Category Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Books

Jul 6 2013
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Book Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

47212Title: Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher

Series: Dresden Files #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry’s eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry’s name. And things are about to get very…interesting.

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The Review:

I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation about urban fantasy books without this series being brought up. It’s definitely one of the most recognizable stories of the genre and certainly among the top sellers. For some reason, I’d been stalling on reading it. It was one of those that had so much hype surrounding it that I was afraid I wouldn’t like it. Then, after some encouraging feedback from both my husband and best friend, I finally read it… and loved it.

The story was well woven and interesting – taking on a traditional mystery with a paranormal twist (as most urban fantasies tend to do). It had a delightfully layered plot that gave the protagonist plenty of things to “peel” away as the story progressed. It also had plenty of action, which increased in its intensity as it got closer to the end. Overall, it was a very well-conceived and well-paced book.

Character was my favorite writing element of Storm Front, specifically the voice in which the book was narrated. It was dry and sardonic, yet completely hilarious. Butcher’s great use of humor when a long way to revealing the character of his protagonists and making him someone I enjoyed rooting for. I also appreciated the myriads of side characters and look forward to seeing where their individual stories go in future books.

Overall, if all of his novels are as funny, fast-paced, and intricate as this first book, I’m going to be one happy camper.

Recommendations: this was a fantastic mix of mystery and paranormal. I would hand this to customers as a “gateway” novel to get them into urban fantasy (along with Moon Called by Patricia Briggs). It definitely deserves a place in the top five best urban fantasies out there… at least as far as I’m concerned.

Other books you might like:

Hounded Review   •   Dead Witch Walking Review   •   Blood Engines Review 

by Niki Hawkes

May 30 2013
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Book Review: Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur

Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur

Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur

Title: Dancing with the Devil

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Nikki and Michael #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Overview: Private Investigator Nikki James grew up on the tough streets of Lyndhurst and believes there’s nothing left to surprise her. All that changes the night she follows teenager Monica Trevgard into the shadows-and becomes a pawn caught in a war between two very different men. One fills her mind with his madness, the other pushes his way into her life-and her heart. Nikki knows how dangerous love can be, but if she wants to survive, she must place her trust in a man who could easily destroy her.

Michael Kelly has come to Lyndhurst determined to end the war between himself and another brother of the night. For 300 years he has existed in life’s shadows, gradually learning to control the life from death cravings of a vampire. Nikki not only breaches his formidable barriers with her psychic abilities, but makes Michael believe he may finally have found a woman strong enough to walk by his side and ease the loneliness in his heart. But will his love be enough to protect her from a madman hell-bent on revenge? Or will it drive her into his enemy’s deadly trap?

Only together can they overcome the evil threatening to destroy them both. But the secrets they keep from each other might prove to be the greatest threat of all.

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The Review:

I’ve had a lot of turmoil trying to figure out how to review this book. I am a huge fan of Keri Arthur and for the longest time ranked her Riley Jensen series as my all-time favorite. I have been looking forward to the U.S. release of the Nikki and Michael series for at least a year… But I was disappointed, and I hate it when that happens.

First of all, I’m pretty sure the publishers are marketing this series as an urban fantasy. For me, everything from the outline to the heavy focus on characterization made it read more like a paranormal romance. The plot was incredibly straightforward with no elements of complexity or even mystery that she does so well in her urban fantasies. I’m sure the marketing strategy was to keep all of Arthur’s books in the same area, but I think this is a book better suited to the romance crowd. I had a lot of issues with it, and I can’t help but think that was because I was holding it to the standard of other urban fantasies I’ve read (specifically Arthur’s). I wonder if I’d picked it up knowing it was a paranormal romance if I would’ve liked it better.

Oddly, for a book I’ve just labeled highly character-driven, it didn’t have very rich characters. Their thoughts and dialogue were pretty generic – the only thing that helped define them was the occasional motive revealed through the book’s extensive inner reflection. Even then, they contradicted themselves often with their actions. I thought the side character Jake, Nikki’s boss, was the most interesting person in the story. We didn’t have any inner dialogue with him, but instead got to know him through his actions and mannerisms – which I think is a far stronger way to develop character.

There was also a great deal of redundant “discoveries” taking place. The bulk of the story revolved around a conflict the audience was already aware of from reading the back of the book: the fact that Michael is a vampire. Nikki, having supernatural abilities of her own and facing down zombies within the first chapter, spent a lot of pages learning about vampires and coming to grips with their existence. That’s the sort of thing that’s usually a given if there’s already supernatural in a story. Instead, it was one of the major conflicts of the book.

I thought the basic writing was good, nowhere near the quality that she’s producing now, but good. There was an awful lot of  “telling” rather than “showing” where the author chose to skip full-blown action scenes in favor of having the character reflect on it in the aftermath. She did, however, use an interesting technique to keep from revealing secrets too early in the plot: she switched POVs any time the subject was about to be brought up – thereby extending the suspense and intrigue.

Overall, for a paranormal romance, it fit the bill perfectly, but as an urban fantasy, it left a few things to be desired. I am a huge Keri Arthur fan – her Riley Jensen and Dark Angel series are definitely in my top ten urban fantasies of all-time and I recommend them to people constantly. I am truly bummed that this one didn’t work for me. They were written quite a while ago, though, so I’m just going to chalk it up as a stepping stone this author needed to get to where she is today. It was still a decent book, I just had incredibly high expectations, and that’s never a good start.

Recommendations: I started out this post with a big old rant on the difference between paranormal romances and urban fantasies. I decided to spare you and deleted the whole thing but I definitely feel there is a different type of customer for each genre. I would only hand this to someone who has read and liked any of the books listed below… (I didn’t care much for those, either, but I know a lot of people did).

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

May 22 2013
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Book Review: Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

A oneTitle: Chill Factor

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Wardens #3

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has protected the human race from monster storms, been killed, reborn as a Djinn, and then restored to her original form. Now she’s throwing the dice to stop an infinitely powerful, deeply disturbed kid-who is holed up in a Vegas hotel-from bringing on a new ice age. 

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The Review:

After reading the first three books in both this series and the Morganville series, I have come to the conclusion that Caine’s work just doesn’t sing with me. There is something missing, and I’ve wracked my brain and analyzed the snot out of these books and I think I have finally figured out what it is (see below). I’m pretty sure I’m alone in this, too, because my best friend/favorite-go-to-person for book recommends ranks Morganville number one as far as vampire books go and really enjoyed the first few books in this series as well. It happens, I guess, but I’m still going to take a couple of paragraphs to explore why the book was just “okay”.

My favorite element to this book was the concept – it was the major reason why I bumped the book’s overall rating up from a 1.5 to a 2.5. People with abilities to control the weather with the help of mysterious, beautiful, and downright hostile djinn that are kept as slaves. It is a really neat idea, and for the most part Caine does a great job expanding on it. My only gripe here is that she sometimes managed to turn a fun ability into a highly technical event that made me feel like I was reading a textbook.

I actually really like the writing style – I am a sucker for good use of description and Caine had a couple of really stunning passages that I made note of to study for my own writing. What she accomplishes so well with that great description is a fantastic overall mood for the story. It takes me to a very distinct world with a very distinct feeling, and honestly if I pick the next book up it will be because I miss the overall feel of these novels.

With all of those good attributes, what’s my problem?

The only thing I can figure is that something about the main character, plot, or love interest wasn’t working for me. With this book in particular, I found myself constantly questioning the main character’s rationale (which incidentally took the plot to places I wasn’t invested in). I also didn’t really care for the love interest – while the main character is running around thinking ” OMG, this guy is the most important wonderful thing in the world, I can’t lose him!” I’m over here like, “Whatever, you could totally do better.” I guess this book goes to show just how important it is for me to be invested in the characters, otherwise it’s like pulling teeth to get through the novel.

Recommendations: with all of these things in mind, I probably wouldn’t recommend these books unless someone specifically said they liked the Morganville series (as I had all of the same struggles with those) so if you liked one you’ll probably like the other. As of right now, it’s pretty low on my urban fantasy totem and would have to go somewhere totally amazing in the next one for that to change. For any wary readers out there, this particular book contains language and violence.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

May 1 2013
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Book Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

a2Title: Frost Burned

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson #7

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…. After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted. Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

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The Review:

I never have anything bad to say about Patricia Briggs! I have loved every book in the Mercy series so far, putting them at the top of my all-time favorites list.  Already owning the paperbacks, I decided to invest in the hardcovers because I like them that much. Not only are they fun to read, but they also have excellent characters, story, and humor.

 With each new book so far, Briggs has introduced a new element of supernatural expanding the otherworldliness of her series. Now were at the point where there is so much back history and development with each creature and character that the storyline for this book was almost a culmination of everything we have read so far. Frankly, the characters could be doing practically anything at this point and I would still enjoy reading about it.

Conflicts that happen in past books play a big role in this one, so it didn’t take long to get into the action of the story. I love how Briggs paces her novels, there is usually barely enough time to catch your breath before she launches from one action scene to the other. Mix that with fantastic, lovable characters and a great deal of humor, and you have yourself one fantastic series! I am bummed that it’s going to be at least a year before I get to read another one… It kind of makes me wish I had read it slower. Oh, well. I guess I’ll just have to go back and do a series reread!

As a side note, I chose to read the Alpha and  Omega series because there are rather important things in those books that played a major role in Frost Burned. In fact, if I hadn’t read them I would’ve been a little confused with the feeling of, “Wow, I don’t remember that in the last Mercy book… What other stuff that I forget?” (this usually only happens if I read books in a series too far apart). Anyway, the first A&O book, Cry Wolf, I didn’t really care for. However, the other two, Hunting Ground and Fair Game, were every bit as good as the Mercy series, adding a lot of back-history to the werewolf culture.

Recommendations: These books don’t have near as much language and sex as many other urban fantasies on the market, which is why (aside from their obvious awesomeness) I recommend them the most often. Along with Butcher’s Dresden Files, these books are excellent starter sets for the genre and must-reads for any hard-core fans!

by Niki Hawkes

 Other books you might like:

Apr 3 2013
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Book Review: Fair Games by Patrica Briggs

s3Title: Fair Game

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Alpha & Omega #3

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Mystery

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: It is said that opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant Alpha. While Anna, an Omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

When the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial-killer case, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston to join the investigation. It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting the preternatural. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights…

The Review:

While Cry Wolf read like a paranormal romance and Hunting Ground read like an urban fantasy, Fair Game was strongly tugging at the mystery category. It’s almost like Briggs is playing with different story structures to branch out from her comfort zone. And you know what? I’m 100% willing to go on that ride with her. It’s not easy to write in a different genre, but I love that she’s introducing it within urban fantasy parameters.

Fair Game was easily the most gruesome story to date (at least as far as I was concerned – but I sort of let my imagination run wild with this one). It raised the stakes, kept me at the edge of my seat, and made me really hate the bad guys. My favorite part of this novel was the layered plot; it slowly revealed one clue after another, building an excellent momentum for the end.

I mentioned in my review of book #2 that Anna and Charles’ relationship is one of my favorites in the genre. To be honest, I wasn’t  even certain if I liked either of the characters up front, but I still loved how well their personalities played off of each other. The visuals of a five-foot mousey woman scolding a behemoth of a werewolf without fear makes me smile every time. Briggs gets an A+ for character development and perhaps another + for story.

Recommendations: I am sure lovers of Mercy have already picked these books up, but I have to say the back history here makes the whole saga rich and vibrant. If you like Briggs but haven’t read this one yet, put it one your list! A warning to the wary: this series does contain a good deal of language and sexual content but not nearly as graphic as Laurell K. Hamilton or Keri Arthur.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

Mar 29 2013
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Your Pick for Nik! – March’s Review!

Title: Hounded

Author: Kevin Hearne

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

The Review: 

World Building: The setting was great – Hearn does a great job at selling the perks of living in Arizona. You could tell he’d done a lot of reasearch on what the local flora and fauna are, and I particularly liked the way he incorporated them into the story. Let’s face it, you don’t see a lot of urban fantasies outside of big concrete-jungle cities, so it was neat to have a change of pace.

The biggest draw of world-building for me was how much information he included about druidic lore and religious culture (ancient Gods and Goddesses brought to life). These elements were great, but my favorite draw was the magic. Druidic magic is interesting enough, but Hearne took it one step further by making the protagonist a master of his own unique magical development. This ranges from the charmed necklace he wears to his extensive knowledge of herbal remedies. I thought it was well done, and I always love feeling like I’ve learned something from a book.

Character Development: The main character was well-rounded and frankly fun to read about. His cheeky attitude that referenced modern sayings while maintaining the dignity of one so old was a cool balance. Although there really wasn’t a lot of personal growth with Atticus, I liked his story. I think to keep enjoying him in future books, there’s going to have to be some sort of inner conflict, not just the external of people coming after him. I mentioned in my pre-review that I thought the author missed an opportunity to introduce a love interest. While I still think that’s true, I don’t mind that it didn’t happen in this first book. I’m also hoping for more in the future (I’ll talk about more in the “story” portion of the review).

Most of the characters were either gods and goddesses or supernatural beings of some sort. While interesting, they weren’t exactly relatable. Because of this, I latched on to some of the more “normal” people and actually found them to be the most interesting. I’m not sure the author intended this, but if he did it worked. My favorite element was actually the wolf-hound sidekick. I thought he was a charming comic relief, and I enjoyed the scenes he was in the most. He just made things more fun, and I went with the idea that he thought more like a human than a dog (although I wasn’t sure at first if it would work).

Pacing: One hit after another, this author can’t be criticized for taking things too slow. Not to say it went too fast, either. There was plenty of down time between attacks to learn more about the world and the characters. I also thought it did a good job building momentum for the climax of the book. Pacing is usually something usually talk a lot about, but with Hearne I think the best compliment I could give is that I never stopped the story to see what page I was on.

Story: I like a book with more information up front. In Hounded, we know who we’re rooting for and against right away, and I thought it gave the story a great sense of direction. The concept of finally having to face something he’s been running from for hundreds of years put the reader into the action right away.

I mentioned earlier that I love a book where I feel like I’ve learned something. Not life lessons, mind you, but things that I would never have the opportunity to learn in a magic-less world. Any time a character has a special skill or ability I latch on to those elements and almost always enjoy the book. I want to talk about it in this section because not only do these special skills help round out your character, they also makes for a much better story. Atticus’ apothecary, herbal knowledge, and special iron magic skills were fascinating to read about. One would’ve been interesting enough for me, but the fact that we get three leaves me a very happy reader.

I’m also going to bring back up the love interest for this category. I have a hard time believing that Atticus has live for two thousand years without having experienced some sort of epic love. I sincerely hope the author addresses this in future books and maybe give solid reasoning why he’s not seeking it in this day and age. I should disclaim that I thought the book was well-rounded without this element, I just think it could’ve been even better. It was the only reason the book wasn’t a solid 5/5 stars for me.

Recommendations: Overall, this was a great month in the book club world. I got to experience a great new author and see the magic in a setting not that different from where I live now. This was a great book, and I’d recommend it to those who like urban fantasies but also enjoy epic hero tales. Heck, I’d even hand this to someone looking for something “fun”. :)

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like: