Books, great reads, Reviews, scifi, Urban Fantasy

Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

magic stars 2

I received an ARC of this book from the author…and all I can say is wow! I loved it! I am a fan of the Kate Daniels series so I was actually excited to buy this book come the end of December, but thanks to the Andrews team I got to read it early. So lets talk about it.

Blurb: Derek Gaunt has no family and few friends. Scarred, solitary, he is the lone wolf who separated from his pack. When those close to him are murdered, he’ll stop at nothing to hunt their killer through magic-drenched Atlanta.

Soon Julie Olsen joins him and what begins as revenge turns into the race to save the city. Their search puts them against powers they never imagined and magic so old, it predates history. It may cost Derek his life, but there are things for which even he would risk everything.

Review: I love this world, so for me this was icing on the cake. The awesome part is that it doesn’t have the throw away feel like most novellas do. This had solid world building, so if you’re not familiar with Kate Daniels (If you love UF this series is a must read) then you could still picture the post-shift Atlanta. Also being it Derek’s mind was a refreshing twist, one I didn’t expect, and the moments when he was talking to Julie were right on point for both of their characters. The story was interesting too, not too complicated with the shortness of the book, yet not immediately revealing, making you want to read more. If I could give future writers advice (and I really shouldn’t since I’m not one myself, but think of this purely from a readers standpoint) this is a great example of how, no matter how long your story is, fundamentals are key. This story had a clear beginning, middle and end but still left me with questions, making me hungry for the next book.

Great read and I highly recommend it, though it’s not available yet, mark your calendars for this book. Remember end of December, grab a copy you won’t regret it.

Books, great reads, Reviews

Blood Kiss by JR Ward

Oh hello there stranger…its been awhile. When Les and I started this blog the conversation literally went like this. Les: “Wanna start a blog?”  Me:”OK” not any real planning. So when we both hit our busy season at work, you all got neglected. Sorry about that, but lets talk books okay?

blood kiss

Whoa. Okay let’s do this properly, blurb, review, and then some randomness. But before we start I have a confession, I love the Warden (not thinking about the Bourbon Kings) and have been a fan for a while. So when she announced a spin off of the BDB I was naturally curious (or excitingly counting down, you decide). Okay now you know mentally how I went into this we can start.

Blurb: Paradise, blooded daughter of the king’s First Advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself…be herself. It’s a good plan, until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it’s very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O’Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that’s before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated—and left wondering whether she’s strong enough to claim her own power…on the field, and off.

The Review: I really liked this book. I didn’t fall over dead because of its awesomeness, but part of that I think was me. It’s important to understand that only half of the book is about Craeg and Paradise, the other half is a revisit on Butch and Marissa’s relationship. I devoured every page that Craeg, Paradise or any of the recruit were on. I found their relationship well crafted, interesting, and frankly hot, hot, hot. And the whole training aspect of this book, awesome. I’m eager to hear more from Peyton, Axe, Novo and Boone. It’s nice to get a little fresh blood in this series.

My favorite part is that this book reminded me why I love JR Ward. It was scorching right from go, the story didn’t feel one dimensional, and I laughed out loud more than once. I was reading at stop lights at one point I was so engaged. So why not a 5 star review? I think this was because I never really fell in love with the Butch and Marissa thing making me wish sometimes that the book was just about Craeg and Paradise. I didn’t want them to have to share a book. It’s not necessarily that I have anything against revisits, I love The King and can’t wait for The Beast, I just found them a bit boring compared to the rest of the book. This is why I feel like that’s just my problem, I tried to originally skip Butch’s book and go straight to V’s (which you can’t, you really have to read Butch’s book first) so I’ve always been a little rushed with them. If you like Butch and Marissa, then you’ll love this book. Even if you don’t, like me, you’ll still find the rest of the story engaging.

Overall I have to say this was a blow out of the water bounce back for Ward, it reminded me why I love her so. I have stopped buying the books after #9 but this is a purchase for me. And it makes me want to reread the series, which is always a good thing. This is a must read for any Warden fan but even if you don’t know JR Ward (sorry what rock have you been sleeping under?) you should still give this read a go.

Books, great reads, Reviews

Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds

Hey everyone,

Blurb:

Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she’s the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet’s secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there…

But there is a secret involving some Guild members–one that could get her killed.

Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it—even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything–including each other–in their battle for the right to live in peace.

I really enjoyed this book.  I have been a long time fan of Ms. Reynolds since I found her Vampires in America series several years ago which is still on-going.  She writes very well and is wonderful at the craft of world building. Both characters of Amanda and Rhodry are well-developed.  Their motivations are understood throughout the book.  I think Amanda is especially strong and she shows it especially as what happens to her and then Rhodry unfolds.   She also did a good job of describing the antagonists in the story and what they wanted as well. One thing that I really liked about this book was that the relationship between Rhodry and Amanda was a slow build.  The author did not rush and it worked.  Honestly, once Amanda entered the trial to pursue entry into the Guild, she and then Rhodry were so busy trying to survive, they didn’t have time for a whole lot to happen fast.  Anyway, this really involved learning more about the planet of Harp, some of the history of Harp’s genetically altered shifters, Amanda’s ability to  “hear the trees” and get back to the City.

This was a great combination of some fantasy, some space travel, and paranormal. I am looking forward to more books in this series.  There are several very interesting characters that hopefully will have their stories told as well.

Happy Reading,

debra

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$25 Amazon Gift Certificate Ending Saturday Night

Almost there! We are picking our winner of the $25 Amazon gift certificate tonight (well midnight so technically tomorrow morning) so if you haven’t entered yet better hurry!!

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