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Posted by Grete, on August 31st, 2010  At 12 years old, Cheyenne Clark’s life was changed forever when she watched a werewolf devour her father. Traumatised yet lucky to have escaped the same fate, she drifted through life, unable to forget the gleam of the monster’s unnatural green eyes. Now 24, a chance meeting leads Chey being offered the chance and training for revenge, some closure and help prevent it from happening again. All she has to do is travel into the arctic alone.
Cursed is a book I would not normally have picked up. While I might like to think my reading range is quite broad, the truth is I’m a bit of a wuss. Blood, guts and gore don’t particularly bother me but emotions are what get me every time and horror is a very emotionally and psychologically charged genre.
Having said that, when I was directed to David Wellington’s online stories, I was intrigued and once I’d started reading one, that was it, I had to work my way down the list. Cursed is the result of one of those stories being expanded upon and released as a novel; and it deserved to be. David has a very easy to read style of writing but that in no way lessens the impact the story has. It’s gritty, raw and at times disturbing but I had to keep reading, I had to know how it turned out.
It’s not a werewolf story in the current and popular mold of wolf and human living symbiotically. It looks back to the older stories of the wolf half being pure predator and the human side having to live with they find after they change back.
Wellington adds in his own twists to the lore which I found fascinating and he really manages to convey a heady dose of mixed emotions, from one end of the spectrum to the other. By the end I felt a bit wrung out, but also that I’d read something different and really, quite special.
If you like your werewolves fluffy, funny and tamed by their human half then this book isn’t for you. If you like a gripping horror/thriller that has a unique look at an ages old myth with some truly emotional scenes then read Cursed. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Cursed has been published in the US as Frostbite and you can also read more fiction by David Wellington on his website.
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Posted by Grete, on February 13th, 2010  I first read this book quite a few years ago. Having bought the two latest books and wanting to re-read them all from the beginning, I decided the early ones deserved reviews too.
Kitty and the Midnight Hour is the first book in the series and introduces us to Kitty and her coming out of the werewolf closet. She’s a graveyard shift DJ for a Denver radio station until she fills in for someone on the midnight hour request show. Instead of music, it turns into an advice/talk show for and about the supernatural and becomes her regular gig. Eventually though, problems within her pack, her Alphas not liking the success she is finding and the enigmatic Cormac, supernatural bounty hunter, paid to kill her live on air, Kitty wonders if she has bitten off more than she can chew?
This book really is about a young woman who through no fault of her own was turned werewolf and tries to find her way in an ordinary world when she herself is anything but. She still wants the life she would have had, and works hard to try and make that happen in spite of the people who would rather she be a good wolf and sit, stay. I have nothing but admiration for her and I absolutely love the character of Kitty. She starts off being as submissive in nature as her wolf side, but as she matures and grows in success and confidence, you start seeing glimpses of the sassy, sarcastic, stubborn and kick ass woman she will become. The talk show segments of the book are really good and the advice Kitty gives often make me laugh out loud, as do the questions.
I thought the pace of the book was good, even the radio segments, and when the action does kick in, it goes with a bang. I like that she isn’t a fighting expert but relies on her wits, intelligence and her wolf instincts to survive. That and the ability to talk the hind legs off a donkey!
It’s a great story, and the first read through left me hungry for the next book, and that didn’t change at all on this re-read.
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Posted by Grete, on October 30th, 2009
Posted by Grete, on October 27th, 2009  Life is anything but ordinary for Sophie Garou. Her mother is a psychic witch, her father who she’s never met, was a born werewolf. Being raised by her mother alone, for the first ten years of her life, they had to continually move as Sophie’s werewolf nature would cause her to go furry on a regular basis, not just tied to the moon but emotions too. Daycares and schools seem to frown on that for some reason. Having found a place in Austin, Texas without it’s own pack, they finally manage to set down roots and her mother perfects a recipe for a wolfsbane tea which suppresses the urge to change unless she wants to. Apart from the four equinoxes. Then she has no choice but to fur up and go wolf. With a job as an auditor, a hot lawyer boyfriend and a best friend, life should be good but her secret is something she is too scared to share. Things get very complicated as her boss and boyfriend both have plans for her on the coming equinox. When her mother is arrested for the murder of a local politician and the police not interested in looking for anyone beyond her, it’s up to Sophie to try and find who the real killer is. When she meets Tom, the golden haired and powerful born werewolf, her furry side hormones kick in to full. Yup, life is definitely anything but ordinary.
This is the first book I’ve read by Karen MacInerney and it’s a fun read. Nothing too deep, the story flows easily and engages you quickly. Often whimsical and funny, I couldn’t help but like the main character of Sophie. She’s brave and gutsy and the moments she starts wolfing out in inappropriate places just made me laugh. The chemistry between her and the mysterious Tom is well written and hot. In contrast when she is with her boyfriend Heath, while it’s good between them, you know there is something not quite right. Sophie’s best friend is funny too, acerbic and witty and willing to help solve the murder case and get her mother out of jail. Her mother is really the icing on the cake for the book. She’s scatty and loves her daughter, wants the best for her but her methods are usually a bit madcap and involve the use of attraction amulets or love potions. As a mix they work really well, their interactions are funny, well written and enjoyable.
The pace of the book is pretty good, and while the plot is fairly simple, it doesn’t really matter as the charm of story is the characters. There were a few plot devices that were actually pretty funny but it did jerk you out of the story to go hmmm… But it did keep me reading and entertained and by the end was relieved I have the second book on the shelf waiting.
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Posted by Grete, on October 15th, 2009  Following on from Cry Wolf, Anna is still coming to terms with her past and being married and mated to Charles. She is now firmly established as Omega in the Pack and learning about her new status. Bran as Marrok continues his plans of bringing the American Werewolves out into the public world. He sends Charles and Anna to Seattle to meet with international Alphas to settle any concerns they might have and has the meeting arbitrated by one of the Fae. The French Alpha, after provoking a fight ends up being murdered and all evidence seems to point to Charles. Knowing he’s innocent, Anna sets out to discover who is responsible for both the murder and framing Charles.
I read this book straight after Cry Wolf and it was a very smooth transition, just sucked me right back in as if I hadn’t switched books. The plot was a bit more complex this time but didn’t detract from the heart of the book, the characters of Anna and Charles. Her growth from being a submissive victim to a more confident, loving and protective young woman has been really well done. The development of her human side was well written, and the werewolf aspect almost secondary. On the opposite side, seeing Charles becoming more relaxed, getting used to having a mate and having to be softer with Anna has been just as good. Even with the bond they have as mates, communications still get mixed up and it can sometimes be amusing as they sort it out.
There are a lot more characters in this book than the last and it was interesting to see how Charles and Anna interacted with them all both as a couple and separately. I didn’t predict the ending at all which surprised me, the clues I spotted led me in a completely different direction and I thought it was cleverly done.
It was a good second book, as easy to read as the first and I fell in love with Anna and Charles all over again. I really hope there are more to follow!
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Posted by Grete, on October 15th, 2009  For Anna being a werewolf was about pain, torment and submission. Even after she was rescued by Charles, the Marrok’s enforcer, and claimed as his mate, she expected more of the same. Finding it hard to believe not all werewolves were as sick and brutal as the ones she left behind, she reluctantly journeys to Montana with the wounded Charles and learns she is a special type of wolf – an Omega. Neither submissive nor Alpha, she has the power to soothe the savage beast within others and as such should have been a much valued member of the pack. Her wolf side was all for the mating with Charles but the human side is too scared to let go and trust another person, even the one she was meant to be with.
Anna and Charles first appeared as minor characters in the Mercy Thompson books and then had their own short story told in the ‘On the Prowl’ Anthology. I’d read those and thought they were interesting characters and was happy to hear they had been built on and now had their own book. I didn’t really have many expectations as it doesn’t always work and sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone.
Having just finished the book my impression is of having read a very touching story of survival and cost, and learning to trust again. Familiar themes within urban fantasy but as with the Mercy Thompson books, Patricia Briggs has a fluid and easy to read way of writing that drags you into the story. I loved the characters of Anna and Charles, Anna being very sweet and likeable, Charles being an Alpha and dominant wolf but tempered with intelligence, his position within the pack and his obvious love for Anna.
From the start the empathy with them returned, pretty much picking up where the short story ended and I liked that. The original tale was quite brutal and I needed to know that for Anna it was starting to work out – and this book delivers on that front. The plot was good, not very complex but since the book is character driven, it didn’t need to be and by the end I was firmly in love with these characters.
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Posted by Grete, on July 29th, 2009  I don’t know how Sherrilyn Kenyon does it, but I’m so glad she does. Bad Moon Rising is the 18th book in the Dark-Hunter series and it’s showing no sign of stopping yet. You fear with such a long running series that it will start tailing off, the author starts to get bored or runs out of steam and continues for the sake of it, but there is just no sign at all of that happening here. You feel the love and care she writes with, her characters larger than life but so real and that shines through in every book. It raises them from a good read to an amazing one.
Bad Moon Rising has everything you want in a Dark-Hunter book and then some. It’s Fang’s Story beginning with his history, something you know a little of from his brother Vane’s book (Night Play), through to where Fang is in his apparent coma and then it all takes off. You get to see some old friends again which is always great and another thing I love about the Dark-Hunter books and how they often blend in together, seeing another story from a different angle. New enemies, betrayal and revenge feature heavily as always and fast paced action across it all. But the thing we all want and need the most, is present in abundance. Love.
I have to say (and try not to spoil anything), the ending is a shocker and I think it was really brave of Sherrilyn to do what she did there and I admire her for it. I don’t mind admitting I cried, as I imagine others will too.
I really can’t wait for the next one!
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Posted by Grete, on May 29th, 2009  Samantha Ryan is a Melbourne State cop that has no memory of her childhood or her parents, the only thing she has is a child’s drawing of a woman with ‘Mummy’ written underneath. Things start falling apart when her partner Jack, tries to kill her and weird things start happening around her… and to her. When Gabriel Stern, a shapechanger of the Special Investigations Unit gets involved, she realises there is more going on than a cop gone rogue and she is right in the middle of it.
I really like Keri Arthur’s work in general, it’s exciting, easy to read and she is very good at creating characters you love and care about. But after reading and being a bit disappointed with Deadly Desire, I picked this up fully expecting to feel the same way. It’s the first book in a new series and I have to say it was really good. Maybe the freshness of all new characters and settings helped but everything felt just right. The plot was pretty good, if a little twisty at times but the pace of answers being revealed was just right and kept you reading, trying to guess what was going on. I loved the main characters, Samantha being the one who stands out the most. Definately not a heroine who gets dropped in the deep end and flounders, waiting for the guy to come and save her. She can hold her own and I think that worked really well with the character of Gabriel who is alternately confused then impressed by her. The end of the book felt very unfinished so I really hope there is a second book in the works or I will be left forever wondering.
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Posted by Grete, on February 24th, 2009  About Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong lives with her husband and three children in Ontario, Canada. She is a full time writer and is not afraid to have a photo taken by her youngest child as her author picture!
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/index.html
My comments
Dime Store Magic was the first book I picked up, thinking it was the first of the series and I fell in love instantly. The vibrancy and humour of the characters was very attractive, their world so different yet so similar to our own. It was a complete surprise when I picked up Bitten believing it to be the next book and found it was from the perspective of a completely different character. I realised then that Kelley Armstrong had a unique way of writing. She created the ‘Otherworld’ universe and then chose key characters from within it to narrate their stories, sometimes crossing paths with the others, often fighting their battles alone. She has a few stories published in anthologies which fit in with the series, along with the treat of several original stories on her website – which is well worth having a look at.
Bibliography
Otherworld Series (in chronological order)
Anthologies/Contributions
Darkest Powers (Young Adult Otherworld Series)
Nadia Stafford (Crime)
Posted by Grete, on September 28th, 2008  Occasionally you come across a series that you completely fall in love with and the Dark-Hunter books were such a series for me. I hadn’t really read much in the romance genre, preferring to stick to Fantasy, Sci-fi and Chick Lit. I was stuck for something to read and happened to pick up a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon in a charity shop and since the back blurb intrigued me, I decided to give it a go. I was hooked from then on. It was gutsy, romantic, sexy, funny and the action scenes were all you could want. It was incredibly well written and the story just flowed smoothly, right to the last page and I was actually sad it had ended. When I found there was a whole series of them, I was overjoyed! I’d class them as Supernatural Romance rather than plain romance as they feature werewolves, vampires and hot, sexy gods. What was not to love? Though each book in the series focused on different characters and their lives, the link between them all was Acheron. An enigma you never learnt too much about but couldn’t help loving anyway. You know he’d been incredibly hurt and alone for a dozen lifetimes but not by who, how or where. The sacrifices he made for those he loved were beyond anything you could imagine. As I read each book, I wanted to know more about this intriguing character but because of his nature and the storyline, I feared that the only time you would find out would be at the very end of the series.
Finally his story has been written and I couldn’t put it down. Rather than it being told as a memory, you are taken through his life and the things that he endured that made him the man he is today. You understand so much more about him and the choices and sacrifices he had to make. It was brilliantly written and when his history is done and it switches to the modern Ash that we know and love, you can’t help empathising with him and fearing that this time he will come completely undone and have no way back. The character of Tory ties in with several others as has happened a lot in the other books, a facet of Kenyon’s world that I love and I wonder how on earth she manages to keep them all straight. You can’t help but love Tory, her determination and fierce loyalty are ultimately the things that Ash is drawn to and feel there would be no one more perfect for him, if they can endure the obstacles that are put in their path.
As I said before, I couldn’t put this book down and it was a fantastic book of the history of the Dark-Hunters and their lives. I loved it and am extremely happy that my fears were unfounded and this is not the end of the series. I can’t wait for the next book!
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Very young children eat their books, literally devouring their contents. This is one reason for the scarcity of first editions of Alice in Wonderland and other favorites of the nursery.
Rosenbach, A. S. W.
About BookThing! BookThing! is a website where Grete can indulge her passion for books. There are reviews covering a range of genres (paranormal romance, crime, fantasy, romantic comedy), bibliographies for selected authors, features and sometimes the odd free book giveaway!
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