Into the Passageways Author: Ana Reese Title: Into the Passageways Series: Serving Royalty 2 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://anareese.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html Summary: Three months ago Jonas was forced to take up work as a palace whore, available to pleasure whichever nobles desire him—and unexpectedly attracted the notice of the crown prince. Now he serves no one else, and find himself increasingly entangled in the dangerous politics of the court, endangering not only his own life but that of the strange princes he is helplessly coming to love... Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Jonas was conned into becoming a sex slave, but he found himself warming Prince Noel's bed exclusively. He's happy enough with what turned out to be an okay life, although the problems with being owned by the man he's falling in love with do keep cropping up. Worse than that, though, is the secrets Jonas is keeping from Noel, secrets, it turns out, that aren't as dire as the ones Noel has been keeping from Jonas. I figured out how to read this series without automatically being disappointed. If I mentally force myself to see the stories in this series as individual chapters in a serial-style release, I can forget the fact that there isn't a defined beginning, middle, or end to either book in this series. This story starts soon after the cliffhanger from the previous book and ends a few chapters later at a cliffhanger that will no doubt be picked up in the next book. All the character building occurred in the first book of the serial, which left Into the Passageways to really begin focusing on the plot. The introduction to the political intrigue was clumsy, but enjoyable, and I liked reading about how Jonas is slowly figuring out how to navigate in the world of princes and kings when he's wearing the sash of a slave. However, the theme to this series is definitely providing a jarring ending. Just as the plot really begins to take off with all the twists and turns growing into the climax of the story, the book ends. As a serial-style book, the cliffhanger works as it forces me to click the link that will bring me to the next part, however as a proper book it really, really does not work at all. Maggie's Recommendation: If I think of this series as a set of chapters in a serial-style story, the lack of structure to the individual books as well as the consistently jarring endings doesn't bother me as much. This book isn't being marketed that way, so those lacks really hurt the overall story. I do recommend it, because I am enjoying reading it, I just don't think it's a full-fledged book.
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Savage Prophet Author: James A. Hunter Title: Savage Prophet Series: Yancy Lazarus 4 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Two Petals On the Author's website: https://jamesahunter.wordpress.com/savage-prophet/ Summary: Legions of murderous undead, Haitian voodoo, and a five-thousand-year old serpent god. Yeah, ’cause that’s exactly what Yancy Lazarus needs in his life: more complications. As if being the Hand of Fate and the newly appointed guardian over one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse wasn’t headache enough. All Yancy wants is an easy life on the open road—chock-full of ribs, beer, cigarettes, and smoky bars blaring with gritty blues music—but that just isn’t in the cards. Nope, not anymore. He’s been charged to save the world and now that he’s got a no-shit demon riding shotgun in his head, he’s sorta committed to the cause. If Yancy can’t sort through this colossal heap of bullshit, he’s coffin bound. But, he’s not dead yet. In fact, he even has a lead. Turns out one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse—the pale Rider, Death—is slumming around in one of Yancy’s old haunts. In order to corner this new threat, though, Yancy’s gonna have to face some deadly supernatural nightmares from his distant past. And, to make matters worse, he’s not the only one trailing the Pale Rider. A powerful new mage with some serious magical chops, is also aiming to find the Fourth Seal and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. Even if it means hurting those closest to Yancy … Like F.B.I. Agent Nicole Ferraro. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Yancy is up to his old tricks: trying to save the world without dying in the process. This time he's fighting against another mage, some old enemies, and has some new friends at his side, but Yancy isn't certain anything he does will end well. I remember being so impressed with Yancy's character in the first book. His snarky attitude combined with his big heart was so interesting to read and I really enjoyed that book because of it. I wouldn't expect Yancy to completely change his personality, but after four books I expected to see some sort of growth in him and that hasn't happened. He is completely interchangeable from how he was in the first book to this one, which, given how much he's gone through in the last few books, isn't realistic at all. Other characters show growth, so I know the author is capable of writing it, but for some reason Yancy is above something so human as change. The plot is interesting, but it felt repetitive. While everything Yancy has to fight and experience is completely new, somehow the way he goes about it and his thought process as he goes into battle was unchanged. It got boring very quickly. Maggie's Recommendation: This series has been steadily going downhill for me. Yancy's unchanging characterization is the biggest issue, and it leaks into every other aspect of the story. What should have been an exciting plot quickly became boring, and that is why I cannot recommend this book. FrostwickAuthor: Megan Derr Title: Frostwick Series: Wick 2 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://maderr.com/?page_id=31 Summary: To save the life of the crown prince, Starwick took a curse upon himself, but the curse leaves him in excruciating pain alleviated only by Tyrwick, the king's bastard son and a man who has always despised Starwick. If he wants to live they must find the man who cast the curse and take back the ring he stole, but Starwick's real challenge is not hunting a man—it is fighting his own despair, reinforced by Tyrwick's cold disregard and his own shadowy life. Maggie's Review:
My first comment when I finished reading this book was 'why wasn't this single story included in Wick?' Wick is the first book in the series and contains four short stories set in the same world. Each story had a different romantic lead, but all the main characters from the previous books were present and active. Frostwick was no different from any of those stories and would probably have been better served published as part of Wick rather than on its own. The main drawback to Frostwick was that it lacked details. Nothing important was explained including where the magic powers come from, how wick works, the existence of familiars, and a few other needed details like descriptions of the side-characters. A stand alone book--even if it's set in the same world with the same characters as another book--needs to be able to stand on its own. Frostwick couldn't do that. Derr relied too heavily on her readers' having read Wick first. Because I read Frostwick directly after reading Wick, I didn't immediately notice the details were missing. Someone who reads Frostwick without having read Wick will probably be very confused. Frostwick was still a very interesting story despite that drawback and I did enjoy reading it. Starwick is in trouble. He is suffering from a deadly curse he received while protecting his prince and needs a magic ring the attacker stole in order to save himself. He finds help from all the main characters from Wick (who were never properly described in Frostwick) and together they work to catch the bad guy and save Starwick. It was a fun read, if a bit simplistic. There were no big twists to the plot, which made it predictable, but sometimes an easy, happy read fits the bill and Frostwick was definitely that. Maggie's Recommendation: To understand what happens in Frostwick, I recommend you read Wick first. Frostwick is missing details like character descriptions that were given in Wick, which means Frostwick cannot stand on its own. The story itself was fun, but simplistic, and overall I did enjoy reading it so I do recommend it.. The Forbidden Wish Author: Jessica Khoury Title: The Forbidden Wish Series: The Forbidden Wish 1 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/F, F/F Rating: One Petal On the Author's Website: http://www.jessicakhoury.com/ Summary: She is the most powerful Jinni of all. He is a boy from the streets. Their love will shake the world... When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years -- a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes. But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart? Maggie's Review:
Zahra has been trapped in a lamp for a few hundred years. When Aladdin finds her, at first she's happy just to be free. As Aladdin gets involved with fighting the oppressive politics of the evil vizier and Zahra is offered the dream of freedom by the leader of the jinni, Zahra quickly realizes that both she and Aladdin will most likely be dead before Aladdin can ask for all three of his wishes. This book had so much promise. The premise of the series as a retelling of the classic Aladdin tale, but with the genie as a woman, sounded very interesting. It did not live up to that premise at all. The plot stuttered and stopped, moving along smoothly one moment before becoming distracted by something shiny. There were parts that dragged and were utterly boring combined with sections of the story that were actually interesting. Unfortunately, as the story went on those interesting parts came less often. I also had a lot of issue with the writing style. The story was written in first person present tense. The problem with that is the present tense of the descriptive sections is constantly fighting with the past tense of all the speech sections. I've also found it's almost impossible for authors to be consistent with the present tense as there are almost always mistakes in the grammar, as there were in this book. Maggie's Recommendation: This story had a lot of promise, but it was completely squandered. The plot had no flow and the writing style of present tense really hurt the overall story. I cannot recommend it. Sons of Devils Author: Alex Beecroft Title: Sons of Devils Series: Arising 1 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://alexbeecroft.com/the-arising-series/ Summary: British scholar Frank Carew is in Wallachia to study the magic generator on nobleman Radu Vacarescu’s land. There, his party is attacked by bandits and his friends are killed. Pursued by a vampiric figure, he flees to Radu’s castle for help. Unfortunately, this is precisely where the vampires came from. If allowed, they would feed unchecked and spread their undeath across the whole Earth, but Radu maintains a shaky control over them and keeps them penned in his tiny corner of the country. As Frank recovers from his assault, Radu finds himself falling for the young man. But loving Frank and not wanting to lose him leaves Radu vulnerable to his demons’ demands. Can he bear to let them feed on the man he loves? Or must he give in to their blackmail and set them free to feast on his entire country? Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Frank doesn't know what to expect on his journey to Wallachia. He knows he'll get to see a magic generator and he knows that going back home to England could mean a death sentence. What he doesn't expect is for his friends to suddenly die in an ambush or an attack by vampires. Finding Radu means Frank can live a little longer, but he's no longer certain whether it's a life worth living at all. The wonder in this book lies entirely with the world-building. Beecroft took a snapshot from history almost exactly as the world existed back then, and then inserted magic into the twisting political and social aspects of the time. It was amazingly intricate and exceptionally believable, which I've found is hard for many historical fantasy authors to accomplish. The only reason this book didn't get five petals was because of the awkward changes in point of view. There are three narrators in this story, Frank, Mirela, and Zayd, and each do bring something interesting to the story. However, I found that Mirela's story was a bit repetitive in how much it overlapped with Frank's; I'm not certain her perspective was entirely necessary. Zayd's perspective is extremely sudden. He appears at the end of the story with absolutely zero context as to how he fits into the overall plot or why he's being introduced. The way his story is presented also breaks up Frank's story in the worst possible way by draining away all the built-up tension and suspense. Beecroft might have been better served having all of Zayd's story in the epilogue or at the beginning of the next book in the series. Maggie's Recommendation: The way Beecroft took a snapshot of history and inserted magic into the political and social aspects of the time was amazingly written. I did struggle with the often abrupt changes in narrator, but overall I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it. White Hot Author: Ilona Andrews Title: White Hot Series: Hidden Legacy 2 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Four Petals On the Author's website: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/book/white-hot/ Summary: Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan. Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada’s “talent.” But there’s no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice … Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Nevada somehow survived the last battle, but she knew then that there was more to the evil plot to destroy Houston. With Rogan's help, she hopes to continue figuring out who the bad guy is, except Rogan hasn't spoken to her in weeks and Nevada is worried she'll be forced to save the world on her own. The magic in this series continues to be my favorite part. The way the powers of the primes versus the powers of everyone else influence the political and social structures of the world was brilliantly written. I also really like how Nevada is slowly learning how to navigate all of that as she comes into her own powers. Her viewpoint as an outsider colors that new world perfectly. If I had a complaint about this book, and there honestly wasn't much to complain about, it is that much of the story is a bit predictable. It was easy enough to guess where the overall plot, the romance, and the ending would go. I didn't mind that overly much because the story was so good despite that, but I still had to take a petal off. Maggie's Recommendation: I can't help recommending any book by Ilona Andrews as their books are easily some of my absolute favorites. While this story was a bit predictable, the political and social structures as well as the overall plot were so amazingly interesting I really enjoyed this book anyway. HemovoreAuthor: Jordan Castillo Price Title: Hemovore Series: None Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://jcpbooks.com/ Summary: Mark Hansen thought working as artist’s assistant would be glamorous, especially if that artist was a vampire. Black tie events, witty repartee, gracing the pages of the local style section…. Didn’t happen. Not even once. Jonathan Varga is an enigma. True, he’s quiet, generous, and scrupulously polite. But he has zero social life, refuses to be interviewed or photographed, and insists he can only consume feline blood. Why supermarket blood won't suffice, Mark hasn’t asked. He’s rarely at a loss for words—he can dish an insult and follow it with a snap as quick as you can say “Miss Thang.” But one look at Jonathan’s black-as-sin gypsy eyes, and Mark’s objections drain away. So he endures the perpetual grind of their routine: Jonathan hiding in his studio, swiping black paint onto black canvases. Mark hurling insults while he buffs the office to a shine with antiviral wipes. Each of them avoiding the other in a careful choreography…until a blurb in Art in America unleashes a chain of harrowing events. As secrets from Jonathan’s past are brought to light, it becomes clear that all his precautions weren’t nearly enough. Maggie's Review:
I received this book via the author in exchange for an honest review. Mark works as the office assistant for Jonathan, a reclusive vampire that only likes to paint and drink cat blood. It's an odd life, but Mark is figuring it out. Until Jonathan's past comes back to bite them both. The world building in this story is some of the best I've ever read. The intricate details of everything Mark has to go through to ensure he's safe from the vampire virus, from cleaning everything before he touches it to special ways he has to wash his gloves and his clothing. It was all so interesting and each new detail the author added to the story only served to impress me more. The characterizations in this story are a bit harder to explain. Both Mark and Jonathan are utterly ordinary people, even though Jonathan is a vampire painter with a difficult past. They go about their ordinary day doing ordinary things and that, quite frankly, is unbelievably boring. Yet, at the same time it shows a lot of skill on the author's part because making a vampire's extraordinary life feel so simple definitely takes talent. The problem with that is boring characters slow the story down and make it very difficult for the reader to identify with them and therefore want to read more. I needed more foreshadowing for what was going to come in the first few chapters of the story because that would have helped me keep my interest. Maggie's Recommendation: I do recommend this story just as I would recommend pretty much everything Jordan Castillo Price writes. The world building in this story was magnificent, but I found the main characters to be very boring which dragged on the plot until I struggled to keep my interest. |
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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