my mind in a messy kaleidoscopic whirl of thought

At the age of seventeen, lovely Portia Cabot saved the life of the dashing and newly turned vampire Julian Kane. Unable to stop himself, Julian marked her neck forever. However, he was able to refrain from stealing her soul and adding her to the undead realm. Only by killing the vampire who currently has claim of his soul can Julian ever hope to reclaim his humanity. Almost six full years pass …

There has always been something between Portia and Julian. When Julian left her years ago, Portia could only pray for him. During that time, Portia has kept busy. She resides in Adrian Kane’s home, Julian’s brother, who is married to her older sister, Caroline. It may be a secret from the rest of London, but within this household, all know that Adrian is a vampire-hunter. His partner, the former constable Larkin (who is married to another sister of Portia’s), has helped Adrian drive out almost all the vampires in London. Portia spent all her time learning to hunt and kill vampires, fully expecting to become a third partner.

When four women are found dead, drained of all blood and all within a short time span, Adrian realizes that there is another vampire to hunt in the area. No one expected Julian to be nearby. Worse, all four deaths were during Julian’s short time in town. It does not take long for a family reunion to occur. Julian’s news is worse than anyone could possibly have imagined. Portia’s life hangs in the balance as an unmerciful vampire plans to devour her. Julian and her odd family are the only hope Portia has to keep breathing.

***** Absolutely fantastic! It is obvious that Portia’s sisters had their own stories told prior to this novel. I have not had the pleasure of reading them; therefore, I can honestly say that you do not HAVE to read the previous stories in order to fully understand and totally enjoy this one. And what an outstanding tale this one is! The author did such a good job that I came to actually care of Portia and her unusual family. Author Teresa Medeiros is fast becoming one of the best writers in the undead genre. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Who-Loved-Teresa-Medeiros/dp/006134088X

i’m giving this book…. / 5  – lmao two lotuses outta five. I’m sorry this book was so hard to read. Probably because I’m more of a fan of a modern setting and I didn’t even finish the book. FAIL.

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term The answer by one student was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Here is the professor’s “Bonus Question”: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different Religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will

go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my freshman year

that, “it will be a cold day in  Hell before I sleep with you”, and take into account the fact that I  slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure  that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is  not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct…leaving only  Heaven . . . thereby proving the existence of a divine being . . . which  explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting “Oh my  God.”

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY “A”

part of this terrible mess that you’re making

“Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”

— The History of Love, Nicole Krauss