Archive for Fantasy Romance
Fantasy Book Review - Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep
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Spider’s Bite, by Jennifer Estep, tells the story of Gin, a top assassin in a Southern town run by Elementals who rule with their magic. Gin works with Fletcher, her handler and mentor, at a barbeque restaurant called The Pork Pit. When he’s not serving barbeque, Fletcher is handing out jobs for Gin, nicknamed The Spider, to perform. In addition to being the best-trained assassin east of the Mississippi, she’s also a Stone elemental, which gives her the ability to manipulate and manage stone - a good skill to have in your back pocket when you’re operating in a world populated by Fire, Ice and Air elementals.
Fletcher has just handed Gin a new job: taking out an embezzler for a nice $5 million dollar payday. Gin is nervous about this “easy” job because quite frankly, it’s just too easy. However the tidy fee associated with this job would guarantee her ability to get out of the killing business for good. But Gin soon finds out that there’s truth in the statement “if it’s too good to be true” when she ends up targeted by another assassin during the commission of this job.
Heading back to the safety of Fletcher and the Pit, she comes upon a horrific discovery: the tortured body of Fletcher. Clearly someone wants Gin very badly and they killed Fletcher trying to find her. Now Gin has a new mission – find and avenge the death of her handler.
Teaming up with Fletcher’s son they proceed to find out who killed Fletcher and why Gin was set up to take the fall for his murder. Initially pursued by smoking hot police detective, Donovan Caine, Gin ends up surprising him by making a unique proposition - work with them to find the people who set her up and they’ll help him find out who’s dirty in his department. Unfortunately, Donovan has personal reasons to despise Gin; this coupled with his attraction to her serves to notch up the tension between the two of them even more.
With Spider’s Bite, the first book in the new Elemental Assassin’s series, Jennifer Estep has given us a story of action, mystery and complicated attraction as the team of three works to avenge Fletcher’s death and unravel the conspiracy. I love urban fantasy books with strong, smart women who protect the ones they care about and at the same time give the bad guys exactly what they deserve - a full measure of revenge with all the venom contained in a spider’s bite.
Fantasy Book Review - Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
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Seressia Glass’ new novel, Shadow Blade, tells the story of a young woman, Kira Solomon, who is an elite warrior, working diligently to keep the balance between Light and Shadow. The story takes place in Atlanta with the normal, human world mixing in with a parallel world of magic and ancient rituals. Kira works for the Gilead Commission as a Shadowchaser – someone who ensures that the world is protected from the worst of the Shadow creatures who want to bring chaos into our reality.
The fun begins when Kira is introduced to a mysterious dagger, brought to her by her friend, Bernie Comstock. He wants her to touch it and tell him its story. Kira always wears gloves when she does this because she can’t touch an object without seeing everything that previously touched it (a real problem when trying to eat meat - ugh!). When she touches people, it just drains the energy out of them, leaving them in a coma. However, since she wants to help her friend she takes her gloves off and touches the dagger, seeing an ancient world, ancient and modern battles and lots and lots of magic. What’s shocking is that all of her visions feature the same tall, fierce warrior. It’s clear that a single man has carried this dagger for the last four thousand years. By the time Kira jerks her hands away from the dagger she realizes that this mysterious stranger clearly wants it back.
After her friend Bernie meets a fatal end Kira goes all out to avenge his death. It’s not helping that the four-thousand year old warrior, Khefar, has caught up to her and is only focused on getting his magical knife back. Apparently, this knife can undo all of creation if it falls in the wrong hands, such as Shadow hands. Kira simply wants him out of her way since she’s got work to do. That is, until he reaches out and grabs her arm - and nothing happens! He’s the first person to touch her in years that isn’t affected by her power. The gods must like her since the first person to be able to touch her and survive is a tall, muscled, gorgeous Nubian warrior. We should all be so lucky . . .
Kira and Khefar end up working together to find out who killed Bernie and to protect the dagger from the Shadow forces. Kira has to learn to trust this man who has inserted himself into her life while Khefar needs to see Kira as a partner, not just a soldier in his army who he orders around. The attraction between the two of them helps with this effort - it’s hard to kiss someone if you think of them as a soldier in your army!
With Shadow Blade, Seressia Glass, a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award winner, has written an urban fantasy tale with all the elements that I like in a good story: magic, deception, redemption, romance and victory - a solid formula for a very entertaining read. I’m certainly looking forward to the next installment in the adventures of Kira and Khefar.
Fantasy Book Anthology - Unusual Suspects
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This fantasy anthology serves as the sequel to Powers of Detection and features works from bestselling and award-winning authors such as Simon Green and Sharon Shinn. This series contains twelve original short stories starring supernatural investigators solving mysteries in the fantasy world. From a little bit of the traditional to the more out there, this anthology has a story for every taste.
Quick summary of stories in the book:
Lucky by Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris does it again. Sookie Stackhouse investigates another mystery, which involves some break-ins at an insurance agent’s office. She and her friend, Amelia Broadway, do some detective work, but they are in for a ride. Lots of magic is involved, as well as couple supernatural beings, namely vampires.
Bogieman by Carole Nelson Douglas
The year is 2013, and the story takes place in Las Vegas. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, and other freakish monsters roam the streets freely. But they aren’t real; they are simply actors from Hollywood! Paranormal Investigator Delilah Street investigates Sam Spade’s death. With a fast-paced plot and intriguing characters, this short story is a charmer.
Looks Are Deceiving by Michael A. Stackpole
A dwarf mage tries to find the King’s killer. But the King isn’t actually dead; he just remains in a spell. There are numerous twists and turns in this story, and Stackpole’s fantasy world is believable and wholly interesting.
The House of Seven Spirits by Sharon Shinn
Erica thinks she is just renting a small house with some history, when she seeks somewhere to do her summer writing. But she has seven roommates in total that she had no idea about beforehand. And they aren’t human…Erica is a strangely likeable character, and the ghosts are as silly as they are funny.
Glamour by Mike Doogan
Alf finds himself between a rock and a hard place after his daughter’s disappearance when nobody knows where to look. Alf finally locates her with the help of a complete stranger. But he is shocked when he realizes where she ventured off to. Doogan really makes this story come alive with his unique sense of humor.
Spellbound by Donna Andrews
Gwynn finds himself in the middle of a great mystery. As a young apprentice to a great wizard, he takes it upon himself to figure out what is happening when things start to go awry at a school magic gathering. Gwynn tries to escape love spells in his own chamber, so that he does not fall in love with the obsessive witch. Humor and romance make Spellbound an adventurous read.
The Duh Vice by Michael Armstrong
Armstrong’s short story stands out as it is the only science fiction story in the bunch. In this futuristic world, wasting energy is a punishable crime, and so when an officer gets a call-in about a case of excessive resource wasting, he goes out to investigate and deal with the criminal. Twists and turns abound. This story will encourage some thought as to where the current world is headed, in terms of energy use.
Weight of the World by John Straley
For those of you who have wondered what Santa Claus is up to after his world trip on Christmas Eve, this story will answer your question. Mystery abounds in this story with a murder case and a missing valuable. Santa Claus isn’t all we cut him out to be, and he too has problems!
Illumination by Laura Anne Gilman
This short story starts with Bonnie and her mentor J, who are looking for Bonnie’s missing father. Things are not looking good, when they bump into a cave dragon. After this chance meeting, Bonnie learns a few things about her past as well as what is to come. Gilman combines suspense and light-hearted humor here to make for a great story.
The House by Laurie R. King
There is an old house on the outskirts of town that is known for strange disappearances and other occurrences. A group of teenagers decides to research the house as part of their school project. Then one group member suddenly vanishes. The story as a whole is entertaining and amusing.
Appetite for Murder by Simon R. Green
Sam is a detective in the Nightside part of London. It is filled with all sorts of dark creatures and nasty monsters, and so it comes as no surprise when a serial killer starts killing off some of its citizens. Sam takes it upon himself to find the killer, but not without the help of a sexy counterpart named Ms. Fate. Strange name? This short story is well-worth the read.
A Woman’s Work by Dana Stabenow
Seer and Sword are two smart detectives, and they are both females. They are sent by the King to Pylos to investigate the heir’s death in a strictly male-dominated kingdom. In this short story, they are not doing just detective work, however. Stabenow piles up the suspense in this story, and there is plenty of magic to go around.
Overall, this anthology was a wonderful read. The stories were well-written, with quirky characters (which I love) and plenty of mystery and suspense. Get Unusual Suspects from your favorite online retailer; it’s currently on sale at Amazon!
Best Fantasy Book Recommendation - On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
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Awesome, awesome, awesome….sorry, but I get repetitive when I am reviewing a fantasy book that I really loved. And, Ilona Andrews’ On the Edge is one of those books. It’s a great story of a strong woman who will do anything to protect her brothers, but – as often happens in life – things happen that are out of her control. And that’s when a mysterious warrior from another land arrives, ostensibly to help her but to her, he’s an enemy, even if she needs his help to survive.
Rose Drayton and her brothers, Jack and Georgie, live in a land called “the Edge”. It’s an area between the human world (the Broken) and the magical world (the Weird). “Edgers” live a hard-scrabble existence with no law and little money and they often take low-paying jobs in the Broken to make ends meet. Rose cleans offices in the Broken and raises her brothers in the Edge. However, she’s a very special (and hunted) Edger because she has the magical ability to “flash white” – an ability that makes her highly pursued by bluebloods from the Weird.
The story starts with Rose and her brothers scraping by, living their simple lives. Out of the blue, they are suddenly attacked in their home by magical creatures that thrive on killing and eating magic. The family is saved when an annoyingly handsome blueblood warrior from the Weird, Declan Camarine, shows up; he states that he is there to marry Rose and take her back to his kingdom. You should know that heirs that can flash white are held in high esteem by Bluebloods. So of course, Rose wants nothing to do with Declan - who wants to be a brood mare for some rich elitist nobleman?
Ilona Andrews has given us a wonderful story with outstanding dialogue in the exchanges between Declan and Rose. Rose stays strong but is constantly fighting her attraction to Declan. She knows he’s hiding something and she refuses to trust him – no matter how many times he saves her brothers from the horrid magic eaters. The back and forth dialogue between Rose and Declan is exceedingly well done; I could NOT put this book down. It was New Year’s Eve, we had friends over, and there I was, hiding away trying to finish this book and find out if Rose ever gives in and trusts Declan. Read the book to find out what happens. On The Edge is a masterfully written fantasy romance book. I cannot recommend it enough.
On The Edge is available from local and online booksellers.
Great Paranormal Romance - Undead on Arrival by L.A. Banks
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One of my favorite things about L. A. Banks’ Crimson Moon series has been the intense relationship between Sasha Trudeau, Shadow Wolf and member of an elite squad of government agents, and her mate, Max Hunter. Their passion strikes a real chord with the reader and I thought there was no way to top it - but Banks has outdone herself in this latest novel, Undead On Arrival, because she has made the tension rise to the bursting point. Sasha loves her mate but, in this story, she has to battle the feelings she has for Max’s werewolf brother, Shogun, and the sparks that fly between the three are electrifying.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for Sasha at the end of the last novel, Bite The Bullet. She had stopped a war and found that her bond to Max is stronger than ever. Unfortunately, the demon virus that had infected Max in the past returns with a vengeance. As such, he has to be monitored constantly as they try to find a cure. But when he escapes and a human turns up dead, Sasha fears that even if the demon virus doesn’t kill him, it’s likely he’ll be tracked down and murdered by either the werewolves, the vampires or his own Shadow Wolf clan. And although Sasha doesn’t want to believe that Max is capable of murdering an innocent human, the evidence against him is pretty overwhelming.
Sasha has to watch as the man she loves becomes something she cannot comprehend as the virus takes over his mind and body. Working with Shogun to try and get a sample of his blood, she’s determined to do anything to find a cure for Max. Fighting for her man, Sasha ends up in the middle of a sizzling love triangle between herself, Max and Shogun which threatens to end the truce between werewolves and shadow-wolves. Did someone, or something, set up this entire ordeal? Or did Max really commit murder? Either way, it’s going to take all of her strength to find out what’s going on, to stop a potential war, and to finally cure the man she loves - a tall order even for Sasha.
Banks has done an excellent job of weaving several plots together that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The world she has created is believable enough to have you wondering if there really could be werewolves out there. And, after reading what happens between Shogun, Max and Sasha, you may end up wishing it were true.
Undead On Arrival is Book 3 in the Crimson Moon series. I enjoyed reading it so much that once done, I paid for the Kindle version as well. This book got excellent reviews at Amazon as did the next book in the series, Crimson Moon, which I’ll be reviewing next week!
Also, see my review of Cursed to Death by L.A. Banks.
Fantasy Book Review - Playing With Fire by Katie MacAlister
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Just when I thought that I had read at least one book containing every type of supernatural being that an author’s imagination could create, I find a new book with a great new storyline. Playing with Fire (Silver Dragons, Book 1) by Katie MacAlister is a great new other-earthly fantasy romance series that you will really enjoy. The main character, May Northcott, is a doppelganger created by a water nymph named Cyrene. May is Cyrene’s exact twin in all ways except she’s not a water nymph. However, she can slip into the shadow world and go past barriers that other beings can’t get through.
All of this was orchestrated by none other than Cyrene herself; she’s the one who decided to make a copy of herself. Why? So she could be a better thief. Yes, Cyrene created May so she could do a better job stealing things.
Of course, in order to do this, Cyrene had to summon a demon lord and give up one of her personality traits; the crazy girl ended up giving up her common sense! Had she not sacrificed this trait she might have realized that Magoth, the demon lord, planned to bind May to him as a slave forever. Yes, Magoth was ecstatic to get a thief bound to him who could retrieve some of the items needed to ensure his return to earth. He also wants to persuade (and seduce) May into being a slave to other (ahem) things. Alas, since Magoth is pretty good looking, May finds it hard to resist him.
So May becomes a thief for Magoth and we enter the story when May is trying to rob an important essence from a powerful mage and, by accident, ends up robbing him of his most powerful essence, which he’ll do anything to get back. He hires every bounty hunter available to find her which puts May on the run. She actually wants to return the essence in the hopes that he’ll drop the chase for her.
However Magoth has no sympathy for her situation and immediately sends her out on another mission. This time she’s not so successful. Or maybe she is.
You see, May gets caught by a dragon, and not just any dragon. She gets caught by Gabriel, an extremely handsome and sexy silver dragon ruler. He and the other silver dragons in his sept (think pack) are trying to find an important dragon relic. When he realizes he’s captured a thief he knows exactly how to use her; he’ll have her find and steal back the relic.
However his plan backfires a bit because the minute he touches her, he’s consumed with desire. Gabriel soon realizes that May is his life mate, someone who he can touch without causing them to burn. Oh, one thing about the dragons in this book; they have 2 forms, a human form (a gorgeous human form) and their animal/dragon form. For convenience purposes dragons default to their human forms.
Okay, let’s recap the problems that May is now facing:
- she’s got to figure out a way to gain her freedom from Magoth;
- she needs to avoid the bounty hunters who’re tracking her;
- she needs to prevent Gabriel (who she really likes) from burning everyone and everything that he believes poses a threat to her;
- she needs to save her “no common sense” twin Ceylon from blackmailers.
As you can imagine there’s a ton of action in this book. Not to mention the really hot sex between May and Gabriel. Additionally, the relationship between May and her twin Ceylon is entertaining and funny to read about. Together they don’t let anyone get the best of them; they also have a witty answer for every situation they encounter. In summation, this book has something for everyone: action, sex, adventure, sex, suspense, sex, and oh yeah, hot sex.
The end of the novel left me hanging so I’m thrilled to know that Katie MacAlister has the sequel already out, ready for my next visit to Amazon. And ready for me to purchase both books for the holiday for a friend of mine!
