Shadow Heir Review

Shadow Heir (Dark Swan 4)

-         -  Richelle Mead

Publisher: UK – Bantam

**Warning contains spoilers from the first three books**

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...
The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice...

As far as I know this is the fourth and final book in Eugenie’s story and a lot is packed into a short space! Not only does Eugenie have to cope with pregnancy and the disturbing prophecy that says her son will conquer the human world, there is a blight to deal with, her mixed feelings for fey King, Dorian and her ex-trying to kill her and her unborn children. Despite all this going, there doesn’t appear to much urgency for much of the book. As these events take place several months, the pace seems slower than previous instalments. There is a lot of introspective contemplation as Eugenie struggles to do what is right for her children, for her kingdoms and for the human world.

Eugenie is still a very proactive heroine, more than willing to tackle issues head on – whether that includes wielding gentry magic, kicking butt or speaking her mind. She feels much more comfortable in her role as queen now and her use of gentry magic is now effortless which is a big change from we started at book one. Her relationships with those around her have changed as well – especially with Dorian, her stepfather Roland and her sister, Jasmine. I also liked how becoming a mother changed her and even the little worries she had over regaining her previous physicality made her easy to relate too – always a worry with characters with such phenomenal powers.

I do have one issue with the story, which I can’t go into a lot of detail as it’s a big spoiler, but to me there is an element introduced at a late stage that seems very convenient – a get-out-of-jail-free card that spoilt some of the grey moral area that Mead had built up prior to that. Personally, I liked that there were no easy answers and this one introduction seemed to undermine some of that. However, it doesn’t  completely clear the deck as Eugenie is still left with a very big decision to make – the result of which has the possibility of dividing readers. However, I was happy with the ending although I could see plenty of opportunity to revisit Eugenie’s worlds in a few years’ time!

Recommended for fans of Jennifer Estep and Kim Harrison. 8 out of 10.

Same Book/Different Cover: American Gods

 This is an occasional feature where I compare different covers of the same book...what I'm particularly interested in are re-issued covers for the same book and recently foreign editions.
This month I'm looking at a modern classic - a book I read last year and absolutely loved - Amercian Gods by Neil Gaimen.


Portugal



Spain



UK Paperback Edition 2005



US Edition



10th Anniversary Edition



Czech Republic


Portugal Edition: The close up of the road leading into the distance with the startling orange and red sky is very bright and colourful!
Spain Edition: Urgh. The red and white US flag background with a minotaur man just doesn't appeal to me.
US Edition: The road disappearing into the dark is a very vivid image but this seems a little dull both colour wise and in terms of standout on shelf.
UK Edition: The gold moth/butterfly on the plain black background is a great contrast. I like the idea of a butterfly as it reminds me of a cocoon and transformation.
10th Anniversary Edition: This is very green! I like the mix of the motel sign and the power line mixed with the lightning. An intriguing cover.
Czech Republic Edition: I love the distance of the landscape in this cover with the storm threatening and the mix of colours. The Lightning is brilliant and realistic. I want to own a copy of this cover!

My favourite? Czech Republic wins this week for me! Which do you prefer? :)

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions Review

Enthralled: Paranormal Divisions

-          Edited by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Harper Collins

A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.
Sixteen of today's hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they're writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

I’ve said before that anthologies can vary depending on the talent involved and the tenuous theme linking them all together. Luckily with Enthralled there is a huge range of very talented authors – pretty much a who’s who of top YA writers and the theme of journey’s – both emotional and physical allows for a wide variety of stories. As ever one or two linegr in the mind longer – for me I enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s story, Facing Facts which was an interesting little coda to the Darkest Power trilogy. It was nice to catch up with Chloe & Derek again.

Other stories that were excellent are Scenic Route by Carrie Ryan, set in the same world as her Forest of Hands and Teeth series, but much earlier and The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – both of which managed to create exciting and tense adventures with minimal pages. Great example of both writers skills and had me wanting to read more by both.  I also enjoyed the story by Jeri Smith-Ready based in her Shade world with the focus on Logan preparing to move on and saying goodbye to his family.

Overall, this was a high quality collection which has considerably added to my wishlist of authors – in fact I ordered Evernight by Claudia Gray based on the very sweet ghost story she contributed here. There’s not really any major dud stories with all of them worth the investment in your time.

Recommended for fans of Kelley Armstrong’s YA series and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 8 out of 10

My Book Haul/In My Mailbox

The Story Siren hosts a weekly meme where bloggers can share what goodies they've purchased/received this week. If you get a chance head over to The Story Siren and check out what everyone is up to!

Vengeance Born - Kylie Griffin

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born...
Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na'Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father's people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she's gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy... With the Na'Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na'Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons-and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.
When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father's dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council-and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war...

Another win this week - one I was particularly happy to recieve as I really wanted to get my hands on this. It looks like an intriguing start to a new series! So many thanks to The Quillery and Kylie who also included a lovely note and signed the book! :)

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate 5) - Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.
Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

This was the first of my pre-orders that turned up this week. I've been enjoying Alexia's adventures across the British Empire and will be sorry to see her go, but hopefully the series will end on a high! :)

Discount Armageddon - Seanan McGuire

Publisher: Daw Fantasy

Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night... The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity-and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right? It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed. To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city...

Another pre-order that arrived this week! I have to confess I've not read any books by Seanan McGuire but I did adore Feed by her alter-ego, Mira Grant so have been collecting October Daye novels and now, the first in a new series called InCryptid...

What have you recieved this week? :)

On My Wishlist #77

This is a meme from Book Chick City. There are so many books out there that I want to read that this is the only way I can keep track! I'm lusting after some Urban Fantasy again this week!

Darker Angels (Black Sun's Daughter 2) - M.L.N. Hanover

Publisher: UK - Orbit

When Jayné Heller's uncle Eric died, she inherited a fortune beyond all her expectations — and a dangerous mission in a world she never knew existed. Reining in demons and supernatural foes is a formidable task, but thankfully Jayné has vast resources and loyal allies to rely on. She'll need both to tackle a bodyswitching serial killer who's taken up residence in New Orleans, a city rich in voodoo lore and dark magic.
Working alongside Karen Black, a highly confident and enigmatic ex-FBI agent, Jayné races to track down the demon's next intended host. But the closer she gets, the more convinced she becomes that nothing in this beautiful, wounded city is exactly as it seems. When shocking secrets come to light, and jealousy and betrayal turn trusted friends into adversaries, Jayné will soon come face-to-face with an enemy that knows her all too well, and won't rest until it has destroyed everything she loves most...

Unclean Spirits was a great introduction, but I'm keen to see the potential in this series fulfilled. Hopefully Darker Angels will step up the story. :)

A Little Night Magic - Lucy March

Publisher:St Martin's Griffin

Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories. Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends . . . but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed. As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side . . . and in the cross fire. Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

This looks like a lot of fun - plus waffles - yummy! :)

Nightshifted - Cassie Alexander

Publisher: St Martins Press (May 2012)

Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine--from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond...

Edie's just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she's haunted by the man's dying words--"Save Anna"--and before she knows it, she's on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. "Grey's Anatomy" was never like this...

Nightshifted isn't out yet but I've seen this toted around the blogosphere and like the idea of a nurse as a main character!

What are you wishing for this week? (Besides world peace and fat free food to taste good, of course?)

This Is Not Forgiveness Review

This Is Not Forgiveness

-          Celia Rees

Publisher: UK – Bloomsbury

Everyone says that Caro is bad ...but Jamie can't help himself. He thinks of her night and day and can't believe that she wants to be his girlfriend. Gorgeous, impulsive and unconventional, she is totally different to all the other girls he knows. His sister, Martha, hates her. Jamie doesn't know why, but there's no way he's going to take any notice of her warnings to stay away from Caro. But as Jamie falls deeper and deeper under her spell, he realises there is more to Caro - much more. There are the times when she disappears and doesn't get in touch, the small scars on her wrists, her talk about revolutions and taking action, not to mention the rumours he hears about the other men in her life. And then always in the background there is Rob, Jamie's older brother, back from Afghanistan and traumatised after having his leg smashed to bits there. Jamie wants to help him, but Rob seems to be living in a world of his own and is increasingly difficult to reach. With Caro, the summer should have been perfect ...but that isn't how things work out in real life, and Jamie is going to find out the hard way.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary YA, preferring to focus on the supernatural side but I think I might have been losing out based on the strength of This Is Not Forgiveness. Set over one summer this follows the life of two brothers – Jamie, sensitive and just about to start in life and his older brother Peter, disillusioned, recovering from an injury received in the armed forces and struggling to fit into civilian life again. And the girl who connects them, Cora...who is not exactly as she seems.

I thought this would be a love triangle, teen romance book and while there are plenty of relationship issues, I never felt like it was a romance book at all. Both Peter and Cora are damaged souls – looking for something in their lives to make sense, to have meaning. Jamie is a dreamer, unsure of what he wants in the world. Between them there is a bizarre chemistry and confusion of feelings and desires. As the summer progresses we see how each of them impacts the lives of the others. I was left reeling from the emotions which varied from first love/lust to despair to apathy, depending on which of the three narrators I was reading. Rob’s story particularly was disturbing – and very relevant to the modern world. I really felt for him but at the same time struggled to like him and his actions especially considering how much older he was than Caro and Jamie. Caro came across as particularly manipulative but more a result of lack of family support than a true desire to control others.

A subtle reflection on modern society’s attitude to families, treatment of soldiers and even teenage relationships in the twenty-first century, this story will take you by surprise and completely blindside you. It’s not exactly comfortable reading, but it is worth it. Well written in a natural style, I will be looking out for more Ceclie Rees books.

Recommended for fans of Lauren Oliver and Gayle Forman. 8 out of 10

The Water Room Review

The Water Room (Bryant and May)

-          Christopher Fowler

Publisher: Bantam

They are detection’s oddest couple: two cranky detectives whose professional partnership dates back half a century. Now Arthur Bryant and John May return in a case of multiple murder that twists through a subterranean course of the secrets, lies, and extreme passions that drive even ordinary men and women to the most shocking crimes….
They are living legends with a reputation for solving even the trickiest cases using unorthodox, unconventional, and often completely unauthorized methods. But the Peculiar Crimes Unit headed by Detectives John May and Arthur Bryant is one mistake away from being shut down for good. And when the elderly sister of Bryant’s friend is found dead in the basement of her decrepit house in Kentish Town, they find themselves on the verge of making exactly that mistake.
According to the coroner, Ruth Singh’s heart simply stopped beating. But why was a woman who rarely left the house fully dressed for an outing? And why was there river water in her throat? Convinced that the old lady didn’t die a natural death, the detectives delve into a murky case with no apparent motive, no forensics, and no clues. And they’ve barely launched their investigation when death claims another victim. Suddenly they discover some very unnatural behavior surrounding Ruth Singh’s death by “natural” causes—from shady real estate developers and racist threats to two troubled marriages, from a dodgy academician working London’s notorious “grey economy” to a network of antiquities collectors obsessed with Egyptian mythology. And running beneath it all are the sweeping tentacles of London’s vast and forgotten underground river system. As the rains pour down and the water rises, Bryant and May must rely on instinct, experience, and their own very peculiar methods to stem a tide of evil that threatens to drown them all.

Set in modern day London, The Water Room follows detectives, eccentric Bryant and dapper May and the Peculiar Crime Unit as they investigate an elderly woman who apparently died through drowning despite the room and her clothes remaining dry.

The writing creates a beautiful atmosphere as we follow Bryant and May who are in their seventies as they get to know the residents of Balaklava Street. Bryant as independent and forthright as ever is convinced something strange is happening on the street, but May just wants them to concentrate on the newly re-opened Peculiar Crimes Unit and their official case load. The writing re-creates a small corner of North London which you can picture perfectly from the cobble stones to the neighbours. The characterisation is strong and every person even with little page time feels like a three dimensional character – I especially liked the banter between the members of the PCU – both old and new.

What lets down this wonderfully written ambience and characters that could easily populate any number of TV show series for many years, is the plot itself. While the initial mystery is intriguing, there is too little to move it forward. There is little evidence of actual wrong-doing and very little happens for weeks at a time – apart from some decorating. This meant my attention would wander and there felt like there was very little impetus to solve the case. Still the characters and the atmosphere kept me reading and by the end the action increased with an exciting chase through the underground London waterways.

Recommended for fans of Reginald Hill and Elizabeth George. 7 out of 10