Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

January

A Hard Day’s Knight (Nightside) by Simon R. Green (Ace Books)
Kitty goes to War (Kitty Norville) by Carrie Vaughn (Gollancz)

March

River Marked (Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs (Orbit)
Invincible (Chronicles of Nick 2) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (ATOM)
Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood) by J. R. Ward (Piatkus Books)

April

Ghost Story (Dresden Files 13) by Jim Butcher (Orbit)
Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (Orbit)
Born of Shadows (League 4) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Piatkus Books)

June

Hunt the Moon (Cassie Palmer) by Karen Chance (Signet Books)
Deadline (Newsflesh Trilogy) by Mira Grant (Orbit)

July

Kitty’s Big Trouble (Kitty Norville) by Carrie Vaughn (Gollancz)

August

Pale Demon by (The Hollows) Kim Harrison (Harper Voyager)
Retribution (Dark-Hunter) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Piatkus Books)
Downpour (Greywalker) by Kat Richardson (Piatkus Books)

October

Envy (Fallen Angels) by J. R. Ward (Piatkus Books)

Fantasy

March

Land of Painted Caves (Earth’s Children Book 6) by Jean M. Auel (Hodder & Stoughton)
Twilight’s Dawn (Black Jewels) by Anne Bishop (Roc)

April

Shadow Chaser (Chronicles of Siala) by Alexey Pehov (Simon & Schuster)

Chick Lit

February

To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell (Headline)

March

Summer of Love by Katie Fforde (Century)
Kiss and Tell by Fiona Walker (Sphere)

May

Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson (Corgi)

Crime

January

You Belong to Me by Karen Rose (Headline)

May

Virals by Kathy Reichs (Arrow (Young))

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Shadow Harold, master thief and appropriator of coveted items is happy to let the world go on around him.  The world however has different ideas.  The Nameless One is stirring after centuries of peace, calling an immense army of dreadful creatures to his side.  His goal is to strike at the heart of Siala, the great city of Avendoom. Harold’s unique talents are needed to gain access to the one thing that can save Siala and while it’s a mission of great urgency and danger, once commissioned, Harold is oath bound to see it through.  Even at the cost of his own life.

Having just finished Shadow Prowler, I am quite astonished.  It reminded me of the old favourites that I still have and re-read, of a few authors I love that are a cut above the rest and most importantly, why I fell in love with fantasy in the first place.

Right from the first few pages, I liked the main character Harold.  He’s an intelligent and witty reluctant hero, with a knack for getting out of a tight spot. Getting used to a new author’s ‘voice’ can be tough and Harold is what made it a smooth transition and kept me reading until I was caught up in the story.

The world Pehov has built for this series is rich in detail and character and I love the way he has turned around what I would say are usually standard facets of a fantasy book and used them to his own end.

As the story progressed and new characters were introduced, I found them just as well rounded and interesting as Harold, even those that that were only present for a brief time.  A few even tugged at my heart though their time in the book was short.

The pace was really good, no sudden stop/starts or breakneck rush but a smooth movement through the excellent storyline firing up with some great action scenes and then returning to that flow when it was time.

Magic is present, used in daily life and there are different forms of it, used by different races.  I found that interesting and thought it also showed just how much enthusiasm and work Alexey Pehov put into the world he created.

I have to touch on the translation from Russian by Andrew Bromfield.  I think it has been so skillfully done that I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it wasn’t first written in English.  I would love to know how the two versions compare and have to wonder if it was even more enjoyable in its native tongue.

I enjoyed this book a huge amount and can’t wait to read the second in the series to find out how Harold and his companions are faring!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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