Archive for Best Fantasy Books
Fantasy Book Review - Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep
Posted by: | Comments
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
Posted by: | Comments
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 for Guys - Nightlife by Rob Thurman
Posted by: | Comments
Okay, I know the title of this review says “fantasy book for guys” but the truth is that this book will appeal to ALL fantasy book fans. I chose this title for two reasons:
-it catches your attention
-the two main characters in this series are guys
In Nightlife we’re introduced to Cal Leandros, the product of a demon and a human witch. Cal possesses extraordinary powers as well as burdens, the most pressing being his fear of his demon lord father, who scares him witless. Aiding him on the run from his wicked father is his older brother, Nikos. Nikos is a full-human whose calm and demure demeanor hides a dangerous adeptness with weapons and extraordinary martial arts skills. These two main characters and their interactions make Nightlife an enjoyable ride.
The book starts with a heart-pounding flashback and moves on to present-day life after Cal has been rescued from the reaches of Hell by Nikos.
Being on the run, Cal and Nikos remain on guard at all times and pick up odd jobs in New York City. But the black Auphes, evil and murderous elves ruled by Cal’s father, persist in following them. Cal and Nikos don’t yet know why the Auphes are so interested in Cal but they shrewdly assume it has something to do with some master plan of Cal’s father. After all, why would a demon lord deem to mate with a human witch?
Things get complicated when a male banshee decides to take over Cal’s body, per the order of the Auphes, to make his capture easier.
In this book, monsters coexist in the open alongside humans. A troll lurks under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle roams around Central Park, and vampires, werewolves, and elves walk freely in the streets of New York. Along with these creatures we meet a human who has turned into a dog, a teenage psychic, a mysterious healer, and a used car salesman named Robin Fellows (Goodfellow), who is actually a mischievous elf in disguise. All of these unique characters work to set a mystical mood. With the use of first-person narrative, Cal retains a cynical and biting undertone throughout most of the book, which mixes with good old humor to provide a fun read.
Thurman creates a creative masterpiece that makes use of a compelling modern-day setting and highly imaginative characters to make the story come alive. The plot is never predictable, and the characters are even more appealing. As such, Thurman has written an engrossing and suspenseful fantasy book page-turner that will make readers want to know more about the highly appealing Leandros brothers.
By the way, Rob Thurman is a woman!
Check out Nightlife, the first book in this fantastic fantasy book series!
A Match Made in Hell by Terri Garey
Posted by: | Comments
A Match Made in Hell, a novel by Terri Garey, is the second in a series of urban fantasy books that describe the life and adventures of Nicki Styx, the owner of a haute couture thrift shop who, after having a near death experience, can now “see dead people”. The fact that the doctor who saved her life, Joe Bascombe, wants to start a serious relationship with her only adds complexity to an already complicated life.
The story starts out with Nicki being visited by a female ghost named Lila who’s desperate to find her daughter. You see, although Lila is now dead, her daughter Kelly is still alive (barely) and trapped at the scene of the car accident that killed Lila. Time is of the essence of course because it’s unknown how long her daughter can survive being seriously injured and trapped inside the wrecked vehicle.
Nicki does find the girl but there’s a twist: Kelly (the girl trapped in the car) is Joe’s ex-wife and Nicki’s long-lost twin sister. And the ghost Lila is actually Nicki’s biological mother.
Say what?
Okay, don’t worry. Terri Garey writes in an easy-to-follow style that makes this moderately complex storyline flow seamlessly!
As the two sisters work to acquaint themselves with one another and explore the mysteries surrounding their past, Nicki has to deal with her feelings about Joe’s previous relationship with her twin sister. Imagine having a boyfriend that was once married to your twin sister – think of the problems that could present. On top of that, a demon named Sammy has started stalking her. Okay, he’s not bad on the eyes (he looks like Billy Idol), he quotes classic literature, and he can be charismatic. They might have possibilities as a couple if he just wasn’t so damned intent on stealing her soul!
Terry Garey has given us a great story with strong characters that pull you in and make you feel like you’re experiencing the story with them. The scenes between Nicki and Sammy are great fun and keep you looking forward to their next run-in. Additionally, the book’s dialogue and characterizations are very realistic - never strained or contrived. As such I found myself identifying with more than one character in this book.
So:
• Will Nicki and Kelly find answers to the questions about their past?
• Will Joe have trouble staying with only one twin?
• Is Sammy what he claims to be?
• Will I lose 10 lbs. by my birthday? Okay, even I don’t know this answer.
Read “A Match Made In Hell” to get answers to the rest of the questions - you’re going to love how it all turns out!
Great Fantasy Book - Deadtown by Nancy Holzner
Posted by: | Comments
Boston is a melting pot of supernatural creatures. Vampires, werewolves, shifters and zombies all co-exist within the city walls – that is, in one small section cordoned off from the humans. This quarantined zone is called Deadtown.
That’s where our heroine, Vicky Vaughn lives. She slays demons for a living, in particular, ones that infiltrate people’s dreams. Vicky enters the person’s dreamscape, kills the demon(s) there, and leaves the client with a promise of happy shiny dreams for the rest of his/her life.
After finishing one such job and packing up her things Vicky detects a slight presence of evil nearby. Apprehensive about dealing with another supernatural entity, Vicky blames her uneasiness on a lack of sleep and quickly corrals her teenage zombie assistant (who’d unexpectedly crashed Vicky’s demon slaying party) and heads home.
But Vicky can’t run from this particular evil. The next day she’s escorted to the police station and informed that her client died after her departure - but not of natural causes:
“He was . . .cooked. From the inside out. The body looked perfectly normal, even felt cold to the touch like you’d expect in a corpse. But when the paramedics lifted the victim onto the gurney, his mouth fell open. A jet of steam shot out and scalded one of the EMTs.”
“Ice cold skin but boiling inside.”
And just like that, Vicky’s world comes crashing in. You see, the detective has just described a Hellion, a badass demon of the worst caliper. Hellions exist to destroy on a large scale; earthquakes, plagues, and events of mass destruction are their specialties. Since Hellions almost never go after individuals it’s clear that a sorcerer (and a powerful one at that) must have directed the Hellion to attack her client.
Additionally, in order to get the Hellion inside Boston the sorcerer had to breach the city’s magical protective shield, previously erected by Boston’s white witches. But there’s a catch 22 to repairing the shield outright – sealing the shield means the Hellion is trapped inside the city and can’t be banished back to Hell.
But when the Hellion appears at the scene of Vicky’s next job and delivers a personal threat she realizes that her options for solving this problem are limited; she’s got to quickly hunt down and kill the Hellion (and find a way to banish it) before it starts a killing spree.
To complicate matters, her love life is on the skids, her closest family member is having identity issues and politics surrounding the upcoming gubernatorial race has prompted the press to shine a spotlight on her once private lifestyle.
Deadtown is the first in what I hope will be a long running fantasy series about Vicky’s life as a PA (Paranormal Americans) in modern day Boston. Nancy Holzner has created a plausible world in which humans and the supernatural co-exist, in particular, the political backdrop surrounding the story is dead on. Think about it: if we discovered that supernatural races had been living among us for centuries, the politics surrounding their legal and civil rights would dominate the airwaves. And can’t you just see our public servants making this issue a big part of their political platforms? All of this adds to the believability of Holzner’s storyline.
I thoroughly enjoyed Deadtown and eagerly look forward to the next installment in the series.
Great Teen Fantasy Book - Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Posted by: | Comments
Teenage zombie books and life lessons sounds like an oxymoron but that’s what Daniel Waters has given us in his novel, Generation Dead. He’s crafted a unique story about teenagers who, after dying, inexplicably return from the dead as zombies – now known as the ‘living impaired’. They can think, although they process thoughts a little slower than the rest of us. They walk and talk a bit funny and they also have some feelings. The oddest thing is, all living impaired people are teenagers and they’re only in the United States. Hmmn, what’s up with that?
These newly formed living impaired beings still have their memories and identities and they remember how they died. Considering this, it seems a reasonable assumption that they would immediately want to return to their normal lives. This is where the crux of the problem lies in the story. No one wants them – not their parents or the general population. In fact, their parents are the ones who are most afraid and disgusted by them. But, these are still kids who want to be accepted and so - even if they do not have a home - they want to go to school. But in this book, as in real life for kids who are different, school is not easy . . .
Generation Dead focuses on Phoebe, a normal teenage girl who falls for a living impaired boy named Tommy. The story is not so much about their relationship but about how a relationship between two different “beings” affects the society around them. It is interesting to see how the author has written the situations that happen to these kids because - as you read - you can’t help but picture the same sorts of situations happening daily to any number of perceived ‘unwelcome’ groups in the United States.
As a high school teacher, I see all sorts of potential for this book and its use in the high school classroom. However, I don’t want to ruin it for any teen reading this review thinking, ‘well, if the teacher likes it -then forget it’. This book was written for teens and it is a great story. The kids in the novel are all dealing with overt discrimination in one way or another and when they work together as a group to help spread tolerance and understanding, you get to see how their lives are changed forever. Waters has hit the nail on the head on how ‘different’ groups are treated in this country, giving us an informative and relevant read - I am delighted to have found Generation Dead. YOU can find it at Amazon.
Best Fantasy Book Recommendation - On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
Posted by: | Comments
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.
