Battle Ground (Mini-Review)

Battle Ground is the seventeenth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. The Titan Ethniu's plan to wage war against humanity comes to fruition and Chicago is her first target. Everyone must band together to defend their city whether they be magical or non-magical. Harry Dresden has to battle impossible odds in an attempt to lock Ethniu away in Demonreach. No matter the outcome: Chicago will never be the same.

Cold Days (Mini-Review)

Cold Days is the fourteenth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. Harry Dresden's first order as the new Winter Knight is to kill the Winter Lady. But why would Queen Mab want to kill Maeve? Has Mab gone mad? Harry's job is made even harder when he must protect Demonreach from danger.

Ghost Story (Mini-Review)

Ghost Story is the thirteenth book in Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files series. This book picks up shortly after the previous one where Harry Dresden is going to whatever lies after death. But whatever that is will have to wait as he takes on the task of finding out the identity of his killer.

Changes (Mini-Review)

Changes is the twelfth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden is shocked to find out that he had a child with Susan Rodriquez. He is then horrified to learn that his daughter has been captured by the vampires of the Red Court. So he has no other choice than to rescue her. But what cost will Harry end up paying?

Turn Coat (Mini-Review)

Turn Coat is the eleventh book in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. In this book Harry Dresden is shocked when a dying Warden Donald Morgan comes to him for help. As the mystery deepens, Harry gets a much more personal reason to help clear Morgan's name: if Morgan's name isn't cleared then both Harry and Molly Carpenter's lives are at stake.

Small Favor (Mini-Review)

Small Favor is the tenth book in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. In this entry Queen Mab orders Harry Dresden to find out what happened to Johnny Marcone. What starts out as a simple favor for the faerie queen soon gets much more complicated when Harry runs into the Denarians. Will Harry be able to find Marcone while preventing the end of humanity as we know it?

White Night (Mini-Review)

White Night is the ninth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. In this entry Karrin Murphy calls Harry Dresden in to look at a murder that looks suspiciously like something Thomas Raith, Harry's half-brother and White Court vampire, would do. But Harry is insistent that Thomas isn't the killer and seeks to prove his half-brother's innocence.

Proven Guilty (Mini-Review)

Proven Guilty is the eighth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. In this entry Harry Dresden is warned of black magic occurring in Chicago. The hard task of tracking down a black magic user is made even harder when Harry must save congoers of a horror convention from their worst fears. Yep, some dark creatures are able to turn into what a person fears the most. As if that isn't hard enough, Harry must also reconcile Molly Carpenter with her mother.

Dead Beat (Mini-Review)

Dead Beat is the seventh book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. This entry follows Harry Dresden who is told by the very much alive Mavra to find the Word of Kemmler. Making this task all the harder is the fact Harry doesn't know what the Word of Kemmler is and necromancers have arrived in Chicago that are very interested in the Word of Kemmler.

Blood Rites (Mini-Review)

Blood Rites is the sixth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. Thomas Raith asks Harry Dresden for help. An adult film director is finding keeping the women around him alive extremely hard. Harry must discover what is going on in order to stop the killings. What starts out as a simple enough job turns into a hectic mess involving vampire politics and revelations about Harry's family.

Death Masks (Mini-Review)

In Death Masks, the fifth installment of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden has found business to be much better than before. One could even say things have become comfortable for him. That is about to change. After appearing on a talk show to get information from a sometimes reliable source, he finds himself with more trouble than he can deal with. Not only does he have to duel a vampire and cope with how the return of Susan Rodriguez affects their relationship. He also needs to find the Shroud of Turin before fallen angels can use it to their own ends.

Summer Knight (Mini-Review)

Susan Rodriguez left Chicago as she was a vampire and her feelings for Harry Dresden made her too confused. Ever since she left Harry has been in a downward spiral and his mind is focused only on finding a cure to make his girlfriend human once again. But his mind is stable enough to know making a deal with a faerie is not something a sane person does. However, Harry finds himself having to find who killed the Summer Knight for Queen Mab because if he doesn't the White Council will hand him over to the vampires as a peace offering.

Grave Peril (Mini-Review)

The ghosts in Chicago are being very active up to the point Harry Dresden enlists Micheal Carpenter to help him fight them. Harry soon finds out that someone is stirring up the ghosts for a reason. If he doesn't find out who is doing so and why, himself and all those he cares about could die.

Fool Moon (Mini-Review)

There has been a grizzly series of murders but finding the killers is the least of Harry Dresden's worries. His frayed friendship with Karrin Murphy causes her to believe he is involved with the murders. So while trying to bring the killers to justice, Harry must also avoid the law.

Storm Front (Mini-Review)

In this first novel of the series: Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard in Chicago. As he needs the money, he ends up agreeing to solve the mystery of a woman's missing husband. At the same time he tries to help the police to figure out who is behind a grizzly murder. If he plans to survive the week, he needs to solve both cases.

The Dresden Files: Skin Game (Jim Butcher)

Title: Skin Game

Series: The Dresden Files

Author: Jim Butcher

Released: 2014

Cold Days (Jim Butcher)

Title: Cold Days

Series: The Dresden Files

Author: Jim Butcher

Released: 2012

Rating: 5/6

Basic Plot: After being murdered and then brought back to life, Harry Dresden soon realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Chicago’s only professional wizard.

He is now Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Her word is his command. And her first command is the seemingly impossible: kill an immortal. Worse still, there is a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could mean the deaths of millions.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent an apocalypse, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound infinite powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own…

His soul.
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Just Do It Already
Karrin and Harry belong with each other and every book I read in the series I wish I could scream at them to be together. I send words via my thoughts but I doubt they can pick them up. It's really infuriating in this book since they share two nice kisses but decide to remain apart. They were so close to being a couple and...and...ARG!

The Outsiders and Mac
The mystery of the Outsiders leads to a couple different revelations. You get to see what Mab's job really entails and Mac becomes more of an enigma. The Outsiders end up playing a very big part of the book's plot. They also become a lot more deadlier...well...you find out more about them and so they appear deadlier to you. But, truth be told, they're just as dangerous as they ever were.

Harry's Fear
Harry and Thomas end up getting into an argument around the time they first meet up in the book. Thomas is angry that Harry didn't contact him. Long story short: Harry died, became a ghost, went back into his body, and he's also the Winter Knight now.

Harry won't admit, but Thomas knows, that he tried to die so he wouldn't become a monster. Yeah, becoming the Winter Knight makes it very likely that Harry could turn to the dark side. This is a very heartbreaking scene as the relationship between the two brothers is so tense. But, being good brothers, they make up by the end. As a bonus, Thomas tries to help Harry control his emerging monster side.

Final Thoughts
I adore The Dresden Files series and this is yet another good entry into the series. There are moments of action, drama, romance, and learning about The Dresden Files universe. I liked seeing how Karrin reacted to Harry being alive. I also liked seeing Harry confused about what to do. And the fear about what to do about his daughter, stopping the big event, and how to handle his different relationships are all given equal importance. I'd recommend this book to those looking for a good fantasy/mystery.

The Dresden Files: Blood Rites (Jim Butcher)

Title: Blood Rites

Series: The Dresden Files

Author: Jim Butcher

Released: 2004

Rating: 5/5

Basic Plot: Harry Dresden must figure out who is killing female porn actresses (who are acting in Arturo Genosa's latest film) and for what purpose.

It Being On a Porn Set
Jim Butcher never tells you what goes on during the shooting of the porn. So those hoping for a book overflowing with sex: this isn't the book you're looking for. And for those of you who don't want to read a porn book: don't worry, this book isn't like that.

Thomas' Revelation for Harry
In this book you find out that Harry and Thomas are half-brothers (they have the same mother). I liked this as a big thing with Harry was not having family. He had friends but never family (his mom and dad both died). So a family member being thrown in the mix was very interesting to watch.

Mavra's Apparent Death
I don't think that Mavra actually died in this book. She is supposed to be very powerful and her apparent death is just too easy. I liked it when Kincaid pointed out to Harry that she might still be alive. If I find out that Mavra was killed in this book, I'll be very disappointed.

Final Thoughts
I highly enjoyed this book and liked the focus being on the White Court. You learn how White Court vampires are made, a little of the social structure, and how the White Court vampires usually deal with problems. The producer working on porn films fits in very nicely with the huge focus given the White Court in this book. The only thing that doesn't fit is the little focus on the Black Court. It is interesting, but could've been left out of the book without a problem.

The Dresden Files: Death Masks (Jim Butcher)

Title: Death Masks

Series: The Dresden Files

Author: Jim Butcher

Released: 2003

Rating: 4.5/5

Basic Plot: Harry Dresden has to find the missing Shroud of Turin (which leads to a deeper plot), duel a Red Court Vampire, and deal with his feelings for his ex-girlfriend when she comes back to town.

The Detective Work In This Book
Even though Harry Dresden is a detective there is an obvious lack of being a detective in this series. However, in this book, it is the most detective like of the books in the series (that I have yet read). That doesn't last by the end of the book, but it is good enough.

Susan Coming Back
Harry and Susan were a couple. I like how their relationship was dealt with in this book. You can tell both still love the other but life has pulled them apart. In the sex scene the raw emotions that get released seem very real. And this is a sex scene that has a huge payoff in Changes (another book in The Dresden Files series).

The Plague That Was Going to Be Released
Many people may think that the plague was a doomsday event. However, I do not believe that is the case. The Denarians tell Harry that the plague is not to be the end of the world, but a spreader of chaos. So the plague would last a little while but would probably not cause the end of the world.

Final Thoughts
If you liked the other books in the series, you will like this one. I feel this is the weakest of the books, but it still does an excellent job. Some things in this book don't make sense like how all of the Knights of the Cross are not Christians. It's a very odd plot point that just confused the heck out of me. The Denarians are a great group of villains.