Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs - 4 stars

Book 1 in the Mylena Chronicles

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs
4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The original cover wasn't that great but I do like the new one.

This book is full of action, adventure, tragedy, mystery, and fantasy. I found the world building quite interesting. Mylena is full of goblins, faeries, sprites, wraiths, gnomes, and many other fairy tale creatures. There are no humans. Humans are a hated race and killed instantly. Greta, a human, was found by a Sprite, Luke. He trained her to become a great bounty-hunter and taught her how to survive.

Greta isn't a perfect heroine with perfect abilities. She is capable of making mistakes while she's hunting for the Lost. The Lost are any creature who sub-comes to the pull of the Moons. They become rabid creatures who live to kill. We get a clear example of this right at the beginning. She is a human through and through. She has fears and flaws just like any teenage girl. Of course, her fears are legitimate as she always has to be on guard lest she be exposed.

There is a little bit of romance and the smallish love triangle. There's also a little bit of insta-love but it wasn't too much for me. I despise insta-love so there were points where I was irritated but it wasn't too bad. I liked how she cared for the boys she found, especially the youngest. She is compassionate and willing to do what she could to help them survive the cold, harsh world of Mylena.

The ending felt a little rushed but it was definitely a dramatic one. It set up book 2, Greta and the Glass Kingdom, quite well without having a horrible cliffhanger. Overall it was a great book. There are flaws but not enough to bother me. I definitely recommend it, especially to fantasy lovers.

Phoenix Awakens by Eliza Nolan - 3 stars

Book 1 in The Phoenix series

Phoenix Awakens by Eliza Nolan
3 stars

I had such a hard time choosing how many stars to give this book. In the end, I chose 3. There were things I liked and hated about this book, making it difficult to decide. But honestly, there were just too many cliche's for me to really enjoy it.

I really liked the premise of this book. Secret society, magic, creepy vision dreams, etc. It had all of that but there was also the love interest, Graham. Julia, our protagonist is instantly attracted to him. She has yet to admit to loving him but it's become quite obvious. It's bordering on insta-love which I really can't stand.

Julia starts having these weird dreams that are creepy and disturbing. It's not until later that we realize she's looking into Graham's past. These dreams also include his sister, Clara. They show Graham and his entrance into the secret society, the Phoenix. Suddenly this "guide" appears because "her whole life is about to change." The girl happens to be Julia's ancestor. Surprise!

What really bothers me is that Graham happens to move to Julia's town and she happens to be this descendant of this super powerful family. It's too much of a coincidence for me. There were many things about this plot that bothered me. Don't get me started on the "school bitch" and the best friend that suddenly drops Julia with no reason at all.

It was super slow through two-thirds of the book. It finally picks up in the end with some action. But the whole thing is just so predictable. There's a small cliffhanger but I don't think it's enough to draw me into moving on to the next book. I do have to say that I really like the cover. I wouldn't really recommend it to a friend but some people might like it but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Saven Deception by Siobhan Davis - 4.5 stars

Book 1 in the Savan series

Saven Deception by Siobhan Davis
4.5 stars

I wasn't sure what I was going in to when I requested this book but I'm certainly glad I did. I've recently been having a hard time with the dystopian genre. This book is a mix of dystopia and sci-fi all in one. It's brilliant. This is one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" deals. I really don't like it but I do like the book.

Sadie is part of the lower class living in the Outer Circle, also known as stars. Everyone has a small tattoo on their wrists classifying them. The lowest class have bronze stars, the middle class have silver coins, and the upper class have gold bullions. Being a star means Sadie is forced to work at the age of 14, she's not allowed to marry or fall in love, she's not allowed to have children, and much more. They're basically considered slaves to the rest of the civilization. I liked how Davis separated the classes using the tattoos and the restrictions placed on the lower class. Her world building is great.

The government decides to try a new way to lessen the strain of overpopulation. They are sending volunteers to an underground city, Thalassic City, for six months to see if it is possible to live there. Sadie volunteered to get out of her dull life and away from the family that hates her. Luckily, Sadie is chosen and she's whisked away to a new world. One thing that made me role my eyes was the name for their little test drive: "The Experimento." I wish there was a better name or just drop the "o".

We knew there were going to be aliens based on the description. Since we know this, it's obvious who the aliens are when Sadie enters her new life. I like how Davis showed the slight differences between the humans and the aliens aka the Saven. It was subtle but the reader can tell...a bit of dramatic irony added a little twist to the story.

Sadie was a great main character. She's strong, brave, and has a good sense of who she is. She knows what she wants in her life. She's inquisitive and cares about her new friends. She acknowledges her failings and her behavior towards Logan (the love interest). The action really picks up in the last third of the book and we see Sadie shine.

This was a great book. I enjoyed it and I am definitely looking forward to the next one. I definitely recommend this book. I might be checking out her True Calling series.

Awakening by Catrina Burgess - 3.5 stars

Book 1 of The Dark Rituals

Awakening by Catrina Burgess
3.5 stars

We have Colina, a former healer. When her family is brutally murdered before her eyes, she knows she needs to get her revenge. She decides that becoming a Death Dealer is the only way to get back at the monsters who stole her family from her. It so happens that the men who killed her family also want to kill her so she needs defenses fast.

In this world, people know about different magic groups, or Guilds. Death Dealers have an understandably bad reputation. The connect to the spirit world and force the spirits to become their slaves. It's pretty disturbing but the main character, Luke, is able to justify why they're not so bad. I can see it from both sides of the spectrum.

I understand the need for revenge and I liked the concept of a good person gone bad. There were a couple of twists and I liked the darkness required of becoming a Death Dealer. Colina is instantly attracted to Luke and she was a little obsessed with him. I found this part annoying. She'd just met the guy! If the guy is hot, of course she has to fall in love. ::Eye roll:: There were a lot of cliches throughout the whole thing.

Warning: character death in the end. It was a definite surprise. Still, I didn't really care about it. I had no emotional connection.

The world building was lacking. When I'm reading an alternate universe book, I want to know what's going on. How does society work? What is the culture? What are the powers involved? Is magic considered good or bad? World building is important for me. I need to be able to be immersed in that world. There is a fine line when you're building such a universe. Info-dumps are terrible. But if you do it just right, it's a smooth transition.

This book was okay. Apparently that's not a popular opinion. It was well written but I just didn't enjoy the story line. It's unique but mostly I was bored. It was a quick and easy read for me but I found it slow and there was a little too much insta-love. I'm not planning on reading Possession.

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop - 5 stars

Book 2 in the Others series

Previous Others Series Reviews

Written in Red (#1)

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
5 stars

I read this book months ago and I've reread it many time since. After perusing Anne Bishops' website, I've discovered more about the Others' world regarding the layout. We start out with a preface again, introducing us to the world of the Others. This is for readers who may not have read the first book or to give us a little reminder of how everything is set up. Since it's book 2, you can skip it.

This book picks up right after Meg gets home from the hospital in book 1. Simon and Meg have become closer and now share bed every night. This relationship gets complicated after Simon being woken up and shifting back to his human form during the night. The tension that develops between the two affects the whole Courtyard. This is unsurprising as Meg is a key part of the Courtyard.

We see new sides of Simon and his confusion towards his feelings for Meg. He's a wolf that's suddenly having feelings for a human. It's obvious that he loves Meg just as she loves him but their relationship is complicated. You really feel for Simon and Meg. They don't understand what's going on.

There are new characters introduced and the tension between the humans and the Others continues to grow. The Humans First and Last movement that was casually mentioned in Written in Red is now more prominent. There are more and more issues with the drugs known as Feel Good and Gone Over Wolf. These drugs are contributing to the hatred growing between the two races.

I like that we see more character growth in all the primary and secondary characters. I did really miss having Sam in this book. He's so cute and you can't help but love him. I also really like Nathan. He's the watch wolf and we rarely see him in human form but he has a personality anyway. There are many humorous parts which compliment the dark and tense parts as well.

The Others series is one of my favorites in this genre, right up there with Kate Daniels. The world building is excellent and the characters are well developed. This was easily 5 stars. My only complaint is there isn't much fan art out there for me to fawn over.

Next up: Vision in Silver. What's going to happen next?

Must Remember by Colleen S. Myers - 4 stars

Book 1 in the Solum Series

Must Remember by Colleen S. Myers
4 stars

I got this book through NetGalley and after reading it, I will definitely be buying it.

This book falls under the New Adult genre. I was pleasantly surprised as I was reading this. It's a bit of Sci-Fi and a bit of Fantasy mixed together. There's humor that you wouldn't expect either. I was laughing out loud which is extremely difficult. There is sarcasm, romance, magic, action, aliens, and more.

Elizabeth/Beta is our heroine and the narrator in this book. I love the nickname Myers chose for Elizabeth. I've seen Beta used as a nickname. I found it clever. Beta is a college girl and her entire world ends one day when everyone around her stars going crazy. That was how the book opened. That whole first chapter had me going "What the hell am I reading?!" Then she wakes up on another planet with two suns in a uniform she doesn't recognize with no memories of how she got there.

Some books that have amnesia dive me crazy because they tend to drag it out. Beta gets flashbacks and dreams that slowly clue us in without ruining the plot. In fact, I found that Myers paced the plot and action quite well. She didn't info dump us on too much and allowed the characters to describe the world.

One thing I did have a problem with was the love triangle. I'm just not a fan of them. We do know who she prefers pretty early on but she kept going back and forth which is annoying. Thankfully she chose by the end of the book so it wasn't too drawn out. Of course, the rejected guy won't be giving up that easily. I'm on team Marin.

The character development for Beta was great. Things weren't dragged out and when she started getting bored, she decided she wanted to do something about it. But she was very real. The memories that began to return scared her and at points she was very human in not wanting to remember the pain.

I enjoy fantasy more than sci-fi and the fact that this was both made it great and unique. I love the elemental magic that was included and I love the jatua. They are tattoo-like markings that appear on a person's skin. They are basically the person's story. I just found it cool.

I'm excited for the next book, Can't Forget. Must Remember didn't end on a cliff-hanger exactly, but it's enough to make you want more. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys magic, aliens, or romance.

Written in Red by Anne Bishop - 5 stars

Book 1 in the Others series

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
5 stars

I recently discovered this book thanks to @has_bookpushers on Twitter. I inhaled this book and then moved on to the next book within days. I stayed up way to late but it was so addicting I couldn't stop reading.

This world is another unique one. There are vampires and shapeshifters but there are also other creatures that don't have names. They are known as the terra indegine or Others. The Others despise human and consider them "clever meat." They lease the land humans occupy by on the continent of Thaisa. I think Thaisa is North America in Bishop's world. There are some clues even though every country and city have different names than the real world. Bishop includes a description of the world for her readers which lays out the setting without turning into an expository essay.

We have multiple points of view and all of them are in Third Person Limited. Our main protagonist is Meg Corban. She's a difficult kind of human. She's what the Other's consider "not prey." She doesn't have the prey smell and she has a child-like innocence. She's a sweet blood. This is because she is a Blood Prophet or cassandra sangue. Meg escaped from a compound full of other Blood Prophets and winds up in the Courtyard in Lakeside. Blood Prophets have the need to cut and once the skin is cut, they see prophecies. If they speak, they feel an orgasmic-like euphoria but if they don't, all they feel is an excruciating pain.

This book...I can't believe I didn't know about it sooner. The I love the setting, the plot, the characters, everything. Even though it's set in an alternate universe, it's not hard to follow. That makes things much easier to understand. Bishop manages to explain things without the reader feeling overwhelmed with details. I love when an author can do that.

Meg's view of the world is so different and I love it. She thinks differently and that has an impact on everyone in the Courtyard. Simon, the leader of the Courtyard is a Wolf and Bishop managed to capture the essence of the Wolf and the other terra indegine shapshifters. They don't think like humans and Bishop is able to show this. I loved it. I loved the relationship/friendship that forms between the two. There is actions and fights and there Bishop doesn't hold back on the descriptions of kills.

I love this book. There isn't a heavy romance element and I find that refreshing. You can see the budding relationship between Meg and Simon but it's slow to start so we'll see what's in store for them. The world so interesting and addictive. I just want to know more. Anyone who is a fan of fantasy and alternate universes would love this book. It's like Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews or Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter sereis. The world is different yet still familiar. Ah, so amazing. Definitely a must read.

Master of Crows by Grace Draven - 4.5 stars

Master of Crows by Grace Draven
4.5 stars

I loved this book. I absolutely loved it. Draven writes wonderfully and she is able to immerse you in her world without confusing you. There were no info dumps and the characters were well developed. I like the type of magic that occupied this world and I like how the class systems worked because it gave the story some life.

The main two characters are Martise of Asher and Silhara of Neith. Martise is a slave and is sent to Neith as an apprentice. Her true purpose was to spy on Silhara so her master, Bishop Cumbria, could find an excuse to execute him. There is extreme hatred between the two and neither bother hiding it. Martise is a well and is able to translate old texts. Silhara is in need of her abilities so he can find a way to kill the false god, Corruption. Silhara also has to try to make Martise's Gift appear. It's obvious she had it but it doesn't want to show itself.

Silhara is an ass but there are good reasons for this. He is a powerful mage who lives in squalor. Neith is a ruin for someone of noble blood. The title "Master of Crows" is an insult because they associate crows with evil and death. In truth, Silhara only uses some dark magic and not for dark purposes. At the moment Corruption wants to use Silhara as his avatar to rule the human world. Silhara is doing his best to resist the evil god but he can't resist much longer. He needs to find a way to kill him.

Martise is an average woman but with a beautiful voice. She isn't beautiful; she is plain and unassuming. She is very smart and clever however and her role as a slave serves her well. She picks up information because who pays attention to a slave? She finds that she fits in at Neith. Gurn, the servant but truly Silhara's friend, is mute but uses sign language. He cares for Silhara and soon comes to care for Martise. I like Gurn. He's a giant with a big heart despite a dark past.

We do end up finding out about Martise's Gift but it is not the Gift anyone expected. It's actually a curse. It's quite sad actually but there is an excellent reason behind Draven's choice of Gift for Martise. I like that Silhara is extremely powerful and that he is a tortured soul that Martise comes to love.

This is a fantasy-romance so obviously the two fall in love. Their love isn't instant and it's obvious that it is a difficult thing to embrace. I like how their relationship grew through the book and the discovery's they find in each other and in themselves.

There is plenty of action and suspense. The ending is a HEA for which I am grateful.  I couldn't see it ending any other way. The entire book is just written brilliantly. Her words paint the picture in your mind and you find yourself completely immersed and up way late into the night when you should be sleeping.

I highly recommend this  book. I read it in the anthology "Darkly Dreaming." I just discovered that there will be a sequel coming out. Draven hadn't planned for one but she changed her mind and decided that it sounded like a good idea. I'm excited. There is no official date yet but Draven did provide a small snippet from the next book, "The Brush of Black Wings." You can read it here. But don't read it before you read Master of Crows. Seriously, there are spoilers and this is one book you don't want to spoil for yourself.

Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

First off.....AWESOME. Not really what I was expecting. Actually I didn't really have expectations. I knew this would be different and a game changer. Yes, it was definitely a game changer. I know some people won't like the ending. It wasn't what I was expecting. It came out of no where but I like it. Oh boy. The next book should be interesting. When is the next book coming out? Can it be out now? Can I just know what happens?

Anyways, now for my review.

Previous Kate Daniels Reviews

Magic Bites | Magic Burns | Magic Strikes | Magic Bleeds

 Magic Slays | Magic Rises

Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews
5 stars (more like 10 stars)

In the previous book, Kate's lineage basically came out to the world. Really, only the important people know but it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world finds out and Kate can no longer hide. Also, Curran proposed at the end of the book and gave Kate part of the Wolf Diamond. According to the authors, Curran is showing Kate that he trusts her completely because the Wolf Diamond can basically kill him. That's pretty powerful and I'm glad they explained that in the interview. (The interview is great. It's about 50 minutes long and you can watch it here).

Now that they're back in Atlanta, they're preparing for war. It's going to come. Hugh d'Ambray knows who Kate is and now he desperately wants her. He also wants to sleep with her and fight with her and stuff. It's pretty gross actually. He is extremely powerful and has an amazing gift for healing. He can basically pull people back from the brink of death (spoilers)*.

Curran goes out of town to deal with a shapeshifter who wants to talk about the panacea that the Pack now holds a monopoly on. This leaves Kate to attend the Conclave by herself. It's a complete trap. We know this from the summary. Hugh enters and everything goes crazy. "You have until noon to turn over the murder!" It's basically a Catch 22 and it seems like war is unavoidable.

The Pack is at a disadvantage as at least half are out hunting, something the shapeshifters do in the winter months, and Curran has taken some of his good people with him. Jim, who's already paranoid is just going crazy. They know that war is not going to be a good thing but figuring out a way around it is difficult.

In the end they do find the murderer. She's an odd shapeshifter. When Hugh shows up with his army of vampires, Kate works around him. He's not too happy and he teleports her away along with Ghastek into a prison (spoilers)**. It's the prison cell from hell because they're in water and it's cold and they're starving. We do learn some interesting things about Ghastek and his back story. I liked it.

Kate gets rescued by Curran of course. Curran would tear apart the world looking for her. True love in all it's glory. Curran isn't alone. He brought along Jim, Andrea, Christopher (the man they rescued from Hugh in Magic Rises), Thomas, Robert, and a medmage, Nasrin. Thomas and Robert are the alphas of Clan Rat. The escape from the prison tower is difficult and full of surprises (spoilers).*** My heart broke at one point. I wanted to scream at the authors because how could they do that?! (spoilers)****

We meet Roland in the end. I so badly wanted to know his real name but everyone calls him Lord Roland or Sharrum (king). I was surprised by this confrontation. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. But I think they wrote it perfectly. Roland is such a powerful character and how could they possibly end it all in one book? They couldn't and what they did was ten times better.

You'd think Kate coming face to face with Roland would be the craziest thing ever. But really, there is so much more. So much happens at the end of the book that you feel drained. A lot of things are explained in this book that we were wondering about: Nick, Naeemah, the words on Kate when she took the power word in Magic Bleeds, Kate's true power, and more. If I had been reading in the hardcover format versus the ebook, I would have paper cuts from how fast I was turning those pages. I enjoyed the ending however. I felt that it did so much for Kate and Curran's relationship and that this book has brought them even closer together. Roland is not completely dealt with but man, it's going to be great.

My absolute favorite part is Desandra using pork sword. This has been a thing for almost a year and a half going on between Ilona and Jeaniene Frost. I had to stop reading for a moment so I could stop laughing. Oh my goodness.

This review is pretty long so I'm wrapping it up. Basically, read the book. Enjoy it. Love it. It's amazing. I can't wait for the next Kate and Curran adventure.

Here are the tweets that started the whole "pork sword" thing.

Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland - 4 stars

Book 2 in Kara Gillian

Previous Kara Gillian Review

Mark of the Demon (#1)

Blood of the Demon (#2) by Diana Rowland
4 stars

Let me start off by saying that I love this series. It's fantastic. I love the world and the characters and everything else. Rowland is very talented and she's able to get all the true aspects of the life of detective seeing as she used to be a detective herself.

This book was just as good as the first. I like the how the detective work is mixed in with the arcane. We have secrets that need to be discovered. Rowland creates these little secrets and hints to progress through the series, creating a little story arch. It's interesting and frustrating at the same time. You feel Kara's frustration at the lack of knowledge. The fact that you can feel this shows how much the reader sinks into the character. Kara is strong willed but isn't afraid to admit some of her weaknesses. She knows what she wants and she's very determined to get the answers, no matter how hard she has to work to get them.

In the previous book, Kara faced the Symbol Man, died in the demon realm, and returned to Earth. Now she's back to her regular life. Unfortunately, her aunt's essence was stripped for the Symbol Man's ritual and was lost. Kara has to find a way of getting her aunt's essence returned before her body dies. She enlists the help of Lord Rhyzkahl, the demon lord she accidently summoned in the first book and the one who saved her life in the end. The end of that book had me on the edge of my seat.

The current murders involve some pretty high ranking people in society. This causes definite problems for a a puny little detective like Kara. The two murders seem completely separate at first glance but with the othersight, Kara's gift of seeing the arcane, Kara can see that the victims' essences have been ripped out and eaten. This can cause problems in the greater scale of things but it's also very disturbing. Kara had never heard of a being that can eat essences other than a demon. Talk about intriguing.

Besides her crazy cases, Kara has to deal with Agent Ryan and his partner Agent Zack. She is definitely attracted to Ryan but he's also a bit crazy with certain things, especially with her relationship with Rhyzkahl which he thoroughly disapproves of. She also learns that Ryan's connections to the arcane is a little more than just being able to sense it. Her relationship with Ryan is a rocky one. They certainly know how to get under each other's skin but they also care about her other. I'm not sure how I feel about this certain relationship.

Then we have Rhyzkahl. He now wants Kara to be his official summoner. They would make a deal and she would summon his regularly. This is extremely problematic. Kara knows it's a bad idea but she also enjoys the sex she's having with him. He grants her a certain number of questions each time she summons him, one question involves getting Tessa's essence back. Rhyzkahl explains which ritual to perform to create a sort of beacon for Tessa's essence to follow in the void. Through this ritual, Kara discovers more secrets to the arcane that is extremely helpful (spoilers)*.

I like that we Kara's powers growing. I like character who seem normal but have more power than they realize. I like to see them grow into that power. In Kate Daniels we know Kate is super powerful but as the series progresses we see her power grow. Kara doesn't realize her potential and I like it.

Like I said, this is a great series that I will continue and I am looking forward to seeing where Kara goes next.

Previous Reviews

• Mark of the Demon (#1) by Diana Rowland
• The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank
• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank

The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars

Book 1 in The Curse Keepers 

The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank
4.5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is one of those books that gave me a physical reaction around the end. The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because of how slowly it started off. I was annoyed with Ellie and Collin at first. Ellie's blatant refusal to believe in the curse was annoying at first but I grew to accept it.

Okay, I love this book. It's definitely gone on my favorites shelf. What I love about it is the absolute uniqueness of it. I've never read anything like it. It's urban fantasy, one of my favorite genres, but it's a completely different take on the urban fantasy/paranormal world. This story focuses on the Lost Colony of Roanoke. As many people know, the colony literally disappeared off the face of the earth. I've only read one other series, Blue Bloods, that worked with the mystery. This was ten times better.

In this version, the colony and the evil spirits were locked away behind a gate. It's basically what we would consider Hell. The Croatoan Native American, Manteo, locked the spirits and gods away with the help of Ananias Dare. The colony also gets sent behind the gates. It was a huge sacrifice and it is the reason that the colony disappeared. It's said that when the two Curse Keepers meet, the gates will open and they will have seven days to close it again.

Ellie is the current Dare Curse Keeper. She used to believe but when her mother died, she forgot everything and refused to relearn the everything she needed to know about being a Curse Keeper. Her mother didn't believe and she basically locked away her memories. It broke her father's heart because he was the Curse Keeper before her and she needed to know everything he knew. When all hell literally breaks loose, she can no longer go to him for answers because he has Alzheimer's. In the end, she does get her memories back and in a fantastic way. I love her character and her power.

Then we have Collin. He is the Manteo Curse Keeper. He's the typical smokin'
hot guy who is also a womanizer. He doesn't really care about anyone except himself. He's really an asshole in the beginning of the book and I seriously just wanted to punch him most of the time. But he is the Curse Keeper who knows the ceremony to close the gates and they need each other to close them. He's super secretive and he untrustworthy. Stupid gorgeous asshole. I love him and I hate him.

What's also great about this book is the multiple mysteries and plot lines. They aren't confusing and they add to the story. It's like Swank throws in real life with the fantasy. We get normal characters and real world problems. Ellie is broke and the family is is almost in foreclosure. Ellie also has a great best friend, Claire, and she adds to the story as well. I think it's a great little departure from the usual urban fantasies. I'll say it again, it's unique.

The ending. Oh my goodness the ending. I saw it coming but still. It was so intense and so heartbreaking and just, ah. I won't spoil it but it's just so hard to read. I seriously wanted to scream at Ellie and Collin. It was a really good ending and it set up a great story arc for the next book.

So far this seems to be a trilogy with three short stories. I'm definitely going to read the short story and I'm jumping into the The Curse Breakers as soon as I can. This is a definite recommend. Read it!!

If you want to read more about the series visit Denise Grover Swank's website and the Curse Keepers website.

Recent Reviews

• The Girl and the Raven (#1) by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars
• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars
• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margarent Stohl - 5 stars

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars

Book 2 in the Caster Chronicles

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
3.5 stars

Previous Caster Chronicles Series Reviews

Beautiful Creatures (#1)

When I first read this book, I found myself getting really annoyed. Mostly because of the actions of Lena. She just frustrated me. I understand the reasons why she acted the way she did but still, I just wanted to shake her and say "Get over it!" This has to be my least favorite book. As I mentioned in my review of Beautiful Creature, the next two books in the series are full of extreme angst. Don't get me wrong, the writing is good. Garcia and Stohl know how to write. I just found some of the plot hard to swallow. 

This book continues not long after Beautiful Creatures. Macon is dead and there is a funeral. His coffin is empty seeing as he in an Incubus and when they die there are no bodies. Obviously Lena is devastated over her uncle's death; especially since she's basically the one who killed him. Now every time she sees Ethan, she sees her uncle and how she killed him. Like I said, understandable. 

Ethan has no idea what is up with Lena. He desperately tries to get her to talk but she just runs away from him. She blocks him out, not allowing him to Kelt with her. Eventually Ethan learns why she is pulling away. Amma tells him what happened the night of Lena's Sixteenth Moon. But he doesn't want to give up on her seeing as he loves her. 

We get a few new characters in this book. Ethan is working in the library for the summer with Marion and he meets Liz. Liz is this crazy smart girl from England. She and Ethan become best friends and it's obvious that Liz really likes him. I really like Liz. She's just cool and she's a great friend to Ethan. Ethan runs across her in the tunnels with Marion. Turns out Liz is training to be a Keeper and she is studying with Marion. Ethan's mother had helped Ethan find his way through the tunnels to get to Liz and Marion. When Ethan told Liz and Marion that, they discovered that he was a Wayward. Wayward's a special mortals who guide Casters through their life. These Casters are important. They just aren't sure which Caster Ethan is supposed to be guiding.

When Ethan was at the graveyard for All Souls Day, Marion gives him a box with a small black sphere inside of it. Ethan's mother gave it to Marion and she decided to give it to Ethan. The stone is called an Arclight. It's the only weapon that can be used against an Incubus. It's basically a prison. Ethan begins
to have visions involving Macon and Abraham, the first Blood Incubus in the family. We learn a lot through the visions and that was one of my favorite parts.

The ending is huge and definitely has major effects. I like that Ridley and Link were included in their little adventures. Despite everything Ridley says, she loves Link just as much as he loves her. Poor Ridley and poor Link. Since the events of Lena's sixteenth moon, Link is now involved in the world of the Casters. He provide much needed comic relief. We also see how much of Gatlin actually is involved in the Caster world. It's shocking but also welcome. My favorite has to be Aunt Prue. I love that old lady.

This book does need to be read and it is still good. I just have a hard time when characters dwell on the same thing the entire time. It's understandable I guess but still, move on with the story already! Anyways, it's a good read but it drags on a bit. Things could have moved forward are little more quickly. Other than that, it was a good addition to the series and the consequences of the actions from the climax are seen in Beautiful Chaos. Exciting stuff right there.

Previous Reviews:

• Beautiful Creatures (#1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 5 stars
• Onyx (#2) by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars
• Obsidian (#1) by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars

Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout - 4.5 stars

Obsidian (#1) by Jennifer Armentrout
4.5 stars

I really liked this book. I've never really read any books about aliens before. They've just never sounded interesting to me. Obsidian was very interesting and this take on aliens is great. It's original and not something I was expecting.

The story is told through Katy's point of view. She and her mother just moved to the small town in West Virginia. The town only has one light and their house doesn't even get mail. They actually have to go to the post office to pick up their mail. It's a very small town. Katy and her mother moved from Florida three year's after Katy's father died from cancer. Her mother needed a fresh start. She is a nurse and works crazy hours.

I like Katy. She loves books and the way she talks about them and obsesses about them reminds me of myself. I think it's great when authors include book lovers in their characters. Katy also enjoys gardening. Both of these hobbies help her escape the world and just sink into another one. While I don't enjoy gardening, the enjoyment of reading something I can connect to.

We meet Daemon in chapter one and he's just one huge asshole. Later we find out the exact reason for
his jerkiness. Katy actually says this to his face which makes me smile. There are a lot of internal comments made by Katy that I sometimes find annoying. There are moments when they are unnecessary. Anyways, Daemon is this super hot guy that Katy can't stand because he's so rude to her. At times he will be nice and then he will turn into a jerk again. This hot and cold behavior makes him extremely unlikable.

Daemon's sister is Dee and I really like her. She instantly befriends Katy despite Daemon's repeated attempts to keep them away from each other. Dee is this super hyper and seemingly very happy girl that is excited to finally have a close friend.

This is my favorite cover

Since this book is about aliens and the fact that there are obvious hints that there is something not normal about Dee and Daemon, we do eventually find out that Dee and Daemon, along with three other students and some teachers are said aliens. They're known as Luxen and they are refugees on Earth. They are beings made of light and they have certain powers. Their home planet, Lux, was destroyed by the Arum, the Luxen's enemies. The Arum are creatures of shadows and kill the Luxen and absorb their essence. The Arum can't find the Luxen easily but the Arum can find them if a human has the trace on them. Guess who gets a trace? Of course it's Katy.

I liked this book a lot. I was debating between 4.5 and 5 stars but I kept it at 4.5 because of the minor annoyances I found throughout the book. Despite this, I really really like this book and it's one I would highly recommend, even to those who do not like reading about aliens.

Othermoon by Nina Berry - 4.5 stars

Othermoon (#2)  by Nina Berry
4.5 stars

Previous Otherkin Series Review

Otherkin (#1)

Othermoon begins not long after the events of Otherkin. Dez is listening to music in the middle of the night when she hears something. It turns out Lazar has broken into her house but nothing seems to be disturbed. She chases him out into the rain and to the lightning tree. Lazar manages to escape and Dez's mom and Richard catch up with her at the tree. Something strange begins to happen to her mother and she suddenly becomes possessed by another being from the Othersphere. She tells Dez that she is her daughter but is unable to last very long in her mother's body. She calls Dez an Amba, the same name Ximon called her when he saw her. 

It turns out Lazar stole a hairbrush from Dez. She gets in touch with all of her friends except Arnaldo and discover that things with their DNA have been stolen as well. Lazar left a note apologizing and asking for forgiveness. This is odd but Dez has to worry about other things, not Lazar's peculiar behavior. 

The gang meets up in Las Vegas where they are eventually found by the Tribunal. While they are escaping, Dez runs into Lazar again. He gets attacked by Caleb who hates him for killing his mother. Lazar tells Dez that he hasn't told anyone about where they are and warns them about the exits. Dez's compassion at the end of Otherkin planted a seed and Lazar wants out from under his father's abuse. 

The group heads to Arnaldo's to bring him to the school. They find out that his house wasn't attacked because his father gave the Tribunal some of his DNA. When Arnaldo leaves to go to school, his father disowns him. He is a drunk and hits his children which makes Dez eventually call child services. 

Once they make it to the school, Caleb and Dez stay behind and things start to get hot and heavy before they are interrupted by Amaris and Lazar climbing into the van. Lazar has information. The Tribunal is building a particle accelerator and for some reason they needed the DNA from each of the remaining tribes of shifters. Lazar agrees to get the plans and layout of the Tribunal's compound in exchange for help to escape the Tribunal. 

No one trusts Lazar except Dez and Amaris. Dez sneaks around Caleb and the others to get information from Lazar, eventually leading to the break up of Caleb and Dez. Caleb says he can't trust her and he sees the way Lazar looks at her and holds her. 

The group eventually attacks the Tribunal compound using Lazar's information but it's a trap. They escape and Dez does some awesome things with her power. Their escape comes with a cost. One of their number dies at the hands of Ximon (spoiler)*. Lots of things go down during that attack and escape and most of it is pretty interesting and helps develop the world of the shifters.

In the end, Caleb leaves while everyone else, including Lazar returns to the school. There is a budding relationship between Lazar and Dez, one that Caleb can't ignore.

I liked this book more than Otherkin. We learn more about the world of the otherkin and the shifters. We learn about the power of the othersphere and a little bit more about Dez's origins. It's very interesting. It deserves a solid 4.5 stars. 

Otherkin by Nina Berry - 4.5 stars

Otherkin by Nina Berry

4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The only reason I didn't give it five is because I have some issues with certain scenes. It took me a couple tries to get into this book but once I did I found myself enjoying it and finished it quickly. 

Dez

In this book we have Desdemona, aka Dez, who is an otherkin. She's a shifter and can shift into a tiger. This is quite obvious once you look at the cover. We get thrown into the world almost immediately. At the end of chapter 1 Dez transforms into her tiger. In chapter 2 she wakes up in a cage somewhere in the desert. In a cage next to her we meet Caleb. Caleb is otherkin also but he is not a shifter. He is a caller of shadow. Basically there is another world called the Othersphere and it "casts its shadow into our world. Not a shadow of darkness, but a power shadow, a vibration" (33). Callers can actually call forth the shadow of the shifters or send them away, forcing them into or out of their animal form. This makes the shifters hate the callers because they can control their transformations. 

November

The enemy of the otherkin is the Tribunal. They think all otherkin are demons and are extremely religious. They can use shadow too but they use it to get rid of shadow. The callers that are part of the Tribunal are titled objurers. Basically they're a bunch of hypocrites. The Tribunal has killed thousands of shifters and callers. Now there are only five shifter tribes left. Bears, cats, birds, wolves, and rats. Before there were shifters of all different animals but they were killed off by the Tribunal. Of course, all the shifters hate each other and are neophobic. They formed a council with a representative for each tribe but that only does so much. There is little they can do when all they want to fight.

London

After Dez returns home and is attacked again by the Tribunal, she shifts back to her tiger-self and that's when her adoptive mother and Richard, her mother's husband, find out about Dez being a shifter. Her parents go into hiding while Dez heads off with Caleb to a super secret school somewhere hidden. Once there, they have to go through a test to prove that they are worthy to be taught at the school.

The school is for shifters, not callers, so Caleb is a little on the outside. The teacher, Morfael, is also a caller and teaches the shifters the everything the shifters need to know. Dez is an outsider at first and Caleb is unwelcome. The prejudice between the callers and the other shifters is extremely obvious. It's sad really.

Arnaldo

There is something special about Dez and even at the end of the book we don't really know what's going on with her or what she truly is. But because she was never raised around other shifters, she does not have the prejudice that they all have. She is able to bring everyone together and become friends. This is something that never happens.

Siku

What I liked about this book is the completely different take on shapeshifters and the idea of another world that casts its shadows into ours. The idea is clever and one that I haven't heard of before. I enjoyed Dez's character and her strength in trying to get everyone to work together and not hate each other. She doesn't give up and she has a fierce need to protect the people she loves.

What I didn't like was some of the writing and reactions. Dez finds out about this other world and she's not as freaked out as I think she should be. If I had changed into a tiger and then kidnapped and shoved into a cage, I think I'd be freaking out more than she actually was. Sometimes the writing seemed rushed. Despite these issues I really enjoyed this book.

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys shapeshifter books and want a different take on a fantasy world. The topic of shapeshifters has been used many times and I like that this book used it and changed it into something completely different than anything I was expecting.