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

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by: Darynda Jones

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

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

30687916

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, great reads, Reviews

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

image

Hey everybody,

The Blurb:  Swallow, Daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky. My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free. But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird?

My thoughts: I loved this story. This is the first book by this author I have read and I want to read more from her. This story is her first venture into the world of fantasy, I understand, and I think she did a great job. I found this book because it was this month’s book in the online book club I belong to.

Lark is a 5 year old girl when her mother is killed in front of her and her voice is gone. She is rejected by her father, yet she grows into a loving, caring person. Tiras is the king of Jeru with a secret. This book contains fantasy, magic in a mysterious world, betrayal and interesting characters, a council of lords that helps to provide additional angst to the story. The story also has a medieval feel to it. The author has spun her world building wonderfully. I have heard good things about this author so I plan to try some of her other writings.

Happy Reading,

Debra

Books, great reads, Reviews, Romance

Fatal Mistake by Marie Force

image

Hey everyone,

The Blurb:  A critical error. A Cinderella season cut short. A star player murdered. DC is recovering from angry riots after one player’s mistake blew the DC Federals’ chance at the World Series, and Lieutenant Sam Holland is determined to unravel the twisted web of motives behind the star center fielder’s death. Was it a disgruntled fan, a spurned lover or a furious teammate? While Sam digs through clues, her husband, US Senator Nick Cappuano, fights for his political life in the final days of his reelection campaign as financial irregularities threaten his future. It’s a distraction Nick can ill afford with Sam in the midst of another high-profile murder investigation and both of them trying to help their adopted son, Scotty, cope with the murder of a ballplayer he admired. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Sam must root out the truth before another mistake proves fatal.

My thoughts: I am really enjoying this series. The characters of Nick and Sam are still interesting and the adoption of Scotty is proceeding. As always, I found the murder mystery interesting and involved. It took a turn I didn’t expect which I always love. The only critique I would give is the character of Scotty is so adorable. He is a 12-year old boy. The issue–he is almost too perfect. I have never known a 12-year boy be this perfect!!! I don’t think they exist. LOL Overall, an enjoyable read.

Happy reading,

Debra