Undead and Unwary
by Maryjanice Davidson
Here we are at book 13 with Betsy and the gang. She's still as snarky and vapid as ever, and that is excellent. I have to say though, while I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than 10-12, this may be here strangest and most disjointed book to date. Some of that is because rather than opening with a précis of the series so far, she instead weaved snippets of past events into the current story. It wasn't badly done, but in my opinion, it made the story even jumpier than usual (and anyone who's read this series knows being in Betsy's head is kind scattered anyway). However, the upshot to this, is that if a person actually wanted to (and this is the first and probably last time I will ever say such a thing about a series this long) they could hop right into the series right now. I would really, really advise against this as the first books are the best of the series, but I think it would be possible.
Altogether I think we've reached a turning point in the series, wherein Betsy goes to hell and gets a clue, she finds out that her sister's less than charming traits may have come from her father rather than either of her mothers, and SinkLair seems to be just as lovably sneaky as ever despite his current embrace of light and joy. While I miss the less grown up incarnation of Betsy, I find myself somewhat refreshed on this series and genuinely curious where Davidson will be taking it next.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
ARC Review - Beyond Addiction
Beyond Addiction
by Kit RochaI received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This is book 5 in the Beyond Series, a post-apocalyptic erotice/romance series. You can read my previous reviews here.
Trix was left hanging with one hell of a cliffhanger at the end of the last book. That is rather expeditiously resolved at the beginning of this story, when she lands right back into Sector 5 and the hands of her former lover, Finn. Finn is a man on the edge, a man who only wants a front row seat with no exit plan to the ruination of Sector 5. But, when Trix shows up everything changes. While he doesn't start out wanting to change his path, he does have a new goal.
Despite the action, this book seems both more relaxed and introspective. Overall, I'd say this book was less about Trix and Finn (though don't get me wrong, there was plenty of sizzle), and more about expanding the world building. And that is the thing about these stories; they are creating such a novel, raunchy, post apocalyptic-dystopian world, that these books just aren't stand alones. While this is absolutely not my favorite story or couple, I still enjoy the world that is being built and can't wait for the next one.
But one more thing, I'd love to find out more about Ryder.
by Kit RochaI received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This is book 5 in the Beyond Series, a post-apocalyptic erotice/romance series. You can read my previous reviews here.
Trix was left hanging with one hell of a cliffhanger at the end of the last book. That is rather expeditiously resolved at the beginning of this story, when she lands right back into Sector 5 and the hands of her former lover, Finn. Finn is a man on the edge, a man who only wants a front row seat with no exit plan to the ruination of Sector 5. But, when Trix shows up everything changes. While he doesn't start out wanting to change his path, he does have a new goal.
Despite the action, this book seems both more relaxed and introspective. Overall, I'd say this book was less about Trix and Finn (though don't get me wrong, there was plenty of sizzle), and more about expanding the world building. And that is the thing about these stories; they are creating such a novel, raunchy, post apocalyptic-dystopian world, that these books just aren't stand alones. While this is absolutely not my favorite story or couple, I still enjoy the world that is being built and can't wait for the next one.
But one more thing, I'd love to find out more about Ryder.
3.5 stars
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Blogger Blackout
Badge made by Kaetrin. Image attribution: Jorge Stolfi
Romance Around the Corner has a good summary and excellent links.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Pamela Clare Breast Cancer Fundraiser Anthology
Here's a novel way to fund raise for breast cancer treatment.
"Enjoy 11 emotional stories - 2000 pages filled with all types of heroes from small town to international action-adventure who earn and protect those they love.
PLEASE NOTE: All proceeds go directly to the medical fund for box set author Pamela Clare, who is in the midst of her own battle with breast cancer."
Last Hero Standing: Eleven sexy heroic stories by bestsellers is available for $0.99 by pre-order:
"Enjoy 11 emotional stories - 2000 pages filled with all types of heroes from small town to international action-adventure who earn and protect those they love.
PLEASE NOTE: All proceeds go directly to the medical fund for box set author Pamela Clare, who is in the midst of her own battle with breast cancer."
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Review - Unbinding
Unbinding
by Eileen Wilks
Eileen Wilks' World of the Lupi series is sort of an alternate history, slightly post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy romance series. In this world, we have Lupi (sort of like hereditable werewolves who are only male and have a deeply religious bent), Sidhe, humans with Gifts, witches, dragons, demons and various other mythological creatures. Needless to say, with all of that going on, this is NOT the place to start this series. This is a richly textured world and mythology, but of late I had started to fear that it was making the mistake other series I've read has, that of building the world in inorganic ways merely to drive the series. I am so happy to see that that is categorically not the case here. I had a moment of tummy butterflies when I saw this story would feature Kai and Nathan rather than returning the Rule and Lily, despite the fact that I enjoy them as characters, because it felt like one more piece of evidence that the world and the series were devolving. Honestly, I shouldn't have doubted Wilks. Kai and Nathan's involvement with the god of chaos makes perfect sense, as does the god's actions in the previous book and this one. By the end of it there's not only a nice little resolution to some previous plots, but the diverging worlds Wilks seemed to be building have much more firmly been shown how they are really more of a tapestry than spin offs. It all felt really organic, and except for the fact that they reference quite a bit of stuff that obviously happened of the page, I was really pleased. More specifically on the relationship, Kai had some major personal growth that I enjoyed seeing, Nathan had a bit of relationship growth himself in realizing he can't just go it all alone, and it was really nice to see how their relationship is shaking out. I'll look forward to seeing more of them in the future. I'm already lusting after Mind Games, and the teaser at the end of this book doesn't even have any of our recognizable characters in it.
5 stars
by Eileen Wilks
Eileen Wilks' World of the Lupi series is sort of an alternate history, slightly post-apocalyptic, urban fantasy romance series. In this world, we have Lupi (sort of like hereditable werewolves who are only male and have a deeply religious bent), Sidhe, humans with Gifts, witches, dragons, demons and various other mythological creatures. Needless to say, with all of that going on, this is NOT the place to start this series. This is a richly textured world and mythology, but of late I had started to fear that it was making the mistake other series I've read has, that of building the world in inorganic ways merely to drive the series. I am so happy to see that that is categorically not the case here. I had a moment of tummy butterflies when I saw this story would feature Kai and Nathan rather than returning the Rule and Lily, despite the fact that I enjoy them as characters, because it felt like one more piece of evidence that the world and the series were devolving. Honestly, I shouldn't have doubted Wilks. Kai and Nathan's involvement with the god of chaos makes perfect sense, as does the god's actions in the previous book and this one. By the end of it there's not only a nice little resolution to some previous plots, but the diverging worlds Wilks seemed to be building have much more firmly been shown how they are really more of a tapestry than spin offs. It all felt really organic, and except for the fact that they reference quite a bit of stuff that obviously happened of the page, I was really pleased. More specifically on the relationship, Kai had some major personal growth that I enjoyed seeing, Nathan had a bit of relationship growth himself in realizing he can't just go it all alone, and it was really nice to see how their relationship is shaking out. I'll look forward to seeing more of them in the future. I'm already lusting after Mind Games, and the teaser at the end of this book doesn't even have any of our recognizable characters in it.
5 stars
Friday, October 3, 2014
Dear Author Legal Defense Fund
Sarah over at SBTB is administering Dear Author's fund, you can read about that here.
If you are interested in donating, just follow the link.
http://www.gofundme.com/DA-DefenseFund
If you are interested in donating, just follow the link.
http://www.gofundme.com/DA-DefenseFund
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Review - The Witch With No Name
The Witch With No Name
by Kim Harrison
Ok, so it took me a bit to write this review, I've been following Rachel Morgan, Jinx and Ivy for a long time, and it is tough to let go. On the other hand, it is good when an author knows when to let go too. Rachel and the gang have come a long way since they started, so book 13 was less about the action and the exposition, and more like an epilogue for the series. Yes, there is some action and drama, but this book was all about tying up the loose ends. Overall, the plot seemed frequently disjointed, as if Harrison was trying to cram everyone in there and tie all their threads too. I guess I just have mixed feelings on this. If this weren't the finale, I think I would have hated it because there were (in my opinion) too many deus ex machina. On the other hand, I will admit that when a series is completed but doesn't feel like everything is all tied up, it will piss me off, so I would have probably been madder if the book hadn't turned out the way it did.
So I am giving this 3 stars, while the series didn't end on a high note, it is probably about the best we can hope for with such a long running series. If I can kind of compare this to anything, it would be the feeling I got reading the last Harry Potter book, but maybe a little worse since The Hollows peaked for me a few books back. And while everything was just a little too neat for me in the epilogue of this epilogue, I am hoping Al's last word clears it up for me and lets this thing actually end on the high note I was hoping for.
by Kim Harrison
Ok, so it took me a bit to write this review, I've been following Rachel Morgan, Jinx and Ivy for a long time, and it is tough to let go. On the other hand, it is good when an author knows when to let go too. Rachel and the gang have come a long way since they started, so book 13 was less about the action and the exposition, and more like an epilogue for the series. Yes, there is some action and drama, but this book was all about tying up the loose ends. Overall, the plot seemed frequently disjointed, as if Harrison was trying to cram everyone in there and tie all their threads too. I guess I just have mixed feelings on this. If this weren't the finale, I think I would have hated it because there were (in my opinion) too many deus ex machina. On the other hand, I will admit that when a series is completed but doesn't feel like everything is all tied up, it will piss me off, so I would have probably been madder if the book hadn't turned out the way it did.
So I am giving this 3 stars, while the series didn't end on a high note, it is probably about the best we can hope for with such a long running series. If I can kind of compare this to anything, it would be the feeling I got reading the last Harry Potter book, but maybe a little worse since The Hollows peaked for me a few books back. And while everything was just a little too neat for me in the epilogue of this epilogue, I am hoping Al's last word clears it up for me and lets this thing actually end on the high note I was hoping for.
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