The votes have been tallied, and the winner is… “Bitterblue” by Kristin Cashore!
For those of you reading along with me, I will be posting a thorough review on November 2nd, which is about two weeks from now. I am thrilled with this month’s selection, and look forward to hearing what all of you think about it as well!
Happy reading! :)
Title: Dead Witch Walking
Author: Kim Harrison
Series: Rachel Morgan #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars!
The Overview: Creatures of the night gather in the Hollows of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party, and to feed. Vampires rule. Bounty hunter and witch, Rachel Morgan keeps that world civilized. With serious sex appeal and an attitude, she’ll bring ’em back alive, dead, or undead.
The Review:
You might have noticed that I include five recommends with each of my reviews. When I’m considering which ones to choose, “Dead Witch Walking” somehow always comes to mind. It has long been a series that I pick up when I’m in the mood for a “solid” read. Not only is it one of the best urban fantasies on the market, it is also an exception example of many of the things I value in a book: fantastic character development, great world-building, an element of cleverness or humor, a love interest, and an engaging storyline. Harrison has become the ultimate go-to author for great urban fantasies.
Since books of this genre are often set in familiar cities during the present day era, you would think world-building aspects would be simple. Well, Harrison doesn’t do anything halfway. She gives us an urban fantasy set in the future where half of humanity has been decimated by a genetically engineered virus. Rachel Morgan, a feisty redheaded witch, is just trying to make a living in this alternate society of interlanders (the supernatural beings). Forever a magnet for trouble, she gets herself into one mess after another that requires a lot of wit and charm to get back out.
Although this series is not particularly fast moving, it is so character-driven that I was completely absorbed nonetheless. Totally engaging, there is not a single character that I didn’t like. Harrison is a master at creating dynamic and interesting characters – and for me, they are unforgettable. If that wasn’t good enough, she is also the official queen of sidekicks! I’ve yet to read a series in any genre that had such great companions for the protagonist. They really added a lot of fun to the story!
I have no complaints – I absolutely loved this series!
Other books you might like:
Title: First Truth
Author: Dawn Cook
Series: Truth #1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars
The Overview: Alissa doesn’t believe in magic. Her father’s stories about the Hold, a legendary fortress where human Keepers learn magic from the enigmatic Maters, are just that―stories. But her mother insists that Alissa has inherited her father’s magical ability, and so she must go to the Hold―the only place her talents can be trained.
On her way, she crosses paths with Strell, a wandering musician from the plains. And though Alissa is not sure she can trust a plainsman, Strell has something she needs―one of her father’s old maps. Travelling together, they can reach the Hold before the snow sets in. But they don’t know that the Hold is nearly empty. Something is very wrong and someone believes that Alissa and Strell knows about a book called First Truth.
The Review:
As a whole, this series is one of my absolute favorites, despite the fact that nothing particularly “epic” happens throughout. Although the pacing of the story can sometimes be rather slow, I was so smitten with the characters that it didn’t bother me. While most fantasy novels tend to be more event or world-building driven, this book was all about highlighting the characters. For any of you who have read Kim Harrison’s (Dawn Cook’s alias) Rachel Morgan series, you know that she is exceptionally talented at creating characters we care about. On top of that, she really knows how to tell a compelling love story, which was actually my favorite element to this series. There’s just something magical about it that keeps me coming back to reread it over and over again. What’s more, the plot gets increasingly more interesting as the series progresses, creating a great momentum for the end of the story – so much so that I was up all night the first time I read it.
Overall, its incredibly charming. If you’re in the mood for a character-based, magic-filled, sweet love story, this is the book for you!
Recommendations: The cover I’ve featured is from the original publication. The covers they’re marketing the series with now are incredibly cheesy and do nothing to represent the story… don’t let them deter you from giving it a try!
Other books you might like:
Title: Touch of Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Mythos Academy #1
Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
The Overview: My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy; a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why; especially since I should have been the one who died…
The Review:
I came across this series while doing research on Estep’s “Elemental Assasin’s” books, picking it up completely on a whim. Well, $15.00 (for all 3 books) and two hours later, I found myself glued to my chair totally immersed in the story. It took everything I loved about the “House of Night” novels and combined it with well-researched mythology much like in the “Percy Jackson” series. It was an awesome combination that really added up to a fantastic book!
Estep has a great first-person writing style that’s fun to read. While a definite master of her craft, she’s not afraid to throw in a bit of common slang to spice up the story. This also helps readers get to know the main character, making her much more relatable and endearing. While the side characters were well-done, the main character really stole the show. I appreciated her self-depreciating manner and general outlook on life, and found her downright charming.
Overall, it was a great find, and I will definitely be reading the sequel before the month is out!
Recommendations: There is a prequel to this series called “First Frost” and it adds a bit of backstory, but nothing that isn’t covered in the first book. The good news is, if you’re not sure whether or not you’ll like the series, you can download a certain sample ebook FREE from BN.com that allows you to read the entire prequel plus a few chapters of book #1. Be on the lookout for book #4 out December 24th!
Other books you might like:
Title: Out for Blood
Series: House of Comarre #4
Author: Kristen Painter
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: October 30, 2012 Now Available!
As mentioned in a post for book #1, this is a highly original urban fantasy series. I’m not quite caught up yet, but for those of you who are, the next books is mere weeks away… I, for one, can’t wait to see where Chrysabelle’s story goes next!
Title: The Crimson Crown
Series: Seven Realms #4
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Release Date: October 23, 2012 Now Available!
I read the “The Warrior Heir” a few years ago and really liked it, but never read on because the sequels followed different characters (which, for some reason, was unappealing at the time but now sounds fickle). In any case, the “Seven Realms” has the same protagonists from start to finish, and an interesting plot to boot. As the final book in the series, it is now in my top 10 “books I must read” list… review to follow. :)
The Obsessive Bookseller 