The Demon King and I by Candace Havens

Series: A Caruthers Sisters Novel, Book 1

Genre: Paranormal - Chick Lit

Copyright: 2008

Pages: 303

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Review: This was my first Candace Havens book and a good quick read. If this was her first book, then it is a very good effort.

Gillian is a Guardian who kills demons. Oldest of 4 sisters, her family basically keep earth safe from the creepy things in other dimensions. In addition to being earth's guardians, the entire family is high profile with Gillian herself a lawyer and gallery owner. Now there is a new demon king in charge who looks very human and very hot and they will need to combine forces to tackle the latest inter-dimensional problem.

This story had a lot of promise and I feel it could have been a lot better. The writer spent a lot of time on the world building in the first half and tried to show how the sisters maintain a balance between their public side as celebrities and the world saving side. However I really found the public part and discussion no which dress to chose and which colour matches really annoying. I guess chick lit paranormal isn't for me.

The romance part between Gillian and Arath wasn’t really developed - they wanted each other, but other than that, we weren't really shown how it suddenly led to love. The other characters didn’t really have a lot of depth although I really liked the relationship between the siblings.

A lot of the stuff in terms of loose ends were just told in the end and I would have liked to see it actually happen, since for me that was the more important part of the book. There were some instances where the wrong character name was used or some things the characters said were never discussed before and seemed to come out of left field.

However, as light fun reads go, this one made the grade. I'll probably read the next book to see if the series gets better and how the story progresses.

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Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Series: The Southern Vampire Series (Sookie Stackhouse), Book 11

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Copyright: 2011

Pages: 325

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review: 11 books on and i'm a bit confused as to where the Sookie Stackhouse Series is going. Since i won't be able to type without getting this out of the way, what is with authors and cliffhangers? With a good enough story, you don’t need to leave so many questions up in the air to get readers to pick up the next book..
Anyway, this book sees Sookie is a whole lotta new situations. She's with Eric, Sam is with a shifter from Alcide's pack and Sook has two houseguests living with her (this would be my attempt at spoiler free in case any of you haven't read the whole series in order). Anyway, Sandra Pelt is after her again, she gets dragged into Eric and Pam's latest problems and gets a bit more info on her fairy background. All of this, along with atleast a hundred other things going on with the story.

What i found annoying about this book is the unnecessary information about everything that happens to Sookie every minute of the day. It's not like being in Bella's head (and i'm truly sorry for even comparing, Ms Harris) but we really don't need to know what you had for breakfast, how hot that bathwater was and atleast a quarter of the book’s pages. The rambling never ends, makes reading the book a bit tedious and the morality discussions are getting a bit old now.

I feel like the books have lost of bit of their spark in this and the previous one. They seem to ramble from one catastrophe to the next, without letting the reader enjoy the thrill from these situations. I hope that changes soon. I like Sookie and this series, so I really hope the next book makes it worth the time I invest in it.

Read my review of the previous books here

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Just Friends by Natasha5

I found this real gem of a short book that a friend of mine was reading over at Goodreads.

You need to read this. Its available for free here

This was a very sweet read about two childhood friends, Adrian and Friday, who love each other and are always together. They're just friends, real close friends.

This is a coming of age story where Adrian discovers his feelings for Friday.

I loved Friday with his pacifist ways and big curls and flowers in his hair. What I liked best was I didn’t have to dislike one character to root for the others. This is written well enough that you can see things from all the 3 main characters points of view.

I wonder what Friday and Adrian are up to now.
Every chapter begins and ends with a snippets of a Bob Marley song.  I've been singing Bob Marley since I read this yesterday. Isn't it great when a book leaves you in a happy mood


Btw, there's a sequel (or more of an epilogue) to this story: Johnny Was.
I should also mention here that Adrian and Friday are both guys, so if you don't read MM, (even if this one is only light kissing) ....

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Queen of Dragons by Shana Abé

Series: Drakon Series, Book 3

Genre: Fantasy
 
Copyright: 2007
 
Pages: 304
 
Rating:  3/5
 
Review:  This is my third Shana Abé book and I'm still in love with all things Drakon.
The previous book the Dream Thief had my favourite character Zane, and Amalia - the daughter of Kristoff and Rue from Book 1. This one is the story of the Transylvanian Drakon Queen Maricara and Lia's elder brother, the Darkfrith Alpha Kimber.

Mari has come to Darkfrith with news of an Old enemy of the Drakon who are trying to wipe them out. But the arrival of a unknown Drakon into a Darkfrith that's been discussing her and her Transylvanian home  for years - one who is beautiful, a alpha and who can Turn causes chaos in Darkfrith, with the council, the other men and Kimber all with ideas of their own.
Good thing Mari is headstrong to handle them all.

This book for me was mostly the story of a courtship among enemies, doubt, mistrust, and longing. Almost all of it from Kim's side. I found Mari to be a well drawn character who knew what needed to be done and was very much like Rue and Amalia in her strength and stubbornness. Kim was a bit more confusing for me - an alpha thrust into the position with lil or no experience at handling everything thrown his way and a man who knew what he wanted but bumbled about while he got to it. I'd have hit him over the head and found someone else in some instances if I was Mari. Other times he was a gem. The Alpha part seemed like second skin to Kristoff, and I guess I missed that in Kim. (btw, I always thought Kimber was a girls name?)

The enemies were pretty much confusing and a lot of the story that involved them, especially the ending, left me with a huh?

Which brings me to the ending. After all that build up, anti-climax is a mild word for it. I found it too abrupt, and what really upset me was the cliff-hangers. What happened to Rhys, the other brother? Kit, Rue, Lia, Zane ..so many people I want to know about. . It wasn't really a cliff-ending as such, but it left a lot of things up in the air. Now I HAVE to read the next book. I would have anyway,  but being forced to due to abrupt endings is not a happy feeling.

I love that way Abé writes - poetry and prose all together. Each new book has new characters that have their own abilities and only add to the Drakon world. While not the best book from the 3 I've read so far, this is still a good book that'll keep you turning the pages till 3 in the morning. Do read in order of series to appreciate them though.


See my reviews of the previous books from this series:
Book 1 - The Smoke Thief
Book 2 - The Dream Thief

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River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Series: Mercedes Thompson Series, Book 6

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Copyright: 2011

Pages: 326

Rating:  4/5

Review: If Mercy and Adam together is what you're looking for, this book is a very happy present. Almost the entire book is the two of them together.

Mercy and Adam are on honeymoon and there's an ancient monster in the river near their campground - one they'll obviously need to take care of. There they meet some of the locals who help them fight the monster and we get an insight into Mercy's Native American heritage, her father and a whole lotta other people who I'll leave in suspense for now. You'll love Coyote!!

After waiting 5 books for more of Mercy & Adam together, this book gives you just that - but I think in overload. I missed not having the rest of the pack around - Bed, Warren, Samuel, especially no cameo by Bran. I can't believe I'm writing this, but there was just too much of Mercy and Adam and yet not enough to their interaction to make me happy.

"But you better put a shirt on, or your gorgeous self will cause an accident if you go running by the road, and someone sees you."

This different side to Mercy also surprised me. I don't know if I didn't notice it in the previous books but the number of times Mercy kept commenting on Adam's gorgeousness stood out for me in this one. I don't remember her going on about it so much before - but then again I guess being finally mated to someone like Adam would do that to you. 

I like that even with book 6, this series is still so lovely to read. The story flows along smoothly and in what is typical with Briggs' writing, you get immersed into it. This one is a lot more relaxed reading than the previous books. This was my first Briggs book where I took breaks in between and didn’t feel the urge to read the whole thing at one go, and in that I feel a bit disappointed, cause I've come to expect 5 star quality from Briggs. I did expect a whole lot more from River Marked, and while it didn't meet all my expectations, its still a good Mercy Thompson book.

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Quacking Ducks or Ducking Quacks? What i spent the last weeks doing

Learning how to write left handed..abstract words that help keep you awake work best.

This gem was born when i was attending trainings in Dubai. Nothing like a company sponsored shopping trip...

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The Dream Thief by Shana Abé

Series: Drakon Series, Book 1

Genre: Historical Romance, Fantasy

Copyright: 2007,

Pages: 368

Rating:  4/5

Review: The Dream Thief is book two of the Drakon Series and I loved this book as much as its predecessor, The Smoke Thief
Zane, who we knew as the scraggly lil thief who hung around Rue in book one is now all grown up. This book takes place quite a few years after the first one. Rue and Kit are settled in Darkfirth and have kids of their own.
The youngest among them is Amalia or Lia, a drakon who everyone believes has none of their gifts and cannot transform either to smoke or dragon form. But Lia hears a diamond sing to her and she dreams of the future - a future with Zane.

It is the diamond, Draumr, that forms the basis of this story - Zane is asked to retrieve it and Lia, having seen what the future holds for everyone involved,  gets together with Zane to try and change what she knows is going to happen.

As with the previous book, i'm in love with Shane Abé's writing. The words flow beautifully and it really feels like a fairy tale. I loved how the story of the past drakons have similarities to some parts of Zane and Lia's stories. I kept drawing parallels and wondering if the same thing would happen to these two.

Once, there were more of us.
Once we roamed the skies unfettered, masters of the four winds. We chased the sun and devoured the moon, sprinkled across the heavens like fierce, relentless stars. That was our right and our destiny,
and none could survive our bright-eyed devastation.
We were splendor and smoky death.
We were drákon.

 I have to admit when I read this, I found it a bit weird pairing Zane with Lia since he was 11 when he met Rue, and Rue now has kids who are teenagers themselves. So Zane, but rough math, would be bout 15-20 years older then Lia. Considering The Boyfriend is much older than me, I don’t really find this weird, but in Lia's case, it was one of the first things that crossed my mind.

I feel now that this review is full of cryptic clues and that’s because I'm trying not to give away any spoilers. This was a really good read which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to it, especially since I loved the first one so much. Shana Abe wonderfully combines the legends and old stores of the drakon with the current - giving the reader a beautiful insight into the world she has built and ensuring you come back for more. I definitely will.

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The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Series: Highland Pleasures, Book 1

Genre: Historical Romance

Copyright: 2009

Pages: 320

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review:
Sometimes, the problem with romance novels is that there's not much new that is written that makes you sit up and pay attention. They all seem to have the same ole formula with the mandatory happy ending. This is where The Madness Of Lord Ian Mackenzie stands out. Yes, it is the usual boy-girl with a dollop of villain and drama thrown in, but what Jennifer Ashley has done is take on a subject very rarely taken on in romanceland.


Lord Ian Mackenzie has been in an asylum most of him life and is known as the mad Mackenzie who doesn't look you in the eye, collects Ming pottery, and get lost in staring at a drop of ink. Ian has Asperger's Syndrome - something those bright folks in the 1800's hadn't known squat about.
His brothers try to protect his and help him blend in with everyone with his quirks but it is Beth who really gets him. Beth who makes it easy for him.

Ian almost said, Teach me to hear it as you do, but he knew that was impossible.
...
The soprano ended the piece on another long, clear note.
Beth clapped spontaneously, smiling, eyes glowing with appreciation. Ian had learned,under Mac’s and Cameron’s tutoring, how to applaud when a piece stopped, but he never understood why. Beth seemed to have no trouble understanding, and responding to, the joy of the music.

Beth Ackerly is a widow whose late husband was vicar and inherited a small fortune when the lady whose place she was working at died. She's about to marry an acquaintance of Ian's who is only after her for her money, when Ian comes to rescue, thus beginning this touching romance.

What made this only a four star for me was the disconnect that i felt in Ian and Beth's feelings for one another. Beth thinks he's hot, Ian thinks she's beautiful and that is all that's written for how these two fall in love. Ian doesn't understand her jokes and doesn't always seem to get what she's saying, but knows he needs and wants her. Beth likes being with him and seems to take care of him more than anything else.

There's some beautiful moments and the sex is very well written, but the fact that i didn't get why Ian chose Beth was what was missing in this book for me.

Don't let that stop you from picking this up though. The Mackenzies are an extremely protective, loving and entertaining family -I'm definitely picking up book two.

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Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Women of the Otherworld, Book 8

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Copyright: 2008

Pages: 252

Rating: 3 / 5

Review:
This was a quick fun read. Hope and Karl first featured in the Dates From Hell Anthology, which was enough of a teaser to make you want these two come together. This is the first series that i've read out of order. I've read the first four books, and let just say i got fed up of reading about and from Paige's POV.

This book is from Hope's and Lucas' POVs. Hope goes undercover for the Cortez Cabal to repay the debt Karl and her owe Benicio Cortez, only she's doing it alone cause Karls left her. Enter Karl, and thing get a whole lot interesting.

I liked this new side of Karl where he's trying to open up to Hope - he's always been the cool, aloof thief to me so far, so this side of him was good to see.

I liked Lucas' POV as well. It was interesting to see him struggle to maintain his beliefs and ideals and yet to what's right for the Cortez Cabal and deal with his father

All in all, a good read.

See my review of the previous books from this series here

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