Review: Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews (Hidden Legacy)

Format: mass market
Pub Date: August 2019
Publisher: Avon
Length: 400 pages
POV: 1st, past
FTC: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

I've been a BIG fan of Ilona Andrews for years. They started solidly in Urban Fantasy, and the Hidden Legacy series is still mostly in that genre, with strong romantic elements.  The original trilogy featuring Nevada Baylor ended with Wildfire, with the novella Diamond Fire acting as a bridge between that trilogy and this book. If you haven't read any of the previous books, I think you could enjoy this one, but there is a distinct chronology, and you'll definitely get more out of it if you've read the other books.

Unlike the previous trilogy, this one is told from Catalina's POV, which is a bit jarring at first if you're used to Nevada. Quite a lot has happened in the three years since Wildfire. Nevada is no longer Head of House Baylor. Catalina has taken over that role, which is a bit of a struggle for her. Rogan's mother has taken her under her wing, and helped train her...which is a good thing for someone whose magic is not combat oriented. She's also primarily responsible for running Baylor Investigations, and it's that role that once again gets her, and her family, into trouble when an old acquaintance asks her for help.

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Tardy TBR Challenge Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

Format: mass market
Pub Date: June 2010
Length: 432 pages
POV: 1st, past
FTC: purchased used

Tardy as usual with my review, but since autumn is basically me running from soccer field to soccer field, I'm going to be happy I managed to read at all.

This month's theme is paranormal, and while I haven't been reading a ton of romance, I have been reading some Urban Fantasy with romantic elements: namely, the Elemental Assassins series by Jennifer Estep. This is Book 2.

The basic premise is a retired assassin becomes somewhat of a vigilante/Robin Hood for people in trouble. A one woman A-Team, if the A-Team killed people. And in Ashland, people have magic that usually revolves around Fire, Ice, Stone or Air. Gin, our protagonist, is not only deadly efficient with knives, she has both Stone and Ice Magic.

I think this is a book best read in series order, but it can stand alone. You just won't get some of the emotional heft unless you've read the first book in the series.

Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

Format: ebook
Pub Date: January 2010
Publisher: Pocket (Simon and Schuster)
Length: 432 pages
FTC: Read for free via Amazon Prime
POV: 1st person, past

Yes, I'm extremely late to the party. The first Estep book I read was a YA one I received at the RT Booklovers Convention a few years ago. And I'm not really a YA reader. Still, I liked her voice, and when this became a free read for Prime members, I decided to try it.

In short: Kinda glad I am late, because there's a HUGE backlist of titles I can now glom. *snoopy dance*

I'm a bit of a wuss, so I admit to skimming some of the more graphic violence scenes. I have an extremely vivid imagination, and these are some gnarly descriptions. Ew.

I also discovered that the detailed descriptions of food weren't just a YA thing. They're present here, too. It's a funny quirk, and honestly (and weirdly) reminds me of the food descriptions in the Redwall series. Food is serious business.

Estep also manages to do emotion right, even when the main character is an assassin. Gin's not stereotypically dead inside. She cares about her small circle of people and has her own moral code. Which I guess is why we're not in full-on anti-hero territory. She's very pragmatic, though, so don't go expecting her to act like a good guy. She's not and neither are her friends and acquaintances. If you're the type of reader who needs the main character to be righteous 100% of the time, this is probably not the book for you.

For romance readers, there's some sexual tension and foreplay, but no real relationships here. You can see a glimmer of one maybe in the future, but that consumes very little page time. Far more action and mystery.

My only quibbles are with the pacing, which was extremely uneven, and (as with most first UF books) the amount of page time we spend on world building. That's to be expected, though, so I built that into the grade. 

My Grade: A-

The Blurb:

After Gin’s family was murdered by a Fire elemental when she was thirteen, she lived on the streets and eventually became an assassin to survive. Now, Gin is given an assignment by her handler to rub out an Ashland businessman, but it turns out to be a trap. After Gin’s handler is brutally murdered, she teams up with the sexy detective investigating the case to figure out who double-crossed her and why. Only one thing is for sure —Gin has no qualms about killing her way to the top of the conspiracy.

***
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TBR Challenge Review: Side Jobs by Jim Butcher (partial)

Format: audiobook
Narrator: James Marstars
Publisher: Penguin
Length: short stories, entire book:13 hours
POV: 1st person, past
Release Date: 2010

I've finally worked my way through the regular size novels in audiobook. That leaves the short stories and novellas, which are all out of chronological order, but that's ok. Basically: don't listen to them until you're done reading the series.

Because this month's TBR Challenge theme is "short," it lets me off the hook for finishing this in time, because this is an anthology. My commute is nonexistant, so my audiobook listening happens while cleaning or while winding down for sleep. Thus: FOREVER to finish the series. Hubs has had these read two or three times in the year or so I've been listening to them.

Review: City of Light (an Outcast Novel) by Keri Arthur

Format: mass market paperback
Pub Date: January 2016
Publisher: Signet
Length: 368 pages
FTC: Received for free from RT16, presumably from the author or publisher
POV: 1st, past

To my knowledge, this is my first novel by Keri Arthur. I'm not a huge Urban Fantasy reader, and those that I do read are usually UF with strong romantic elements. This is not that type of book.

As my limited experience with UF has shown me, first books are often the worst in a series, simply because SO MUCH TIME is spent on world building. It's just the nature of the beast that the story will drag a bit. Added to that, I'm sure I'm missing some of the shortcuts I'm supposed to get because I don't read a lot of the genre...there were times I was flat-out-lost in the details of who was supposed to do what. It's a lot to remember. Overall, though, this was different, compelling, and emotional enough to keep me reading.

Review: Deadly Spells by Jaye Wells

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: February 2015
Publisher: Orbit
Length: 400 pages
FTC: Ordered through our library's Zip Books program

It took me awhile to convince my poor library to order this book. Primarily because they were convinced it wasn't out yet. New Year's is hard on everyone, librarians included. We're closing in on a year since this book's release, so I'm hoping to hear more about the series. If it's continuing. If this was it. I haven't looked it up yet, but this book does tie up some loose ends, so it may be the finale.

Review: Coveted by Shawntelle Madison

Format: Mass market paperback
Pub Date: May 2012
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Length: 291 pages
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention

My friend, Sandy, urged me to read this book when I first picked up my copy at an RT Convention (I honestly can't remember which one!) I promised her I would...and of course it's been at least 1 year, but maybe 3 since I've had the book and haven't read it. Well..I'm digging out print books from my TBR and it was this book's time.

I admit, if I'd known this was about an OCD hoarding werewolf, I might have tried it earlier. Because honestly? That's unusual, even in the land of strange. 

Review: Cursed Moon (Prospero's War Book 2) by Jaye Wells

Format: Trade Paperback
Pub Date: August 2014
Length: 370 pages
FTC: Borrowed from the library

I read the first book in this series shortly after sitting next to the author in the audience of an RT panel back in May. I really liked it. It's a smooth blend of mystery, police procedural, and urban fantasy. It's very light on the "woo woo" for those who are paranormal-ed out. There's a gritty, noir feel to the whole world which I adored. And I really liked the main character, Kate Prospero, a detective with the Babylon PD, a recovering potion addict, and a struggling guardian to a teenage brother. I finished book 1, and immediately went to download book 2...only to discover that it was a Hachette book and therefore way too pricey for me to buy in e (10!). So I set it aside and moved onto the next book in my list.

Fast forward a few months. I have discovered a nifty program at the library that is grant funded and allows patrons to order books available on Amazon. They ship the book directly to you. When you're finished, you bring it back to the library where they can add it to the collection. Far more cost effective than paying $3-4 in postage for every library loan, and unlike ILL, patrons don't have to front that cost. So, I decided to Zip Books this one and hopefully get it added to our library (which is sorely lacking in UF and romance).

This one was just as good as the first, although I did have a few minor issues with it. It's the Blue Moon, and the city of Babylon is going nuts. To make matters exponentially worse, a criminal "Raven" named Dionysus has stolen a large amount of potion from one of the criminals in the city. The potion makes people sexually aggressive, and leads to numerous incidents of rape and sexual assault. Tied into the thefts are a couple of murders. Kate's two bosses (one from the police department, one from the task force to which she's assigned) spend much of the book jockeying over turf, with Kate and her colleagues caught in the middle.

Review: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Format: ebook, Trade paperback
Pub Date: May 2015
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 368 pages
FTC: ARC courtesy of the author/publisher at RT 15

Disclaimer: I do not normally read YA. At all. The closest I came to YA were books written before we carved out that demographic as a genre (Outsiders) or the latter Harry Potter books. So what I'm saying is I'm not your average YA blogger/reader. Make of it what you will.

I picked up this book at the RT Booklovers Convention held in Dallas back in May. I've had it in my car pretty much since then, because an emergency book is as important to me as a first aid kit. I have to have something to read and my phone doesn't always have battery life.

Enter soccer season.

I finally had some time where I could actually concentrate enough to read, and despite my misgivings about YA as a whole, this book just sounded fun. Plus it was written in first person *past* which I love. (First person, present is an auto-no for me which is a big reason for my YA resistance). 

This book is the first in the Black Blade series. Unlike a ton of fantasy series' first books, Jennifer Estep does not bore you to tears with the world building. It's there, but it builds organically. No info dumping. No dense explanation of what makes the world different. Nothing to drag you out of the storytelling, which is nothing short of fabulous.

Review: Night Shift by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, Milla Vane

Pub Date: December 2014
Publisher: Berkley (Penguin)
Length: 378 pages
Format: mass market paperback (also available in e)
FTC: Purchased by me at Safeway

Happy New Year! Here's hoping that this year doesn't suck as badly as last year did regarding reading and blogging for me. Ugh, but it was a tough year.

I've managed to finish a book, though, and for the most part was very pleased with it. It's an Urban Fantasy anthology with four stories in it. I went into this without any marketing buzz because I was too busy to procrastinate on Twitter much during the fall. So yea! It wasn't tired by the time I got to it.

Review: Blade of the Hunt (Goddess with a Blade Book 3)

Format: ebook
Pub Date: November 2014
Publisher: Carina Press
FTC: Purchased myself

After  I finished reading the first book in this series following RT this year, I read the 2nd one sometime over the summer. Finally, in the middle of my reading funk last month, I read this one. I think it's just what I needed, given that it's not a romance book. It's Urban Fantasy for sure. And it's definitely book number 3 in the series and makes no apologies for it. It's not burdened by a boatload of back story. This book assumes you've read books 1 and 2.

Although I did not like this one as much as I liked the previous two, probably due to the nagging reading funk, I did think it was a solid installment in the series. There's definitely far less noir in this one, which bummed me out a little. I like the almost gumshoe feel of the first book the best. Once we veer into European stuff, it becomes less original. Less edgy, to be honest.

There's far more romance, or at least more discussion of feelings, in this book. We get to see an expanded cast of characters. The action that is present is good, although there's far too little of it. Most of the book is planning and traveling, rather than actually doing anything. It's mired in political maneuvering and interpersonal issues. Which is fine, I guess, but I wanted more boots on the ground action and definitely more creep factor.

My Grade: B-

Review: Goddess with a Blade by Lauren Dane

Format: paperback, ebook
Pub Date: 2011
Publisher: Carina
Length: 296 pages
FTC: Free copy courtesy of the publisher at RT14

 I've read Lauren Dane's erotic romances before, but this is the first paranormal book I've read by her. It's an unusual concept: the title is quite literal. The protagonist is a Vampire Hunter skilled with a blade, but she's also a vessel for a goddess. Basically, the person who cleans up vampire messes (crimes) if the vampires can't take care of it themselves: usually by killing the offending vampire. 

I know lots of people are suffering paranormal fatigue, but I'm not there yet. I tend to lean more towards the Urban Fantasy side than the romance side which probably helps...and this book is definitely one where the romance is a smaller part of the novel. A subplot, even, despite the explicit scenes.

Every UF/Paranormal romance claims to be different. Goddess With a Blade isn't completely original, but it has enough new ideas to seem fresher than the majority of other offerings. The goddess angle is part of it, but this also has echoes of the old hardboiled detective stories...with a twist. It's set in Vegas and the surrounding desert, and instead of dames in trouble, the dame is the one doing the investigating. It has the glamor vs. seediness element you'd expect, but just as you get a handle on the type of book this is, Dane throws you another curveball.

TBR Challenge Review: Hellfire by Ann Aguirre

Pub Date:April 2010
Publisher: ROC Fantasy
Length: 315 pages
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention event (no idea which one)

Today is TBR day, but I'm going off script and not following today's theme. I've read Ann Aguirre as Ava Gray, but not in her SFF persona. I'm not sure what prompted me to grab this out of the ole TBR, but I took it with me to read on the never ending plane rides to New Orleans and back.

I started reading this not really aware that it is #2 in the Corine Solomon series. So I was a little taken aback to find a ton of backstory missing. Grrr. My own fault, though, since it says in probably 3 different places that there was a book before this one. Oh well.

TBR Challenge Review: Lover Reborn by JR Ward

Format: Hardcover (now available in mmpb and ebook)
Pub Date: 2012
Publisher: New American Library
Length: 590 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

There are a ton of reasons for a book to end up in my TBR pile. Sometimes I go on a book buying spree. Sometimes I pick up a book intending to read it, only to be distracted by a shinier title or by real life obligations. Sometimes the mood just isn't right. None of that happened here. This time, the book has languished because of Twitter spoilers. I made the mistake of going onto Twitter on release day before I had received my copy. By the time Amazon delivered my shiny hardcover, several major plot points were spoiled, and I was feeling meh about the book and the series. And Twitter, too.

This month's theme is More Than One (meaning more than one book by this author in the TBR), and yes, despite feeling uninspired by the series and the book, I bought the next book in the series anyway. It's a sickness. 

Ward's books are problematic for me. On one hand, I have to admire her over-the-top writing style. It's ridiculous, really, but still oddly addictive. It's highly consistent, with weird brand name dropping, verb-creation, and improbable dialogue. It's also problematic thanks to the not-so-subtle cultural appropriation, violence and misogyny.

Audiobook Review: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Format: digital download
Length: 15 hrs 6 min
Pub Date: July 30, 2013
Publisher: Recorded Books
Narrator: Renee Raudman

I'm kind of over the whole "Can't wait for xyz book" phase I had when I first started the blog. Don't get me wrong, I love books. I still have my favorites. But with so much overkill on the buzz factor for new books, I've developed a finely tuned filter. Meaning...I don't pay attention. I certainly don't preorder books. This year, I preordered exactly three books: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs, Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh, and Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews. Both the Briggs and Andrews books I also purchased on audio.

When I first read that Ilona Andrews had gone with a different publisher for the new Kate Daniels audiobook, I was disappointed. I love Recorded Books, but I was attached to Renee Raudman, the narrator for the previous installments. I don't know what magic they employed, but somehow, the publisher managed to snag the same narrator to continue the series. With that news, I was on board to listen to the newest installment.

Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Format: Hardcover
Pub Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Ace
Length: 352 pages
Series: Mercy Thompson, Book 7
FTC: Purchased myself

I've been quite vocal about my feelings regarding the last Mercy Thompson book.  It just wasn't anywhere near as good as the previous books for a variety of reasons ranging from plot problems, atmosphere, character isolation... It's a misstep that's only so noticeable because Patricia Briggs is such a solidly good writer. Despite my lackluster feelings about River Marked, I picked up Frost Burned the day it came out.  I did enjoy Fair Game, the Alpha and Omega book set between River Marked and Frost Burned, so I was hopeful I hadn't just thrown away the price of a hardcover book.

I can say with great relief that Patricia Briggs is back in top form! I read this book in a single day after suffering through a months-long reading slump. It was the first book in a long time for me that was addictive, compelling, and just plain good. The biggest issue from River Marked that is "fixed" in this book is that the whole gang is here. RM suffered from the artificial isolation that Mercy and Adam had for most of the book. This book has the familiar cast of characters back with a vengeance. The interplay, the dialogue, the relationships are one of the reasons I read this series, and this book did not disappoint on that front.

Audio Review: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Title: Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Format: Audible download
Length: 8 hrs
Narrator: James Marsters*
Original Release Date (CD): 2002

A few months ago, I asked people on Twitter for audiobook recommendations for my husband. He listens to many of my romance audiobooks, but he really likes Fantasy and Urban Fantasy. The Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher came highly recommended.

Fast forward a few months.  I purchased the first in the series, Storm Front, on Audible. And while my husband has so far not been interested in listening to it, I decided to give it a try.

I was surprised by how much this book read like a detective novel. Not quite Columbo with a magic staff, but close. Told in the first person, we follow along with Harry as he attempts to solve a case as a consultant for the Chicago PD, and as he takes a side job working as a wizard-for-hire.

TBR Challenge Review: Wild & Steamy by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles, Carolyn Crane

Format: ebook
Pub Date: August 2011
Publisher: Self published
Length: 48K words
FTC: Purchased myself

Since I tend to know where or how I acquired my print books, I retreated to my digital TBR for help with his month's theme, "How did this get here?"  I'm pretty sure I picked this one up around DABWAHA time, but I honestly can't remember. Close enough!

Anthologies are a fun way to try new authors or to read shorter works by a favorite one. I'm always curious to see how well short stories and novellas fit together both with the theme and with the other authors included. In Wild & Steamy, I have to say not so well. Each author's story was well crafted, but as a whole, it just didn't fit together.

TBR Challenge Review: Zero Dog War by Keith Melton

Format: ebook
Pub date: Feb 2011
Publisher: Samhain
FTC: Purchased myself
Why it was in the TBR: Bought it based on tons of positive buzz on release day, then never read it. Yeah, I suck.

These last few months have been crazy busy with RL obligations and events, so my reading tally isn't very good. It's pretty dismal, actually. The TBR Challenge is a good way to force my procrastinating self to finish a dang book, though. This month's theme, something other than romance, was also a good excuse to dig through my Kindle backlog and find a book I'd forgotten I had.