Urban Fantasy

Review: Doll Bones by Holly Black

/ beckireads / 3 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

/ beckireads / 6 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

Review: Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

/ beckireads / 6 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

Giveaway: Ink by Amanda Sun

/ beckireads / 1 Comment

Ink (The Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

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.

Yesterday I reviewed INK and gave it 5 stars! (You can find my review here) Because I enjoyed the book so much and want to share it I am giving away ONE copy of the book on the blog.

The giveaway will be open to entrants 13 years or over (if you are under 18 you must have permission from your parents/guardians to let me know your address if you win) who live in the UK and Ireland only (sorry everyone else!).

The giveaway will run from today (6th July) to Saturday 13th July.

To enter follow the link below to the Rafflecopter form (AND don’t forget to read the terms and conditions!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Ink by Amanda Sun

/ beckireads / 6 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

Review: With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent (UK cover)

Title: With All My Soul (Soul Screamers #7)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira Ink (5th April 2013)
Blurb:

KAYLEE CAVANAUGH’S TAKING HER FINAL STAND!

After spending the last year undead, Kaylee has had enough of the paranormal creatures who have plagued her ever since she came into her banshee powers. Now she’s ready to take her school back from the evil hellions, once and forever.

To protect her friends, Kaylee needs to find a way to turn the living incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another.

Yet when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realises she can’t save everyone she loves without making some powerful sacrifices . . .

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

Rachel Vincent brings her brilliant Soul Screamers series to a close in With All My Soul. Kaylee realises that something needs to be done about Avari; the hellion is too fixated on her, and is more than prepared to go through her friends and family to get to her. In With All My Soul Vincent shows Kaylee’s struggle to find a solution to her problem with Avari and his obsession.

Continue reading →

Review: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE DARKNESS RISING SERIES AS THE RISING IS THE FINAL BOOK IN THE SERIES.

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (UK cover)

Title: The Rising (Darkness Rising Book 3)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (2nd April 2013)
Blurb:

Maya Delaney is a skin-walker – a supernatural who can “Shift” into the shape of a cougar. But her gift comes with a terrible cost. With every transformation, she risks losing touch with her human nature – for ever.

Maya and her friends are on the run from the people who experimented on them and transformed them into supernaturals in the first place. They know they must confront their enemies if they are to have any hope of a future. In order to succeed, Maya will need to use her dangerous, unpredictable powers – but they price for freedom could be too high a price to pay . . .

Rating: **** (4 star)
Review:

The Rising brings to an end The Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong. In the previous book The Calling Maya and her friends were involved in a helicopter crash and ended up on the run as they try to reunite with their families. In The Rising Armstrong brings The Darkness Rising series to a conclusion as we witness Maya and her friends struggle to remain free and plot what to do next, as they contemplate their futures – can they go back to a normal life, or if they will be on the run forever?

Continue reading →

Review: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE PSY-CHANGELING SERIES AS TANGLE OF NEED IS THE ELEVENTH BOOK IN THAT SERIES.

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Title: Tangle of Need (A Psy-Changeling Novel, 11)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (7th June 2012)
Source: Local Library
Blurb:

Adria, a wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to someone else.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion towards one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno . . . and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realise they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must ame a decision that might just break them both.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Tangle of Need is the eleventh book in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh (I cannot believe that there are eleven books, it doesn’t feel that many).  It tells the story of Adria and Riaz who are both part of the wolf pack SnowDancer. Neither have had an easy time, and have returned to the centre of the SnowDancer pack to try and move on. Singh helpfully provides a list of characters and their designations at the beginning of the book so that if you’ve forgotten at a glance you will know who the character is connected to.

Continue reading →

Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

/ beckireads / 3 Comments

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE MERCY THOMPSON SERIES AS FROST BURNED IS THE SEVENTH BOOK IN THAT SERIES.

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs (UK edition)

Title: Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson novel, 7)
Author: Patricia Briggs
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (5th March 2013)
Blurb:

MECHANIC. SHAPESHIFTER. FIGHTER.

Now that she’s the mate of Alpha werewolf Adam, Mercy Thompson’s life finally seems to be calming down – but not for long. After a traffic accident, Mercy suddenly can’t reach Adam or the rest of the pack. All she knows is that Adam is angry and in pain.

If Adam’s disappearance has anything to do with the werewolves’ fight for public acceptance, it means the entire pack is in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy will have to seek help from an unlikely ally – no matter how grave the consequences.

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

Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson Novels is one of my favourite urban fantasy series, so when the seventh book was published I snapped it up. One of the things I most enjoy about the Mercy Thompson Novels is the way Briggs uses humour: Mercy (or, to use her full name, Mercedes) is a Volkswagen mechanic. That just makes me smile.

Continue reading →

Review: Amarok by Angela J. Townsend

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

Amarok by Angela J. Townsend

Title: Amarok
Author: Angela J. Townsend
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (20th November 2012)
Blurb:

Emma’s life has been hell since she moved from sunny California to a remote Alaskan town. Abandoned by her father and living with the guilt caused by her mother’s death, she makes a desperate dash for freedom from her abusive stepfather. But when her car skids off the icy road, her planned escape leads to further captivity in a world beyond her imagining.

Dragged across the tundra by an evil mountain man and his enormous black wolf, she learns that love can be found in the most unexpected places. Amarok, as she’s nicknamed the wolf, is a young man from the gold-rush era enslaved by an ancient shaman. Emma’s gentle touch and kind heart win his love and devotion.

When a vicious madman – trapped in bear form by the same Shaman – attacks the travelers and injures Amarok, Emma must find the strength to face her fears and free the wolf she’s come to love. But that means she must face down the evil shaman, a Siberian mammoth hunter from the ice age, and he has no intention of giving up his power to her.

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

I first heard of Amarok through the Waiting on Wednesday meme, and I thought that the cover looked amazing and the blurb sounded interesting and like there was a lot of potential for the story. It’s a pity that the book didn’t live up to my expectations.

Continue reading →