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?

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

Book 1 in the Hidden Legacy Trilogy

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
5 stars

This book was great. I mean absolutely awesome. I loved it. It is so different than the books out there so that makes it even better. I love the writing and the characters and the world Ilona and Gordon created. It's so different than their other works yet it's still clearly written by the wonderful duo that is

Arcane Circle

Ilona Andrews.

Our main characters are Nevada and Mad Rogan. Nevada has a pretty cool but secret power. She can tell when people are lying. She's technically called a Truthseeker. It's the third rarest gift there is. She's kept her gift hidden for very good reasons. She uses it for her investigative work as she is a PI and she knows exactly what she's doing. She's very protective of her family. They mean everything to her and she will do everything in her power to make sure they're safe. I love this about her. She may be poor but she make sure the family gets everything they need.

Then we have Mad Rogan. Mad is the perfect term to describe this guy. He's super sexy and super powerful. He spent his time in the army destroying cities and leaving nothing standing. He's a Prime telekinetic. Primes are these super powerful mages (I don't have another word for it) who basically run the world. There are different houses with different Primes.

Nevada and Rogan have to work together to bring down Adam Pierce. Nevada has no choice because the firm who technically owns Baylor Investigative Agency. House Pierce wants Adam returned alive and  unharmed. Adam is a Prime pyrokinetic. He can control fire and he likes to use it. He's really just crazy. Rogan is thrown in there because he's trying to track down his cousin's son. Rogan has no qualms with hurting or killing people. Nevada becomes his moral compass in a way.

What I love so much about this book is the interactions between Nevada and Rogan. I love the witty remarks and comebacks. It's classic Ilona Andrews. There is humor and sarcasm mixed in with all the maddness going on in the characters' world. There is a Kate and Curran like quality to the relationshop but it's different enough to make Nevada and Rogan completely separate from Kate and Curran. Nevada doesn't take crap from Rogan and Rogan finds her amusing. It's just a really good relationship and it will definitely be interesting to see where it goes from here.

This will be a trilogy with a Happily Ever After. I finished Burn for Me in about four hours. I just couldn't put it down. I got the audiobook so I can reread it again and pick up the things that I might have missed in my rapid page turning.

Ilona Andrews created a website just for Burn for Me. It gives an overview of the characters, powers, and the world they created. I recommend checking it out because it gives an easy overview without being spoilery.

Obviously I recommend this book. I love Ilona and Gordon. They're brilliant writers and I can never get enough. If there were more stars I would give it to them. Now I have to wait for the next book to come out. I am very impatient when it comes to their books. Magic Shifts (Kate 8) is the next release and I'm so ready for it to be out now. I guess I just have to stick with the regular updates to the serial Sweep in Peace.

The first cover option. 

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

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland - 4.5 stars

Book 1 in Kara Gillian

Mark of the Demon (#1) by Diana Rowland
4.5 stars

I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. I bought it ages ago and then forgot about it. But I finally got to it and read it in about a day. It's so interesting and something I've not really read about before so I found myself enjoying the uniqueness. It was the perfect combination of a police procedure and urban fantasy.

This book is written in first person, from the view of Kara Gillian. Kara is finally a homicide detective and she gets her first case, the Symbol Man. 3 years previously, the Symbol Man killed 13 people and left their bodies covered in arcane symbols. The killer only chose victims who wouldn't be missed; drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. Kara had only been a street cop when Symbol Man was working but she did get a glimpse of something arcane on one of the bodies while she was guarding the crime scene.

Kara is a summoner. She summons demons from another sphere into this world. There are 12 different levels of demons and then you have the Demon Lords. Kara has finally graduated because she was able to summon a 12th level demon. Her Aunt Tessa is her mentor and taught her all about the arcane. Kara's parents died when she was really young and Tessa became her guardian. Kara has a tragic past that we learn about gradually. I think we will learn more.

That night, the Symbol Man hit again. Kara is given the lead on the case. While she examined the first body, she saw arcane symbols and runes hovering over the body with her othersight. The Symbol Man is definitely someone who knows the arcane.

Kara was trying to summon an 8th level demon when all of a sudden a gorgeous man lands in her circle. He's obviously a powerful demon because he easily brushes away all of her protections. He could have killed her but instead he seduces her and she has a super hot one night stand with him. We later learn that he is a Demon Lord and she is lucky to be alive.

Kara gets a little task team to work on the case. The Symbol Man is working up to something and his kills are becoming more frequent. Enter Agent Ryan Kristoff. He's from the FBI and he likes to work the weird cases. He's kind of the love interest in this story but not quite. It's obvious that he is attracted to Kara but since Kara lives such a crazy life, having boyfriends is not an easy thing. I like Ryan. Kara eventually tells him about her being a summoner and we learn that he has some of the othersight but not enough to be a summoner. I like Ryan. He's a great addition and provides some comic relief.

The ending part of the book was insanity. Seriously, there were so many twists that I was getting whiplash. I was thinking it was one thing and it turns out to be something different. It was a brilliant mystery and I love the surprises Rowland threw in there. The last chapter is pretty crazy and I can't wait to see what's coming in the next book.

Diana Rowland's website has a kind of glossary about the demons in her book to help with pronunciation if you want to check it out. The names can get pretty complicated.

Previous Reviews:

• The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Girl and The Raven by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars

The Curse Breakers by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars

Book 2 in The Curse Keepers

Previous Curse Keeper Review

The Curse Keepers (#1)

The Curse Breakers (#2) by Denise Grover Swank

4.5 stars

Oy vey. This book was just as good as the first one. But it's also very different than the first one. However, the difference is not a bad thing. The writing is just as good and the plot is great. In Curse Keepers we are first introduced into the world and in Curse Breakers, we know about the world and we are seeing the consequences of the opening of the gate.

Claire and Collin are not in this book as much as the first one. I found myself missing Collin even though he's still an asshole who keeps trying to manipulate Ellie. What I love about Ellie is she has a backbone and will stand up for herself. She's doesn't let anyone push her around. She's a strong female character and I really like that.

We have a new threat in this book. Ukinim is angry at Okeus for taking his humanity. He is forced to live as a giant badger and can only appear above ground once a year. Since Okeus wants Ellie so badly, Ukinim now wants to kill Ellie and take her Manitou as revenge. About 2/3 of the way through the book, we learn why Okeus wants Ellie so badly (spoiler)*. It's such a plot twist and so freaking good. I was so shocked.

One of the main plot points is finding Ahone's mark so Ellie can claim herself. Ahone told her at the end of the last book that she could bear his mark but kindly didn't tell her what it was. The jerk. So now she has to go on a little quest to discover it. That's where we meet the new character, Dr. David Preston. David is an expert in Native Americans. He's also British. I love the English accent and you can tell he is British because of the words he uses. David and a team of other archaeologists are exploring the reappearance of the Lost Colony. I like David. He's a great guy who really cares about Ellie. He's a new love interest. I'm not sure how I feel about Ellie's relationship with him. I like David but I also like Collin. And it doesn't help that Collin's and Ellie's souls are bound together.

We also have the other threat from Marino. The creep is still after her and it's a sticky situation. It's about the Ricardo Estate and Collin refuses to tell Ellie anything. It's supposedly for her own safety. Well her safety is in jeopardy anyways so just tell her!

Tom, a cop and an old friend is really freaking annoying in this book. He has linked Ellie to all the weird things happening and she has to lie her way out of a lot of things. She ends up telling Tom about Marino and his guys that are after her but I got really annoyed with his constant appearances. Basically I want him to go away. I find his repeated inclusion a little too much. It's partly why I gave this 4.5 stars.

This book was great. I like the continuation of the plot but I also love the character development. We shall see what we have in store for the next book, The Curse Defiers.

I REALLY WANT THE NOOK BOOK. But it was published by Amazon and apparently they can't give it to Barnes and Noble. I guess I'll end up with the paperback. This is not a bad thing.

Recent Reviews

• The Curse Keepers (#1) by Denise Grover Swank - 4.5 stars
• The Girl and the Raven (#1) by Pauline Gruber - 4 stars
• Beautiful Darkness (#2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - 3.5 stars

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

Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur - 3.5 stars

Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur
3.5 stars

I was a little hesitant to pick this book up at first even though it sounded interesting. I'm glad I did. It was a good book and I enjoyed it. Despite my enjoyment, I had a hard time rating this. I went back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars. The concept is great but some of the things in the story bothered me enough to knock it down to 3.5. I would still recommend it though. Overall it's a good story with a good plot line despite some of the things I did not particularly like.

It's quite obvious from the first time Jon and Maddie meet that there is going to be a love story between them. Jon appears in an astral form in Maddie's bedroom. Maddie has been living alone ever since her husband died in a fire. She is afraid of hurting anyone with her power because she has no control. Jon is dying and something is forcing him to appear before her. Maddie thinks she's going crazy until Jon warns her about missing teenagers from the area her sister and her nephew, Ethan, visited two weeks prior. Jon begs her to find him and save him. When Ethan disappears like the other teenagers who visited AREA, Maddie decides to set out to save Jon and then find Ethan.


Along with Maddie's pyrokinesis, she is also clairvoyant. Ethan has inherited that power as well. Maddie's power helps her with trying to locate Ethan but since she doesn't have much control, the visions are confusing and unclear. Jon can't help her focus her powers because he is a shapeshifter, a hawk to be exact, and he doesn't know the finer arts of the craft. He does help her calm down when she sets the inn on fire by accident.

Maddie stays at an inn where there is a creepy owner named Hank. This guy is so well written that when you are reading it, you get that creepy vibe. He's nasty and you know that he is evil. He has a fascination with Maddie and it scares her. I would be scared too. We find out pretty early who is behind the kidnappings and murders. It was quite obvious from the beginning so I was a little annoyed by that. There really wasn't a sense of mystery. I'm not sure is this is what Arthur was aiming for but it was extremely predictable.

I was also a little annoyed by the hot and cold vibes Jon sent towards Maddie. I understand the reasoning behind it but it was a constant thing so I found it tiring.

I was a little surprised by the ending. I wasn't expecting the time difference, something you will understand when you read the last chapter. It did have a HEA which I am grateful for. Overall it was a good book. The next book in the Damask Circle series focuses on two different characters. It's one of those series that have different main characters for each book. I will be reading the next book in the series.

Archangel's Legion by Nalini Singh - 5 stars

Archangel's Legion (#6) by Nalini Singh
5 stars

Previous Guild Hunter Series Reviews

Angels' Blood (#1) | Archangel's Kiss (#2) | Archangel's Consort (#3) 

Archangel's Blade (#4) | Archangel's Storm (#5)
Archangel's Flight (Novellas)

I went through this book so quickly and now I'm sad it's over. This book was the best in the entire Guild Hunter series. There has been such character development for everyone that it's just great. Elena and Raphael's relationship is deeper and stronger than ever before. So many different problems begin to happen all at once. Birds and angels fall from the skies. Vampires die from disease. The sky rains blood and the Hudson turns red. All of this is being caused by the Cascade and Raphael knows war is coming but it all depends on who (spoiler)*. The cover is absolutely amazing and fits the plot of the book very well.

The falling of the angels left Raphael low on numbers. Five died from the fall, not something that can easily be done. Something is happening and the loss of his angels infuriates him. Then when his vampires begin to die, he is determined to get to the root of the problem. It turns out that someone is infecting humans and when the vampires drink their blood or drink the blood from a donor bank that is infected, they die. The humans don't last very long with the infection in their system. Vampires are supposed to be immune to disease but this disease is a death sentence until Keir, a healer, can figure out a cure.

Caliane is awake during this book and she is no longer the crazy angel she was when she went to Sleep. Her main focus is on her beloved city and getting it thriving again. Before the angels' fall from the sky, Caliane sends out invitations for a ball. Of course Elena is apprehensive about going to another ball after the catastrophe from the last one. Caliane also doesn't like Elena as Raphael's Consort and goes out of her way to make that point very obvious. Not long after Elena and Raphael arrive in Caliane's city do they find a human who had been infected by the disease. Thankfully she died before donating any blood to a vampire and she was the only casualty. Caliane is devestated. Raphael tells her that he will get to the bottom of the poisoning.

Eve, Elena's half sister who is also hunter-born, has a bigger role in this book. Jeffrey is majorly against anything that has to do with being a Guild Hunter and we find out his reasoning (spoiler).** However, Elena will make sure that Eve has everything she needs and will protect her from Jeffrey if she must.

I like that we have a new angel in this book. Aodhan is one of Raphael's Seven. We haven't seen much of him. We only got a glimpse in Archangel's Kiss. Something happened in Aodhan's past that has hurt him to the point of not being able to stand the touch of another. Illium was Aodhan's best friend but whatever happened scarred him, leaving him unable to be the friend that he used to be. Fortunately, after a game of catch over the Hudson to help the media not go into a panic, Aodhan becomes more alive and Illium is able to touch him, though no one else is. In fact, when Aodhan is injured to the point of being unable to fight anymore, Raphael is forced to heal him, despite Aodhan's immense fear of touch.

A major plot point in this book is each archangel's powers are growing. Raphael can heal much better than before and he has the fire that can be used to hurt Lijuan. However, Raphael's power isn't offensive like the others and that is bothersome. However, each time something strange happens in the city, Raphael gets a dark power that runs through him. Each time Elena helps him reject that power so he doesn't become the angel he is during the Quiet.

This book has so many twists and turns that I didn't know where it was going to lead next. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The title of the book is genius but I won't spoil that ending for anyone. We get more history about the last Cascade and delve deeper into the world. It was such a shocking ending and I loved it. This book deserves it's five stars.

New Releases!

Allegiant by Veronica Roth and Archangel's Legion by Nalini Singh are officially out. I'm very excited.

I'm probably going to read Archangel's Region first because it's one of my favorite series. It's going to be great because Elena and Raphael are the main focus again for this book. I've missed them. While I enjoyed Dimitri and Honor's story as well as Jason and Mahiya's, I didn't connect to those books as much. Now that Lijuan has revealed herself and Caliane has woken, it's going to be interesting.

I am debating on rereading Insurgent. I remember a lot of the book and especially the cliffhanger ending but I tend to reread before I start the new release. Insurgent basically ended on an explosion of information and Allegiant will definitely wrap things up. Yet another end to another great series.

I've not even come close to finished A Study in Silks. I haven't really been reading much. Instead I've been painting my mom's Christmas village or cross stitching the stocking I am working on for her. I also think it's because A Study in Silks hasn't really grabbed my attention yet. I'm not that far into the book but I am determined to finish it so I can review it for NetGalley. I've only managed to review The Waking Dreamer.

I really want it to be July 2014 or close to that time so I can get my hands on Magic Breaks. All these little snippets that Ilona Andrews keeps handing out are killing me. Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost will also be coming out next year. I need to catch up on her series as well. I haven't read her latest two books.

So many things on my to-read list and not enough time to get through them all. My Goodreads list is getting longer and longer. It's getting a bit ridiculous.

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews - 5 stars

Magic Rises (#6) by Ilona Andrews
5 stars

Previous Kate Daniels Series Reviews

Magic Bite (#1) | Magic Burns (#2) | Magic Strike (#3) | Magic Bleeds (#4) | Magic Slays (#5)

This is my reaction after I finished. 

Basically I was shocked. Stunned into silence simply thinking omg what the heck did I just read. My head is going to explode. These events seriously did not just happen. There is no way that any of this happened! But it all happened. This will be a spoiler free review unless you click the links the go to my spoilers page. Seriously I'm spoiling a lot so really don't read the spoilers unless you want to. 

This was the best book out of all of them. Even better than Magic Bleeds and that is my favorite one. The characters and the world and everything is progressing beautifully. There will be ten Kate Daniels books and if they're all as wonderful and emotional as Magic Rises, I don't think I'm going to be able to handle it. 

For those of you who don't religiously follow Ilona on twitter and don't stalk their blog everyday, you wouldn't know that Hugh d'Ambrey was going to be in this book. It's no spoiler. How he arrived in this book is the shocker. I definitely did not see that one coming (view spoiler).* 

The book starts out with Kate sparring with Julie with the spear. Julie isn't paying attention so Kate decides to let her go to her friend Maddie. It turns out that Maddie and her twin sister Margo have started to go loup. This isn't spoilers because the first two chapters were posted on their blog. Anways, Curran walks in with panacea. This herbal medicine helps reduce loupism in children and it's from the European packs. They don't give it to the Pack in Atlanta but they used to have someone who could smuggle some out for them. Well he turned up dead and they were SOL. That is, until Curran got an offer that he couldn't refuse even though he knew it was a trap. He was to go to Atlanta to mediate between three packs and they were to also guard Desandra. Desandra is a pregnant girl but she is pregnant with twins who have two different fathers. Whoever's child is born first inherits the Carpathian mountain territory. 

Curran and Kate head out to sea with Derek, Andrea, Raphael, Mahon, George, Barabbas, Aunt B, Doolittle, Kiera, and Eduardo. Saiman provided a ship and a crew. He obviously didn't want to do this but he owed Kate for saving his life when he was kidnapped. This little scene was deleted from the book but was put at the end for the readers anyways. Crossing the Atlantic and then the Black Sea is extremely dangerous. Magical creatures like sea serpents attack ships often and raging storms threaten to sink ships. There are pirates and all sorts of other dangers so the weeks they spend on the ocean is treacherous. As they near their destination, they get attacked by pirates. These pirates are special (view spoiler).** They kill all but one pirate. This pirate says he has information so he has Saiman translate. Curran doesn't tell Kate what the pirate said but she isn't too bothered by it. She knows he will tell her when he is ready. 

This book also has a mystery component to it. Creatures are attacking and killing guards and also attack the Pack (view spoiler).*** Kate gets asked for help in solving this little mystery and she does. I like that even though she's there to body guard Desandra with the rest of the pack, she is still doing some detective work. Something is always going on and Kate tends to figure it out; usually when they start trying to kill her. 

Kate and Curran's relationship in this book is very difficult (view spoiler).**** This is where the emotional roller coaster comes into play. I wanted to punch Curran and my heart hurt for Kate. She loves Curran so much and her emotions were getting the better of her. 

Obviously Hugh is the main focus of this book. He is up to something. He is trying to get Kate to "come over to the dark side." We discover how Voron died and how powerful Hugh really is because of Roland's magic. Hugh is just a bastard. There is no doubt about it. He is his master's creature and there is no changing him. 

The huge end fight, the life and death fights at the climax of the book, was awesome. Just plain awesome. So much is happening and your brain is trying to keep up with the action. So many different things are happening all at once. This fight also has one of the saddest consequences (view spoiler).***** However, the story does have a happy ending. It's also a bit of a cliffhanger but not a bad one. One where you know what's going to happen next but it also makes you want to scream, "Give me more dammit! I want to know what's happening next!" Magic Breaks will be out sometime next year. It is currently being written and we have gotten a few snippets. 

Many people have had questions so Ilona posted on her blog explaining some things here. We've even been promised a Curran POV novella for Magic Rises. 

Five stars. Definitely five stars. 5.5 stars even.

Magic Rises hit #1 on the NYT Bestselling List. That's never happened before and I'm so happy for them and happy that I could be one of the many who helped them get there. 

Copyright Ilona Andrews

Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara - 4.5 stars

Book 6 in The Chronicles of Elantra

Cast in Chaos (#6) by Michelle Sagara

4.5 stars

Previous Chronicles of Elantra Series Reviews

Cast in Shadow (#1) | Cast in Courtlight (#2) | Cast in Secret (#3) 

Cast in Fury (#4) | Cast in Silence (#5)

I have a difficult time giving these books 5 stars and I think it's because sometimes I get confused and I have to go back and reread in order to understand it. 

This was a really good book. This book doesn't focus on one particular race but I was hoping it would. I would really like to learn more about the Aerians. Cast in Ruin focuses on Dragons and Cast in Peril is another Barrani book. When do we get the Aerians? I want to know!!

Anyways, something weird is happening on Elani street. This street is popular for it's love spells and fortune telling and basically all the fake magic that you can think of. None of the magic actually works...until one day it does. This, of course, starts a whole new kind of craziness for the Hawks. Later, Kaylin and Severn head to Evanton's shop. Kaylin stops to talk to Evanton's apprentice while Severn and Evanton proceed to go into the garden. When Kaylin goes to follow, she winds up in a garden that is not really the garden. When she attempts to leave, the shop door gets farther and farther away and she ends up in a gray place. She is rescued by Nightshade but not before she is almost killed by the creature known as the Devourer. They later discover that this being destroys worlds and right now it's headed towards Elantra. The portal that is opening will allow the Devourer through and it threatens to destroy the world. 

There are many things that start to happen all at once. The Oracles are seeing visions and Everly, the boy who paints prophecies, has started painting again and on a very large canvas. This does not bode well for Elantra. They also discover that there are people, of what race they do not know, that are walking through the inbetween space, and the Devourer is on their tails. They will come through the portal and bring the creature with them. 

In the end, we learn what the Devourer actually is and it's Kaylin who saves Elantra (view spoiler).*

The characters are really interesting in this book. We get a new development between Severn and Kaylin. Severn is the one who helps Kaylin in the end so she doesn't get lost in what she is doing to save the world (view spoiler).** It's a little bit of a blow for those who are Team Nightshade which is the team I belong to. It's exciting to see Arkon leave his library and the climax of the book is really good. I couldn't put it down. Ybelline makes another appearance and I love her. I also love that the fief Tiamaris is starting to be rebuilt. Tara is so interesting and I like that we are starting to know her more. Morse makes appearances too and while I didn't like her when we were first introduced to her character, she has grown on me. 

Overall it was a good book and I enjoyed it. I liked it better than Cast in Silence. In each book we learn more and more about the world of Elantra and it's fascinating. 

Review on Goodreads. 

Magic Rises is out today!

I am very excited. This is one of those days where I wish I could just stay home from work and read all day long to finish it. And I also wish I could stay up late but unfortunately I can't. I have to go to the dentist in the morning so that means an early bed time.

The authors are going on tour to three different cities and unfortunately none of those cities includes Orlando. I am sad about that but I'm super excited to receive my paperback copy of Magic Rises that is signed by Ilona and Gordon! So I have the benefit of having an instant download on my Nook and a signed hard copy.

Last week Ilona and Gordon did a live interview. It's actually really cool and really funny. Ilona has a Russian accent but you wouldn't know that from the way she writes and "talks" through Twitter and her blog. But she talks in the exact same way as she writes and it's very funny. Apparently all of the fan's questions about the Kate Daniels books will be answered in Magic Breaks, book 7. We also learned a little more about the Avon series they are working on. It sounds really good and it will definitely be on my to-read list.

Below is the live interview. It is about an hour long but I really enjoyed it an if you are a fan of Kate Daniels then you will as well.