Author: Karen

Books, fantasy, great reads, Reviews, scifi, Urban Fantasy

*Audiobook* Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Karen

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I LOVE THIS SERIES!! I didn’t want there to be any doubts. But I’m not a huge audio book person, and I will admit when it comes to the first two books of this series I tend to skim some when I reread, so when give the opportunity to review this, I thought this was a great chance to be objective. First and foremost, the blurb..

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

This book is a well written, has fantastic world building and some of my all time favorite characters in it, but when forced to actually listen to the whole thing I must admit it isn’t the strongest in the series. That’s not to say it isn’t amazing, how about we just break it down..

Pros: The book leaves no doubt where you are and what the world is about. You are in this post magic Atlanta and you never doubt the world building in it.

There are some fantastic character introductions in this book, and a lot of them remain key for many books to come. I understand who Kate is and I get her purpose. Also it is so nice to have a strong female lead that doesn’t have to be mean or crazy. She just kicks ass, I love her.

Story. I love that, though this becomes a 10 book series, this is a self contained story. It has a beginning (will talk about that) a middle and an end. No cliffhangers or underdeveloped plots.

Now remember I said this wasn’t the best of this series, so let’s talk about what I didn’t like about it.

Cons: It can be very slooooowww, especially the beginning. I’ve developed a very deep liking for Kate and her band of misfits so I have patience for anything she is doing but if you don’t know her (and for all intent and purpose you don’t since this is book one) the beginning does tend to drag. Hang in there!

World building. Wait wasn’t that on my pros list? I know this is one of those quirky things that was both a pro and a con. You see when I originally read this book there was already three books out and I knew I was going to read them. This world building is A LOT for just one book. Is it necessary for the series? Hell yes! Is it too much if this is the only book you read? Maybe. So just don’t let it be the only one, you are only hurting yourself.

This was an audio book so I would also like to comment on the narrator Renee Raudman. I thought she was fantastic! I thought a first she was a little dramatic, but then the more she read the more I fell in love with her. What an amazing job, I hope to hear her again soon.

If you like to listen to your books grab this audio here http://www.audible.com/search?advsearchKeywords=magic+bites+kate+daniels&sprefixRefmarker=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11&sprefix=magic+bites

Books, fantasy, great reads, Reviews, scifi, Urban Fantasy

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

Karen

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I read this book twice back to back it was so interesting, and I never do that. I have been following the Mercy Thompson series for awhile but the last two books have changed, with the plots having more twists in them, but not in a bad way, breathing new life in this series for me. First the blurb.

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe…

Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise…

I want to be straight up honest with you guys, even though I loved book nine I still went into this book with a lot of doubts. I really didn’t like a lot about this preview into the story: (1) I don’t like Adam and Mercy being split up. Look I get that this series is about Mercy, but at this point they are accepted in my mind as a team and honestly I’m getting fatigued with them having trouble in their relationship no matter if it is physical or mental. I just want them to be together and happy already! (2) New characters. The one complaint I’ve had with the last few books is that characters have been bleeding over from Patty’s other series (Alpha and Omega) or just new people are constantly be introduced. I like the core characters and when we are always meeting others they don’t get enough, or any, page time. (3) Personally I didn’t like the idea of this series going to Europe. Just didn’t. I don’t have a good reason except maybe too much change to fast? I don’t know I just was not excited for this idea either.

So when I got an ARC from netgalley of this book I actually went into with more of a critical eye than I’ve ever gone into any of Patricia Briggs books. I had decided if this book fell flat that this might be the end for me and the Mercy Thompson series which would be sad since this is the longest standing Urban Fantasy series that I still read. I’m happy to say this book was fantastic, it made me a believer again. Chapter by chapter all my doubts went away, I became so engrossed in the story that I just didn’t care that Adam and Mercy were separated, or that all new people were in it..and this is the brilliant part. I noticed that Patty has started to evolve as a writer, she is still an amazing Urban Fantasy author but she has taken what she does so well and built on that making her stories richer and more complex. It has forced someone like me, who was comfortable with our relationship as reader/writer to pay attention again, even to the point with this book, reading it twice to make sure I got everything out of it. That is a great story.

If you are new to this world I suggest starting with Moon Called but if you know these books you need to preorder this now, it releases on March 7,2017

Here is the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Fallen-Mercy-Thompson-Novel-ebook/dp/B01H17UAF4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Books, fantasy, great reads, Reviews, scifi, Urban Fantasy

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Karen

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Wow, wow, wow! I was able to get an ARC from netgalley of this book and I want to assure everyone out there that it is as amazing as you imagine it is going to be. But first what’s the book about? Here is the blurb:

After a human uprising was brutally put down by the Elders—a primitive and lethal form of the Others—the few cities left under human control are far-flung. And the people within them now know to fear the no-man’s-land beyond their borders—and the darkness…

As some communities struggle to rebuild, Lakeside Courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, though Simon Wolfgard, its wolf shifter leader, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn must work with the human pack to maintain the fragile peace. But all their efforts are threatened when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother arrives, looking for a free ride and easy pickings.

With the humans on guard against one of their own, tensions rise, drawing the attention of the Elders, who are curious about the effect such an insignificant predator can have on a pack. But Meg knows the dangers, for she has seen in the cards how it will all end—with her standing beside a grave.

I’m going to be honest with you guys, this series is in my top five must read/buy right now so when I got to get a copy of this I was literally ready for an all nighter. I love the world Anne has built, I love the characters, and most of all I love the style of Anne’s writing in this series. I’m a big Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews fan so this type of series is of course on my radar but I feel Anne does something that they don’t, she forces you to follow stories at a slow burn pace while keeping them so intriguing that you can’t put the book down. Allow me to explain, at times you feel as if you are just going through day to day things with the characters and yet at the same time you know life changing, possibly world changing events are happening. No author makes me desire that less happened and more happened all at the same time, but not in a bad way! In book four (this was book five) she almost broke me she did this so skillfully and fortunately this was a bit easier on my feeble heart but still, one of my favorite books of the year. I will still be buying it and can’t wait to write a more in depth, spoiler type review, once it has been published.

Fans of this series, preorder this right now! If you haven’t started this series yet, get the first book Written in Red..you’ll be hooked before you know it!

Here is a link for the book on Amazon and goodreads. I hope you check out this series, it is worth it!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22062213-etched-in-bone

Books, fantasy, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, Urban Fantasy

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Karen

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I’m a little late on this review but honestly I had a hard time with this book so I waited a long time to post this. Here is my review A Court of Mist and Fury by SJM but first of course is the blurb:

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

The review:

I know I have an unpopular opinion but I feel it’s important to be honest in all my reviews so here it is, my official review of the book. Let me start out by saying that I was actually looking forward to this book, I had heard that it would be a retelling of the Hades/Persephone tale and I found that idea to be interesting. I liked Rhys in the first book, he was bad, totally amoral and seemed to have his own agenda so I was eager to see how she would work the story, and I originally liked Tamlin and Feyre so I was also curious to see how she was going to break their relationship apart. Needless to say I was unhappy with much of this book, but let’s break it down:

1. The length. Holy moly. This book clocks in at 640 pages officially but it felt like 700 and should have been at the very most 400 (though I would have been very happy with it stopping at 350). In fact when I hit 355 pages I remember putting a marker in my kindle and saying “where is this booking going?” in the notes. It needed editing, major editing, I mean like 200 pages worth. Many times the book would go on for pages about side stories or pointless topics that just needed to go.

2. The sex. Listen I read a lot of PNR so it’s not that the sex itself offended me, it’s that it wasn’t very good and it didn’t belong in this type of book. You can’t write a first book for YA and then write a second book that is so obviously NOT YA and expect all the YA fans out there not to read it. And it wasn’t well written! If your going to make the jump into the big girls club do it well dammit! Ugh so bad I actually skimmed the sex scenes, they were just…ridiculous.

3. Feyre. I disliked her sooo much in this book. I am realizing this is a trend with me and SJM, I don’t like her spoiled, selfish, over the top lead female characters. You know the ones that can make mistakes and do what ever they want and EVERYONE kisses their feet but if someone does something, even minor, they don’t like it’s full on temper tantrum time. And everyone in the book is totally fine with that. I hate that, making me really dislike the book.

4. Rhysand. Like I said earlier I loved the contrast of this character in the first book. He was a very good villain, but in this book he lost all the qualities that I loved about him. He went from being this strong, crazy, slightly evil man willing to stand up to Feyre and do whatever it took for his survival (and that of his people) to a marshmallow willing to do anything Feyre wants even if it means everyone else suffers. I hated to see him destroyed.

5. The plot. Which was? Getting the cauldron? That can’t be it, that’s the last 50 pages that would be crazy. Falling in love? Is that a plot? I’m so confused what is the point of this book….

So another SJM series is done for me, honestly for me I think I just don’t like her books. It was really my fault for starting another series after being so disappointed in the direction the ToG series is going and ultimately stopping that one as well.