Release Date: 08/03/16
Publisher: Orbit/Ace, Berkley Publishing
SYNOPSIS:
Mercy Thompson is back, and she'll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it's the children who suffer . . .
Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.
Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans and the fae, Mercy, Adam and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?
REVIEW:
The new Mercy Thompson title and one that shows that the fae are up to something as Mercy’s pack sets itself up to be defenders of the humans against all comers. It’s not only a ballsy move on their part but works wonderfully well for the caring nature of the principle character herself.
Its well written, the prose is sharp and the story is one that is hard to put down as for me, one more chapter is a common phrase when I have a cracking book. Back this up with top notch dialogue as well as the readers already established relationship and feelings towards the subsequent cast members all round makes this a cracking addition. Magic.
Release Date: 03/03/15
Publisher: Berkley
SYNOPSIS:
National bestselling author Kate Quinn returns with the long-awaited fourth volume in the Empress of Rome series, an unforgettable new tale of the politics, power, and passion that defined ancient Rome.
Elegant, secretive Sabina may be Empress of Rome, but she still stands poised on a knife’s edge. She must keep the peace between two deadly enemies: her husband Hadrian, Rome’s brilliant and sinister Emperor; and battered warrior Vix, who is her first love. But Sabina is guardian of a deadly secret: Vix’s beautiful son Antinous has become the Emperor’s latest obsession.
Empress and Emperor, father and son will spin in a deadly dance of passion, betrayal, conspiracy, and war. As tragedy sends Hadrian spiraling into madness, Vix and Sabina form a last desperate pact to save the Empire. But ultimately, the fate of Rome lies with an untried girl, a spirited redhead who may just be the next Lady of the Eternal City . . .
REVIEW:
I originally came across Katie in a compendium with Ben Kane and for me, it was not only a great experience having so much talent in one book, but allowed me other area’s to get my Historical Fiction fix from, one of which was Katie’s wonderfully crafted tale that turned me on to her writing.
So whilst I hadn’t read any other stories by her I was more than happy to give this book a go as I loved the way that she not only weaved the arc but also brought characters to life in such a way that you couldn’t help but want to see what would unfurl in their lives.
As with her short story, this tale was wonderfully crafted, the prose was sharp, easy to get into and when added to characters that I just couldn’t get enough of alongside an overall arc that just kept me reading all round made this a wonderful experience. A great story and for me, a series that I’ll be checking out from the beginning as soon as time allows.
Release Date: 02/02/11
SYNOPSIS:
"Memories hid in every cell of the body. Memories that my grave magic could unlock and give shape as a shade. Of course, that depended on having enough of the body at my disposal for my magic to fill in the gaps". After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, Grave Witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of FBI agent Falin Andrews and Death's shocking 'L word' confession, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be more of a challenge than she was expecting. The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in a nature preserve. The strange part? There are no bodies, just leftover pieces. With a probable serial killer on the loose and no way to raise a shade without a body, Alex will have to rely solely on her ability to sense the grave to lead her to the dead. But with the strain of overusing her magic, this might be the last case Alex ever solves...
REVIEW:
Having loved the clever way that the author created the world to which Alex Craft inhabits I couldn’t wait to see what would occur with the love triangle and wonderfully dark scenarios’ that the character ends up in. What occur’s in this, the second outing, is a story that will lead the reader to wonder about the interactions within, some cracking character development and a story that will weave itself into the readers heart as the emotional and the physical collide in a tale that leads the reader to wonder what is the lesser evil.
Add to this an author who has upped her game from the first outing, some wonderful adaptation backed up with a kickass heroine who won’t let go once she gets the bit between her teeth, backed up with some great backstory and the reader is in for a high octane tale. Cracking.
Release Date: 01/01/12
SYNOPSIS:
Allie Beckstrom knows that there's a price to pay for using magic ...She's suffered her fair share of migraines and gaps in her memory during her time working as a Hound, tracing spells back to their casters. But now Allie's been visibly marked by magic with a mysterious iridescent tattoo. She's not only lost all memory of how she got it, but also of the man that she's supposedly fallen in love with. Oh, and as usual, she's completely broke. So when the criminal magic enforcement division of the police asks her to consult on a missing person's case, things start to look up. At first, it seems to be a fairly straightforward way of earning some money - but like most things in Allie's life it soon turns into a dangerous mix of underworld criminals, ghosts and blood magic. This time Allie is going to discover it takes more than magic to survive...
REVIEW:
OK, I love a good Urban Fantasy story and when you add a price into the mix for the use of the characters magic it has extra danger for the use of power, however coming into this series with the second book, I was left wondering for quite a while what I’d missed in the previous as it kept being alluded to throughout.
Don’t get me wrong, I did have fun with this title, but I felt that something was missing for me as a reader as I hadn’t gotten to know the character prior to the consequences that seem to have affected her in the end of the previous story which left me wondering about her associations alongside having to figure the world and her role out in greater detail. The writing is crisp, the character was interesting but without the background I felt I was on the backfoot from the beginning. I’ll reread this book when I’ve read the original story Magic in the Bone.
Release Date: 08/12/11
SYNOPSIS:
Just because Grave Witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, doesn't mean she has to like what they have to say . . .
As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she's on good terms with Death himself, nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high-profile murder when she's attacked by the ghost she is raising - which should be impossible. Then, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, thwarted only by Death's intervention. You know you're having a bad day when Death is saving your life . . .
To solve this case, Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Andrews seems to be hiding something, although it's certainly not his dislike of Alex. Despite all that, Alex is going to need his help to navigate the tangled webs of real-world and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex not just her life, but also her soul . . .
REVIEW:
I love a new Urban Fantasy title, especially when its backed with a fresh face as you’re never quite sure what’s going to appear within those sleek crisp white pages. What Kalanya presented was a world of enchantment and powers, of political machinations as well as groups that I could see springing up and of course a lead character that was a lot of fun to be around, despite all the scrapes she ended up in.
It’s cleverly woven, has touches of Chalaine Harris’ Harper Connolly as well as Trent Jamieson’s Steven De Selby. Add to this crisp prose, a unique take on what its like to summon the deceased as well as the decay it brings within our own world and it was a title that I had a hard time putting down, especially with the romance element added to sizzle those pages as the two characters resisted their own attraction. All in a great bit of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
