Archive for the ‘Fiction Books’ Category
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 »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Pros: Wonderful emotional development by characters, both within the context of the romantic relationship and outside of it; interesting secondary characters.
Cons: Beginning of book felt clichéd and slightly unoriginal.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book (uncorrected proof) courtesy of Penguin Group
Expected publication date: January 2010
Audrianna Kelmsleigh is determined to find a way to clear her father’s name. Accused of sending bad gunpowder to the front, he committed suicide to escape the shame. When she finds a notice in the paper from a person calling himself the Domino requesting a meeting with her father, she sets out to meet him. Lord Sebastian Summerhays, the investigator assigned to figure out how the bad gunpowder passed rigorous quality control inspections, also sees the notice and sets out to find the truth in a case that he hasn’t been able to solve. After a mishap involving a pistol, the Domino, and Sebastian, Audrianna is seen as compromised in the eyes of Society. She and Sebastian marry, but both are unsure of how the marriage will work out. Will their budding feelings survive the continuing investigation of Audrianna’s father, or will the truth of what happened with that gunpowder create a divide too deep to bridge?
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Tags: historical, Madeline Hunter, romance
Posted in Historical, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Pros: Wonderful humor, development between characters felt completely natural and unforced
Cons: The beginning of this book feels very similar to the plot of her last book
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Penelope Prestwick has decided that, since she is of the age to marry, she is going to marry a duke. Enlisting the help of Sophia Dalby, the former courtesan who has married three girls off already this Season, Penelope sets her sights on the Duke of Edenham. But in order to attract the Duke’s attention, she enlists the help of Lord Iveston to appear interested in her in the hope that where a ducal heir goes, another Duke will become interested. To lend an air of authenticity to the chase, Lord Iveston places a bet on White’s betting book that he will be the one to capture her heart. As Society watches Penelope and Iveston together, wagers fly back and forth as to who will win Penelope’s heart.
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Tags: Claudia Dain, courtesan, historical, romance, Sophia Dalby
Posted in Historical, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No 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 »
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Pros: Gorgeous characters and fascinating world!
Cons: Pivotal plot point revealed a little too slowly
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Visit Meljean Brook on the web.
Since I’m way behind here (who knew cats could have so many health problems?), I’m going to give you a taste of Meljean Brook’s Guardian series universe by quoting from her online series primer before I dive into my review:
… The Second Battle took place on Earth, and Lucifer brought with him a dragon from the Chaos realm. The angels began to falter before the dragon—but mankind, witnessing the battle taking place, joined the angels in their fight against the demons. One man, Michael, destroyed the dragon by cutting through its heart with his sword. With the dragon slain, the angels regrouped and were victorious.
After the Second Battle, the seraphim retreated from Caelum and from Earth. They bestowed upon Michael the power to protect humans, and to transform into Guardians any men or women who had sacrificed their lives to save another from otherworldly threats. In addition to immortality, wings, strength, and the ability to alter their appearance, these Guardians were given individual Gifts to assist in their fight against the demons and nosferatu.
This leads to a world filled with vampires, demons, Guardians, and more. Epic battles, and epic love affairs.
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Tags: Guardians, Meljean Brook, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Pros: Strong characters & mystery; lacks the flaws of the last book in the series
Cons: Could be a little more foreshadowing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Since I’ve fallen behind on my reviewing (ack! Too many cat & family health issues—both our cats have a cardiologist and asthma inhalers now), I’ll cheat and quote the back-cover text to give you a taste of the plot before I let you know what I think of the book.
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Tags: Kylie Brant, Mindhunters, mystery, romance, serial killers, thrillers
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Pros: Strong medical mystery; intense dark thriller material; plenty of personal drama
Cons: Personal drama is a little less focused than in “Warning Signs”
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review copy courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.
I absolutely loved author CJ Lyons’s Warning Signs, and Urgent Care
is nearly as wonderful.
Nora Halloran is a charge nurse at Angels of Mercy Medical Center. One of her coworkers was just brutally attacked and killed—and Nora is accused of losing key evidence in the investigation. Worse, Nora recognizes the handiwork of the killer, and is having more than a little trouble coping. She wants to turn to her ex, Seth, for comfort, but she can’t forgive him for his betrayal, and he comes under suspicion as the investigation continues.
Helping Nora are her friends: Lydia is an ER doc who’s hiding from the people who killed her mother when she was a child. Amanda is a med student who’s engaged to be married, trying to save a girl’s life (when she doesn’t even know what’s wrong with her), and in danger of ruining her career by following her conscience. And Gina is struggling to figure out whether she’s happy with the man she wants to marry, and how she can balance her parents’ demands with her job.
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Tags: Angels of Mercy, C.J. Lyons, medical drama, romance, suspense, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | 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, October 9th, 2009
Pros:Catherine’s world is well-developed; magic is balanced well with the other aspects of Catherine’s life
Cons: There is one instance where a character’s motivation remains unclear
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Macmillan Group
Catrinna de’ Medici’s life seems to be on the fast track to power; even though her parents have died and she’s still a young girl, she is going to be the ruler of Florence when she becomes of age. Unrest and rebellion, however, will separate her from her family, but she has an unlikely ally—an astrologer named Cosimo Ruggieri, who through the use of his knowledge tries to protect her for the future he sees mapped out for her in the stars. When Catrinna finds herself under the protective wing of the Pope, she begins to look forward to the day when she will marry and take her place as the ruler of Florence. But the Pope has other plans. She finds herself married to Henry, Duke of Orleans, and her name becomes Catherine. Battling her husband’s seeming indifference and hostile court factions, she seeks to prevent visions of blood and death that she sees. When Henry is crowned King of France, it seems that she may finally have the means of preventing bloodshed. But the more she fights her visions, the closer they seem to come. Will she be able to avert the tide, or will blood spill over the land of France?
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Tags: astrology, Catherine de' Medici, France, Jeanne Kalogridis
Posted in Historical | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Pros: Wonderful & unusual world-building; captivatingly sexy & emotional
Cons: Perhaps the beginning was a little slow
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review copy (ebook/novella) courtesy of the author.
Available from Samhain Publishing.
Visit Shiloh Walker online.
Greta is on the hunt. She can feel her quarry pulling at her: Mandy, a young woman in trouble—or perhaps a young woman who is trouble. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which until it’s too late. Greta’s job is to keep Mandy from falling prey to evil, and to kill Mandy otherwise. That’s the part of her job that sucks the most. At least she has a few gifts to help her with that job: a bit of an edge in the strength & speed department, not to mention immortality. Oh yeah, and she also has Rip. Rip is like Greta, only he’s in town on his own job. He’s been longing to spend more time with Greta for the last hundred years, however, so he’ll do whatever it takes to make time to help her out. And it’s a good thing, too, because the forces lined up to trap Mandy are awfully tough ones.
Greta and Rip are just two of many—guardian angels who call themselves the Grimm. They’ve covered up their existence by turning their stories into fairy tales, fiction, such as the story of Hansel and Gretel. Only of course, the reality behind the fairy tale is often much, much grimmer than the story.
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Tags: ebook, erotica, novella, paranormal, romance, Shiloh Walker
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica | Permalink | 3 Comments »
