By a Thread Author: Jennifer Estep Title: By a Thread Series: Elemental Assassin 6 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/books/by-a-thread/ Summary: When killing people is your job, there’s no such thing as a vacation. Then again, how often does an assassin live long enough to enjoy her retirement? In this line of work, you either get lucky or you get dead. And since I destroyed my nemesis Mab Monroe a few weeks ago, all of Ashland’s lowlifes are gunning to make a name for themselves by taking out the lethal Spider—me, Gin Blanco. So I’m leaving behind my beloved barbecue joint and heading south with my baby sister, Bria, to cool my heels in a swanky beach town. Call it a weekend of fun in the sun. But when a powerful vampire with deadly elemental magic threatens an old friend of Bria’s, it looks like I’ll have to dig my silver stone knives out of my suitcase after all. Complicating matters further is the reappearance of Detective Donovan Caine, my old lover. But Donovan is the least of my problems. Because this time, the danger is hot on my trail, and not even my elemental Ice and Stone magic may be enough to save me from getting buried in the sand—permanently. Maggie's Review:
I started this book not knowing what the new plot might be. With Mab dead in the previous book, the plot that had been carrying the entire series was over. I knew Estep would need to come up with something and I was very disappointed to learn that she didn't. Mab's death left a hole in the underworld and all the bad people in the city are scrambling to consolidate power and take her place. Since Gin was the one that killed Mab, many people think that killing Gin will give them the proof needed to show that they are stronger than Mab was and can therefore rule the city. Gin quickly grows tired of every idiot that attacks her, but instead of finally doing something about it she chooses to run away. In some ways I do understand. No matter what Gin does the city is still broken. Gin is also lost now that her reason for fighting is over. She spent her entire life preparing to fight Mab and suddenly finds herself at odd ends. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Estep to set Gin up in a new role for the city, but Estep skipped that opportunity and sent Gin on a trip instead. I like that the trip did turn out to be necessary. Gin needed to figure out who she was now and some time alone without having to constantly watch her back did do her a wonder of good. I also liked that Gin realized that there are other people out there who are as powerful and as evil as Mab was, which gives Gin someone new to fight. I just didn't see anything grow that would carry the series. It's very possible that this is a transition book and that in the next book the series grows again. I suppose I'll have to wait until I find time to read it to find out. Maggie's Recommendation: This book did serve a purpose to the series by giving Gin time to figure out who she is now that her greatest enemy is gone, but there wasn't anything to really tie the series together. I missed having an overarching plot and really hope the next book will rectify that lack. This is the first book in the series that I wasn't entirely happy with, although I still recommend it.
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No Quarter Author: Christine d'Abo Title: No Quarter Series: Bounty 1 Genre: Sci-Fi Pairing: M/M, Bi Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://christinedabo.com/noquarter.html Summary: When bounty hunter Gar Stitt is given a simple locate-and-retrieve mission, he’s convinced it’s a waste of his skills. His success rate is legendary, after all, and Captain Faolan Wolf isn’t hard to find. He’s the most notorious pirate in the galaxy, and when he shows up planetside to take his pleasures, he’s far from subtle. Faolan never expected a hot but tightly wound hunter to walk into his private party and try to apprehend him single-handedly. And when an unexpected betrayal forces them to work together, Faolan’s even more surprised to find himself drawn to Gar personally—especially since neither of them do personal. Gar had intended to put Faolan in prison. Instead he finds his solitary existence shaken by his desire for the pirate. And when the bounty hunter becomes the hunted, he must put his faith in Faolan and his pirate crew, or run the risk of ending up dead. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No Quarter started out slow and ended slow. The middle of the story also lacked that immediate grab to pull me in. Despite that, I did enjoy reading this story and thought overall it was well constructed. Gar is a bounty hunter of some renown. He is sent to retrieve a pirate with a big bounty on his head, but Faolan has other plans. There is something he wants to sell to Gar's controller that is worth more than the bounty, so Gar is reassigned to travel with Faolan to retrieve the item. Getting to that point in the story where the plot actually becomes evident took a while. d'Abo added in a rather pointless sex scene first, which only served to distract me from the rest of the plot. Next the story moves to them being on a space ship where the lengthy journey is filled with more sex. It felt like d'Abo used sex as the mechanism to allow Gar and Faolan to get to know each other rather than conversation and actual connection. It worked enough that I believed in the depth of their relationship, but the sex scenes quickly became repetitive. I did like the world d'Abo created. It was interesting to see the different planets and different species that live in space. I also thought the space ships themselves were well thought out with a ton of detail. I only wish d'Abo had included more world-building instead of one of the filler sex scenes because this book had a ton of potential to be amazing. Maggie's Recommendation: This story had very interesting world-building and the overall plot was engaging, however the sex scenes quickly became repetitive and often distracted me from the plot. I do recommend this story, but only because I saw some things I really did like hidden behind the fluff and filler. Dead Ice Author: Laurell K. Hamilton Title: Dead Ice Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 24 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, F/F, Poly Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.laurellkhamilton.com/book_series/dead-ice/ Summary: Anita Blake has the highest kill count of any vampire executioner in the country. She’s a U.S. Marshal who can raise zombies with the best of them. But ever since she and master vampire Jean-Claude went public with their engagement, all she is to anyone and everyone is Jean-Claude’s fiancée. It’s wreaking havoc with her reputation as a hard ass—to some extent. Luckily, in professional circles, she’s still the go-to expert for zombie issues. And right now, the FBI is having one hell of a zombie issue. Someone is producing zombie porn. Anita has seen her share of freaky undead fetishes, so this shouldn’t bother her. But the women being victimized aren’t just mindless, rotting corpses. Their souls are trapped behind their eyes, signaling voodoo of the blackest kind. It’s the sort of case that can leave a mark on a person. And Anita’s own soul may not survive unscathed... Maggie's Review:
I don't think anyone that reads this series can deny that about fifteen books ago it took a very strange turn. What had once been a very interesting paranormal horror detective series suddenly became strictly romance with an emphasis on graphic sex. The total one-eighty threw me. I felt the series had suddenly lost all focus and the books quickly became less about solving the mystery and more about figuring out who to have sex with next and in what strange way. I appreciate the fact that Hamilton doesn't discriminate. Anita will have sex with men, women, and gender fluid characters, however it felt like Hamilton was shoving this new sexual revelation down my throat. I seriously considered putting this series down, but something kept me coming back with each new book published. Dead Ice finally has Anita doing detective work and zombie raising again. Instead of only hopping from bed to bed, she's also hopping from crime scene to crime scene. It's a refreshing change. Hamilton has finally started to find the balance between including a ton of sex and making sure there's still plot to go along with it. She's also ensured the horror aspect of her series is in full effect. Someone has been kidnapping zombies and using them for porn videos, which sounds about as nasty as it's described in the book. The only problem is that someone is also trapping their souls in their decaying bodies. Anita has to save the zombies and stop the bad guy, all while dealing with a new spike of power in her own necromancy. The layers of plot were well written with twists and turns that were difficult to see coming. The sex was still present and graphic, but it was balanced by the equally graphic descriptions of the crime scenes. Overall, this book finally felt like it was in proportion again. Maggie's Recommendation: This is the first book in a long while in this series that I feel I could actually recommend. This book returns to having actual plot, including crime scenes and difficult zombies. I would also classify it as a paranormal horror story, rather than a cheesy vampire romance. I have to applaud Hamilton for finally taking control of the story back from the excessive amounts of mindless sex and finding a balance between Anita's sudden sexual awakening and the mystery solving bones this series was originally built on. The Only Option Author: Megan Derr Title: The Only Option Series: None Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M, Bi Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://maderr.com/?page_id=31 Summary: A desperate dragon. A lonely necromancer. A marriage neither wants. When he is summoned to the royal castle, Rochus anticipates nothing more than a particularly difficult assignment. The bothersome journey is almost made worthwhile when he is propositioned by a young, beautiful dragon, Tilo, who seems untroubled by the fact that Rochus is a necromancer. When Rochus arrives at the castle he is ordered to marry the very same dragon he spent the night with. Though Rochus would rather sign papers and return home, he is helpless against Tilo's pleas for help, even if it means spending more time around a man he is desperately drawn to but who doesn’t seem to want him. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was a welcome flash from the past. Derr's recent books have all been very good reads, but it was stories written much like The Only Option that first got me hooked on her writing. The Only Option was short with a sweetness to it that I couldn't help appreciating. It reminded me of Derr's earliest works, where the adventure occurred for adventure's sake and there was fun to be had even in the most harrowing of battles. Derr has since matured in her writing, but every once in a while it's definitely fun to read something like The Only Option for the light bit of fluff that warms the heart and satisfies the reader. Rochus' arrival at the castle is met with an extremely abrupt order to marry Tilo, a dragon Rochus happens to know from a brief bedroom encounter. It's no wonder Rochus meets the order with rude skepticism, yet he goes through with the marriage anyway. Arranged marriages aren't always my thing, primarily because it's usually a cause of drama solely for drama's sake. This type of story line often adds a level of tedium to the plot because there's never enough build-up before the marriage. The Only Option managed to skirt that line. The way Derr wrote the situation added a layer of realism to the plot. It made sense that Rochus would be snarly about the situation and that he allowed it to influence his actions through most of the book. I liked that Rochus also wasn't stupid about it. He didn't allow himself to get too distracted from everything else happening around them, although Tilo did a couple of times. There was plenty of ridiculous drama over the marriage that had me rolling my eyes, but it still managed to work in the context of the overall story. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending of the story, which is why I only gave three petals. It felt very abrupt with a time-skip that left a lot of the wrapping up to the imagination. The ending also contained much more telling the reader than showing what actually happened. I won't go into more detail so I don't spoil it, but even the less than perfect ending couldn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment. Maggie's Recommendation: Despite the abrupt ending, I still enjoyed this story. It had a level of sweetness to it that I really liked and the plot, while a little overly dramatic, was cute and fun. I do recommend this story and I hope Derr writes more stories set in this world in the future. Libriomancer Author: Jim C. Hines Title: Libriomancer Series: Magic Ex Libris 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, F/F Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.jimchines.com/novels/magic-ex-libris/ Summary: Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped. With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. Maggie's Review:
What I enjoyed most about Libriomancer was the magic. I've read a lot of books with a lot of different magical whatsits and it's rare I find something both totally unique and so totally not in the same measure. Magically being able to reach into any book and pull out a healing potion or a laser gun--something another author brought to life inside the pages of their own novels--and use it to fight the bad guys was really interesting. The magic that made it possible was the belief built up from people reading and loving those novels. People like me. When Isaac, the main character, pulls out a book I've read and loved and uses that book to save himself, it honestly feels like my belief and my love of books gave Isaac the power he needed to survive. That sort of engagement in a book is rare. I usually yell at the TV (as if my words can influence a sports team or show), but keep myself much more controlled when it comes to books. In Libriomancer I cheered every time Isaac pulled out a book I knew or referenced another author that I love. I tried to think up other books that I had read that contained something else that might help Isaac save the day. Is it cheating to pull me into a book based on my love for other authors and books? Probably, but I still enjoyed reading Libriomancer regardless. The romance in the book was much more difficult to enjoy and is the reason this book didn't get five stars. Isaac falls in love with a dryad, Lena, who loves him back. Except, she's programed to fall in love because she's a creature pulled from a book where love comes that easily. Isaac did fight against it, but not hard enough that I really believed it when they got together. Also, the Lena's previous lover was still in the picture and the threesome that resulted felt extremely awkward. I'm hoping the next book smooths that out a bit. Maggie's Recommendation: I do recommend this book. The magic was so unique and interesting that I couldn't help falling in love with the story. The romance was a little stilted and awkward, but overall I enjoyed reading it. No Secrets Needed Author: Ann Anderson Title: No Secrets Needed Series: New Beginnings 2 Genre: Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: I was unable to locate an author website. Here is the publisher's website instead: https://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books... Summary: After bidding farewell to his family and Trint, the man he's come to care for, Rafe heads out to sea, free to be himself for the first time in his life—free to learn himself, away from the constraints and trials of his mother, away from the terrible person he believed himself to be while forced to live with her. When Rafe returns home his family is waiting for him—but there's no sign of Trint. With a little push from his ward, Rafe decides to be bold and go after what he wants, though he fears in the end that all his efforts might still not be good enough to overcome the past and the secrets that have controlled so much of his life. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. To be completely candid, I picked up this book only because I had an empty slot on my review calendar. I also like the continuity of reviewing the next book in a series I've reviewed in the past. Otherwise, I honestly had zero interest in reading this book. If you remember my review of the prequel, I wasn't overly enamored with the writing style and lack of description and I expected little better in this second book in the series. I'm happy to say that I've been proven slightly wrong. This book deserved three stars, which is one more than the prequel squeaked by with. Rafe, the main character in the book, was the biggest issue I had in the story. He's boring, spends most of his time moping about some internal issue that was only halfheartedly described, and was generally unlikable. The other characters were much more engaging. They had personalities that were unique to each person and the way they learned to interact with Rafe throughout the voyage and trials they all had to endure together was nice to read. The plot was where Anderson showed the most improvement. It flowed smoothly from Rafe being on the ship and trying to find himself to Rafe being off the ship trying to find his love. Admittedly, the only description of the reason Rafe is on the ship at all is in the summary, but it was good to see him trying to grow up even if he was boring through most of it. His internal monologue of pain versus growth needed a little more depth to pull me in, yet at the same time there was so much improvement over how he acted in the previous book that I couldn't help enjoying what I was reading. Was this book good? No, it really wasn't, but it showed improvement on the author's part. Given a few more books working with editors and building up their tradecraft, I think Anderson could become one of the better authors of the genre. Maggie's Recommendation: I don't recommend this book. It was boring and lacked depth. Yet, I saw so much improvement over the author's writing between the prequel and this book that I can't help being hopeful for the future. Maybe Anderson's next book will be worth recommending. Hexbreaker Author: Jordan L. Hawk Title: Hexbreaker Series: Hexworld 1 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy (Historical) Pairing: M/M Rating: Five Petals On the Author's Website: http://jordanlhawk.com/books/hexworld-series/ Summary: Will a dark history doom their future together? New York copper Tom Halloran is a man with a past. If anyone finds out he once ran with the notorious O’Connell tunnel gang, he’ll spend the rest of his life doing hard time behind bars. But Tom’s secret is threatened when a horrible murder on his beat seems to have been caused by the same ancient magic that killed his gang. Cat shifter Cicero is determined to investigate the disappearance of one friend and the death of another, even though no one else believes the cases are connected. When the trail of his investigation crosses Tom’s, the very bohemian Cicero instinctively recognizes the uncultured Irish patrolman as his witch. Though they’re completely unsuited to one another, Cicero has no choice but to work alongside Tom…all the while fighting against the passion growing within. Tom knows that taking Cicero as his familiar would only lead to discovery and disaster. Yet as the heat between them builds, Tom’s need for the other man threatens to overcome every rational argument against becoming involved. But when their investigation uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all of New York, Tom must make the hardest decision of his life: to live a lie and gain his heart’s desire, or to confess the truth and sacrifice it all. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via the author in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. I don't start off many reviews saying that, but the fact of the matter is I'm struggling to figure out what else I'm supposed to say. Hexbreaker had everything: an engaging plot, wonderful world-building, characters that felt like they could jump out of the page and into the real world, magic that kept me interested the entire book, and a romance that was perfectly formulated to tug at the heartstrings. Figuring out how to analytically review something that I enjoyed reading so much is a struggle, but I'll give it an honest try. Tom and Cicero are paired together to solve a case about multiple terrible murders where the murderers went mad and attempted to kill everyone around them. Tom recognizes the curse from the one that killed his old gang, but knows that to reveal his past would get him put in jail. Worse, it would force him away from Cicero forever. Cicero knows his witch the moment he first sees Tom, but can't get over how scared that makes him. Big men like Tom tend to use their fists first and their brains second, which Cicero wants to stay as far away from as possible. As they get more embroiled in the case and start to actually learn about each other, Cicero learns that there is much about Tom to love. Yet, Tom's secrets and the violence of their case threaten to tear them apart forever. Tom and Cicero's characterizations were easily the best part of the book. Tom is in hiding, yet trying to live an open, honest life. He embraced being a cop and the responsibility that goes along with the job despite his checkered past. I really enjoyed the parts of the book from his perspective. Cicero, on the other hand, was more difficult to love. He is prickly, flighty, and feigns his desire for independence at every turn. He's part cat and therefore characterized perfectly, but what really made him interesting was when Tom started pulling down those walls of indifference to reveal a truly likable man underneath. Together they definitely make one of my favorite pairings of all the M/M books I've read. If I had one complaint about this absolutely wonderful book, it's that I felt like I needed to go reread The 13th Hex, the short-story prequel that introduced this world and this series. I reviewed The 13th Hex as part of The Charmed and Dangerous anthology and loved it, however there are so many names and other events that occurred in The 13th Hex that were mentioned offhand in Hexbreaker that I couldn't help feeling that if I hadn't read the prequel I would have gotten very lost and confused. I only mention this as a problem because Hexbreaker is labelled as the first in the series when it's clearly not. I highly recommend reading The 13th Hex first before absolutely picking up Hexbreaker, and since both are great reads it's not actually a burden. Maggie's Recommendation: Hexbreaker had everything I want in a book: excellent plot, a wonderful romance, world building that awed me, and magic that kept me interested the entire book. It was well written and a ton of fun to read. My only recommendation aside from reading Hexbreaker, is to read the short story prequel, The 13th Hex, first before delving into this book. Pretty Monsters Author: Andrea Speed Title: Pretty Monsters Series: Josh of the Damned 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://andreaspeed.com/andrea-speed-library/ Summary: Josh knew the night shift at the Quik-Mart would be full of freaks and geeks—and that was before the hell portal opened in the parking lot. Still, he likes to think he can roll with things. Sure, the zombies make a mess sometimes, but at least they never reach for anything more threatening than frozen burritos. Besides, it’s not all lizard-monsters and the walking dead. There’s also the mysterious hottie with the sly red lips and a taste for sweets. Josh has had the hots for Hot Guy since the moment he laid eyes on him, and it seems Hot Guy might be sweet on Josh too. Now if only Josh could figure out whether that’s a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between. After all, with a hell vortex just a stone’s throw away, Josh has learned to take nothing at face value—even if it’s a very, very pretty face. Maggie's Review:
Josh is a nighttime clerk at a Quickmart convenience store. He expects human lowlifes to come in for food at two in the morning, but instead his customers are strange lizard creatures, zombies, and one man that Josh has a crush on. When the crush comes to the store, Josh can't help talking with him. That's the entirety of the plot in this book, allegedly the first in an entire series. Writing this review has me balancing my high expectations for the book and the reality of what I was actually given, which means I keep having to remind myself to review what was in the story rather than what I was hoping for. I recently read Josh of the Damned vs. the Bathroom of Doom, a short story set in this world, loved it, and immediately went to find this first book so I could catch up. What I expected from Pretty Monsters was a firm introduction to the series, but instead I found another quick, almost plot-less, short story that barely touched on the world and magic that Josh is beginning to experience. I need to hold my unhappiness with what I read against the fact that I haven't read the next book in the series. Maybe they're being labeled chronologically to the series' timeline on the publisher's website, but were originally published in a different order? I won't know until I have the chance to read the rest of the series, so I'll simply finish this review by saying that the little that was given in this very short story was well written and engaging, but so sparse on plot and world-building that I ended up being disappointed when I finished reading. Maggie's Recommendation: I can't recommend this story. The first book in any series should introduce the world, the plot, and the characters, but this story did none of that. I found it to be a very disappointing start to a new series, however my recommendation might change after I've read the rest of the series and can fully understand whether Speed actually meant for Pretty Monsters to be read first. |
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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