Showing posts with label paranormal fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paranormal fantasy. Show all posts


When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

The second book I read of 2008 was the latest book by Patricia Briggs. The third book in the Mercedes Thompson series, it was a book that I just had to have and I could not wait to read! In each book, Mercy is the main character, but the book revolves around a different paranormal group each time. This book centred on the Fae community. It makes for an interesting series because we continue to learn more about Mercy and her friends; but we also learn more about the different paranormal groups that may have had characters present in the previous books, but were not centred around. I have always been interested in the Fae community. Before paranormal books were the big industry that they are now, I was a big fan of this particular sub-group. So, now that this sort of literature is very popular, it is nice to see some of the lesser groups being explored.

I love this series, I think I might have mentioned before. The second book was a favourite read of last year and the first book was a favourite read of the year before, so we all know that this book will likely end up on the year end list. I just love Mercedes Thompson's character! She can annoy me, do not get me wrong, but Briggs has created a character that really interests me. I read other paranormal authors and the books do not always have characters that I have any sort of feelings about, but Mercy I do. I genuinely cannot wait until book four to see what happens next, and I will be very sad when this series reaches the end!

Mercy is a favourite stubborn person. This is a characteristic that really plays out in this book. The person that she is out to save, the fae that sold her the garage she is currently running, is in danger, but he does not want her help. She puts herself on the line for him, though, and it makes for an intriguing read. Bad things happen in this book, but good things come out of the bad. The love triangle that is a theme in the previous two books also makes an appearance in this one, so people will want to read it to see just what guy trouble Mercy gets herself into in this book! I was not really surprised, but others might be.

Anyways, the best way to sum this review up is by saying that Patricia Brigg's series is hands down the best series I have read in a while. Of the paranormal nature, anyways. I also love Kelley Armstrong and Colleen Gleason. Those are my top three. With those authors writing, I do not even need to attempt anymore paranormal authors (although, I will, of course), so you know I am in love! In February, I get to read Gleason's new book, I have several books to go to get caught up in Armstrong's series, and Briggs has a new book out in a new series later this year, so I am pretty set for a while.

I strongly recommend Patricia Briggs if you are looking for a new paranormal author to enjoy!


I have been a bit busy with my life and not really posting reviews, although I have been better the last few days, so to give this blog a bit of activity, one of my fellow Historical Tapestry bloggers offered to guest blog. Here is her review.

When Paige Winterbourne is ousted as leader of the American coven of Witches, all she wants to do is hide under her duvet for a few months. But fate, of course, has other plans. A murderer is on the loose – someone with Superhuman skills and a grudge against the supernatural community. When Paige learns that the killer is targeting children, she has to get involved.

Desperate to protect those she loves, Paige is thrown into a world of arrogant sorcerers, drunken necromancers, sulky druid gods and pretentious leather – clad vampires. Not to mention an apparently unstoppable supernatural psychopath hell – bent on revenge.

This is the fourth in the series and the second featuring Paige as the main character and I think this is the best one so far. I feel like all the characters are growing up and are less annoying, even Elena the female werewolf who was the main character in the first two books. I was going to stop reading after the first two books because Elena really annoyed me but I’m glad I changed my mind.

This story focuses on Paige and her new boyfriend Lucas Cortez, who father is the CEO of the biggest supernatural organisation but Lucas doesn’t like the way his father does things so he works against the organisation by protecting and acting as the lawyer for many innocent supernatural people. But while Lucas is away his father comes to see Paige and from there they both find themselves dragged into a case they could end up killing them. Paige and Lucas criss- cross the country trying to find the killer and following any leads that come up. In the end it takes a necromancer, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers and witches working together to bring the killer in.

The only problem I found with this story is there wasn’t enough Savannah and I really like her I think that she is a much better character then Paige but that isn’t to say I don’t like Paige I do I just want more Savannah.

I can’t wait to read Haunted.


Completion Date: June 2007
Pages: 256
Publication Year: 2007
Purchased in 2007
Book Two in the Morganville Vampires series.

Reason for Reading: Sequel to Glass Houses.
Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws theDead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.
It is a good thing I finally got around to reviewing this book. It reminded me that book three in the series comes out later this year and I do not have it on my list of books I am looking forward to.

This series is not exactly the most challenging series I am reading, but it is enjoyable. I read a few paranormal series here and there, but I am mostly moving away from that genre. There are only a few authors that I am looking forward to seeing what happens next with. This series is one of them. This book had a better ending than the last one, though, when the last one ended I was very impatient for book two because it had a majorly bad ending, in the sense that I wanted to know what happened next! This one, I of course want to read the next book in the series, but it is not a strong need.

Claire has a lot going on in her life. She's a genius, so she went to college early, but her parents would not let her go to a top of the line one because they wanted her to stay close to home. As a result, the school that she is attending is more interested in looks than grades. That does not matter, though, because she spends the majority of the book caught up in vampire drama, so there is often a reason why she cannot go to school. She a boyfriend in this book, and I kept having to remind myself that this is a teen book, so boyfriend and girlfriend is not necessarily going to go very far, especially since she is a minor.

Her other roommates have a relationship as well, and it gets pretty interesting during the course of this book. I cannot share because it would give away spoilers from the previous book. Let's just say that their relationship gets more and more complicated as time goes on. Claire's boyfriends dad is the cause of most of the excitement in this book. He is determined to kill all the vampires because they were responsible for his daughter and wives death. He does not take no for an answer, and he is hell-bent on revenge.

Claire is a typical teen caught up in a very strange situation. She is not the most popular kid at school, far from it, but she gets invited to the Dead Girls' Dance, and then everything in the book takes a drastic change for the worse. The mayor and most of the police force are under the rule of the vampires, so it is a question of who the quartet can trust to get them out of harms way safely.

Parting Thoughts: I find some of Claire's attributes annoying at times, sort of like I find Bella annoying in the Twilight series from time to time. I think it is the age, as they are both around the same one. This book was enjoyable, and I look forward to the next one.

So, my challenge for the month was to read Kelley Armstrong. I had never read her before, so I had all her books to handle. I only had to read this one, though, so anything passed this is just an added bonus.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Published by Sel Books in 2001

4/5

Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one.
This book has been on my TBR pile for a while now. The second hand bookstore had all her books but one, so I decided to invest in them because I had heard good things. Then, they just sat on the bookshelf... So, Nath challenging me to read them was a very good idea!

I am very big on books that portray women in a positive role. It is so easy for authors to slip into the old-fashioned style of damsel in distress saved by the very handsome young man. I try to avoid books like that. I like to think that both sexes are capable of taking care of themselves if they have to. This book met the criteria. Following Elena, the narrator, through her adventures as the only female in a pack of werewolves. She had left the pack in an attempt to live a "normal" life. She had everything she thought she always wanted, but then the pack leader called her back because they needed her help and suddenly she could not ignore her "abnormal" life anymore.

I liked Elena. She gets the job done. She is supposed to listen to the Alpha, but she has an amazing ability to stand up to him at the same time. She can be annoying, but at the same time she is the only female in a bunch of males, she is a werewolf so that puts her outside her normal society, so she is always fighting to fit in. The other characters in the book are interesting too, though. Jeremy, the Alpha, gets the job done and is a compelling character. He is the brains of the operation. Then, there is Clay, he is the sex appeal, but do not get any ideas because he is already taken! Nick is the comedian who I think should be in the future books, but I see him only being a minor character. His father's character does not get developed very well, nor do the other two members of the pack.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt bad for Elena, because everyone has those moments where they try so hard to fit in and it does not work out for them. She is just a werewolf, but it is a very human problem. The pasts of these characters is also laid out, so they are given depth. I really enjoy this series! Thanks for challenging me to read it Nath, it was worth it.

You probably read Harry Potter or perhaps another equally famous not-for-adults book, figured teen and children novels can be just as entertaining and well written as those meant for adults yet are stuck and don't know where to go next. Fear not my dear friend for I am here to guide you in the right direction. Whether is high fantasy, more wizards, faeries or even a vampire pirate or two I will tell you just which books and series are a treat for everyone in the family regardless of age.

The first thing you should know is that children and Young Adult books can be just as well written and descriptive as any book geared towards an older audience. You won't find simple dialogue or two sentence descriptions here. They can also be as chock full of dangers, murder, death and mayhem as their adult counterparts. Indeed a lot of younger audience books don't shy away from killing, mayming or otherwise harming even the protagonists. These means you don't have to suffer from sugary sweet worlds filled with nice, fluffy beings that never get into anything dangerous. No siree-bob, these books have a bit of everything!

With that said, let's get to the books themselves!


NOTE: I've put descriptions by each of the titles so you have an idea of what to expect. Please note that GORE means just that. Some of the books easilly get into creepy character death/murder and/or other somewhat disturbing themes.


Books of Pellinor by Allison Croggon - High Fantasy, Magic, Quests, Adventures

These books are beautifully written. They are, in fact, my favorite in the children, young adult category as far as the writing is concerned. The books deal with the adventures of Maerad in the world of Edil-Amarandh. Books 3 & 4 deal with Hem, Maerad's brother.

They are:
The Naming
The Riddle
The Crow
The Singing


WEBSITE




The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
- High Fantasy, Necromancers, Quests

Second best children/YA writing. Garth Nix has such a way with words and this trilogy shows just how incredible his writing can be. Get swept away to a magical world where necromancers are good and they are all that stands between the forces of good and evil.

The books are:
Sabriel
Lirael
Abhorse
n


WEBSITE



Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan - High Fantasy, Faeries, Magic, Some Gore

Amazing. Absolutely amazing! From book one these books are one rollercoaster ride after another. There is always something going on from the first time we are brought into this magical kingdom and the ride doesn't stop until the very end.

Books are:
Faerie Wars
The Purple Emperor
Ruler of the Realm


WEBSITE







Tithe by Holly Black
- Urban Fantasy, Faeries, Minor Gore

Holly Black shows us faeries as they were meant to be: mean, selfish, and cruel. You won't be finding cute little Tinkerbell pixies in this book. No way. These faries just as soon eat you or torture you for entertainment than look at you.

Tithe and Ironside tell the story of Kaye and Roiben.
Valiant is set in the same world but has different characters.

WEBSITE








The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
- Urban Fantasy, Fairy Tale Characters, Some Gore

Unbeknownst to humans, there is a town where faerie tale characters live and mingle with the rest of us mortals. However these immortal characters are not as you remember from your children fairy tales. Snow White is the most beautiful teacher in school. Prince Charming is the town mayor and a mayour sleaze of a politician. Little Red Riding Hood is a deranged lunatic. The Big Bad Wolf works for the good guys alongside the Three Little Pigs. This is one strange town where you never know what to expect except a lot of murder, mysterious kidnappings, and more. Nothing is what it seems and, as the town's detectives, it's up to the Sisters Grimm and their Granny to sort out just what the hell is going on.

Books so far:
The Fairy-Tale Detectives
The Unusual Suspects
The Problem Child
Once Upon a Crime


WEBSITE


Fablehaven by Brandon Mull - Urban Fantasy, Magical Creatures, Faeries, Magic

If you like Sisters Grimm then you'll surely love Fablehaven. Brother and sister Kendra and Seth are faced with a similar dilema of being in a preserve where magical cratures exist. Humans, of course, are not aware and it's their job to keep it that way while at the same time dealing with the not so nice and often evil creatures.

So far:
Fablehaven
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star


WEBSITE






The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart
- High Fantasy, Adventure, Quest, Pirates, Some Gore

You NEVER know which way is up in this highly entertaining and exciting series. Unlike most series, the main protagonist in these books is the land of The Edge. That's all that is constant throughout the series as main characters in one book become mince meat in another. From one book to the next the story jumps forwards and backwards in time to tell the history of The Edge and some of its most famous and interesting inhabitants. These books don't shy away of killing anyone as some of the creatures that inhabit these worlds can be downright cruel and you just never know who will make it to the end....of the series!

Books so far:
Beyond the Deepwoods
Stormchaser
Midnight over Sanctaphrax
The Curse of the Gloamglozer
The Last of the Sky Pirates
Vox
Freeglader
The Winter Knights


WEBSITE


Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan - High Fantasy

This series is set in a world much like ours in medieval times but where evil creatures exist and are threatening to take over the world led by an evil human. Not much magic but lots of adventures as we follow William in his quest to become a knight and then a Ranger, the secret service that works for the king.

Books are:
The Ruins of Gorlan
The Burning Bridge
The Icebound Land


WEBSITE




Septimus Heap by Angie Sage
- High Fantasy, Magic

These books arte just plain fun. Also reminds me of a magical medieval times where we follow the adventures of Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son and thus endowed with magical powers.

Books so far:
Magyck
Flyte
Physik


WEBSITE




Leven Thumps by Obert Skye
- Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy

Just think of him as a down=on-his-luck Harry Potter. OK, so Leven isn't a wizard but he did have one hell of an upbringing with his adopted family. The poor guy is stuck living outside in a trailer park when suddenly things start going bump in the night...and they want to bump him off!

Books so far:
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret


WEBSITE







The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix
- Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy

The books gets better as the series progresses simply because one of the most entertaining characters, Suzy Blue, has a quick wit and dry humor that grates on Arthur's nerve and makes for some really funny dialogue and observations at the worse possible moments. At first I was skeptic of the series but by book 3 I was completely hooked.

So far:
Mister Monday
Grim Tuesday
Drowned Wednesday
Sir Thursday
Lady Friday


WEBSITE




Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

You'll laugh yourself silly with this witty series as the poor yet resorceful Baudelaire orphans go form one caretaker to another. Highly recommended reading.

13 books in this series which has now come to an end.

WEBSITE








Vampirates by Justin Somper
- Quest, Adventure, Vampires, Pirates

If vampires are bad and pirates are too, well, what do you expect from pirate vampires?! Highly entertaining book about the adventures of twin brothers Connor and Grace as they are faced with the truth about the Vampirates.

Books are:

Demons of the Ocean
Tides of Terror
Dead Deep
Blood Captain


WEBSITE


Enough time has passed for the young girl Jaenelle, heir to the magical Darkness. Her physical wounds have healed, while amnesia keeps her frightening memories at bay. But with Saetan--a Black-Jewelled Warlord Prince and Jaenelle's foster-father--to protect her, she will continue to grow. Her magic will mature. Her memories will return. And Jaenelle will face her destiny when she remembers Daemon, Saetan's son, who made the ultimate sacrifice for her love.
I finally read this book! I read the first book in the trilogy last year, and it is has taken me all this time to get to book two. Since this book has been reviewed on blogland many many times, I thought that I would make this at bit more interesting and buddy review it with Aarti from the blog Booklust. Aarti is in the reddish colour and I am typing in black. If all goes well we will also be reviewing the other books in the series together.

Yes, I read the first book in the series last year as well. It was difficult to get a grip on the story and the characters at first, but then I caught on and it was pretty smooth sailing from there!

I have to say that this was, for me, much better than book one. I liked book one, but this one attracted me more than the previous one. I am more interested in reading book three now because I am hoping that it will be even better than this one.

I also really enjoyed this book, though I think I liked book one just as much. Book one really set the scene for me, and while I struggled with getting through the beginning parts- not for lack of interest, but for lack of understanding- I really liked the atmosphere created. I think Bishop continues that here, and into book three as well.

I have been considering over and over again which one is my favourite character in this trilogy. I think in this book my favourite would have to be Saetan. There is lots of humour presented between him, Janelle, and Lucivar that makes you laugh aloud. In the first book he did not really interest me, but he becomes more of a controlled character in this book. I find him interesting, and not at all what I would imagine him to be as the leader of hell. He really adds to the story, I think, so I was glad to read his parts. There really are a lot of funny parts in this book because Janelle and Lucivar are reunited, and Lucivar learns that Saetan is both his father and Janelle's foster father, so suddenly they are siblings. They fight like siblings, too, and Saetan gets in there and fathers them. It was great.

I really liked the family dynamics, too! My favorite character was also Saetan, as he was really an upstanding man, with so much integrity. You could tell how much he cared for the people around him. I think his scenes with Jaenelle, especially, and some with Lucivar, are either very poignant or very funny. And the dynamics between the three of these characters is fun to watch.

I am not sure what I think of Lucivar. In the previous book he had been held captive by the self-declared queen of hell and the priestess that works for her in the human world, so he was not a major character beforehand. He has a lot of potential, though. I think he was the right addition to the cast of characters. With Daemon lost in the Twisted Kingdom, there had to be a young, interesting male to balance out the characters. I might add that young here is a relative term.

That's an interesting point. Lucivar does balance out the book, with Daemon gone for most of it (which saddened me, as I really like him). I think Lucivar is much more fun than Daemon is; Daemon seems to be intense for so much of the time. However, Lucivar did declare himself to be Jaenelle's older brother, and in some parts of the book, he was so brother-like that he really started grating on me! He just has such a bracing personality- I don't know if I could spend time with him for very long without getting a headache!

Then, there is Janelle. She was relatively young in the first book, so I liked her a lot better in this one because she is older and easier to relate to... in a sense. She has a lot of crazy powers, though, and often acts like she is years older than she is. She seriously gives Saetan a lot to deal with, and Lucivar is always trying to get her to slow down. She has a kind heart, and will run herself into the ground to save others. That is clearly shown throughout this book, and the sad thing is that the scenes that she helps out in, you cannot help as the reader feeling very bad for both her and the characters involved. Janelle annoys me sometimes, but overall, I think she is a good character and strong. That's one thing about this trilogy, all the women are strong.

Yes, all the women are strong! Some of them still annoy me, though :-) I actually don't know what I feel about Jaenelle. Yes, sometimes she is wise beyond her years. But sometimes, she also seems very childish. Also, it kind of weirds me out that she snarls so much. Really, though, the depth of her care and loyalty for the people around her is pretty great- she is a wonderful leader. I also really liked the greater introduction of the Kindred in this book- it added a whole set of new characters to the story. We don't get into their heads that often, but it is always a lesson when we do. I thought Bishop added in the animal insights very well.

Overall, this is a good book, and awesome for a book two. Book twos are generally slow in trilogies because there is not a lot of action. Bishop really works with the lack of action, though, and gives us some interesting scenes that will have you eagerly turning the pages. I have started the next book in the trilogy (I know that Aarti has already read it), so expect a review of it in March.

Agreed- a very strong book overall, and I look forward to reviewing the next one as well! And to reading the other Bishop books I have on my shelf- I also have Sebastian.

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Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with books. Early photos show me with a book in hand, even if it was not exactly my reading level... My first word was a made-up word meaning 'book', actually. I suppose I had my priorities at an early age... Over the years my interest in books has become one of the defining features of who I am as a person. You can probably call me a bookworm. While I have other interests, reading will always be the one I talk about the most, even if I am not focusing on it as much as I used to.

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