Category Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Books

May 22 2015
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Mini Book Review: Ever After by Kim Harrison

Ever After by Kim Harrison

Title: Ever After

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: The Hollows #11

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels the human world, is shrinking. If it disappears completely, so does all magic. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to avert catastrophe and keep life from changing… for the worse. While saving the world is important, it isn’t Rachel’s only motivation. There’s also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place, setting off a chain reaction of unfortunate events. That little mistake has made her life forfeit unless she can fix it. It’s also made her more than a few enemies, including the most powerful demon in the ever after—a terrifying entity who eats souls and now has an insatiable appetite for her. He’s already kidnapped her friend and goddaughter to lure her out, and if Rachel doesn’t give herself up soon, they’ll die. But Rachel has more than a few impressive and frightening skills of her own, and she isn’t going to hand over her soul and her life without one hell of a fight. She’s also got a surprise: elven tycoon Trent Kalamack. With this unlikely ally beside her—a prospect both thrilling and unnerving—she’s going to return to the ever after, kick some demon butt, rescue her loved ones… and prevent an apocalypse before it’s too late. Or, at least that’s the plan…

The Mini Review:

Ever After wasn’t my favorite book of the genre, but it was still a dang good book. I’m fascinated with the ever after itself (where the demons live), and loved learning more about how the magic involving it and the Ley lines worked. It seems like this series is building towards an epic ending and I’m both excited and sad to see it finish. I currently have two more books to go before I get there… I’m savoring them. Ever after advanced the growing friendship between Rachel and Trent, but not as much as I was hoping for at this point. Although I did learn a little more about Trent’s Elvish heritage and even more about Al the demon, which always makes my day. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention gargoyles! The gargoyles, specifically Bis, got a greater role in the story and I loved every sequence involving him and his kin. Overall, aside from gushing about all the things I love about this series, that’s pretty much it. I enjoyed it as a continuation and am eager as ever to pick up the next one. The Hollows is my favorite urban fantasy series, and I recommend it strongly (although it did take a couple of books before I realize just how much I loved it).

Trouble on Reserve by Kim Harrison

I read this novella immediately after Ever After and have to say I was a bit disappointed. I think coming off of this amazing, slow burning story that provided a satisfying ending left me unprepared for a little ten page adventure without any real resolution. When I picked it up I was thinking it was going to be a seamless continuation from where Ever After left off… not so much. I almost wish I had read it with a bunch of other short stories because then maybe my focus would’ve been a bit different. I guess it just goes to show that expectations are everything. I’d recommend it, but not for the same feel-goods I recommend the main series for.

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Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 11 2015
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Mini Book Review: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

Title: A Perfect Blood

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: The Hollows #10

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cinci, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the I.S. and FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: a human hate group is trying to create its own demons to destroy all Inderlanders, and to do so, it needs her blood. She’s faced vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more, but humanity itself might be her toughest challenge yet.

The Mini Review:

I don’t know what happened, but somewhere around book 8 this series went from great to freaking amazing. There are so many things I love about these books, and I talk about all of them in my review of Pale Demon. So for the sake of avoiding repetition, suffice to say I still love this series just as much and am genuinely sad that I’m getting close to the end (I’ve been savoring them). What I loved about this book in particular is that, even though it was kind of a tangent from the main story arc of the series, it progressed a couple of the plot points I’m most interested in. I loved the mystery of the whole thing and especially appreciated Rachel’s resourcefulness. Also, the villains in this one are just plain old humans, but somehow managed to creep me out more than any other supernatural creature to date…go figure. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it reaffirmed why The Hollows is my favorite urban fantasy series. If you haven’t read it yet, start with Dead Which Walking and be ready for it to get better and better with every book!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Mar 19 2015
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Book Review: Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Title: Skinwalker

Author: Faith Hunter

Series: Jane Yellowrock #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…
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The Review:

I have been experimenting with different urban fantasies over the last couple of years by reading the first book of each of the series. Granted, I haven’t been doing it on purpose, I just have reading ADD. Nonetheless, I’ve read quite a few, and have to say Skinwalker was one of the better ones. It wasn’t a particularly original story, but it was definitely entertaining.

I don’t know what it is about New Orleans, but they seem to have the lion’s share of paranormal activity. I can’t tell you how many urban fantasy and paranormal novels I’ve read in the last ten years that took place in New Orleans. I don’t really focus on clichés, but I do notice them enough to recognize when someone offers something a little different… and that’s what I feel Skinwalker did. I can’t really even lay my finger on what exactly made the atmosphere of this one so much more interesting than the usual hodgepodge, but it was. Maybe because the focus was more on the modern, urban side of things whereas most novels fixate solely on Bourbon Street and the Bayou. Now, don’t get me wrong – if those settings don’t make an appearance at some point I will be disappointed, but it’s nice to see someone start out with a slightly different flair.

I liked the main character, but felt like I really didn’t get to know her very well. I’m hoping for more depth going forward with her, and for all the other characters too, for that matter. I also spotted what I think may have been a potential love interest, but as of yet am not certain (which probably bothers me more than anything else). I’m not saying the love story had to smack me over the face – if I wanted that I’d pick up a romance – but I can thrive quite happily for a whole series on mere potential… something which this novel failed to deliver. This is not a dealbreaker though – I’m still clamoring for the next one.

I really enjoyed the whole concept of the skinwalker, including the beast “entity” that the main character is kind of sharing a body with. It gives her the advantage of heightened senses, even when she’s in human form, which added a nice dynamic the story. I do, however, have a couple of reservations. The first one is that anytime she refers to this entity, she calls it her beast, “My beast was hungry.” and “My beast could smell it.” and so on. I don’t know about you, but when I read something phrased like that, I can’t help but laugh at the unintended euphemism. If you need me, I’ll be over here giggling… Seriously though, it took away the gravity of several scenes when it definitely wasn’t supposed to.

The second reservation was how the author handled the beast’s POV (if you’re anything like me, your laughing at what I just wrote…). She tried to convey a more primal personality, not through behaviors and thought processes, but through shortened, clipped sentences. It’s like she systematically went through and cut out every word until the passage was just shy of being unintelligible. I have to say, those sections were difficult to get through, and almost boring. I feel like I understand what she was trying to do, but don’t feel like she succeeded. I’d like to point out that, other than those passages, I quite enjoyed the writing style. I’m willing to chalk it up to a writing experiment gone wrong.

Overall, I’m looking forward to what the series offers next. It seems to have all of the components I enjoy in urban fantasies, but just didn’t quite reach its potential in the first book. That’s okay though – there seems to be a consensus that the series gets better as it goes. I can’t wait. :)

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 23 2015
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Book Review: Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

dead heatTitle: Dead Heat

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Alpha & Omega #4

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way…

Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire. 

The Review:

Patricia Briggs has always been a fantastic writer and storyteller, but these last few novels have been absolutely spectacular. The crime-solving mystery elements are interesting and complex and are partially responsible for why the books are such page-turners. Not to mention that the characters are all lovable and dynamic, the world-building is rich with history and culture, and the plot gains momentum with each chapter.

The stakes of this world have gotten higher with each novel, and I find each new story adds to the momentum of the series. The more I find out about werewolves and their culture, the more I want to know. The more I find out about some of our favorite characters and their origins (much like in Shifting Shadows), the more invested I feel in their plight. The same goes for the other supernatural creatures. The Fae have, up to this point, been involved in the story, but mostly on the periphery. There has been a lot of mystery surrounding them, so each new discovery about their nature has me devouring the pages to learn what they’re going to do next and how our heroes are going to respond.

As great and momentous as the broad conflicts have been, my favorite element has been smaller conflicts – the dynamics between the characters themselves. Family drama is always a problem, but when you add to that magic and pack hierarchy, things get a lot more difficult. Seeing the bad guy brought down at the end is always great, but seeing the characters find solutions to these familial conflicts is what leaves me feeling truly satisfied at the end of her books.

After all this time with the series, the characters have such depth and history that it’s impossible not to enjoy reading about anything involving them. I also love that there are two different sets of POV characters within this saga (Mercy vs. Anna & Charles) and I would be hard-pressed to tell you who I enjoy reading about more. Their stories are separate, but integrated within the world enough that I don’t think I could enjoy one nearly as much without the other. I’ve definitely never seen a spinoff add so much to the saga as a whole, but the Alpha and Omega series continues to blow away my expectations at every turn.

A neat attribute to this particular novel is the slight focus on horses. I have gotten the impression that Patricia Briggs is just as passionate about her horses as she is about writing. It’s a whole other aspect of her life that she hasn’t really expressed in her writing to this point. It was a lot of fun to get a sneak peek into that world, and I’m glad she finally found a way to work it in. It made it more personal and special in a way. Although there are wonderful things about each of her novels. It’s a small wonder I’m always chomping at the bit to devour each one that comes out (pun intended).

Overall, I consider Dead Heat another masterpiece from an amazing writer. I love the characters, the world, the magic, the story, and pretty much everything else about this book (and saga). There’s a reason Patricia Briggs is considered a staple in the urban fantasy genre and a reason why she continues to be one of my favorites! If by some chance you haven’t read this series yet, I would highly recommend reading it alongside the Mercy Thompson series in a specific order based on the publication date (starting with Mercy Thompson #1: Moon Called). You won’t be disappointed!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 19 2015
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Book Review: Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

stolenTitle: Stolen

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #2

Genre: Urban fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: It was in Bitten, Kelley Armstrong’s debut novel, that thirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites and claimed the proud identity of a beautiful, successful woman and the only living female werewolf. In Stolen, on a mission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the net of ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in his underground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals – witches, vampires, shamans, werewolves – are then released and hunted to the death in a real-world video game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match.

The Review:

I absolutely devoured Bitten, the first book in the series (I’d been trying out different urban fantasies over the last several months and Bitten was easily one of my favorites). Then someone mentioned that it had been adapted for a show in Canada and, even better, that it was on Netflix. Flash forward two days (because I binge watched it) and I was completely hooked! I knew I loved the author’s writing, the characters, the story, and the show, so you’d better believe I scrambled to get ahold of the second book.

There was only one problem: the first book was meant as a standalone, so reading Stolen felt like reading another first book.

Normally, this would feel like a tragedy, as I love seeing the progression of a plot line over several books. In this case however, it kind of worked. Stolen was at least told from Elena’s perspective, and the writing was just as killer as ever. And the show “Bitten” did a fantastic job tweaking the story in a way that allowed them to end with a cliffhanger, which means the second season will at least give me that continuation I so desperately crave. Everybody wins… well, I do anyway.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of Stolen. Just as with the first book, I was completely absorbed, dragging it out whenever there was a spare moment to see what happened next. I read a lot, but I seldom feel addictively drawn back to a book, and Kelley Armstrong has managed to do that not once, but twice to me… needless to say, I will be continuing on. Although I admit I am a bit nervous about that. You see, she changes characters from here on out, and I’m so attached to Elena that I’m afraid I won’t enjoy it as much. At least I can be sure that whatever direction the story takes, the writing is going to be superb! And the craft – Armstrong has an incredible instinct for story, which makes me think I will love whatever tale she decides to weave together.

Overall, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to pick up this author. I can definitely see why she is considered a staple in the urban fantasy genre. I would highly recommend her to anyone who enjoyed authors like Patricia Briggs and Kim Harrison. I would doubly recommend the show to fans of True Blood – it was great for all the same reasons… in fact, I may have loved it even more.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 4 2014
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Book Review: Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

Spider's BiteTitle: Spider’s Bite

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Elemental Assassin #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: They call me the Spider. I’m the most feared assassin in the South — when I’m not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don’t use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride. Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I’m out for revenge. And I’ll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I’m still one of the bad guys. Which is why I’m in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I’m battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction…especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

The Review:

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to. I’ve been reading the likes of Briggs, Harrison, and Butcher lately, so I was understandably nervous that Spider’s Bite might fall short of such high standards. While it wasn’t quite as brilliant, it definitely holds its own within the urban fantasy genre.

I now more than ever appreciate Jennifer Estep for her great ideas. This urban fantasy world contains Elementals who, you guessed it, control the elements. On top of that, there’s the usual array of paranormal creatures, so the combination of magic and paranormal (of this specific variety) is within itself an interesting twist that I haven’t come across before. Considering how many urban fantasies I’ve read, that’s getting harder and harder to do. Top everything off with a kickass assassin with an interesting back story, and I’m sold! It had the same creative appeal as her Mythos Academy series (which I also enjoyed).

Even though the ideas and themes behind the book were my favorite elements, I also appreciated the characters. As I mentioned before, I really liked Gin and especially appreciated how she handled herself in deadly situations – she’s definitely one tough cookie! She was also an incredibly consistent character, by which I mean she didn’t turn into a pansy when something tragic happened, thereby maintaining her assassin persona. Although she was sad, her focus quickly shifted to getting even. I definitely don’t mind when characters get emotional within books, but a simpering heap of an assassin would have ruined her badass character profile. I also loved Caine as a potential love interest and enjoyed the dynamic he and Gin had right from the start.

Really, there weren’t many things I didn’t like about the story. Sure, it lacked a little bit of complexity (as the story was pretty straightforward), but what was there was done really well. The only thing that bothered me a little is almost too stupid to mention (which means I’m going to talk about it for at least a paragraph): Estep had a reoccurring descriptive lead-in that fixated on the characters’ eyes. “I looked at him with my gray eyes,” “he peered at me with his golden eyes,” “her green eyes widened in surprise.”… You get the idea. It was actually a clever way to draw attention to a unique feature, but it happened so often (at least once a chapter) that it was almost funny. My hazel eyes are going to light up with delight if I catch more than a couple in the next book. :-)

Overall, I consider Spider’s Bite and entertaining read and definitely worth your time if you’re a fan of the urban fantasy genre. I will definitely be continuing on in the series.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes