Tag: bookworm

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

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

Karen

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

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Karen

22062213

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, great reads, Reviews

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

debra

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, Mystery, Reviews, Romance

Fatal Frenzy by Marie Force

debra

image

Hey everyone,

The blurb:  Lieutenant Sam Holland is on leave, recovering from an attack that shook her to the core. With no case to distract her, she’s trying to stay busy—even voluntarily meeting with her new White House staff. But it’s not enough to keep the horrific memories at bay, and her family is worried…especially her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano.  Nick is dealing with his own demons where his wife’s safety is concerned, losing night after night of sleep as he works to make sure what happened that day will never happen again. The pressure is building inside the Cappuanos’ marriage, and something’s got to give before Nick takes the oath of office.  When two college girls go missing in the midst of inauguration madness, the chief of police needs the one cop he can count on to find them and save the Metro PD from disgrace. In a case full of ugly twists and turns, Sam will have to confront her past and find her strength again…before it’s too late.

My thoughts:  A very good entry in this series. Frenzy is a proper title for this book. Sam is trying to recuperate from the attack she suffered in the prior book and is on leave. She is trying to pull herself together, talk to the department’s therapist and trying to decided whether to go back to work. All of this in the middle of Nick’s inauguration. The murder mystery again is interesting and at times heartbreaking for our crew of detectives. The entire cast of characters are here and one of them finally finds some news out that should have been told to her earlier. Another hit in this series!

Happy Reading,

Debra