Ghost Story

Aug 142011
 

It’s incredibly hard to write this review without spoilers.  I keep wanting to go ‘ooh and there was this and that!!’ but I shall try not to spoil it. If you haven’t read Changes yet though, you need to go and read that first, before Ghost Story.  You just have to!

This book has so much that is good about it.  The humour, drama, action scenes; all part of Jim Butcher’s unique and engaging writing style, but in Ghost Story, somehow he’s turned that dial up to eleven.  It is simply phenomenal and such a fantastic read that I couldn’t put it down.  I laughed out loud, I cried, I even shouted at one point, so I’m glad I was reading it at home.

I think the best of Harry comes out in this book.  Because of his situation, he has to think and plan, rather than fireball first and ask questions later.  It lets you see more of the man behind the wizard and how intelligent he really is.  That’s not to say he isn’t still running full pelt into trouble, he wouldn’t be the Harry we know and love if he wasn’t.  Just without his usual methods of dealing with things, he has to get… creative.  I also have to highlight the puns and pop culture references in this book, they provided much needed laughter and were brilliantly used.

The pace of the books in the Dresden Files is as much a part of Butcher’s style as the stories are, and Ghost Story is right there, leaving you breathless.  There are moments of reflection and realisation but they are most definitely the calm before the storm.  You know it’s only a brief respite, time to gather yourself, before you are off again.  In some books that relentless pace might be considered a bad thing but in this series it’s an integral part of the experience, and I would be disappointed if it was any different.

The story itself is amazingly well written, gripping and has more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing.  There is one definitive ‘Oh my God‘ moment and it was gloriously done and I did not see it coming.  At all.  If you’ve read it, you will know exactly what I mean.  If you haven’t, hopefully you will have to read it now!

Because of the events in Changes, some of the usual cast of characters are different and not necessarily in a good way.  You see the effect Harry has on the people in his life and what happens when he is not there for a time.  I fear some things are too broken now to repair, but I still hold out hope.  Just two simple paragraphs towards the end reduced me to tears, and they weren’t even about any of the human cast.  The characters, as always, are vivid and well realised.

The Dresden Files is a series that just gets better and better, and I honestly think this is the best one so far.  So much so, I worry where it goes from here, can it actually get any better?  Does it need to?  I don’t have an answer to that other than, I need the next one now!

Jim Butcher is the absolute ruler and master of Urban Fantasy and long may he reign!

Rating: ★★★★★ 

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Tempest Rising

Aug 112011
 

Jane True is a young woman living in a small town, with a love for the sea that borders on the unnatural and a history she can’t seem to escape from.  On one of her nightly swims, she finds a body and while trying to avoid even more unwanted attention, she lands right in a world she never thought could possibly exist.

Nicole Peeler is another author that is new to me and I kept putting off reading Tempest Rising in favour of authors I regularly read.  I feel like smacking myself now having just finished the first book in the series because it is spectacular.

The characters and setting are so vividly written that it was very easy for me to see it all in my mind’s eye as I was reading.  I couldn’t put the book down and devoured it in one sitting.  It’s funny, entertaining, gripping and exciting with love scenes that are hot but don’t leap over the fence into gratuitousness.

The major character of Jane True is really well created and I absolutely loved her.  I think I connected with her so much because I could see a little bit of myself in her.  Obviously not the being half-human part, but her humour, blurting out comments without being brain filtered first and tripping at the worst time possible.  I think perhaps a lot of people will feel that connection as keenly as I did!

The character of Ryu quickly grew on me too, blasting into Jane’s life like a hurricane but without the aggressive/possessive/misogynistic masculinity that seems very prevalent in the genre at the moment.  I quite enjoy aggressive and possessive but I really find misogyny a bit of a turn off for me.  Having a male character that is hot, charming and extremely personable was refreshing and I couldn’t help but like him.

Jane’s history is both poignant and sad.  Integrating that history into the plot was very well done, and it was nice not to have it all laid out for you right away.  The murder/mystery aspect isn’t exactly original but Nicole Peeler put her own slant on it and made it her own.

The pace of the book is a bit like the sea that Jane loves so much, it ebbs and flows but in a natural way.  It never felt forced or dragged and the quiet reflective times were no less gripping than the action scenes.

All in all this is a book I wish I had read ages ago and goes firmly into my list of favourites.  Nicole Peeler is a breath of fresh sea air to the genre!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Cover reveal Bloodlines – Update!

Jul 202011
 

As I reported in the blog post here the cover for the UK edition of Bloodlines had been revealed.  The publisher has since decided to go with the same cover as the US edition for a more global series look, so… here for the final time is the Cover reveal for the UK edition of Bloodlines!

I loved the original cover but I have to say, this does give a great visual of who the main character might be ;)

 

Side Jobs

May 302011
 

Side Jobs is a collection of stories set in the world of Harry Dresden, occurring in and around the main series.

It’s always good to be back in the Dresdenverse, even if it is only for brief dips.  I had already read some of the stories collected in this book, in their respective anthologies, but others were new to me and a complete joy to read.  Butcher loses none of his charm and style even though the stories are short, and every one had a different feel to it, fitting to the situation at hand.  His trademark laugh out loud moments are still very much prevalent and as with the full books, they are totally appropriate to the scenes.

He writes a little about each story before it starts, how it came into being or what his reason for writing it were, and they provided quite an insight into Jim Butcher himself.  The very first introduction actually made me laugh, and also realise his ego, or rather lack of one, has not been affected by the success of his books at all.  He believes it to be a beginner’s effort and there I have to disagree with him completely.  It might not have been up to the quality of his later work, but it had all the flair and energy that attracted me to his work in the first place.

There are eight stories about Harry, a very short vignette which I found very amusing, and two told from other character’s perspectives.  One is told by Thomas and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it; there is definitely more going on in his mind than I expected.  I also loved that a few old beloved characters came back into action again, even if it was only for a short time.

The big surprise, however, was the final story, told from Karrin Murphy’s perspective which takes place directly after the last book, Changes.  I won’t say much more because of spoilers, but he wrote her extremely well and it was good to see the world from her perspective.  I’m really glad it didn’t become an attempt to have a female version of Harry, she is her own person completely, stayed true to the character I love in the series, and it was great being able to delve into her mind.  I absolutely cannot wait for the next Dresden book, Ghost Story!

Jim Butcher is a master storyteller that always leaves me wanting MORE!

Rating: ★★★★½ 

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Darkness Unbound

May 222011
 

Born from a lab-enhanced clone mother and an Aedh father, Risa Jones can not only talk to the souls of the dying and the dead, but she can see reapers and walk the grey fields that divide this world from the next.

They are skills she rarely uses, however preferring to concentrate on the business she runs with her friends. But when her mother asks her to help the parents of a little girl locked in a coma, she reluctantly agrees. What she discovers terrifies her: someone has ripped the girl’s soul from her flesh.

As it turns out, a creature consuming the souls of the innocent – and not so innocent – is the least of her problems. Because someone wants to rip open the gates that divide hell from earth, and Risa is a key component in their plans.

And the only person standing between her and disaster is a reaper who isn’t exactly on her side.

We last saw Risa as a child in the Riley Jensen guardian books. In this she is all grown up and like her “aunt” Riley she can be bad ass when she chooses to be! She has resisted all attempts to join the directorate and prefers spending time with her friends running her business.

Keri has created a very likeable heroine here; one who can look after herself yet shows a healthy fear when confronted by dangerous situations. She is not all gung ho and has heard enough about Riley’s life as a guardian to steer well clear of things, or at least try to!

It was great to catch up with Riley, Quinn et al, we only get glimpses of their life now but it is just enough to avoid taking the limelight from the real heroine – Risa.

There is of course the romantic interest – I suspect there may be 2 ‘men’ who will feature significantly in future books. One thing is sure by the end of this book, we know life will never be the same for Risa.

I loved this book, even more I think than the Riley Jensen books. I will be eagerly anticipating the rest of the series.

Darkness Unbound is due to be released September 2011.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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River Marked

May 052011
 

Marrying a pack Alpha might have its own problems but for Mercy and Adam, their honeymoon getaway should have been fun and peaceful.  However, when werewolves, the fae and Mercy’s newly discovered heritage get mixed up together, the results become more than explosive.  Has the coyote walker finally bitten off more than she can chew?

It always feels good to be back with Mercy again, every time I get the latest book in the series.  I even feel it when I pick them up again to re-read.  She is one of my favourite and most consistent heroines, and I have never been disappointed when it’s time for the next release.  River Marked takes that enjoyment up yet another notch in my estimation and not only because Mercy and Adam finally tie the knot.

There was just so much in this book.  The romance between the two of them is so sweet and I think the book worked really well in that the cast was actually quite small in comparison to the earlier books.  Not that having the pack around is a bad thing, it just made a nice difference.  It started out great with the wedding and got even better, even though I knew their honeymoon wasn’t going to be all happy and easy.  Things just don’t work like that in their world and I would be disappointed if I expected it to!

The outstanding part for me was Mercy finally learning her history, who her father was… or wasn’t and coming to terms with what that meant.  Also that walkers aren’t quite what she expected.  Another part was Adam trying to be a good husband as well as the pack Alpha, and the conflict between those two roles was well written.  Being Alpha and having to leave most of the tough stuff to Mercy because so much of it involved water; definitely not an easy thing for Adam.

The theological side was a little bit confusing but I was also enthralled by it.  The stories were well crafted and I don’t know how much of it was based on Native American lore but it was intriguing and felt believable.

The action was fast paced and the fights with the river monster were exciting and had so much peril that I seriously wondered if Mercy was going to come out of it OK.

She is just a gutsy woman, aware of her limitations but refuses to give up anyway, has tenacity and love and makes the odd mistake.  My favourite type of heroine!

The letter at the end though, that made me cry.

A truly great read and a brilliant addition to the series.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

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Poltergeist

Mar 292011
 

Trying to come to terms with the changes in her life,  Harper Blaine continues to make a living as a private investigator, but finds not all of her clients are of the human variety.

Hired to investigate who could be the saboteur in an experimental seance team at a University, Harper is quickly sure of one thing after the death of one of the team members.  There may be a human at the source, but the phenomenon is definitely not natural.

After enjoying Greywalker so much, I was a little worried how the second book in the series would match up.  I was really pleased to find it matched very well.  Harper is just a great character; feisty, determined and capable of being as big a pain in the ass as she needs to be, to get the job done.

She is a rare character that feels very real, rather than larger than life.  She has flaws, isn’t infallible and flounders as she is learning about the Grey and what impact that has on her.  There is no great source she can go to, learn it all and become an expert.  I love that she gets some guidance from her friends Mara and Ben, but even that is sometimes hypothetical guesswork.

The plot in Poltergeist is actually quite simple but very good and the seance experiment itself is fascinating, especially with the research that Kat Richardson did to back it up, then adapt it to her ‘world’.

I’ve mentioned Mara and Ben already but they really are great secondary characters.  Quinton I’m liking a lot and hoping he becomes part of the regular cast, there is just something about him.  Will doesn’t play as big a role in this book, mainly because he is out of the country and doing the long distance relationship with Harper.  As he doesn’t know about the other side of her life, it will be interesting what happens when he does find out.

A great follow up to Greywalker and can’t wait to see what is in store for Harper next!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Greywalker

Jan 062011
 

Harper Blaine is a private detective in seattle, just trying to make a living.   Her life changes forever when a client attacks her and she dies for two minutes.  Those two minutes were long enough to make her a Greywalker, someone who can see things from the Grey, the space in between life and death where monsters and creatures of myth exist.  Now they can see her too.

Having already read and enjoyed Vanished (book four of the Greywalker series), I had been meaning to get the first three, so I could find out what had happened to make Harper a Greywalker in the first place.  Thanks to the kindness of friends and some tokens for christmas, I have them now!

I was really glad to see my impressions of Harper in Vanished were begun in this first book.  She starts off as an ordinary if gutsy woman, making a living being a private investigator.  Her life is changed forever after a client attacks her and she dies for two minutes.  What she comes back as, is something more than human.

She is a fantastic character and I love that while she can kick ass if she is in a situation she knows, throughout the book she is thrown more and more off balance, trying to deal with her world changing drastically around her.  She reacts how I imagine a normal person would.  Fear, denial and anger are just a few of the dominant emotions that she has in abundance and yet she is tenacious enough to try and do her job to the best of her ability in spite of what is happening to her.  Her guts and intelligence are what get her through it all at the end of the day, not supernatural strength, speed or powerful abilities.

The supporting cast were really good too, well created and written.  They matched Harper for her ‘realness’, even if they aren’t all human either.  In particular Mara, Ben, Will and Cameron were the best for me, as emotional and solid as they were funny.  The not so nice guys were also well done, often scary and creepy, which you mostly felt through Harper.

The plot was quite intricate and there wasn’t really a need for a big reveal as you knew what was going on as soon as Harper did.  The intricacies came as different characters were brought into play and not all of them were good news for Harper.  Finding herself in situations not always of her own making, that were very difficult to get out of, let alone survive and her guts and intelligence (and excellent writing) are what made the story as good as it is.

I’m a sucker for a reluctant hero and was also pleasantly surprised that the story’s main focus was on action and plot rather than taking time out for sex scenes (not that I dislike those in general).  In my experience, however, it’s unusual from a female writer in this genre over the last few years.

Definitely belongs in the urban fantasy section and a book I believe men as well as women would enjoy.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Divine Misdemeanors

Dec 242010
 

Meredith Gentry chose the life of a loved one rather than be crowned Queen of the Unseelie Court of the Fey.  Living in exile in LA with her loved ones, she now works as a private detective.  When there are a spate of Fey murders, she is called in to consult by the LAPD.  Merry realises that she hasn’t left everything behind that she thought she had.  Blood and death are as present here as the Unseelie Court, and even immortals can die.

I’ve been a long time reader of both the Merry Gentry and the Anita Blake series’, but even I’m starting to get jaded.  I really enjoyed the previous book, Swallowing Darkness, and had been looking forwards to this one, as I was optimistic that Hamilton had found her way again.  Now I just feel disappointed with it.

It started off well and there was some actual plot and detective work going on which was surprisingly good, but that kind of fell by the wayside while Merry had to sleep with yet more of the fey.  I foolishly thought that now she was pregnant with twins, that the character focus would be on her and the six fathers (plus the one or two other lovers who have to be in on it for various reasons).  Frost and Doyle are probably my favourite characters and I hoped we would start seeing them as the two major characters behind Merry, but they seem almost relegated to the sidelines for this book.

Even worse,  more get added to the entourage.  The cast is just too large now, and I’m struggling to keep up with it.  I’m also really fed up of the phrase ‘brought me screaming up off the bed/floor/bath etc.’, it’s used way too often and some new euphemisms or descriptions are really needed.

I also get she is a very lucky girl and every time she has sex, gets to have multiple orgasms and all that but really, I’m getting tired of reading about it.  It’s not even that erotic anymore since it just seems to be the same thing over and over.

I’m fairly sure the aim is for her to have sex with every single creature of the fae (that are on her good side, unless it’s really important of course), so she can awaken their powers.  Just have an orgy and get it over with.

Very disappointing after the previous book and could just be the end of the road for me and this series.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ 

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Infinity

Nov 242010
 

At 15, Nick Gautier thinks he knows it all.  How the world works, his place in it, the school he hates and the love for his mother he would do anything to protect.  The night his best friends turn on him is the night his life changed forever.  He is saved by Kyrian, a mysterious man who says he is a Dark-Hunter, an immortal guardian standing between humanity and those that would prey on it.  An introduction to a whole world he never knew existed leaves him bewildered but determined and suddenly, high school doesn’t seem the worst thing he has to survive.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up Infinity to read.  Given how adult Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series is, I wasn’t sure she could translate that world into the young adult field.  Would she still retain her ability to tell a fantastic story without the romance I’ve come to know and love?

The answer is yes, yes she can, and very well too!

It was no less gripping for being targetted at a younger audience and it was really intriguing meeting Nick when he was a fifteen year old with no idea what was really out there.  I’d known brief snippets of his history from the main books but seeing the start of it all from his perspective, it really brought home what a complex character he is.  The love and fierce protectiveness he has for his mother was so sweet, his brash acerbic wit made me laugh and some of the key choices he had to make made me want to cheer.  Nick’s young character is distinctly at odds with who we know now in the main series, and there also lies the charm of this book.

Several factions are in play to try and influence Nick in some of those key choices, and there are some very interesting developments with regards to the history I thought I knew.  It’s dizzying at times as you try and work out if who he is now is the result of Infinity or if there is something big coming in the next few books.  My feeling is the latter.

I loved seeing Kyrian as a dark-hunter again (of course this is previous to his book) and as always I wanted to both cheer and melt when Acheron arrives.  What did make me laugh was meeting Tabitha as a schoolgirl, she is very much the same character we know now, just younger and maybe a little crazier!

The plot was actually really interesting and kept me turning the pages.  I wondered how it would work since Nick had no idea about daimons, dark-hunters and the like and kind of got thrust into the middle of it all.  The main plot point though, and I say this with a completely straight face, was zombies.  Both living and undead.

And there lies why I was unsure what to expect.  Zombies?  In a Dark-hunter world book?  But it worked!  Everything else that was going on was woven around that central theme and it made for a very entertaining read.  I also loved the reason they were there in the first place, and felt it was very clever.

How Sherrilyn Kenyon keeps all this straight boggles me.  I envision all the walls of her writing room being filled with cards and strings leading to several others.  I suspect it would look rather like a web!  However she manages it, I have to give her huge kudos as she does keep it straight.   I honestly don’t come across things that jerk me out of the story and think ‘that’s not right’.

So I went from being unsure if this was a book I wanted to read to absolutely loving it and now I can’t wait for the next one.  Sweet torture!

Rating: ★★★★½ 

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