Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.
This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!
Recent Reviews
Review: River Marked by Patricia Briggs
River Marked by Patricia BriggsSeries: Mercy Thompson #6
Published by Ace/Roc, Orbit
Pages: 326
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: Moon Called, Blood Bound
Being a different breed of shapeshifter - a walker - Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil...
I was in a real reading slump when I picked up River Marked. Almost every book I picked up left me with a desire to send letter bombs in the mail – and there seemed to be no cure in sight. I thought: “If Briggs can’t get me out of this funk, no one can.” And sure enough, she did.
River Marked was absolutely stellar. It was really different to the previous Mercy books, as Mercy and Adam spent 90% of the time away from home with strangers. I adored this for two reasons: 1) it was a chance for us to see how Mercy and Adam’s relationship would work outside of their comfort zone. 2) it was a completely natural, realistic thing for a couple to do. Too often authors will stick to a particular group of characters or a certain location, because that’s what people want to read. Not Briggs. She’ll take two of your favourite characters, toss them somewhere brand new, and make you love her for it.
That said, though most of the book was spent on the road, Briggs did sneak in a few fan favourites: Bran, Stefan and Jesse all put in some rather solid appearances. Thank God, as I really needed to check in on them after Silver Borne.
So, along with the fantastic exploration of Mercy and Adam’s relationship, River Marked also introduced a bunch of Native American mythology… which I loved. I read stories about Coyote and Raven when I was a girl, so seeing their stories incorporated into River Marked was a dream. Without giving away too many details… I also really liked how Briggs dealt with Mercy’s family history. Maybe other readers will find it a bit iffy, but I thought she handled it all very well.
You can also see the beginnings of a bunch of new plot lines in River Marked; I am positively twitching with impatience with the need to find out what Briggs has planned! I was starting to worry that she was wrapping up the Mercy series, but I can picture at least 5 more books worth of content she can cover after this.
Bottom line? A stellar – albeit, very different – installment in the Mercy series. If you are looking for a UF series that can hold up six books in, look no further.
Cover Note: I’ve used the US cover for this post as I absolutely loathe the new UK covers. The covers are actually what kept me from reading this book for so long – I just couldn’t stand the idea of buying the UK version! Only reason I bought it in the end was because I spotted it at Oxfam. Will need to get the US cover on bookdepository one of these days…
Monday Reading (Sept. 24th, 2012)
Art by LauraTringali Holmes
In this weekly event hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books where we discuss what we’ve been reading this week (and, occasionally, what we haven’t).
I’ve actually had a good reading week for a change! Instead of not finishing a number of mediocre books, I’ve finished one stellar novel and have started on another. Things are looking up!
Currently Reading:
- Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan – The first 30-or-so pages of this weren’t stellar. But once the descriptions of people’s clothing stopped and the hardcore “I’m in rehab” angst started, I really began to enjoy myself!
- River Marked by Patricia Briggs – Stellar as usual. Expect a review for this one tomorrow.
Book Haul: September 2012
Hello fellow book lovers! It’s been months, but I am back with a big book haul a-la Stacking the Shelves (Tynga’s Reviews) / In My Mailbox (The Story Siren) / Mailbox Monday.
These aren’t all the books I’ve acquired since my last post, but it’s a fair bunch of them. I also picked up a bunch at Eastercon, where I met a tonne of authors and covered for a radio station with another presenter. The segment was broadcast months ago, but is not online yet. Once it is, I will do a mini (belated) wrap-up!
Moving on… For Review I received:
- The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George – This cover is really, really lovely. Hope what’s inside is as good as what’s on the outside!
- Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan – I’m reading this right now and – after a few horrible pages – am quite enjoying it! Reviewed the first in this series here.
- Breathe by Sarah Crossan – I actually requested this one; it just sounds super awesome. Sarah’s blog tour is coming round soon, so you should see her one the interwebs soon.
- Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer – This sounds absolutely hysterical and is on my very-soon-to-read pile!
- Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton – This is book… 21 (?!) of the Anita Blake series. Seeing as how I am on book four of this series, I think it will be a while before I get to it. Though I have to say, the new UK covers are gorgeous.
- Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich – I’ve never read a book by Janet, but I know she’s super popular. This is the second book in a series – anyone know if I can get away without reading the first?
- The Chemickal Marriage by Gordon Dahlquist – This cover is GORGEOUS and the book sounds fab – but, again, it’s the third in a series. Do I need to go out and buy the first two?
- The Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith – This is supposed to be candy-covered brilliance. Not sure why I haven’t read it yet…
- 1.4 by Mike A. Lancaster – Again, this is the second book in a series that I haven’t started. I have 0.4 on my kindle, though. May splash out on the paperback if I like it, as the cover is so freakin’ creepy!
- The Watcher by Charles Maclean – This is a re-print of a horror novel that came out in the 80s. I was surprisingly intrigued by the premise, despite it not being my genre.
- Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt – This sounds rather painfully good. I think I’ll have to get myself in a zone before I start it.
- Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley – This sounds rather fun, and I’ve heard great things about the author.
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – Usually I am not a fan of historical novels, but this one sounds really, really good! And it has had fantastic reviews.
- The Last Four Things by Paul Hoffman – This is the second in a series, but I think I can get away without reading the first. I hope so, anyhow, as this one sounds super-super cool! Like a Season 4 Supernatural episode…
- Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee – Reading the summary for this one, I’m not sure quite what it is going for. It’s a dystopian, post-apocalyptic… horror novel? I think so, anyhow.
- The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore – This series isn’t up my alley, so I passed it on to an actual teenager (surprise, surprise!).
- Dissing You Already by Kate Kingsley – Again, not really my kind of book! Passed this one on as well.
- Shadow of Night and A Discovery of Witches (not pictured) by Deborah Harkness – This is one of those series that has had some fantastic crossover appeal. I am eager to see why so many people liked it!
- Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer – I have never been attracted to Jodi’s books, but this one sounds brilliant. Contemporary fiction mixed with a fairy tale = just my cup of tea.
- A Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder – I have had mixed feelings about Maria’s books; I really hope this book lives up to the quality of Poison Study and not the “meh”-ness of Fire Study.
- Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne – This one sounds super creepy!
- The Out of Office Girl by Nicola Doherty – Since I knew this wasn’t going to be my kind of book, I passed it on to a friend… who really, really enjoyed it. Apparently, if you are looking for a new chick-lit-type author, check out Nicola.
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler – This is written by he-who-is-also-known-as Lemony Snicket! I read some rather polarized reviews for it, so I am curious to find out what I think of it…
WoW: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson #7) by Patricia Briggs
Urban Fantasy – March 5th 2013 by Orbit – GoodreadsShapeshifter Mercy Thompson’s life is calming down, at least enough that she can focus on mundane matters like Black Friday sales. But on her return, Mercy is unable to contact her mate, Alpha Adam Hauptman, or the other members of their pack. All she knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related – and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from the most unlikely of allies: the vampire seethe.
Meep! This summary is so, so scary. What is she doing with my pairing?! GAH!
In case you haven’t noticed, I am a HUGE fan of adore Briggs’ writing. Her books never fail to deliver – I think the lowest rating I’ve ever given one was 4 stars… she’s just that good. I am currently reading the sixth book in this series, River Marked, and can firmly state that Briggs’ writing was good enough to get my blogging-mojo running again. Considering how deep my funk was, that’s the best compliment I can give!
Review: Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk
Magic in the Blood by Devon MonkSeries: Allie Beckstrom #2
Published by Ace/Roc, Berkley UK
Pages: 358
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Also in this series: Magic to the Bone
Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.
Thoughts: My memory of the first Allie Beckstorm novel is the following: Allie takes a lot of cabs, forgets things, and is in love with some guy who I wouldn’t know from Adam. The book left me with a shrug and a vague feeling of disappointment. It wasn’t bad – it was actually pretty well written – but it didn’t make me want to run out and get the sequel. So when I received the sequel for review, I waited until my memory of the first book was well-aged so that I could give the series a fresh start. Alas, Magic in the Blood was more of the same.
The Allie Beckstorm series seems to be rather episodic: there’s a crime, someone is called in, it must be sorted out. On top of that, there are a bunch of series arcs that play out: namely, Allie dealing with the aftermath of her father’s death, and her “boyfriend”‘s bizarre magical powers. You’d think that this developed backstory would give depth to the episodic story… but it just made it worse. Because it is hard to care about characters you find illogical, frustrating and underdeveloped.
My primary issues were with Allie’s inability to look after herself and her “boyfriend” Zayvion. Let’s start with Allie: the girl doesn’t have a car and lives in a city without decent public transport. So, she takes cabs. That would be fine if she were living in New York City where there is a cab on every corner, but she’s not. OK, so she can always call a cab, right? Wrong. Apparently cell phones break when she carries them due to… I dunno… magical interference or some such nonsense. Fine. (Except, no, really not fine – I’ve never seen such an obvious plot device in my life.) What all this boils down to is her taking cabs out to meet extremely dangerous people in isolated places without an escape route in place. Which just… NO! How on earth are we supposed to find this believable?
There are other examples I can give – namely, her insistance on using magic for mundane tasks even though she knows she’ll get a horrendous magical “hangover”. It defies logic and frustrates my belief in, well, humanity.
As for Zayvion… well, I’d say “the less time spent on him the better” but that seems to be the attitude the author has taken. It’s been two books and I feel like we know nothing about him. As such, it makes any emotional relationship between him and Allie implausible. Add to that the fact that the few things we did learn about him in the first book Allie has forgotten and suddenly we’re moving into the “that can’t possibly be real” arena.
Now, let me repeat: this series is not bad. Nor is it terribly written (although I did spot some grammatical errors and a few typos in the UK edition, and an overabundance of “Holy Shit”s). But it is episodic and stars characters I either actively dislike or find peskily illogical/stupid. Had the writing not been as solid as it was, this book would have gotten a much lower rating.
Bottom line? This is the NCIS of the Urban Fantasy world. Not bad, but not a series I’ll be continuing.