Review 2013

Review: Angel Dust by Sarah Mussi

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Angel Dust by Sarah Mussi

Title: Angel Dust
Author: Sarah Mussi
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Hot Key Books (2nd August 2012)
Blurb:

One look into your dark eyes was all it took. You were the one. You were my temptation. The one whose soul I had to collect. And you were young, and you were beautiful, and you were flowing with energy. And my body trembled. I didn’t want to see you die.

Serafina, one of God’s brightest angels, is tasked with collecting the soul of gangsta Marcus Montague. He is bound for Hell, and is showing no signs of repenting. But one look at him undoes her – how far will she go to save the boy she loves?

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

ANGEL DUST by Sarah Mussi tells the story of an angel called Serafina who, during the course of her duties, is sent to collect the soul of Marcus Montague – a gang leader whose time is up. Collecting Marcus’s soul doesn’t go according to plan for Serafina, and things rapidly spiral out of control from there.

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Review: Doll Bones by Holly Black

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Doll Bones by Holly Black (UK edition)

Title: Doll Bones
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Middle Grade, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Doubleday (9th May 2013)
Blurb:

Twelve-year-old Zach is too old to play with toys. Or at least, that’s what his father thinks.

But even though he stops hanging out with Poppy and Alice, stops playing with his action figures, it’s no good. There’s one toy that still wants to play with him. A doll that’s made from the bones of a dead girl.

The only way to end the game is to lay the doll to rest for ever. It’s time for a journey to Spring Grove cemetery. It’s time to grow up.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DOLL BONES is the latest story from the brilliant Holly Black. Twelve-year-old Zach enjoys playing in the imaginary world he created with Poppy and Alice, but his dad thinks he’s too old to play with dolls. However, Zach can’t just walk away because one of the dolls is made from the bones of a dead girl, and she wants to be put to rest.

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Review: Mercy Burns by Keri Arthur

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Mercy Burns by Keri Arthur

Title: Mercy Burns(A Myth & Magic Novel, #2)
Author: Keri Arthur
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (5th May 2011)
Blurb:

HALF DRAGON, HALF WOMAN, CAN SHE SAVE HER FRIEND’S SOUL – WITHOUT LOSING HER HEART?

Mercy Wilson is a reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area, but she’s also more – and less – than human. Half woman, half dragon, she’s a draman – unable to shape shift but still able to unleash fiery energy. Soon her powers will be put to the test.

Mercy’s friend Rainey has enlisted her help to solve her sister’s murder. Then a horrible accident claims Rainey’s life, leaving Mercy only five days to find her killer. If Mercy fails, according to dragon law, Rainey’s soul will be doomed to roam the earth for eternity. But how can Mercy help when she herself is a target? With nowhere else to turn, she must join forces with a sexy stranger – the mysterious man they call muerte, or death itself, who’s as irresistible as he is treacherous. But can even Death keep Mercy alive for long enough to find her answers?

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

MERCY BURNS is the second book in Keri Arthur’s  MYTH & MAGIC series. It tells the story of Mercy Wilson, the sister of Trae Wilson from DESTINY KILLS, a reporter who is trying to track down the people who are destroying draman towns with her friend Rainey whose sister was killed in one. Unfortunately, Mercy and Rainey get too close and the people involved create an accident which leaves Rainey dead and Mercy injured with just five days to find Rainey’s killer so that Rainey can rest in peace.

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Review: Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur

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Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur

Title: Destiny Kills (A Myth & Magic Novel, #1)
Author: Keri Arthur
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (5th May 2011)
Blurb:

SHE’S GOT A DANGEROUS SECRET – AND POWERS FAR BEYOND HUMAN . . .

When Destiny McCree wakes up beside a dead man on an Oregon beach, she knows only this: she was to keep moving, keep searching and keep one step ahead of the forces that have been pursuing her from the heart of Scotland to this isolated spot. Why? The death of her lover has left her alone, with little memory of her past. A glimmering serpent-shaped ring is the one clue she has – and a bargaining chip in a most dangerous game.

Enter Trae Wilson, a master thief with a sexy, knowing grin and a secret agenda of his own. Destiny and Trae both have powers far beyond human – and both are running for their lives. Together they’re rising a tide of danger, magic and lust . . . but with killers stalking their every move, they must use any means necessary, even each other, to survive – until the shocking secret of one woman’s destiny finally unravels.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DESTINY KILLS is the first book in Keri Arthur’s MYTH & MAGIC series. It tells the story of Destiny who wakes up naked on a beach with no memory of who she is or why she woke next to the body of a dead man. She does remember some bits and pieces, although she can’t explain why, and they are disjointed. Whilst fleeing from the police after she steals some clothes, Destiny comes across Trae Wilson.

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Review: The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone

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The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone

Title: The Bell Between Worlds (The Mirror Chronicles #1)
Author: Ian Johnstone
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books (6th June 2013)
Source: HarperCollins Children’s Books twitter account
Format: ARC
Blurb:

A glorious epic fantasy in the grand tradition of C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman, and a major publishing event, The Mirror Chronicles will take you into another world, and on the adventure of your lifetime…

Half of your soul is missing. The lost part is in the mirror. And unless Sylas Tate can unite the two worlds, you will never be whole again.

Sylas Tate leads a lonely existence since his mother died. But then the tolling of a giant bell draws him into another world known as the Other, where he discovers not only that he has an inborn talent for magic, but also that his mother might just have come from this strange parallel place. Meanwhile, evil forces are stirring, and an astounding revelation awaits Sylas: that the Other is a mirror of our world, and every person here has their counterpart there, known as a Glimmer. As violence looms and the stakes get higher, Sylas must seek out his Glimmer, and unite the two halves of his soul – otherwise the entire universe may fall… [blurb taken from Goodreads.com]

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

The Bell Between Worlds is the first book in Ian Johnstone’s debut series The Mirror Chronicles. It tells the story of Sylas Tate who lives in a world similar to our own, with his uncle Tobias Tate in a place called Gabblety Row. Sylas seems like an ordinary boy who spends most of his time with his head in the clouds. Through a series of strange events Sylas finds himself in another world, one very different from his own but strangely similar where magic exists.

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Review: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

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Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (UK cover)

Title: Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (7th May 2013)
Blurb:

Sookie Stackhouse has one last adventure in store.

Life has taken her from waitress in Merlotte’s Bar, Bon Temps, to part owner, from social outcast to the heart of her community; from a vampire’s girlfriend to the wife of one of the most powerful vampires in the state. She has survived explosions, revolutions and attempts on her life.

Sookie has endured betrayal, heartbreak and grief … and she has emerged a little stronger, and little wiser, every time.

But with life comes new trials…

The question is, in the end: who will love, who will live, and who will be dead ever after?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Dead Ever After is the final book in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mystery/Sookie Stackhouse series. After thirteen books, and lots of adventures we are finally saying goodbye to Sookie. I started reading this series pre-True Blood and I’m somewhat sad that things have been drawn to a conclusion, but also glad that Harris didn’t decide to continue the series perpetually.

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Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic (19th September 2012)
Blurb:

Even if Blue hadn’t been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.

But this is the year everything will change for Blue.

This is the year she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

This is the year she will fall in love.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

The Raven Boys is the first book in Maggie Stiefvater’s new series The Raven Cycle. It tells the story of Blue Sargent who has been told again and again that if she kissed her true love, he would die. This is unusual as her family’s predictions are normal vague, but is a prediction that has shaped Blue.

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Review: Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

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Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton (UK edition)

Title: Affliction (An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel, #22)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Headline (2nd July 2013)
Blurb:

HAD EVERYONE BITTEN TONIGHT CAUGHT THIS? THE OTHER BITES HAD NO LOOKED LIKE VAMPIRE BITES. THEY’D BEEN ZOMBIE, OR HUMAN LOOKING. WAS THIS INFECTION SOMETHING THAT VAMPIRES AND SHAPESHIFTERS COULD CATCH? IF IT WAS, THEN IT WAS SOMETHING NEW.

Some zombies are raised. Others must be put down. Just ask me, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter.

Before now, I figured I could handle them. Before now, I had never heard of them causing human beings to perish in such agony. But that’s all changed.

Micah’s estranged father lies dying, rotting away inside from some strange ailment that his doctors whispering about ‘zombie disease’.

I make my living from zombies – but these aren’t the kind I know so well. These creatures hunt in daylight, and are as fast and strong as vampires. If they bite you, you become just like them. And round and round it goes . . .

Where will it stop? Even I don’t know.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

AFFLICTION is the twenty-second book in Laurell K. Hamilton’s epic ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER series. It has been twenty years since the first book in Hamilton’s series GUILTY PLEASURES was published in 1993, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for writing this series for so long. In AFFLICTION the action hits a little too close to home. Anita gets a phone call from Micah’s estranged family that his father is dying from a strange rotting disease and has days to live. Once out there, Anita gets dragged into a very strange case.

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Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

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Ink by Amanda Sun (UK edition)

Title: Ink (The Paper Gods Book One)
Author: Amanda Sun
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (5th July 2013)
Source: Harlequin UK/MiraInk via NetGalley
Format: eARC
Blurb:

A MAGIC MIGHTIER THAN ANY SWORD

A DESTINY THAT CAN’T BE DENIED

Katie Greene is lost in the wake of her mum’s death. Sent to Japan, she meets gorgeous but aloof artist Tomohiro, whose tough attitude intrigues and scares her. Then things get really strange. When they’re near each other, Tomohiro’s drawings start to come to life…

Soon the wrong people begin to ask questions, and Katie and Tomohiro must risk everything to protect the truth.

[blurb taken from Goodreads.com]

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

INK is Amanda Sun’s debut novel, and the first book in her THE PAPER GODS series. It tells the story of Katie Greene an American teen who is uprooted and sent to live with her aunt in Japan after the death of her mother. Japan is not where Katie thinks she wants to be. Grieving for her mother Katie starts to notice Tomohiro’s drawings come to life and is instantly curious.

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Review: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

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If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Title: If I Should Die (Revenants #3)
Author: Amy Plum
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (2nd May 2013)
Blurb:

I WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER PERSON I LOVE. I WILL NOT LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant out future together has been shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend and I lost him.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying – to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others – so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

If I Should Die is the third and final book in the Revenant trilogy by Amy Plum. It is set in Paris, France and tells the story of Kate Mercier who moved to Paris with her sister to live with their grandparents after their parents’ deaths. Whilst in Paris Kate met and fell in love with Vincent, and ends up drawn into his world.

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