FallAuthor: Michelle Chow Title: Fall Series: None Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M Rating: Two Petals On the Author's Website: No Website Available Summary: Jeremy's always looked after his little brother, Callum, and it's his responsibility to make sure he's safe. When Callum wanders too far into the woods, and finds himself at the mercy of two wolf shifters, Jeremy's forced to act quickly. It's not ideal waking up in a strange house, with two shifters that scare him more than he'll admit, but it's temporary. Or it should be, until Jeremy realises getting rid of the wolves is far easier said than done. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Fall started off with so much potential that it unfortunately couldn't live up to. The story begins with Callum vanishing into the woods and Jeremy, as the big brother, having to go rescue him. It works and the fight that ensues when they find the wolves was well written and interesting, but the book didn't build from there. There was absolutely zero description throughout the entire book. I couldn't tell you what Jeremy looks like in human or cat form, nor do I know anything about Callum's looks. I didn't know how old Jeremy was until twenty-five pages in. I assumed he was fifteen given how he was acting, which informed how I interpreted his actions until the firm and rather sudden mention that he's twenty years old was randomly tossed in. Chow did give the characters strong and dynamic personalities, but I found it difficult to believe the personality traits as I was reading the story because I didn't have a firm view of each character to attribute the traits to. I also found the plot to be very one dimensional. After the initial fight there is a very lengthy bit of time before anything else happens. There's no build up or drama to add to the plot at all. Chow instead tries to do some world-building with her characters by taking Jeremy to school, but without any descriptions about what type of school, or any depth about what Jeremy was studying, that entire section of the story instead read like badly written filler. The entire premise of the book is that cats and dogs don't get along. That's why it was such a problem that Callum went into the woods and why Jeremy was so frightened by the wolves he encounters. However, I saw no signs of discord between the two creatures--again, because there wasn't nearly enough description in this book--and therefore the entire premise quickly started to fall flat. Maggie's Recommendation: The entire story lacked description to such a degree that it made what might have otherwise been an interesting story fall flat. I liked the overall idea of the story and felt that what was there was well-written, however without the description to round out the plot it became very difficult to read. I therefore can't recommend this book.
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Murder of Crows Author: Anne Bishop Title: Murder of Crows Series: The Others 2 Genre: Dark Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Five Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.annebishop.com/b.murder.crows.html Summary: After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more. The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat. As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all. Maggie's Review:
A word of warning before I delve into my review. This book is dark fantasy and Bishop is known for characters and magical powers that revel in blood. It can be graphic at times. This book in particular has scenes of cutting, descriptive character death, and specific mentions of rape. I don't want to trigger someone by recommending a book that may hurt them, so if you know you have any issues with those sort of things, please tread carefully. Murder of Crows continues the story of Meg Corbyn and Simon Wolfgard, but the dynamics have begun to change. In the previous story, Meg is on the run from her abusers and she is hiding at the same time she is learning about the real world and her place in it. Despite his outward appearance, Simon isn't human--he's a wolf that happens to like having opposable thumbs--and he spent much of the previous book trying to figure out why he didn't want to eat Meg. They've begun to move past that in this second book in the series and now must learn how Meg's powers really work and how to keep her safe while she uses it. Couple that with some diabolical political intrigue and you only get the very tip of the depth of this book. The focus of this book is what exactly a cassandra sangue is. We know Meg is one and that she can see the future any time her skin is cut, but beyond that everyone is clueless. Bishop chose to unlock that secret piece by piece in this book. If I say anything more I'll give it away, but it quickly becomes clear that things aren't through changing for all the characters in the series. Every moment of this story is exciting and meaningful. I have reread it a couple of times and I still find the plot interesting and the characters engaging. I honestly do think this is one of the best series I've ever read and am looking forward to reading the next book very soon. Maggie's Recommendation: I absolutely recommend this book and this entire series, although I do have to warn that it is dark fantasy and therefore bloody. I enjoyed delving into more of what a cassandra sangue is and watching as Meg and Simon continue to grow and I loved the depth of the political intrigue that bolstered the plot to amazing heights. I will be rereading this book again soon and have already read the sequel. WickAuthor: Megan Derr Title: Wick Series: Wick 1 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M, M/F Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://maderr.com/?page_id=31 Summary: Four tales of men who refuse to be molded... Swordwick is the story of a prince who dares to wield both blade and wick—until he must pretend to be something else for the sake of his sister. Odd Wick tells the tale of a wick of extraordinary genius who wants nothing more than the ordinary Captain serving as his escort. Songwick is the tale of a wick of incredibly rare ability, desperate to escape a miserable past and find a bright future... Flamewick relates the story of a man as fierce as the flames he controls, until that which he holds most dear is stolen from him, and one man alone is not enough to get it back. Maggie's Review:
Wick is one of the more imaginative books on my bookshelf. The world Derr created is so interesting with so much depth that I can't help being impressed. There are people in the world that have a power called a wick. There are dozens of different types of wicks from charmwicks to flamewicks, and any other power Derr decided to give to her characters. Wicks have different levels of power and are schooled until they are proficient. Each Wick has a familiar, an animal they can mindspeak with. Unfortunately, as interesting as that power is, that is all the information that is given about it. Where wick comes from, how a person learns to harness it, or what makes different people able to control different wicks is never explained. Neither is where a familiar comes from. The swordwicks in the story spend a considerable amount of time killing dragons, but I don't understand why those wild dragons are different from the dragons that are familiars. A little more explanation would have gone a long way in this story. There are four different short stories in this one book. Each one features a different main couple and a separate plot, but all the characters from the other stories have cameos. The stories were all cute and well written with a sweetness to them that I really enjoyed. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Creawick's story, given how horribly maligned he was in the earlier stories. I thought it showed a great deal of skill to have the two sides of a misunderstanding fiercely defending their cases without losing the seriousness of the issue. I did have a very serious problem with this story. I loved reading it and will reread it again soon, but there were so many glaring spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors that kept throwing me out of the story. I didn't bother with an exact count, but it was at least two dozen missing words, letters, and quotation marks as well as a few 'ed' instead of 'ing' endings. If it had only been one or two, I would have happily ignored them, but this many is a travesty in a book that was otherwise a fun read. Since I purchased this book, there isn't even the excuse that it's an ARC to fall back on. I had to take a petal off because this issue effected my overall enjoyment of the story. Maggie's Recommendation: I have yet to find a book by Megan Derr that I would not recommend and Wick is not the exception. I enjoyed reading it a lot, and especially liked the magical powers the characters used. However, the dozens of glaring spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors made the book difficult to read at times. Thread of Death Author: Jennifer Estep Title: Thread of Death Series: Elemental Assassin 5.5 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/books/thread-of-death/ Summary: Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, might have finally killed her nemesis, Mab Monroe, but that doesn't mean that it's smooth sailing. Gin goes to Mab's funeral to say her goodbyes and runs into some of Ashland's most notorious underworld power players, including Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid. McAllister wants her dead, and Kincaid has his own murky motives when it comes to the Spider, and Gin once again finds herself fighting for her life. Only this time, she might wind up in the cemetery right next to Mab. Maggie's Review:
This story is a short and not so sweet interlude between the end of Spider's Revenge, when Gin fought and finally killed her greatest enemy, and By a Thread, the aftermath of that battle. Gin is finally healed enough from her ordeal to safely leave the house. She needs some form of final closure in the battle, so she knows she must attend Mab's funeral. All the bad guys are there, and Gin's just as bad as they, but they're all focused on saying goodbye. At least, that's what Gin thinks until a sniper takes aim to try and kill them all. I completely understand why this short book was needed. It's a bridge that allows Estep to connect the end of an arc to the beginning of another. With Mab dead, there's a sudden power vacuum in the city and all of the people interested in taking her place are at the funeral. That someone tries to take advantage of so many targets in one place isn't surprising. What I did find surprising was Gin's ignorance or lack of thought of what would happen next. She's defeated Mab, so now what? This book allowed the readers to see the beginning of Gin and the rest of the underworld's struggle to understand life without Mab's fiery control. There isn't a lot of plot aside from that, but this is a short story that served the purpose for which it was intended. I finished reading it already wondering how Gin would move on or if she would be able to at all. It built up a new layer of suspense for the story to replace what had been concluded with Gin finally killing Mab. Maggie's Recommendation: I know a lot of people don't appreciate having to buy a short story set in the world of a larger series, but I do recommend you buy this one. It creates a bridge between the end of the old plot--killing Mab--and the start of the new plot that will build now that Mab's gone. It made me that much more interested in reading the next book in the series, which is always a plus when it comes to short stories like this one. Tempest Author: Cari Z. Title: Tempest Series: None Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Five Petals On the Author's Website: http://cari-z.net/Default.aspx Summary: Love can change a soul. But can it save one life?Colm Weathercliff is a simple fisherman with an uncanny—some might saypreternatural—knack for his trade. He thought leaving his small village to take his father’s ashes to the capital city of Caithmor for a proper burial would be the grandest adventure of his life.At first, all his hopes seem to be fulfilled. He finds a home where he’s accepted without question, the freedom to use his talent to its fullest effect, and love with Nichol, a man with a longing for the sea as powerful as Colm’s.But Caithmor holds as many dangers as it does attractions. Colm’s greatest secret turns out to be a dark revelation that gets him and his family shunned—and changes everything he thought he knew about himself.The truth—about his parentage, his gift, even his physical form—could poison hischance for love. And doom both him and Nichol to a gruesome, inescapable fate.Warning: Contains graphic violence, explicit sex, and scenes of torture that may not be for the faint of heart. These mermen bear no resemblance to those you might have seen in a certain animated film. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I think the most riveting thing about this book was the world Z created. There are different countries with different cultures, different cities, varied creatures and types of magic, multiple religions, and different characters that fall into many of those differing categories. The detail Z used was broad and full of description that transported me into the world and the lives of the characters with ease. Yet, what is really amazing is what Z did next. Instead of using every part of the huge world, it felt like Z took a cookie cutter and only used the parts of the world that fit inside that smaller space. What this meant is that I had a feeling of amazing depth to the story, yet the plot could remain solely focused on the main character, Colm. Events in the larger world go on around him, but since they don't effect him Z doesn't allow the story to dwell or be dragged down by all that extra information. It is left in the peripheral, which, in my opinion, displayed an amazing amount of craftsmanship. Colm has lived a difficult life. He never really fit in with his home town and when his father dies he is sent away to bury his father's ashes in the city his father came from. From then on, this story becomes one of growth and discovery for Colm as he learns who is he outside of the small village he leaves and enters the larger world. What he is turns out to not be such a surprise, but the buildup to finding that out is slow enough that Colm fits in a lovely romantic relationship and is able to meet many of the people that will have an effect on his life. My only complaint is that the ending is too easy. I won't give it away, but everything Colm has to struggle through comes to a close within a few pages. I would have liked to meet some of the people in Colm's new life and really see him settling in, like Z wrote when he went to live with his Aunt to bury his father. There wasn't as much depth there as the rest of the book, which made it feel just a touch flat. This book also reads like there will be a sequel or an entire series, which I am very excited about. Other characters were introduced in such a way that it felt like they had a larger role to play, but their stories didn't belong with Colm's. I am really hoping Z is able to write more in this world very soon! Maggie's Recommendation: This book was well written with an amazing amount of depth and feeling. I enjoyed every moment of it and really hope there will be a sequel soon. I highly recommend it. JasonAuthor: Laurell K. Hamilton Title: Jason Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 23 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, F/F, Bi, Poly Rating: Two Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.laurellkhamilton.com/book_series/jason/ Summary: "Enjoying pain with your pleasure is something you either get, or you don't. If you get it, then you don't really need it explained, because you know how good it feels, and if you don't get it then no amount of talking is going to convince you it makes sense." But sometimes you have to explain the unexplainable, especially if the love of your life needs to understand, or she'll leave you. Jason Schuyler is one of Anita Blake's best friends and favorite werewolves, with benefits. J.J. is his lady love, an old flame from childhood who dances at one of the top ballet companies in New York. She's accomplished, beautiful, and she's crazy about him, too. Neither of them wants to be monogamous, so what could go wrong? J.J. is enthusiastically bisexual, with an emphasis on the female side of things. She plans to keep sleeping with women, because Jason can't meet that need, just like she can't meet Jason's need for rough sex and bondage. J.J. doesn't understand why Jason isn’t content to go elsewhere for a need she can’t fulfil, so Jason asks Anita to help him explain. Anita is having her own relationship growing pains with her only female lover ever, Jade. Jason suggests that J.J. might be able to help Anita with her girl problem, while she helps him with his kinky explanations. With some encouragement from a few other lovers in Anita's life she reluctantly agrees, and J. J. makes plans to fly into town for an experience that none of them will ever forget. Maggie's Review:
Over the years, and over twenty three books in the series, Laurell K. Hamilton has become known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to sex. This series has gone from a strictly monogamous, vanilla hetero-romance to a poly romance with all genders involved, including a few characters that are gender-fluid. I absolutely respect the fact that her characters all seem human with human worries and fears even when they're were-animals or vampires no matter what sexual orientation they might be. On the surface, Jason appears to embrace that belief yet again. Anita and Jason's girlfriend J.J. are both having trouble accepting things they need to do in the bedroom in order to make their partners happy. Anita needs to become more comfortable with the mechanics of sex with a woman while J.J. needs to learn how to be more dominant in the bed with Jason. The problem I had with this book is the fact that the surface of the book is all there is to the entire story. There's no depth, no character building outside the bedroom, and no larger plot. Jason is clearly an excuse to write "exotic" porn and have it published. It does nothing for the series. Did I enjoy reading this book? Partly. I like the overall world Hamilton has created for this series and I've become invested in the characters' happiness over twenty three books. However, I found some of the scenes difficult to read because of the amount of awkwardness in the bedroom having a sudden poly relationship introduced caused. I also thought Jade's reluctance to even be in the room and her almost forced involvement was edging towards rape, which I didn't like at all. I was also disappointed in the utter lack of larger plot. This series is was originally about stopping magical crimes and bad magical people before it was too late, but in Jason all of that is forgotten in favor of a lengthy and descriptive romp in the bedroom. Jason was well written and very openhearted, which is why it received two stars instead of the one it really deserved, but overall it was a very bad book. Maggie's Recommendation: This book is difficult to recommend. The writing is solid and I like the sexual boundaries that Hamilton is pushing in the publishing world. However, there is nothing in this book aside from porn. There's no depth, no plot, and no real character building. I feel it really detracts from the overall series and therefore cannot recommend it. |
Magnolia's Reviews
Maggie reviews paranormal and fantasy novels and novellas. She also interviews authors and hosts giveaways. Archives
April 2018
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