Urban Fantasy

Review: The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

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The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Title: The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: HarperVoyager (25th February 2014)
Blurb:

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan knows magic – earth, ley line, even the forbidden demon magic – and the knowledge has saved her life more than once. But now something – or someone – is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong while living vampires attack humans and Inderlanders alike.

The pressures build when the city is quarantined to contain the unreliable magic, and Rachel must stop the attacks before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all out supernatural war.

The only way to do so is through the ancient elven magic, but that carries its own perils – for magic always has a price, and gods do not come lightly when called.

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

THE UNDEAD POOL is the penultimate book in Kim Harrison’s fantastic THE HOLLOWS series. In THE UNDEAD POOL something is causing magic to go wonky and vampires to attack, Rachel Morgan is worried that somehow she is the cause. Once she establishes she isn’t the cause, she is determined to find out who – or what – is causing the disturbance and putting everyone in danger.

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Review: The Hollows Insider by Kim Harrison

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The Hollows Insider by Kim Harrison

Title: The Hollows Insider (The Hollows #9.5)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager (1st September 2013)
Blurb:

ENTER THE WORLD OF THE HOLLOWS LIKE NEVER BEFORE!

In the Hollows, the supernatural Inderlander rule, and humanity must abide by their conventions, or else.

To survive among vampires, witches, Weres, gargoyles, trolls, fairies, and banshees – to say nothing of demons – humanity needs a guide. And now, written by Kim Harrison herself, here is an insider’s look at the supernatural world of the Hollows, from an overarching new story to character profiles, maps, spell guides, charm recipes, secret correspondence from elusive Trent Kalamack, and much more.

One misfired spell that burned off his hair is all it took to send investigative reporter Devin Crossman on a mission to uncover all the secrets of Rachel Morgan and expose them to the world.

Collected here are all his notebook entries and a treasure trove of evidence, including maps, species profiles, magic spells, documents from Inderland Security, Takata’s song lyrics, Betty Bob’s recipes, Ley Line Charms, entries from the Were Registry, articles from The Hollows Gazette, and many more documents that cast light into regions of the Hollows that have never been revealed.

But Crossman’s one-man war has not gone unnoticed . . .

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

THE HOLLOWS INSIDER by Kim Harrison is a guide-book come side story to her superb Urban Fantasy series THE HOLLOWS, which follows the story of Rachel Morgan. THE HOLLOWS INSIDER tells the story of investigative reporter Devin Crossman, who gets caught in a misfired spell. The book documents his research into the witch who cast the spell (Rachel Morgan) and the conclusions he draws. Unfortunately, Crossman’s research does not go unnoticed.

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Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

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The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

Title: The Fiery Heart (A Bloodlines Novel, #4)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin (19th November 2013)
Blurb:

WHEN PULSES QUICKEN NO SECRET IS SAFE.

SYDNEY ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT ALCHEMISTS WERE BORN TO PROTECT VAMPIRE SECRETS AND HUMAN LIVES – UNTIL SHE MET MARCUS AND TURNED HER BACK ON EVERYTHING SHE ONCE KNEW.

But she’s not free yet. When her sister Zoe arrives, Sydney can only tell her half-truths about her past. And with every word she risks exposure – and the fatal consequences.

Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney must choose her path once and for all. Even if that means harnessing her magical powers to destroy the way of life she was raised to defend . . .

THE SMOULDERING FOURTH INSTALMENT IN THE BESTSELLING BLOODLINES SERIES.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE FIERY HEART is the fourth book in Richelle Mead’s brilliant BLOODLINES series which is a spin-off from her VAMPIRE ACADEMY series. It tells the story of Sydney Sage an eighteen-year-old girl who grew up in an Alchemist family – a group of humans sworn to keep vampire secrets and to protect humans. In THE FIERY HEART Sydney is faced with a choice, one final choice, between the rhetoric she grew up with or breaking away from its familiarity.

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Review: Ever After by Kim Harrison

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Ever After by Kim Harrison (US edition cover)

Title: Ever After (The Hollows #11)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager (22nd January 2013)
Blurb:

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there’s also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after – the soul-eater Ku’Sox Sha-Ku-ru – has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn’t give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack – a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul – to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise – and it’s up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.

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

EVER AFTER is the eleventh installment of Kim Harrison’s fantastic THE HOLLOWS series. At this point in the series Harrison is starting to wrap things up, and answer some of the threads that have been left dangling in previous books in the series – I believe there will only be thirteen books to the series. In this book Rachel Morgan has to deal with the repercussions of her fight with Ku’Sox and trapping him in the ever-after, as he is not a demon to cross lightly – he threatens to destroy everything with his desire for revenge.

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Review: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

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Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (29th August 2013)
Blurb:

The link between Kami and Jared has been cut.
But can their bond ever be truly broken?

ON THE SURFACE, SORRY-IN-THE-VALE is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. The Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love who she chooses. But who should that be?

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

UNTOLD is the second book in Sarah Rees Brennan’s gothic inspired paranormal romance series THE LYNBURN LEGACY. It deals with, and starts not long after, the events of the first book in the series UNSPOKEN (review). UNTOLD follows the story of Kami Glass a would-be reporter, and her friends, as they deal with the revelation of Rob Lynburns’ plan to “bring back the old ways” – putting all non-sorcerers at risk.

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Review: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

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Omens by Kelley Armstrong, UK edition cover.

Title: Omens (A Cainsville Novel, #1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sphere (20th August 2013)
Blurb:

A life shattered in one moment

Olivia Jones has lived a life of privilege and good fortune. But on the eve of her wedding she discovers two shocking facts. One – she was adopted. Two – her biological parents are notorious serial killers. And now the secret’s out, she’s in immediate danger.

A young woman forced on the run

Running for her life, Liv must face reality in the most brutal and terrifying way. But then she is confronted by a tantalising hope – is it possible that her parents weren’t guilty of the murders after all? And if so, who did commit them?

And the mysterious town that gave her sanctuary. At a price.

Arriving at the remote town of Cainsville, Liv believes she has found the perfect place to hide while she uncovers the truth. But Cainsville is no ordinary town – and Liv’s arrival no accident.

Kelley Armstrong’s brilliant new novel is a gripping and atmospheric thriller about a town where secrets are soaked into every stone – and omens should never be ignored . . .

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

OMENS is the first book in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new adult series CAINSVILLE. In it we follow the story of Olivia Jones the only child in a wealthy family who discovers that she is adopted just as the story of her origins breaks. Needing time and space to get her head together, Liv finds her way to the remote town of Cainsville through a series of coincidences (which might not be quite so coincidental after all).

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Review: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

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Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

Title: Heart of Obsidian (A Psy-Changeling Novel, #12)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz (6th June 2013)
Blurb:

STEP INTO NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NALINI SINGH’S EXPLOSIVE AND SHOCKINGLY  PASSIONATE PSY-CHANGELING WORLD . . .

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained blood red.

A woman whose very existence has been erased.

A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.

A deadly price that must be paid.

They day of reckoning is here.

From ‘the alpha author of paranormal romance’ (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career – one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.

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

HEART OF OBSIDIAN is the twelfth book in Nalini Singh’s brilliant and exciting A PSY-CHANGELING NOVEL series. It is a game changer of a book, with the Psy-Changeling world hanging on a knife-edge. If you’ve kept up with the series so far, then you’ll know how volatile the world is. All that’s needed is a single spark to launch a firestorm. We’ve been on tenterhooks for the previous eleven novels, wondering when and if that is going to happen. As the blurb says, ‘The day of reckoning is here.’

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Review: Biting Bad by Chloe Neill

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Biting Bad by Chloe Neill, UK edition

Title: Biting Bad (A Chicagoland Vampire Novel #8)
Author: Chloe Neill
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (8th August 2013)
Blurb:

Merit has been a vampire for only a short while, but she’s already seen a lifetime’s worth of trouble. She and her Master, centuries-old Ethan Sullivan, have risked their lives time and again to save the city they love. But not all of Chicago is loving them back.

Anti-vampire riots are erupting all over town, striking vampires where it hurts the most. A splinter group armed with Molotov cocktails and deep-seated hate is intent on clearing the fanged from the Windy City come hell or high water.

Merit and her allies rush to figure out who’s behind the attacks, who will be targeted next, and whether there’s any way to stop the wanton destruction. The battle for Chicago is just beginning, and Merit is running out of time.

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

BITING BAD is the eighth book in Chloe Neill’s brilliant CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES NOVEL series. At this point Merit has been a vampire for about ten months, and is finally starting to settle into it. However, things never stay silent long in Merit’s Chicago and it isn’t long before there are riots on the streets as people want to clear Chicago of vampires.

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Review: The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond

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The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond

Title: The Woken Gods
Author: Gwenda Bond
Genre: Mythology, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Strange Chemistry (3rd September 2013)
Source: Strange Chemistry via NetGalley
Format: eARC
Blurb:

Five years ago, the gods of ancient mythology awoke around the world.

This morning, Kyra Locke is late for school.

Seventeen-year-old Kyra lives in a transformed Washington, D.C., home to the embassies of divine pantheons and the mysterious Society of the Sun. But when rebellious Kyra encounters two trickster gods on her way back from school, one offering a threat and the other a warning, it turns out her life isn’t what it seems. She escapes with the aid of Osborne “Oz” Spencer, an intriguing Society field operative, only to discover that her scholar father has disappeared with a dangerous relic. The Society needs it, and they don’t care that she knows nothing about her father’s secrets.

Now Kyra must depend on her wits and the suspect help of scary gods, her estranged oracle mother, and, of course, Oz–whose first allegiance is to the Society. She has no choice if she’s going to recover the missing relic and save her father. And if she doesn’t? Well, that may just mean the end of the world as she knows it.

From the author of Blackwood comes a fresh, thrilling urban fantasy that will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Rick Riordan.

(blurb taken from NetGalley)

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

THE WOKEN GODS is a stand-alone novel from Gwenda Bond, author of BLACKWOOD. It tells the story of Kyra, who sees herself as an average seventeen-year-old. She lives in a Washington D.C. where the old gods go to visit the embassies. She herself has very little to do with the gods, until one day everything changes.

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Review: Oath Bound by Rachel Vincent

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Oath Bound by Rachel Vincent

Title: Oath Bound (An Unbound Novel, #3)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin Mira (30th April 2013)
Blurb:

The Tower Syndicate will fall…

THE SECRET DAUGHTER of the head of an infamous Skilled crime family, Sera Brandt has hidden her past, her potential and especially her powers. But when a tragedy strikes her other family, Sera needs justice. And the only way to get it is to reveal her heritage – including a rare Skill – and take the reins of the Tower Syndicate from her cunning and malicious aunt.

If he can figure out how…

Kristopher Daniels might have the answer. He’s fought the syndicate to protect his sisters, but he’s never realized just how close to the new heir he needed to get…

And if they can survive

Neither is used to trusting. But there’s something between them that can’t be ignored. And so Sera is on the run with a man she can’t figure out, a target on her back and the new knowledge of just how powerful she really is…

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

In OATH BOUND Rachel Vincent brings to a conclusion her adult series UNBOUND. Like the previous two books, OATH BOUND introduces us to two new main characters and narrators – although there is a link to the previous books, and we get to see some of the characters from them again. OATH BOUND tells the story of Sera the eldest daughter of the late Tower Syndicate boss, and Kristopher who is trying to rescue those caught under the oaths of the syndicates.

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