Whelp, it's been a pretty slow reading week. Ok, not really...but, I've been re-reading Anne Bishop's Written in Red since the new one in "The Others" series (Murder of Crows) just came out this Tuesday. While I wish Bishop would also revisit her "Black Jewels" series, her new urban fantasy series is setting up to be almost as great. Anyway...on to today's TBT post. Since the weather around here has been crazy these past few months (80+ degrees yesterday...but back down to the 40s today? Gotta be kidding me.(), this seemed like a fitting choice. ill wind by Rachel CaineHave you ever looked up at the sky (or shaken your fist at the Weather Channel) wondering what's up with the weather these days? Well, Rachel Caine gives you the explanation you were looking for: a select group of humans (called Wardens) who can control the various elements (like Weather, Fire, and Earth) are embroiled in a battle against themselves and Mother Nature as they try to regulate Nature's wrath upon the earth. Oh, and they harness the power of the aether (where they do their Warden-y stuff) with the help of captive Djinn, of course. So, what happens when one Weather Warden, Joanne, discovers that she's been corrupted with a Demon Mark (which, as you may have guessed, is bad news for anyone let alone a Warden)? She seeks out the strongest Warden of them all - Lewis - who happens to be the only Warden who can harness all the elements, rather than just one. When her plans go awry, however, Jo stumbles across a mysterious hitchhiker named David and the two of them embark on a journey to not only save Jo from a certain death-by-demon-mark, but to also save the world. Ok, so that's obviously a hugely generalized summary. I'm writing this review having read several books into the series and I don't want to give any future spoilers, so I will just stop there with the plot. But, what a fun concept for a book/series. Caine does a great job with the world building...it comes across as the "real world" - especially since the average person doesn't realize that the Wardens are responsible for holding back Nature's wrath. Once she set up the general populace's ignorance, Caine was free to expand the Warden and the Djinn universe and she does so perfectly. From the aether to the Djinn to the crappy politics within the Warden's world, it comes across as just realistic enough to make it believable. I found the Djinn concept to be really interesting as well. I'm glad Caine stayed away from the stereotypical genie (ie. Aladdin's genie or the like). These Djinn are more forbidding, more dangerous. Their enslavement to their Warden masters is an interesting element and puts a pall on the Wardens actions and will certainly be something Caine will address as the series progresses. The writing style is a bit light and tad fluffy. If you are looking for an epic urban fantasy, this is probably not going to scratch that itch. This is pure escapist fiction and will probably be a quick read...but sometimes that is just the book you need. Rating:
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Ever have a huge amount of books you've read, but haven't actually reviewed? Well, I do. I thought I'd try to do at least one per week...more if work gets boring. So, let's kick it off with one of the more interesting covers... My life as a white trash zombie by Diana RowlandI really like the back cover blurb for this book, so here it is: "Angel Crawford is a loser. Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken. That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in a horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue -- and that's an offer she doesn't dare refuse. Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addition: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey -- just when she's hungriest! Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat. Literally." This was such a fun, fun read! This book has some fun cover art - after seeing the cover and reading the back blurb, you know you are in for a treat. Is it funny? Well, I guess that depends on your sense of humor. Obviously, with a protagonist who eats brains like she used to pop pills, the humor is going to be very dark. And a lot of the dark humor was (brain?) sandwiched or included in some pretty gross (brain?) matter. With a lead character who throws out lines like: "Why did I have the urge to grab a handful of that pink and grey mass and shove it into my mouth like movie popcorn?" you know you are in for a treat. Well, I think so at any rate. If you don't have a dark sense of humor and/or if you get pretty queasy when it comes to some graphic descriptions of brains/rot/etc...well, then you may want to pass. If you are up for the challenge, however, you may find (like I did) that the book featured a fun, light mystery (who's the serial killer and why is he/she taking all the heads and depriving Angel of her yummy brains?) with a touch of zombified romance. White Trash Zombie was a lot of fun - largely because it's different than the bulk of its genre. I didn't feel like I was reading the same story with different characters...this story felt fresh and fun. Oh, and I read it on the pool deck of a cruise ship with one (or two?) mojitos in hand so that may have contributed to my enjoyment of it as well. Still...whether or not you have a mojito in your mouth and Caribbean music in the background, check this one out. It's an undead gem. Rating:Let's kill two birds with one stone here... The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss by Gena ShowalterThe Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss (books one and two, respectively) kick off Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld paranormal romance series. This series has been on my radar for a while and has been recommended to me several times since I do enjoy a good paranormal romance. It seems as though a lot of people compare this series to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. While it has it's similarities, the BDB series is, in my opinion, immensely better. I'll be honest - the series does have an interesting premise. There are several Lords of the Underworld - it seems as though most, if not all, of the Lords were involved in the opening of Pandora's Box back in the day. As a punishment for unleashing Pandora's evils out on the world, each Lord of the Underworld is cursed to carry one of the evils/demons that had previously been living within Pandora's Box. As is the thing with these kinds of series, the men have had to endure the curses for centuries, but all seem to find love and/or redemption around the same time. The Darkest Night introduces us to Maddox, cursed to carry the demon of Violence, and to Ashlyn, a human woman with a penchant for hearing voices. Ashlyn seeks out the Lords in an attempt to try and stop the voices in her head. She stumbles upon Maddox who initially thinks she is Bait (humans who are used for...well...bait by the Lords' enemies - the Hunters) while he is out seeking Hunters that are trespassing on the grounds. The two team up to fight the powers that be and...hopefully this shouldn't come as a spoilery surprise...they fall in lust (er, love?) and the plot moves on. The Darkest Kiss then moves on to Lucien who is cursed to carry the demon of Death. This second installment starts out rather abruptly (and, in my honest opinion, quite awfully) with Anya (the goddess of Anarchy...a "minor" goddess in the Pantheon, but don't tell her that apparently) stalking Lucien in a club while the other Lords (or maybe it was just Paris, the Lord saddled with the demon of Promiscuity? I can't remember) have sex on the dance floor with women. Anya has her own issues as the daughter of a promiscuous daughter and the product of an affair. Anya is cursed by Themis to an unfulfilled, unhappy love life because of the sins of her mother. Anya has angered the Titan god Cronus...so much so that Cronus has ordered Lucien to kill Anya. So begins the cat and mouse game that's peppered with lust (er, love? Maybe?). I just didn't like these. I didn't really enjoy the first book and I only gave the second one a whirl because it came up as the book of the month in a bookclub I enjoy. In both books, the characters are flat, the writing boring and somewhat awkward, and the love just isn't there. Oh, there's lust aplenty. But, a "lust story" holds no appeal for me. I wonder if the series doesn't get better as the author matures in her writing style and as the characters grow (and I don't know enough of Showalter to know whether or not these were written early on in her career or not). I just don't know if I will continue on in the series to find out if they get better. Rating:Bone Crossed by Patricia BriggsAnother solid installment of the Mercy Thompson series. I was hesitant to start reading this one so soon after finishing Iron Kissed because I really enjoyed Iron Kissed. Despite my reservations, Bone Kissed was pretty good! In this novel, Briggs takes us back to the vampire side of the Tri-Cities and we delve further into the mess made by Andre/Stephan/Mercy etc that was addressed in an earlier book. The vampire seethe Mistress, Marsilia, is upset at Mercy's actions that resulted in the death of Andre and seeks to punish Mercy...even if that means murder. As Mercy starts to deal with the fallout of murdering a vampire, however, she is introduced to a vampire that even other vampires call "The Monster". Oh, and Mercy officially makes her decision -- Adam or Samuel? I think, as of right now, I still prefer the fae side of the Tri-Cities story arc. The vampires are interesting and definitely more developed at this point in the plotline, but I am kind of tired of vampires. I know when the books originally came out, vampires weren't as cliche as they are now...but I'm still a little burned out on the vamps. Briggs does a great job, however, establishing interesting focal points within the vampire mythology that kept me interested in the plotline and the character development. Stephan is a great example - I liked him in book one, but I like him even more now that I am in book four. Briggs is excellent at developing rich, flawed characters. Looking forward to book number five! Rating:Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice DavidsonThis one's a big bag of "meh". On the one hand I liked it. It was a light read that had its funny moments. And the vampire mythology wasn't as stereotypical as your average book. But on the flipside, the book was almost too light and too irreverent. When you take a step back and look at the plot, Davidson throws in some pretty heavy plot points...rape, child abuse, murder, etc. Yet, the book is so fast-paced you almost don't have time to process the "bad stuff" and instead get bounced around from joke to joke to joke. You're twenty pages on before it clicks - "oh, there was a rape reference there" or "oh there's horrific child abuse being attempted here.". Let's be honest...Twilight aside, vampires aren't supposed to be sparkly high school students full of teenage angst. You expect an element of horror because vampires originated in the horror genre. I just didn't like that the elements of horror in this book were so glossed over that they lost their meaning. You could argue the "horror elements" were trivialized too much. But, like I said...this is a quick read that does have its fun moments. I can see why a lot of people really enjoy this series. And I am not saying that a book can't be light and humorous while also dealing with heavier themes. I just wish the heavier themes in this book had been treated with more respect. As of now I don't think I will pick up book number two. Rating:A Girl's Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlisterJust couldn't do this one. There's satire and parody...and then there's trying to take it that much further. MacAlister just pushes it beyond the line of parody and comedy into the realm of syrupy awfulness. I can put up with not liking a side character...but to find the main characters insipid and annoying - nope. Life's too short and there are too many books I want to read out there. Rating:Iron Kissed by Patricia BriggsSo, I really enjoyed this third installment in the "Mercy Thompson" series. The book is a tad formulaic: Mercedes Thompson is a hardcore mechanic who can shift... + But someone needs her to use her shifter abilities... + Mercy uses said abilities but then... + Mercy gets into trouble... + Which causes the local werewolf pack to go beserk in her defense... ---------------------------------- = Mercy saves the day and we move on to the next book It seems as though those elements have been in all three books so far. Not sure if the rest of the series continues in the same fashion. **BUT** Despite it being formulaic and, one could argue, a bit predictable, Iron Kissed was excellent. I think Iron Kissed is my favorite one so far...despite the not-cool twist toward the end of the story. Briggs lets her readers get to know the characters so when something like that end-of-story twist happens...well, you feel awful right along with the characters. I did enjoy that we explored the fae side of things in Iron Kissed. I like Briggs' vampires, however, I was ready to explore some of the other creatures. And learning more about the enigmatic Zee was excellent as well. I think the next book goes back to vampires...so I hope Briggs' revisits the fae in a future book. Plus, on a personal note, I really enjoy that Mercy was a history major in college. As a fellow history major, I can really relate with the "historian humor" Briggs throws into the story. In this installment, Mercy complains about a job interview at a high school that she turned down....the school wanted her to coach a sport *and* teach history classes whereas she felt history should be valued enough to be taught exclusively and not by a coach who happens to teach the history class to supplement their coach's income. Trust me...this happens in the real world. And if you are interested in history and not interested in coaching a sport, it can make job hunting very irritating. But I digress.... I am really enjoying this series and am looking forward to the future books. This is one of the perks of being behind in series...it's kind of like Netflix - I can read and read and read and not worry about waiting for the next one to be published. Rating:Storm's Heart by Thea HarrisonI don't know how to review this book. I mean...yeah, don't know how to do it. I just keep staring at the picture of the cover and one question remains --> why cut off Tiago's head?? I mean, yeah, it's "that" kind of book, but still... And to add insult to injury, the library edition I have has the library barcode placed smack dab on Tiago's shirtless chest...which only leaves Tiago from the waist down and half a cityscape in the background. It's just kind of awkward. You know what else is awkward? The romance in this second installment of The Elder Races. I mean, I liked the book as a whole...but it's really hard to believe that Tiago goes through such a huge character change in less than a week. Day one: Tiago is a brooding Thunderbird/Destroyer of Worlds...surly and military-minded. Day two: Tiago is a besotted, possessive alpha-male ready to leave the world he's been living in for...oh, you know...since practically the dawn of time. Now, granted, Niniane has been in Tiago's world for several years, but she admits that Tiago was always gone doing warlord-y stuff so she didn't really have that much interaction with him during her time in the Wyr demesne. The romance just seemed contrived and forced and way way way too fast. I wish the romance had evolved a bit more gradually...had been more organic feeling. Since the romance was one of the pivotal elements of the book, the fact that it was just kind of weird made me drop it down two stars. The rest of the story was pretty good, though. I liked reading about Tricks' journey to take back her inheritance. Harrison sets up the premise for the third installment as well and I definitely plan on continuing the series. Insta-Love and cheesy shirtless covers, however, put it solidly in the realm of cotton candy. Rating:Lover Revealed by J.R. WardSo...the Black Dagger Brotherhood is picking up steam. I confess, I was not looking forward to reading Butch's story. Out of all the Brothers (and my initial thought was - he wasn't even a Brother, so why was there a book for him?), I really just didn't like him. Plus, the relationship between him and Marissa was projected in the earlier books...so what more was there to say about Butch? Well, yeah...apparently there was a lot more to say about Butch. I definitely did not see these plot developments coming which made Lover Revealed a fun read. Butch definitely redeems himself a bit in this book and becomes a more in-depth character as well. There seemed to be less references to "shitkickers" and quickly outdated rap artists which made me happy...although, there were still plenty of "what's doing, my brother?"s to fill the annoying quota for this novel. As long as there are lines like that in these books, they will continue to earn their spot on the cotton candy bookshelf. The overall plot is also kicking up some speed in this novel. I won't go any further than that to avoid some major spoilers...but let's just say things are definitely getting interesting in the BDB world. I'm looking forward to the next installment - we shall see "what's doing" with Vishous. Rating:World After by Susan EeSo, I raced through the second installment of Penryn & the End of Days. World After is the sequel to the immensely popularAngelfall which I read last week (was it last week? I think so...with Christmas and time off of work the days seem to blur together). World After starts out shortly after the end of Angelfall. Paige has been rescued but something is just not right about Penryn's little sister. Penryn struggles to not only accept Paige in her new form, but to also accept that Raffe is gone and may never return. One thing leads to another and Paige is missing again with Penryn hot on her trail to try and rescue her little sister. Again. Will Raffe return? If he does, will he get his angel wings back from Beliel? And what's with those scorpion things? All questions that are answered in World After. I enjoyed this installment better than the first one. It was just as quick of a read as Angelfall, yet I felt that Ee explored Penryn as a character a little bit more and the story didn't seem so rushed. The angels seem rather two-dimensional...for the most part they're arrogant, chauvinistic warriors. Raffe seems to be the only angel with any depth at all. I'm still rather "meh" about the romance between Penryn and Raffe...just doesn't seem believable yet. Hopefully as the series goes on I'll become more invested in the romance (if the romance continues? It probably will, but you never know...). All in all, an enjoyable book and a solid continuation of the series. Let's see where this series goes! Rating: |
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