Tag Archives: paranormal romance

Dec 5 2022
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Book Review: Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Living with the Dead

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld #9

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Overview: The men and women of the Otherworld – witches, werewolves, demons, vampires – live unseen among us. Only now a reckless killer has torn down the wall, trapping one very human woman in the supernatural crossfire. Robyn moved to LA after her husband died to try to put some distance between herself and the life they had together. And the challenges of her job as the PR consultant to a Paris Hilton wannabe are pretty distracting. But then her celebutante is gunned down in a night club, and Robyn is suddenly the prime suspect. The two people most determined to clear her are her old friend, the half-demon tabloid reporter Hope Adams, and a homicide detective with an uncanny affinity for the dead Soon Robyn finds herself in the heart of a world she never even knew existed – and which she was safer knowing nothing about . . . -Goodreads

The Review:

The magic of this series has evaporated, but Living with the Dead was still just entertaining enough to keep me reading. If No Humans Involved hadn’t been so dang good (showing me that brilliant nuggets may still be had), I probably would’ve moved on by now. But at this point I’m still holding out, hoping for another strike of brilliance.

When compared to other robust urban fantasies in the genre (and early books in this series), Living with the Dead really doesn’t hold a candle to them. However, matched up to most of the paranormal romance series I’ve tried (from a quality standpoint), it’s a decent read…

… except there’s not really a romance in this one. Which brings me to my next rant.

I wanted there to be at least SOME romance in this book. It’s the main draw to continue at this point and frankly why I got hooked on the series in the first place (my friend referred to it once saying “I want more of that hot werewolf sex.” Which I laughed at but couldn’t argue with). Then to add insult to the lack of any steam, the sexual encounters that DID make an appearance here were fucking weird. Like, uncomfortable to read, and not in a kinky way, but more in a… well ima leave it at that.

Overall, the writing was quality, the characters were good, the storyline was meh, and the romance was nonexistent. It may be a while before I’m motivated to pick up the next one [editor’s note: I wrote this review over two years ago but never got around to publishing it… I still haven’t picked up the next book].

Recommendations: if you like urban fantasy, definitely check out the first two books – amazing! The rest of the series has some merit, with a hit-or-miss ratio at about 50/50. This one was one of my least favorites so far even though I can acknowledge that at a base level it’s a decent read. I think I’m at the point where I’M the one who needs the recommendation on whether or not to finish out the series.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Nov 25 2021
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Book Review: Darkness Rising by Keri Arthur

Title: Darkness Rising

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Dark Angels #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Overview: Risa will go to any lengths to avenge her mother’s murder—even if it means making a pact with the most evil vampire she’s ever met. Lethal and powerful, Madeline Hunter is leader of the vampire council, and will put her resources behind finding the killer—for a price. The venerable vampire requires the assistance of Risa’s psychic powers. Quid pro quo. Someone—or something—is targeting the elders of the local council, cursing the immortal vampires to rapidly age, sink into madness, and die. Risa must track down the vengeful being responsible. But Risa’s father, a rogue Aedh priest, also enlists her in a dangerous mission. And not even the great Madeline Hunter may be able to protect her from the shadowy forces that desire nothing less than Risa’s destruction. -Goodreads

The Review:

It has only been a week and I’ve already forgotten what I read.

I’m still reconciling how my tastes have changed since I first read Darkness Unbounded five years ago, and how that one lost almost 3 stars on the reread. This was my first venture into Darkness Rising, and my grand plans for bulldozing through the series this month have been derailed… I didn’t love it.

The book didn’t have a lot of substance. It didn’t deepen the characters. It didn’t broaden the plot. The sex scenes were hard to read. And probably the most disappointing: the main conflict was simple but at the same time confusing. I kept thinking I’d missed something. Like, why are we suddenly in the sewers? What’s the whole point of this exercise? WHY do the characters have to do anything about this in the first place? It all seemed so contrived. The overall conflict lacked enough substance to sustain the story. It was was very similar to a middle grade novel when it came to flat villains, surface-level conflicts, and lack of character depth.

Now, granted, I’m evaluating this alongside urban fantasy works that I’ve loved. This is in fact a paranormal romance, which have an entirely different plot focus, story purpose, and target audience. Even though I avoid the genre these days, I picked this one up because I liked Riley Jensen, and loved the author’s City of Light urban fantasy series. But… here’s the thing. For a paranormal romance with the love story and sex scenes as the main overall arc, it wasn’t even satisfying compared to others I’ve read in the genre. I can see where the author is headed with things, but to evaluate just what has been presented so far, it left me wanting.

Recommendations: urban fantasy readers, don’t even give this one a second glance. Not only is it a continuation spinoff of the Riley Jensen series with spoilers, but it’s also written more for the paranormal romance crowd. Paranormal romance readers: this one missed on all accounts for me.

I’d recommend these other similar books instead:

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 14 2021
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Book Review: Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Title: Darkness Unbound

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Dark Angel #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Overview: Being half werewolf and half Aedh, Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death and see the reapers, supernatural beings that collect the souls of the dead. But she soon makes a terrifying discovery: Some sinister force is stealing souls, preventing the dead from ever knowing the afterlife. Reapers escort souls—not snatch them—but Risa is still unnerved when a reaper shadows her in search of someone Risa has never met: her own father, an Aedh priest, who is rumored to be tampering with the gates of hell for a dark purpose. With the help of her “aunt”—half-werewolf, half-vampire Riley Jenson—and an Aedh named Lucian who may have lost his wings but none of his sex appeal, Risa must pursue whatever shadowy practitioner of blood magic is seizing souls, and somehow stop her father . . . before all hell breaks loose. -Goodreads

The Review:

Darkness Unbound unfortunately did not hold up well on my reread.

I picked it up again as a refresher before finally continuing the series. The first time around I was super excited for it. The Riley Jensen series had wrapped up and the prospect of getting more in that world delighted me. I must have been riding the high from the Riley books (which now I’m nervous to reread because of how dramatically my rating dropped for this one), and I’m pretty sure I gave this one a high rating because of the nostalgia it evoked. It does include all of the old beloved characters, so it felt like a fresh continuation. And at the moment, that’s still the only thing it really had going for it.

The book is a quintessential paranormal romance. The sex/romance aspect of the plot was the most prominent and all the other components were underdeveloped. I very much prefer the more robust conflict-driven urban fantasy market. I don’t care one way or another if there are sex scenes in those books, but in this case they were so over-the-top I couldn’t help but laugh.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if you like paranormal romance, this was actually an okay read. And what’s more, I’ve read enough from Arthur to know she can dazzle me (I loved her City of Light series), so I’m probably going to keep reading to see if the series develops beyond the basic “seen it a dozen times before” structure.

For the time being, I think the main character, Risa, was relying on the novelty of her persona from the Riley series and I didn’t get a clear sense of who she is and what she wants. There was no connection at all for me for these characters. The conflict also read a little thin. Super convenient things and 2-dimensional villains. I say again, had this read been for obligation or for any other author, I probably would’ve DNFed. But I thought I considered myself a long-time fan and I already own the series, so I’m going to give the rest a go. Also, for what it’s worth, the last chapter was incredibly compelling…

Recommendations: if you’re a paranormal romance fan, this is right up your alley, and in fact a mite better written than most I’ve read (consider diving into the Riley Jensen series first). If, like me, you prefer urban fantasy novels, this will leave you wanting a more developed plot and less romance.

Booktube Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiOtZk0Mke0

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 20 2020
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Book Review: Dime a Demon by Devon Monk

Dime a Demon by Devon Monk

Title: Dime a Demon

Author: Devon Monk

Series: Ordinary Magic #5

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Being a cop is great. Guarding the library of arcane secrets is great. Even dealing with the monsters and gods vacationing in the little beach town of Ordinary, Oregon is great. Then the demon, Bathin, strolls into town and steals Myra’s sister’s soul. So much for great. Luckily, Myra has a plan to evict the demon and save her sister’s soul.
* Step one: shut down the portals to hell popping up in town.
* Step two: get rid of the pink know-it-all unicorn.
* Step three: don’t die while teaching Death how to be a cop.

Oh, and there’s a step four. Absolutely, positively, no matter what, do not fall in love with the handsome, charming, jerk of a demon she’s trying to kick out of town. Logically, it’s a good plan. But when it comes to Bathin, Myra’s very illogical heart has some plans of its own. -Goodreads

The Review:

I’m more than a bit disenchanted with the series.

It has a lot of good components, but just enough glaring oddities that I’m only enjoying it about half as much as I should be. It’s frustrating because the first couple of works were strong. I go into ranty detail in my review of book 3, so I won’t reiterate those issues. And while this book pulled things back closer to where we started, it came with a whole new batch of problems. Most notably: the love story.

Up to this point, the series has had a good balance between all the elements and the romance. There was just enough for some good old fashioned sexual tension, but it didn’t overwhelm all of the other really interesting happenings in Ordinary. That balance was not present in Dime a Demon. I didn’t mind the switch to a different POV (another Reed sister) because it was a good way to reinvigorate the story. However (a big however), if you’re going to make the entire focus of the novel a romance, then it had better be a good one… which this was not.

For starters, there was no real courtship. There was an attempt at courtship that always got shot down, and some flashy moments of shared chemistry, but that critical component where the characters grow closer through shared experiences and a series of meaningful moments was non-existent. It wasn’t romance, with emotion and connection, it was a purely physical connection between two horny characters (at least, that’s how it came across). It was very unsatisfying (I mean, even if it was meant to be a purely physical relationship, it needed way more tension, positive interaction, and foreplay).

Sigh… I think this is the last I’m reading for the series unless I can snag a free copy from the library for future publications. It’s not the worst I’ve read, but it has not lived up to any of my expectations and I’ve already invested way more than usual into it.

Recommendations: the #.5 novella and first book were fantastic, but the series has since taken a drastic decline. The compilation of novellas (which counted as book 4) were dazzling examples of the best the series has to offer, but then book 5 tanked again for a whole new host of reasons. The series has some truly great components, and I don’t regret the time I spent reading it, however there are a lot of series I’d recommend first.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 28 2020
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Book Review: Gods and Ends by Devon Monk

Gods and Ends by Devon Monk

Title: Gods and Ends

Author: Devon Monk

Series: Ordinary Magic #3

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

The Overview: Keep your gods close and your monsters closer… Police Chief Delaney Reed thinks she knows all of Ordinary, Oregon’s secrets. Gods on vacation, lovelorn ghosts, friendly neighborhood monsters? Check. But some secrets run deeper than even she knows. To take down an ancient vampire hell-bent on revenge, she will have to make the hardest decision of her life: give up the book of dark magic that can destroy them all, or surrender her mortal soul. As she weighs her options, Delaney discovers she can no longer tell the difference between allies keeping secrets and enemies telling the truth. Questioning loyalties and running out of time, Delaney must choose sides before a kidnapping turns into murder, before rival crochet and knit gangs start a war, and before the full moon rises to signal the beginning of Ordinary’s end. -Goodreads

The Review:

Huh.

What happened to that thoughtful, calculating main character who’s been around since the introductory novella? I mean, she’s always kind of done things her own way (to a fault), but she’s never been what I would call reckless. It’s part of why I liked her so much – enough flaws to feel realistic, but adept enough to be fun to read about. I really don’t care how much attention the author drew to her bad decision making in this book through other characters, I’m afraid it didn’t compensate for how unrealistic the whole thing came across based on the character profile established up to that point.

And don’t even get me started on the demon.

Ugh. His introduction felt clunky. And a very compelling through-line of the series involving Delany’s father (which could’ve gone somewhere meaningful) was reduced down to a single chapter of wtf is happening to this series? I thought the “mysteriously deceased father” plot point was strong enough to warrant an entire investigation novel within itself and I would’ve been much more satisfied had a lead-up like that culminated to ::enter the demon, stage left::, but as it stands, it was a clear throwaway. 

I’m feeling uncharacteristically ranty, if you can’t tell, but I can say with certainty that none of the elements that made me rate the first two books so highly were represented in this book. I think the conflict with the vampires should’ve been resolved completely in the last installment. There are just too many other potential plot ideas already in place for that expansion to be necessary. At this point the series is morphing into something completely different than its beginning premises. It’s a series about vacationing gods in a quirky town… why is the main focus now about only werewolves, vampires, and demons? There are just too many ideas compacted into one story, almost as if two different series are being forced together. And as of this book she has essentially removed everything that made the plot stand out from the crowd for me.

And let’s say for a minute I didn’t mind the change in direction – I still had a problem with the execution. There were so many premonitions, warnings, and prophecy-like conveyances that it basically outlined the entire book. It left nothing to be discovered and made me feel like I was wasting energy reading when I already knew how things were going to wrap up. Lets just say, by the end of the book I was grateful most of the foreshadowed conflicts had been resolved because it meant a cleaner slate for the next installment.

Series status: I’ll be reading the novella compilation and the next book in the series because I’ve already purchased them (and I still have hope and a great couple of examples what the story could be), but this book almost knocked me off the wagon well enough that it had better slow down and let me clamber back in if I’m to read beyond that.

Recommendations: after the first two books I was professing this series as a fun little new excursion from the more serious urban fantasies out there, but now I have to pull back a bit for re-evaluation. We’ll see how the next book goes – stay tuned…

Other books you might like (based on the first two books, not the new direction taken by this one):

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 25 2020
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Book Review: Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Title: Emerald Blaze

Author: Ilona Andrews

Series: Hidden Legacy #5

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: As Prime magic users, Catalina Baylor and her sisters have extraordinary powers—powers their ruthless grandmother would love to control. Catalina can earn her family some protection working as deputy to the Warden of Texas, overseeing breaches of magic law in the state, but that has risks as well. When House Baylor is under attack and monsters haunt her every step, Catalina is forced to rely on handsome, dangerous Alessandro Sagredo, the Prime who crushed her heart. The nightmare that Alessandro has fought since childhood has come roaring back to life, but now Catalina is under threat. Not even his lifelong quest for revenge will stop him from keeping her safe, even if every battle could be his last. Because Catalina won’t rest until she stops the use of the illicit, power-granting serum that’s tearing their world apart. -Goodreads

The Review:

I loved this book! Complex plot, amazing characters, tons of action… one of the best they’ve done so far. And that’s sayin’ something!

If you’ve been following my reviews for any length of time, you’ll no doubt have noticed I’m a Ilona Andrews fangirl. Snatching the top spot as my favorite urban fantasy writers, these two continue to dazzle me at every turn. And they’re only getting stronger.

The concept for the magic system in this world is rad. It has origins in basic superhero development, where there are those among us who are just born with special abilities, but its presentation is highly original. And a lot of that can be attributed to the structure of the society and the many house politics included in the world building. I love that after five books in the series there are still things I’m learning about the different magical abilities. The concept is so expansive that they can afford to spread it out over multiple books, creating a lot of interesting moments within each one.

My favorite thing about Emerald Blaze specifically was all the moving parts. Far from a lazy plot, there’s a murder mystery to solve and magical shenanigans afoot. Between all of that, Catalina also had to deal with a certain handsome Italian who keeps insisting on complicating her life. The book really immersed in house politics. It also provided a strong sense of which conflicts are going to make up the finale of the series, and I can’t wait. 

There were so many specific scenes within this book that struck me to my core, I briefly considered doing a spoiler review just so I could geek out about all of them. Suffice to say, there were plenty of moments that will surely make all my fellow IA fans swoon as much as I did for this fantastic story.

Speaking of swooning – the marketing and covers would have you believe that the romance is the main draw to this series, but that is so not the case. I really enjoy the romantic component – the authors are amazing at providing slow-burn love story that grows organically through the series (truly, the only type I like reading about). But as good as they are at that, all of the other elements are so strong (especially in Emerald Blaze) that romance is almost secondary. It would be a totally kickass series without the romance, but its inclusion definitely gives the books better character motivations and a more rounded feel (i.e. it’s the total package).

I love Catalina. She’s vulnerable and compassionate and sincere, but she also has this fierce, almost frightening desire to keep those she loves safe. Much more so than her sister Nevada, this girl is willing to do whatever it takes and she has the cold, calculated ability to see it through. She’s patient and shrewd, yet the reader still gets to see how charmingly human she is by contrast. Uncertain of herself most of the time, she’s somehow able to put all of that aside to get the job done. Most of the heroines I read about (especially in this genre) also have many of these attributes. The difference with Catalina is that the authors makes you feel alongside her and really come to a visceral understanding of what she’s going through. I’m always one or two levels more deeply connected to Catalina, and that’s something I don’t experience often.

Recommendations: highly recommended! Don’t let the covers fool you – Hidden Legacy is one of the most robust, entertaining urban fantasy series I’ve ever read. Kate Daniels starts out a little slow then gains momentum. Hidden Legacy sweeps you up for a wild ride right from the start and only gets better from there. There’s a reason these authors are at the top of my UF list. I can’t recommend them enough!

I want to thank Harpercollins Publishers, Ilona Andrews, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Emerald Blaze – you made my year! :D

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes