License to Ensorcell Author: Katharine Kerr Title: License to Ensorcell Series: Nola O'Grady 1 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://deverry.com/?page_id=51#License Summary: Psychic Agent Nola O'Grady isn't sure returning to San Francisco, and living near her unusual family, is a good idea. Her job, with a psychic agency so obscure even the CIA doesn't know it exists, can be perilous, and she's afraid of the relatives getting involved. Then the Agency saddles her with Israeli secret agent Ari Nathan, and she has a bigger problem on her hands, because tact and compromise are not Ari's strong points. Their mission is to track down a serial killer obsessed with werewolves. He sees them everywhere and shoots whenever he thinks he has one in his sights. Ari assumes the man's psychotic, but in truth he's murdering actual werewolves. Nola should know. Her younger brother Pat, a lycanthrope, was the first victim. Can Nola's psychic talents and Ari's skill with guns keep them alive long enough to unravel the greater mystery behind the killings? Can they save the werewolves and the world while stopping Nola's family from running headlong into danger? Maggie's Review:
Nola has a license to ensorcell, which means she's the magical equivalent of the local police force. She's expected to solve magical crimes all while keeping the balance between chaos and order. Then Ari is sent to be her new partner and, while he's seen very strange things from his time working for Mossad, he's never seen magic before. Teaching Ari will have to wait as someone has started killing werewolves and their next target might be Nola. This book is very firmly set in our world, but it is very clear that our world is only the surface of everything Nola has to learn. The different types of magic and the different layers to the worlds makes every bit that is slowly revealed all the more interesting. I also really liked the balance between chaos and order and how Nola is tasked with keeping that balance. The only problem I had with this story was the plot, which, while interesting, was predictable. Nothing had me on the edge of my seat and I could easily guess what was going to happen next, but the world building was so interesting to read that the simple plot didn't matter to me. Maggie's Recommendation: The world building in this book of all the various worlds Nola encounters, including the magical one set inside San Francisco, are unbelievably interesting. The plot was engaging, but not surprising. I do recommend this book.
0 Comments
The Heart of the Lost Star Author: Megan Derr Title: The Heart of the Lost Star Series: Tales of the High Court 3 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M, Trans Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://maderr.com/ Summary: Kamir is on the verge of losing everything. Knowing full well he can't meet the ultimatum his parents have issued, he instead finally puts in motion his plans to live completely independent of them. His plans are interrupted, however, by the unexpected return of his despised ex-husband—and thrown even further into upheaval when he ends up comforting the man he's secretly loved for years. Jader may not know where he comes from, but he knows where he belongs and what he wants—until he helps rescue some stranded Bentan travelers, one of whom looks almost exactly like Jader, throwing his life and everything he thought he knew into tumult. Scared and overwhelmed, Jader flees—and lands unexpectedly in the arms of a man he's always seen, but never really noticed. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Parents are difficult to avoid, especially when they're helping to finance Kamir and Kamir's children. Luckily, Kamir has a plan to get free. Except, the appearance of his ex-husband and the machinations of his parents just might make that impossible. Jader is the opposite: he loves his parents. He knows he's adopted, but he's managed to make a happy life for himself until the day his birth family appears and demands he come home. The best way I can think of to describe this book is that it's a solid, enjoyable read. The plot and the twists kept me entertained, the characters were engaging, and it was generally a good book. There wasn't anything that had me jumping out of my chair in excitement and nothing disappointed me. It wasn't as good as the first book in the series, but I will definitely be rereading. I do have to say I wish the ending had a slightly later epilogue. I would have liked to meet everyone's baby, or at least learn the genders. One of the amazing parts of this series is the intricacy of the gender-fluidity and I really feel meeting any of the babies and learning how they go from their birth gender to their true gender could give this series a touch more depth. Maggie's Recommendation: I absolutely recommend this book and this series. They are solid, enjoyable reads, and the intricacy of the characterizations always impresses me. This book was no different and I will definitely be rereading it soon. WildfireAuthor: Ilona Andrews Title: Wildfire Series: Hidden Legacy 3 Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://hiddenlegacy.ilona-andrews.com/ Summary: Just when Nevada Baylor has finally come to accept the depths of her magical powers, she also realizes she’s fallen in love. Connor “Mad” Rogan is in many ways her equal when it comes to magic, but she’s completely out of her elements when it comes to her feelings for him. To make matters more complicated, an old flame comes back into Rogan’s life… Rogan knows there’s nothing between him and his ex-fiance, Rynda Sherwood. But as Nevada begins to learn more about her past, her power, and her potential future, he knows she will be faced with choices she never dreamed of and the promise of a life spent without him. As Nevada and Rogan race to discover the whereabouts of Rynda’s kidnapped husband and are forced to confront Nevada’s grandmother, who may or may not have evil motives, these two people must decide if they can trust in each other or allow everything to go up in smoke. Maggie's Review:
After everything Nevada's been through, she knows that the danger won't be over until she figures out a way to keep her family safe. With the mysterious "Caesar" trying to kill her, her evil grandmother hunting for her, and Rogan's attentions distracting her, Nevada isn't sure whether she can keep herself alive long enough to accomplish anything for her family. I've loved this series from the first book and this one was just as good. Everything I loved about the first two books from the world building to the characterizations was still perfect. I have zero complaints about the plot as well. I read the book in one sitting, then reread it because I enjoyed it so much. I do want to talk about the ending, which was a touch disappointing. Without giving away too many spoilers, I will say it was very neatly completed. I expected another twist or something a little shocking, but instead everything went smoothly. Also, there is absolutely no way this book was the last in the series. The final scene in the epilogue made that very clear, so I'm hoping the authors are able to write more. Maggie's Recommendation: Like all the previous books in this series, I absolutely recommend this book. The world building, the plot, and the characters were all wonderfully written. The ending was a touch disappointing, but it barely took away from my overall enjoyment of this book. The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic Author: F.T. Lukens Title: The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic Series: None Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M, Bi Rating: Five Petals On the Author's Website: https://authorftlukens.wordpress.com/ Summary: Desperate to pay for college, Bridger Whitt is willing to overlook the peculiarities of his new job—entering via the roof, the weird stacks of old books and even older scrolls, the seemingly incorporeal voices he hears from time to time—but it’s pretty hard to ignore being pulled under Lake Michigan by… mermaids? Worse yet, this happens in front of his new crush, Leo, the dreamy football star who just moved to town. Fantastic. When he discovers his eccentric employer Pavel Chudinov is an intermediary between the human world and its myths, Bridger is plunged into a world of pixies, werewolves, and Sasquatch. The realm of myths and magic is growing increasingly unstable, and it is up to Bridger to ascertain the cause of the chaos, eliminate the problem, and help his boss keep the real world from finding the world of myths. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Bridge's new job starts out odd, what with his having to climb to a door on the roof as part of the application process, but it ends up pretty boring. His job is to organize the library, which is slow and tedious. Then he learns the truth about the magic around him and a whole new world full of mysteries and danger opens up to him. I admit, I was originally hesitant to request this book. If you follow this blog, you'll know that I don't have a high opinion of YA novels. The characterizations of the main characters are usually more caricature and cliche than anything real. They're whiny about being young, yet often unrealistically wise to the ways of the world because otherwise how can they navigate the plot of the book. I eventually decided to pick up this book because the cover was awesome and I absolutely do not regret it. The characterizations were perfect. Bridge is a young adult. He's trying to figure out high school, his sexuality, and his future, and it's so well written that I believed in every bit of teenage angst. Then magic is tossed into the mix and Bridge's reaction to it had me smiling and as eager to learn more as he was. If I had one complaint about this book, it's the fact that it ended. I want to know more about the world and the magic, and I want to see Bridge navigating college and more advanced magical events. Maggie's Recommendation: I don't often say this about YA novels, but I absolutely recommend this book. The characterizations were so realistic and the plot so engaging that I can't help wishing for a sequel. Midnight Crossroad Author: Charlaine Harris Title: Midnight Crossroad Series: Midnight Texas 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://charlaineharris.com/midnight-crossroad/ Summary: Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town. There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own). Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth... Maggie's Review:
Manfred is a psychic who has moved to Midnight to start a new life. All he needs is his computer and people will come to him for psychic advice. The only problem is, he is the least odd person living in Midnight and when magic collides bad things tend to happen. I admit I picked up this book after seeing the previews for the new TV series based on this book. I was hesitant to do so because I was worried that having read the books first would ruin the TV version for me. One of the reasons I couldn't watch True Blood, the TV series based on another of Harris' series, was because of how much it butchered the original material from the books. After reading Midnight Crossroad, I have to say I'm kind of hoping the TV series does butcher these books. Overall I found Midnight Crossroad to be very difficult to read, yet very interesting at the same time. The writing style was painful at times, often switching tenses and points of view without warning. I had a lot of trouble simply reading this book. I was also disappointed with the magic. Manfred is supposed to be this awesome psychic, yet we don't really see him actually using his powers. That said, I started this book early one afternoon and finished it sometime the next morning. Despite all the downsides to the overall book, the intricacies of the plot were still so interesting I couldn't put it down. Maggie's Recommendation: I will only recommend this book to readers that have the patience to navigate through the very difficult writing style and who don't mind that the promise of magic in the book never comes true. I did like the overall plot and I enjoyed the book, but those shortcomings are enough that I simply can't recommend this book to everyone. Blood Borne Author: Archer Kay Leah Title: Blood Borne Series: The Republic 3 Genre: High Fantasy Paring: M/F, Trans, Ace Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: https://archerkayleah.wordpress.com/archers-work/the-republic-series/blood-borne/ Summary: For Ress, survival is a complicated nightmare. Caught between two masters on different sides of the law, his life is falling apart one bad decision at a time. All he wants is to be is a good person, a loyal family man, and a successful metalsmith—a dream he can never obtain while he works for the Shar-denn, the violent gang that plagues the republic of Kattal. To make matters worse, he works as an informant for the High Council. He scrapes through both jobs waiting for his last breath. As the Shar-denn motto says: the only way out is dead. No stranger to living complicated decisions, Adren is caught between worlds of cir own. As the child of a Shar-denn faction boss, cir life is a conflicted tangle of expectation and duty. When cir family is arrested, Adren manages to escape, but nowhere is safe. Desperate and on the run, Adren is determined to punish Ress for turning in cir family. No one who betrays the gang can live. Ress must pay the price, even if Adren has to go against everything ce is. Maggie's Rating:
I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Ress' life has been a difficult one hiding from the gang he betrayed, working for the council that wants information about that gang, and trying to stay with his family. Then he meets Adren and all his priorities are suddenly thrown into chaos. Unfortunately, Adren's presence only hastens the inevitability of Ress' death. The characterizations in this story were absolutely phenomenal. Adren's balance between female, male, and something in between was perfectly written and the emotion that went into every aspect of cir actions really drew me into the story. Ress' emotions were also perfect, with just enough stress and drama that his reasons for acting the way he did made sense. Unfortunately, outside of the characterizations I didn't find much to like about this book. The plot itself was boring. It dragged and there didn't appear to be much progress at all until it suddenly all came to a head. This story could have easily been half the length, which would have still allowed for the characters to grow, but would have cut down on the overly long plot. Maggie's Recommendation: The characterizations made this book for me and that is the only reason I will recommend it. Each character was brilliantly crafted and that almost made up for the fact that the plot was very boring. |
Magnolia's Reviews
Maggie reviews paranormal and fantasy novels and novellas. She also interviews authors and hosts giveaways. Archives
April 2018
|