Review: Beneath the Skin by Adrian Phoenix

Originally posted at Scooper Speaks website.

Favorite Line: “Trapped within white stone the angel’s heart pulsed.” (p. 74)

The horror or Dante Baptiste’s life is coming to light, the angels have found a maker capable of saving heaven and FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace is now disposable. Heather, Dante and their crew are on the run from forces they don’t understand and the predators chasing them will do what ever it takes to capture Dante, a creature born of a vampire and an angel. Heather is also having dreams about her dead mother that threaten to reveal a secret that will rock her world.

Alliances have been made and will be broken in this third installment of the Maker’s Song series written by Adrian Phoenix. Beneath the Skin showcases characters spiraling out of control in an easy to follow manner. It picks up right at the end of In the Blood which means people trying to read this book as a stand alone will be lost.

The drug use continues in this book, as does the volcanic rage that seems to surround so many of the characters. The explosions are passionate. Some are crazy while others are predictable. Phoenix has done a remarkable job of creating manipulative, insane, sincere and shadowy characters who are realistic, fully-hashed and believable.

This urban fantasy series just keeps on running. From solving the mystery in book one to the discoveries that take place in book two, The Maker’s Song series keeps getting better. Beneath the Skin is a quick paced story that will suck you in and not let go. ‘Cause Dante is the kind of vamp who faces things head on. Expect people’s fantasies to be fulfilled and dashed, some major drama and the evolution of a powerful man.

This is my favorite book in the series. It is a strong book that puts Heather and Dante together as a couple, makes me hate certain characters, wonder about other characters and wish I had the next book in my hands.

The Hourglass Door Trilogy

I really enjoyed the first book in the series. You can read my review of it here. I’m currently reading book two, The Golden Spiral and the final book in the series, The Forgotten Locket will be released in June. What did you think about the book trailer? I loved it. Have you read the series? Why or why not?

Review: Guardian of Honor by Robin D. Owens

Guardian of Honor by Robin D. Owens
LUNA (February 2005)
Trade: $13.95
ISBN: 0-373-80215-3

Favorite Lines: “Most appealing of all was the small bud of hope that unfurled within her, the hope that she could help. She could find a place of her own where she was valued, where she fit.” (p. 16)

With their magic boundaries falling and terrible monsters invading, the Marshalls of Lladrana must follow ancient tradition and summon a savior from the Exotique land…

For Alexa Fitzwalter, the Marshall’s call pulled the savvy lawyer into a realm where she barely understood the language, let alone the intricacies of politics and power. Armed only with her wits, a mystical companion and the help of the chevalier Bastien, Alexa must use her very human mind and skills to fight the encroaching evil–and resist manipulation by the Marshalls to force her to stay in Lladrana.

Now torn between her affinity for this realm and Earth, will she return home if given the chance? Or dare she risk everything for a land not her own?

Guardian of Honor by Robin D. Owens is book one in the Summoning series.

The world where the story takes place is Lladrana, a world based on the feudal system with castes and roles for everyone. When Alexa steps through the portal from the human world to Lladrana, she tests into one of the highest places in society: guardian. She is the newest member of an elite group of magical people who are rich and control all information being dissipated to the people of Lladrana. Her love interest is the son of the guardian’s leader, a rogue and excellent chevalier or warrior.

For over half of the book, Bastien and Alexa have little to no contact with one another. So that doesn’t leave very much time for the two would-be lovers to form a connection strong enough to affect Alexa’s possible return to the human world. Sure they are in like with each other. Yes, Owens tells early on that Alexa has nothing holding her to the human world. But that does little to make me believe in the super quick, permanent relationship that the two build.

Guardian of Honor is a fantasy romance  that seems to equally follow a relationship between Alexa and Bastien and the danger facing the world of Llandrana. The premise for the story is interesting. I mean who can resist the idea of being yanked from one reality as the possible savior to another reality. Dislike of the characters and disbelief in their actions left me feeling disappointed in the book.

It’s not that the book is horrible, or badly written. It’s just that I didn’t connect to the world of Lladrana or its people, who more often than not, seemed cold. Most importantly, I didn’t believe the romance between Alexa and Bastien. I’ve read several positive reviews on Good Reads and Amazon, but I can’t honestly say I’d recommend this book to anyone.

Review: The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason

The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason (Thanks, netgalley!)
Harlequin/MIRA (March 22, 2011)
Trade: $14.95 (Pre-order it for the best price.)
ISBN: 9780778329527

Favorite Lines: “Unlike Dimitri, Voss wore his dissociation from the other Dracule like a mantle of pride—mainly because it was of his own making. Voss, now the very wealthy Viscount Dewhurst, amused himself by seeking and collecting information that could be sold or bartered and, Dimitri suspected, he did so also in order to insulate himself from the others.” (p. 11 ebook)

Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule—a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls—the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral…until Angelica.

Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger—for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him—to protect her.

Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica…but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

The Vampire Voss is book one in Colleen Gleason’s new trilogy set early in 19^th century, London. The Vampire Voss is set in 1804. It sets the tone for the series by telling readers how the Dracule are created and what their purpose is. It seems like there is no hope for the damned, but in a romance there is always hope as Gleason shows us in The Vampire Voss.

Gleason has done an excellent job creating selfish and unlikeable characters. Voss is a cad. He is an unscrupulous man looking to get over on the heroine until he isn’t. He doesn’t hide what he is, but he begins to be ashamed of himself. He is the bad boy that you dream of and want to protect you. Because when he decides you’re the girl…that’s all she wrote. He’d do anything for you. What girl doesn’t want that?

I absolutely hated Angelica’s brother. I don’t know if that was done on purpose, but I still don’t like the man and I read the book a few weeks ago. (As if I don’t like enough people without holding on to hatred of the characters in the books I read. Lol) I’m not to fond of her sister, Maia either. I think the next book in the series, The Vampire Dimitri, will be about Maia and Dimitri so I’m trying not to hold the irritation I feel about her against her.

The action…let’s see. It was sporadic, but satisfying. One scene in particular takes place at a ball and involves deadly Dracule and innocent party-goers. Just visualize vamped out vampires crashing a society ball and you get the picture.

The Vampire Voss is well paced, has characters that remain true to themselves, and is all about the romance. The entire point of the story is to connect to star-crossed lovers and I loved it. Not only is it exciting, but it has the ability to make me want the best for its heroine. My favorite part of the story is when the hero comes for the heroine. I can’t tell you any more about that great scene, but it’s worth reading the book.

Would I recommend this book to a friend? Sure would. That friend would have to be a lover of the paranormal romance genre. The book is good enough that I would even tell those who aren’t fond of the regency period to read it. The story has the taste of a vampire version of Beauty and the Beast.

One of these Books Looks a lot Like the Other One…

 

What’s up with the caved in chest look? I hate it. Added to the red and blue tones =Awful covers!

Review: Demon Underground by S.L. Wright

Demon Underground by S.L. Wright
ROC (December 2010)
Mass Market: $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-451-46367-8

Favorite Lines: “I knew my fear would intoxicate him like nothing else. But I felt as if I were back in his iron cage, as his hips pressed against me, his rigid erection rubbing painfully against me, as he choked the life out of me.” (p. 14)

Half human and half demon, Allay has finally embraced her new life. She works as a bartender on the Lower East Side, where she eases and draws energy from her patrons’ pain. she’s always tried to stay out of demon politics, but then she finds herself brokering a truce among New York City’s most powerful demons. Allay’s biggest concern is the demon Dread, who will stop at nothing to gain control of every demon–and every human–he can.

But with assassins around every corner, Allay is driven underground. In the abandoned tunnels beneath the city, Allay finds sanctuary among the desperate misfits and loners who have no other place to go. Still, it’s only a matter of time before the combatants in the growing war–especially the sexy and dangerous demon Ram–tempt Allay back above the surface to join in the fight…

Confessions of a Demon introduced us to Allay and S.L. Wright’s demon world set in New York. Demon Underground takes us to the day after Confessions of a Demon. If it’s been awhile since you read book one, you may want to pull it out and refresh your memory before reading Demon Underground.It’s a nice addition to the series.

On a side note: I think the description on the back of the book is slightly misleading as only about a quarter of the book actually takes place underground. There are plenty of other ways demons are underground, but as in actually living underground–Allay never lives underground.

This book will make you take a new look at Allay’s allies and will have you reconsidering the idea of demons coming out to the human world. It’s not a feel good book, although the final page had me quite pleased with the direction of the series. It’s a world where demons consume and betray each other as the norm. Good thing Allay is not a normal demon.

Ram, Mystify, Bliss, Shock and Crave all have large roles in this book. But when Allay takes a drastic step toward the future their roles in her life become shadowy. Will they stick by her side? Will they follow her lead? Are they really on her side?

Were you left wanting to know more about Ram in the first book? Well this book demolishes the walls that barred his secrets from Allay. Want to know what his life is and was like before Allay? This book will tell you.

My final thoughts: When I turned the last page of the book I wasn’t left with a warm or fuzzy feeling. I felt like there were tons of anvils waiting to fall on Allay in the future. I was satisfied but still felt tense. Demon Underground is a dark urban fantasy with a satisfying romantic thread, the demise of several possible plot directions, and tons of a hint at the consequences which will need to be explored in the next book.

Review: Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire

Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire
DAW (March 2011)
Mass Market: $7.99
ISBN: 978-0-7564-0666-0

Favorite Line: “Must you destroy everything you touch?” (p. 97) (This line, taken in context, almost brought me to tears.)

Two years ago, October “Toby” Daye believed she could leave the world of Faerie behind. She was wrong. Now she finds herself in the service of Duke Sylvester Torquill, sharing an apartment with her Fetch, and maintaining an odd truce with Tybalt, the local King of Cats. It’s a delicate balance-one that’s shattered when she learns that an old friend is in the dire trouble. Lily, Lady of the Tea Gardens, has been struck down by a mysterious, seemingly impossible illness, leaving her fiefdom undefended.

Struggling to find a way to save Lily and her subjects, Toby must confront her own past as an enemy she thought was gone forever raises her head once more: Oleander de Merelands, one of the two people responsible for her fourteen-year exile. But if Oleander’s back, what’s her game? Where is she hiding? And what part does Toby’s mother, Amandine, have to play?

Time is growing short and the stakes are getting higher. For the Queen of the Mists has her own agenda, and there are more players in this game than Toby can guess. With everything on the line, she will have to take the ultimate risk to save herself and the people she loves most-because if she can’t find the missing pieces of the puzzle in time, Toby will be forced to make the one choice she never thought she’d have to face again…

Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series is the bom-diggity-dog. Book four in the series, Late Eclipses, is an excellent addition to the series and like its predecessors leans hard toward the fantastic. I’d say at least half of the book is set in some kind of faerie land. According to McGuire’s website there will be at least three more books in the series published: One Salt Sea (Sept. 2011), Ashes of Honor (2012), and The Chimes at Midnight (2013).

Late Eclipses is a book that answers questions brought up in previous books, builds and ends relationships and teases you about what is to come in Toby’s future. One of my favorite characters, Tybalt, makes several appearances in the story. His role in the book showcases the type of man he is: steadfast, honorable and dependable. When push came to shove, Tybalt is the type of character who will kick the door down which makes him the man I want in Toby’s life.

The book gives clear answers to Toby’s past issues and actions. For example, her lineage is explained, Rayseline’s hatred of Toby and the Queen’s reaction to Toby ignoring her command.  I couldn’t help but to feel that Toby is a much better person than me. I would hold a grudge and be hurt by the words and actions of those surrounding me. Toby isn’t that person. She grew up knowing that she wasn’t a full-blood, and thus wouldn’t be treated as an equal most of those around her. Her childhood prepared her to be a realist, but it didn’t stop her from dreaming whether she knew that was what she was doing or not.

Overall, Late Eclipses is a winner. It is a book that I will gladly add to my keeper shelves. If nothing else, you’ve got to read about Rayseline being a BITCH! This book is all about the blood. Blood is everything. Warning: If you haven’t read the entire series, don’t pick this book as a starting point. Each book picks up where the one before it ended.

Review: River Marked by Patricia Briggs

River Marked by Patricia Briggs
ACE (March 2011)
Hardback: $26.95
ISBN: 978-0-441-01973-1

Favorite Lines: “Someone needs to remember that the runway model look doesn’t even look good on runway models.” (p. 20)

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She’s never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father’s people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help…

Actually the blurb on the River Marked’s dust cover is quite different. Like others, I didn’t read any reviews or even the blurb before jumping into the story, so the first few chapters blew me away. (In a good way.) I don’t think there is any better way that Briggs could have started the book. This review is going to be short because it is a ravefest.

The great thing about River Marked is Mercy and Adam are together throughout the entire book. Their interaction and the way they support one another’s decisions is excellent; it is true to the characters we learned to love in the first five books. They are equals in their relationship and as much as Mercy recognizes Adam’s need to care for her, Adam respects Mercy’s need to protect him.

This book is well-balanced. There are equal amounts of action, explanations of Mercy’s history and Mercy and Adam’s relationship. The book is pure entertainment. When I put it down I was completely satisfied and for once I don’t mind waiting the year it will take to get me book seven.

River Marked has it all: vampires, fae and shapeshifters. I think it sets the bar high for other books and I can’t wait to see what else is to come from this world.

I Read It, but I’m not Reviewing It

Yeah, that describes a ton of books. While I love telling people what I think about books, there are some books that I keep to myself. Often they are my secret joys. You know the books that fill juicy little holes inside of you that you would never critique. Or they are books that irked me because the author went in a direction that turns me off. It’s not that the writing is poor, it is that the plot no longer interests me.

I don’t think it is fair to bash a book because I don’t like the creative angle it took. That doesn’t mean I don’t it just means sometimes I recognize it wouldn’t be fair to give a bad review based on my personal hangups. Sure, I’m fickle. I’m a reader.

I spend hundreds of dollars every year on my book addiction and it only makes sense that I feel invested in them. (God, I don’t ever want to know an exact dollar amount on money I spend buying books.) But this month in particular seems to be filled with books that I read, some of which I enjoyed, but will not be writing a review of. Here are a couple of them:

Richelle Mead’s Iron Crowned (Pissed me off so bad)
Kim Harrison’s Pale Demon (Really enjoyed)
A.M.Dellamonica’s Indigo Springs (Barely finished chapter 1. DNF)

So what about you? What have you read that you hated, loved, DNF or just don’t want to review?