Unwed and Undead by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson is the first book in the Undead series. After a horrible car accident Betsy wakes up in the morgue to find out she is dead. After worrying she is a zombie she eventually figures out that she is in fact a vampire. Shocking though this is Betsy, doesn't think this should traumatically change her life. She is happy just to carry on as she was. However, Betsy is not a normal vampire and it soon becomes clear that her life is about to dramatically change.

The Good
* If you like a strong willed, potty mouthed, problematic lead character look no further. Betsy is all of those things and a lot more. She is witty, not afraid to say or do anything and a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
* This book is so funny it had me laughing out loud. Mary Janice Davidson has really great comic timing and knows how to construct humour.
* Everything is big and overdone including the smut. Sex is not treated as some sacred thing. There is a lot of sexual content in this book, none of it particularly romantic. It's a nice change for a book of this genre which is so often full of the meaningful stuff.
* This is a short book but that in no way was a bad thing. The storyline felt fleshed out enough and it didn't need to be any longer.

The Bad
* This is not a book to be taken seriously. If you are looking for depth look somewhere else.
* Betsy is the only character who is truly fleshed out. I liked the other characters but Betsy was such a big personality that she overwhelmed the others.

The Ugly
* Sinclair is not a very likable character and is even worse as a love interest. He is pushy, manipulative and plain dull. Hopefully he improves in the next books.

Overall
There comes a time in every book where you decide if you love, hate or are not that bothered by it. This was mine:

"I was instantly jolted into orgasm. It was a shallow one, the kind you get when you're diddling with yourself and squeeze your knees together at the right moment, but a come is a come.

If like me this quote makes you titter then you will probably like this book. If this makes you uncomfortable/shocks you/or makes you screw your nose up in displeasure then this book is not for you.

4 Stars

Book Review: Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers

 

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

 

I am very conflicted about Assassin's Heart. I am giving it four stars but it could have easily been five, yet I nearly gave it a three.

There was a lot about this book I liked. It is the most original novel I have read in years. Sure, there are plenty of books out there about assassins, especially in the YA bracket, but I haven't come across one quite like this. I was blown away by Ahiers imagination. The creation of the cities, religion and culture of her fantasy world was quite simply outstanding. The story and writing were rich with originality. I honestly do not think I will come across another book to match it for some time.

Ahiers is a truly creative writer. Everything in this book had purpose, all the information given to the reader was important in some way. The story was built well, it was never boring and never rushed. On the whole it was a very well put together book.

The reason I nearly gave this book a three star rating was the main character Lea. I didn't like her. Truthfully, I think Lea is not a character you are supposed to like, not straight away anyway. She goes on a journey and she changes as the book goes on. You could really see the difference in her from the beginning of the book to the end. I have no problem with that, I like it when a character grows, the issue in this book is that the change takes too long. For at least 75% of this book I disliked Lea. That is just far too long.

For three quarters of the book Lea is borderline unbearable. Sure, she is a kick ass assassin and that is all kinds of cool, but she is also a snob who looks down on people who do not have as much as she does. She lacks personality, I kind of get it, something horrible has happened to her, she seeks revenge but her one track mind was an annoyance and it prevented the reader from getting to know her. If I had a pound for every time I read the words 'all that mattered was killing the Da Vias,' or some variation of that, I would be a lot better off than I am now. Honestly, she sounded like a broken record and it was too much. Her single mindedness also leads her to become selfish. She focuses on her goal so much that she loses sight of the cost that could come with achieving it. She doesn't care about the consequences of her actions and drags others into her plot without thinking of the risk it poses to their life's.

Luckily, as I said, she isn't like this the whole time. I loved her towards the end of this book. She was still kick ass but she lost the snobbishness, she started to see things differently, she started to care, she fell in love and it changed everything. I just wish the change had come a little sooner.

Les was a completely different story. I loved him from the beginning until the end. Sweet, loyal and kind he is the exact opposite of Lea. He was patient with her, he knew when to be soft and when to push back. He never belittled her, never thought he knew best. He just supported her, and learnt from her and she, in turn, learnt from him, even if she didn't want to.

The romance was wonderful. It was beautifully built and surprisingly adult. It felt real and it got under my skin in a way few YA romances have managed. There was no teen drama, no romantic angst. It was just two people slowly, without really realising it, falling in love. I adored it.

Assassin's Heart is not perfect but it came pretty close. Sarah Ahiers knows what she is doing, she is on my watch list and I will wait eagerly for her next book.

4 stars

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Assassin's Heart book one.  Published February 2nd 2016 by HarperTeen.

 

A free book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

Book Review: Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.
A story about happy beginnings.
A story to make you realise who is special.

 

Sarah Crossan is an author I know quite well, I've read her Breathe series and I even met her once but Apple and Rain is the first contemporary book of hers that I have read. I don't really know what I was expecting from this, the description sounded painful and I got the impression that this book would be a hard read. The two books in the Breathe series were not much help in determining what to expect from Apple and Rain. They are dystopia books full of rich world building, they could not be more different than Apple and Rain. In the end Apple and Rain turned out to be nothing like I expected and I found it quite different from other books I have read. It was realistic, touching and took me by surprise with its intelligence.

The writing in Apple and Rain is great, the main character Apple is quite young, only 13, and Crossan managed to find her voice with little effort. There was nothing over the top about this book, no dramatics, no heavy descriptions. Instead it focused on the emotions of a child as she went through some difficult times.

The storyline itself was heart breaking, I really felt for both Apple and Rain. This is a book about family and friendship, it is a coming of age story about sisters who are both lost. Mostly I think this is a book about growing up and how painful that process can be. I loved what Crossan did with the poetry theme that ran through the book, how Apple was inspired by a good teacher and a growing love of literature. I feel like a lot of thought was put into this book, it was lean and emotional without ever going to far.

The characters were good, they were all layered and full of personality. I didn't love nor hate any of them. I am not sure if that was the author's intention but I felt like it worked well. All of the characters are very real, they all have good and bad things about them. Each one at some point annoyed me and endeared themselves to me. Every character plays their part but it is the relationship between Apple and Rain that had all the impact in this book. This was a beautiful relationship full of ups and downs between very lost sisters. Crossan treated every aspect of not only this relationship but all the other issues in the book with utmost respect.

Although I didn't fall in love with this book, (to be honest it is not my kind of thing) I would still recommend it to young adult and adult readers. Sarah Crossan seriously impressed me with this novel and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

4 stars

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Published 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

 

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

Book Review: Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep

 

Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon.

I'm Gin Blanco.

You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coalmining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man . . . dead or alive.

 

The Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep is fast turning into one of my favourite Urban Fantasy book series. I loved Spider's Bite, the first book in the series and I enjoyed its follow up, Web of Lies just as much. Jennifer Estep has created a dynamic and interesting world packed full of characters you can't help falling in love with.

One of the things I love about this series is Jennifer Estep's writing. She knows how to weave a good story and keep the reader entertained. She is creative and her writing is full of atmosphere but it is also easy to read. There have been some negative things said about Estep's tendency to reiterate things a little too often and I have to say I agree. This book would have been a lot shorter if she didn't keep repeating herself. By this point readers know what the Pork Pit looks like, they know that Finn likes Chicory Coffee and that he and Gin slept together when they were younger. I have already started reading book three and everything is repeated again in that book. This repetition is my only complaint about the book and this series as a whole.

Plot wise I found Web of Lies as entertaining at Spider's Bite. There was not as much going on but it had a little bit more depth which made up for it. There were some really interesting parts and I like where the story is going and the growth Gin is making.

What really makes this series so great is its characters. I love Gin, she is my kind of girl. She is tough, smart but capable of feeling sympathy. She is hard on the outside and gooey soft in the middle. I think I liked her in Web of Lies more than in Spider's Bite. She faces some real challenges in this book she feels slightly betrayed by Fletcher the man she saw as a father, she has learnt that the sister she thought was dead is alive and well, and she has man problems in the form of Donovan Caine. Things are not looking great for Gin but she manages to hold herself with dignity despite all of that.

Donovan Caine is another complex character. Most reviewers do not seem to like him very much and I can understand that but I saw him a little differently. I really quite admired Donovan Caine. He has confusing and powerful feelings for Gin, he wants her as much as she wants him but his morals cannot let him be with a criminal, with a woman who takes life without remorse. His beliefs crush the romance giving it no chance at all but I can't help but think he done the right thing by leaving Gin behind. I like him for staying true to himself and what he believes in.

Web of Lies is a great addition to the Elemental Assassins series. I liked it a lot and I've already moved on to book three. I can't wait to see where this series goes in the future.

3 stars

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Web Of Lies by Jennifer Estep, Elemental Assassin book 2, Published May 25th 2010 by Pocket Books.

 

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Book Review: Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep

My name is Gin, and I kill people.

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

 

Finally! After what has felt like months I have managed to find an urban fantasy/romance book that I loved. I enjoy romance books a lot but recently they have not been doing much for me. Then Spider's Bite came along and my dry spell is fixed. It was just what I was looking for. I came very close to giving this book those elusive five stars but there was a couple of things that held me back, (getting five stars from me is difficult stuff.)

I knew I was onto a winner from the first page. Jennifer Estep writes in a style that suits my taste. Spider's Bite was humorous and dark, it's characters were layered and blunt. I cannot fault her writing, I found it engaging, and I cannot fault the plot which I found wickedly entertaining.

The characters were brilliant. I loved Gin, she is a straight talking bad ass with an attitude problem. My kind of girl. Gin is an assassin and she loves what she does. There is no conflict or guilt over what she has done. She kills people for a living and doesn't give a shit. I like that Estep took this approach, it would have been so easy to try and make Gin a nicer person by having her be full of angst and guilt. She also isn't afraid of sex, or of wanting sex. I like that too. In my opinion the romance genre could do with a few more Gin's.

The other characters were great too. Finn was awesome, he was cocky and arrogant but I liked it. It suited him and I found him endearing. Donovan was also great, he is probably the only person in the whole book whose morals are in perfect working order. This causes him issues when it comes to Gin, he despises her but he also wants her. I found that dynamic interesting but felt he was maybe being a little to stubborn at times.

I liked the romance between Gin and Donovan but I didn't love it. As individuals they were great, Gin especially, but together it didn't quite work for me. There was lots of chemistry, but I couldn't get behind it. I think my issue is that I can never see this relationship working, Donovan is never going to get over the fact that she is a killer and that fact that she feels no guilt about it. His morals are never going to let him be with her fully, even if he fell in love with her. I think Gin needs someone who can challenge her, who can meet her half way, she needs someone who wouldn't be ashamed of their relationship.

Apart from the romance this book was just what I was looking for and I fell in love with it. I am moving onto the next book in the series straight away and I cannot wait to see where Estep takes Gin next.

4 stars

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Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep.  Book one in the Elemental Assassin series.  Published January 26th 2010 by Pocket Books

 

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Book Review: Unfixable by Tessa Bailey

 

Willa Peet isn’t interested in love. She’s been there, done that, and has the shattered heart to prove it. Ready to shake the breakup, she heads to Dublin, Ireland. But there’s a problem. A dark-haired, blue-eyed problem with a bad attitude that rivals her own. And he’s not doling out friendly Irish welcomes.

Shane Claymore just wants to race. The death of his father forced him off the Formula One circuit, but he’s only staying in Dublin long enough to sell the Claymore Inn and get things in order for his mother and younger sister. He never expected the sarcastic American girl staying at the inn to make him question everything.

But even as Willa and Shane’s fiery natures draw them together, their pasts threaten to rip them apart. Can Shane give up racing to be with the woman he loves, or will Willa’s quest to resurrect the tough-talking, no-shit-taking girl she used to be destroy any hope of a future together?

Unfixable is not normally the type of book I like. The New Adult genre and me have not really hit it off, I can count the number of New Adult books I have liked on one hand. I don't really get it if I am honest, they are just like adult romances but with more angsty drama and I am not really a big fan of angst especially if it is over done which appears to be a must for New Adult. One look at the description for Unfixable and I was sure I was going to hate it. A doomed romance between a trapped boy and a girl who hates herself, sounds like pure angst to me. No, I should not have liked Unfixable. Yet somehow this book got under my skin and I couldn't put it down and I fell in love with it.

I have only read one Tessa Bailey book before this. I gave His Risk to Take three stars but I struggle to remember anything about it. Even looking back over the blurb and my review I am coming up blank. Unfixable will not be as unforgettable. Tessa Bailey really did a good job of writing this book, everything was thought out, the characters, storyline and relationships were all structured and well built and the writing was descriptive. Reading Unfixable was easy, I picked it up and within moments I was lost in the story. I felt maybe that the ending was a bit rushed like Bailey realised the was running out of room but that's the only complaint I have.

What I really enjoyed about Unfixable was it's storyline. Sure there was drama but for the most part it was believable. For me this was more than a romance, it was almost like a coming of age novel, the characters take a journey of personal discovery along side the romance. Tessa Bailey managed to sneak a little bit of everything into Unfixable, it was at times happy and sad, it made me laugh, it filled me with wonder and at times despair. It was a well balanced book full of ups and downs, it flowed well and I never found myself bored with it.

Tessa Bailey's writing and Unfixable's story line both helped to make this book great, but what made me fall in love with this book was it's characters. Shane was a tempestuous man, he was stubborn and angry but behind that there was a guy that truly cared, that didn't know how to go about doing the right thing. He was very much a secondary character to Willa but that didn't make him less important. Shane was the only one who could and would challenge Willa's perception of the world and herself. I liked Shane a lot but it was Willa that truly made this book a joy to read. I fell in love with this girl from the beginning, and I related to her in quite a few ways. Willa does not have the best opinion of herself, she feels like she is broken and unfixable but she never wallows in self pity, she wants to live and to love but she doesn't know how. I found her honest and real, she's had it tough but is determined to make it through. It is rare to come across a new adult character with this much baggage and not have them be an angsty, dramatic mess. Sure, Willa was not perfect, she made mistakes but she owned them. Self pity really wasn't her style and I loved her for that.

The romance was fantastic. The chemistry between Willa and Shane sizzled and jumped off the pages. They didn't fall into bed quickly and the sexual tension Bailey created was almost unbearable. Sometimes books heavy with sexual tension can fall flat once the characters give in but not Unfixable. Tessa Bailey kept the tension high and I must say that she sure knows how to write a sex scene. This book is seriously hot, none of the love making was casual, it meant something to these characters which made it even hotter. Out side of the physical the romance still worked, animosity turned to lust, lust to respect and respect to love. These characters learn to love each other and themselves, they learn that it is ok to lean on others when you need to, that it is ok to share your bad thoughts and your good ones, your hopes and your fears. Everything about the romantic aspect of this book worked for me, I truly have nothing negative to say about it.

Unfixable was like an unexpected gift. It has made me look into the new adult genre again, and has introduced me to an author that I cannot wait to read more from. It was more than I thought it could be and I am so very glad I've read it.

4 stars

 

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Unfixable by Tessa Bailey.  Published April 14th 2014 by Entangled Publishing (Embrace)

 

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.  Image courtesy of Goodreads.

Book Review: The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Vengeance will be hers.

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

Monster.

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

 

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS BIG ASS SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The Blood of Eden series has been one of my favourite YA book series for some time now, I would even go as far to say that I think it is the best YA series since The Hunger Games. I bought The Forever Song (the last book in the series) when it came out last year it took me a long time to get round to reading. I didn't put off reading it because I wasn't interested, I put off reading it because I was scared. It turns out I was right to be fearful.

Oh Julie, Julie, Julie. We need to have a serious conversation. I trusted you and then you went and stamped all over my heart. Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I don't really do Book Boyfriends. I rarely get book crushes but then you created Kanin. I cannot say what it is about this character that appeals to me so much but it is potent. I have never crushed on a book character, shit I haven't crushed on some of my ex boyfriends, the way I crushed on Kanin. To me he was perfect, more of a book soul mate than a book boyfriend. But then it all came crashing down, why? Because you killed him! I cried Julie, I WAS ON MY LUNCH BREAK AT WORK, JULIE! (It was awkward to say the least.) Look, I get why you did it I really do. It was about redemption, about finding closure but it broke my heart in two, so thanks for that.

Now that I have properly unleashed my Kanin feels I can get on with this book review. The Forever Song is the weakest of the trilogy, (and I am not just saying that because I am wounded) but I still absolutely loved it. It may be the weakest of the three but it is still up there with my favourite YA books. At this point I firmly believe that Julie Kagawa is incapable of writing a bad book. Her work is so rich and her world building so imaginative that it would be impossible for anything she penned to be bad.

Another reason I love, not only this book, but the whole series is that way Kagawa treats her audience. She doesn't treat her readers like children, she doesn't hold back the bad stuff to protect them. Julie Kagawa is prepared to go to some dark places the tone of the book is almost one of despair, there is gore, violence and horror. Sex, death and a lot of swearing. I love that she takes those risks and I find her work to be richer because of it.

I am sad to say farewell to these characters. They were just as likeable and magnetic in The Forever Song as they were in the previous two books. Allison is one of my favourite YA characters ever. She is flawed and can make bad decisions but she isn't selfish or arrogant. I find her real and gritty, in her relationship with Zeke she is the one with the harsher nature, she is the fighter and he is softer and more emotional. I have already talked about Kanin at length so I won't make you suffer with any more. Yet, despite my feelings for him it was Jackal who ended up being my favourite character, in this book and maybe in the series as a whole. The raider king breaths life into this story, without him this book could have fallen flat. Jackal isn't always easy to like, he can be nasty and his reluctance to feel any guilt over the people he has killed and what he is can, at times, be hard to swallow. Yet, behind all of that there is something softer and sweeter lingering under the surface. He pushes people away, he doesn't want to care but he does, he cares quite a lot I think. He pretends to be callous, to not give a damn but he is wiser than he wants to admit and often is the voice of reason. He is a complex and funny character and I have to admit that he has worked his way past all my Kanin feels into my heart.

Despite my sadness I do feel like this series has come to a satisfying conclusion. Yet, not everything about this final instalment was perfect. There was a little too much angst, and a little too much teen romance drama for my liking. I am not going to complain much, there is not much wrong to warrant it but The Forever Song didn't quite grip me like The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure did, which is why I am giving it four stars instead of five.

Oh and Julie, if you want to make up for taking a sledgehammer to my heart then putting it through a meat grinder a Jackal spin off, preferably adult, (because that shit would be red hot,) would be a fine place to start. Wink, wink.

4 stars

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The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa, blood of Eden book 3

 

Published May 2nd 2014 by MIRA Ink

 

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BOOK REVIEW: Close To You by Stacia Kane

Churchwitch Chess Putnam has seen, and banished, her share of ghosts, but not of the Christmas Past variety—the holiday has been illegal since the Church of Real Truth defeated the undead and took control of the world in 1997.

Yet when she and her boyfriend, Terrible, make a trip to an abandoned auto junkyard, they find more than the rusted auto parts and spare tires they’d bargained for. They also run across a creepy Miss Havisham-type hell-bent on reuniting with her long-dead husband just in time for Christmas—even if it means taking Chess and Terrible down with her into the City of Eternity…

If Chess and Terrible don't manage to keep these ghosts in the past, they won't have a future…

 

Quite a few years ago I read a book called Unholy Ghosts, the first book in Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series and I absolutely loved it. It was dark, gritty and at times plain gross which is everything I love in an Urban Fantasy book. Yet despite falling in love with it I never carried on with this series. Other books just seemed to fall in my lap and despite wanting too I never got round to buying the second book.

I probably should not have read Close to you considering that it is book number 5.5 in the series and I have only read number one but when I was offered a chance to get my hands on this book I just couldn't stop myself.

For me Stacia Kane has to be one of the finest romance authors of our generation. I am constantly astonished by the depth of emotion she manages to get into her books. No-one else writes romance like this. She makes it feel real in a way that no over romance author has managed for me. It isn't over done or cheesy. It feels genuine and I wish there were more authors out there that could make me feel the same.

Stacia Kane's talent for writing doesn't stop at the romance. Her plots, world building and characters are also spot on. She isn't afraid to take her books to dark places and have characters who are far from perfect.

Close to you, despite being short had all of that. It was spooky, festive, dark, romantic and touching which is pretty amazing considering that this novella is under 100 pages long. The characters were just as great as when I first came across them. Chess is my kind of girl, a tom boy with a bad attitude and some questionable habits. And then there is Terrible. If there is some real life Terrible out there please send him my way because that is a man I would definitely want to meet.
In short, I loved this book and I have seriously got to invest more time into this series in the future.  

4 stars

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Close to you by Stacia Kane book 5.5 in the Downside Ghost series.  Published October 8th 2013 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

 

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Book Review: Firelight by Kristen Callihan

 

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Romance novels are insanely popular and millions of readers’ worldwide pick up romance books every single day.  So if they are in such high demand and sell so well why are they not taken seriously? Is it because they appeal mainly to female readers? Is it because they focus on the romance instead of the serious subjects and flowery prose of literary fiction? It seems crazy to me that we should belittle a genre that gets millions picking up books every day.  A lot of people think romance isn’t a ‘real’ genre and they brush it aside with a roll of the eyes.  But I think that romance is one of the harder genres to write because its authors can’t just rely on great writing, detailed descriptions, fully rounded characters and exciting story telling.  A romance on paper only works if the reader can believe in it and that belief stems from the author managing to inject chemistry into the characters relationship and chemistry isn’t the easiest thing to write.

I really hate to put Firelight by Kristen Callihan into the romance category purely because I feel like once I put it there you might not take it seriously, and I think that would be a real shame because Firelight was actually very, very good.  I liked everything about it from Callihan’s writing to the romance between the characters it all worked for me. 

Kristen Callihan’s writes very well.  She manages to bring the Victorian streets of London alive with her vivid descriptions and atmospheric writing.  It was dark and gothic which really suited me as I like that in my books.  There was a supernatural element to the book but Callihan managed to produce the gothic feeling by using the time period, some brilliant world building and description instead of falling back onto the paranormal.  The story itself was very enjoyable and easy to follow, it never dragged and I found myself losing hours to it without even realising.  There was plenty of action, humour and romance that kept me entertained from start to finish.  My only problem came at the end of the book, the big show down felt rushed and I never truly understood the supernatural part of the story.  As a murder mystery I thought this book was fantastic but as a paranormal novel this didn’t quite work.

The main reason I liked this book was the characters.  I really loved both Miranda and Benjamin which is rare for me.  Often in books where there are two dominant characters I find one of the main characters is lacking something, often because the author put more into one character leaving the other feeling only half created.  I didn’t have that problem here, both were well rounded and created and I managed to relate to them both.  I really liked Miranda she is an independent and strong woman living in a world that expects woman to shut up and sit down.  She doesn’t and I admire that, she was strong, feisty and she wasn’t about to let anyone tell her what to do, especially her moody new husband Benjamin.

Before I explain my utter adoration for Benjamin I should probably tell you that I am a massive Phantom of the Opera fan and that I generally have a lot of emotional feelings for the Phantom himself.  In a lot of ways Benjamin was like The Phantom they both wear masks, they are both capable of terrible things whilst being vulnerable and emotionally unstable.  Unlike the Phantom Benjamin carried a softer side, he was capable of being terrifying and selfish but in the end chose not to be because Miranda was able to bring him some sort of peace from all the violence and fear he had been living with.  Benjamin finally came across someone who not only wasn’t scared to put him in his place but was willing to face the darkness with him and that is why the romance worked so well between them.  The chemistry and equality between them made their romance believable and beautiful.

Firelight is full of gothic descriptions, loveable characters and nail biting action.  It is a great romance but more than that it is a great book.  

  

4 stars

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Published 30th September 2014 by piatkus (originally published January 31st 2012 by Forever)

Darkest London book 1

A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Silver Surfer #2

By Dan Slott, Michael Allred and Laura Allred

Who is the NEVER QUEEN? How is the entire future of the Marvel Universe tied into her very existence? And why is she trying to DESTROY the Silver Surfer?!  Are these questions important? Sure. But you know what’s just as important? Lunch. Because what Earth girl Dawn Greenwood has for lunch today could change the fate of EVERYTHING!  Not kidding here. This is a very important lunch.

I enjoyed the first issue of the new Silver Surfer series but it didn’t wow me.  It was a little too out there and I just couldn’t really connect.  I often struggle with the first issues in new series, there is never really any room for anything other than the ground work and that doesn’t always work for me.  So, I always make sure I check out the first three or four issues before I give up.  I am so glad I have that rule because the second Silver Surfer #2 improved on issue one tenfold.  It gave me something to invest in and it really started to tell a story that I know I am going to love.

In issue #1 we saw how The Silver Surfer came to be the champion of Impericon.   We were also introduced to Dawn Greenwood a human woman held against her will in order in ensure Norrin Radd’s help destroying the mysterious Never Queen.   The Silver Surfer has no idea who Dawn is but they are linked in a way he is yet to understand.

In Issue #2 we see that not everything is what it seems there are some twists and surprises that I really enjoyed.  We get to meet the Never Queen and see her motivation.  I am still not all that sure what she is but she looks amazing.  The art work especially where she is concerned is really great.  I also liked the Silver Surfer a lot more than I did in the first issue.

My favourite aspect of this comic has to be Dawn.  She is a great character who I find really interesting.  She is an important aspect of this story not because of her link to The Silver Surfer but in her own right.  She may not be an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D or a martial arts expert but she is still strong.  I can’t wait to see what happens next with her and how her relationship with The Silver Surfer evolves.  

4 stars

Varient Covers

Cover by Francesco Francavilla 

For more information about this title and others check out the Marvel website