Urban Fantasy

Review: Black Dog by Rachel Neumeier

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

Black Dog by Rachel Neumeier

Title: Black Dog
Author: Rachel Neumeier
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Strange Chemistry (6th February 2014)
Blurb:

Natividad is Pure, one of the rare girls born able to wield magic and protect humans against the supernatural evils they only half-acknowledge – the blood kin or the black dogs.

Before Natividad’s mother can finish teaching her magic their enemies find them and their entire village in the remote hills of Mexico is slaughtered. Natividad and her brothers must flee across a strange country to the only possible shelter: the infamous black dogs of Dimilioc, who have sworn to protect the Pure.

They must pass the tests of the Dimilioc Master. But, first, they must all survive the looming battle.

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

BLACK DOG tells the story of Natividad, a Pure, and her two brothers – Alejandro and Miguel – as they flee their home after the death of their parents to try and find sanctuary with the Dimilioc. But Dimilioc is not welcoming of strangers, and only desperation and their father’s words drives Natividad and her brothers there. All the while their enemies continue pursuing them.

Continue reading →

Review: Visions by Kelley Armstrong

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

Visions by Kelley Armstrong (UK edition cover)

Title: Visions (A Cainsville Novel, 2)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sphere (14th August 2014)
Blurb:

A GIRL WITH A SECRET

Olivia Jones is smart, capable, loyal . . . and she’s the daughter of convicted serial killers. She’s also hiding a strange secret. She can read omens – subtle signs that warn her of trouble ahead. And if the omens are right, Olivia’s in mortal danger.

A TOWN WITH A PAST

Taking refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Olivia is busy investigating her parents’ shocking case. But when the body of a missing girl is dumped in her car, she is forced to change tack. The trouble is, there’s only one man who can help her – Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who has betrayed her trust one too many times.

A KILLER WITHOUT MERCY

Gabriel and Olivia are convinced that someone in Cainsville is responsible for the murder. But secrets have a habit of staying buried in this small, eerily friendly town. And digging too deep has very dark consequences . . .

A twisting and atmospheric thriller, Visions is a fast-paced, gothic tale laced with passion, mystery and murder.

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

VISIONS is the second book in Kelley Armstrong’s new adult series CAINSVILLE. VISIONS continues the story of Olivia Jones, who we first meet in OMENS (review), as she struggles to come to terms with the events and revelations of the previous novel. The story begins just weeks after the events of OMENS, and someone is not content to let things lie.

Continue reading →

Review: Brazen by Kelley Armstrong

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

Brazen by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Brazen (Women of the Otherworld, 13.1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Subterranean Press (15th December 2013)
Blurb:

NICK SORRENTINO KNOWS everyone in the supernatural world considers him the Pack’s playboy, the pretty but not very useful werewolf whose only reputation involves his amorous exploits.

Usually, Nick couldn’t care less what anyone outside the Pack thinks of him. But when it affects his hunt for Malcolm Danvers, a psychotic bogeyman from the Pack’s past, it matters.

Necessity forces Nick to team up with mercenary half-demon Vanessa Callas to run Malcolm to ground in Detroit. Together, they discover Malcolm is more deadly than ever. And he wants to play.

It’s time for Nick to prove he’s not just a lover. He’s a fighter.

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

BRAZEN is a novella set in Kelley Armstrong’s fantastic WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD series; the story is set after the events of the final book 13 (review), with the North American Pack determined to hunt down Malcolm Danvers and deliver justice. The Alpha of the pack Elena has left Nick Sorrentino in charge of hunting down clues to Malcolm’s whereabouts, and it looks like finally the Pack might be close to getting justice.

Continue reading →

Review: Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Forbidden (Women of the Otherworld, 10.2)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Subterranean Press (31st December 2012)
Blurb:

THE TEAM-SPIRIT SIGN by the side of the highway seems a good omen to loner Morgan Walsh, as he drives to what could be the most important visit of his life – a chance to join the North American Pack. Then he wakes naked in the woods, surrounded by wolf tracks and a ring of suspicious cops. The situation only gets worse when he’s bailed out by Alpha-elect Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, her terrifying enforcer and mate.

Disappointed that such a promising young werewolf risked exposing them, Elena isn’t expecting anything from the pesky retrieval job except some much-needed alone time with Clay. Instead, she finds a different kind of evil stalking the streets and forests of Westwood, New York. Trapped in town by a snowstorm and sabotage, Elena, Clay and Morgan must find the mysterious threat before it sets its sights on them.

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

FORBIDDEN is a novella that takes place in Kelley Armstrong’s brilliant WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD series. FORBIDDEN is set between FROSTBITTEN (review), where we first meet Morgan Walsh, and WAKING THE WITCH (review). The novella tells the story of Morgan Walsh who decides to accept Elena’s invitation in FROSTBITTEN and see if he has the ability to join the North American Pack. Things, of course, don’t go quite to plan and Elena and Clayton find themselves in Westwood, New York having to bail Morgan out.

Continue reading →

Review: The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison

Title: The Witch with No Name (The Hollows, 13)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Collins (9th September 2014)
Blurb:

In 2004, Kim Harrison made her debut with Dead Witch Walking, an electrifying urban fantasy novel full of action, mystery, romance, and humor, which introduced bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan. Over the course of twelve books, Rachel confronted numerous threats, vanquished a range of cunning and powerful enemies, risked her heart, suffered haunting loss, and nearly lost her life. Now, in The Witch with No Name, Kim Harrison brings back her wildly popular heroine for one final, epic battle.

Rachel Morgan’s come a long  way from the klutzy runner fleeing a bad job. She’s faced vampires and werewolves, banshees, witches, and soul-eating demons. She’s crossed worlds, channeled gods, and accepted her place as a day-walking demon. She’s lost friends and lovers and family, and an old enemy has become something more.

But power demands responsibility, and world-changers must always pay a price.

That time is now.

To save her best friend Ivy’s soul and the rest of the living vampires, to keep the demonic ever-after and our own world from utter destruction at the hands of fanatics, Rachel Morgan will risk everything.

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

In THE WITCH WITH NO NAME Kim Harrison brings her epic THE HOLLOWS series to a close. In concluding the story Harrison draws all the threads together from the previous books, and gives fans a final story which might just, possibly, answer the question all fans want to know – does Rachel get a happy-ever-after?

Continue reading →

Review: World After by Susan Ee

/ beckireads / 1 Comment

World After by Susan Ee

Title: World After (Penryn and The End of Days)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (21st November 2013)
Blurb:

THE SURVIVORS OF THE ANGEL APOCALYPSE BEGIN TO SCRAPE BACK TOGETHER WHAT’S LEFT OF THE MODERN WORLD.

When a group of people capture Penryn’s sister Paige, thinking she’s a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. As Penryn searches the streets of San Francisco looking for her, she’s drawn into the heart of the angel’s secret plans, where she learns the horrifying extent to which they are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them he can’t rejoin the angels, but when faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn to survive, which will he choose?

The sequel to the internet phenomenon, ANGELFALL

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

WORLD AFTER is the sequel to Susan Ee’s brilliant ANGELFALL (review), and the second book in the PENRYN AND THE END OF DAYS series. In this book Ee continues Penryn’s story from where is basically left off in the first book. Finally reunited with her family, things seem to be going okay for Penryn. Until they don’t. Forced to search for her younger sister once again, Penryn finds herself drawn back into the angels’ brutal world.

Continue reading →

Review: Dark Vision by Debbie Johnson

/ beckireads / Leave a comment

Dark Vision by Debbie Johnson

Title: Dark Vision
Author: Debbie Johnson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Del Rey (27th March 2014)
Blurb:

LILY MCCAIN IS CURSED.

With just one touch she can see a person’s future, whether it’s a good fortune or a terrible fate. Afraid of the potent visions she foresees, she distances herself from the world, succumbing to a life of solitude.

But at the touch of a mysterious stranger – who has powers of his own – Lily sees a new, chilling future for herself: one where she is fated to make a terrible choice . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DARK VISION tells the story of Lily McCain, who is doomed to see the futures of the people she touches – good and bad. Having lived with this ability from when she was a child, Lily has turned the ability not to touch people – both physically and metaphorically – into an art form. Her life as a music reporter is pretty mundane, until she crosses the path of a mysterious stranger at a bar while she is working.

Continue reading →

Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

/ beckireads / Leave a comment
Night Broken UK cover

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Title: Night Broken (A Mercy Thompson novel, #8)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (11th March 2014)
Blurb:

MECHANIC.

SHAPESHIFTER.

FIGHTER.

Mercy Thompson’s life is never simple.

Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam won’t turn Christy away when she’s in need, but Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

Soon, Mercy learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and will do anything to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Meanwhile, there’s an even more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man – in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies pile up, Mercy fings herself facing a creature with the power to tear her world apart.

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

NIGHT BROKEN is the eighth book in Patricia Briggs’ MERCY THOMPSON series, which follows the life of Mercy Thompson mechanic and skin walker as she tries to find her place in the world. In the eighth book Mercy has to deal with the return of Christy, Adam’s ex-wife, and the dangerous threat following in her wake…

Continue reading →

Review: Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

/ beckireads / 4 Comments

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Title: Murder of Crows (A Novel of The Others, 2)
Author: Anne Bishop
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: ROC (4th March 2014)
Blurb:

Return to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s “phenomenal”* world of the Others – where supernatural entities and humans struggle to coexist and one woman has begun to change the rules . . .

After winning the trust of the Others residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard – Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader – wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet – and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

* Urban Fantasy Investigations

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

MURDER OF CROWS is the second book in Anne Bishop’s fantastic THE OTHERS series. It continues the story of Meg Corbyn, who we first meet in WRITTEN IN RED (review), a cassandra sangue who wants to live a ‘normal’ life. Meg has survived so far, and slowly adjusted to the world outside but prophecy still calls to her, and as events in the world build the desire to cut and see the future grows.

Continue reading →

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

/ beckireads / 7 Comments

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days Book 1)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Source: Secret Santa
Publisher: Hodder (23rd May 2013)
Blurb:

It’s been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Including making a deal with the enemy.

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

ANGELFALL is the first book in Susan Ee’s dystopian PENRYN AND THE END OF DAYS series. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Penryn whose disabled younger sister Paige is kidnapped by an angel. The story follows Penryn on her quest to reclaim her sister, who she is determined to protect at all costs.

Continue reading →