Archive for Fantasy Books
Fantasy Book Anthology – Dogs and Goddesses
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The multi-author novel, Dogs and Goddesses, breaks the mold of the typical anthology offering. Yes, it is written by three different authors – Jennifer Cruise, Anne Stuart and Lani Diane Rich – but instead of three separate stories, you’ve got one story with three distinct female leads with each lead having her own unique life story and romantic interest. The authors do an excellent job of weaving the lives of the three women together, using dogs and ancient goddesses as the things that link the three of them.
The story starts out with Abby, a young woman who has inherited her grandmother’s property in a college town. She arrives in town with her pet Newfoundland, Bowser, to claim the building that contains a coffee shop and several apartments. Next, Daisy is introduced: she’s a woman who works at the local college, is in her thirties, and who’s dog-sitting her mother’s terrier, Bailey. And finally, Shar arrives on the scene: a forty-eight year old college professor, unhappy in her current relationship, who seeks comfort from her best friend, a dachshund named Wolfie. Notice a pattern here? Yep, you got it – they are all linked to a dog.
Each woman sees a notice for dog training being held in the history department at the college, a department that is housed in an ancient temple structure that was transported straight from Mesopotamia. A mysterious woman named Kammani, is leading the “dog training” session which is in reality Kammani’s search to find the descendents of her servant goddesses who can restore her to her former glory. It is at this class that the three woman meet and are told they are the ones who can raise Kammani back to her ancient heights of power. The three women’s stories continue to intertwine as each meets a man who is perfect for her – they just don’t know it yet!
I loved the way the story effortlessly connected the women’s adventures, even though you knew three different people were writing it. It was a unique approach to the usual anthology setup of separate storylines and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The authors give us a lot of action, cute dog sidekicks, and three top notch romance stories that all come together in the end. Here’s hoping the ladies are working on another book together! Dogs and Goddesses rocks!
Celestial Fantasy Book – Sins and Shadows by Lyn Benedict
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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.
Hellishly Good Fantasy Book – Salt and Silver
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Anne Katherine has written a fun fantasy book about “hell” in her new book Salt and Silver. You wouldn’t think you could have the words “fun” and “hell” in the same sentence, but this author has achieved it with her paranormal tale of supernatural beings and human heroes who protect the earth in both the above-world and the underworld.
In the story, there are many hells and each one has a special door to enter through and for each door there are nine more doors and so forth and so on. See the opportunity for endless story lines? What is even more unique about this is that a door to hell can open anywhere in our human world and when it does, a special hunter will show up – just in time – to keep any nasty “hellish” things from coming through that door.
To start out, you meet Allie, a former rich girl, whose mother abandoned her and left her to work in a diner to make ends meet. The only things she has left from her previous life of wealth are her two best friends, Amanda and Stan.
Six years ago, Allie inadvertently opened a door to hell in the basement of the diner and with that door came a really cute hunter named Ryan who would just as soon shoot her as look at her. However Allie has a major crush on Ryan and has spent the last six years trying to get him to like her (romantically, of course). However, since Ryan’s main interest is in teaching Allie the tricks of the hunter trade, he resists her efforts to turn their relationship into something more personal.
To summarize: Allie can kill a vampire, a hound from hell, a wyvern or just about any supernatural creature that can come through the hell door – but she doesn’t have a boyfriend.
As Allie continues working with Ryan and other hunters around the world, she learns that she has a very special relationship with the door in the diner basement – she can talk to it and it grants her wishes.
Suddenly doors are not just portals into hell; they’re entities with actual personalities. Allie is just beginning to enjoy learning more about her door when – poof – it suddenly disappears! From the hunter’s perspective, this is not a good thing – a hell door has never disappeared before. Since none of the hunters know how to handle this new situation and the door is the responsibility of Ryan and Allie, it’s up to them to enter hell and find out what has thrown off the balance between earth and hell before everyone and everything on earth is destroyed.
I admit when I first started reading this fantasy book, I was intrigued with the premise but I did not like the lead character Allie very much. That totally changed as I got further into the story and realized how much personal growth she was gaining from her experiences with the hunters and the doors. We see her grow from a spoiled rich girl into someone who appreciates the little things and who has learned to not take life for granted. A lesson many of us could learn . . . ?
I also liked her wit and the way she handled challenging situations. It was a good read, it’s a very original storyline, and I was quite glad to find it – right now there are so many authors trying to fit into the urban fantasy craze that it was great to find someone who knows how to write a truly good paranormal romance!
Salt and Silver was a joy to read. Check it out at places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Can’t wait for the next book in the series!
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding – Fantasy Book Anthology
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If you’ve ever planned a wedding, gotten married, or even just been a wedding guest, you’ll appreciate the twisted tales in this nuptial-themed collection of short stories from a host of top-notch paranormal authors.
Spellbound by L.A. Banks
Odelia Hatfield and Jefferson McCoy, of the infamous families, fall in love as college sweethearts and battle their disapproving relatives as they plan their wedding, with a little magic thrown in, of course.
Something Borrowed by Jim Butcher
Werewolf Billy is ditched at the alter by Georgia, but when his best man Harry investigates, he discovers that someone has placed Georgia under a spell. Now he must figure out how to break it before it’s too late.
Dead Man’s Chest by Rachel Caine
A wedding aboard a pirate ship might seem like a dream, but Cecilia Welles’ fiancee has more than romance in mind for her, as does the pirate captain Lockhart. Will she make it out of her honeymoon alive?
All Shook Up by P.N. Elrod
Frankie Foster is catering a wedding for Santiago and Trinidad, and impersonator Elvis makes an appearance. But something tells her these two should not be getting married, and there’s something a little off about this Elvis.
The Wedding of Wylda Serene by Esther M. Friesner
Spoiled little princess Wylda is determined to have her wedding at the exclusive Club, although it has a history of strange events. But she refuses to listen to reason, and sheer chaos ensues.
Charmed by the Moon by Lori Handeland
Does true love really exist? This sweet story explores the concept with werewolf hunter Jessie, who’s set to marry professor Will when she discovers a love charm. Now she has to figure out if they’re really in love, or if the charm has blurred reality.
Tacky by Charlaine Harris
Harris works her magic again with this short from the Southern Vampire series. The impending wedding of vampire Taffy and werewolf Don has fangs out and fur ruffled since vamps are not supposed to marry outside of their race.
A Hard Day’s Night-Searcher by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Dark Hunters return in this suspenseful story involving the love between a squire and one of the immortal warriors who spend eternity protecting the world from supernatural enemies.
…Or Forever Hold Your Peace by Susan Krinard
A wedding in Victorian England is rife with mystery, a disappearing bride and supernatural complications. Can Lady Olivia Dowling and Christopher Meredith sidestep the obstacles and solve the mystery?
Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable book that gave me some exposure to a few new fantasy book writers. My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding is now On Sale at Amazon!
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.
