Black And White – Bk 1 of The Icarus Project - by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kitteredge

In the year 2102, there were two girls who went to an elite school for superheroes called “The Academy.” Joannie “Jet” Greene whose powers are controlling and creating shadows and Callie “Iridium” Bradford who has light based powers. Black and white, right? Light and darkness, yin and yang, how could they ever become friends? Due to a room assignment in their second year, they do.

By 2112, 5 years since graduating from “The Academy,” (a place owned and controlled by the Corp who train all superheroes) Jet and Iridium have gone from best friends to worst of enemies. Jet being the corporate poster girl of New Chicago and Iridium becoming the protector of Wreck City (aka New Chicago, Grid 16.) Little does either of them know that they’re working the same case from opposite sides. A case with roots that go back almost a decade, when they were only pre-teen roommates at The Academy. A conspiracy that neither of them realizes revolves around Jet.

The tagline for the novel is: “The line between superhero and supervillian has never been thinner…” I believe it should be revised to: The line between mainstream hero and anti-hero has never been thinner. In Black and White Jackie Kessler writes Jet, the mainstream hero and Caitlin Kittredge writes the bad girl, anti-hero Iridium. As a rule I’m generally leery when it comes to co-authored pieces because you can generally “hear” when one author is writing and when the other is. But, not since Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett has a co-authored novel come across as seamless as Black and White does.

You can tell the Fangirl love that went into Black and White. Ms’ Kessler and Kittredge know their superhero comics. From a misunderstanding leading the two heroes to fight one another to the “Bwahahaha” at the end of the novel a la’ Kieth Giffen’s Justice League of America. Please don’t just think that this is just a comic book in novel form. Kessler & Kittredge blend elements of romance and mystery into this well thought out story as well.

The pacing of Black and White is superb as well. It bounces back and forth between the past and the present, but due to some deft writing never seems to interrupt the flow of the novel. Black and White isn’t just for fans of comics, (even though there are a few inside jokes that only Fanboys and girls will get. Dr Frank Wurtham author of Seduction of the People anyone?) fans of thrillers will end up satisfied as well.

I just can’t believe that I have to wait until July 2010 for the second book, Shades of Gray. Black and White goes on sale June 2nd. It’s well worth preordering. I give Black and White 4 out of 4 stars!

Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Black and White

Please visit Jackie Kessler’s website here.

And Caitlin Kitteredge’s here.

Or The Icarus Project’s website here.

Product Details

* Paperback: 464 pages
* Publisher: Spectra (June 2, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 055338631X

Stray – Werecats Bk 1 – Rachel Vincent

Faythe Sanders is a female werecat who’s been attacked by a “stray” while at college. She didn’t like her life being laid out before her (especially with her not having lived it yet) so, she left the protection of her Pride for college and now grad school. Faythe is summoned back to her Pride at the behest of her father, the Alpha. Marc, her ex-fiancé and the Pride’s chief enforcer delivers her father’s message. Along with Faythe’s attack, several other female werecat’s have been attacked and have disappeared from the North American Prides. This isn’t a request, and as much as she doesn’t want to, Faythe finally agrees to return.

She is confined to the ranch her Pride calls home for her own protection. Unfortunately, for her this means that everything she ran away from to go to college is still there to be dealt with. Her family and Pride, her former lover Marc, and ultimately the destiny she is supposed to fulfill. This is all still too much for Faythe and she bolts only to find herself also captured by the stray. Learning the kidnapper’s plans, she must find a way to escape not only for herself, but also for the future of the Pride.

Stray suffers from a problem I seem to find in the majority of the first of a series books, it takes a while to get going. At least a third of the book is setup, explaining what has happened in Faythe’s past to bring her to this point. Fear not because it is all worth it. From her problems with the Pride to her break-up with Marc, it does all coalesce into a fine novel.

I do love my shapeshifter books. Especially when the author brings something new to the table, and I believe Ms. Vincent does. If you’ve ever owned a cat (owned is the wrong word since they tend to choose who they wish to be around the most) or multiple cats, you’ll see the similarities in the Pride’s group dynamics and that of domesticated felines. From Faythe being rebellious and at times selfish to the casual violence sometimes found in the Pride.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten then you'll enjoy Stray as well. Stray also possesses a strong female, shapeshifting protagonist and her struggles to find her place back into her Pride. Once Stray finishes with Faythe’s backstory, you’ll find it extremely hard to put down. Ms. Vincent has put quite a bit of thought into the werecat society (plus, the shapeshifting process itself), and you can tell that she has more surprises in store for the readers of future her novels.

I give Stray 3 out of 4 stars. The next book in the Werecats series is Rogue.

Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Stray (Werecats, Book 1)


Please give a visit to Ms. Vincent's website or blog.

· Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
· Publisher: Mira (June 1, 2007)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0778324214