Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance: One Year Blogoversary

Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance: One Year Blogoversary: Today is Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance's one year Blogoversary. Yaaaay! I can't believe it's been a year.

Happy Blogoversary! Hope you have many more ;)

Review of Forgiven (The Demon Trapper's #3) by Jana Oliver

Forgiven by Jana Oliver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"The days are growing darker for 17-year-old demon trapper Riley Blackthorne. With her father’s reanimated body back safely, Beck barely speaking to her because of a certain hunky Fallen angel, and a freshly-made deal with Lucifer, she has enough on her hands to last a normal teenage lifetime. Though she bargained with Heaven to save his life, her ex-boyfriend Simon has told the Vatican’s Demon Hunters that she’s working with Hell. So now she’s in hiding, at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list.

But it’s becoming clear that this is bigger than Riley, and rapidly getting out of control:  something sinister is happening in Atlanta… or someone. The demons are working together for the first time ever and refusing to die, putting civilians in harm’s way. Riley thinks she might know who’s behind it all, but who’s going to believe her? Caught between her bargain with Heaven and her promise to Lucifer, Riley fears the final war is coming – and it may be closer than anyone thinks…"


- This book begins literally where "Forbidden" left off. Riley is reunited with her father while Beck is arrested by the Demon Hunters to draw her out. After knowing this, Riley decides to turn herself in to protect him. The priest from the Vatican confronts her about Ori and her choices. Not believing anything she tells him he pours Holy Water in her hands. Two symbols appear on her palms: a sword representing Hell and a crown representing Heaven. The Pope, after knowing about the symbols, intervenes and orders the Demon Hunters to release her. No reason is given.

It seems to me the Pope knew what the symbols meant. Or at least had some idea about it. Captain Salvatore and Grand Master Stewart are requested to keep an eye on her precisely because of this. I hated to see people keeping things from Riley. One had always the impression everyone knew more than her. So much scheming around...it was exhausting.

The impression we have since the beginning is that Riley is just a pawn in the middle of all this. An important one but one nonetheless. It pissed me off. Especially because she tries very hard to save everyone. Either it's Simon, her obnoxious ex-boyfriend (who only changes his opinion about her at the very end of this book), or the rest of Atlanta (which seems to have become more and more hostile with trappers in general and Riley in particular).

In the meantime...Simon continues to call her names anytime opportunity arises. Ori calls to her every sunrise. The hunters are still keeping tabs on her. Atlanta seems to want her head, another necromancer kidnapped her father and Beck is still pissed with her.

After more scheming (did I already mention I grew tired of it?) the "final" battle is at Atlanta's doorstep. The Trapper's Guild and the Demon Hunters form a plan to stop Sartael and his demons before they level the city and overthrow Lucifer. The plan is to use Riley to cast two spells: one calling all the demons to the cemetery and another to break the magic that allows the demons to come back to life and work together. The cemetery is chosen due to sacred ground. The demons cannot enter sacred ground and the idea is to hold everyone inside sacred ground until the spell is done and then kill all the demons. No need to mention this doesn't work out as planned right? Right before everything starts Beck and Riley kiss.

The battle:

Riley casts the first spell and demons start entering the cemetery. There goes the advantage of sacred ground...they don't play by the old rules apparently. The battle begins almost immediately with Riley inside a protection circle trying to cast the second spell that makes them vulnerable. Guess what? It doesn't work. They manage to locate Lord Ozy (can't actually remember how his name is written so I'm using Riley's nickname - he's the one giving power to Sartael's demons and also the guy who kidnapped Riley's father)inside another protection circle and Mort and Riley's witch friend go try to stop him. In the meantime the battle is in full swing and Sartael appears. Ori asks Riley to release him or they'll all die. In return for her soul. She agrees but sets her own conditions: Her soul is Ori's and him alone. He cannot trade or give it to anyone not even Lucifer. If he dies before her, her soul is freed and returned to her. He accepts and she releases him. A battle between Sartael and Ori ensues. Ori is gravelly injured. Riley's father shows up and enters Lord Ozy's circle taking his place. Lord Ozy explains that the demons spell is now focused on Paul and that he was losing life energy fast. The spell would disintegrate soon as Paul died. The necromancer vanishes against Sartael's orders.  Lucifer shows up to put Sartael in chains for eternity and makes Ori vanish denying his wish to die. Michael, the archangel, and other Heaven's angels descend. Lucifer's fallen appear. Armageddon is about to start. Riley steps between them and convinces both Michael and Lucifer to reconsider. Michael departs and so does Lucifer. The Armageddon is no more. Twelve people died in the battle. Riley lost her soul and her father again.

A little while later, Martha (Heaven's angel) shows up to put the cemetery to rights before other people notice. Simon is arguing with Riley saying everything is her fault. Martha intervenes and tells him that Riley asked Heaven to save his life. She also chastises him from being an asshole lately (not by these words of course!). Simon apologises.

Beck goes celebrating with the hunters and gets hangover but makes Riley promise to make him cookies. When she's arriving his house the reporter from the Vatican is leaving. Beck is pissed. She's been investigating his past and discovered something he didn't want her too. Something that Beck is convinced will destroy his career and everyone he cares about. Riley tries to talk about it. Beck snaps at her. They argue and Beck yells at her to leave him alone and never come back.



Seriously? What happened to honesty? For f**** sake!
THE END.

PS: Sorry for the rant!  There are so many scenes in this book that make me wanna strangle someone that I can't even name them. Mostly it was OK.

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Rotten Apple Reads: ARC of Crewel

Rotten Apple Reads: ARC of Crewel is giving away a ARC Prize Pack of Crewel by Gennifer Albin! It's an international contest so hurry up! All you have to do is fill out the entries on Rafflecopter!

The lucky winner will receive: 

-ARC of Crewel
-Fierce Reads Sticker
-Fierce Reads Tattoo 
-(2) double sided Crewel bracelets
-(2) Crewel Buttons
-(4) Bookmarks

Review: Steel

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I've just read "Voices of Dragons" by the same author and got curious about her writing in a standalone novel. It's not as bad. When I finished this book, although I didn't like the ending, it made me feel complete. Like this story was over and I can move on to the next one.

The main character irked me most of the time but I ended up liking her a lot. Flaws and all. And she does have flaws...In the beginning of the story, Jill is shown as a slightly spoiled and immature girl and we literally watch her grow. I find this author very skillful in that aspect. Her development of characters is really amazing. But that's pretty much all the good I have to say about this book.

Seems to me that I never get completely satisfied after reading a book written by Carrie Vaughn.

The plot is literally what's said on the book cover. Beware! There will be no surprises after reading this:

"It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home--one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain."

I'm serious! You just read the whole plot!

And the ending? It was shocking!! They put the sword back together, she fought the bad guy, won the duel, said goodbye to her pirate friends, grabbed the sword and launched herself to the waters. And surprise: instead of drowning she is saved by her father and the guide from the tour boat. Life goes back to normal. THE END.

PS: I'm cruel. I know.



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Review: Voices of Dragons

Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I hope there will be a second book because as a first book it's not bad but as a stand alone is somewhat crappy. It's a good story. Or at least a good idea for a story. I love dragons so I would pretty much read anything with one but it ends being disappointing. If in fact there isn't a follow up novel.

My reason to like this book:


Kay, the main character, is a seventeen year old girl who likes rock climbing, take risks and have adventures. Why do I like her? She's my opposite but we do have certain things in common. Rock climbing and doing illegal things isn't one of them but I do love adventures. And I'm pretty sure that I would have gone back a week later to meet Artegal just like her.
We see a girl who isn't afraid of meeting with a dragon every week but who ultimately gets scared when there's a situation involving other people. How she can trust a dragon but ultimately not other humans. Her growth as a person in such little time is amazing.

Artegal, the dragon. Seemed like an interesting creature and I longed to read more about him. A little naive, like Kay, but maybe that's just due to their age. We never get to know his age but Kay mentions she thinks he's young.


My reasons to be disappointed:


Artegal. I loved him but I think it's sad to see how little we get to know him in the whole book. He's trustworthy, nice and calm. That's pretty much it. In all the weeks they meet we never get to know more than the basics about him.

The military. Pissed me off so much I don't know where to begin. And the bad thing is I'm pretty sure that's how they would've acted in real life. Some would say it's for protection and they feel safe but I wouldn't. They were acting like a nervous addict with a gun in his hand. One twitch. And it's all over. If I were Kay I wouldn't trust them either. Between a dragon that saved her life and a General who's trying to bully her into helping kill all the dragons? Yeah...I would have chosen the dragon too.

Jack Wyatt. His death. I was so sad. I actually cried. It was so heartbreaking! It's the first time in a book I see such a healthy relationship between a teenager and her parents. Not perfect of course but relationships rarely are despite their nature. We can see how much love exists. Even when Kay is lying we can feel how much she doesn't want to and how sorry she is. Not many teenagers care.

The dragons. We don't get to see much. Just a couple of them. I was astounded how patient they were the 1st two attempts of the military to rouse them. If it was with another human frontier there would have been immediate retaliation or threats. I was seriously angry about the whole not talking thing but I also understand it. When Kay tried to explain her relationship with Argental everyone immediately took things the wrong way. Twisted her words and meaning. Sometimes is just better to shut up I guess.

The end. It was an open ending. They do some weird stunt and set off into the sunset. That's how I see it! Although I ultimately understand the meaning and action...I don't like it. But I also didn't see any other solution. When they get to their destination (Greenland) they see another dragon and rider coming to them. THE END.

So I really hope this is just the 1st book and the author is currently writing the next one. Yes I would read the next book. I don't like unfinished stories and am curious about it.



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Review: Nine Lives of Chloe King, The

Nine Lives of Chloe King, The by Liz Braswell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Easy read. Fast-paced. Funny. Heart-Breaking. Different from the Tv-Show. How different? Lets see:

- Chloe seems to be a lot more confused in the books. We actually see a teenage girl trying to understand what the hell happened in her life. We never manage to see how strong she is mentally in the series.

- Brian is not so innocent. In the series, Brian has no idea who his father is and what he does. He doesn't even know what Chloe is for that matter. He only knows he likes her.
In the books, Brian not only knows everything about the Mai and his father's organization but he's actually a member whose mission is to get close to Chloe.

- Alyec (Alec) is much more full of himself in the books. Or not so much. I'm not really sure. In the series Alec seemed to take things way more slowly with Chloe. They only kiss once and he never tells her he likes her despite some jealous acts. In fact, we seem to be able to understand from the start that he loves her but doesn't admit it. In the books Alyec is more forward in his relationship with Chloe. They almost immediately start hanging out together and making out. You sense that he likes her her but he's not in love with her.

- Anna King (Chloe's mother) is exactly like it was portrayed in the series. Over-protective and a great mom despite her insecurities.

- Paul and Amy are other characters well portrayed in the series. Amy is out going, stubborn and a little weird. Paul is shy, calm and pretty much a geek.



As you probably know by now the Tv-Show was cancelled. This was actually the main reason for reading the books. I wanted to know how it all ended.

Tv-Show:

Brian finds Chloe dying and kisses her. When she comes back Brian is laid down next to her. We don't get to see if he is dead or not. The head of the Mai, a woman, is killed by an assassin of Brian's dad organization. Her daughter (a character that doesn't exist in the books) is seen falling on the floor injured next to her mother's body. Unsure if she survives or not. Alec barges through the door, gets face to face with the assassin and discovers the guy is his brother. We seen them start fighting.

Books:

Chloe releases the Mai from the curse that didn't allow them to touch humans. Alyec and Chloe come to an end but stay strong friends. Alyec kisses Amy and they start dating. Chloe offers truce to the Tenth Blade. They ask a life in return and she agrees. She dies to settle the agreement. Brian and Chloe trade love promises. They go to prom formal together. Alyec goes with Amy. Kim goes with Paul. Chloe nominates Olga CEO of Firebird and Igor as president. She plans to lead the Mai between college classes.


My opinion:

In the books, I liked it. It was a clever way to end the story. It made sense and I was romantically satisfied.

In the Tv-Show, not so much but of course it was supposed to be another season to wrap things up. Brian never did much to me. Never felt like a real love interest. He was funny and cute but I always felt him more like a friend. His "death" was a bit of a shock but I wasn't too sad about it to tell you the truth. I have to admit that I hoped she would fall in love with Alec and they would end up together. I liked his character on the tv-show very much. Amy and Paul actually made sense here. They looked very cute together and Paul seemed to be less shy, more capable of keeping up with Amy. That's the only things I would have changed from the books. It made more sense this way in the tv-show.



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Review: Lady of Light and Shadows

Lady of Light and Shadows by C.L. Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Remember yesterday when I said one Christian Grey move and I was out? For moments there I thought Rain was gonna be stupid but no. He came back to his senses 3 or 4 pages later. Glad everything worked out in the end. Sorry for seeing Ellie's mom go but glad she was able to see Ellie's soul before she died. Even more sorry about another Mage mark on Ellie. I hope they find a way to cancel those mark before it's too late.
So f**** happy watching those mages and elds getting their asses kicked! Made my damn day that's for sure. Was a little worried that they were gonna win and capture Ellie. Fortunately everything ended well. Glad to know Ellie's magic is not evil. Never really thought it was but it's very comforting to know for sure. That and her father is not really Vadim, The Mage.
Her parents helped her and I'm a little worried about their future now that Vadim knows. He probably already knows she's a Tairen Soul too. That cannot bode well for her parents! The length of this novel was a little tiring but I liked it anyway. Hope I continue to like this story. Let's see if the Fey manage to actually enter the Fading Lands.



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Review: Lord of the Fading Lands

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I think that if I had reviewed this book right away it would have been granted 5 stars. Unfortunately I didn't. Since then I have slept merely 3 hours, awoke with a numbing pain in my head and back and found myself almost unable to walk straight due to tremors in my leg muscles...so. 4 star rating it is. Maybe because I'm in a very bad mood or simply because I cannot concentrate enough to actually know what I liked in this book despite the pain killers.

Alas. let me try:

Fey

* Rain seems like the dangerous combination between good and bad guy. I am always attracted to them. They just call to me. Don't get me wrong. One move like Christian Grey and he's out!
*Ellie seems very strong and simultaneously very weak. I never quite like the suffering in silence kind of gals, possibly because I for one, am one of them. I am not proud of this feature of mine but it is here nonetheless. I hate to show weakness!
* The quintet as they are called seem very dedicated to Ellie's safety. One cannot ask for more. The same can be told about the rest of the fey.

Celerian's

* King Dorian seems like a very kind man who tries very much to be liked. Not one feature I would have chosen because it makes him weak in the eyes of the ones below him. One´s adoration must come from actions needed and not purposefully made to please another. But I grudgingly admit I like him!
* Queen Annoura. Wow that's one woman I simply do not like. A queen should be above pettiness. She isn't. She constantly plots. I want to cut off her head.
* Den - Another I wouldn't mind seeing without a head.

Mage's

* These guys even make me cower in fear and I know they are not real. At least that's what I say every night now before going to bed.


That's it I guess. I liked the plot. The story seems to flow very well. I find it well-written and a satisfying read. Despite the soul connection between Rain and Ellie the author has taken a soft approach on their romance and intimacy. There are some violent sexual urges between them but they seem to prefer to keep a tight leash. I applaud. If I had felt what they seem to feel every time they touch each other..well..let's say I would have succumbed by now ;)






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