Guest review: The Fever series by Karen Moning

I'm not quite sure where to begin with this review of The Fever-series by author Karen Marie Moning. When I finished the last book in the series – Shadowfever, I felt like a deflated balloon, why did it have to end?! 

About this guest review:
This review is written by Nina, Mari's younger sister(young as an old lady 27 year old lady can be ;). This is a review of a very hot, adult PNR series and we do not recommend this series to the younger crowd.

I found a light in the end of the tunnel of darkness that I was in, after finishing this series, when I visited Karen Monings' homepage. There I discovered that there will be two more books in the Fever series sometime in the future. Aaaaaaaand DreamWorks Studios has apparently opted for the movie rights! I'm dying a little on the inside just thinking about it. Yeeeeeeeaaaayh!!  In the meantime I'll read another trilogy by the same author. To give you inspiration to pick up this excellent series I'm going to start with the very beginning(as I should).

The Story
The adventure starts off in the first book, Darkfever, where we meet the colorful and vivacious southern girl MacKayla(Mac) Lane. Mac is 22 years old, living at home with her parents in a small town. In Ashford Mac works as a bartender and in her spare time she enjoys sunbathing and fun times with her friends. Life must be enjoyed, and that my friends is something Mac sure knows how to.

The good times cannot last and life takes a turn for the worse in the shape of a dramatic message on Mac's answering machine. The message is from her older sister Alina, Alina recently moved to Dublin to attend school there. Since Mac hasn't had a cell phone for the last couple of days(the phone, involuntary, took a dive in a pool) she didn't get the message until four days after Alina left it. Now it's too late... Alina is dead, indications points towards murder. Mac and her parents are devastated.

The police in Dublin haven't got a single lead and no resources to spend on the case. Mac is furious; she defies her parents and travels to Dublin to investigate the murder herself. Now in Dublin Mac gets a real eye opener, there is a whole other world out there. Through five action packed novels we get to know the Seelie & Unseelie Fae, Sidhe-seers, Inspector Jayne, Hunters, Keltar Druids, Mallucé, The Sinsar Dubh, Dani ”Mega” O’Malley, Jericho Barrons and his partners and several other characters.
I won't reveal anything else, it is difficult to tell you guys more without giving away too much of the plot.

My opinion:
I'm always being impressed by yet another book, and new favorites pops up all the time, but so far this is definitively the best Fae series I have ever read. Yaaaay! The story practically smells of sex! It's almost like you can feel it when the book lies next to you, it's just something seductive and alluring there. If you're not aroused one or five times during this read I have to inform you that there's something wrong with you.

Almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger; the excitement was almost so bad it gave physical pain if you stopped reading. Unexpected turn of events threw me completely off the path every now and then; I can usually guess what happens next in a story. It's like author Karen Moning sat down and thought what will the readers guess as my next move and then she threw us something very different. Let me tell you that it works! I was like "What?" That CANNOT be. He/she cannot possibly do(or not do) that!?!", my eyes just got bigger by the second and I had to re-read the page. I came to work half asleep more than once during the period where I read the Fever-series, it was too hard to put down these novels and chose sleep over reading!

I didn't just fall in love with these books, I also fell in love with several of the characters;  especially the very erotic Seelie Prince, V’lane(death-by sex Fae), and the mysterious and enigmatic Jericho Barrons.

I had some minor issues with the series, but nothing so serious that it kept me from falling head over heels in love with this world. Moning loves to explain things eternally and to repeat incidents from the past. When I got to the fifth installment it kind of annoyed me that the author had to remind me of things I had been told through the first four installments. I never quite got the hang on all the Irish and Gaelic words, even not with a dictionary at the back of the book(s). I just gave up and read them like it suited me. Like I said these were all minor pet peeves for me, in my opinion this series is still epic!

I would have given this book a 1000 stars, possibly more, if that were possible! This series cannot be missed by readers of adult PNR!
For more information about the series check out Karen Moning's homepage.

Book review: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

As much as I loved First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost the first book in The Night Huntress series was a let down for me. Why you might say?

Cat is a rare crossbreed between a human and a vampire. For some years now she has been hunting vampires in her spare time, ridding the world of supernatural monsters.

One day Cat encounters a vampire called Bones, her plan was to end his days but soon tables are turned. Bones is a vampire and a vampire bounty hunter, he gives Cat an offer she cannot refuse. 

My thoughts:
Ok, so some might think I'm a prude now but that's fine by me. I don't mind sex scenes in books but they have to be exceptionally well written not to feel like cliches. I do not appreciate it when it feels like the sex have been added because there was a hole in the plot. It felt like the author might have been unsure as to what was going to happen next so then sex between the characters seemed like a great idea. This book might as well have been titled All the way to the bed, a bit too much for my taste as you might have understood by now.

I wanted to enjoy this first book in the Night Huntress series, I really did. I mean I LOVED Jeaniene Frost's first novel, First Drop of Crimson - check out my review here, in the spin-off series Night Huntress World. There was, of course, sex in that novel as well but it felt more like a natural part of the story. It might have been because Frost now is a more experience writer? I'm not sure, but I can say that I will give Cat and Bones another try.

I liked the characters in the story, they were all likable. So I have to ask you guys does the series get better or should I just continue on with the Night Huntress World instead?


My rating of this book:

/

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.


I purchased the audiobook from Audible.

Book Review: Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

Risa Jones is as extraordinary as her heritage. Born from a lab-enhanced clone mother and an Aedh father, she can not only talk to the souls of the dying and the dead, but she can see the reapers and walk the gray fields that divide this world from the next.

They are skill she rarely uses, however, preferring to concentrate on the business she shares with her two best friends. But when her mother asks her to help the parents of a little girl locked in a coma, she reluctantly agrees. What she discovers scares the hell out of her. Because the little girl’s soul no longer resides in her body, and it wasn’t death and the reapers that took her.

Someone had ripped her soul from her flesh.

As it turns out, a creature consuming the souls of the innocent–and not so innocent–is the least of her problems. Because someone wants to rip open the gates that divided hell from earth, and Risa is a key component in their plans. And the only person standing between her and disaster is a reaper who isn’t exactly on her side.

My thoughts:

Darkness Unbound is the first book in Keri Arthur's new series, Dark Angel, which is a spin-off from her Riley Jenson Guardian series. As a huge fan of all nine books about Riley I knew this was something I had to read, even if I was a little scared of it ruining the original series for me. It did not. I should also say that having read the original series first will give you more background for Darkness Unbound, but it is not necessary.

In Darkness Unbound, Keri Arthur introduces us to new supernatural beings unlike any other I have read about. I love how Risa is still exploring her Aedh heritage and what that means for her, but that she also has a clear limit as to how she will use her powers. It can't be easy seeing reapers, always knowing when someone is about to die, yet she tries to make the best of every situation, and will never hesitate if she has the opportunity to help a person; friend or stranger. Risa is a very strong female lead, and even if she occasionally makes bad choices, I always understood why.

The plot was very well executed, and far from predictable. It was just as hard for me as it was for Risa to know who to trust, and I always love not knowing what's happening until the characters discover it themselves. The ending had me crying several times, but it was also the perfect beginning to the rest of the series.

One of my favorite things about Keri Arthur's universe is how her female characters are completely unashamed of their own sexuality. There are a couple of very adult scenes in this book, and so I would not recommend it to anyone who blushes any time sex is mentioned, but everyone else should definitely check out Darkness Unbound the first chance they get.

Cover:

It has kind of a cheesy-romance look to it, but at the same time this is exactly what I imagined Risa to look like, so I'm happy with it.

My rating of this book:

Want to know more?

Add Darkness Unbound to your Goodreads wish list

Visit Keri Arthur's website

Follow Keri on Twitter

Full disclosure:
Checked out at my local library

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Someone has turned Dru's father into a zombie, her mother is long gone. Dru finds herself all alone in this world, only sixteen years old.

The scariest part? Beings that goes bump in the night has suddenly taken a particular interest in her. There's are nastys coming from The Real World knocking on Dru's door.

Can Dru survive the night?

Strange Angels is the first installment in a young adult(for the older YA audience) urban fantasy series by Lili St. Crow. In total it will be a five book series(the fifth and final installment is expected out in November this year). Lili St. Crow has created a believable and strong heroine in Dru Anderson.


My thoughts:
My first thought after reading the first page? Why was I such an idiot that I didn't ever consider buying the second installment before starting the first? I had instant cravings for more after turning the last page of Strange Angels. Don't come back here and say I didn't warn you if you decide to read Strange Angels.


Dru's story starts out quite dramatic and unexpectedly she finds herself all alone in this world. Even though Dru knows how to kick some supernatural ass and knows how to load her gun she is frightened to be alone and face the horrors of the Real World. The only thing she has to get by with is her home and a fifty dollar bill. Dru knows she has to keep up appearances so that she can keep her house, so she goes to school. After a not-such-a-great-day at school Dru meet fellow student Graves. Graves is such a sweet guy and he genuinely cares for our slightly damaged heroine.

Dru goes through some changes between the first and final page and she discovers she has some hidden talents. A guy named Christophe shows up somewhere along in this story, I was never quite sure if he was one of the bad guys or the good guys, or what kind of role he would play in the continuation of the story really. I guess I have to find out in the next installment.

Book trailer:

The cover:
I don't like it all that much, it doesn't say Dru to me.

My rating of this book:

- superb

Want a second opinion?:
The Book Nerd Club - mummazappa's review convinced me to pick up my copy.
YA Vampire Books

Want to know more?
Add Strange Angels to your Goodreads wish list
Visit Lili St. Crow's homepage
Follow Lili on Twitter
Visit the Strange Angels homepage
Full disclosure: Purchased

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries. 
                                                                                                              

Book review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Seventeen-year-old Karou attends art school in Prague and trying her best to balance her almost normal life with running, sometimes dangerous, errands for a wishmonger named Brimstone. Karou has always been honest about her other not-so-normal-life, she draws everything she sees but it is so incredible that her friends think she has a very vivid imagination.

The truth is that Karou grew up in Brimstone's shop, among demons. She loves her little demon family but at the same time she has always felt that lonely, hollow ake inside without knowing why.

Suddenly Brimstone's supplies of teeth are almost empty and black hand prints is on every doorway that leads to the shop, that can't possibly be a good thing.

Continue further down to read a mad girl raving on about Daughter of Smoke and Bone, it just blew me away! 

My thoughts:
I've been fortunate enough to read a couple of books lately that have received a lot of great buzz in advance but I somehow failed to see what was so great about the stories. Well I'm glad to say that I've found a book that deserves all the praise it is getting and more! I won't be saying much about the story in this novel because this is a book I believe will be best experienced without knowing all that much about the story in advance.

Author Laini Taylor has created a fantasy that I have yet to read anything similar too. It has humor, warmth, passion and at times it may threaten to break your heart a little. The world building is so rich and vivid without it ever getting boring, no info-dumping here. Every little sentence in the story had its meaning, no unnecessary jibber-jabber. Laini managed to surprise me with the direction the story went as I turned the pages, this was such a treat I cannot believe the amount of imagination a person must have to write this kind of story.

The main character, Karou, is a strong heroine, she is both good and bad, she is tough yet she is vulnerable. Make no mistake Karou is no damsel in distress. There was something to enjoy in each and every one of the other characters as well, they were all masterfully crafted and I kept wondering who the evil ones really were.

I can't wait to see where the story goes next, I'm patiently waiting for a sequel (I don't want to stress the author even though my insides are screaming for it LOL).

Book trailers(a must see, they are both amazingly good!):

Cover:
It's growing on me and I've heard the finished copies is going to have foiling effects to be extra special. I'm going to have to buy it!


My rating of this book:

- AWESOME!

Want a second opinion?
I Eat Words
Presenting Lenore
Serendipity reviews

Want to know more?

Add Daughter of Smoke and Bone to your Goodreads wish list.

Visit Laini Taylor's homepage 
Visit the DOSAB homepage

Read Laini's blog 

Follow Laini on Twitter 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Release date: September 29th 2011
Pages(paperback): 448
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 144472262X (ISBN13: 9781444722628)
Full disclosure: Review copy from publisher.

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.

Book review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Book description:
My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.
All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

Take a look at the book trailer:


My review:

I loved this book! I got sucked in from page one and could hardly put the book down.
One of the things I loved about the protagonist in this book, Chloe, is that her love for movies reminds her of all the stupid things a hero does in the movies. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt the urge to shout at a hero in a movie: "No, don't go there" or "don't do that, it's so obviously a trap!". No at last there is a hero that knows these traps, therefore she can't fall for them, or can she?

The characters in this book is absolutely believable, they are real teenagers with many of the problems that comes with being a teen and going through puberty. A few examples; Chloe herself, some of her problems is waiting for her first period and something to fill her bra, 16 year old Derek has real problems with acne.

This book has a real cliffhanger ending so a word of advice: When you buy The Summoning make sure that you also buy The Awakening!

My rating:
4/5

The Summoning is the first book in Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Power trilogy. The second book in this trilogy is called The Awakening and it's available in stores, the third and the last book is called The Reckoning and won't be released before May 2010! I believe that those of you whom enjoyed The Twilight Saga will enjoy this trilogy. It is a young adult fiction trilogy in the urban fantasy genre, still I would recommend it to adults as well.

If you have reviewed this book let me know and I'll post a link to your review below.

Want another opinion on this book? Check out these reviews below:

• The Eclectic Reader - The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
• Alaine - Queen of Happy Endings - Review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
  

Book details:
• Reading level: Young adult
• Genre: Urban fantasy
• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061450545
• ISBN-13: 978-0061450549

For more information about the author or about her books visit:

• Kelley Armstrong
• Chloe's journal(Armstrong posts bits of Simon and Derek's background history here)
  

Book review: The Novice by Trudi Canavan

‘The most important attribute of a magician is knowledge . . . Without it his strength is useless.’ The magician’s eyes flickered to Sonea, ‘Even if his powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the knowledge of how to control them.’
Sonea knows the other novices in the Magicians’ Guild all come from powerful families, but she also knows she can turn to Rothen and Dannyl for help when she needs it. That is, until someone starts spreading malicious rumours about her - and Akkarin, the High Lord, steps in.
Promoted to Guild Ambassador, Lord Dannyl leaves for the Elyne court. His first order from Administrator Lorlen is to resume, in secret, High Lord Akkarin’s long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge. Not knowing the true reason for his journey, Dannyl is soon facing unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, Sonea has almost forgotten the High Lord’s dark secret, but keeping the truth hidden may be a grave mistake...

My review(may contain SPOILERS!):

The Novice is the second book in Trudi Canavans Black Magician Trilogy, and it is definteily better than, The Magicians' Guild[my review]. The Novice on the other hand I didn't want to turn of(audio book) and when it ended it left me really annoyed with myself for not getting the last book.

It's not easy being the only one in the university from a poor background and Sonea has to deal with harassment from an ever increasing group of novices and with no friends to support her. It was almost a bit too much at times, I started getting annoyed that teachers could let this going on, knowingly, to such an extent.

I would have wanted Ceryn's role to have a larger part in this book, because I liked him as a character in the first book. All through this book I kept wondering what Cery was up to. But, yes, there is a big BUT here, there will be a challenger for his role in this book and it's quite an enjoyable character if I may say so. There will be some romance in this book, but only a little bit, and that is a good thing because I wouldn't want this book to change into a love story.

This book made me wonder what it is about The High Lord and the practicing of black magic, it is almost like there is something more to it then using it for evil.

Canavan addresses a, still, difficult matter in this book(mentioned in the first book as well), the subject I must say took me by surprise. It wasn't something I expected in a book about magicians, but why not?! It shows us of how difficult it can be to come forth as a homosexual, both in admitting it to oneself and the rest of the world. Canavan sheds light over the difficulties one can face being gay in different countries and cultures, some countries and cultures are much more excepting than others.

It's awful having to wait to read the last book! I want to know what happens now!

My rating of this book:
4/5


Book details:
• Reading level: Young adult
• Genre: Fantasy
• UK edition: 592 pages
• Publisher: Orbit Books (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841493147
• ISBN-13: 978-1841493145

For more information about the author or about her books visit:

Trudi Canavan's homepage
Trudi Canavan's blog

Book review: The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

So the book begins.... :

It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow city streets because it is grieved by what it finds there.

The Magician's Guild is the first book in the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, this is the first book I have ever read by the author. I've just finished the audio book version so I thought it would be nice to write a few words about this book.

Book description:

"We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician."

This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders . . . and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.
What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.

My thoughts:
The Magicians' Guild book is kind of like an introductionus to the trilogy's characters and the magical kingdom they live in, Kyralia; we meet the magicians, the thieves and the dwellers. The narrator switches back and forth between some of the books main characters point of view, I think it is a nice way to let the reader get to know a little at at time about each of the characters. In the book there's an enigma, in the end of this first book it is still undecided how the matter is going to be solved. I'm really eager to find out how they are going about it in the sequel The Novice.

There is some made up slang in this book and I find that slightly annoying, especially since the glossary is the very last thing on the audio book version, at least in the book one can look it up. It disturbes a bit of the experience of the book when one has to stop to look up words.

All in all Canavan has written an entertaining book and there's no doubt that I'll read the sequels.

My review: 3.75 out of 5.


Book details:
• Reading level: Young adult
• UK edition: 469 pages
• Publisher: Orbit Books (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006057528X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060575281

Short about the author, Trudi Canavan:

Trudi Canavan was born i Australia in 1969. While Trudi was working on establishing her career as an author she worked as a graphic designer.

Trudi is best know for her Black Magic Trilogy and The Age of Five trilogy.

For more information about the author or about her books visit:

Trudi Canavan's homepage
Trudi Canavan's blog