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

Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh

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Allegiance of Honor is the latest book in the Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh and this is one of my favorite series.  For me, this book is a bridge book between story arc 1 and story arc 2 that begins with the next book.

The blurbThe Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.

But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.

To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?

My thoughts:  This book is a big gift to her fans from the author.  It is an ensemble book where she gives us insights into the current status of all of our favorite characters in this series.  We are updated on their lives and finally see the birth of the “pupcubs” (an event fans have waited several books for).  I lost my bet on the number of births!  We also have a plotline of the attempted kidnapping of Lucas and Sasha Darling’s first child, Naya—the first child born of a mating between a Psy and a Changeling.  Her birth is the representation of love, understanding and hope for the future of all three races inhabiting the world (the Psy, the Changelings and the Humans).  But this hope is not something that the evil Consortium wants to see happen as they intend to take over the world and they don’t like the fall of Silence and the Trinity Accord that the races are forming in hope of all races working together toward peace and harmony.

I really enjoyed this book as I do all the books in this series, although of course, some I like more than others.  I do not feel it is as strong as some of the other books in the series, especially the last two books.  But, I believe that is because this book is a bridge between arc 1 and arc 2.  Those books must be difficult to write for an author I would think.  However, Nalini’s writing is as strong as ever.  I did feel she gave some background details from earlier books leading into the updates of the characters—this was a bit distracting for me because I know those details.  If a person is just starting this series, this book is not the place to start.  The author has created such a rich and detailed world that this series (in my humble opinion) must be started at the beginning.  This arc tells much about the world, leading to the fall of Silence.  I also was hoping for a few more details to lead us into arc 2, but that didn’t necessarily happen except for the kidnapping attempt and more trouble is on the way.  There was one loose end from arc 1 that I was hoping would end in this book but that line is still open into arc 2.  If you have not read the Psy-Changeling series, I highly recommend it.  It begins with Slave to Sensation and you will not be disappointed as the world evolves throughout the story.

 

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

Blood Shadows by Lindsay Pryor

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I recently picked up this book because I always participate in the Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown and Kane, the main male lead in this series, killed all my favorites. I later found out that the author added a link from her website so all her fans would go and vote, now normally I’m down with this kinda stuff but clearly they knew none of the other competitors (mostly UF and PNR powerhouses like Kate Daniels, Barrons, Vlad, Charles Cornick, etc) and never voted on anything else. In fact it got kind of ridiculous with us regulars attempting to keep in our favorites and us just getting crushed by people who asked things like who’s Kate??? I shudder. I tell you this because I think I didn’t go into this book with the best mindset but it did have two things going for it (1) the cover is smoking hot (2) I got it for $1 on Amazon. Now you know where I’m at mentally here is the official blurb:

For vengeance – would you trust a vampire?

For justice – could you betray your family?

For love – are you ready to question everything you believe in?

Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.

For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.

She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.

Or die.

I’m going to warn you right now, this review contains spoilers and lots of bitching. I severely disliked this book so if you loved it, stop here. If you don’t want any further information on the story, please stop here. If you think you may like it in the future for the love of all that is holy…STOP HERE!!! You’ve been warned..

 

 

Let’s talked about the first half, now stop me if this starts to sound familiar at any point. Ready?

Caitlin is a vampire hunter with a grudge who thinks she can take down any vampire. I mean she hates them because of family issues so she has something to prove, and the little power she has she uses to hunt them. Kane is a master with a mess of power and skill. She goes after him, gets in way over her head, thinks shes captured him when in reality he ends up capturing her. Then Cat and Bones..errr I mean Caitlin and Kane end up having sex. Yeah. It was like a bad copy but all wrong somehow.

But this is the part that made me hate this book. She starts to talk about how her heart is falling for him…blah blah blah I mean the real mushy stuff girls just can’t resist. Oh her soul practically belongs to him (literally) and she just can’t help her heart. Oooooh and Kane this all powerful vampire just can’t control himself around her! you get the picture. During all this she somehow escapes, calls for back up and runs into some shifters guy. He tells her that her father, stepdad and ex boyfriend participated in the rape and murder of Kane’s sister. She doesn’t believe it. Kane, whom she’s falling in love with, tells her and he’s a liar. Her stepdad and ex boyfriend capture Kane, admit the truth and they are torturing him..here is the kicker, what does she do? As for his forgiveness? Nope! She won’t release him from the torture unless he promises to not hurt the douche bags that participated in the RAPE AND MURDER of his sister, help her escape some monster, and let her boss the puppet master of all this go. Oh and when he doesn’t agree immediately!?! She threatens him, the guy she loves and her heart aches for, yeah she’s gonna read his soul even though he’s begging her not to and is too weak to resist. You know from all the torture her family and friends have inflicted on him. But she’s not sure if she can trust him. What a peach. This makes me absolutely love her and want to read more about her. Listen she can say a million times her heart aches for Kane and his sister, but as far as I  concerned her actions say she’s a self centered bitch. Sorry, don’t like her. Not. One. Bit.

The sick part is I think I would like Kane if he wasn’t constantly fawning over Caitlin. Ugh I’m so done.

 

 

Books, fantasy, funny, great reads, indie author, Out of the Box Blogs, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance, scifi, steampunk, Urban Fantasy

Rant Alert: mistakes in books

Ok, anyone who knows me, knows one of my biggest pet peeves is grammar and spelling mistakes in a book.
That being said, I will overlook occasional mistakes, no one is perfect. However, I was recently reading a book series that I bought as a bundle, and it was riddled with mistakes.
It drove me crazy!!! I almost stopped reading it. I didn’t stop, because of 2 reasons.
1. This was a really good story. I really liked the idea.
2. I just have a feeling this is a small publishing company, and or an indie author.
I have a love for indie authors, who have amazing stories and just haven’t gotten that “big break” yet. I respect their efforts, their time, and their amazing abilities to write some of the best stories.
Please, before you attack me, know that I DO NOT blame the authors for these errors. Their job is to create magic, a world I can escape to, not to know how to spell every word or know every grammar rule. I blame proofreaders, editors, and beta readers.
If these mistakes were missed by the proofreader, then I am sorry you need a new profession in the case of this story. The editor should probably move on too, they should have seen the errors before it went to publishing. Also, what beta readers would read this book and not at least tell the author about the errors.
I just had to say something. I even tried to find the author on social media and other places, just to talk to her before I posted my review on Amazon, and to offer my services as a beta reader or proofreader.

I think she has an amazing gift and it is being short changed because of errors that should have been fixed.
I also want to know about the other people who reviewed the books. They were giving 5 stars and not one mentioned the errors. Some of these were ARC reviews. When I do an ARC review I will always let the author or publisher know of the errors if I can. If not, it will still be mentioned in my review. I think it’s a poor excuse for a reviewer, if they are not going to be honest.
I was nice and gave 3 stars. I feel like without the errors the story would have been a 4 or 4.5 star book.

Do excessive errors in books drive you crazy?

Peace! ✌🏻

Les

Books, fantasy, funny, great reads, Out of the Box Blogs, paranormal romance, Reviews, Romance

The Curse of the Tenth Grave by: Darynda Jones

 

Ok I just finished this like 5 minutes ago. I couldn’t wait to share it!!!

It’s no secret, I obviously got the ARC for this book, since it won’t be out until June 28th.

If you are a fan of the Charley Davidson series, then preorder it and clear that day on your schedule, because you aren’t gonna want to miss a single moment.
I loved this book!!!!!! Darynda Jones has done it again!! I usually lose interest in a series around book 3 or 4. This is book 10 and I am no where ready for this series to end!!!!! I love the ending!

In this book Charley is kicking asses. She is coming into her powers and it shows. She is still funny and quirky, but she is more self aware this time around.

It’s like in the beginning of the series when Charley was comfortable with herself and knew what she was at that time. She was amazing. Then, in later books I feel like she lost herself because she didn’t know who or what she actually was, or what she is capable of. Now I feel like she is back to being comfortable. And boy is she enjoying her new tricks!!!!

Reyes is as hot as always!!! Sometimes I wish I was Aunt Lillian, so I could check Reyes out while he is using George.

Read this book right now!!! I couldn’t put it down. It won’t disappoint!!!
Peace,

Les