Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
For the first time in my reviewing career, I’ve run into something that almost never happens to me. I couldn’t finish a book. I tried my hardest to finish it; when I couldn’t finish it I put it down for a few months to see if time would make it better for me. Well, it didn’t.
Belavalari has absolutely no desire to be a wife. Cooking and cleaning hold no appeal for her. So when fate throws Merin in her path, a wounded soldier who she figures doesn’t have long to live, she drugs him and tricks him into marrying her. Not knowing what he’s done, he leaves her. She has what she’s always wanted: her freedom. But when Merin returns to take her to be one of the Emperor’s prospective brides, the truth comes out. The only way for the two of them to separate is to spend twenty-two days tied together at the waist. After that, they’ll be through with each other — if they manage not to kill each other… I kind of hate to say it, but that might actually have made the story less painful for me.
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Tags: 22 Nights, marriage, non-review, separation
Posted in Fantasy, Non-Reviews, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Pros: Incredibly imaginative and creative; silly & fun
Cons: Too slapstick & melodramatic for my taste; aforementioned material pairs oddly with more dramatic and adult moments
Rating: 3 out of 5
Review copy courtesy of Penguin Group.
Calliope Reaper-Jones seems like just another flaky, fashion-obsessed New York girl, stuck in a boring job and trying to make ends meet. But she’s far from ordinary. She’s Death’s daughter, immortal, magically-inclined, and bound and determined to stay as far away from the family business (Death, Inc.) as possible. Somehow, however, she keeps getting dragged back into it. This time, Cerberus is calling in the favor she owes him. And if she doesn’t pay up, little Hellhound-pup Runt will get taken away from her new happy family. Paying off that favor is going to be more than a little difficult, however, involving trips to Purgatory, Las Vegas, and Ancient Egypt… not to mention dealing with some very unsavory supernatural types.
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Tags: Amber Benson, Death's Daughter, paranormal, urban fantasy
Posted in Fantasy, Horror & Paranormal | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Pros: Extremely well-developed characters emotionally; very easy to relate to both the men and women.
Cons: Not all readers may enjoy reading about the sharper pleasures that the characters enjoy.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
The Order of Solace is an organization of women trained in the arts of pleasure and service. Those in need of solace can request a Handmaiden, and it will be her responsibility to serve her patron until he or she finds at least a moment of solace, at which time her service to them is over. Three men, the Crown Prince of Firth and his two friends, each request a Handmaiden one after the other. A dark moment in their past has affected them throughout the course of their lives, leaving them emotionally damaged. Can these three Handmaidens bring them the solace they so deeply crave?
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Tags: erotica, Handmaiden, Megan Hart, Order of Solace
Posted in Fantasy, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Pros: Fantastic execution of a delicious premise
Cons: As always for an anthology: not every story will suit you equally
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review copy courtesy of Penguin Group.
Women, monsters, and ass-kicking—what more could I ask for? A Girl’s Guide to Guns and Monsters
, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, is a collection of thirteen stories about strong women taking on monsters in a variety of settings and genres. The stories proceed in chronological order from the old West to space-faring SF, so you won’t even get mental whiplash along the way.
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Tags: anthology, Fantasy, Kerrie Hughes, Martin H. Greenberg, monsters, paranormal, Science Fiction, short story, urban fantasy
Posted in Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Pros: Interesting takes on Highlanders and magic
Cons: The length of the stories made a couple of the stories feel rushed
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
With Christmas being ten days away, now seemed like a good time to read A Highlander Christmas
. One of my favorite holidays, combined with romance and bold, brawny men (who, if the cover is to be believed, are impervious to snow) sounded as delicious as a hot cup of chocolate. Dawn Halliday, Cindy Miles, and Sophie Renwick deliver tales of receiving the most wonderful gift to get- love.
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Tags: Christmas, Cindy Miles, Dawn Halliday, erotica, Fantasy, ghost, Highlander, paranormal, romance, Scotland, Sophie Renwick
Posted in Fantasy, Historical, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Pros: Stunning, original, beautiful, intriguing, and mesmerizing
Cons: None at all for me
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review copy (uncorrected proof) courtesy of Penguin Group.
Expected publication date: 2/2/2010.
I’ll have to lead off with a quote from my review of Nalini Singh’s Angels’ Blood, the first book in her Guild Hunter series:
In the world of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter novels, angels and archangels rule the earth, each one holding sway over a certain territory. Between angels and mortals reside the vampires—humans altered by angels to serve them. When vampires go rogue, it’s the job of the Hunters’ Guild to track them down and bring them back to the angels they serve.
Elena Deveraux is a natural-born Hunter, able to detect and track the scents of individual vampires, and she’s one of the best Hunters the Guild has ever had. Unfortunately, this has brought her to the attention of archangel Raphael, who rules over New York and who has a very special, very dangerous job for her. This job will land her smack-dab in the middle of archangel politics, vicious killers the likes of which she’s never seen, and a highly dangerous attraction to the utterly lethal Raphael.
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Tags: angels, erotica, Fantasy, Guild Hunter, Horror & Paranormal, Nalini Singh, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy, vampires
Posted in Fantasy, Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Pros: Hilarious topic and some truly standout stories
Cons: A couple of shallow stories; as always in anthologies, variable quality
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
I’m growing rather fond of the anthologies edited by Denise Little—The Trouble With Heroes
is the third one I’ve read, and I’ve definitely enjoyed all of them. Of course they still have the typical anthology issue: since the stories vary by topic, theme, and author, you’re pretty much guaranteed not to love the entire selection.
This time, the topic is the all-too-unknown down-side of heroes. We see them as mythical, wonderful figures. But what do their loved ones and helpers see them as? Who gets to see them when they’re cranky, or do their laundry because they’re always off saving the world? And what happens when a hero’s PR makes them out to be something rather different than he really is? This is a theme both hilarious and poignant, as the tales in this book reveal…
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Tags: anthology, Denise Little, Fantasy, heroes, Humor, short stories
Posted in Fantasy, Humor | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Pros: Original; touching; incredibly creative; tragic; wonderful!
Cons: None
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review copy courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.
In his “Princess Novels,” author Jim C. Hines explores the truth behind the fairy tale, and what comes after the “happily ever after.” The Stepsister Scheme followed Sleeping Beauty (Talia), Snow White (known simply as Snow), and Cinderella (Danielle) when Danielle’s husband, Armand, was kidnapped. In order to get him back, the three princesses were forced to face some truly perilous foes. What ensued was a wild blend of both the gripping and the hilarious—Hines has a wonderful grasp of the ridiculous without having to sacrifice either beauty or tragedy to achieve it.
In The Mermaid’s Madness
, it’s time for Queen Beatrice to welcome the undine (mer-folk) home from their migration, and Danielle must accompany her in order to start learning her future duties. It all goes horribly wrong, however, when it turns out that there’s a new leader of the undine—and Lirea has a serious grudge against the queen. Beatrice has a habit of taking in princesses with problems, and this time is no different—she’s been sheltering a young undine princess named Lannadae.
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Tags: fairy tales, Fantasy, Humor, Jim C. Hines, Jim Hines
Posted in Fantasy, Humor | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Pros: Strong stories in fascinating worlds using engaging characters
Cons: I guess I expected a bit more hellhound…
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.
How could I resist a read of Must Love Hellhounds
? It includes four hellhound-themed stories by four wonderful authors: Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook. Each story appears to take place in a world the author has already created, but you won’t find yourself lost despite that—I was only familiar with one of them and had no troubles adjusting. The authors do a wonderful job of making these stories stand alone, and you might just find yourself falling in love with a new author or world!
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Tags: angels, Charlaine Harris, erotica, Fantasy, hellhounds, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, Nalini Singh, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy, vampires
Posted in Fantasy, Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Pros: Stunning & original world; continuation of the fascinating plot from “Ghostland”
Cons: Male lead doesn’t stand out as much; secondary plot not as engaging
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Visit Jory Strong online.
Also posted on Epinions.com.
In Jory Strong’s lovely Ghostland, we find ourselves “in a post-apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, wealthy humans delight in decadence while the religious gain power through temptation.” The Djinn, creatures so old that people mistakenly believe them to be demons, harbor a deep hatred of humans for enslaving them—but thanks to one Djinn and the human shamaness (Aisling) who loves him, that might be changing.
In Spider-Touched we follow the story of Araña, a young woman whose touch can kill, even when she doesn’t want it to. She has a unique ability to manipulate others’ destinies, an ability she fears and doesn’t understand. That ability brings her to Tir, a powerful immortal who doesn’t remember who or what he is—only that humans have kept him enslaved for centuries. When Araña frees him he finds himself drawn to her, and they both set out to find out who and what he is—and to free him from his remaining shackles.
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Tags: erotica, Fantasy, Jory Strong, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy
Posted in Fantasy, Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 3 Comments »
