Monday, October 7, 2013

Salvage review

Salvage by Meljean Brook is a novella featured in the Enthralled anthology and is story 3.5 in the Iron Seas series. I am reading these stories out of order which I don't normally do but it hasn't been a problem with this series at this point.

Georgiana is strong and independent but wants her husband around in a way her father never was while she was growing up. Thom married Georgiana but then left to earn a living and make her proud.

There were a lot of mistakes made and most revolved around miscommunication between Georgiana and Thom. There is a lot of misunderstand about each others intentions and wants.

Southamptom is an aristocrat in the worst sense of the word. He has absolutely no honor. Mrs. Winch was the only secondary character who seemed like she was not too bad despite being a mercenary working for Southampton. The rest of the crew working for Southampton was barely introduced so there wasn't really much to the secondary characters.

Lady Corsair and Archimedes Fox, who we met in Iron Duke and then who had a book of their own, make an appearance which was fun.

I liked visiting the Iron Seas world again because I really enjoy Brook's steampunk world. Salvage might even make me move the rest of the books in the series to the top of my to-read pile.

Synopsis


A man who’s lost everything returns home to find that not only is his marriage in jeopardy, but he must now fight air pirates who intend to steal his one remaining treasure — his wife.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Magic Bites review

Magic_Bites1

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews is the first novel in the Kate Daniels fantasy series, though apparently there is a prequel novella that I haven't read. I am blaming my new obsession with this series on Elle J Rossi since she is the one who recommended it to me. *shaking fist at Elle*

The first thing that I loved about Magic Bites was the absolutely fantastic world building. It is based in the familiar city of Atlanta but with a very magical overlay that comes and goes between technological cycles. During magic cycles, technology doesn't work and during technological cycles, magic doesn't work.

Kate is my favorite kind of female lead character. She is a sarcastic magic mercenary and a total smart ass. She has a mysterious power that she guards very carefully because just the knowledge of it would scare people enough to get her killed. She can kick ass with the best of them and has difficulty trusting anyone.

The Order is a rigid group but protects humanity and doesn't worry about money. The People are a group of power hungry necromancers who worship Roland even though none have ever seen him. To the People, money is everything. The Pack is the group of shapeshifters who live by following the Beast Lord and have a code of ethics. They are mortal enemies of the People. Curran is the Beast Lord in charge of the Pack but isn't sure what to make of Kate at all.

One thing in this book that I found rather amusing was that all of the male characters seemed to think that being a "leader" is synonymous with being an asshole. Kate really throws them for a loop which is fun to read.

Magic Bites is full of vivid details, has an interesting plot, and with a different twist on vampires and shifters. I knew what the bad guy was early on and figured out the who sooner than the reveal but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of this fantastic book one bit. I can't wait to read the next book!

Synopsis


Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic…

One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds. In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer. Hiding is easy, but the right choice is rarely easy…

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Ecstasy Under the Moon review


Ecstasy Under the Moon by Lucy Monroe, is a Children of the Moon novella and falls between Moon Burning and Dragon's Moon in the series. Ecstasy Under the Moon is part of the Enthralled anthology.

Una is an eagle shifter of Elan who was traumatized by wolf shifters at 14 and has been basically in hiding ever since. She never leaves the Elan territory and rarely lets any adult close to her. The fear has nearly paralyzed her life. Then the Faol move into the Elan territory to further mend relations between the two groups of Chrecte.

Bryant is a wolf shifter of Faol but with Elan royal blood in his ancestry. He is from the Balmoral clan and fully and passionately believes in trying to reunite the Chrecte. Bryant is one of the small group of Faol that volunteers to move into Elan territory in order to show that the Faol are trustworthy.

When the Faol move into the Elan territory, Una finds herself inexplicably draw to Bryant. Bryant knows at the first smell of her scent that Una is his true mate but he's not sure if he can overcome her terror of the Faol after what happened to her.

Both characters are well written, as are the surrounding characters, and the relationship is built in such a way that it seems natural and realistic. Despite the novella length, the story is fully developed and the plot moves swiftly but without seeming hurried or lacking in detail.

I would recommend reading the series in order or some parts of Ecstasy Under the Moon will not make sense. 

Synopsis


Lucy Monroe, national bestselling author of the Children of the Moon novels…unleashes the feral passions of a werewolf on the body, mind, and soul of his prey, his lover, his lifemate.