Cyn Newman

This book is set almost entirely during the events of a few hours. They're a very busy few hours, but still, just a few hours. Because of that, there isn't really any time for the long-time characters of the series to grow or develop in any significant way. Gin does her assassin thing. Finn is rakishly metrosexual and highly competent in his chosen areas. Bria and Xavier come in at the appointed hour and arrest people. Eva is a Damsel in Distress who has to be rescues at least once in every book. Owen is sexy. Roslyn is beautiful and affectionate. JoJo is the maternal healer. No surprises anywhere. But enjoyable, nonetheless.

I have yet to read anything by Huff that wasn't enjoyable, but Wild Ways was better than most. The Enchantment Emporium was decent, but it was really just a warm-up for this volume as far as I'm concerned. In fact, the way music and magic are entwined here put me in mind of some of de Lint's work. I look forward to reading more in this series, although part of me is a bit worried that it will be difficult to match the charm of this book again.

This novella could serve as an excellent taste of the Elantra series if a reader didn't want to commit to something as long as one of the novels, as it occurs before the series begins, when Kaylin is a teen, It is the tale of her first days with the Hawks, and it is wonderful. I really enjoyed it.

Meh. I largely read this one because I have a fetish for completing series whenever possible, but I won't hurry to read any future volumes. It read too much like a wish-fulfillment fantasy in so many ways, and the bad guys were total caricatures. The revenge got WAY too graphic, too - I don't remember quite that much detail in previous volumes (it has been a few years, though).

Wow. I don't remember much of the previous volume of this series, but apparently I did read it. There were little bits that came back to me while reading this one, mostly minor details. I retained enough that I could follow the sweep of the whole work, and it is excellent. Joanne is actually in a place I have visited this time - Cherokee, North Carolina. I was able to imagine the scenery far better than usual as a result. I'm not a particularly visual person, but I rather liked that. Meeting her father and son was wonderful. I was thrilled to see Morrison in this book, as well. I can hardly wait to read the next (final!) volume, but at least there is the Gary-centered collection to read between now and then.

Well, according to the acknowledgement at the end of the book, there was originally one enormous book which was broken up into The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish. I think they should have been published as one volume, but I obviously don't work in the industry. I definitely recommend that you have both books on hand before starting th duology, though.

I'm quite pleased with how the plot threads were brought together, and the main character certainly developed well. The book passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, too.

I hesitate to write a review now, rather than waiting until after I finish The Pirate's Wish. There are major plot issues still unresolved at the end of this book, which I dislike. The author did get her main characters to spot where I suppose it is reasonable to pause, though. The book is intended for the YA market, and perhaps (Harry Potter aside) enormous volumes don't go over well there.

In any case, the two main characters are interesting and likable without being unbelievably perfect. Neither are they unbearably annoying - something I have found all too common in the YA genre lately. The plot has drawn me in and I find the world fascinating.

On to the next volume!

Beautiful, informative book! A must have if you have children!

I have a feeling this story would have had more weight had I waited and read the novels first, but I wanted a taste of the author's work so I chose to read this and her other short piece, “The Witch's Betrayal,” in chronological order. She writes quite well, and I find myself intrigued by her world so far. This story just didn't engage me quite as much as the first for some reason, though.

I think I ran across this book because an author I follow on GoodReads rated it well. I'm sure I've heard of Drummind somewhere before, but I can't recall right off whether or not I've actually read anything by her before. Perhaps a short story I an anthology or magazine? She has the feel of one of the authors I associate with Marion Zimmerman Bradley, but unfortunately I don't have copies of the Sword & Sorceress anthologies to hand (and my collection of MZB's Fantasy magazines went missing a few moves ago, unhappily).

In any case, Blood Faerie is a good read. I was tripped up by the names, and really wish some sort of clue had been given to their pronunciation (the one provided for Eilidh was much appreciated). I need to be able to hear what I'm reading in my head. That is my only real nit to pick, though. I definitely got a feeling of the Other from the elves, something that is often missing in fantasy. I did find the depth of feeling expressed by one character for another to be a bit unbelievable on such short acquaintance, but it is supposed to be due to a mystic bond.

I went right ahead and bought the next book without hesitation. It is very likely that I will read all five books in the series, but right now I am certainly planning to read the second at the very least, and recommend it to a friend.

An excellent addition to the series. I love the fact that Mercy continues to grow and develop, and that her relationship with Adam isn't static. Jesse is also more believable, to me, than most of the teens I encounter in books. The plot was definitely intriguing, and Briggs did a good job if not telegraphing the ending ahead if time while still putting all the right elements in play gradually. I look forward to the next volume!

This is another one that I probably wouldn't have ever read if it hasn't been free, followed by an occasion some time later when it seemed the most interesting-sounding thing hanging around on the Kindle when I happened to be bored. The plot reminds me if Dan Brown to some extent, although I know he certainly wasn't the first to write novels along such lines. Religious secrets, conspiracies, secret societies, competing spies, and a great deal of violence are all tossed together. I wanted the answer to a couple of questions just barely enough to keep reading, but I figured out all the big mysteries long before the last chapter. I think the book would have been much better if it had been edited down to be much shorter.

Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. That was SO good! Now when can I have more?

Seriously, I need to learn that every time I get my hands in a new book from Hearne, I should just clear my calendar and explain to all and sundry that I am unavailable for the following day or so. I am wholly incapable of reading them in anything but one delicious session, rubbing sleepy eyes, skipping meals, and ignoring the phone. When I do come to the last page, I flip on, desperately hoping that there might be a little more left. Afterwards, I have to immediately visit the author's web site, seeking news of the next release.

There are very few winters whose work is so compelling to me. Jim Butcher is the other who comes to mind immediately.

If you haven't read the Iron Druid series, I strongly encourage you to do so. If you've read earlier volumes but not thus one, what are you waiting for?

I think I got this book because of a link in a newsletter, but I'm not entirely sure. It certainly isn't my usual, in any case. But it was there on my Kindle, and late one night when I had finished my previous book but still wasn't sleepy, I found myself reading it. If I hadn't had to work the next day, I would have read it straight through in one sitting. As it is, I took every minute I could steal to keep reading.

An excellent read, especially for fans of occult detectives. For some reason I was thinking this book was the beginning of a series, and I am terribly disappointed to find that is not apparently the case. (Yet. One can hope.) my only real criticism is that I was left wanting much more.

What a wonderful anthology! I have fallen off on reading collections lately, but I am such a total Kevin Hearne fangirl that I started looking for this one as soon as he mentioned it on Facebook. I bought it as soon as I heard of its release, and womanfully resisted skipping straight to the Iron Druid story.

I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over “Dogs” for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece did nothing for me, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't read anything of the novels that seem to be vital to having it truly make sense. I haven't read any of The Wheel of Time, either, but the Sanderson/Jordan contribution was a good enough story that it stood on its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of some authors' works, like Speakman and O'Roullian. Getting leads on more good reading is always exciting!

All in all, the book is more than worth its cover price. There is absolutely no question of it being worth the time spent reading it.

Honestly, if I had realized from the start that the author was the same guy who writes the Jack Daniels crime series, I wouldn't have bothered, despite the fact that the book was free. I read one of those books years ago and found it profoundly annoying. By the time I did put those facts together, I was well into the book.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this is male wish-fulfillment fantasy disguised as science fiction. The protagonist is handsome, he excels at everything he tries to do, and he is married to an incredibly beautiful, sexually talented woman. He is able to pull off amazing feats of athleticism, doing very difficult things he has never tried before when exhausted and injured while being pursued by law enforcement. These stunts quickly passed beyond my ability to suspend disbelief, becoming merely ridiculous.

To make matters worse, he is a jealous, possessive asshole. He met his wife through her work as a prostitute (there's a different term for it in the book, and it is wholly legal, but she has sex with men by appointment for money). Obviously he knew what her work entailed before he got personally involved with her. He was a client! But he is absolutely enraged by any reminder of what she does, trying repeatedly to get her to leave her work, which apparently provides the majority of the couple's income. To be fair, his behavior does have negative consequences, but I found it ridiculous to imagine that the woman would have considered even dating, much less marrying, such a closed-minded jerk.

That and the other women who make brief appearances just reinforced my opinion that Konrath/Kimball cannot write female characters to save his life.

I'm not even starting in on the TWO gratuitous rape scenes, which make it clear that the man has absolutely no comprehension of the horror that is rape.

A cliffhanger, dagnabbit! I am so upset! How dare Stabenow do such a thing to her faithful readers? And more importantly, when do we get book 21?

A lovely little gem of a story, set in “a corner of the Liaden universe” according to the authors.

Barant nearly lost me in the beginning, because this volume is so very different from earlier ones in the series. It got better, though, and as it did I didn't want to put the book down. However, I have to say that the cliffhanger ending ticked me off. The next volume will have to be really, incredibly good to make up for the cheap trick.

Wait a minute - according to Barant's blog, this is almost certainly the last book in the series. GAH!

This series is just so bloody wonderful! My sole complaint is that I want MORE!

Woof, I made it. I wasn't sure that I would, as this novel started out normally and devolved into a stream-of-consciousness mess. I was seriously motivated to keep going, though, because I read the rest of the series and this is the last book in it.

So I pushed on through, got to a bit of light in the tunnel, and then there was more muck. Really, Mr. Battis - this is a popular work! Or did you just feel like, “Hey, this is the end of my contract, I can do whatever I want...” That's the feeling I got, honestly. It doesn't motivate me to pick up whatever Battis publishes in the future.

Endgame is the final book in the Sirantha Jax series, according to Aguirre, and it definitely shows. Everything gets wrapped up very satisfactorily. Nothing new is introduced. Jax's relationships with March and Vel are both expanded in a delightful manner, and I love the way that works out. She also gets to develop a not-quite-motherly relationship with Sasha, March's adopted son.

The entire volume takes place on Laheng, home of the Lahengrin. We've only met the race through Loras so far in the series, but their story is touching. This is Loras' story as much as anything, the story of the fight to free the Lahengrin from the Nicuans and from the need to be owned (or “protected” as it is called). The action is brutal - Aguirre doesn't hide the realities of war. She doesn't dwell on it in an obscene manner, though, so the book is readable.

Reading the ending of a wonderful series is also bittersweet, but at least Aguirre has stated that she'll revisit this universe.

I'm fairly sure that I missed a Kate Daniels book, because I don't recall some of the events referred to in this book. That annoys me, and I'll have to go back and read whatever the last one was out of order now. It'll be worth it, though, because Ilona Andrews' writing is always fun. Gunmetal Magic is no exception.

This is the first novel to focus on Andrea Nash, Kate Daniels' best friend. Exposed as a shapeshifter, she's been kicked out of the Order. She had just chosen to obey orders from a superior officer instead of fighting with the Pack, which led to a breakup with her lover Raphael. Now she has to rebuild her life from a shattered ruin.

Andrea is a fascinating character, abused repeatedly in her terrible childhood and raised to be ashamed of and hide her shapeshifting nature. Her relationship with Raphael is informed by their bouda nature, but her human side isn't left out by any means.

I particularly enjoy the part that Atlanta plays in Andrews' books, but as a near-native Atlanta I'm bound to be biased in that respect.

This volume and the bonus novella “Magic Gifts” are definitely worthwhile reading for any fan of the Kate Daniels series.

Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell, in one book! Kate and Mutt, outside the Park! This is a fun addition to both series, well worth reading. I don't think it would work as well for someone new to either one, because references to former characters would go over their heads. For a fan of both series, like me, it's a delightful treat. There is a very sad bit near the end, but I can't say more without getting into spoilers.