Feb 28, 2013

Review--Ever After by Kim Harrison

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rache Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between the magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after--the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru--has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack--a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul--to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise--and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.


Kim Harrison is definitely one of my favorite authors! She was one of the first urban fantasy authors I read when I decided that I needed to read more adult books--this was wayyy back in the day when I was like 18 and Paranormal YA was nonexistent! Don't miss those days at all! Ever After continues Rachel Morgan's ongoing story. Life continues to change drastically for this 27-year-old witch and fate is definitely not cutting her any breaks.

Ever After is book 11 in the series and has been going on for years, yet time isn't moving as fast for Rachel. I honestly can't remember what year it's supposed to be in the series anymore. But alas, that's not important! Rachel once again has BIG problems going on and as always, it's up to her to fix them and keep everyone safe. Rachel has had more than her fair share of heartache, still can't get over Kisten myself!

Ku'Sox, the demon she and Trent battled in my fair city, is back. And he has his own devious plan that will result in death. He's gunning for Rachel since she cursed him to the ever-after. Rachel is on a tight timetable to find out what Ku'Sox did to the ever-after and find a way to repair the damage. Easier said than done! It takes a lot of pages for Rachel to get to the solving the problem and every time she manages a step forward in the right direction, Ku'Sox throws her three feet back.

But the stakes are definitely higher for Rachel when Ku'Sox kidnaps Ceri and Lucy. By taking Rachel's friend and her own goddaughter, Ku'Sox basically signs his own death warrant. Yet as I said, Ku'Sox is a powerful enemy and it will take everything she has in her arsenal to defeat him.

Rachel ends up working with Trent, somewhat, in this one and it was great seeing him again! Trent is definitely becoming a different person since we first met him in Dead Witch Walking. I can barely recognize him! I am happy for the changes though, he's turning into a better person, one that Rachel might even start to like. It's weird and she can eve admit to that. They are polar opposites, have had too much history from their childhood, and oh yeah, Ellasbeth hates her. Trent's ex-wife is back in the picture as well.

I truly enjoyed this one! It was fun and exciting! It never ceases to amaze me by how much Kim can take her readers bu surprise! She really knows how to suck her readers into the world of the Hollows. Rachel is a freaking-fantastic heroine that I enjoy seeing time and time again. She's a kickbutt heroine with a good sense of humor and snark! What's not to love?

It was mentioned in another review as one teeny, tiny downside and I'll mention it here; is the lack of Ivy. For the first half of the novel, Ivy is out of town. She returns eventually, but even then she's not there so much. It was kind of sad, because I miss Ivy, Jenks and Rachel being the trio they once were. But the characters are growing infinitely, and it seems too, that they are growing apart. Rachel can even see this.

There was another character who returns to the scene and I was surprised by that too, but by now I really shouldn't be. Nick in all his docuhery glory returns. Yep, ol' crap-for-brains is back and is going to cause more and more trouble for Rachel. This is one character I truly loathe! And I cannot even remember when I used to like him! But again, that's just more praises of Kim's writing!!

And one last note on the characters; Jenks rocks!! I will never get tired of him and his witty quips! Every blasted Tinkerbell curse makes me laugh, despite my love of all things Disney!

Ever After was phenomenal! I loooove the Hollows, the world Kim has built is just incredible! I love the balance of paranormal and regular old humans in this world. Although, we tend to see more of the supernaturals, it's still a wonderful balance! I cannot wait to see how this series all ends, but there's still awhile to go and I will enjoy it one book at a time!


Overall rating 5/5 stars



Cover Copy Reveal--Biting Bad

Merit has been a vampire for only a short while, but she’s already seen a lifetime’s worth of trouble. She and her Master, centuries-old Ethan Sullivan, have risked their lives time and again to save the city they love. But not all of Chicago is loving them back.

Anti-vampire riots are erupting all over town, striking vampires where it hurts the most. A splinter group armed with Molotov cocktails and deep-seated hate is intent on clearing the fanged from the Windy City come hell or high water.

Merit and her allies rush to figure out who’s behind the attacks, who will be targeted next, and whether there’s any way to stop the wanton destruction. The battle for Chicago is just beginning, and Merit is running out of time.


Biting Bad releases August 6, 2013



Cover Copy Reveal--The Fiery Heart

fieryheart-small


Isn't it awesome?! I love the color scheme! Soooo cannot wait to read this one!

Going to post the cover description Amazon has up, so if you haven't read The Indigo Spell yet, and you really should!, don't read this cause there are some spoilers!





In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe    


The Fiery Heart releases November 19, 2013   


 

Random Thursday

So today I feel like sharing another Youtube video that makes me laugh! Saw this one a few years ago and cracked up! Love Will Ferrell and this is definitely one of my all time faves right next to Buffy vs Edward!



The Landlord from Will Ferrell     






Feb 27, 2013

Cover Copy Reveal--Soul Kissed!!

Just saw this in my newsletter and HAD to share! I LOOOOVE this series by Erin Kellison! It's just so freaking awesome it's hard to put into words!


While the world slumbers in Shadow, a fatal plague has swept through magekind. No one is immune to its ravages, and now that her father is dead, Cari Dolan must wield the fearful magic of her House to save innocent lives.
 
At the mage Council's bidding, dangerous outsider Mason Stray joins forces with Cari to hunt down the fiend responsible. But can he trust the daughter of wealth and privilege, especially when his own son is at risk?

The princess will always welcome to her bed the warrior, even if one must pay the ultimate price...
 
 
Soul Kissed releases September 3, 2013
 
 
 

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.




On the heels of Kitty's return from London, a new werewolf shows up in Denver, one who threatens to split the pack by challenging Kitty's authority at every turn. The timing could not be worse; Kitty needs all the allies she can muster to go against the ancient vampire, Roman, if she's to have any hope of defeating his Long Game. But there's more to this intruder than there seems, and Kitty must uncover the truth, fast. Meanwhile, Cormac pursues an unknown entity wreaking havoc across Denver; and a vampire from the Order of St. Lazaurus tempts Rick with the means to transform his life forever.


Once again, a series I am behind in. Just by 1 book, so better than most!


TITLE: Kitty Rocks the House
AUTHOR:
Carrie Vaughn
PUBLISHER: Tor Books
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2013





Feb 26, 2013

Review--Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson

JUST YOUR AVERAGE MEGA-WITCH...

It's tough being a modern woman, but Persephone Alcmedi has it worse than most. Being the prophesied Lustrata has kicked her career as a witch into high gear, and juggling a werewolf boyfriend who is about to become king of his kind and a seductive vampire who bears her magical Mark isn't easy either.

Still, Seph's beloved foster daughter, Beverley, is causing more trouble than these two men put together. The young girl's been playing with a magical artifact that's far more dangerous than she realizes. Now Seph must summon help from a mystical being so potent that even vampires fear him...and the cost of his aid may be more than she's willing to pay. Seph, Johnny, and Menessos face threats from all sides--and a few from within. Will the forces of destiny cement their tenuous supernatural union, or shatter it forever?

 
It's been sooo long since I last dived into Linda Robertson's series that I hesitated when reading Shattered Circle. Luckily it wasn't too much of a problem. Sure, I forgot some of the plot and action details, but fort he most part I was able to move along nicely with this one.

Shattered Circle is told from many points of view. Persephone is our heroine and when it's her turn to narrate, it's in first person, while the other characters are in third. It's definitely one of those books where you crave the person's next narration, for nearly every time their "storytelling" ends, it's on a mini cliffhanger. It's reading from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, total insanity, but at least here you know that the cliffhanger will be picked up in just an odd amount of pages.

This story has a little more focus on Beverley, Seph's foster daughter. And after a series of unfortunate events, we learn that Beverley has powers of her own. Shocking news and yet there's no time for Seph to dwell or ponder on it. Beverley's life is in danger now because she has a very special and unique power that will draw all the wrong sort of attention towards her. Enemies are everywhere and anywhere and in order to keep her safe, Seph must allow Menessos to take her.

For the latter part of the book, Seph goes in meditation and becomes trapped. Creepy is back and we finally get to know more about him! Considering I couldn't really remember this guy at all, the knowing part wasn't as much of a relief as it should've been. But when we do learn of who he is, it's just like WOW! And with the way the ending went down, it's tough to say if he will be back in the next book.

With all the points of view in this one, it was hard for me to always follow along with the side parts of the story. I mean I could understand and follow it for the most part, but then something minor would happen and it would throw a wrench into my understanding. All these narrators have their own agendas as well, so we follow their devious plotting or whatall and then watch them contribute to the main plotline in their own way. So while it wasn't insanely difficult to follow, it just made things a tad hard. But the book was still very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing where this series winds up.

There wasn't any "real" romance in this book. There's a reason behind my "real" but I can't get into that without spoilers. Seph and Johnny are still a little on the outs. After Johnny almost attacked her while in wolf form, Seph is finding it hard to trust him. She wants to, yet there is still that lingering fear. There weren't any romantic moments between her and Menessos either. He wasn't really around a whole lot. I mean he was there in the story, but it didn't feel like he had much of a critical role this time whereas Johnny was around a lot and had his own narration points too.

Things are definitely changing in the world of Persephone Alcmedi. Big changes, little changes...things that will completely alter her way of living. While things seemed hopeful at the end, there's still a lot of little details left unsaid, other characters whose status remain unknown, like what was happening with them the last time we saw them. This series is definitely a fun one! The characters are all so different from one another and there's quite the variety of them too. As I said, I am very intrigued to see where this series will be going.


Overall rating 4/5 stars



Teaser Tuesdays

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.



"'It is a simple thing I ask for,' he said, 'but very valuable.'

"'Are you able to tell me what that is, or does knowing what the price is have a price?'" p. 177













TITLE: Shattered Circle
AUTHOR: Linda Robertson

PUBLISHER: Pocket Books
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: January 29, 2013



Feb 25, 2013

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


Last Week I Read:

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (ARC)--Review to come at a later date
Rise by Andrea Cremer (4 stars)
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead (5 stars)
 
 
 
 
Review That was Posted:
 
 The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter (ARC) (4.5 stars)




Currently Reading:
 
 Shattered Circle by Linda Robertson




What I Plan to Read this Week:
 
 Ever After by Kim Harrison




Other Posts of Interest:
 




Feb 24, 2013

Stacking the Shelves

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


A decent week! Didn't add too much to the TBR mountain and didn't come out empty handed, so all good!


 Sealed with a Curse by Cecy Robson
Black City by Christina Henry


Then I had to add to my Disney DVD collection, a few more Bluerays!

Finding Nemo


Monsters Inc