Review: Street Magicks by Paula Guran

It's been a while guys! My schedule has been fairly chaotic lately due to school, since I started a graduate program about a year ago. Saying that my schedule has been limited is an understatement since the classes are all online and more involved than most of the classes for my Bachelor's. I thought that there'd be few better ways to try to start my reviewing back up again than with a collection of magic themed short stories. (This post was originally started before I reviewed Maestra.)

Streets are more than thoroughfares. Cobblestone or concrete, state of mind or situation-streets are catalysts for culture; sources of knowledge and connection, invisible routes to hidden levels of influence. In worlds where magic is real, streets can be full of dangerous shadows or paths to salvation. Wizards walk such streets, monsters lurk in their alleys, demons prowl or strut, doors open to places full of delightful enchantment or seething with sorcery, and truly dead ends abound. This selection of stories-some tales may be rediscoveries, others never encountered on your fictional map-will take you for a wild ride through many realms of imagination.

Without even looking at the content, readers will be able to tell that they're in for an excellent ride just by virtue of the authors that contributed to this anthology. There's something here for everyone when you have fan favorite authors like Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, and Caitlin Kiernan, after all.

As you'd expect with any anthology, there are going to be pieces that you like less than others but overall I enjoyed everything that I read in Street Magicks. The authors were all well chosen and edited, so I really can't find much to criticize here. If I had to pick something I suppose that it'd be that I've seen better anthologies out there, but that's more based on my current reading mood, which is slowly starting to turn back more and more towards horror novels.

Overall I have to say that I would recommend this anthology to readers, even if only as a library read. With summer looming around the corner you'll need prime beach read material and this would be an excellent pick, a lovely fantasy/urban fantasy themed anthology swimming against the sea of bodice rippers and thriller novels that tend to surface as most summer reads.

4/5

(Arc provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: The Angel Stone by Juliet Dark

Title: The Angel Stone (Fairwick Trilogy Book 3)
Author: Juliet Dark
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 9/3/2013





You know those books, the ones that you eagerly await with baited breath? The ones that when you get them, you want to go run around the block screaming at the top of your lungs while holding your literary prize over your head like the Olympic Torch? This was one of those books and I was excited when I was approved for a copy. I can't say that this book really met those expectations, which were admittedly a little high.

For Callie McFay, a half-witch/half-fey professor of folklore and Gothic literature, the fight to save the enchanted town of Fairwick, New York, is far from over. After a hostile takeover by the Grove—a sinister group of witches and their cohorts—many of the local fey have been banished or killed, including Callie’s one true love. And in place of the spirit of tolerance and harmony, the new administration at Fairwick College has fostered an air of danger and distrust. 

With her unique magical abilities, Callie is the only one who can rescue her friends from exile and restore order to the school—a task that requires her to find the Angel Stone, a legendary talisman of immense power. Propelled on an extraordinary quest back to seventeenth-century Scotland, Callie risks her life to obtain the stone. Yet when she encounters a sexy incarnation of her lost love, she finds the greater risk is to her heart. As the fate of Fairwick hangs in the balance, Callie must make a wrenching choice: reclaim a chance for eternal passion or save everything she holds dear.

The story in this book didn't start off terribly. To the contrary, this actually wasn't half bad to start and I kept going through the pages at a feverish pace. There was still that element of magic that kept me mesmerized despite having some misgivings over how the book's prose felt in relation to its subject matter. The story so far has been fairly dark and the writing style felt slightly unsuited, as it felt pretty light and airy at times. That didn't overly bother me until it came time for Callie to travel back in time.

And that's about where the magic seemed to turn off for me as the reader.

The passages in the past aren't awful, but they seemed to lack the spark that the earlier pages of Angel Stone held. They almost felt a little forced and obligatory at times, especially when long stretches would pass and it just felt like things were going on forever. This kind of made this part of the story sag, which was unfortunate when you consider that once the story tries to return to its former pacing and setting, the plot rushes far too quickly and Dark tries to cram all of these various plot elements together and resolve them in the span of a few pages.

It just doesn't work and for people who were previously complaining that Dark tries too hard to mash too many plots into one area and ends up ping-ponging all over the place as a result, this will be a major issue. Some of the plot resolution just seems a little false, when you consider that some of these were built up to be awfully impossible to beat earlier in the book and they're resolved in about a page or so. It just rings a little hollow and I can't help but feel that while Dark is amazing at setting up a story and a great world, she doesn't seem to really have a handle on the endings. I can't help but feel that if maybe, just maybe she'd cut down on the long part in the middle about traveling to the past and/or used that to extend the ending and write it out a little more rather than resolving everything in about 30 pages, the book would have been that much stronger for it.

I liked the book for the most part, but ultimately I can't give this much more than three stars. This was a fizzle of an ending as opposed to the huge bang that I was hoping for. It's like expecting a Cherry Coke and someone gives you a Diet Pepsi. You might like Diet Pepsi, but it wasn't what you were expecting your server to supply. If you're eagerly awaiting the final book then I wouldn't say that you should avoid this book or only get it from the library. I would say that you should lower your expectations, as this doesn't really hold up to Demon Lover or Water Witch. I'd still check out Dark's other works, but with a little hesitation.

Three out of Five Stars


(ARC provided by Netgalley and Ballentine Books)

Book Review: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

Title: The Prophet (Graveyard Queen #3)

Author: Amanda Stevens

Publisher: Mira

Release Date: 04/24/2012

ISBN: 0778313395

I was lucky enough to be able to read this shortly after finishing the previous book in the series, The Kingdom, and boy am I really jonesing for the next book! This was fantastic!

My name is Amelia Gray.

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I’ve broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I’ve vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.

Now I’m faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

In the last book Amelia got a deeper taste of darkness as well as some answers to her questions about her past. She may have discovered who her birth mother was, but there's still far more questions about what she's capable of and what exactly that means to her. The previous book also left off with a text message from Devlin, which of course means that her relationship with him will figure heavily into this book.

Fans of Amelia and Devlin's relationship will be glad to see some progress made in this book as well as progress with Shani and Mariama. (Not saying how far it goes, but there is definite progress.) I have to admit that I wasn't as fond of him in this book as I was in the first one and I have to say that I hope that he manages to move on more from his past so Amelia can finally have a love interest that isn't overly invested in a past love. Then again, I think that this might be due to some of his actions in the book, which involves him cuddling with another woman earlier in the book and then kissing Amelia later on. This does get explained in some format later on in the book, but it definitely makes me raise an eyebrow as to how Devlin could so easily do this. I know that there's a magnetism between Devlin and Amelia, but so far she's the only one doing any compromising. A soul mate-esque connection can only go so far and Devlin needs to show that he's worthy of Amelia. I can't wait for Thane to make a reappearance later on in the series. (Of course I think he's coming back- he's too good to only appear once!) He took Amelia's abilities in stride and I felt that he gave her an acceptance that Devlin only grudgingly gives her.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the read- especially the look into the supernatural angle of the book. Part of the supernatural focus in this book was vodun and Stevens seems to have really done her homework here and tries to avoid an overly Hollywood depiction of the religion. It's good that she does this, as this is a religion/practice that really doesn't need to be gussied up to the nth level. It can do that on its own. This is really part of the charm of this series. Rather than give us a completely fantastical version of magic and the supernatural, Stevens tries to be as realistic as she can without being over the top.

We get a pretty intriguing new character here by the name of Darius Goodwine, a dark practitioner of vodun with big (read evil) plans for Amelia. Darius is shown as a sinister and evil force here, but there seems to be other aspects to his character that haven't been shown and I can't wait to discover them.

This is a good addition to the series and while it wasn't as "OMG! MUST FINISH THIS OR I'LL DIE RIGHT NOW" as the previous book, it was still a fun and entertaining read that will make it a required read this spring and summer.

4 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

Title: A Perfect Blood (Hollows #10)
Author: Kim Harrison
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: 02/21/2012
ISBN: 0061957895







It's coming down to the wire now, folks. After this book there's only 2 more books left to the series, with the potential of a bonus book afterwards. I ended up getting this through eBay and I have to say, it was money well spent. Harrison is worth spending money on.

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth — a would-be creator is determined to make his (or her) own demons. But it can’t be done without Rachel’s blood.

As a bounty hunter, Rachel has battled vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more. But humanity itself might be her toughest challenge.

Things are heating up in this book and I mean that in multiple ways. First off, the tensions between the Inderlanders and certain factions of humanity are heating up. There's always been a portion of humanity that hated the Inderlanders and wanted them wiped off the face of the earth, so it's no surprise that Harrison would eventually revisit this idea. What's being done in this book is actually pretty chilling, and HAPA (Humans Against Paranormals Association) is a pretty lethal force here. I've never wanted to reach through a book and slug someone as much as I did in this book.

Secondly, things are heating up between Trent and Rachel. I know that none of us forgot the kiss from Pale Demon, and neither has Rachel. Her hormones are kicking in big time, but I'll warn you: there's not a lot of progress on this front in either direction, but then any progress is good progress. I have a feeling that whatever might ultimately come out of this relationship, it'll probably happen in book 12 and not a page sooner. There is some friendship brewing here, which is good since Rach needs someone who can keep up with her and understand where she's coming from. But regardless of whether or not they end up in a relationship, the tension between the two is so palpable that I'm beginning to think that they'll have to end up in bed together just to relieve it and get it over with. However, there's also the introduction of another potential interest in this book, although I'm not sure what chances he'll have against the Rachel/Trent combo. (Then again, I'm a fangirl of Rachel and Trent, so I tend to think this way about any other guy that comes into her life.)

There's a definite feel of loose ends beginning to get tied up and it's a good feeling. Harrison might have had a bit of a slump mid-series, but this is the Hollows that I fell in love with early on in the series and couldn't get enough of. It's good enough to make me want to re-read the series and is a worthy successor to Pale Demon. Oh, and the minor characters in this book rock. Hard. We finally see Rachel get her pack tattoo (a mild spoiler, but one we all knew was coming) and her tattoo artist is interesting enough to get a spinoff book of her own. (A tattoo artist that works on Inderlanders and humans? There's some material for you right there!)

And before anyone asks, yes Al is in this book. And of course he's awesome. Al is always awesome, even when you want to punt kick him across the room. His interactions with Rachel- and especially his last actions of the book- make me wonder where Harrison is going to go with his character next. There's a lot of potential here for him to be bad in the future, all with incredibly interesting results. I honestly can't wait for the next book to come out so I can see what'll happen next.

If you loved the last book, you'll really love this one. It's a fun ride and I had a blast reading this book.

5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Dark Glamour by Gabriella Pierce

Title: The Dark Glamour

Author: Gabriella Pierce

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: 09/06/2011

ISBN:0061434906

When I read the first book I was a little confused as to how to classify this book. It isn't what I'd classify as chick-lit but it isn't exactly an urban fantasy or a paranormal romance. After I finished the second book I'm only slightly less clueless as to which genre I'd shelve this in, but the most important reaction is still the same: this is a very fun series to read.

Jane Boyle married her prince charming and moved into his upper east side castle—but she didn’t get her fairy-tale ending

It’s hard to live happily ever after when you discover your demanding and controlling mother-in-law is literally a witch, determined to steal the magical powers you didn’t even know you had. Jane narrowly avoided Lynne Doran’s clutches when she escaped on her wedding day, and has been hiding out in New York City. But she can’t hide forever.

When Jane learns of the one thing Lynne wants most, she sets out to provide it, hoping her good turn will persuade her mother-in-law to stop hunting her. Unfortunately, Jane’s daring plan will send her right back into the witches’ den—the Doran clan’s multistory town house on Park Avenue. But thanks to a tricky spell, blond architect Jane will be transformed into Ella, a dark beauty with a whole new look . . . and all of Jane’s budding powers. Though the stakes are life or death, nobody said “Ella” couldn’t have a little fun along the way, too.

This isn't exactly a dark and gritty read, but neither is it as light and fluffy as I was expecting it to be. We have the wonderfully luxurious wish fulfillment of being able to live vicariously through Jane but then we also have moments where Jane takes on her new persona with reckless abandon. I was a bit surprised to see the lengths she goes to (and the people she takes up with) in order to get back into the house of Doran. While Jane isn't exactly doing anything absolutely horrible, it is a little bit out of the norm for books in the chick-lit or general paranormal romance genre. It does make sense though- she's fighting for her life. Jane can't afford to be prudish.

Pierce has found a decent rhythm in her second book. She's beginning to shake off the "new author" awkwardness and is becoming more confident and familiar with her style. While parts of the book are disappointingly predictable (I was able to see the big surprises coming a mile away), there are a lot of good interactions between the characters and I absolutely loved how Pierce portrayed Jane's reaction to having a completely different form. The descriptions here are very well done, helping to set each scene nicely.

This book improved on the last one but those who weren't able to get overly into the last one will probably want to stick to getting this from the library. For those who loved the first book, this will be an absolute "must buy". It's fluffy fare, but darnit... it's good fluffy fare, the type you curl up with on the beach or on a rainy day.

3.5 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Check it Out: K.A. Tucker

Hi everyone! I've got yet another great author to introduce (or re-introduce) to you! Today we have K.A. Tucker, author of Anathema!



A Writer’s Approach to Writing.

Every writer has their ‘right way’ to write a book. A way that makes sense to them, that’s comfortable, that (hopefully) saves them from months of agonizing revision and rewrites. The trick is discovering what that perfect method is.
So how did I find mine?

September 30th, 2009. That was the day I began writing what would become Anathema. My second daughter was 3 months old and had (finally) drifted off to sleep, and I was stretched out in the family room with an archaic second-hand Dell laptop and an idea. I began adding to that idea each day, during my girls’ naps and in the evenings, after they had gone to sleep. I had no method. I just wrote. It made sense for me at the time. It’s all I knew.

Until revision time came…

I started revising all wrong. I worked on line-editing - trying to smooth out sentences and correct typos, all while this little voice in the back of my mind kept nattering, “yes, you know the difference between their, there, and they’re… but is the actual story any good?”
I finally accepted that I had no sweet clue how to write a novel, even with 110 000 of my own words staring back at me. That’s when I decided I needed to get help. For some, that means going directly to an editor. For others, it’s a writers’ critique group. For me, it was an online course.
In August of 2010 I began a course by Holly Lisle, called “How to Revise your Novel.” I think the title is self-explanatory. It was online, it was at my own pace, and it was delivered in a very easy, non-English class format (you want to see my eyes glaze over? Start throwing terms like ‘predicative adjective’ and ‘reflective pronoun’ at me).
Every single night after my kids went to bed, I cracked the course lessons, as painful as some of them were. And believe me, some of them were downright stab-me-in-the-eye-with-a-fork painful. In the end, I had stripped out 50 000 words of meaningless, pointless crap from my manuscript and rebuilt with another 30 000 of ‘good stuff’ in. It was an eye-opening experience I don’t ever want to go through again.

Why do I mention this course here? It’s not meant to be a plug for Holly’s course (though I highly recommend it!). It’s because during this course, I also stumbled upon my perfect writing approach. The ‘right way’ for me to develop a story. It was derived from a combination of Holly’s teachings, common sense, and my own practicality.

How do I know I’ve found it? Because the night I sent Anathema to the editor, I began working on the second in the series using my newly discovered method. Within two weeks I had a solid outline and within two months the first draft. And the entire process was comfortable. It felt right. My new-found approach gives me the level of structure I need to effectively tie the plots and conflicts together from the beginning, all while not handcuffing my creativity. It’s my perfect balance. It may not work for others - in fact, I can guarantee it won’t for many - but it’s perfect for me.

I’m not going to sit here and outline my perfect writing approach. It’s mine. My precious.

Just kidding. :)

The purpose of this guest blog was simply to highlight that there is no one right way to approach writing a novel but there IS one right way for every individual writer. You all have a perfect approach waiting to be discovered and when you do, expect magic.

Have you found yours yet?

Thank you to Book Goggles for hosting me today :)


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Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.

When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.

With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.

In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.

Just to let you know, you can buy K.A. Tucker's book on amazon, smashwords, & Barnes & Nobles!

Also, don't forget that there's a book giveaway!

Check it Out: Kimberly Spencer & Shimmerspell

Hi everyone! Back again for another dose of authors & books to check out! (Isn't the cover on this one gorgeous?)

Hi. My name is Kimberly Spencer and I devour young adult fiction. What kind, you may ask. Well, I’d have to say the paranormal kind—ones with boys that bite, fallen angels, bean sidhes, and even a killer unicorn or two. I wake up with those types of books on my mind and usually go to sleep the same way. Crazy, I know.

Paranormal and fantastical elements have always been exciting to me and that's why I chose to include them in my own writing. My novella, Shimmerspell, tackles faerie lore, specifically the tale of Morgen Le Fae. My goal was to create a modern faerie tale loosely based on Arthurian Legend that answered the question: How did the Faery world react to Morgen’s betrayal of King Arthur? With Shimmerspell, I’d like to think I accomplished that goal and more.

Shimmerspell is the first novella in the YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy series, Faerie Tale Girl. I plan to release the follow-up, Limerick, July 2011.

When sixteen-year-old Jensen Meadows finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient faerie war, she soon learns that faeries aren't made of sparkly goodness. They're vicious. And worse, they're after her.

With the help of Liam Casey, she delves into their world to find her missing sister and begins to suspect that her whole life has been nothing more than a faerie tale.

But maybe some truths should never be revealed...

Random facts about me:

-In a past life, I wanted to be a singer-songwriter. Because of that, I write my stories with a melody in mind and each line must fit the arrangement before I can move on to the next chapter.

-I absolutely hated school, but somehow managed to get my BA in Psychology and MSCE in Counseling Psychology.

-My favorite authors are Rachel Vincent, Gena Showalter, and Cassandra Clare.

(Find Kimberly's book on Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, & Barnesandnoble.com!)

Book Review: Wild by Naomi Clark

Title: Wild (Vargulf #1)
Author: Naomi Clark










The premise of this book is rather unique. While I'm sure I'd find books about werewolves & drug addictions if I looked hard, this is new territory that makes a lot of sense when you think about it. How many times have various different authors described their hero(ine) reacting to their lupine urges in a way you'd expect a drug addict to react to their body clamoring for drugs? Mixing the two together makes a lot of sense, to be honest.

Lizzie Creighton ran away from her life a year ago, wanting to escape the pressures of university and just party. And that’s exactly what she did.

But now she's sick of the world she's fallen into – the drink, the drugs, the violence – and she's desperate to start again. The chance to do it comes from the last source she could ever imagine. After her deadbeat boyfriend steals her car and abandons her in the dead of night, Lizzie is bitten by a wolf. And suddenly her next fix is her last problem.

Now, caught between Nick Doyle, the outcast werewolf who claims he can save her, and Seth Weaver, the favourite son of the blue-blood werewolf royalty, Lizzie must decide what kind of werewolf she wants to be.

As shown above, I obviously loved the idea of a drug addict becoming a werewolf because of all the implications. If/when she went off the drugs, would the higher metabolism leave her without the urges or would they be that much stronger? Would it impact her wolfy behaviors? There's just so much possibility here that Clark could do just about anything she wanted & it works very well in this book. Lizzie is a very flawed character. She is selfish, but then that's to be expected from a drug addict & to be honest, I don't think that a selfless behavior would really be realistic here. I'm very glad that we didn't get a souped up Sue-ish character here- it made me that much joyous over Lizzie's triumphs & sad over her failures.

There's a lot that isn't said in this first book, which got to be a little frustrating at times. Without trying to spoil things, I doubt that anyone is what they really seem to be in this book & I can't wait for the next book to find out if my suspicions are a little correct. (After all, Nick's claims can't be entirely baseless, right?) I also want to see if Lizzie will have more after effects from the drugs as she's just starting off on a whole new path now.

This really was a joy to read & Clark has a very clever story brewing here. It's not quite perfect, but it's darn close & I can't help but think that this could be the start of a whole new trend of werewolf fiction. This isn't your normal werewolf story & that's what makes it so good.

4 out of 5 stars

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: Red Glove (Curse Workers #2) by Holly Black

Title: Red Glove (Curse Workers #2)
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 04/05/2011
ISBN:144240339X







While I wasn't as immediately drawn into Cassel's world in White Cat, I found it one that I'd be more than happy to visit again. It was Black's attention to details such as Cassel implanting amulets under his skin to avoid being worked that kept me reading. This one follows along the same lines as the previous book, being a story that was a little tedious at times but still a fun ride for the most part.

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

I'm never quite sure what to make of these stories. It's a pretty brave move to cast a boy as the main character in a genre that's predominantly oriented towards young girls & women, something that runs the risk of potentially alienating part of the demographic. This actually works here because this means that Black has more freedom to break free of other trends & habits of young adult urban fantasy. As far as this goes, the book is great. It's kind of refreshing to read about someone who isn't a young, spunky, headstrong girl fighting against the system. This is an intriguing world & for the most part Black does a decent job of exploring & explaining it.

Unfortunately there's some parts of it I just didn't get into as much as I would have wanted. The book just seemed to take a pretty long time getting to where it wanted to be & as a result one of the main themes of the book (the whodunit) fell to the back burner. This feels like it happened more as a way to shift gears for the third book in the series, but it still sort of threw me out of the story. There's a LOT going on in this second book & I have the feeling that even more will be happening in the next (& final) book, so I can't help but feel that this series would have been better served if it had an extra volume to help space things out.

Overall this was still a good read & if you liked the first one you're more than likely going to like this one as well. The only thing I'd warn people about is that unlike Black's Modern Fairy Tale series, this book is most decidedly not a standalone. If you haven't read the first book in the series you're pretty much going to be lost as far as plot goes.


Final Diagnosis: Most fans of the previous book & Black's other works will like this but others will find themselves getting a little lost in the book's pacing.

3.9/5

(ARC provided by Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab)

Book Review: Demonized by Naomi Clark

Title: Demonized (An Ethan Banning story)
Author: Naomi Clark
Publisher: Damnation Books
Release Date: 03/01/2011
ISBN:9781615723379







I have to give a brief disclaimer at the start of this review & say that while this novella can stand on its own for the most part, to fully understand everything that is going on here you'd have to have read Afterlife. That's where Banning gets his demon (singular, not plural) from & parts of the novella have him speaking to the main character of Yasmine.

PI Ethan Banning is smoking too much, sleeping too little, and hearing voices. One voice, to be exact: the voice of the demon that possessed him on his last case. A voice that urges him to hurt, rape, kill, and Ethan doesn't think he has the strength to ignore it much longer.

When his latest missing person case turns into a murder investigation, Ethan finds himself fighting not just demonic urges, but black magic, an incubus with a hidden agenda, and a client who just won't pay up. Luckily, Ethan's got a few friends on his side, like Detective Anna Radcliffe, and his trusty dog, Mutt. If Ethan can ignore the demon long enough, he might just solve this case before it kills him.

Overall this was a pretty good tale. There's a decent mystery here & Clark does a great job of making you guess as to 'whodunit' for most of the book. I also liked how we're shown Banning suffering under the weight of the demonic presence in his body. He has to literally "feed the beast" by doing some pretty awful stuff or run the risk of the demonic voice gaining more power over him. Oh, and I absolutely love some of the new characters introduced here. The priest kicks butt.

Unfortunately it took me a little while to get into the book. I did eventually get into the book & get carried away, but it just took a little longer than Clark's previous works did. I'm not sure if that's because I'm used to having female lead characters narrate in my UF books or not. It's a very different experience, having a male voice narrate rather than a female voice. In any case, I still loved the book & look forward to more Banning tales, but it was just a slow beginning for me. I have no doubt that for people used to male narrators will have no problems with the beginning, however. (I didn't realize that 99.9% of my UF was all female narratives until this review.)

Final Diagnosis: This is a fine novella & well worth reading, but to get the full story you have to have read the previous book. This may discourage new readers, but the quick pacing in later chapters will keep them wanting to read more!

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: Isn't It Necromantic by C.I. Bond

Title: Isn't It Necromantic?
Author: C.I. Bond
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: 01/26/2011
ASIN: B004L624VW







Cassie isn't evil ... probably. She just lacks a few things: a boyfriend, a family, a soul. Convincing the "Others" she isn't evil has never met with a lot of success. It usually starts with a local coven of concerned witches (humanity's self-appointed protectors) making accusations and then there's shouting, a chase, and in one case, a stabbing which turned out badly-although, to be fair, how many stabbings turn out well? So now she keeps a low profile, tries to avoid all contact with "Others" and moves every two years. This philosophy worked well enough in her life until she got to Seattle and formed a commitment to finally settle down. Nine months into her rainy new life, things start to fall apart ...

First, something kills Harry-not that he didn't deserve it, but still, it isn't a good sign. Then Mr. Abbey, obviously a Dark Other who has been dead for over a century, tries to hire her to find some missing property and won't take no for an answer. A dark-haired stranger with vivid green eyes, also dead, is forcing her to ask difficult questions of herself like "If he eats people but he's hot can you still date him?" Normally this is when she would cut-and-run, but the seer's warning was clear: if she leaves Seattle, she dies. Of course, there are no guarantees that this won't happen anyway....

Overall this was a decent first novel. Bond has a decent idea here & that I can't immediately guess what type of supernatural critter Cassie is supposed to be is a plus. It ruins the fun when you can immediately tell what someone is since it usually gives you a good idea of what will happen later on in the series. I have to admit that part of my desire to read the next book is because I'm pretty curious about what Cassie will end up being.

Unfortunately this tale suffers the growing pains that plague most first novels, with some unwieldy shifts between scenes (some of which left me wondering if I'd missed a few pages or paragraphs) & underdeveloped characters. I enjoyed the book but I couldn't help but wish for just a little bit more world building & character development. What made so much of this so frustrating was that so much of it could have been fixed with a sentence or paragraph here & there.

This wasn't a bad read though & I'm optimistic that as Bond gets more writing experience she'll even out her writing style & get more polished as the series progresses. This isn't a New York Times bestseller by any means, but it deserves at least one read through. I can't help but worry that with the huge amount of UF flooding the genre, the flaws in this book might cause readers to get disconnected & float over to the next new book being released.


Final Diagnosis: The book is in want of a good hard edit, but there's a lot of promise to the series.

(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: Night and Chaos by Naomi Clark

Title: Night and Chaos (The Deva Chronicles #1)
Author: Naomi Clark
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (self published)
Release Date: 01/01/2011
Buy it here: Amazon Kindle







If I could afford to buy up tons of copies of this book just so I could put it all in your hot little hands, I would. That's how cool this novella was. After reading another of Clark's works (Afterlife) I was immediately taken with her storytelling abilities, but after reading this I can't help but wonder why we aren't seeing her name plastered all over the shelves at your local Barnes & Nobles along with the heavyweights of the UF genre.

Ryan McCarthy fled Applied Paranormal Theory and Tactics, her father, and her lover six years ago, desperate to build life away from the weird science and supernatural experiments of her childhood. But everything she hoped to escape comes back with a vengeance when she’s kidnapped and tortured by a possessed APTT employee out for revenge on the man responsible for his possession: Ryan’s father.

Now, reunited with the lover she abandoned, Ryan is forced back into a world of danger and darkness she no longer understands, pursued by enemies with powers she can’t fathom. But Ryan’s not entirely powerless herself. She’ll have to use every trick she knows – as well as the mystic gift she hates – to stay ahead of those enemies. And that will be easier said than done.

This book might be short, but it's so well written that you won't notice the length until the book's end & you find yourself crying out for more. I honestly can't say what I liked more- the story or the characters. I loved Ryan for her kick butt attitude (even when she was rather helpless to defend herself) & I also loved the rich world that Clark has created. Then there's the powers- I loved how the shapeshifting in this universe didn't follow all of the tried & true rules that other books frequently use. It makes it that much easier for this universe to stand on its own & be taken seriously.

This book was so cool that Clark makes it all look so effortless & easy. This is as good as it gets & trust me, it doesn't get any better than this. I should know- I read enough to where some have said I should have gone blind years ago. If you don't read this book then you are seriously missing out on some real talent here.

So far this is only available in ebook format for the kindle, but this is worth downloading the Kindle PC option to your desktop. (Plus at only $3 it's far cheaper than some of the other UF options out there...)

(Reader's copy provided by author)

Book Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 01/25/2011
ISBN: 0373210183








This is not an ending. I just want to say this straight out at the beginning of this review. While this book does bring an end to a trilogy, there's still lots of story left to tell & Kagawa is going to be continuing it in the next book in the series, The Iron Knight. I honestly can't wait for that one because this one (Iron Queen) was so awesome.

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Words cannot say how cool this book was. Harlequin seems to have a great nose for talent & Kagawa is no exception. Lots of things happen in this battle- we finally get the huge drag out battle between the seasonal & iron fey. We get to see more of Meghan's non-bio father. There's more development in the Ash/Meghan relationship. And of course, there's more Grimalkin- my favorite character in the series. (Note to Kagawa if she somehow finds this review- I want a spin off novel or series following him around!)

I'll give you fair warning that this ending will be both surprising & not surprising to you. I expected a lot of what happened at the end, but some of the stuff took me by surprise. I actually liked how it ended but I know that there will be some who won't, so hopefully me posting this non-spoiler spoiler alert will prepare some people for the ending of this book. An ending that was sort of bittersweet. (Now I know I'm being way too spoilery!)

If you've read the previous two books then you have to read this one. I'll warn you though, it'll only make you that much keener to read the next book in the series!

(ARC provided by Netgalley)

Book Review: Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Title: Glimmerglass (Faeriewalker #1)
Author: Jenna Black
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: 03/25/10
ISBN: 0312575939







On first glance this book might just seem to be more of the same stuff that's been coming out ever since Melissa Marr & Holly Black started becoming the golden standard of urban fantasy faerie stories. (I know I always say that, but it's true- they're what you want your books to be like, at least in my opinion.) Black does one thing with this book that I have to say I sort of like: none of the characters are the type you instantly like. Everyone's shades of grey here- there's no definite black or white.

It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp…

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again...

Right off the bat, I'm going to be honest & say that this isn't the deepest of books. Much of the plot involves Dana getting yanked from one location to another with everyone telling her it's "for her own safety". I kind of got irritated at that because here's a location that Black goes out of her way to say is beautiful & intricate, but we get to see very little of it. Even when Dana has one of her rare opportunities to walk about freely, there's very little description of this world or the people in it. I know there's more books yet to come, but it's very frustrating that it isn't here in the first book.

However, the book is incredibly easy to read & readers will find themselves quickly falling under Black's spell. There are also two different guys who are potential love interests for Dana & while one of them is (in my opinion) incredibly sleazy, the guy is interesting enough to keep reading about. That brings me to something I want to mention- that none of the characters are particularly likable. Just about everyone has something wrong with them to where many readers might find themselves saying something disparaging about them. These will be things such as Dana being an idiot (she does call herself out on it later, though), Ethan being a sleaze ball in a bucket of slime (he better not end up with Dana...), & so on. Everyone is cast in shades of grey, which is nice- lots of books tend to identify one side as good, one as bad, & don't really change that overly much. Black doesn't do that here. This does have some downfalls as it makes the villain a little less imposing later on in the book, though.

Overall this isn't a bad book. It's not going to make it onto my "absolutely most favorite series" list, but it's something that I wouldn't mind reading the next book of.

Book Review: 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce

Title: 666 Park Avenue
Author: Gabriella Pierce
Publisher: Avon A
Release Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 0061434779







If The Devil Wears Prada married Rosemary's Baby and had their way with Cate Tiernan's Sweep series, then I think the resulting offspring would probably come out a little bit like this.

What if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch . . . literally?

Ever since fabulously wealthy Malcolm Doran walked into her life and swept her off her feet, fledgling architect Jane Boyle has been living a fairy tale. When he proposes with a stunning diamond to seal the deal, Jane can't believe her incredible luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job to make a new start with Malcolm in New York.

But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan's most feared and revered families, Jane's fairy tale takes a darker turn. Soon everything she thought she knew about the world—and herself—is upended. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them.

Before I get started with my review, I have to stress that this is more chick lit than urban fantasy. To be honest, this is really more of a new genre- not quite chick lit but not quite urban fantasy or supernatural/horror thriller. It doesn't even really fit into the paranormal romance genre either. As such, there's going to be a few who will probably be a little weirded out by this book. That's OK as long as they don't completely dismiss it because this book is a very easy & interesting read.

The premise of the book (boy meets girl then discovers wicked mother in law) isn't very new, nor is the addition of magic, yet Pierce does a pretty good job of mixing it all into something that's a little new. Jane's a little bit of an average girl in the heroine category, but she's got gumption. Despite being overwhelmed by everything, she refuses to play the victim but doesn't go the "spunky/happy/gritty" route that other heroines tend to be in magic related fiction. Readers will really love the description of magic in this world, but some might get frustrated that we only get to see a brief glimpse of it here.

Some might get a little discouraged that much of the action doesn't really happen until the later part of the book or that there's not a huge amount of chemistry between Jane & her fiancee. Stick with it guys- there's a reason for the chemistry & while Jane does take a while to really get rolling with her magic, it does help make it a little more realistic. (After all, the average person would probably take that long to get started, being so overwhelmed.) When the stuff does start going down, I promise that you'll be hooked.

This is definitely a first novel, but Pierce already has an easy style of writing that will be appealing to many & there's room for more novels in this series (please?), so we're sure to see some top notch writing in the next book in the series. (Pretty please?)

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout

Title: American Vampire
Author: Jennifer Armintrout
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 03/01/2011
ISBN: 0778328783





If you're wondering if this is a series, I don't have an answer for you. This story in Armintrout's newest can stand alone by itself, but it can quite easily start off a new series in itself. As far as tying into Armintrout's other vampire series Blood Ties, I can't honestly answer that either. There's not enough detail here to determine whether it's part of that canon, but Armintrout could easily declare that it is if she wanted to. What I can tell you is that this was a blast to read.


Welcome to Penance, Ohio - hell on earth! Graf's a vampire, and he loves it. He's free to indulge his every dark, dangerous and debauched whim. Until a road trip takes him somewhere he never expected. Now he's trapped in Penance, a town that no-one has been able to leave for five years. And he's stuck protecting Jessa who's beautiful, tempting...and very, very human! The townsfolk know she's tied to their troubles and don't look kindly on strangers, meaning Graf and Jessa have only each other to rely on. Which is making it harder for Graf to control his desire to devour her...But if he can keep his bloodlust in check, their bond could be the key to uncovering the secrets that lurk within Penance and delivering the town from it's curse.


Where to start? There's so much about this book that was interesting. The premise of a town that nobody can leave or enter would have been able to carry the book by itself, but adding vampires just made it a little bit cooler. (Hey, supernatural creatures make just about everything better!) I loved Jessa's weary acceptance of the life she's had to put up with for the last five years. It made both her previous actions as well as her reluctant attraction to Graf that much easier to believe. I also loved the attention to detail, such as the lack of luxuries in a tiny town cut off from civilization. You really begin to realize how much everyone's cut off when you read about your heroine using homemade soap & getting gaspy over a rare bag of flour.


Also interesting is the mystery behind the bloodthirsty creature (It, not Graf) that's been terrorizing everyone and keeping everyone inside the town. Some might be able to piece together the puzzle midway through the book, but Armintrout still has a few surprises left in her bag of tricks by the end of the book.


I'll admit that the book was a little slow to start, but once you're hooked, you're hooked. I do hope that there's a bit more, even if it's just a short story or a prequel. This really was just that fun to read.


(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler

Title: Tempest's Legacy (Jane True #3)
Author: Nicole Peeler
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: 01/03/2010
ISBN: 031605660X







One of the drawbacks of reading things before publication date is that you know that you'll have that much longer to wait before the next book comes out. And trust me, once you finish the third book in the Jane True series you'll want to start the next one immediately. A lot happens in this book. A lot.

After a peaceful hiatus at home in Rockabill, Jane True thinks that her worst problem is that she still throws like a girl - at least while throwing fireballs. Her peace of mind ends, however, when Anyan arrives one night with terrible news . . . news that will rock Jane's world to its very core.

After demanding to help investigate a series of gruesome attacks on females -- supernatural, halfling, and human -- Jane quickly finds herself forced to confront her darkest nightmares as well as her deepest desires.

And she's not sure which she finds more frightening.

First off, this book rocked. Big time. Not only do we have some resolution to some of Jane's previous issues, but the ending of this book leaves us with the possibility for the plot to go just about anywhere. Jane really comes into her own in this book & it's really, REALLY refreshing to see a heroine who isn't all "gritty grit-grit" or "so tough that she chews up iron pipes for dinner & poops bullets" but doesn't fall into the "I'm going to cry my way to safety & let all the men take care of me". Jane isn't a pushover in this book, but she doesn't fall into that UF heroine cliche. Also awesome are the other women in this book- they kick just as much butt & I can't wait to see Jane interact with them some more. (I'd elaborate on who they are, but I don't want to spoil anything.)

Another thing of note is Jane's interactions with both Ryu & Anyan. Ryu's not taking too well to Jane's reactions in the previous book & it's good to see how Jane responds to Ryu's attempts to woo her back. I'm probably spoiling a little too much when I say that, but I have to say it.

I honestly can't find any faults with this book- I liked what Peeler did with it & I love where the direction is going. Maybe it's a little fangirlish, but it is what it is. And this book is awesome with a side of fun sauce. The only thing I regret about this is that my ARC will expire after a certain amount of time & I'll then have to wait to buy a copy to keep my collection up to date.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Take Book Chick City's Horror & Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge 2011!

Love reading horror? Urban Fantasy? Both?

Why not try Book Chick City's book reading challenge? All you have to do is try to read 24 books in this genre in 2011! Here's the details: (taken directly from BCC's website)

Challenge Details

Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

Rules: To read TWENTY FOUR (24) horror & urban fantasy novels in 2011 (24 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)

You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to add your reviews.

You don't have to have a blog to join in - for those without a blog just FILL IN THIS FORM and I will add you to the list - just join the discussion in the comments section to let us know when you've read a book and what you thought of it! :)

Book Review: One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen

Title: One Hundred Candles (Past Midnight #2)

Author: Mara Purnhagen

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: 03/01/2011

ISBN: 037321023X

Ever wonder what it might be like to talk to ghosts? How about being part of a family business where the goal is to scientifically disprove the existence of said ghosts? If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like then this book is for you.

I’ve opened a door that cannot be closed.

It’s taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I’m settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it’s not as if Noah is anything more than a friend...

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I’ve opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

While I liked the first volume in this series, I have to admit that Purnhagen definitely kicked it up a notch in this book. Charlotte has a lot to deal with- her crush on Noah seems to be going nowhere & the supernatural event in the previous book is causing lots of problems between her parents. (Her mom is more sympathetic to the supernatural, her father still isn't.) Many books in this vein have the heroine hiding events like this from her family, so when you do get books like this it's interesting to read how it affects a family- especially one that bases their whole career around debunking stuff like this.

The pacing in this book is much better than in the previous book & now that the groundwork has been laid, we get to see much more character development & supernatural spookies. The only downfall is that some readers might be able to guess at what's going to happen about halfway through the book, but odds are that they'll be having so much fun that they really won't care about that.

Readers won't have to have read the previous book in the series to know what is going on in this book, but it'll help. The previous events are summarized briefly in this book, so they won't feel too left out in the dark. This really is forming into a promising series & while it isn't going to knock Soul Screamers out of its spot as my #1 favorite UF teen series, it's up there in my top 5.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)

Book Review: Mystify (Mystyx #2) by Artist Author

Title: Mystify (Mystyx #2)
Author: Artist Author
Publisher: Kimani
Release Date: 02/01/2011
ISBN: 0373534310






If you were on the fence about the first book, then rest assured that this entry will put you solidly in the “crazy about Mystyx” camp.

Sometimes being an outsider is the best way to fit in…

Sasha Carrington has grown up feeling like an outsider, and her parents are too concerned with scaling the Lincoln, Connecticut, social ladder to even notice her. They’d be really horrified to know about the supernatural abilities Sasha and her friends Krystal and Jake possess. But as part of the Mystyx, Sasha has found her place.

Now her parents have suddenly taken an interest in everything she does, and their timing couldn’t be worse. Sasha’s father wants her to become BFFs with snooty Alyssa Turner, who hates Krystal for stealing her boyfriend. Then there’s Antoine Watson, the boy Sasha has liked forever, the boy her parents would never approve of. But with the dark side getting more dangerous by the day, and the Mystyx’s own powers growing in unexpected ways, Sasha is facing choices that could affect her friends, her love life—and even her destiny…

I liked the first book in the series, but I have to admit that I enjoyed this book more than the first one. Sasha’s a pretty tough cookie & a little more assertive at times than Krystal was in the first book. (Although I do have to say that Krystal seems to be coming into her own in this book as well.) It also helps that the chemistry between Sasha & her crush Antoine is really well written & comes across nicely. Readers will really find themselves rooting for these two.

The book still has a bit of the growing pains that the first volume did, but Author is getting more comfortable with the characters & the plot, which comes across in her style. You can really tell that she had a lot of fun writing this entry. I just really wish that there were more questions answered in this volume- I found myself really getting frustrated along with the characters that there weren’t any real answers to their questions just yet. Even so, I really do recommend checking this book out- it’s well worth reading.

(ARC provided by NetGalley)