Book Review: Fatal Embrace by Aris Whittier

Review: Fatal Embrace
Author: Aris Whittier
No of Pages: 251
Release Date: 2 October 2005

Several years ago, Michael Craven gave up his career as a detective when his fiancé was killed and her killer never caught. Living with the guilt, he throws himself into his Montana ranch and his solitary existence. But, when a serial killer starts making his way through a nearby town, Michael is asked to come back and help a good friend and fellow detective, solve the crime. In doing so, he must hire someone to take his place on the ranch.
When horse trainer, Jess Stanson shows up, it takes Michael by surprise. Jess turns out to be Jessica. Jessica convinces him to let her stay. Over time they established a fragile friendship. Although, on the inside both feel more but, Michael's past prevents him from being anything but distant and serious.

As Michael works diligently to track down the killer he finds that Jessica is the only witness to the case. Vowing to protect her with his life and keep his growing feelings separate is no easy task. When Jessica becomes a target it becomes personal for Michael and he can no longer deny his love for this spirited woman. He will do anything to protect her, including giving his own life.

My Thoughts:

Fatal Embrace was nothing if not predictable.

Jessica Stanson is a horse trainer, a female one, and when she shows up at Michael Carven’s farm for her first day of work, he flips. He doesn’t want a girl running his stables let alone a woman living in his house.

But they grow closer as Jessica helps Michael finally get past his traumatic loss and simultaneously fight the common enemy in the form of a serial killer that is after her.

Jessica was a nice enough character, feisty and intelligent, but iin many ways she was also extremely stupid. If there was a serial killer after me I would barely want to leave the house let alone go flouncing around by myself for drives out to other farms or going into a not very busy town by myself.

Michael was a complete contradiction of himself. One minute he is angry at Jess, the next he can’t stand to be without her, but before even finishing that breath he is pushing her away again. He just couldn’t make up his mind and his emotions were all over the place, but not in a good way. Michael was not an asset to this story, no matter how major his part was.

The writing in Fatal Embrace, for me, was very frustrating to read. Facts didn’t add up, leads weren’t followed up and obvious clues were completely looked over. Basically I had the killer worked out as soon as all of the main and secondary characters were laid out on the table, which wasn’t that far in.

Then we have the writing itself, which was jerky and badly formatted. Most formatting errors I can overlook but words were in the wrong place and the wrong “there” was used a couple of times. But what killed Fatal Embrace for me completely was Whittier never seemed to know whose head she was in. The POV would jump from Jessica to Michael in a sentence, no breaks or obvious change overs, it took a lot of re-reading on my part to keep up with whose head we were in at any one time and even after you thought you had it figured out, you still weren’t right.

I also had a lot of trouble with some of the major details in Fatal Embrace, Michael might be working on the investigation, but he isn’t a cop, he’s just a ranch owner, he used to be a cop, but he quit the force, and yet he is questioning people, knocking on peoples doors and acting like he is the chief without so much as a flash of a badge? Women are scared of what’s out there and yet here they are letting a strange man who claims to be a cop, but has no idea, into their house while they are alone? It doesn’t make sense.

My other pet peeve for Fatal Embrace was the sex break we took right towards the end, instead of finding the serial killer Jess and Michael decided to bed down for the last ten to fifteen pages so we could cram the climax into two pages of broken action.

Fatal Embrace had a pull over me, because I wanted to confirm that I was right. Other than that it was a very frustrating and predicatable read.

Book Review: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Review: Dead to the World
Series: Sookie Stackhouse – Book 4
Author: Charlaine Harris
No of Pages: 321
Release Date: 3 May 2005

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She’s pretty. She does her job well. But she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie’s gift: she can read minds. That’s not exactly every man's idea of date bait - unless they’re undead; vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that’s just the kind of guy Sookie’s been looking for. Maybe that’s why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn’t just drive on by. He hasn’t got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy – and dead – as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he’s sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie’s help – because whoever took his memory now wants his life.

Sookie’s investigation into what’s going on leads her into a battle between witches vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger – to Sookie’s heart – because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist.

My Thoughts:

Another dive into the world of Sookie Stackhouse, and now that Bill is out of the way, it’s getting interesting.

Sookie once again is just getting better, taking Eric in after he suffers amnesia to help keep him safe to me is just so good for her and her growth in this society. Sookie still remembers her place in the supernatural society, but she also is starting to come into her own. Things aren’t quite as scary anymore and when Sookie finds out about witches actually existing she doesn’t freak out like she would have in earlier books.

Eric is just getting hotter as far as I’m concerned. Suffering from amnesia at the hands of the witches Eric has forgotten that he is a 1,000 year old Viking vampire that people bow to and cower in fear from as soon as he enters a room. Eric’s tender side in Dead to the World made me fall even more in love with him than before, because it proves that he’s not just an evil overlord, but that he may have a sliver of humanity left.

Eric is a little bit of an odd character for me, I don’t want him to be gentle; I want him to be hard hitting, evil and funny. But in Dead to the World, his tender side was just so perfect; it didn’t even seem like Eric. So although I missed witty Eric, I absolutely loved gentle Eric and although it fits him I can’t see the two sides of him ever reconciling into one being and if I had to choose it would definitely be evil Eric.

Alcide and his wolves also play a major part again in this book and with the addition of Alcide it once again adds more of a plot mover to the story.

I was so glad that Bill barely made an appearance in Dead to the World, as in Club Dead because I really don’t like him. Sookie doesn’t need the distraction that Bill causes and I am hoping that the series continues on this broader path of the extended set of characters.

Dead to the World also introduces witches, which for me wasn’t that big a deal. They seemed more like the hippy Wiccans rather than full blown cackling witches for most of the story. They made for an interesting dilemma for Sookie to deal with though.

Dead to the World was yet another excellent instalment in this fabulous series.

Others in this series:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and GoneDead in the Family

Book Review: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Review: Club Dead
Series: Sookie Stackhouse – Book 3
Author: Charlaine Harris
No of Pages: 274
Release Date: 1 May 2003

Sookie Stackhouse always found it a little difficult to date – she’s cute, but not many guys are comfortable with her mind-reading abilities. But vampires have no problems with Sookie’s talent – she can’t pick up much of anything with the undead.

But there’s only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is with – at least voluntarily – right now, and that’s Bill. But recently he’s been a little distant – in another state distant. His sinister and sexy boss Eric has an idea where to find him, and next thing Sookie knows, she’s off to Jackson, Mississippi, to mingle with the underworld at Club Dead. It’s a dangerous little haunt where the elusive vampire society go to chill out and suck down some Type O – but when Sookie finally finds Bill, he’s not only in trouble, but caught in the act of serious betrayal. Should she save him, or sharpen some stakes?

My Thoughts:

Thrown back into the world of Sookie Stackhouse the story gets even better with the addition of werewolves.

Bill is missing and Sookie has taken it upon herself to find him. Eric enlists the aid of a werewolf who knows the area called Alcide, as he owes Eric a debt.

Sookie just keeps getting stronger and funnier as far as I’m concerned. She still knows her limits and the fact that she is a human among supernatural beings. But she doesn’t seem as naive as she once was back in Dead Until Dark.

Eric is still as irresistible as ever showing up once again as Leif the faithful friend of Sookie Stackhouse. It’s because of Bill that Sookie gets into most of the messes she’s in and it’s always Eric that is there to back her up.

And then we come to Alcide. The big bad wolf who is as gentle as a puppy dog. Taking Sookie under his wing as she tries to navigate the seemingly huge city of Jackson he is the perfect gentleman and the most promising introduction to this series yet.

I loved that Sookie could feel at home with Alcide whether it was just over dinner or while at a club or even while burying a mysterious dead body they found in a closet. They were at an ease with each other that was refreshing in a series where Sookie is usually seen as an outsider looking in, even with the vampires.

My favourite love-to-hate character so far would now have to be Debbie, Alcide's ex. Her big crime? Dumping Alcide the were-wolf for a were-owl but still not wanting anyone else to have Alcide which she makes blaringly obvious to Sookie by not just burning her clothes with cigarettes, but also occasionally trying to kill her.

Sookie Stackhouse is only getting better as it goes along not only do we get the comedy of watching a human in the mix of some dangerous people, we also get the well written mystery of “Where’s Bill?” which if anything kept me more involved with the story than the rollercoaster ride of Sookie’s love life.

Club Dead was an excellent third instalment to this increasingly fantastic series. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into Dead to the World.

Others in this series:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and GoneDead in the Family

Book Review: Tempest's Legacy by Nicole Peeler

Review: Tempest’s Legacy
Series: Jane True – Book 3
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 341
Release Date: 1 January 2011

After a peaceful hiatus at home in Rockabill, Jane True thinks that her worst problem is that she still throws like a girl – at least while throwing fire-balls. Her peace of mind ends, however, when Anyan arrives one night with terrible news...news that will rock Jane’s world to its very core.

After demanding to help investigate a series of gruesome attacks on females – supernatural, Halfling, and human – Jane quickly finds herself forced to confront her darkest nightmares as well as her deepest desires.

And she’s not sure which she finds more frightening.

My Thoughts:

Yet another fantastic instalment of Jane True, packed full of side splitting antics.

Jane is devastated, she has just found out that her mother has been murdered and now she is on a mission, she is going to help Anyan and Ryu find her murderer. As they venture into the borderlands they find that this operation is a lot bigger than originally suspected. Purebloods and Halflings are going missing left right and centre and showing up in research labs either dead or mutilated.

Peeler has once again enthralled me with her world. I have said it before and I will continue saying it, I love her mix of species. This isn’t a vampire novel, nor is it a werewolf novel, it is: an everything novel. From selkies to genies to succubi to imps to brownies and gnomes. People aren’t sexualised, some aren’t even human, but all are mentioned and all play an important part.

Jane is still reigning as one of my favourite female characters and she is only getting better. Jane is now struggling with her new ruthlessness, after her mother dying and a friend gone missing she wants revenge, she wants to hurt people and she’s not afraid to like it. Jane revels in the thought of lobbing mage balls at people, seeing them hurt as much as she does inside, and she realises also that she may be willing to kill. It is a new side to the odd multi levelled character we met in Tempest Rising.

Jane is coming into herself now, she isn’t afraid and that new kickass ability and her steady decrease in vulnerability only adds more and more to her already lovable character. Her libido and her virtue are still fighting, and so are various other parts of her mind, and the fact that she has kept that through all she has been through is remarkable. Jane is still Jane but better.

I loved Anyan from the beginning; he is exactly my type of male. Strong, protective and intelligent he also isn’t afraid to teach Jane how to use her magic which only makes him more likable, he doesn’t want to shelter her which is refreshing. The only thing I didn’t like about him was his habit of calling Jane “honey” towards the end and I am hoping that he breaks his newfound habit very soon.

Speaking of annoying, Ryu returns. Ryu is turning into a character that makes my skin crawl. We all know that guy at work who’s past his prime but still thinks he can get any woman he wants, when really people are talking behind his back because he is a sleaze. That’s Ryu in a nutshell, every time I visualise the guy I add another layer of grease.

Tempest's Legacy was another fantastic instalment in this mind blowing series. I cannot wait until Eye of the Tempest comes out because this series is only getting better as it goes on.

Also in this Series:
Tempest's Rising
Tracking the Tempest
Eye of the Tempest

Book Review: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Review: Blood Bound
Series: Mercy Thompson – Book 2
Author: Patricia Briggs
No of Pages: 292
Release Date: 30 January 2007

Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places – and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favour. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary – and neither is the demon inside of him...

My Thoughts:

Mrs. Briggs you have won me over with this novel.

Blood Bound picks up about 6 months after Moon Called finished and opens up on Mercy receiving an early morning phone call. Stefan the vampire needs her to come with him on an errand to check out a rogue vampire who may have some extra powers, supplied by a demon. Mercy has to be in coyote form though, so she can hear without being seen.

Blood Bound was very fast paced and now that the ground work was laid with the characters and Tri-City area set down in the first book, we had a lot more time for action in this one. Maybe it was the added element of vampires that did it for me or maybe it was just that this series is turning into something awesome, but I literally couldn’t put it down. Which is saying something since Moon Called put me to sleep.

Mercy has turned into a very intriguing character. She can fight when she needs to but she knows when to keep her mouth shut and just listen to what is going on around her. She has a nice attitude when it comes to everyone but Adam. I love their tension and I love her beat up old car that she deliberately leaves in the way of his perfect view.

Blood Bound wasn’t just character driven though. It was also an interesting mystery driven by who this rogue was and what he wanted. Where he would strike next and who would be in trouble. It kept me on the edge of my seat, just waiting for the next twist to arise. Briggs brought in so many different characters to help with the telling of Blood Bound, witnesses, families, leads but she didn’t bog us down with any of their back story or repetitive problems. We got on with the mystery, unravelling the whodunit which is what kept me so on edge.

I will admit that I was hesitant about reading Blood Bound. After the train-wreck that was Moon Called and the mildly redeeming qualities of Cry Wolf it took me a while to step back into the world of Mercedes Thompson. But boy am I glad that I did.

Unfortunately one can’t skip Moon Called because there is too much detail about the characters and the world but don’t let that stop you from diving into Blood Bound because this is where the series truly comes alive.

Also in this series:
Moon Called
Iron Bound
Bone Crossed
Silver Borne
River Marked

Book Review: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Review: Succubus Blues
Series: Georgina Kincaid
Author: Richelle Mead
No of Pages: 343
Release Date: 1 March 2007

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men.

Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid.

When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

My Thoughts:

I went into Richelle Mead’s adult series with high expectations. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Georgina Kincaid is a succubus. But she is a good person, which in turn means being a bad succubus. Georgina refuses to feed off what she constitutes a good person which means she only feeds on low lives that have a low moral fibre and are looking to do naughty dirty things with and to people anyway. This wasn’t originally part of Georgina’s job description, but after you have been making men stray for a few millennia, sometimes it’s fun to stir the pot.

But Georgina isn’t all good, she likes to flirt, antagonize her Demon boss and come up with extremely snarky and well placed comments. Georgina is funny, and whilst not being the strongest supernatural in the playground she still knows how to hold her ground, not being limited to a human form.

Seth is one of Georgina’s romantic interests and to be honest he is a little boring, made of good moral fibre and who can’t really hold a conversation with anyone but the characters in his head. But he is also a character who you can’t help but love. When Georgina gets sick, Seth cares for her, all purely because he wants to help her, not get into her pants. As Seth comes out of his shell one discovers a passionate man who is shy but in a very cute way.

Roman is another of Georgina’s romantic interests and he is hot. He is persistent, intelligent and can hold a conversation with Georgina about almost anything. Roman is loveable in a weird way right from the beginning, one can’t help but wonder why he is so adamant about getting on a date with Georgina, but that doesn’t take away from his appeal.

Succubus Blues was extremely clever in its ideas, and its problems. Who would have ever thought a Succubus would refuse to have sex with nice hot men. They have all the tools, the power and the reason. But Georgina refuses to. She won’t taint men who don’t deserve it which makes it extremely hard for her to get close to Seth or Roman, and it’s kind of heart-breaking to watch. Finding someone who cares about you, whom you’re attracted to, and who is a genuinely good guy and you must keep pushing him away. It’s sad.

Mead impressed me with her writing once again, I will be honest and say that it took me quite a while – at least one hundred pages – for it to hold my full attention but once it grabbed me it refused to let go. Mead tantalizes you with snippets of information about Georgina’s past and how she became what she is today and once they take hold as well as the addictive storyline of whodunit you literally cannot put Succubus Blues down.

Succubus Blues is an addictive read once it gets going. It is yet another exhibit of Mead’s fantastic writing and once again she has me salivating for more.

Also in this series:
Succubus On Top
Succubus Dreams
Succubus Heat
Succubus Shadows
Succubus Revealed

Book Review: Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Review: Living Dead in Dallas
Series: Sookie Stackhouse – Book 2
Author: Charlaine Harris
No of Pages: 279
Release Date: 1 April 2004

Cocktail Waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no-one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature which gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn’t enjoy it).

The point is: they saved her life. So when one of the blood-suckers asks for a favour, she obliges – and soon Sookie’s in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She’s supposed to interview certain humans involved, but she makes one condition: the vampires must promise to behave, and let the humans go unharmed. But that’s easier said than done, and all it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly...

My Thoughts:

Back into the world of Sookie Stackhouse, and it’s only just heating up.

Sookie Stackhouse is called to Dallas for her newest assignment as Area 5 Telepath. She must help to find a missing vampire who disappeared from a bar a week earlier. With the threat of the Fellowship of the Sun looming, Sookie must work quickly to find out the information she needs.

I really, really like Sookie. She is human, and understands that but she still has the guts to stand up to anyone who tries to mess with her, including very old vampires. Sookie is getting used to her new role as Telepath even though she misses her day job of waitressing and can’t wait to get back home. After hiding her powers for so long, she still isn’t used to using them but Sookie is learning quickly and with constant practise is becoming quite powerful.

I am over Bill. Sookie freely admits that she’s not in love with him, or even sure she loves him. It’s easy to see why. Bill is never there, insults her relentlessly, and is just plain arrogant at times. He blames it on not being human anymore but that is starting to just sound like a cop out for I-can’t-be-bothered-treating-you-right.

Eric is still Eric. Witty, handsome, and there for Sookie when she needs help. Eric will continue to grow on me as he plans to on Sookie, only I shall welcome the “fungus” as she calls it.

One thing about re-reading these books after watching True Blood is that in True Blood, with the vast changes in characters and the diminished focus on Sookie I loved the other characters going into Living Dead in Dallas. So when Lafayette dies on the first page, I got sad, even though he is a nobody in the books. I still got sad.

I can’t wait to get back into Club Dead and back into Sookie's world. Team Eric all the way.

Others in this series:
Dead Until Dark
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and GoneDead in the Family

Book Review: Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Review: Cry Wolf
Series: Alpha & Omega – Book 2
Author: Patricia Briggs
No of Pages: 294
Release Date: 29 July 2008

Anna never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack...and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. Then Charles Cornick, the enforcer – and son – of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into her life.

Charles insists that not only is Anna his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it’s Anna’s inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as she and Charles go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf – a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack...

My Thoughts:

Patricia Briggs has definitely redeemed herself in my eyes with the awesomeness that is, Cry Wolf.

Cry Wolf is actually the second book in this series with On the Prowl (a short story) being the first, detailing the events leading up to Cry Wolf. Although I didn’t read On the Prowl before I read Cry Wolf, it in no way detracted from the story and it was easy to pick up the events of what had happened previously.

Cry Wolf follows the story of Anna and Charles and their quest to find a rogue werewolf. Anna who is traumatised from living with her previous pack who abused her in more way that just physically is struggling to adjust and Charles who is an assassin for his father and not used to being close with anyone is new to the experience as well.

Anna and Charles wolves chose each other before Anna and Charles realised what was happening. So they have a strong attraction to each other even though they barely know one another. Anna is also a rare Omega wolf, which is neither submissive nor dominant and who doesn’t have to follow orders from anyone. Being an Omega also comes with special powers which Anna and Charles know nothing about.

Anna is a strong, extremely likeable character. She is traumatised but doesn’t try to act tough, she does however, let her wolf take over. Anna’s wolf has been protecting her ever since she was turned, I felt sorry for the wolf because she has taken on all the abuse suffered by Anna so that Anna can live day to day. Anna’s wolf is definitely very strong and although it’s confusing to distinguish between the two I think I loved Anna’s wolf for being strong enough to take all the pain away from Anna.

Charles was a little erratic with his behaviour because of Anna’s Omega effect on him. One minute he was calm and rational, the next he was growling at someone who looked at either him or Anna the wrong way.

After reading Moon Called what I loved most about Cry Wolf was the insight we got into Samuel and Bran. Charles is a lot younger than both of them and although Samuel seems at odds with the world seeing him in a different light, through his brothers eyes made him a well rounded character instead of the one we saw in Moon Called.

Cry Wolf was very character driven and I loved it. Anna and Charles were well developed, as were the secondary characters. We had a little bit of the trademark Briggs repetition, but it definitely wasn’t as bad as Moon Called.

I don’t know how the story will continue as it was wrapped up so beautifully at the end of Cry Wolf, but I do want to go back. Cry Wolf was action packed with its hunt for the rogue but also very sweet with its beautiful development of characters.

Others in this Series:
On the Prowl
Hunting Ground

Book Review: 13 to Life by Shannon Delany

Review: 13 to Life
Series: 13 to Life – Book 1
Author: Shannon Delany
No of Pages: 308
Release Date: 22 June 2010

Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But while showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent – he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid.

My Thoughts:

13 to Life was a quick, engaging read, even though it was missing a few details.

13 to Life follows the story of Jessica, a sixteen year old girl who recently lost her mother in a car accident. Jessica is given the assignment of showing the new kid, Pietr, around for his first weeks at school, a task she instantly takes a disliking to.

They clash instantly and the tension only rises when he becomes the centre of every female’s attention (including a couple of teachers’). Jess seems to be the only person immune to his powers of attraction, so therefore becomes the centre of Pietr’s attention.

Jessica is an extremely likable character, even though some things she does puzzle me. She is on the school newspaper, seems to have friends to sit with in all of her activities and is a fairly nice person. What I don’t understand is her friendship with Sarah, former Queen Bee turned nice, it just seems odd moulding somebody into what you want them to be, and it grated a little that she was trying so hard even though it is apparent that Sarah staying a nice person, isn’t going to happen.

Pietr came across as somewhat arrogant at the beginning of 13 to Life, not caring about school, ignoring Jessica or winding her up, but as we delve deeper into him, one can’t help but like him. Pietr is reckless, brave and a little innocent in his ways. Add that to the hotness factor and you have one sizzling male lead.

We are also given a smattering of secondary characters that were really well developed. Amy the true best friend is not only funny but brutally honest, Catherine, Pietr’s sister, is bright and really friendly (she actually reminds me of Alice from Twilight) and Annabelle Lee, Jess’s bibliophilic younger sister, who seemed extremely out of place with her love of old classics.

What I absolutely loved about 13 to Life was the relationship between Jessica and Pietr. With Jessica not wanting a relationship “like that” they fell into what became a close friendship helping each other through tough times when the loss of their parents hit them hardest. Of course that friendship had a couple of benefits, like sordid make out sessions in the stables when they were supposed to be shovelling horse poop. It wasn’t one of the I-must-have-you-now relationships, it was a friendship first which made it that much sweeter.

What I didn’t like was the lack of information about, well, everything. We didn’t find out about the werewolves until the last 100 pages which is when all the action started. We didn’t find out about the details of the car accident until halfway through, or the weird crush Jess had on Derek, which seemed to just disappear suddenly. There are still a lot of unanswered questions for me, and although I think a good 70% could have been answered just fine in the first book, I guess I will just have to wait until the second.

Others in this series:
Secrets and Shadows

Review: White Cat by Holly Black

Review: White Cat
Series: Curse Workers – Book 1
Author: Holly Black
No of Pages: 310
Release Date: 4 May 2010

CASSEL IS CURSED

Cursed by the memory of the fourteen year old girl he murdered. Life at school is a constant trial. Life at home even worse. No-one at home is ever going to forget that Cassel is a killer. No-one at home is ever going to forget that he isn’t a magic worker. And now he is being haunted by a white cat...

Cassel’s family are magic workers. Ever since magic was prohibited in 1929 magic workers have been driven underground and into crime. And while people still need their touch, their luck, their curses, their magical killings, their transformations, times have been hard. His grand-dad is a black fingered death-dealer, his mother is in prison and his brother’s detest him as the only one of their family who can’t do magic.

But there is a secret at the centre of Cassel’s family and he’s about to inherit it. It’s terrifying and that’s the truth.

My Thoughts:

After getting past the initial confusion, White Cat became quite interesting.

White Cat follows the story of Cassel, a non-Worker in a family of Workers. Workers are basically magic wielders each Worker has a gift whether it be Memory Working, Luck Working or even Death Working.

Cassel feels left out in his family, not only is he a non-Worker, and the youngest. He is also a murderer. When he was fourteen Cassel killed his best friend, who also happened to be the girl he loved.

Now he is trying to fit in, in the “normal” world. Workers have been outlawed throughout the world. Everyone must wear gloves and laws are trying to be passed to document every known worker. Workers are feared and hated and are treated as criminals. It doesn’t help though, that most of them are criminals.

Cassel may not be a worker, but he is a very talented con man. At the tender age of seventeen he already has his own illegal betting pool at his private school. He is trying desperately to fit in, even though he knows people don’t consider him a friend, they do trust and almost in a way, respect him, something he has been longing for his whole life.

It was wonderful having a singularly male viewpoint in a YA novel. Cassel is a little self-centred, and a little bit depressed which makes him annoying at times, but he is also extremely intelligent. He works things out very early on, and although he is continuously questioning his theories he also expands on them.

We don’t get too much into the secondary characters. His mother is in prison for Working a man and making him fall in love with her, and then signing over his wealth. His grandfather is a death worker and one of his fingers rot every time he kills someone with his touch. We also get to reminisce about Lila, the girl Cassel killed. To be honest, she doesn’t seem like the nicest of people, more like a spoiled, over excited bully.
There were two things that I absolutely loved about White Cat: The Mystery and the Magic. The Mystery actually kept me guessing. Although some of it was an easy guess there were things that came out even halfway through the book that turned it onto a completely new track.

The Magic, was real magic with everything having a balance. If you were to kill someone, part of you was also to die. If you were to give someone good luck, you in return would receive it. If you were to take someone’s memory, one of yours would also be lost. Magic had consequences, so people weren’t just running around with the ability to do whatever they wanted to when they wanted to do it.

White Cat was an intriguing read and built up a world that I can’t wait to get back into.

Book Review: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Review: Stray
Series: Shifter Series – Book 1
Author: Rachel Vincent
No of Pages: 618
Release Date: 1 June 2010

I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.

Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.

I’d been warned about Strays – werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.

This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back... for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever and whoever--I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays--'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them...

My Thoughts:

I can’t believe I didn’t read this earlier, it was absolutely fantastic.

I will be honest and say that the sheer size of Stray did deter me from it for a couple of months. But once I started I couldn’t stop.

Faythe is not only a tom-boy and extremely stubborn. She is resourceful and smart and can absolutely kick butt when she needs to. She is trying to lead a normal life away from her Pride by going to college and having a normal boyfriend.

Inevitably she gets called home, because someone is hunting down tabbies (females) and she could very well be next on the list.

Even after being put under 24 hour surveillance Faythe is kidnapped by a psychotic jungle stray, one of the most dangerous breeds of cat known to them. She is held against her will in a prison with only a sobbing teenager, an empty coffee can and the stench of blood to keep her company.

Faythe could become one of my favourite female characters with the way she is going. She is smart mouthed and not afraid to pick a fight with someone bigger than her...and win. No matter what kind of situation she was put in, she never lost hope and always tried to find a way to escape, whether that be her prison or her bedroom. She could be a complete girl at times as well though which brought her character flawlessly together.

Vincent also did very well in fleshing out the other characters even though we were told the story through Faythe's eyes, we got a good insight into her father, brothers, ex-lover Marc and close friend Jace.

I will be honest and say that I don’t like Marc; I am definitely on team Jace for this one. Marc is too intense for my taste, which is understandable because of his job as an enforcer (which is like were-cat FBI) and background as a mistreated stray. Although it’s understandable, I still don’t like his possessiveness and short temper with other males. What I do like however is Faythe’s strength to stand up to him.

I really liked Jace; he was definitely my kind of guy, funny, laid back yet serious when needed. His role as close family friend and brother like relationship with Faythe maturing after she comes home is really sweet and well paced, too bad Marc kept getting in the way.

Vincent had an odd style that noticeably changed throughout Stray. In the first ten chapters there were too many words, too many embellished sentences and too many unneeded statements memorably the three sentences needed to describe how Ethan (Faythe’s brother) pulled himself off the bed using the end post.

Yet after the initial greetings and falling back into rhythm at Faythe’s home, the style changed to exceptionally good writing and gut wrenching emotion. Stray literally pulls you in after those initial chapters and literally will not let go.

The only other thing that got on my nerves was the ending. It ended just like that, no tying off loose ends or wrapping anything up. It just stopped.

Aside from the minor flaws Stray is absolutely incredible. It has strong characters and an even stronger plot. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next in this series as soon as possible.

Others in this series:
Rogue
Pride
Prey
Shift
Alpha

Also reviewed by:
Sarah's Book Reviews

Book Review: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

Review: Tempest Rising
Series: Jane True – Book 1
Author: Nicole Peeler
No of Pages: 344
Release Date: 1 November 2009

Living in a small town in Rockabill, Maine. Jane True always knew she didn’t quite fit in with so-called normal society.

During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.

Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures that are terrifying, beautiful, and deadly – all of which perfectly describe her new “friend,” Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.

It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never – ever – rub the genie’s lamp.

My Thoughts:

Many have compared Jane True to Sookie Stackhouse; it even says it on the back of the book. Tempest Rising is in a complete league of its own and although Sookie is good, she is nothing like Jane.

Tempest Rising was an awesome rollercoaster ride that took us through the pains and perils of Jane True a rather odd young woman who has a passion for swimming in the middle of storms.

During one of the nightly swims she encounters a dead body floating in her sea and pulls him out, entangling her in the world of supes and magic as she becomes part of the investigation trying to track the dead man’s murderer. The investigator is none other than Ryu (pronounced Roo), a handsome vampire detective who is head of the case.

There are many things I love about Tempest Rising, the first is the characters. Jane is strong, although she doesn’t feel it, she has been through the pain of a whole town hating her and wrongly accusing her of killing the love of her life, Jason. She has been so traumatised by this that she now believes it too, although she could have done nothing to save him.

Jane isn’t dumb and when she knows that she is in danger, she doesn’t blindly plough on; she stops and asks for help or just stays within reach of someone who can help her, which I didn’t see as weak for a second, because she can hold her own.

Jane is also exceptionally funny, I think we can safely say that she is borderline certifiably insane. This is understandable once again from the past; she talks to herself, not out loud, but in her head and the conversations are absolutely hilarious. Her virtue and her libido are constantly quarrelling over what she does with Ryu, old weak Jane pipes up every now and again when new strong, alive Jane moves in for her time to shine, down-to-earth Jane sighs irritably when girly vain Jane pops her head out to drool at some pretty shoes.

I also loved Ryu; he is someone that personally I wouldn’t go for, why? He’s short. Taller than Jane but only five foot nine, and I loved it, he was definitely very good looking, but the fact that he wasn’t some six foot six hulking, brick out house of a man made him that much more real, because he too was unique.

I loved the style of Tempest Rising as well, the sex was there, and was detailed every once in a while, but it wasn’t constantly being thrown in our faces and many a time was glossed over with only some very provocative insinuation. The characters were just about flawless in their reality, in their actions and in their words. The relationship between Jane and Ryu was again, so real. They weren’t professing their love for one another, and Jane freely admitted she was in lust, and considering Ryu’s profession and the fact that he lived in Boston didn’t expect anything more than a fling.

The smattering of such different characters was absolutely intriguing, we didn’t just have standard Vampires, Were-wolves and shape shifters, we had goblins, gnomes, kelpies, fire elementals and elves that would probably kill you for calling them elves. The mythology and folk lore packed into this tale was absolutely stunning and seamlessly put together.

Peelers writing was real, and it’s what kept me going back for more and the detail was subtle and just enough to keep it colourful and still quickly paced.

I absolutely can’t wait for the next Jane True novel, Tracking the Tempest, and if you didn’t know it, you would never ever pick Tempest Rising as a debut novel, it was that good.

Also in this series:
Tracking the Tempest
Tempest's Legacy
Eye of the Tempest
Tempest's Fury

Book Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Review: Darkfever
Series: Fever – Book 1
Author: Karen Marie Moning
No of Pages: 342
Release Date: 31 October 2006

My Name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I’m a sidhe-seer, one who sees Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple – any day nobody’s trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven’t had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there’s not a sidhe-seer alive who’s had a good day since then.

When MacKayla’s sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death – a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed – a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae....

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark mysterious Jericho...while at the same time, the ruthless V’lane – an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women – closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begin to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: to find the Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all powerful Dark Book – because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of both worlds in their hands...


My Thoughts:

This is the first book I have read in a while without a strong romantic theme, and I absolutely loved it.

Darkfever is like a massive flashback which is new for me. MacKayla Lane is a sidhe-seer, which means she sees the Fae. Darkfever tells the story of how she got to where she is now, and the running commentary is not only hilarious but is almost spoilery, but in a good way. It took the edge of mystery and human stupidity out of the story and it was masterfully done.

Instead of us following through the eyes of Mac stumbling where she stumbled and not knowing what was going on although we weren’t told everything seeing Mac stumble we were accompanied by present Mac telling us that past Mac didn’t really know how stupid and naive she was. Like when she walked into an abandoned warehouse present Mac admitted that she didn’t really know what on earth was going through her mind that day.

After the death of her sister, Mac travels to Dublin, Ireland to investigate her murder because the local police didn’t do enough as far as she was concerned. It is in Dublin that Mac watches her life as she knows it completely unravel.

After her first encounter with an Unseelie (an extremely ugly, alien-looking Fae) she runs into Barrons’ Books and Baubles run by Jericho Barrons. He is a man of many words, and many secrets. Even though throughout the tale Mac tells us that they end up working together it is still a mystery as to whether or not she can fully trust him.

Mac is innocent, but also extremely smart and very resourceful...and stubborn. She listens to Barron’s only when she feels the need to, but if he says something that sounds a little off, she will go and do things her own way regardless. Sometimes that gets her into trouble, but it’s not that stupid “oh my god, why did you do that” trouble that makes you want to shake her. You fully believe it’s going to work as well...until it doesn’t.

The secondary characters are well formed, we can catch glimpses into their lives and are told part of their histories without being bored or it feeling like a complete information dump. Malluce the “vampire”, Rocky O’Bannion the mobster, Barrons the mystery and even Alina her dead sister are all very intriguing characters that make me hope that we continue to learn about them in the future.

There are some unsolved mysteries that run throughout Darkfever. Especially revolving around the other characters. Who Fiona is, if Malluce is really a vampire, is V’lane evil and what on earth the Lord Master is. It keeps a very strong sense of “I must find out” which one can only hope will be revealed in the next book.

Although I’m not entirely sure where Moning is going with the series, it’s obvious Mac will still be searching for OOP’s (Objects of Power) I am interested to see what else comes of discovering the world of the Fae.

Also in this series:
Bloodfever
Faefever
Dreamfever
Shadowfever

Book Review: Frostbite by Ricelle Mead

Review: Frostbite
Series: Vampire Academy – Book 2
Author: Richelle Mead
No of Pages: 327
Release Date: 10 April 2008

WHEN LOVE AND JEALOUSY COLLIDE ON THE SLOPES, WINTER BREAK TURNS DEADLY...

Rose Hathaway's got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the academy crawls with Guardians - including the legendary Janine Hathaway...Rose's formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad's holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose - and her heart - are in more danger than she ever could have imagined...

My Thoughts:

Once again we are taken on a spell binding journey thanks to Mead’s wonderful storytelling.

All Moroi are in danger as we finish the first few chapters of Frostbite. Rose herself witnesses the aftermath of a horrific Strigoi attack on an unsuspecting Moroi family. Worse still is that it is a royal family, and the note written in blood found at the scene suggests that the Strigoi are deliberately picking off the royals, which doesn’t do much for Rose’s peace of mind as Lissa is the only Dragomir (Dragomir’s are royal) left.

So the whole school and quite a few other Moroi take refuge in a heavily guarded, highly exclusive ski resort. Rose and her friends gear up for a week of skiing, dancing, relaxing fun. Until a couple of her friends take off after some Strigoi...and one ends up dead.

Again I absolutely loved Rose. Witnessing the attack at the beginning of the book cooled her down a bit and snapped her out of the heroism thoughts of thinking that she could take down six Strigoi, by herself. Unfortunately it didn’t cool down some of her friends.

We saw more of the other characters in Frostbite as well. Mia made her return once again causing trouble for Rose and Lissa. As we were sucked into Lissa’s head more often we got to see her way of thinking a little more. Christian was excellent in this book, caring for Lissa whilst still being quite witty and helping Rose out when she needed him. Dimitri...was after another woman...but still as hot as ever. And then we have Adrian.
Ahh, Adrian, give me a moment while I swoon. Although there are mixed opinions about Adrian’s character, I love every bit of it. He is a male version of Rose, stubborn, witty, vulgar, self-confident and absolutely hilarious.

Rose also tried to move on from Dimitri, which is commendable because it doesn’t make her a swooning teenager which are so often left with.

Frostbite was of the same calibre as Vampire Academy, if not better as the story heats up.

Others in this series:
Vampire Academy
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Book Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Review: Bitten
Series: Women of the Otherworld – Book 1
Author: Kelley Armstrong
No. Of Pages: 448
Release Date: 26 February 2004

Elena Michaels is your regular twenty-first century girl; self-assured, smart and fighting fit. She also just happens to be the only female werewolf in the world...

It has some good points. When she walks down a dark alleyway, she’s the scary one. But now her Pack – the one she abandoned so that she could live a normal life – are in trouble, and they need her help. Is she willing to risk her life to help the ex-lover who betrayed her by turning her into a werewolf in the first place? And, more to the point, does she have a choice?

My Thoughts:

Bitten was interesting, compelling but hollow. I got through it fairly quickly, and enjoyed every minute of it, but even now as I try to call up its contents, there isn’t much that stuck.

We are told the story through the eyes of Elena a werewolf who is trying to lead a human life. Elena has a human boyfriend who doesn’t know what she is, keeps a normal job and lives a relatively normal life, except of course for the midnight runs...on four legs.

All is well and good until she gets a call from Jeremy, the person who cared for her when she was first turned into a werewolf. He needs her help in tracking down a rogue werewolf. They had an agreement that he wouldn’t call her unless it was absolutely necessary, so she knows that this is urgent.

Elena hops on a plane, much to her reluctance and is off to the backwoods of New York to help out where she is needed. Before Elena left it was her job to keep track of the mutts (non-Pack wolves) and track them down when they started causing trouble, like occasionally making a human into a snack.

As soon as Elena arrives at Stonehaven – home to Jeremy – she runs smack bang into Clayton her ex-lover, and the man who bit her in the first place, and the way she sees it, ruined her life. Clayton is the complete opposite to her boyfriend, Phillip. He is arrogant, demanding and selfish, but he loves Elena, and wants her back.

So on top of an interesting tracking mystery and a fair bit of detective work, we also had the pursuit of Elena by Clayton. What I loved about their relationship was that it wasn’t perfect. They were constantly fighting and would come together in moments of passion. They could back each other up and looked out for each other when it was needed.

Elena was head strong and smart. She does a couple of stupid things, but they work out. She also knew when to stop which was refreshing. Although sometimes she wanted to go and kill someone for annoying her, she knew when to back off.

I loved the style of Bitten most, it was like Elena was talking to the reader, just little comments. Like a time freeze on TV when the main character stops to talk to you. Although Bitten had a little too much back story, it kept me engaged for the entire time and I really enjoyed the beginning to what seems to be shaping up as a good series.

Also in this series:
Stolen
Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
Haunted
Broken
No Humans Involved
Personal Demon
Living with the Dead
Men of the Otherworld
Frostbitten
Tales of the Otherworld

Also Reviewed by:
Sarah's Book Reviews

Available at:
Amazon
Book Depository

Book Review: Embers by Laura Bickle

Review: Embers

Series: Embers – Book 1

Author: Laura Bickle

No. Of Pages: 359

Release Date: 30 March 2010

TRUTH BURNS.

Unemployment, despair, anger – visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit’s unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city.

Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya – who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern – suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil’s Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya – with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team – can stop it.

Anya’s accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she’s risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she’s ever faced.

My Thoughts:

Embers wasn’t what it could have been.

After an interesting start things started happening that were just plain odd, and not in a good way.

The storyline about a fire investigator was intriguing, it’s just a pity that we had about two chapters of investigative work and the rest was filler.

Anya presents as an interesting character, she is intelligent, quick-witted and gutsy. Anya is a Lantern, a fire elemental, and I just wish in one book involving powers that someone would actually be inquisitive enough to explore what they can do and be completely ignorant of them until halfway through the middle of the story. It became quite boring seeing how much Drake, the evil guy who is also a Lantern could do that Anya couldn’t.

My favourite character would have to be Sparky, which would be inevitable for most people as he is a funny little creature who is like a playful puppy. Sparky is a salamander with a taste for electrical currents and a love for his plastic glow worm.

The other secondary characters didn’t really fit in with the story, some were meant to, but others just didn’t work.

Ciro was excellent, smart and dependable. Jules was annoying because he was an overbearing bible basher that took everyone around him for granted, he was too narrow minded to really fit in with what he was supposed to be doing. Max was a pointless character who caused too much trouble, not in a funny way though, in a what the hell are you doing kind of way. Max didn’t bring anything interesting to the table at all. Katie is a witch, but I kept getting the feeling that she was fake, for all of the magical beings around her she just didn’t square up with her massages and salt throwing, and yet she relied upon for her “talents”. She just didn’t really work as a character.

Brian goes both ways for me; he’s almost a nerdy version of tall, dark and handsome. He also seems too good for Anya, and he was. He fell into a coma early into the novel, and it seemed like that was just so Bickle could get him out of the way while Anya consorted with other men whilst trying to convince herself she was in love with Brian.

The sex scene was kind of pointless, and I’m a person who likes a bit of smut in her novels, but the fact that the love scene was lacking the love interest and was just a one-night stand with some dude was completely irrelevant.

I have been taught when writing that if it doesn’t attribute to character development or the storyline, it’s not worth putting in. Bickle has obviously never heard this saying.

I know I went on a lot about the characters, but they are what stood out to me this story. There was no storyline, it fizzled out in the first four chapters, it was all Anya, and it was boring.

If I manage to snag a free copy of Sparks, from a sale or a contest, I will read it, but I’m not going to go out and buy it based on Embers.

Others in this Series:
Sparks

Available at:
Amazon
Book Depository