Tag Archives: urban fantasy

Aug 14 2016
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Book Review: The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison

witch with no nameTitle: The Witch With No Name

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: Rachel Morgan #13

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Rachel Morgan’s come a long way from the clutzy runner of Dead Witch Walking. She’s faced vampires and werewolves, banshees, witches, and soul-eating demons. She’s crossed worlds, channeled gods, and accepted her place as a day-walking demon. She’s lost friends and lovers and family, and an old enemy has become something much more. But power demands responsibility, and world-changers must always pay a price. That time is now. To save Ivy’s soul and the rest of the living vampires, to keep the demonic ever after and our own world from destruction, Rachel Morgan will risk everything. –Goodreads

The Review:

I’ve been slowly working my way through this series for ages, savoring every last moment. Now that I’ve finally reached the end, I feel a combination of sadness that it’s over, satisfaction at how it ended, and gratitude to have experienced such a great series. There are brilliant moments throughout The Hollows that I’ll remember forever. It’s definitely one of my top three all-time favorite urban fantasies.

My favorite part of this series is definitely Rachel’s relationships with the other characters – primarily Trent and Al (who are both written with a lot of duality – something I love). Both are complex relationships that develop slowly over the entire series. What I loved so much about them is the fact that I was never totally sure what their motives were. They had that “mysterious” factor, if you will. The discovery process of figuring out exactly where they stood and watching their relationship with Rachel grow was pure magic. I’m pretty sure Al is one of my favorite characters from any series. Ever. I will miss him the most.

Now that I’ve hinted at how much I love to the series as a whole, I have a few very minor criticisms of The Witch with No Name. With this final book in particular, I admit I expected it to have a stronger climax, being the series-ender and all. That’s not to say it wasn’t as good as the books before it, I was just hoping to feel the escalation of the story a tad more. But really, when dealing with such an amazing body of work, it’s easy to have unrealistically high expectations.

I also found one element of the plot a bit too drawn out and repetitive – that involving the vampire Cormel. Without giving too much away, let’s just say Cormel started blackmailing Rachel to get her to do something for him, but never really carried through on his threats. It went a little like, “do this thing, or else!” and Rachel was like, “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” to which Cormel would respond “you didn’t do the thing? Well, do the thing, or else!” Personally, I lost patience with the whole dynamic right from the start, which is probably why that whole plot point seem to go on forever. My biggest objection is that it drew the story out unnecessarily and made a once scary character seem a little comical and inconsequential. Like I said, minor. But still annoying…

Anyway, the resolution to the series was everything I hoped it would be – the perfect culmination of events. I’d recommend The Hollows to any urban fantasy fan. In fact, if you love the genre and haven’t at least tried this series yet, than I’m not sure we can be friends until you do…

As a side note, I’m very much looking forward to diving into Harrison’s new Peri Reed Chronicles even though The Drafter hasn’t gotten the highest reviews so far. The way I see it, Harrison is one of those authors who builds her stories into something amazing over the course of several books. I didn’t think Dead Witch Walking was anywhere near as good as her later novels, and I attribute all of that to the way she built the story. And it turned out amazing. Therefore, I’m definitely willing to give her new series some time…

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 14 2016
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Trilogy Review: Agent of Hel by Jacqueline Carey

Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey
Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey
Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey

The Agent of Hel Trilogy
by Jacqueline Carey
4/5 stars

“Agent of Hel” is a trilogy about a half-human, half-demon woman named Daisy, whose heritage earned her the job of liaison between the human world and the supernatural kingdom. It’s a job that gets particularly complicated when citizens start showing up dead by supernatural causes…

Jacqueline Carey is one of my top authors, specifically for her “Kushiel’s” and “Imriel’s” Trilogies (which contain some of the best writing I’ve ever read, although I’d recommend it with a strong disclaimer of sexual content… particularly of the S&M variety). I’ve come to love her for her rich character development, expansive world/culture building, beautiful love stories, and epic storytelling. Many of these elements you don’t normally see within urban fantasies, whose storylines typically revolve around mystery, action, and instant gratification. As you can imagine, after reading Carey’s epic fantasies, I was intrigued to see how she would tackle a new genre.

And the verdict? “Agent of Hel” was anything but typical… And I really dug it.

My favorite things about this series were the world building and quirky cast of characters. Both of which I thought were developed expansively enough to merit more than just a trilogy. Carey’s supernatural world was one of the most conceptual and well-imagined of any I’ve ever read. Everything from creature creation to the political hierarchy went one or two steps above what I would consider necessary for a good urban fantasy. It was a lot of fun. Carey’s characters also had a lot of depth and backstory, but there wasn’t enough time within such a short series to explore them all thoroughly. I wanted more, which is more or less a positive way to finish a series. I don’t think Carey has any plans to write more, but one can dream.

Anyway, despite the series ending before I was ready for it to, “Agent of Hel” had great pacing that kept me engaged from start to finish. It had a nice balance of action, mystery, romance, and humor, which are ingredients for an awesome read.

As with many urban fantasies, “Agent of Hel” contained a prominent romance – one which I thought did a good job of balancing the action without overwhelming the plot. As with everything else, the love story was a bit atypical. For starters, it wasn’t always clear who the love interest was supposed to be. Also, the romantic story arc didn’t follow the usual formula. Both were things I actually liked about the series and, at the risk of sounding redundant, I also found myself craving another book to keep it going by the time the series ended. I should clarify that my slight dissatisfaction was because I was really enjoying what I was reading and wanted more, but Carey did do a nice job wrapping up her plot points with clear resolutions.

Overall, I’d rank “Agent of Hel” as one of the better urban fantasies and would recommend it to anyone familiar with the genre. Fair warning though, the series contains sexual content.

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 3 2016
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Book Reviews: The Dresden Files [Books 8-10] by Jim Butcher

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
White Night by Jim Butcher
Small Favor by Jim Butcher

The Dresden Files [Books 8-10]
by Jim Butcher

I can definitely see why Jim Butcher is considered a staple in the Urban Fantasy genre – he has an excellent main character (who is a tad whiny at times, but that’s kind of why I like him), loads of paranormal that will continually ding your creep-o-meter (even though I admit it doesn’t take much to set mine off), and plenty of action, humor, and intrigue. Overall, if you’ve never read an urban fantasy, this author is a great place to start. The best thing about him is that he seems to get better with each book.

Proven Guilty

I really liked Proven Guilty, and although it’s been a while since I read it, I still remember quite a bit about it. It sits nicely in a long line of great Dresden books, that’s for sure. This is the novel where you start to get to know Molly – Michael’s rebellious teenage daughter (and a character I quite like). The coolest part about this book is the plot: Molly and her boyfriend get mixed up in a phenomenon of horror movies brought to life. Dresden, as usual, has to figure out what’s going on. It was a mystery I enjoyed watching him unravel. Overall, a solid installment.

4/5 stars

White Knight

White Knight was my least favorite of the series so far (of the latter books, anyway… the beginning of the saga started out admittedly rough). That is, however, until I started writing this review. You see, the book as a whole was actually comparably good. The culprit for my dissatisfaction was a single, prolonged dream/alternate plain of existence scene right in the middle of the book that took me out of the action and added absolutely nothing to the plot. It was weird. Had it not been included, I’m sure I’d be sitting here praising White Knight with the same enthusiasm as the rest, but that one scene managed to leave the taint on the whole thing. Aside from that, the book was actually pretty entertaining – containing a mystery surrounding Thomas (whom I love), and a few hilarious moments. If you read it, just skip that weird part and all is good.

3.5/5 stars

Small Favor

I actually liked Small Favor a lot. Like, enough that it may be my favorite of the series. Here’s where I have to admit that I’m composing this review way after reading the book and have already ventured on as far as book 14. It’s still my favorite so far… mostly because, in a long series where individual story lines start to blend together, I can still remember with vivid clarity everything that happened in this book. It had a great conflict right off the bat (a good start), and ended with one of the coolest battle settings so far (a good ending). Not to mention it was funny as shit. Consider book 10 Obsessive Bookseller endorsed.

4.5/5 stars

If you haven’t picked up a Dresden book yet, just know you’re in for a well-conceived and sustainable series, jam-packed with scary monsters and a lot of snark. I consider them a must-try for any fan of the genre.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Mar 18 2016
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Book Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Title: Fire Touched

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson #9

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the Fae. Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched? [Via Goodreads]

The Review:

I love Patricia Briggs and consider her among my all-time favorite urban fantasy writers alongside Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, and Keri Arthur. She’s one of those authors who has been consistently good for so long that her books are on my very short “auto-buy” list. I never worry if I’ll like them or not (I always do) because they are the kind of guaranteed good reads that I’d save for rainy days if I wasn’t so eager to gobble them up the minute they hit the stands. Fire Touched, book 9 in the Mercy Thompson series, was no exception!

All of Briggs’ books have an excellent balance of internal and external conflicts. In every book, the crew has one big problem to solve (usually a supernatural monster of some sort) which leads to a lot of exciting, action-packed scenes. In Fire Touched, the problem, or “monster,” is the Gray Court of the Fae. Now, by this point in the series, Briggs has developed the Fae into a dynamic and complex society that I personally find absolutely fascinating to read about. This novel offers more of a glimpse into their inner workings and politics then we’ve seen before and, as usual, Mercy and Adam are right in the middle of the conflict.

I have to say, as good as the author is at creating engaging broad conflicts for her characters, it’s the smaller, interpersonal conflicts that make these books so much fun to read. Once again I found myself just as immersed in the werewolf pack’s dynamics as I was during the exciting battle scenes (if not more). The characters are all realistic and vibrant, and watching them argue and work out issues with one another is one of my little joys in life. In this book in particular, it felt like the focus was more on these interpersonal dynamics rather than the broader conflict (which I loved), but there were a couple of occasions where the plot seemed a little disjointed. That said, it all came together beautifully in the end and now I’m eager as ever to see what happens next.

As a bookseller who loved recommending titles, the “Mercy Thompson” series was easily my favorite urban fantasy to hand-sell. The story is less intimidating than say, the “Dresden Files” (which I also love) and makes a better first impression than “The Hollows” series (another favorite), and is a lot of fun to read. Now let’s face it, you’re probably not going to be very interested in my review of book 9 unless you’ve already read up to this point. If you haven’t, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of “Moon Called,” the first in the series. Additionally, I’d recommend the Alpha and Omega series and suggest reading them alongside the Mercy books based on publication date, as the two series start to overlap as they get further along. That’s 13 books (so far) of great storytelling to look forward to! It makes me want to go back and reread them all. For those of you who have read up to this point, if you’re interested in reading more about Thomas and Marsilia, I’d recommend the short story “Fairy Gifts” found in the novella compilation “Shifting Shadows.”

I’d like to thank Berkley Publishing Group, Patricia Briggs, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review a reviewer copy of Fire Touched.

Other books you might like:

 by Niki Hawkes

Feb 8 2016
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Mini Book Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Title: Night Broken

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercy Thompson #8

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right. Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy. Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

The Mini Review:

I figured since I just started reading the next book in the series [Fire Touched out March 8, 2016] that I should probably get it together and post a review for Night Broken – one of my favorites so far. There seems to be a running theme in this series of the characters having one giant problem to solve (the external conflict) while also dealing with a handful of lesser problems (usually internal conflicts). This novel in particular had a beautiful combination of both, but my favorites were the internals. I love reading about family dynamics and how people build and maintain relationships with one another. In Night Broken, Mercy is tasked with handling Adam’s passive-aggressive ex-wife. There were times that I wanted to strangle the ever loving crap out of her, and I honestly don’t know how Mercy kept her cool. But watching one of my favorite main character figure out a way to handle the situation in a way that was both satisfying and classy made my day. All in all, it really is a minor conflict in the whole scheme of the series, but one of the most satisfying to watch the characters overcome. And really, it’s often those little, interpersonal conflicts that determine whether or not I remember a book. After all, who cares if the big monster is defeated if you don’t have a solid emotional support system to come home to?

Anyway, I realize the focus of this review was a bit odd, so if you take anything away, take away the fact that Night Broken was every bit as good as the books before it and the upcoming Fire Touched is shaping up to be just as spectacular!

Other books you like:

 by Niki Hawkes

Feb 7 2016
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Book Review: City of Light by Keri Arthur

City of Light by Keri Arthur

Title: City of Light

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Outcast #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others—demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay…. As a déchet—a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war—Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being—an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth. Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe…

The Review:

Keri Arthur has been a staple in my urban fantasy/paranormal romance arsenal for many years now, and I’m convinced she gets better and better with each new series. City of Light was the fantastic combination of unique setting, great characters, and good storytelling that I’ve come to expect from her, and I think it a strong start to what promises to be a great series.

The basic plotlines surrounding the paranormal creatures and their proclivity for mischief was very similar to that in Arthur’s Riley Jensen series (my favorite of hers to date). It can be risky recycling old ideas, but Arthur presented it in such a different way that it made me nostalgic rather than disappointed. She has a way of weaving complex supernatural cultures into giant hodgepodge societies that somehow work. It made for an atmosphere that was fresh, exciting, and easily one of the best elements of the story.

But, by far, the best element were the characters. Tig was a strong female lead, which is to be expected, but my favorite thing about her was her rich back history and experiences that shaped her motives and decisions throughout the entire novel. She was such a well developed character that it made the novel special rather than just good. All of that praise is in addition to the cool aspect of how she came into being (lab-grown) and the cooler combination of DNA that made her unique (white tiger shifter with a hint of vampire… plus some other genetically superior upgrades). I was yet again reminded of Riley, but in a way that made me appreciate how well each heroine stands on their own despite their similarities. All of the characters surrounding Tig were equally interesting, and I have the feeling we’ve only just scratched the surface of their potential in this first book.

Overall, City of Light was a strong first novel in a series I can’t wait to devour more from. Fans of Keri will definitely appreciate it, and urban fantasy lovers in general will hopefully like the paranormal/futuristic infusion is much as I did. Fair warning though: sexual content and language.

I’d like to thank Penguin Group Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW, Keri Arthur, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review a reviewer copy of City of Light.

Other books you might like:

 by Niki Hawkes