Two More TBRs...

Of the 29 books still on my TBR shelf, I was most in the mood to read The Bride Wore Black Leather this month, but I had to read A Hard Day's Knight first. Both books are part of Simon R. Green's Nightside Series and have been sitting on my shelf for over a year. And if you've never read any of these urban fantasies, they are a lot of fun.

The Nightside is a strange shadowy world hidden in the heart of London where it is always 3:00am. In the Nightside "you can find heroes and villains, gods and monsters, angels and demons".  Here all your dreams can come true...and all your nightmares, too. John Taylor is a PI who lives in the Nightside. He wears a long white trench coat, has an infamous mother, and a gift for finding anyone or anything. And he's one of the people others in the Nightside fear most.

In A Hard Day's Knight, the legendary sword Excalibur shows up on John Taylor's doorstep. John knows he's not worthy to wield that blade, but he's also the only one who can find and awaken King Arthur with it. But then Excalibur gets stolen, and there's an Elven civil war brewing, and if John doesn't fix things fast all of the Nightside will be destroyed. This was a fun ride of a novel, with the last knights of Camelot and Queen Mab, a missing sword, and the usual trouble that always follows John Taylor. I have to say I really enjoyed reading it.

In The Bride Wore Black Leather, a new threat has come to the Nightside on the eve of John Taylor's wedding to Shotgun Suzie, a fearless and feared bounty hunter. The Sun King is determined to end the long night and bring a new dawn to the Nightside. Now John must find a way to stop him, save the Nightside, and still make it to the church on time (or Suzie Shooter just might shoot him). Ironically, considering the title of this book, Shotgun Suzie doesn't even make an appearance until the last 50 pages, but she comes in with a bang. I got the feeling Simon R. Green might be wrapping up the series with this one; if true, it's a good way to go out.  After all, "all the best stories end in a wedding."

Happy Reading!