Celtic Moon by Jan DeLima

Released: September 24, 2013
Format: e-book
Publisher: Penguin

Series: Celtic Wolves #1

Source: Purchased

Excerpt: Yes

Like father, like son…
 
Sophie Thibodeau has been on the run from the father of her son for more than fifteen years. Now her son, Joshua, is changing, and her greatest fears are about to be realized. He’s going to end up being just like his father—a man who can change into a wolf.
 
Dylan Black has been hunting for Sophie since the night she ran from him—an obsession he cannot afford in the midst of an impending war. Dylan controls Rhuddin Village, an isolated town in Maine where he lives with an ancient Celtic tribe. One of the few of his clan who can still shift into a wolf, he must protect his people from the Guardians, vicious warriors who seek to destroy them.
 
When Sophie and Dylan come together for the sake of their son, their reunion reignites the fierce passion they once shared. For the first time in years, Dylan’s lost family is within his grasp. But will he lose them all over again? Are Joshua and Sophie strong enough to fight alongside Dylan in battle? Nothing less than the fate of his tribe depends on it….

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Don’t let the cover dissuade you: CELTIC MOON is an interesting book. It’s not the best werewolf book I’ve ever read but it has some strong points.

First, I enjoyed the mythology that DeLima brings to the table. It’s Celtic, as you can probably guess from the book and series titles, which is something we don’t see too much in the genre. The author has created a novel history for her shape shifters (which is how the characters self-identify, as opposed to werewolves) and I really liked the details that are included. The main one, of course, is that there are basically two factions of shape shifters: those that follow the Guardians (there’s a long Welsh name that goes here) and those who are opposed to the Guardians, like our protagonist Dylan and his people. The Guardians are very prescriptive and dogmatic, which is why not everyone is enthused by their rules, which lead to the killing of children who can’t shift or who are born as animals, for example. They aren’t nice people so it’s easy to get on-side with Dylan and his people.

Another aspect of the mythology is that these shape shifters live for a very long time. Dylan is thousands of years old and remembers growing up in Wales back when it was called Cymru. Some of his followers and guards are his contemporaries while others are younger. Sophie, his wife, is a regular old human but I found her to be much more interesting because of the transformation she goes through to become the woman she is in present day in CELTIC MOON. We get some flashbacks to when she met Dylan and she was a much softer, naive version of herself. I liked tougher, warier Sophie a lot better, because she was more secure in herself and because she’s more equal to Dylan in strength of personality and conviction (even if she can’t match him for brute strength). You can see why they’re drawn to each other. I also really liked their son Joshua and I hope he’ll get his own book once he’s a bit older.

On the negative side, though, some of the plot/characters are a bit predictable. There are definitely moments where I was surprised, which I loved, but CELTIC MOON does have its more typical moments. Nothing distracted me from my reading — which I did in a single sitting — but you’ll be able to guess where certain plot strands are headed.

I’ve got the second book in the series, SUMMER MOON, for review so look for that to post over on Team Tynga’s Reviews some time in September or October!

A favourite quote from MAGIC BURNS

I’m re-reading the Kate Daniels series in anticipation of MAGIC BREAKS and here’s a great quote from MAGIC BURNS, the second book in the series. It’s Kate’s description of Derek in Chapter 2. My favourite part is the last line:

He had a fresh, clean-cut face and velvet brown eyes framed in embarassingly long eyelashes. If it wasn’t for the promise of a masculine square jaw, he would be bordering on “pretty.” On the plus side, if he ever had to fight through a room full of adolescent girls, he only needed to blink a couple times, and they would all faint.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels knows how waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shape shifters, she quickly realizes much more is at stake. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug of war between two gods hoping for rebirth, and if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive.

Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

Released: February 5, 2014
Format: e-book
Publisher: DAW

Series: Eric Carter #1

Source: Purchased

Excerpt: Yes

Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it’s a title Eric Carter is stuck with.

He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He’s turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course.

When he left LA fifteen years ago, he thought he’d never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.

But now his sister’s been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why.

 Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it’s the patrion saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who’s taken an unusually keen interest in him.

Carter’s going to find out who did it, and he’s going to make them pay.

As long as they don’t kill him first.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Admin note: Sorry for the late post. I’ve been swamped with work so I wrote it on the train to London. I’m heading to the capital for some quality time with the British Library and a public lecture. Who knows how to have an exciting weekend?]

If I had to keep it short and sweet, I’d just say: DEAD THINGS is the tits!

If you have a bit more time to read, here’s why. DEAD THINGS is a very cool entry into urban fantasy, bringing us a necromancer unlike the others that populate the literature. Eric Carter is a man without a home, voluntarily exiled from Los Angeles to keep his sister alive. He’s been roaming for 15 years, talking to ghosts, banishing them, killing when necessary, living completely off the grid. He’s covered in tattoos that help him in some way — protection, spellcasting, etc. (even he can’t remember what they all do) — and he’s got a little bit of reluctant hero vibe. He’s capable of noble deeds — after all, he left LA to keep his sister Lucy safe and he does a fair bit of smiting — but he’s also a loner with a lot of emotional baggage. He literally has no physical baggage since he’s a vagabond by choice, which was quite interesting because his lifestyle reminds me a lot of what you see in post-apocalyptic stories, where people don’t have many possessions because they’re so focused on survival.

Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if Eric was just running around doing a case of the week so Blackmoore drags him back to LA by killing Lucy.  No one in LA can figure out what happened but Eric’s gifts make him the man for the job. Plus, he has no one left to protect now that Lucy is dead so there’s less keeping him out of the city. The mysteries of who killed Lucy and why Lucy was killed were unpredictable and well motivated so you know I loved that aspect of the story.

The world building is also outstanding in DEAD THINGS. Blackmoore draws on various mythologies to populate his world. Eric interacts with a range of deities/supernaturals including Baron Samedi and the Aztec goddess Santa Muerte. Like my fave Kevin Hearne, Blackmoore isn’t restricted to a particular pantheon; instead, everything seems to be fair game in Eric Carter’s world. I love it when authors do this because it means the possibilities are so broad. Many of Eric’s key interactions in DEAD THINGS are with Santa Muerte but there are also ghosts of people he killed, gangsters, and more to keep him busy in between his encounters with Santa Muerte.

The book ends with a very interesting revelation and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus

Released: February 7, 2012
Format: e-book
Publisher: Signet

Series: Moon Shifter #1

Source: Personal shelf

Excerpt:

Ana Cordona has been a strong leader for the lupine shifters who survived after all the males and most of the females in her pack were mysteriously poisoned. As tough as she is, with no Alpha male, the pack is vulnerable to the devious shifter Sean Taggart, who wants to claim both their ranch and Ana as his own. When Connor Armstrong comes back into her life, promising protection, it’s almost enough to make Ana forget how he walked out on her before—and reluctantly accept his offer to mate.

The minute Connor sees Ana again, it reawakens a raw hunger. He must have her for his bondmate—his wolf cries out for it. But his human side knows he must proceed with caution because of their complicated past. If he is to truly have her body and soul, he must go beyond his burning desire and win back her heart. Whatever it takes, he is determined not to leave her side again. But Taggart and his rival pack are not their only enemies. A human element in town is targeting shifters. Their plan not only threatens Ana and Connor’s future, but the lives of the entire pack…

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Although I’ve read some less-than-positive reviews of ALPHA INSTINCT, I was still eager to give it a try because I’d heard some good things about the world building. The Moon Shifters series is set in an open world, where regular folks know about shifters, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night, with varying degrees of acceptance. In the town near Ana Cordona and her family’s ranch, people are generally okay with their presence, though not many humans go out of their way to socialize with the shifters, who are much stronger and longer-lived. In fact, the main people who take issue with Ana and her pack are the neighbouring group of shifters, led by the completely sleazy criminal Sean Taggert. Ana and her pack are quite vulnerable, as the blurb says, because all of the males died after someone tried to poison the entire group; Ana is trying to lead because she knows that the remaining women and children could lose everything if she complains to the shifter leaders about Taggert’s behaviour. She’s completely on edge when Connor shows up to save the day, in his supremely Alpha way. I generally liked the way Reus constructs the world but it wasn’t terribly extraordinary.

The characters were also likeable but unextraordinary. Ana and Connor have history and chemistry and I enjoyed watching them do the dance but I wasn’t dazzled by any of the people in the story. I did like the incorporation of Native American people (as secondary characters) and belief systems, though, and I hope this is something Reus will explore more in  future novels.

There’s also an overall mystery of who killed all of the shifters that led to Ana’s rise to leader and that part was well executed. Although we don’t find out the poisoner’s motivations until the big reveal, it was a logical storyline and one that may have consequences beyond ALPHA INSTINCT.

On the whole, this novel is a fairly average entry into the paranormal romance genre but I did enjoy reading ALPHA INSTINCT. I think there’s potential in this series and I hope that Reus will continuing developing her world and characters, so that the Moon Shifters series can become something truly outstanding.

Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer

Released: May 28, 2013
Format: e-book
Publisher: Ace

Series: Noon Onyx #2

Source: Personal shelf

Excerpt: No

Lucifer and his army triumphed at Armageddon, leaving humans and demons living in uncertain peace based on sacrifice and strict laws. It is up to those with mixed demon and human blood, the Host, to prevent society from falling into anarchy.

Noon Onyx is the first female Host in memory to wield the destructive waning magic that is used to maintain order among the demons. Her unique abilities, along with a lack of control and a reluctance to kill, have branded her as an outsider among her peers. Only her powerful lover, Ari Carmine, and a roguish and mysterious Angel, Rafe Sinclair, support her unconventional ways.
 
When Noon is shipped off to a remote outpost to investigate several unusual disappearances, a task that will most likely involve trying and killing the patron demon of that area, it seems Luck is not on her side. But when the outpost settlers claim that an ancient and evil foe has stepped out of legend to commit the crimes, Noon realizes that she could be facing something much worse than she ever imagined….

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A quick post because I’ve got to leave in a few… apologies for the brevity.

I bought this book a while ago but it’s taken me a while to get to it, largely due to review commitments. But it’s been great being back on Noon Onyx’s world, even if it isn’t the friendliest place for her. In FIERY EDGE OF STEEL, Noon is in her second year of training and she’s faced with a couple important milestones: choosing the Angel that she’ll work with and heading out as a Magister. She’s made a lot of strides since we first met her in DARK LIGHT OF DAY but Noon remains an unconventional waning magic user, not just because of her gender but because she lacks the ruthlessness that her fellow students possess in spades, even her lover Ari. FIERY EDGE OF STEEL forces Noon to develop a tougher skin; it’s a bit hard to see but it’s absolutely necessary if Noon and her companions are to survive.

My favourite part of FIERY EDGE OF STEEL is the introduction of the Angels that end up with Ari and Noon. I won’t say too much about them since this takes places around the 1/3 mark of the novel but I will say that they were both very interesting characters. It was great getting to know these Angels and to learn more about the Angels’ training and abilities. I know the blurb gives you the name of one of them but I don’t want to spoil how Rafe ends up with the team. 🙂

We also get to learn more about the relationships demons have with the humans who live in their territories. The book takes us to a rural setting (eventually) and the dynamics in these more isolated areas are quite different from what Noon is used to, being from a larger community. I found it really interesting because I’m a huge fan of worldbuilding and Archer really expands Noon’s world with her first real investigation.

There are also some major developments on the relationship front for Ari and Noon. They spend a lot of time together on the journey, honing their skills and defending their colleagues, but they somehow manage to make time to deepen their relationship. Of course, it wouldn’t be a very engaging novel if everything went smoothly all the time so you can probably guess that there are bumps in the investigation and also for Ari and Noon’s personal connection, since we learn a lot more about Ari this time around. He’s no longer just a strong supporter for Noon but a truly fleshed out character and some of the reveals, particularly those that come later in the book, will truly shock and amaze you.

FIERY EDGE OF STEEL builds on the strong foundation established in DARK LIGHT OF DAY. It’s a great follow up to Archer’s debut and it was so good to be back in Noon’s world.

Night Owls by Lauren M. Roy

Released: February 25, 2014
Format: eARC
Publisher: Ace

Series: Night Owls #1

Source: Publisher

Excerpt: No

Night Owls bookstore is the one spot on campus open late enough to help out even the most practiced slacker. The employees’ penchant for fighting the evil creatures of the night is just a perk…

Valerie McTeague’s business model is simple: provide the students of Edgewood College with a late-night study haven and stay as far away as possible from the underworld conflicts of her vampire brethren. She’s experienced that life, and the price she paid was far too high for her to ever want to return.

Elly Garrett hasn’t known any life except that of fighting the supernatural beings known as Creeps or Jackals. But she always had her mentor and foster father by her side—until he gave his life protecting a book that the Creeps desperately want to get their hands on.

When the book gets stashed at Night Owls for safekeeping, those Val holds nearest and dearest are put in mortal peril. Now Val and Elly will have to team up, along with a mismatched crew of humans, vampires, and lesbian succubi, to stop the Jackals from getting their claws on the book and unleashing unnamed horrors….

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I originally received this review copy for Team Tynga’s Reviews but Tynga ended up reviewing it before I got my copy. Ah, the challenges of co-blogging! But now I get to post my thoughts here so it’s not as though it’s a total waste. Heck, I’d never say a book is a waste but I’m always happy that I write on two blogs when this type of situation arises.

Overall, NIGHT OWLS is a nice book. It wasn’t insta-love but I did find NIGHT OWLS to be an interesting and well-written urban fantasy novel.

One of the things that sets NIGHT OWLS apart from other novels is that the story is told in third person, from several characters’ points of view. We start with Elly, a Hunter on the run from the Creeps/Jackals, these monstrous and murderous critters who desperately want a book in her keeping. She’s just a regular human who’s in the monster fighting business, the result of being raised by Father Value, a man who fought evil his whole life. Elly is a sharp contrast to the other main character, Val, who’s a vampire and seasoned warrior. Val runs a bookstore with her Renfield, Chaz, who also gets a turn at being the narrator at certain points in the novel.

I quite liked Elly and Val, though I didn’t feel as strongly connected to them as I do with other narrators. I think this is because of the shifting points of view. But because I wasn’t as invested, I did find NIGHT OWLS a touch less engaging than I might have with only one main character. On the other hand, I don’t think Roy could have told the same story without having multiple points of view. And the story is quite strong. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plots, and the bits of history we learn about the different characters. Despite this, I still wasn’t completely enchanted by NIGHT OWLS, though I do believe it to be a well-constructed novel.

Generally, NIGHT OWLS seems to be positively reviewed, and it is a good book. It’s not my top book of 2014 but I enjoyed reading it and would be willing to try the next book in the series whenever it comes out.

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

Taken by Benedict Jacka

This week’s review on Team Tynga’s Reviews is almost an oldie — but definitely a goodie!

The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams

I’ve also written up the third Shadow Reader novel, THE SHARPEST BLADE, over on Team Tynga’s Reviews. See why I call it a “fitting conclusion” to the series.

The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams

Released: October 30, 2012
Format: Mass market paperback
Publisher: Ace

Series: Shadow Reader #2

Source: Personal shelf

McKenzie Lewis has a gift. It allows her access to a world few have seen, and even fewer can comprehend. It’s her secret. And it exists in the shadows…

McKenzie was a normal college student, save for one little twist: she’s a shadow reader, someone who can both see the fae and track their movements between our world and the Realm. It’s a gift for which she has been called insane, one for which she has risked family and friends—and one that has now plunged her into a brutal civil war between the fae.

With the reign of the king and his vicious general at an end, McKenzie hoped to live a more normal life while exploring her new relationship with Aren, the rebel fae who has captured her heart. But when her best friend, Paige, disappears McKenzie knows her wish is, for now, just a dream. McKenzie is the only one who can rescue her friend, but if she’s not careful, her decisions could cost the lives of everyone she’s tried so hard to save.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is going to be a quick post because I’m just back from my trip but I wanted to get some content up on the site.

If you want a bit of context for this trilogy, check out my review of the first book in the series, THE SHADOW READER, over on Tynga’s Reviews by clicking here.

In THE SHATTERED DARK, we see the aftermath of a successful rebellion. It’s not all roses and fairy dust — in fact, in many ways things are more dangerous for McKenzie now, which is great from a reader’s standpoint. The more peril the better, in my opinion. And Williams does a commendable job of raising the stakes, growing the world, and developing the characters and their relationships. Everything happened quite quickly in THE SHADOW READER, and the pace is still rather frenetic in THE SHATTERED DARK, but there’s a bit more time for the feels and the reveals. Some of the reveals are absolutely shocking and had me completely surprised, which is always great. We get to see some unexpected links between characters, which I won’t give away because I’m not a fan of spoilers. 🙂

There’s a lot of plot in this novel. Nothing is secure for the rebels and watching them adjust to being on the defensive is quite fun. They won the initial battle but other things are far from settled, which means things are still quite political. McKenzie is largely left out of the back and forth but she’s still an important tool in the rebels’ arsenal and is required to use her skills to help them keep the castle. More interesting than this, for me at least, is the insights we get into her relationship with Paige. McKenzie’s largely been isolated in the human world, distant from her friends and family, except for Paige. And then Paige got roped into the game and the stakes become that much more personal for McKenzie, especially as she comes to realize just how enmeshed her friend is with the other side of the war.

Williams has set us up for a truly climactic finale in THE SHARPEST BLADE. I’m quite looking forward to delving into this novel in the near future.