil, Heather Long, Sapphire Blue Publishing, 2011

Hedge Witch Chance Monroe has a problem: earthquakes throughout the region damage bridges and roads, leave masses injured, and create havoc for Chance’s mental stability as well as her powers. When the earth shudders, Chance trembles. When the earth bucks from pressure, Chance bruises. When the earth cracks, Chance bleeds.

And when Ava, a witch with her sights on driving Chance insane, manipulates the earthquakes to break Chance's magical and spiritual bond to the earth, Chance faces her greatest fight. A fight for her life and the land that nourishes her power.

Chance has the support of powerful friends and the passion of a determined ex-lover backing her, but if Ava succeeds, thousands could die.

Picking up where Prime Evil left off, Chance appears to be healing from the insanity of the last book. You know, in retrospect, there are aspects of this series that feel like an X-files episode: lots of building up, teasing characters, intersecting plot lines and then BAM a frenetic ending that leaves you scratching your head a bit. I can dig it though, no pun intended. So, for those who were disappointed in the lack of development of secondary characters and missing romantic elements from book one...Long delivers us in book two!

Seismic Evil finds our earthy friend tangling with perhaps an even scarier opponent than a split personality psycho! Hitting the deck with massive earthquakes rocking rural Virginia and the nation's capitol, Chance fears she hasn't got the strength to heal the desperate Earth. Even worse, her greatest fear is that she may actually be the cause. Paired with her guardian and long time friend, Jamie, together they try their best to repair the damage wrought around the countryside. Her best friend, Sydney, a powerful witch in her own right, joins forces with the strange but well meaning FBI paranormal talent of Callanport and banding together try to solve the mystery of the quakes. When Chance is kidnapped, her friends band together to find her and return her to her land before more than her bond becomes permanently damaged.

The development of the secondary characters: Sydney, Jack and Jamie make this book for me. The second book begins with hints of a change in the relationship between former lovers and long time friends Jack and Chance. Dont ask me how she manages to do it, but Long does manage to make a sex scene that is incredibly hot, romantic and holistically healing - it actually heals her wounds after her traumatic assault and kidnap ordeal. Jack's explanations of how he came to finally understand and support Chance's gifts as well as how he reconciles his love for both her and his dead wife brought me to tears! Seriously, I think that man may have touched this jaded cynic's heart....

As always, Long excels in her beautiful descriptions of the land of Virginia, and her detail in her action sequences is really captivating. The uniting of Hedge Witch and Wiccan Solstice ceremony culminating in a final show down was such a page turner, I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish! I dont always agree that the evil are mentally ill but certainly in this story, the enemy is so fractured mentally and her plans for Chance are so horrifying that it is actually quite tragic. Thankfully for Chance, she has some really powerful, loving friends and a community that seems to value her gifts and spirit.

I give this Seismic tale a tasty 4 chocolate dipped strawberries picked freshly from a healthy, organic Virginia farm! I urge you to stop and take the time to take a break and give this one a Chance!