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Sunday 31 July 2011

Gorgeous Covers

We all know that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but these new YA upcoming releases are just too pretty to resist!

Always a Witch

The sequel to Once a Witch is released tomorrow. Watch this space for a review!

Possess

By debut author Gretchen Mcneill, Posessed is the tale of fifteen year old Bridget Liu who develops the ability to hear, and banish, demons. Definitely one to add to the TBR list ready for its release on 23rd August.

Thursday 28 July 2011

River Marked- Patricia Briggs

River Marked (Mercy Thompson, Book 6)

Mercedes Thompson is fast becoming one of my favourite urban fantasy series. This is especially interesting as I am not usually a great fan of shapeshifter/weres. I enjoy the humour and the fact that Mercy is pretty down to earth.

This instalment of the Mercy saga was quite different to the others. Only Mercy herself and Adam really featured in this book rather than the rest of the supernatural creatures. The fae are involved but are pretty much on the sidelines and we get to meet a whole new group of beings as well as learn more about Mercy's past; even parts she didn't know herself!

I was torn between missing the other characters and enjoying reading about a whole new supernatural subset but on the end the latter won. I liked the idea of introducing something other than the usual vamps, weres, fae etc that are now so common among the genre. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing more of them throughout the series.

River Marked is a good addition that keeps the series fresh and keeps me wanting to read more and more.

Saturday 23 July 2011

Review- This Side of the Grave- Jeaniene Frost

This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 5)

I enjoyed this instalment to the series, and found it fast paced and exciting albeit a bit less so than the the others. the ending seemed a little too simple but i am dying for the next book to come out as I expect it will be excellent.

This book was very emotional both between Cat and Bones and also the scene with Don. It was more of a calm ride for Cat and Bones though with a lot less of the relationship drama than the other books. The emotional side was more of a cementing of their feelings for each other.

I hadn't read any of the spin off books and I do wish I had read them first as some of the story-lines from those books are mentioned here.

Overall a good addition to the series but not my favourite so far.

Review of Earth by Shauna Granger

Earth: Book One In The Elemental Series (Volume 1)

I really enjoyed this book. I've been a bit disillusioned recently with young adult and self published books recently. I'm more of an adult urban fantasy person these days but this was definitely worth a read.

However, I saw this on amazon for about 68p ($1.38) and couldn't resist- I've been on a bit of a witchy craze recently with my reading choices.

I found that the general grammar and spelling in this was pretty good compared to a few ebooks I have read recently, plus the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. The main character Shayna is refreshingly not a whiny or too stupid to live heroine. If I had a criticism of her it would be that she is, very occasionally, just a bit too straight laced and goody two shoes for my personal liking.

I've always had an interest in Wicca, and the book was good as it blended some real aspects of wicca such as elements, casting a circle etc with some more fantastical elements like demons and 'superpowers'.

The dynamic between Shayna and her friends is interesting and is a key focus throughout the book. There are also some romantic aspects to the story but these are minimal enough to add to the story rather than take over and become irritating.

I am really looking forward to reading the next one - 'Air'- when it is published.

Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson series

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson)Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson Novels)Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, Book 5)

Wow, what a series! These are the first 5 books in the series. Watch this space for a review of book six River Marked (Mercy Thompson, Book 6)

The series chronicles the adventures of Mercedes Thompson, a shapeshifter and auto mechanic who can change into a coyote and is possibly the last of her species. Mercy was brought up by werewolves and over the course of the first five books we get to meet vampires and fey as well as many werewolves.

The world building is handled skilfully, and the result is a believable melting pot of supernatural species. Mercy has a natural skill for landing herself in trouble but luckily she manages to get through most situations by the skin of her teeth. When things get really sticky, there is always a hunky werewolf or two just waiting to rescue her!

One of my favourite things about this series is that sometimes it's the men that get kidnapped and need rescuing rather than the big strong alpha males saving the little woman every time. It's definitely equal opportunities when it comes to danger.

There are lots of men to lust after, but the romance doesn't take over the story and there is plenty of action throughout the series.

I won't spoil it too much for you by giving the plot away but if you haven't gotten round to reading these yet then definitely put them to the top of your to read list. You won't regret it!