Skinwalker by Faith Hunter - 3.5 stars

Skinwalker (#1) by Faith Hunter
3.5 stars

I liked this book but it was a little slow for me. It took me longer than usual to read it. When I put it down I didn't always want to pick it back up. Once I got to the end however, it did pick up and I was really enjoying it. 

I really like Jane. I think her origins are very interesting. She's part Cherokee and a skinwalker. She's special in that she has another soul living within her. This soul is Beast. In the beginning of the book we don't know how Beast came to share Jane's body because Jane's early memories of her life are blank. Through the course of different things, Jane gains access to some of her memories and eventually remembers how Beast came to be part of her. It's a very sad thing and I can understand Beast's anger. 

There are several characters but they aren't hard to keep track of. Jane has a best friend, Molly, who is an Earth witch. She married a male witch and they've had two children. Apparently Molly's, Angelina daughter is a crazy powerful witch and it's extremely dangerous for anyone to know about her power. Beast feels that Angelina is her kit because she helped calm Angie down when her power exploded. Jane is hired by Katie, the first sane vampire she's ever met. I like how Jane handles herself and I like how good she is with her weapons. She's definitely a bad ass. Leo is basically king of the vampires in New Orleans and he is also the head of his Clan. Vampire politics are very complicated and Jane keeps finding herself on the sidelines watching it all pan out. 

What I really liked was how well Hunter wrote Beast's point of view. You can see her as an animal but also as an intelligent being. I like Beast a lot actually. There is also the curiosity about the vampires. Apparently they are cursed and it has something to do with God. I'm very curious about Hunter's take on vampires. Weres aren't well known but Leo confirms that they exist as well as the existence of elves. I do wonder if we will them in the future. 

This is not a love story but I do think there will be a love interest. 

I would recommend this book to someone who like urban fantasy. It was enjoyable and I will be reading the next books in the series eventually. 

Review on Goodreads.

Books news and rantings

Ah I'm so excited. Archangel's Legion, the next book in the Guild Hunter series, is going to be about Raphael and Elena. I've really missed them in the last two novels and the novellas. Of course the cover looks awesome. Why do I have to wait until October? Also, Magic Rises, Kate Daniels #6 is coming out July 30th. I follow Ilona Andrews on their blog and was so sad when I didn't get to be a beta reader. I've been waiting for a very long time for Magic Rises. I'm going to reread 1-5 and review them but I had to share my excitement about the series. You don't even have to read a review by me for me to say GO READ KATE DANIELS. (Jess I'm talking to you.)

I finished Archangel's Storm on Friday. I'll probably post the review tomorrow. It was really good. I had to do my yesterday which involved watching a documentary from the History channel on the Apopcolypse and then I had to watch the movie The Rapture. It's a Life After Death class and the focus now is on the end of the world. While the History Channel thing was interesting, The Rapture was a little boring for me.

Now I'm reading Skinwalker by Faith Hunter. It's pretty interesting. The world is different but that is part of the norm for urban fantasy.

All kinds of good books have come out and will be coming out this year. I love it. As of right now, Ilona and Gordon are working on Kate Daniels #7. I'll explain that whole thing when I review the Kate books. 

This is what Goodreads has posted about Archangel's Legion and Magic Rises. Both covers are great. I love the fire on Magic Rises and man do I want Elena's wings.

"Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same…"

"Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…"

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs - 4.5 stars

Frost Burned (#7) by Patricia Briggs
4.5 stars

Oh I really missed Mercy Thompson and her world. I reread Moon Called (#1) not that long ago and I was so excited to get my hands on Frost Burned. I love Mercy and Adam and their wonderful relationship. There was such a long wait between River Marked and Frost Burned and it was so frustrating. Now I've finished it and it was great.

Mercy and Jesse are Black Friday shopping when they suddenly get into an accident. This ends up being a good thing but at the time it's a big hassle. When Mercy calls Adam to come pick her up, he doesn't answer. She calls the whole pack but no one answers. She even calls Kyle, Warren's boyfriend, to no avail. She ends up catching a ride to her shop where she meets up with Gabriel and Ben. Ben is in bad shape because he was hit with the tranquilizer that was invented by Gerry. Ben eventually is able to tell Mercy that the pack was kidnapped. We don't know who or why or where the pack could possibly be.

I like that there were a variety of characters mixed in with this book. We don't have Sam or Bran but we do get Asil, a character from the Alpha and Omega series. I haven't read the latest book in that series so I don't know what happened exactly but apparently the government let a serial killer go because he was killing fae and werewolves. A fae murdered the murderer and then all the fae packed up and secluded themselves in the reservations. It's really unfortunate because I wish we could have had more Zee in the picture. But his son Tad was pretty awesome as well. We also got a lot of Kyle in the first part of the book. I really enjoyed that. He was always a secondary character but we got to see more of his personality.

There were some slow spots but we also got to two whole chapters from Adam's point of view. I think it would have been a little better if it was in first person instead of third but I was very happy with that change of pace. Mercy discovered a new talent and their mating bond grew stronger. A lot happened in this book and in the end we find out why the pack was actually targeted and who was behind the whole thing. I wasn't really expecting it until I had it spelled out for me which is unusual because I can normally figure it out. Maybe I was just being a bit slow.

I can't wait for the next book. It's quite unfortunate that it takes so long for them to come out.