Archive for Best Fantasy Books
Here’s Your Urban Fantasy Spring Sampler
Posted by: | Comments
Spring is Here!
And so are a new crop of great fantasy books, including:
-Necking by Chris Salvatore
-Embers by Laura Bickle
-Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti
-Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep
-Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
and many more . . . !
Just click the link below to get exclusive access to chapter excerpts from the latest and upcoming books:
You’ll also get bonus content and fun commentary from your favorite fantasy authors. So grab a glass of lemonade, sit back and enjoy the Urban Fantasy Spring Sampler!
Young Adult Fantasy – The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Posted by: | Comments
The Summoning is a great first book in a young adult fantasy series called The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, one of my most favorite fantasy writers. The story centers around a girl named Chloe Sanders who more than anything wants to have a normal life, but that’s pretty hard to do when you think you see dead people. Chloe turns 15 and suddenly begins seeing dead people. What a gift to receive for reaching puberty!
Although Chloe recently lost her mother unfortunately, her father is basically a nonexistent presence in her life. So, after running out of the school screaming because she sees dead people for the first time, she doesn’t have a support network to turn to. Everyone thinks she’s crazy, including her father and her aunt (who Chloe thought really cared for her).
Chloe soon ends up in a special home for disturbed teenagers called the Lyle House. Happy freakin’ birthday . . .
Fortunately, upon arriving at Lyle House she meets two stepbrothers who assure her that although her gift is special, it’s not completely unheard of. Others have special powers as well. As a matter of fact, Chloe learns that quite a few people at Lyle House are gifted with unique powers.
As Chloe starts to become more comfortable at Lyle House (with both the people and her new powers), she wants to use her ability to help her new friends. However, she soon stumbles upon a dilemma: although it’s obvious that most people at Lyle House have powers, they’re not discussed or practiced in public. As a matter of fact, if you’re caught using your power you’re “removed” from the school – perhaps never to be seen again.
This is especially problematic for Chloe because some of her friends are being threatened by a poltergeist and she’s just the person to take care of the situation. However one of her friends is taken away when they’re caught using their powers . . . where were they taken to?
At a dead end (no pun intended), Chloe finally begins receiving help from a dead necromancer who reveals some disturbing information. For one, he tells her that the staff at Lyle House are using devices to block his spirit. He also reveals that the former owner used to run experiments on people like Chloe – people with supernatural powers.
It appears that the folks running Lyle House are not all that they seem. Chloe begins to suspect that there is a lot more going on in Lyle House than she ever imagined.
Chloe makes it her mission to find out what’s going on and discover what happened to her missing friend. Little does she know that it will take all of her wits and the help of her friends to discover the real truth behind this secret institution.
Kelley Armstrong does a superb job fleshing out Chloe’s character. As you get to know Chloe you come to really feel for her and her situation.
The Summoning is a book anyone can enjoy but teenagers will really feel especially attuned to it since the storyline delves into real problems that exist for today’s teens. Overall, this was a thoroughly satisfying read which prompted me to read the next fantasy book in this series, The Awakening and add Book #3, The Reckoning, to my shopping list.
Bewitchingly Good Fantasy – Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
Posted by: | CommentsRead more reviews
Like fighting off deadly white magic witches.
As in the previous book “White Witch, Black Curse”, Rachel’s not really sure what she is. Although at her core she’s an earth witch, when she was young she suffered from a condition called Rosewood Syndrome, a genetic blood disease that manifests itself when a witch is born with abilities that are more akin to demons. Although most young witches die of this condition Rachel was lucky enough to be sent to a special camp for supernatural kids with health problems. The good news is that she was eventually cured. The bad news is that the cure apparently altered her DNA and now, as a witch with a demon mark she’s able to twist demon curses and hold an inordinate amount of ever-after in her body, something unheard of for witches.
This makes her somewhat of a hybrid: part witch/part demon, although Rachel refuses to claim the demon part. Nonetheless, Rachel’s abilities have attracted the attention of the ruling white witch coven. And not in a good way. They’ve discovered that any offspring she bears will likely be demons – demons that are able to walk the earth and not be bound to the ever-after. They plan to solve this problem by either forced sterilization or eternal imprisonment in Alcatraz. As you can imagine, neither option appeals to Rachel.
As I was reading Rachel’s attempts to survive the attacks by the coven I couldn’t help but think of the following life’s lessons for her:
-you never know when an enemy (read, ex-boyfriend) may help save your neck;
-the lives of the many outweigh those of the few;
-when the survival of you and your loved ones hangs in the balance, pull up your big girl panties and fight fire with fire.
Kim Harrison has once again written a fast-paced fantasy thriller that draws you in from the start. Rachel’s ordeals are realistically described and readers will find it hard not to root for her as the story progresses, even if her stubbornness is sometimes frustrating. In fact, her character flaws make her all the more believable and add to the overall enjoyment of the book.
Harrison’s storytelling skills make the secondary characters in the book interesting as well: Ivy has a new romantic interest whose identity readers will be surprised to discover, Jenks becomes a stronger patriarch for his family, and Biss, the young gargoyle, takes several risks in order to protect Rachel. And Al, the murderous and self-serving demon that Rachel is tied to, actually shows a bit of introspection (there’s a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich scene between Al and Rachel that you’ll love).
As I finished reading Black Magic Sanction I couldn’t help but wonder what else was in store for Rachel. I assume we’ll learn more about her demon-like abilities and no doubt Kim Harrison will continue exploring the whole “Rachel can birth demon spawn” storyline. But I’m personally looking forward to reading more about the like/hate relationship between Rachel and Trent Kalamack. I love reading about Trent because he’s hands-down one of the most complex and multi-dimensional male characters in the fantasy book genre right now. He’s the bad boy whose past transgressions we all want to forgive. You never know what you’ll get with Trent and I love that. There’s more to his story that I’m hoping will unfold as the series progresses.
Whatever the case, I’m definitely on board for whatever Harrison throws our way!
Celestial Fantasy Book – Sins and Shadows by Lyn Benedict
Posted by: | Comments
Shadows and Sins, a great fantasy book by Lyn Benedict, introduces us to Sylvie Lightner, a detective with too many “special” cases for her own peace of mind. It’s the first book in the new Shadow Inquiries series, which starts with Sylvie planning to close her detective agency because she lost a good friend during the commission of a recent case. Sylvie is a tough, no-nonsense woman who lives in a world where magic is real and her specialty is her ability to solve magical cases.
In addition to closing her business she’s trying to avoid a group of government agents that have her marked as someone who’s always involved in magical catastrophes. They follow her everywhere, waiting for her to make a mistake so they can grab her.
With all the magic alive in the world, Sylvie lives in a strange environment where she has to deal with annoying, selfish gods who have some familiar names – Zeus and Lilith being two you might know. The gods control everything and – news flash – it is NEVER good to disagree with the folks who can change you into a turtle at any moment! So, when a god shows up in Sylvie’s office needing her help finding his missing lover, she’s put in an awkward position: should she tell him no and proceed with closing her detective agency? I’ll let you guess what she decides . . .
Put it this way, when a god asks you for a favor, “No” is not an option.
Especially when the god in question is Justice, who has no qualms about threatening her family in order to ensure her cooperation. And don’t forget the Feds: in addition to dealing with a meglomaniacal, family-threatening god, she also has to deal with real-world government agents who want nothing more than to put her under the jail. Even when a handsome government agent emerges from her past she discovers that he’d just as likely shoot her as engage in conversation.
How can a girl win?
This fantasy book immediately drew me in because the writing style is fast and fun. The main character, Sylvie, is not your typical female lead. She has no giant chip on her shoulder. She does not shoot whatever is bothering her at the moment. Outwitting the gods is what keeps Sylvie busy. Doing such a good job with the first book in the Shadow Inquiries fantasy series makes you wonder what new “shadows” can Lyn Benedict shine her light on next? I plan to be there to find out.
Get Sins and Shadows and find out how Sylvie juggles the challenges thrown at her.
Get it now and be ready for the next book in the series, Ghosts and Echoes, which comes out April 27, 2010.
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.
