Category Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Books

Oct 6 2014
Image

Book Review: Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs

shifting shadowsTitle: Shifting Shadows

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson (Short Stories)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Mercy Thompson’s world just got a whole lot bigger… A collection of all-new and previously published short stories featuring Mercy Thompson, “one of the best heroines in the urban fantasy genre today” (Fiction Vixen Book Reviews), and the characters she calls friends…

Includes the new stories… “Silver” / “Roses in Winter” / “Redemption” / “Hollow”

…and reader favorites “Fairy Gifts” / “Gray” / “Alpha and Omega” / “Seeing Eye” / “The Star of David” / “In Red, with Pearls”

shifting shadows 2

The Review:

Patricia Briggs is one of my favorite urban fantasy writers, and the fact that she usually only comes out with one novel per year has me feeling perpetually impatient. I completely devour her books as soon as they come out and am always left craving more. While that speaks volumes of Briggs’ talents, I’ll admit it hurts my heart a bit every time I realize I have a full year to wait before finding out what happens next. So, the release of Shifting Shadows – a compilation of short stories set in Mercy Thompson’s world – felt like the ultimate treat to this uber fan!

Every single story did one of two things (and in some cases both): 1) allowed us to delve a little deeper into the lives of some of my favorite secondary characters (we essentially got treated to their fascinating backstories while viewing the world from their perspectives) and/or 2) expanded on the world-building within this already brilliantly-conceived universe. It was amazing, and I now want to go totally fangirl and start blabbing about Bran and Samuel and how cool it was to see their origins, or perhaps Warren (my favorite member of the pack) and the chills I got while learning about his strength of character, or even Kara and Asil, the stars of my favorite short story of the collection, and the wolves I’m now most eager to read more about. And that’s just to name a few!

Patricia Briggs is such an amazing writer. This is something I already knew, but Shifting Shadows made me appreciate her even more. She is just so great at characterization that you always feel like you’re reading about real people. It probably helps matters that Briggs considers the characters her imaginary friends, to the point where these fully-formed people in her head are mostly responsible for driving their own stories. She gives them a problem and then sits back and watches how they all deal with it. At least, that’s what she said during the Q&A of one of her book signings, and I’m inclined to believe her. 

It’s one thing to fall in love with characters and get to know them over the course of a multi-book series, it’s a whole other ballgame to get to know them within the confines of a short story. I’m seriously going to go back and study these stories for tips on how to make my own characters stronger – it was that good. Writing aside, there wasn’t a single point in this entire book that I wasn’t highly entertained, which is saying something because I don’t usually have the patience to pick up short stories (yes, I realize how ironic that sounds). As I said before (but it warrants repeating) every story either gave me insights to characters I’d been curious about or made Mercy’s world more vibrant… in fact, many of them did both.

All I have to say is, if you’re a fan of Mercy Thompson, these short stories will knock your socks off! If you’re not yet a fan, you’ll probably enjoy them because the writing is that good, but I think already having a deep connection with most of these characters is what took the book from great to amazing. Along those lines, if you haven’t read them, I highly recommend picking up the book that started it all, Moon Called.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 10 2014
Image

Book Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

bittenTitle: Bitten

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Elena Michaels seems like the typically strong and sexy modern woman, She lives with her architect boyfriend, writes for a popular newspaper, and works out at the gym. She’s also a werewolf. Elena has done all she can to assimilate to the human world, but the man whose bite changed her existence forever, and his legacy, continue to haunt her. Thrown into a desperate war for survival that tests her allegiance to a secret clan of werewolves, Elena must recon with who, and what, she is in this passionate, page-turning novel that begins the Women of the Otherworld series.

bitten 2

The Review:

I don’t know what it was about this book, but I found myself glued to it constantly. I was seriously walking around my kitchen only half paying attention to the dinner I was making because I didn’t want to stop reading long enough to focus. Granted, I would probably do that with every book if they were all old paperbacks, but I have a tendency to collect hardcovers that I barely cracked the spine on. Paperbacks, however, are a whole new ballgame and I dragged this one everywhere with me. So, my total absorption could be partly due to how mobile the book was, but I’m sure most of it was because it was a great urban fantasy and I was in the perfect mood for precisely that.

While there is some excellent world building right up front, this is not one of those books that dives into the conflicts at the very beginning. The story progression often times alternated with big chunks of back story. I know to some this is a huge faux pas, but I don’t mind information dumps as long as I’m interested in what’s being presented. And I was – it was formatted in a way that revealed character and dug up old skeletons as the story went on, and I quite liked it. The best bits of the story, however, was when the action started.

I liked this book for the same reason that I enjoyed Stray by Rachel Vincent, in that there are a bunch of lovable male characters surrounding a single female. Watching the dynamics between each of them was a lot of fun to read about.

As with many urban fantasies, this one contained a great deal of, shall we say, steamy content. I have no shame in admitting that I enjoy a bit of steam in my books, and I’d say this one was about a 5/10 on the steam scale. The trouble is, the object of Elena’s lust was a character I didn’t particularly care for. He wasn’t a total asshat, but he wasn’t my type, either. In fact, there are two other men in this story who I actually liked a lot better. I’m hoping something develops with them in the future…

Anyway, Armstrong has long been considered a staple for the genre, and I’m glad to have finally picked up one of her books. I have to thank Chanzie over at Mean Who You Are for including this as an option for her Book-of-the-Month. I invited myself to read along, and I’m so glad I did (if you’d like to help her pick her next book, the voting is in the right-hand sidebar of her website… I’m pulling for either Cremer or Peeler). This is definitely not the last of Armstrong that I plan to read, and will most likely be picking up her Awakening YA trilogy next.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

May 27 2014
Image

Book Review: The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

Immortal crownTitle: The Immortal Crown

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Age of X #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

Release Date: May 29, 2014

The Overview: “Gameboard of the Gods” introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion. Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

Immortal crown

The Review:

This book is further evidence why Richelle Mead is my favorite author. Having read (and loved) Gameboard of the Gods over a year ago, I was admittedly a little worried I wouldn’t remember enough of the details to get fully invested in Immortal Crown. This was so not the case! From the first page, I was drawn back into the world as if I’d never left. As much as I enjoyed the first book, I think I liked this one even better!

This is definitely one of the most complex series Mead has ever written. It takes place in a futuristic, urban fantasy setting with a mythological twist (which was one of the coolest aspects of the story). It had immersive world-building, superb character development, a heart-wrenching love story, interesting cultures, and fantastic overall conflicts. In short, this is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read, and has all the elements I look for in a great story!

My favorite elements in this book (and in fact, my favorite elements in all of Mead’s books) were the characters. The story contained three POV’s: Justin, Mae, and Tessa and, although they were very different from one another, they were all incredibly relatable. Mead has this way of infusing her characters with flaws and vices that make them more endearing because it makes them more human. It adds a level of complexity to the characters that gets me invested in them every time. What’s more, you can see how proximity to one another changes their behaviors over the course of the series, and that play off of one another is probably the element of her characters I love the most.

This awesome dynamic leads to some of the best love stories I’ve ever read. I very much appreciate Justin and Mae’s relationship in this series, and am most eager to see where their journey takes them next. They have this electric chemistry that’s just plain addicting to read about. Mead builds relationships so well that wherever their story leads, I know it’s going to be epic. I’d like to point out that I’ve found not only one, but two book boyfriends from Mead’s works in the past (Dimitri and Seth, I’m talking to you) so as much as I love Justin, I’m grudgingly okay letting Mae have him to herself this time… I don’t want to be too greedy.

Another thing that I love this author for is the brilliant momentum she creates within her books. As book 2 in the series, The Immortal Crown is where things start to get tougher for the characters and that culminating energy gets set into motion. I always try to savor Mead’s books but, as with all of her novels, that careening snowball kicked in at about the halfway and I couldn’t put it down – it was fantastic! If the third one was out, I guarantee I be already finished with it and eager for the next one!

Overall, this is a strong sequel to a series that I’m absolutely loving so far. It’s such a cool mix of mythology and urban fantasy – it really feels like a new genre on its own. If you haven’t read Richelle Mead yet, this series is an excellent place to start!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 8 2014
Image

Guest Blogger Book Review: Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Owls Header

Brought to you by Charlotte over at Apathy and Rhetoric

February 25, 2014

February 25, 2014

Title: Undead Pool

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: Rachel Morgan (Hollows) #12

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: February 25, 2014

The Overview: Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering. this Rachel must stop the occurrences before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all-out supernatural war. However, the only way to do so is through the ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils.

Owl rating

Charlotte’s Review:

I love this series, but at the same time always feel a little bored when I read it. Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint why. The books have excellent plots, wonderful characters, and great writing. They just never seem to move as fast as I want them to. Perhaps I’m too impatient.

In any case, The Undead Pool is of the same caliber of quality as all of the eleven previous books, which means all you super fans out there should be very excited. While maybe not my favorite of the series, I definitely think Undead Pool is one of the better ones. The sad news is there is reportedly only going to be one more Hollows book after this one, which surprised me because I felt this one ended with enough new intrigue to keep the series going for awhile. :(

One of my favorite things about this book was the character interaction. A key part to this series has been the trio (Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks) working together and helping each other. Each character had a unique skill and role to play. I’ve felt as though that element had disappeared in recent books, but am happy to say it makes a comeback. This of course means we see more of Ivy again, who seemed to have disappeared in the last couple of books. I missed her. The way she interacts with (and intimidates) people is always fun to read. Now, if only we can get back Glenn…

I also liked the development of Trent’s storyline, but I won’t give any details on that because of spoilers. I’m just happy that certain actions finally take place.

The second thing I really loved was the elven magic and the direction Harrison took with it. It opened up whole new realms of possibilities. I’ve always liked that in this series the magic has a clear method about it and seems almost scientific. Elven magic, on the other hand, breaks that mold. It follows completely different rules (which is probably why it gets called wild magic), and that excites me. I don’t know how to say more without giving away spoilers. Let’s just say the next book should be interesting.

There were a lot of key things that happened in this book (some subtle, some major) to progress the overall arc of the series. I was happy to see some of the loose ends that I felt were dragging the series down finally get resolved in this book. There was also a lot of new avenues opened, which left me (and will probably leave you, too) eagerly anticipating the next and final book. Let’s hope it comes quickly.

 Nik’s Notes:

I was thrilled to have Charlotte do a guest post on my blog – she is one of my favorite readers, writers, and bloggers and I look forward to reading more awesome posts from her in the future!

Feb 2 2014
Image

Book Review: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison

Pale demonTitle: Pale Demon

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: Rachel Morgan #9

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Condemned and shunned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches’ conference and clear her name, or be trapped in the demonic ever-after . . . forever after. But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car going across the country? Talk about a recipe for certain disaster, even without being the targets for assassination. For after centuries of torment, a fearsome demon walks in the sunlight—freed at last to slay the innocent and devour their souls. But his ultimate goal is Rachel Morgan, and in the fight for survival that follows, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

Pale demon 2

The Review:

Once every couple of months I read a book that’s so engrossing that I completely forget to take notes for my post. Surprisingly, the last several Harrison books I’ve read fell under the “no note” category and were so amazing that I didn’t care about anything other than enjoying them. Black Magic Sanction, book 8 in the Rachel Morgan series (preceding this one), was by-far the best book I read last year, and Pale Demon would have easily been in the top twenty, if not the top ten. I think I can safely say that Harrison is now my favorite urban fantasy author. Since I sang her praises in my last couple of reviews, I’ll keep this one relatively short (especially since you’ll be seeing a few more as I get caught up in the series).

Why do I love this series so much? There are quite a few reasons, but the most prominent is because of the excellent characterization. There’s not a single person in these books that I don’t find well-rounded and interesting. They are all so richly developed that I no longer feel like I’m reading about fictional characters. There are even a few characters who are so dynamic I’m not really sure who’s side they’re on (I’m not even sure they know, and that’s why it’s interesting). I love it when books have characters like that. And the sidekicks! Harrison gets my vote for best sidekicks in any book ever! My current favorite is a teenaged gargoyle named Bix who has these cute little tuft ears & tail and these big red expressive eyes (I want one).

There’s so many other things I love: world building – because this is a futuristic America where a good portion of humanity has been killed off by virus-carrying genetically engineered tomatoes (which I think is brilliant – who thinks of this stuff?). The ongoing internal struggles of Rachel Morgan herself – because her conflicts are always interesting, especially the self-induced ones. And Rachel’s external struggles (i.e. the overall arc of the story) – because there are so many factors at play I am just dying to see how everything turns out.

All I have to say is, if you like urban fantasy and haven’t read beyond book 3 of this series, you are doing yourself a disservice. I don’t know how she does it, but Harrison manages to provide that momentous, epic feel I usually only get from fantasy novels while representing the paranormal world at its finest! I loved this series so much I’m on a mission to collect them all in hardcover.

Recommended Reading: for lovers of urban fantasy who are in need of an epic fun-filled adventure!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 1 2014
Image

Book Review: Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra

Sea witchTitle: Sea Witch

Author: Virginia Kantra

Series: The Children of the Sea #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Margred is a Selkie – a legendary being of the sea, able to shapeshift into seductive human form. And she has found a human she desires… Burned out from the big city, Caleb Hunter becomes police chief on the peaceful Maine island of World’s End. Then he meets a woman who’s everything he’s ever dreamed of. Their passion is undeniable, irresistible …and it may change the fate of humankind.

Sea witch

The Review:

It’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a good old paranormal romance, but after reading several rather depressing dystopians and post-apocalyptic novels, it was just what the doctor ordered: something lighthearted.

I don’t usually read romances for epic world building or complex plot lines, but rather for the mindless entertainment that I let take me where it will. I guess it’s safe to say I go in with low expectations. It sounds horrible, but when I try to hold romances to the same standard I hold most urban fantasies, they always seem to come up short. It’s not that they’re poorly written or anything, it’s just that their objectives and target audiences are just different. They are not supposed to make you think, they are supposed to make you feel while two characters struggle towards their happily ever after. And while urban fantasies and even high fantasies often have relationship development as an integral part of their plots, it is very rarely the overall arc of the story.

Anyway, down to specifics: despite my lower expectations, Sea Witch was actually a pretty entertaining read. There was a good mix of mystery, character development, and romance. It was also fairly steamy – with lots of sexual tension even though the relationship was, shall we say, fast-moving. It helped that I liked the characters (a must in any genre), but was pleasantly surprised by the presence of a decent villain. Although the world building wasn’t profound, it was interesting – having just enough magic to keep me enticed.

Overall, of the romances I’ve read, Sea Change was one of the better ones. Kantra impressed me with her writing, and presented all the typical romance elements in a way that was fun and engaging.

Recommended Reading: I always feel weird recommending romances to customers because you never know who wants the more “wholesome” novels or the more erotic ones… and I never feel like it’s my business to ask (nor do I really want to know). Sea Witch was on the tamer side, say 3/10 on the “steaminess” scale.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes