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

*Audiobook* Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Karen

magic-bites

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, Mystery, Out of the Box Blogs, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by: Darynda Jones

Les

Hey everyone! Look I got lost, but I found my way back. I will save you the details of my absence, but I will say Step mom is battling Breast Cancer, Dad has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cirrhosis of the Liver. So, 2016 has been a hell of a year for Karen, Debra, and I. I got so caught up in the illnesses that I missed out on a lot this past year. I am working on getting back to normal. Truth is, I have only read 2 books in the past 6 months. I know right, What the hell? Well Lets change that.

I was so excited to receive this book. As you all probably know I love the Charley Davidson Series. Karen introduced me to it and that was it for me. Bad ass girl grim reaper, really hot son of Satan and all kinds of fun stuff happening. What is not to love.

We have made it to the 11th book in the series. I was super excited, because it seemed like this one is coming out not long after the 10th. I think that is more my warped perception of time, than actual truth.

Lets get to the exciting part: THE ENTIRE FREAKING BOOK. She jam-packed this book with action, and a lot of Reyes Farrow. Oh, how I love Mr. Farrow.

Charley is still Charley, she does dumb stuff, and is still learning about who she is. Reyes now knows he is a God as well, and he is determined to teach Charley about her abilities. He is also his dominating self, and is handing out orders and of course Charley is laughing at that. We are also finally finding out other people’s roles in Beep’s life. Of course Swopes is still there, and as usual Cookie is horribly dressed and still amazing at helping Charley.

There are some new bad guys, humans, Gods, Angels , and ghosts. Michael is making his appearances, as well as other Angels that seem to be everywhere Charley is. Of course, she did threaten to take over the world.

Those dang Fosters  (wow they are creepy) and the fake adoption agency are still causing issues. Something is wrong with Uncle Bob, and Charley wants to unmark him since he is slated for Hell, since he killed some people to save Charley.

Charley is as usual having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she is a God and has some amazing abilities. She realizes that when she is angry, she can do cruel and amazing things if she doesn’t learn to control it. She needs to learn control.

Charley and team solve the case. She also is told she is a God eater, and 13 Gods in one, so she is the most powerful God in this dimension. She puts this theory to the test.

And at the end, she does something Reyes asks, which is a surprise. However, it may be the worst thing they have ever done.

As you know you have to read the book to find out. I need the 12th book right now, because of course its a cliffhanger. Go read it! If you haven’t started this series, then you should do so now! you don’t know what you’re missing.

Peace!

Les

Books

Hard Justice by Lori Foster

debra

Hey everybody,

The Blurb:  Justice Wallington knows how to harness his strength and intimidating size—skills he put to good use first in the MMA cage, and now as a bodyguard at the Body Armor agency. But no opponent has ever left him feeling as off balance as his new client, heiress Fallon Wade. Far from a spoiled princess, she’s sweet and intriguingly innocent. It’s a risk-free assignment, until he’s required to fake a relationship with her in order to blend in. Sheltered from the world after a family tragedy, Fallon longs to experience life—going to bars, dancing, talking to strangers. Not easy with a huge, lethal-looking bodyguard shadowing her every move. Justice seems like her polar opposite, but pretending to be a couple stirs undeniable heat. And when danger strikes again, it’s not just her safety in jeopardy, but a passion that’s real, raw and absolutely against the rules…

My Thoughts:  Hard Justice is book 2 of the Body Armor series by Lori Foster. I love Ms. Foster’s books and this is another winner by her. Justice is a former MMA fighter turned bodyguard and is given the assignment to protect Fallon, who has been sheltered by her parents after a family tragedy. Fallon is not your “typical poor little rich girl”. She is level-headed, sincere, nice and spunky. She is determined to live life a bit and catch up from being sheltered. Justice is charmed by her but they start out being friends before the pull between them heats up. It takes Justice a little time to realize she is not quite what he assumed she would be.

Both Justice and Fallon are great characters. I enjoyed the banter between them and also between Justice and Fallon’s father. I also liked Justice’s family that we see when he and Fallon visit. This story has a very good plot that must be solved and it takes a little while to figure out who the bad guys are. It was also fun to see some of the gang from the Ultimate series pop up.

I highly recommend you check out Ms. Foster’s books. They are entertaining and well-written.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader copy of this book.

Books

Hunter’s Moon by Angela Colsin

debra

 

The blurb: Caleb Hodgins is a lupine known to the Arkin City Pack as an easy going wolf with a carefree attitude. But after tragedy strikes because of what he is, he’s left with a painful secret and the weight of grief hanging on his shoulders. Such heartache causes Caleb to swear he’ll never seek companionship with a human woman again, and it’s a plan that works well enough—until Emily Sterling comes to town.
When presented with the opportunity to take a long sought job in Arkin City, Emily quickly accepts, moving halfway across the country to live next door to her childhood friend, Joslyn Santiago-Hodgins. After years of keeping in touch long distance, she finally meets the people in Joslyn’s life, and finds everyone easy to fit in with—that is, everyone except Joslyn’s brother-in-law, Caleb.
Emily has no idea why he’s so put off by her, and his dismissive behaviors become increasingly disappointing as her attraction to him turns into undeniable interest. Yet she also doesn’t realize just how quickly her fun loving attitude and playful wit draws Caleb in, reminding him of his painful secret and his drive to prevent history from repeating itself.
But a case of missing lupines sweeping the southern states may put Emily in danger simply by her unwitting association with the Arkin City Pack, giving Caleb more than one reason to protect her. In the process, the gears of bonding start to turn, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it, forcing him to face his fear of revealing the truth about what he is, and risk losing Emily for good.

My thoughts:  Another very good installment in The Crucible world by Angela Colsin. I enjoy the world the author has created. The world has depth, well-developed characters and believable dialogue. Caleb and Emily are interesting characters and whose story had a detailed and entertaining plot. I felt sorry for Caleb’s plight and was glad to see the pull between him and Emily. I also enjoyed seeing characters from other books appear and able to catch up with their lives.

I hope Ms. Colsin writes more in this world–I will read them. I am hoping for one character’s book in particular!! (And I hope the author has the same plan!!)

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.