To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston

This is book six in the Honey Badger Chronicles of a group of borderline insane honey badger shifter women who wreak international havoc when they’re not playing basketball. In this book, the last of the women, Nelle Zhao, the youngest daughter of a rich and influential Hong Kong honey badger family, finds her mate in Keane Malone, a Siberian tiger shifter who only cares about football, his family, and getting revenge on de Medici lion shifter coalition. Not necessarily in that order.

In the previous book, de Medicis released a drug that can kill honey badger shifters who are pretty much indestructible otherwise. In retaliation, Charlie, the oldest of the women, delivered a message, the dead body of the de Medici head of the family. In this book, de Medicis retaliate. Too bad they go after the wrong group of insane honey badgers. Now the previous generation is involved too.

Nelle, the fixer, needs to fix things before an all-out war breaks out—or before Charlie meddles again, because she’s not subtle. She heads to France to negotiate with influential honey badgers to form a coalition against de Medicis, and takes Keane with her. Things don’t go exactly smoothly, but the two end up bonding.

This was a great book, maybe the best in the series. Like always, there are several POV characters, some for only a half a chapter or less. Several things happen at once, but they were fairly easy to follow for a change. And as always, things were chaotic and bat-shit crazy, as some characters enjoy stirring shit. (Looking at you, Max.) The crones were highly annoying, but unlike in the previous book where they were just thrown at the reader who hadn’t read their series, they were properly introduced and given their separate identities.

Romance isn’t the driving force of the plot and is mostly on the background, like in the earlier books. However, the couple actually spends a lot of time together here and the reader can follow their bond forming. Nelle and Keane made a really good couple and their chemistry felt real, so that by the time they end up in bed together, it feels earned. Nelle wasn’t half as annoying as she’s appeared to be in earlier books and Keane was absolutely delightful for a grumpy, constantly angry tiger. Theirs might be a true union, unlike the other girls’ whose mates basically ended up as background characters the women barely interact with.

I think this is the last book. All the women have now found their mates and the Malones have had their revenge. If that is the case, the series ends with a high note and leaves things in a good place. However, the ending sets the stage for a new story, so there could be a spin-off in the making too. I would love to read that, or anything the author writes under her two names (I’m still waiting for more Crows), as no one does insanely violent women like Laurenston/Aiken.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh

Book number nine in Psy-Changeling Trinity series takes us to a completely different type of changeling, falcons. Adam Garret is the wing-leader (alpha) of WindHaven falcon clan in Arizona, fairly young for his position at 28, but capable. His backstory evolves around losing his parents when he was 18 to a poacher that he knows shot them knowing they were changelings and not real birds. But the J-Psy in the trial who was there to read the shooters memories confirmed accidental shooting.

It's not solely the injustice eating him. Assisting the J-Psy had been an intern his age he’d briefly encountered, only to realise she’s his mate. And then she betrayed him by taking the J-Psy’s side.

Ten years later, that intern, Eleri Dias, is a former J-Psy at the end of her life. A decade of absorbing the memories of psychopathic killers has destroyed her mind and once the last shield protecting her against the minds of other people goes, she’ll die. But before she does, she wants to track down a serial killer obsessed with her. That brings her to WindHaven’s territory.

This was a good, emotional story like all Nalini Singh romances. Adam is drawn to Eleri, as she is his mate, no matter that he hates her. But it doesn’t take him long to give up the hate when she almost dies saving a friend of his. For her part, she experiences fleeting emotions for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, every sensation erodes her shields and brings the death closer.

The hunt for the killer is fairly low-key and only after they come after Eleri does something happen on that front. The killer isn’t anyone interesting anyway and we don’t even learn why they’re obsessed with Eleri. There’s no additional background evil like usually working against the entire Psy race either. The focus is on Eleri’s impending death and finding a last-minute miracle to stop it so that she and Adam can have their happily ever after.

Like always, clan life with loving relationships is the heart of the story. Falcons had their unique features that were interesting, but the sense of ‘birdness’ wasn’t there the same way than with the animal natures of leopards and wolves. There are similar people like in every clan, the seconds in command and a healer who are all likeable. The one with some backstory even gets a romance of their own that I maybe liked a bit more than the main one. Nothing wrong with the main one, it was wonderfully emotional, but the first bedroom scene felt too soon, whereas the hookup of the second pair felt more natural.

Adam was the usual stalwart changeling hero with a big heart full of emotions to counter the complete lack of them in Eleri. She wasn’t the most interesting of the series’ heroines so far, but her impending death with no cure was compelling. Her acceptance of it and willingness to end her own life before her mind goes may upset some readers. Together they formed a good pair that was easy to root for.

Some old favourites like Sascha Duncan—and Naya!—make appearances. They don’t have great roles on page and barely any dialogue, but it’s always wonderful to see them. No Kaleb Krycheck to my disappointment.

The ending is, of course, happy and highly emotional. The solution they come up with for Eleri’s condition has wider implications to the entire Psy-changeling world, so it’ll be interesting to see where the author takes that. No solution to the unravelling of the psy-net yet though, so there will be more books yet. As always, looking forward to reading them.

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh

Primal Mirror is already eighth book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity spin-off series, 23rd in the overall series. The formula has remained the same from the beginning: the romance is set against the backdrop of the politics of the complicated near-future world that threatens the happily ever after. In the original series, the Psy were unchallenged overlords, but in the spin-off, they’re about to go extinct, their annihilation imminent in this book.

Remi Denier is a leopard changeling and the alpha of RainFire pack he’s started. The new pack doesn’t have a high position yet, but they have good connections with powerful groups. He has some trauma in his backstory, but he’s mostly worked them through and they don’t dominate his life or actions. All in all, a mature character and a great romantic hero.

Auden Scott is the daughter of the two worst councillors of the former ruling coalition of the Psys. They hadn’t been above experimenting with their child’s brain in order to give her a more active Psy trait than the one she was born with, which has caused her a permanent brain damage. After her parents’ death, she’s supposedly in charge of the family assets, but she’s all but a prisoner, suffering from memory losses. And she’s pregnant, with no recollection of giving consent to the IVF treatment (the Psy way to procreate).

The two meet by chance, and he’s instantly intrigued by her. She doesn’t know if she can trust him, but as her pregnancy progresses, her mind starts to clear—after a fashion. Because it soon becomes evident, that there are two minds inside her head competing for dominance, a deadly condition for a Psy. But she’s determined to protect her child, and so she decides to put her trust in Remi.

This was a good story. The conspiracy surrounding Auden was complicated and the medical problems weren’t easily solved. The romance progressed slowly, due to her pregnancy and mental condition, but it was lovely. The pack dynamics that are the salt of the series were wonderful, with great new characters introduced for future romances. Kit made an appearance, as did Kaleb. The final battle was rather quick, and the tension among the Psy about their impending mass extinction event didn’t quite come through, as if the ordinary people weren’t aware of it at all. The way it was once again postponed was a bit of a deus ex machina solution, but it worked for the book. Overall, the book left me warm and fuzzy, just like I hoped. This is one of my favourite series and looks like I won’t have to give it up any time soon.

Legacy of Temptation by Larissa Ione: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Legacy of Temptation by Larissa Ione

Legacy of Temptation starts a new Demonica spin-off series, Demonica Birthright. I’ve been reading these books since they first began to appear 16 years ago, and although this one has a 30-year time-jump, the complex world and the characters are the same, and everything felt familiar.

The premise is the same too: humans still hate and mistrust demons, and at the centre of the hatred and misinformation is the Aegis agency. It felt a bit dated—haven’t they learned anything in thirty years?—but the plot that was based on the hatred worked fine.

Demons have their own agency, DART, for fighting evil demons. An exchange program between the two brings humans in the middle of demons, and things don’t go well. The focus is on Logan, the son of one of the four horsemen, Thanatos, and Eva, a spokesperson for the Aegis. She’s the typical brainwashed hater that the series has introduced before, difficult to like at first, but with demon trouble of her own. And she does change in the end. Logan is the typical hothead hero with a good heart.

A romance happens, sort of. The two barely interact during the first third of the book, and right after things start to warm up, the plot takes a turn that basically ruins the chances for any romance. Logan and Eva spend most of the book apart, dealing with their own family dramas and other emergencies, and the romance is very much like an afterthought. The spicy scenes are stolen moments in the middle of drama, sex for sex’s sake, and they don’t feel very romantic. It’s not the emotional rollercoaster of the earlier books, but love is declared and a happy ending is had, so I guess it’s a romance.

But the book is full of supernatural action of other kind. Lilith is on the loose, causing trouble for Logan. A demon colleague of his is about to turn permanently evil, and the hunt for him is on too. And there’s trouble brewing in heaven, with different point of view characters. It makes for an exciting book, but it also feels like a setup for the series to come. There will be interesting action. I hope there will be better romances too.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Born to Be Badger by Shelly Laurenston: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Born to Be Badger by Shelly Laurenston

Born to Be Badger is the fifth book in the Honey Badger Chronicles that follow a group of basketball playing honey badger shifters who moonlight as thieves, killers and rabble rousers. They’re borderline sociopaths and a reader can never be sure how they react in any given situation (other than with violence.)

In this book, the playoffs that brought the girls to New York in the first place are still going on, but while it’s mentioned several times, not a single game is played. Instead, the group learns of a new poison that might be the only thing in the world that can kill them. Not that it worries them long. The story progresses to a violent ambush and a declaration of war among shifters. All in a day’s work for the girls.

The romantic (sub)plot is between Tock Meyerson-Jackson, the bomb expert of the group (not that she blows anything up in this book), and Shay Malone, a tiger shifter footballer. Like in previous books, the romance is sort of in the background, isn’t terribly romantic or emotional, and kind of just happens. There’s no inner monologues or other indications about why they like one another, let alone love, so it’s mostly about attraction and lust until it isn’t. The best interactions by far and scenes where both characters come to life are when they deal with Shay’s daughter Dani. In the end, she’s as good a reason as any for the two to become a pair.

Like always, the cast of characters is large and the reader never really knows who is important. Some appear for a scene, others clearly have elaborate backstories and might show up again. Some are characters from author’s earlier series that were given more than necessary airtime, but since I haven’t read those books, their appearance and tendency to take over wasn’t so much nostalgic as it was annoying.

Still, I would’ve like if the main pair was given as much space and as good descriptions as the guests. Now it wasn’t until half-way to the book that I realized that Tock is Black and Shay—the guy with Irish name—is Asian. Maybe earlier books brought that up, but I can’t remember things from that far. Their ethnicity doesn’t play a role in the story, but details like this are what bring these stories alive.

Compared to earlier books, the story advanced in a rather straightforward way. Like always, events and violence sort of spring up, and the plot happens in the background, moved by forces that aren’t shown, and the girls simply react to events. But side-plots were kept to minimum, and we sort of finally know who killed Shay’s father, so that’s progress. The ending promises more violence to come. I don’t really read this series for the romances, so I found this entertaining in a totally bonkers way. I’ll likely read more.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh

Resonance Surge is already book 7 in Psy-Changeling Trinity series and we’re back in Moscow with bears. Which is as it should be.

Yakov is a laid-back bear-changeling who has inherited the ability to see future from his F-Psy great-grandfather. All his life, he’s seen visions of a woman he knows is his mate. But now the visions have changed and she dies in all of them.

Theodora Marshall is a low gradient Psy and a great disappointment to her brutally ambitious family, especially her grandfather Marshall Hyde, the villain in the original series, now dead. If she weren’t deeply connected with her brilliant twin Pax, she would’ve been killed already as a child. The family has kept them separated and made a use of her as they’ve seen fit.

Now that he’s in charge of the family, Pax sends Theo to Moscow to unravel the family’s dark secrets. Yakov is ordered to be her bodyguard, and the connection that has existed since his childhood brings them fast together. But it turns out that this particular family secret is very personal for Theo.

This was an excellent book, with a good balance between the fun and the mystery. Yakov and Theo made a good couple, even if the romance happened a bit fast. She had a lot going on as she tried to make peace with her past and he was her stalwart support.

There was also a secondary romance, between Yakov’s twin Pavel and E-Psy Arwen Mercant, which has been going on for a couple of books already. It’s a nice, uncomplicated romance, which is probably why it never made its own book. At the beginnings of the chapters, we follow a heart-breaking story from the past during the time the Psy first implemented Silence protocol. And there’s a buildup for Pax’s story, which might end with him becoming the villain of the series—or the saviour.

Archangel’s Resurrection by Nalini Singh: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Archangel's Resurrection by Nalini Singh

Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series has advanced to its fifteenth book. What began as a series about vampire hunting woman and her archangel, has expanded to an entire world of vampires, angels, and archangels. In Archangel’s Resurrection the world expands even more, tens of thousands of years into the past.

We follow Alexander through his childhood and advancement in ranks over the millenia, until he becomes the Archangel of Persia. He’s already thousands of years old when he meets Zanaya who is only at the beginning of her journey to become the Archangel of North Africa, and he’s willing to wait a thousand years more, until they’re more equal in strength, to start their first romance.

It’s a story of two powerful, stubborn archangels who love for a thousand years and fight for another, only to return to each other to start the cycle of toxic love affair again. But neither can let the other completely go, even when Zanaya choses to sleep for ten thousand years to avoid the madness of angels.

The first half of the book is fairly slow, the details brushed over, with only brief moments of the two together. And when Zanaya finally awakens in the modern world, it’s only to perish at the hands of the Archangel of Death, and so Alexander has to wait a decade more for her to heal.

The main story happens in the last third of the book. Zanaya and Alexander are finally mature enough to break the cycle of stubbornness and anger and become vulnerable enough with each other to let the other in to start a proper relationship. There’s also some aftermath of the war with Lijuana to deal with that threatens to destroy their newfound happiness.

Despite the tempo difference between the two halves, this was a good book. It was interesting to see what the long lifespan of angels does to them, and to meet familiar names from earlier books. The toxic romance was a change of pace too and kept the story fresh. In the end though, I couldn’t help wishing that it hadn’t taken them quite that long to get to their senses. The ending hints at the next romance, which will likely be even longer in the timespan than this one. I can’t wait to read it.

Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston

I’m a fan of Laurenston’s work as G. A. Aiken, all those dragons and especially the Scarred Earth Saga. But Breaking Badger is the first book as Laurenston that I’ve read. It’s the book four of Honey Badger Chronicles urban fantasy series about batshit crazy honey badger shifter women, with some romance thrown in the mix.

The book description (and cover) is highly misleading. This isn’t a paranormal romance, and it doesn’t merely follow the two persons mentioned there, Mads and Finn. It most assuredly isn’t a cutesy book, like it gives to understand (“utterly irresistible kitty-cat”, lol). And it isn’t a stand-alone, like paranormal romances often are, even when they’re part of a series.

There’s a large cast of characters that each get screen time, plus a bunch of other characters that only make brief appearances for a point of view change. The main trio, Charlie, Max, and Stevie, are sisters with a traumatic past. Their stories were told in the first three books, but they continue here too. Mads is Max’s friend since school and they play pro basketball together, with three more women who also feature heavily here. Finn (as far as I know, not having read the first books) and his brothers make their first appearance here.

None of the characters are introduced properly. I have no idea how old they are or what they look like, let alone more important things, like their backstories. Much of what I know about them is conjecture, though I did read the prologues of the earlier books just to make a bit more sense of what was happening here.

Mads, a honey badger, has been abused by her hyena family all her life. Basketball is the only thing that matters to her, as is her team, which doubles as a tactical unit that kill those who abuse shifters. She’s an efficient killer, but the mere mention of her family makes her lock up. One storyline follows her finally standing up to them. But since this isn’t a cutesy romance, it’s done with a wholesale butchering, not with handholding and hugs.

Finn is a Siberian tiger, huge and lethal. He’s trying to find out who killed his father, a mystery that no one seems willing to talk about. In a cast of characters of borderline psycopaths, he’s sort of steady and normal. Mads catches his attention and the ‘romance’ sort of happens from there. In the end, the best that can be said about it is that he has a steadying influence on her.

There’s a lot going on in this book. All sort of plotlines and events that either continue from the earlier books or spring up out of blue here. Some of them are seen to their conclusion, one way or another, some aren’t. We don’t learn who killed Finn’s father, for example, and we don’t see the consequences of Mads standing up to her family. Some events are ignored completely. Like, no one seems to care who lured the honey badgers and tigers to a trap in order to butcher them all.

What this book has is batshit craziness from start to finish. At first I tried to keep up, but in the end I just let the book take me on a ride. It’s a highly entertaining ride too, if you have a high tolerance for graphic violence for comedic effect. The honey badgers are a bunch of violent psychopaths (no matter what Max’s shrinks claim), and there’s absolutely no predicting their reactions to any given situation. But I loved them all, how they’re allowed to be exactly like they are, and not ‘softened’ by love or other conventions of romance. They’re not apologising and they’re not going to change.

Unfortunately the mayhem isn’t quite enough to make this a great book. There’s no emotional payback. The romance is very low-key, and Mads dealing with her family isn’t really dealt with either. There’s a lot of action and then the book just ends.

Since this a middle book in an ongoing series, I presume that everything will continue in the next book. If it fell into my hands, I’d read it, but I won’t go out of my way to get it. Meanwhile, I’ll just wait for the next G. A. Aiken book. We’re due a new Scarred Earth Saga, aren’t we?

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

 

Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross

 

Witches Get Stitches is the third book in Stay a Spell paranormal romance series of witch sisters from New Orleans. Each has a special ability, but they have to keep them secret from humans, along with other supernatural creatures, vampires, werewolves, and grims. I liked the first two books and was eager to read this too when I received it from NetGalley.

Violet is a psychic and a tattoo artist. Nico is a werewolf singer who moves to New Orleans after a brief encounter with her, because his wolf declares she’s his mate. But she’s done a reading of their relationship and the cards predict doom, so she keeps him firmly in a friendzone.

This was a very uncomplicated romance. Both Violet and Nico were mature people who knew who they are, so there was no inner conflict with either of them. Nico’s trouble with his more violent urges was more a thing of his past, really, though a great deal was made of it. There were no large issues keeping the two apart, other than stubbornness, so no conflict there either. And what little outer pressure there was, happened so late in the book, that it didn’t affect the romance either. Basically the two simply acknowledged that they should be a pair and become one. It still managed to be an enjoyable process, and I have no complaints.

Apart from the romance, the book didn’t have much of a plot. There was a lot going on with the other sisters, but sort of in the side-lines, setting up future stories. It was fine as it was, but I wished the sisters would’ve been introduced a bit better. Even though this is the third book, I had trouble remembering who was who, or how many of them there were even.

Other than that, I found the story enjoyable, and will gladly read the rest of the series too when the books come out.

 

A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing by Susanna Allen: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

A Wolf in Duke's Clothing by Susanna Allen

A Wolf in Duke’s Clothing by Susanna Allen starts Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series. It’s a Regency romance with paranormal elements, not a paranormal romance set in a Regency world. It might seem like a small difference, but it can mean a lot for readers who like one but not the other genre. Luckily, I like both.

All the tropes are from Regency romances. We have an orphan heiress at the mercy of a dastardly guardian, a duke who sweeps in to rescue her, Ton parties, ball gowns, and a lot of floral language that borders on incomprehensible as a synonym after another is thrown at the reader.

As a Regency romance, the book works fairly well, but it drags on far too long after the plot has already ended. Nothing significant happens after the consummation of the marriage and some storylines are completely forgotten, like the missing horse. And I don’t think the author understands what an epilogue means. The ending was positively bizarre.

The weakness of the book is in its paranormal elements. There’s a lot of mythology, but none of the excitement. The dynamics of the pack are really off. Everyone shows constant deference to the alpha—Alfred, the romantic hero—and the moment they aggravate him, he subdues them with his alpha power. They seem to believe he’s a great man, but I couldn’t help thinking that they were hostages to his power and said whatever he wished them to. I certainly wasn’t shown otherwise.

His behaviour is at worst in his dealings with Felicity, the heroine. First he abducts her. Then he tries his alpha powers on her. It’s bad enough in an ordinary situation, but then he tries to subdue her with the power when she refuses sex. The moment she says no, his first instinct is to take her will away. Not once but several times.

That she’s able to resist him isn’t relevant (it could’ve been demonstrated in a different situation completely), nor is it relevant that he was, for the most part, a nice man. The point is that he’s the kind of man who naturally considers taking a woman’s will away to have his way with her the moment she resists him. He stops this after a while, but only because he knows it doesn’t work. That he shouldn’t do it isn’t even addressed.

Not all alphas need to be the same. That would make a boring read. But all romantic heroes, regardless of the genre, should be strong enough that their weaknesses don’t manifest as bullying. I was so disgusted with Alfred that I ended up skipping all the sex scenes. Luckily they were at the end of the book, which was overlong as it was.

This could’ve been a good book, a fresh take on two genres. Now it sort of failed both because the hero was such a disappointment. Fans of Regency romances might find this a refreshing change of pace, if they can ignore the hero. Fans of paranormal romances might want to give it a pass. However, I think I’ll read the next book too, if only to find out if it has a better hero.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

A Wolf after My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson

A Wolf After My Own Heart is the second book in BeWere My Heart urban fantasy series by MaryJanice Davidson. I haven’t read the first book, but it didn’t matter at all, as this one had a unique plot and plenty of references to the previous book and characters.

The book is set in a small town outside St. Paul, Minnesota, and the world is mostly like ours, but populated with various weres ranging from wolves and bears to kangaroos and Tasmanian devils. They go under human radar, but with their own social organisations like child services and fire brigades.

Lila, a human—or Stable, though she doesn’t know that word yet—has just moved into a huge old house in a quiet neighbourhood. Her very first night, she runs over a wolf and finds an injured bear cub. The first disappears before she has a chance to do anything, but the cub she takes home. Only for it to shift into a little girl. This plunges her into a strange new world of weres, including Oz, the sexy social worker werewolf who’s supposed to look after the bear cub now that her parents are dead.

There’s instant attraction between Lila and Oz, but it doesn’t really go anywhere fast. For all that this is advertised as a sexy romance, anything romantic is pretty much in a backburner, and sexy things happen behind closed doors and only at the very end. This is more of a paranormal mystery, where the characters are trying to find out what happened to the cub’s parents and who is trying to kill her. The mystery unfolds in a fairly haphazard way, with everything happening in the last chapters of the book. The ending is satisfying, but not exactly a happily ever after kind of affair.

I liked the book, but I had some issues. The two point of view characters, Lila and Oz, had similar inner monologues that made them seem like ADDs off their meds; a stream of consciousness with many tangents that were supposed to be quirky and funny, but were only exhausting. It was difficult to tell them apart at times and more annoyingly, the inner monologues were in contrast with their actions. Oz was an accountant turned social worker, reliable but yearning for some action, and Lila was a survival who was prepared for everything life could throw at her. I haven’t read other books from Davidson, but I suspect this is her writing style that trumps the characters’ own voices. This stretched to other characters too, who only communicated with snarky, often really mean comments, which made them fairly unlikeable.

I’m also not a fan of a writing style where a scene starts in the middle, with nothing to indicate who is talking, where, when and why, with the POV character explaining the scene later. It made the narrative very clunky, and required a lot of backtracking. There were also footnotes from the author that constantly yanked me off the narrative and the world. Towards the end, a new point of view character was added to explain the plot, which confused the matters further. If it hadn’t been for the really sweet child characters and some funny moments, this would have been a three star book. But there was something compelling about the setting and the mystery, if not the romance, which left me happy with the book in the end, so it gets four stars.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bane’s Choice by Alyssa Day: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

Bane’s Choice by Alyssa Day

Bane’s Choice starts the Vampire Motorcycle Club series, and I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I haven’t read books by Alyssa Day before and based on this one, I’m not sure I will.

It’s a fairly typical first book in a paranormal romance series. There’s the main couple, a group of secondary characters that are given enough airtime to make the reader curious about their stories, and a larger enemy that will threaten the wellbeing of the characters throughout the series. Yet it failed to engage me.

Bane is a three hundred years old vampire living in Savannah who runs a motorcycle club with ruthless anger. Ryan is a doctor who believes herself boring. There’s instant lust between them, brought on by her inebriation and his fascination with a human he can’t control with magic. She has a rude awakening into the world of supernatural, but she rises to the occasion and discovers she’s stronger than she believed. Along the way, they fall in love.

I found the love story slightly problematic. It wasn’t that Bane had a tendency to force his will on Ryan, because she soon taught him to ask for consent in everything. But their love relied too much on other characters telling Ryan how wonderful Bane is when all the evidence she—and the reader—got was the opposite. Yet she based her love on the testimony of other people. So I found it difficult to believe in their happily ever after.

Beyond the romance, the story was all over the place. There was a vampire whose turning was going badly; there was a mystery concerning Ryan; there were issues between secondary characters; there were werewolves to deal with and the emergence of the enemy, warlock necromancers who were trying to take over the territory. None of it guided the narrative in any way. The enemy showed up when it wanted to and was gone in the next chapter (that dealt with something else as if nothing was amiss), and the solutions to all the problems showed up on their own at the end.

At no point were the characters in charge of the narrative, or their fates, including the final battle. They just spent the book reacting to events around them. In consequence, I spent it wondering when it will properly start. On top of all this, the book was filled with placeholder scenes that didn’t advance the plot and only existed to tell Ryan once again how wonderful Bane was, or summed up the plot in a couple of sentenses of ’the enemy was found and dealt with.’ All this made the book overly long and gave the notion that the author didn’t really know where she was going with it.

I had issues with the characters and the setting too. All the main characters were constantly angry and aggressive, reacting to one another with violence and rage. I found it difficult to understand what had kept them together all these centuries if they hated each other so much. I didn’t find them interesting or likeable, and I don’t want to read more about them. Savannah as a setting was an odd choice too. I just couldn’t fathom why it was of such strategic importance that a powerful organisation of warlocks would start their conquering of the US from there. If the author had utilised the special features of the place to paint a better picture of it for the reader, it might have worked as a unique location, but now it was just a lifeless backdrop that could’ve been anywhere in the world. And the greatest issue of all: why is it called Bane’s Choice when he doesn’t get to choose anything, and why is it called the vampire motorcycle club, when none of the characters showed any interest in motorcycles and—apart from the opening scene—the bikes played no role in the story?

 

The Princess Knight by G. A. Aiken: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken

The Princess Knight, the second book in Aiken’s The Scarred Earth series, focuses on Gemma, the war monk sister of Queen Keeley. She’s not quite as overwhelmingly larger than life as her eldest sister, but she makes a compelling lead character too.

Two years has gone since the first book. The war hasn’t begun yet, and Keeley has had time to settle down in the town she’s claimed as hers. Then someone starts to destroy all the various religious sects and kill the worshippers of the myriad gods. The war monks could be next, so Keeley sends Gemma to warn them. She hasn’t been back with her people since she left two years earlier, and she’s considered a traitor of the order. She might face death when she returns, but she goes anyway.

This is in many ways a smaller book than the first. The plot isn’t quite as epic in scope, concentrating more on Gemma and her dealing with her past. The cast of characters is smaller, though random point of view characters still pop up at odd times for a couple of paragraphs. There aren’t as many huge fights between the sisters. The plot about the worshippers of one god never rises to become the threat it’s supposed to be. Beatrix, the evil queen, is mostly in the background. Even the love story, the inevitable consequence of mixing genres like epic fantasy and paranormal romance, sort of happens in the side-lines, despite Gemma and Quinn spending most of their time together, and Quinn remains a bit of a cardboard character. Worst of all, there isn’t enough Keeley. Her larger than life character carried the first book. Here she is mostly observed from the outside, with only a couple of point of view chapters towards the end. I missed her greatly.

This being said, Gemma was strong enough a character to carry the book by herself. The plot was entertaining, there was constant action in one form or another, and the group of people she ended up gathering around her were interesting and different from the people around Keeley, so there was no repetition. In the end, she rises as a more determined and less angry person who is ready to lead her people. And the twist at the end ensures that I’m more than eager to read the next book too.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Blacksmith Queen by G. A. Aiken: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

The Blacksmith Queen, The Scarred Earth Saga 1, is one of those books that I noticed when it came out and then discarded, as I had other books to read at the time. It seemed to ride on the wave of popular fantasy books that have come out in recent years where a strong underdog queen has to fight to capture and/or keep her realm, complete with a cover that has a crown on it. Turned out, it wasn’t quite that book.

The book is by G. A. Aiken, who has mostly written steamy paranormal romances with dragons in them (and other paranormal romances as Shelly Laurenston). But turned out, this wasn’t quite that either—though a dragon does make an appearance. It’s a combination of the two, with an epic fantasy plot and paranormal fantasy pacing. The romance is slow burn on the background and never the main goal, although the second book does concentrate on a different pairing. It’s a book about women, three sisters, with men taking the side roles.

It’s a story of a larger than life family, literally, who through machinations of one of their own find itself in the centre of a battle for succession, despite being peasants and blacksmiths. Keeley is a master blacksmith, a huge woman with great strength and skill—and heart. She believes good of everyone and doesn’t believe in absolute evil. When her sister Beatrix is declared a queen by witches, she sets out to protect her, only to be declared a queen too, much against her will. But Beatrix won’t take her sister’s competition lying down, so the family is torn in two, with Beatrix on one side and the rest siding with Keeley.

While the scope of the story is epic, building towards a huge war in some future book, the execution is that of a paranormal fantasy. The chapters are short and the scenes are always on the point with no time wasted on the road. I’ve recently lost my appetite for fantasy that takes a third of a book to just set the characters in their normal before plunging them into something new, so this kind of fast narrative where every chapter advances the plot works for me perfectly.

There are several point of view characters, some of whom only exist to offer an insight to an event, but the core characters emerge as interesting individuals. The main couple is Keeley and Caid, a centaur warrior who is more than a match to the huge blacksmith who finds herself building an army to take out the old regime. Gemma, Keeley’s sister who is a war monk and feared by everyone, will take the centre stage in the next book. What made this book a fun read was the relationship between the sisters. Keeley and Gemma were constantly fighting with loud voices, but they also had each other’s back when needed. Everyone’s a little crazy, but their hearts are in the right place. And like in all good epic fantasy, the evil queen is evil and needs taking down. I can’t wait to read the next book to see where this all leads.

 

Don’t Hex and Drive by Juliette Cross: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Don't Hex and Drive by Juliette Cross

Don’t Hex and Drive is the second book in Stay a Spell series by Juliette Cross, and I received an early copy from NetGalley for reviewing. The series follows six sisters in New Orleans who are all witches with their special skills. The world also has vampires, werewolves and mysterious grimms, all living in secret from most of the humanity; though how that’s possible in the modern world of social media, I’m not sure.

I read the first two books back to back. Wolf Gone Wild is a nice paranormal romance, but not a very good book, as it has practically no plot and is filled with empty scenes that serve the romance but aren’t terribly exciting. Mateo is unable to shift into a wolf and suspects he’s been hexed and asks Evie to break the curse. But no one even investigates who’s cursed him and why. As a result, it’s the villain who gets to set the pace. The baddie shows up out of the blue in the last chapter and the entire story is acted out there. But I gave it three stars because I liked Evie and Mateo.

Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross

In comparison, Don’t Hex and Drive is a much better and more interesting book. It has a proper plot that not only drives the actions of the characters but influences the romance as well. The book doesn’t seem like it’s been filled with empty scenes that only serve to inflate the word count. The mystery of women being kidnapped by vampires isn’t terribly mysterious and is solved easily in the end, but since this is a romance anyway, it doesn’t matter all that much. And the character motivations that drive the couple apart stem from their lives and are believable.

Isadora is a nice person, a witch with a great ability to heal and a tendency to keep herself in the background. But like with Evie in the first book, I had really hard time remembering that she’s in her late thirties and not early twenties. Devraj is a vampire tracker and a Bollywood star, an odd combination for someone who not only needs to keep his vampire side a secret, but has to go on missions that might take months. How the stardom came to be isn’t mentioned. He’s very charming, but I didn’t like him at all at first. He comes across as a bully who wants to push himself into Isadora’s life against her wishes. He turns better though, and I was able to enjoy their romance. And I think he redeemed himself in the end. There’s more sex in this book than the first one, but the scenes are well written and they fit the story well. And I’m really starting to like the Savoie sisters and will happily follow their stories.

 

Summer reading roundup

I took a few weeks off from this blog for a summer vacation and so haven’t updated anything since June. I didn’t stop reading though. On the contrary. Here’s a quick recap.

False Security by Lindsay Buroker

False Security by Lindsay Buroker continues her exciting UF series Death Before Dragons. In this fifth book, vampires are going missing, including Val’s vampire friend; Val accepts a job as a bodyguard to a tech billionaire, Zav takes her to the realm of elves to see her father, and Val ends up with roommates—and a new house too. For a woman who’s kept people at arm’s length, she’s building a nice new family for herself. Zav talks a lot about vigorous mating, now that he’s officially claimed her, but nothing really happens. There’s a lot of action, like always, and the final battle has bears and naked vampires in it. You don’t want to miss it. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)

Twisted Twenty-six by Janet Evanovich

Twisted Twenty-six is the latest in Janet Evanovich’s long-running Stephanie Plum mystery series. The series has felt tired for quite long now, but here it returns to its old form—to an extent. The stakes are genuinely high, violence has consequences, and humorous incidents don’t dominate everything else. Stephanie takes stock of her life, giving an impression of continuity between the books, which is usually lacking. Lesser side characters, Connie and Stephanie’s parents included, have actual roles. And the ending hints at the same story continuing in the next book. I’m really looking forward to it. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch

False Value is the eight book in Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, and it doesn’t let down. I had a brief scare at the beginning that Peter wouldn’t be his usual copper self, but luckily that didn’t turn out to be the case, as he’s undercover. The first part of the book was slightly different than usually, as it was told in alternating chapters in the present and the past to set up the reason for Peter’s latest assignment. Once that was over, the story advanced in the usual meandering manner where the reader isn’t entirely sure what’s going on until it’s all over. There was a bit more Beverly in this book than before—she is pregnant after all—and she is becoming a real person, but the other side characters remain a bit two dimensional. This includes the staples like Nightingale and Sergeant Guleed. There was some mayhem at the end, but Peter managed not to destroy half of London this time round. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or not about that. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)

Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid

Engagement and Espionage is a spinoff of Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid and starts a new Solving for Pie series. It features Cletus, the devious mastermind in hillbilly’s body, and his betrothed Jennifer the pie queen, and it’s a mystery, not romance—most of the time. The mystery of strangled chickens wasn’t terribly difficult to solve, but Jenn’s strained relationship with her parents took some work. And the two of them just couldn’t catch a break, mostly because Cletus couldn’t see past his romantic machinations. It was fun and emotional, like Ms Reid’s books usually are. I’ll definitely read the next book. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)

Queen’s Gambit by Karen Chance

Queen’s Gambit continues Karen Chance’s Dorina Basarab UF series. It’s the fifth book, but as the series is parallel with Chance’s other, longer series, it feels like Dory’s been around forever. The book has a promising start: a sneak attack separates Dory and Dorina, giving the latter a body of her own. From there, we follow two separate adventures, as they both try to figure out what has happened, why and by whom, and how to get back together again.

Unfortunately, instead of a proper plot, we have endless battles in both storylines, some of which don’t really have anything to do with the actual aim of the book. And then the book ends without any conclusion to either story. Dory ends up where she began, practically none the wiser, and Dorina’s story ends with a kind of a cliff-hanger.

Of the two stories, I liked Dorina’s better, as she has for the first time a chance to reflect her weird existence within Dory. Dory’s storyline evolved into endless discussion about her marriage with Louis-Césare, which got old after a while. The only good thing I can say about it is that they managed to talk things through and reach some sort of understanding.

This was not my favourite in the series by any means. But these books have had greatly uneven quality before, so I’m not giving up yet. And the way Dorina’s story ended, it gives me hope that the two series will connect properly for the first time in the next book. We’ll see. (3/5 stars on Goodreads)

The Enforcer Enigma by G. L. Carriger

The Enforcer Enigma is the third book in San Andreas Shifters M/M paranormal romance series by Gail Carriger, writing as G.L. Carriger. It’s been a while since I read the previous book, but it felt like coming home, warm and cosy. The characters and the entire pack are coming together nicely and they’re not constantly on defensive anymore, which changes the dynamic of the story.

Perhaps that’s why it felt like the love story of Colin and Judd took a backseat to the main plot. It was a nice mystery plot that was solved really fast, but I really would’ve liked to read more of the lovely pair. That said, the two stories went hand in hand, there were really good moments between the pair and it felt believable all the way. Colin opened up nicely and Judd finally found his home in Colin. On top of that, Trick was a great new addition to the group and I’ll definitely read how it’ll turn out with his bear in the next book. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)

On top of these books, I read a few I’d received free from NetGalley. I’ll write separate reviews of those later.

Alpha Night by Nalini Singh: review (plus some other books)

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

It’s been three weeks since I updated this blog the last time, so this is going to be a long post of everything I’ve read since.

I’m not sure why I bother reviewing Nalini Singh’s books anymore. They’re all great. Five stars. Even if the plot in some is slightly thinner than in others, she has the amazing ability to write unabashedly emotional characters who manage to convey their emotions straight to reader’s heart. Alpha Night is no exception.

It’s the fourth book in the Psy-Changeling spin-off series called Psy-Changeling Trinity. It’s again set in Russia, this time with a wolf pack there. Selenka is the alpha of the pack and Ethan is a damaged Arrow (as if there were any other kind). The book starts with a mating bond forming between the two at the first sight, and takes the romance from there. Obstacles on their path rise from Ethan’s mental damage that can only lead to death, on top of which the enemies of Selenka’s pack move in on them. And then there’s the larger plot of the psy-net unravelling, which may lead to the death of the entire psy-race. There are high emotions and a great reward at the end. All in all, a perfect romance novel.

The Graveyard Shift by Darynda Jones

It’s not the only book I’ve read since my last blog post. Darynda Jones published a short romance set in her Charley Davidson world. The Graveyard Shift takes place a few years after the final book in the series and features Garrett Swopes, a PI friend of Charley’s who has one task: keep Charley and Rey’s daughter safe. And then she disappears. Out of options, he seeks help from the mother of his son, whom he resents for various reasons. It’s an opportunity for a second chance romance for them. However, the book is curiously thin on romance—though there’s of course a happily ever after ending. The main focus is on Beep, the daughter, and what happens to her during her absence. Basically, the book sets up the next phase in the series. So, even if the romance is a bit dull, the book is essential reading for anyone who wants to keep reading the series.

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole is a delightful love story between two people who are both recovering from an accident that has affected their memories, but with a twist—revealed in the title—that one of them is a biomechanical human, basically a replicant from Blade Runner. It’s set in somewhat dark future, after WW3. America is run by an organisation called Hive that controls people, or at least its employees with AIs, robots and fear. The focus is on the love story though, emphasised by the fact that the two never leave the apartment complex where they live. There’s a mystery unfolding on the background that upends both their lives when its revealed, done well-enough that I never even suspected it. Quite a lot was left unexplained in the end though, so I assume there will be a series focusing on other characters mentioned in this book. I’d read them.

Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Firelight by Kristen Callihan was a disappointing historical fantasy romance that I gave only three stars to. Two people with curses they want to keep hidden from the world and each other fall in love and then have to save the world from the Big Bad. There was a bit too much artificially forced secrecy between the two, and the falling in love seemed to happen outside the narrative and was simply given to the reader, but the plot was interesting and the solution to the curse was unique. I liked Archer and Miranda, didn’t instantly guess who the baddy was—or why—and approved the way the day was saved in the end, but the narrative dragged and the outside threat to the couple never felt immediate. The main character of the next book was introduced in this one, but I didn’t like him and I probably won’t read his story.

Changeling by Molly Harper

Another historical fantasy I read is Changeling by Molly Harper. It’s a delightful middle grade story of a servant girl who learns she can do magic in a society sharply divided to haves and have nots based on their ability with magic. It has everything such a book needs: a rags to riches story, adventure, making new friends in a boarding school for witches, and even a little romance. Sarah/Cassandra is a good-hearted girl who learns to survive in her new reality with the help of a magical book and her two new friends. I’ll definitely read the next book too.

Elven Doom by Lindsay Buroker

On top of these romances I read Elven Doom by Lindsay Buroker, a fourth book in the Death Before Dragons urban fantasy series. It’s yet another solid four star book from her: action packed, funny and romantic. Val and Zav’s romance should’ve moved to a new level, but things are ruined by Zav’s sister. Also the dark elves are ready to destroy the world. The book has a slight wrapping-things-up feel to it despite leaving much unsolved, but I hope this isn’t the last we hear from these characters. Things are just getting interesting. I also read a collection of short stories and scenes written from Zav’s point of view called The Forbidden Ground, which was a nice addition to the series. I’m not sure if it’s on sale yet, as it was a newsletter gift from the author to her readers. 

These books were joined by three I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And, honestly, two of them weren’t anywhere near being published yet. Calypso’s Heart by M.C. Solaris resulted in my first ever one star review on Goodreads (I usually never write a review if it’s going to be that bad) based on the eight chapters I managed to read before giving up in rage. Paradise Rising by P.G. Shriver got two stars, but only because I actually finished it. Into the Black was a fairly interesting sci-fi mystery/romance I gave three stars to. Nothing terribly wrong with that one, but it failed to properly engage my interest. You can read my Goodreads reviews by clicking the name of the book.

All in all, a busy and interesting month of reading. NetGalley has definitely broadened my reading habits with books that I might not otherwise choose to read. If I’m not always happy with them, I at least learn a lot from them for my own writing. And that can only be a good thing.