Review: The Shadow Warrior

The Shadow Warrior by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And so we turn to book 4, Gavriel d’Alana's book.

Gavriel is a white haired, red-eyed Noxblade assassin, the most lethal of all. He has been in love with Princess Thalia but when she makes a strategic marriage to Raff Pineda, a wolf lord, he knows there is no chance for him. He decides to try to track down an insurgent stronghold of supporters of Thalia's father, Lord Talfayen.

Magda Versai is a tiger shifter and Raff's bodyguard. She is concerned that her pack-mate, jaguar shifter Slay has either turned traitor or been kidnapped by supporters of the old Lord Talfayen and is determined to track him down.

Magda and Gavriel reluctantly agree to work together as their goals seem similar, despite the fact that they loath and detest each other for atrocities which took place between the Eldritch and the Animari. But as they work together they come to respect each other and maybe something more.

Gavriel has some unusual sexual preferences, ones that Magda is more than happy to indulge. Although the book comes with a warning about rough sex, dominance and pain play which I don't usually enjoy reading in novels, I found the way in which Gavriel and Magda's relationship developed was written in a very sensitive way, in fact it was sensual and steamy.

What I love about this series is the way in which the romance is subservient to the plot. In this case Magda and Gavriel have lots of adventures as they track the renegades, none of which seem superfluous or contrived, the ending was suitably nail-biting and this may even be my favourite couple so far.


View all my reviews

Review: No Time to Say Goodbye

No Time to Say Goodbye by Kate Hewitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The shock murder of Laura, an Upper East Side mother of three, on the subway brings to light lots of questions. Why was she in that part of town, what was she doing? For her husband Nathan his wife's murder forces him to take a look at his marriage and his relationship with his children.

Maria is a Bosniak (a Bosnian Muslim) who left Bosnia 20 years ago. She works as a hairdresser and volunteers at the same shelter as Laura. Deeply traumatised by her experiences during the siege of Sarajevo and her subsequent interment in a camp, Maria felt an odd affinity to this younger woman who wanted to give something back to society.

In the process of speaking to Laura's friends and fellow volunteers at the centre Nathan meets Maria. Maria tells Nathan of conversations she had with Laura which paint a whole new picture of his wife.
Can Nathan, Maria and the three children move on from Laura's murder and has the act changed them all?

This was fascinating and poignant and uplifting and so many other things. Difficult to describe without giving away some key aspects of the plot but really well worth the read.

I think I borrowed this on Amazon Prime.

View all my reviews

Review: Rules of Engagement

Rules of Engagement by J.T. Geissinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars.

What happens when you pitch a diminutive Southern match-maker who dresses like a librarian hit by a bottle of Pepto-Bismol with a giant NFL quarterback with a potty mouth, a bad reputation and an even worse attitude? Could it be love at first sight?

I loved this, loved the snark, loved the plot, loved the characters. Just loved it.

Also, if you've read my reviews you know I'm not a fan of the zany or the madcap romantic comedy, too often it feels overdone in a mad kind of 'look at me I'm zany, I am' way - think any comedy starring Goldie Hawn. Well you could describe this as a little zany, Maddie's aunt fakes narcolepsy and sees auras for example, but it is done with such a light touch that it is enjoyable.

Also, I don't want to spoil the novel but the conflict towards the end is so well done, so different from the usual way these things are done that I nearly cheered out loud on the train last night.

Another gem from Ms Geissinger.

View all my reviews

Review: Maelstrom

Maelstrom by Andrew Hastie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At the end of the first book (view spoiler)[Josh had taken Caitlin for a romantic picnic to watch Sun Tzu command a battle, but right before his eyes Caitlin faded away written out of history by someone altering the timelines. (hide spoiler)]

Much like Back to the Future Part 2, Josh returns to a world very different to the one he left. In this world someone accelerated the timeline for developing weapons by travelling back in time to teach people how to make guns. The present day has been marred by several nuclear wars and Josh's old gang are sick with radiation and living like homeless people in the wreckage of buildings while Caitlin and Dalton rule the country and have banned time travel.

As well as Back to the Future this book also reminded me of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it also reminded me of an episode of Stargate and the series Divergent by Veronica Roth. Which leads me to wonder, is it derivative or just exploring themes and questions raised by other dystopian and time travelling series? Oh, and there's a little bit of Star Wars thrown in for good measure.

Anyhoo, Josh tries to right the timeline but when he returns to the present he finds that the Colonel has disappeared, never seems to have existed.

The blurb:
The Order has become divided over an old manuscript which describes the Maelstrom — a chaotic realm filled with ancient gods that exists outside of the timestream. One faction believes that Josh will be the key to unlocking its power, the other that he needs to die to save them from oblivion.
Josh must find Caitlin and a way into the maelstrom, discover the author of the book and rewrite the prophecy.

This was enjoyable but totally confusing. What is a timestream? What is a continuum? What is so odd about being from the present? What on earth was going on? Why is Dalton so nasty? I feel like whoever it was that could believe six impossible things before breakfast, I'm not sure I truly understood what was going on - there was certainly enough action for at least five feature films!

So, I'm probably going to read the next one but I am a bit nervous as to where it is going ...


View all my reviews

Review: Anachronist: A Time Travel Adventure

Anachronist: A Time Travel Adventure by Andrew Hastie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

17 year old Josh lives with his sick mother in a South London housing estate. He owes money to the local gang leader Lenin and has been in and out of trouble since he was 12 years old. When he sees a local eccentric leave the door to his house open one morning Josh sees an opportunity to steal something - instead he is transported back to 1944 and General Stauffenberg's attempt to kill Hitler.

The local eccentric, nicknamed the Colonel by Josh's gang, takes Josh under his wing and introduces him to a secret society of time-travellers, will Josh use his new powers to get away from his life of crime or will he use it to further his life of crime?

This book was recommended by my sister and when I saw i could borrow it free on Amazon Prime I leapt right in. It has everything, poverty, gangs, WWII, ancient Rome, cool gadgets, romance, intrigue, fast cars, mythical creatures, and more.

And the ending … Can't wait to start the next one.



View all my reviews

Review: The Wolf Lord

The Wolf Lord by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even better than the last book in the series.

Princess Thalia Talfayen is one of four competing houses looking to claim the Silver Throne. She knows the best way to consolidate her power is a strategic marriage. Only problem is that the Demon Prince has found his mate and the leader of the Amber Ridge bear clan is a celibate Monk. Her only hope is Raff Pineda, leader of the Pine Ridge wolf clan, he has a reputation for partying, being reckless and ducking responsibility - just what Thalia doesn't want!

This was fast-paced right from the beginning, there's death at the wedding, ambushes, treachery, battles and in amongst it all Raff finds a purpose and Thalia discovers that there is more to being a leader than occupying the Silver Throne.

I loved both characters, the plot was good with lots of twists and turns, there were a few red herrings and a satisfying finale.

Roll on the next book!

View all my reviews

Review: Faerie Forged

Faerie Forged by L.R. Braden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Book three in this series. Alex is being hounded by O'Connell the PTF agent and her sort-of grandfather has summoned her to the Court of Enchantment.

Once again I found myself at a loss with this book, there's a plethora of characters who come and go and just don't have enough personality to be distinguishable. I kept getting confused between Kai and Chase and Mica. The action starts in the mundane world, Alex takes a trip to the Court of Enchantment and then she's back in the mundane world - at 60% into the book a whole big load of nothing had happened. In fact, in retrospect I think you could have read the first two books and then picked this book up at 60% and not have missed anything. There seems to be so much setting things up for the future that the book drifts around rudderless which is a pity because when the action gets going it's really good and engaging and fast-paced - it just didn't have much to do with the middle part of the book. (view spoiler)[I do appreciate that Alex learned things from her grandfather whilst in the Court of Enchantment but it just felt like a huge chunk of nothing much, she didn't even find it difficult to leave. (hide spoiler)]

Maybe I've been too harsh in my review, I did like the book but I also lost interest a bit when Alex returned from the Court of Enchantment and it was obvious that the story arc that had developed there wasn't going to be developed further. Looking on the bright side Alex either falls out with her friends or they get killed off or leave so it should be easier to keep track of who's who in the next book :)

Based on the final third of the book I will definitely look forward to the next book in the series, it was action-packed, heart-in-your-mouth stuff.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: The Demon Prince

The Demon Prince by Ann Aguirre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read the first book in this series so I may not have understood some of the background to this story. There is a tentative alliance between several packs of shifters, a group of Eldritch assassins and Prince Alastor of the Golgoth as the participants attempt to renew the Pax Protocols between them. Alastor is the younger brother of King Tycho, a vicious, psychotic leader who rules through brutality and feudal rules which can punish families for the misdoings of their ancestors. Alastor has always been sickly, probably the only reason Tycho didn't kill him the way he killed their other brothers. In order to consolidate his position within the Pac Protocols he needs to make a strategic marriage alliance. Tycho is attempting to conquer the Numina and only uniting behind the Pax Protocols can give any hope of defeating him.

Dr Sheyla Halek is a serious woman and a cheetah shifter, I got the impression that she was borderline on the autistic spectrum - totally focussed on her job and slightly mystified by emotions and social interactions. She has been working to replicate Alastor's medication before it runs out. When Alastor and his small band of Exiles march to Hallowell to protect the city from the invading Golgoth army Sheyla has no option but to travel with him as his personal physician.

Amidst the blood and gore of battle the physical attraction between Sheyla and Alastor grows, particularly after Alastor returns from fighting full of bloodlust. But a long-term relationship isn't on the cards for either of them - could they have a war-time friends-with-benefits relationship? Kind of 'what happens in Hallowell stays in Hallowell'?

As seems de-rigueur for shifter novels the sex is steamy and involves more than one partner. The battles are brutal, bloody, dark and scary. Alliances are tentative and full of mistrust.

I really enjoyed being thrust into this new world of shifters where the romance takes a back seat to the story arc. I liked that Sheyla and Alastor aren't perfect, the way in which they bond over stories of their families and Sheyla's honesty.

Overall, I'm glad I gave this series a try after reading that it was one of SYFY Girl's favourite SFF romance series of the decade here and I will definitely read other books in the series.

View all my reviews

Review: Glory in Death

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Police detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas is dating gazillionaire Roarke, things aren't always easy especially when he freely tells her that he loves her but she feels unable to reciprocate.

Eve is called in to investigate the brutal murder of Prosecuting Attorney Cicely Towers but Cicely's personal relationships with Eve's immediate supervisor and his family, Roarke and Cicely's own relationship with her ex-husband and current suitor muddy the waters. Then there are strong motives for both Cicely's son and soon-to-be son-in-law. Then two other women are murdered in the same fashion, can Eve solve the crime AND keep her burgeoning relationship with Roarke on track?

I continue to like the police procedural aspects of this series, Eve, the futuristic elements of a series set in 2058 (although being written back in 1995 means some aspects are dated, such as Eve saving things to disc rather than to the cloud) and Roarke's snooty butler. What I don't like is that Roarke is so all-powerful, all-knowing that he is intimately involved in every murder and gives Eve masses of data to help her crack the cases. Heck in this he even saves her life. I thought it was too good to be true that this was a series about a strong, capable woman, Eve might be strong and capable but she still needs Roarke to save the little woman (yawn). I suppose at least he wasn't ignoring her when she says no like he did in the first book.

I will probably read the next book in the series but so far I'm not seeing what has kept readers hooked for over 50 books.

View all my reviews

Review: Relic of Sorrows

Relic of Sorrows by Lindsay Buroker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Captain Alisa Marchenko and her rag-tag crew, friends and passengers now include a Starseer. Desperate to find her daughter she is yet again diverted by her passengers in their quest to find Alcyone's staff. Their travels take them to a supposedly empty part of space where they encounter further adventures and Alisa learns more about the Starseers and the cyborg Leonidas.

Ancient relics, cyborgs, Alliance rebels, Imperial sympathisers, secret societies and plenty of humour make this an enjoyable successor to the free omnibus. Can't wait for the next one.

View all my reviews

Review: Fallen Empire Books 1-3

Fallen Empire Books 1-3 by Lindsay Buroker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first three books in the series plus two novellas for the low, low price of FREE.

Meet Alisa Marchenko, former Alliance pilot, badly injured in the final victorious battle against the Empire and left on a godforsaken planet to heal. She determines to steal her mother's freighter plane from where it languishes in storage but discovers the plane has already been claimed by an Imperial Cyborg. Desperate to raise enough funds to fly home and reclaim the daughter she hasn't seen for four years, Alisa takes on a rag-tag group of passengers and crew.

If you like space adventures, snarky and inappropriate humour, cyborgs, chickens, galactic wars, BBQ, lots of fighting but all the main characters remain unscathed then this is the series for you. It's funny, undemanding and fast-paced. Loved it so much I've already bought and read the next book in the series.

View all my reviews

Review: Year One

Year One by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

This series was recommended by SyFyWire here. Set in a dystopian near future, one new year's eve a series of events lets loose a terrible plague upon humanity which kills billions worldwide, a few are naturally immune and others either gain powers or enhance powers as witches, elves, fairies and the like, people they came to call the Uncanny. As civilisation crumbles we follow two groups of people who leave New York looking for a place to settle.

Lana and Max were a couple, he was a writer and she was a chef. Fred and Alysa were juniors at a TV news station. Jonah was a paramedic and Rachel was a doctor. Katie was the daughter of the original victim of the plague they came to call The Doom. But as civilisation crumbles and the Uncanny increase in numbers so do the religious fundamentalists and intolerance as well as gangs of raiders who just like to kill and torture and destroy. Among the disintegration of society one baby could herald salvation, The One.

I enjoyed this but I felt following two separate groups of people was distracting and there was too much of a distinction between good and evil, surely there should be some shades of grey? Instead people are either like Little House on The Prairie/Pollyanna or totally evil which also makes the baddies easier to spot. Overall, a good start to a new series (to me) but not nuanced enough. However, the gore level is high - think Supernatural style horror.




View all my reviews

Review: Mix Tape

Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back in 1978 Daniel Lawrence and Alison Connor go on their first date, to Kev Carter's Christmas party. It's first love in Sheffield to the accompaniment of a fantastic soundtrack of music (Elvis Costello, Blondie, JIlted John).

Switch to present day 2012, Daniel is now Dan, living in Edinburgh with his partner Katelin, son Alex and dog, a music writer. Alison is now Ali, a writer, married with two daughters and living in Adelaide, Australia. Then Kev Carter sends Dan a tweet about Ali and all the memories come flooding back. But how do you reach out to your first true love after over 30 years? When words seem too trite why not send a link to a musical memory from your shared past, in this case Elvis Costello and The Attractions' 'Pump It Up'. Dan and Ali continue to send each other links to music that resonates with them, music from their shared past and music from a time when they were no longer together.

Told in two alternating timelines we see Daniel and Alison fall in love despite their differences in class: Alison and her older brother struggling to cope with an alcoholic mother while Daniel leads a charmed life with a cosy loving middle-class family. In the present day Dan deals with his partner's contempt for his profession and his best friend's infidelity, Ali deals with her youngest daughter's surprise pregnancy and her husband's arrogant belief that the family will do whatever he decrees.

What happens when Twitter gives two people a chance to reconnect, to look back at their past and to think about what might have been? Is the grass alway greener on the other side? What caused them to separate so utterly 30 years ago?

After reading this book all I really wanted was to download this playlist and play it over and over again, that's how invested I got into the characters and their musical love letters to each other across the world. I just loved taking this journey with Daniel/Dan and Alison/Ali, reliving the agony and ecstasy of first love and seeing the adults they became.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Blood & Ash

Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ash is a mundane where 10% of humans have some king of magical abilities, she's a PI reduced to minor investigations because the Head of House Pacifica has deemed her unable to investigate anything involving the magical, even cheating spouse cases. Then an innocent bump on the head reveals a strange tattoo and hitherto unknown magic blood powers.

If the idea of a secular Jewish PI with attitude and unheard of magical powers floats your boat then I think I have a new series for you. Engaging characters, a complex plot and snappy dialogue make this a big thumbs up from me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Just a Boyfriend

Just a Boyfriend by Sariah Wilson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 50%.

Bash and Ember were passionately in love, until their single parents also fell in love and got married. Now four years later they have done everything in their power to stay far far away from each other until circumstances conspire to bring Bash back to Seattle and EOL college with Ember.

There's angst up the wazoo, step-sibling love, mother with cancer, other mother with drug addiction issues, Bash getting kicked off the football squad for recreational drug use, depression, and more.

And yet ... it just didn't grab hold of me, I didn't feel anything for Bash or Ember (and stupid names!), their love felt vaguely icky and at half-way through the book I didn't care to continue.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review: Naked in Death

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally, I read the first book in what has become a fantastically long series. Set in the near future Eve Dallas is a New York detective called in to a super secret murder investigation. A licensed companion (prostitute) has been murdered with a vintage weapon, she is also the granddaughter of a powerful conservative US Senator.

Eve's murder investigation focuses on the victim's clients but she is also aware that the victim had a very public dinner with what could be the world's wealthiest man, Roarke (no other name like Madonna).

Then two other licensed companions are murdered in near-similar circumstances and Eve has a serial killer on her hands, but the murders bring some personal issues front and centre, just as Eve and Roarke's growing attraction could jeopardise her investigation.

I enjoyed the story and the novelty of setting a gritty suspense novel in the future. I did find Roarke's alpha-male refusal to hear the word 'No' problematic, two or three times Eve said she wanted to leave and Roarke refused to let her go, I know she was running away from her feelings in some cases but what was probably viewed as strong and powerful and romantic in 1995 when the book was first published is now troubling.

2020 sensibilities aside, I did enjoy this foray into a genre that I stopped reading quite a few years ago because I found the stories got more and more gruesome and disturbing as the writers tried to out do each other and their last books. I will certainly read the next one but I'm not sure that I will read the entire series.

View all my reviews