Tag: urban fantasy

This Chicks Audio Review: Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock #3) by Faith Hunter

After reading Faith Hunter’s Soulwood novels and LOVING them, I decided to get the audiobooks for her Jane Yellowrock series. It’s been slow going up until Christmas when my mom got me a few months worth of credits on Audible and I’ve been able to use those credits to further my fix. Narrated by the supremely talented Khristine Hvam I am now well into the darker series and finally hearing the details about Jane and Rick LaFleur that I’ve been dying to find out.

The newly outted were’s have come to town and Leo has requested that Jane deliver a message that puts her into direct contact with their pack. Of course that doesn’t go well and as she fights her way out of that dangerous situation she receives help from a mysterious stranger who, as she investigates the death of one of the were pack members keeps showing up in the middle of her investigation. Constantly embattled and in danger, Jane’s boyfriend Rick also turns up missing and somehow his disappearance is related to the tense negotiations going on between the vamps and the werewolves.

Jane and Rick’s relationship in Mercy Blade has just begun and it’s off to a rather rocky start. Jane calls Rick her boyfriend yet she still has a huge attraction to Bruiser, Leo Pelissier the Master Vampire of New Orleans’, right hand man and blood donor. In fact, it’s rather confusing because it seems as if Jane and Bruiser have more heat between them than she and Rick, yet it’s Rick who gets the title of boyfriend. When he goes undercover and hooks up with a woman, I’m right there with Jane in feeling betrayed and actually wishes that she’d go over to the dark side. Despite Bruiser’s loyalty to Leo, he doesn’t seem that bad a guy. (really!)

It’s interesting to read this earlier series and see how Faith Hunter’s writing hasn’t yet gelled. Or at least it seems so in this novel. While all of the action was intense, the relationships did seem to still be working themselves out and the conflicting emotions made Jane’s decisions kind of a confused mess. Knowing there are quite a few more books in this series and still looking for answers to what happens between she and Rick, I know I’m going to be along for the ride for a good long time. Oh, and that mysterious fellow who kept showing up in the middle of everything? His story is pretty fantastic!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 3) by Faith Hunter (2011-01-04)

Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12) by Patricia Briggs

A deadly fae creature escapes Underhill, it’s bite allowing it to take over the host body and wreak havoc, killing everything around them and gaining more power from that chaos. When two people close to Mercy become inhabited it turns personal and Mercy must find a way to kick the host out without getting more people killed.

As with most of the novels in this series, there are a couple of storylines running simultaneously. Not only does Mercy need to figure out the puzzle about how to stop this fae creature, she also needs to find out what’s been bothering her husband, and Alpha, Adam. The last couple of novels have been about Mercy’s evolution and I really loved how Smoke Bitten shifted focus back towards Adam and Mercy’s relationship.

My love for Urban Fantasy is closely followed by my love of a good romance and their union is one of my favorite’s in the Urban Fantasy world. This novel has Mercy and Adam face, as a couple, many of the insecurities and fears that we in our normal lives can identify with, even if theirs take the shape of actual monsters. Sometimes my own inner fears take that shape and reading Adam and Mercy’s story and seeing how they battle those physical monsters makes me feel a little better. Isn’t that why we read fiction? We can slay dragons through the actions of our favorite hero’s and learn things through their words and actions?

Smoke Bitten moves several storylines forward. In addition to Mercy and Adam’s relationship, their relationship to Aidan, Mercy’s place in the pack, and her “friendship” with the fae all take a big step forward. By the end of the book I felt like a lot was accomplished, so not only did I love the story but I had that feeling after you eat a great meal. Full, but not stuffed like I’d overeaten. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it is honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Smoke Bitten (A Mercy Thompson Novel)

Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (2/3/20)

After a gorgeous weekend spent watching two football teams battle it out for the supreme title of Super Bowl Champion, it’s finally Monday! I’ve decided to have a positive outlook despite the fact I’m dragging due to lack of sleep. As I do every Monday, let’s talk books! This post originated over on Book Date , so thanks for the idea and letting me continue on the discussion.

JUST FINISHED

First Sentence Read: “Molly and the kids and I were eating a big lunch when the lightning hit.”

JUST STARTED:

First Sentence Read: “ I wake buried under a hundred forty pounds of dog. “

From urban fantasy to mystery! What genre are you in the mood for today? I need some book suggestions!

Have a great week!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: Storm Cursed (Mercy Thompson #11) by Patricia Briggs

After Mercy stood on a bridge and declared the citizens of her territory safe from others, she and her pack have been seriously busy. Called out to take care of some miniature goat zombies (or was it goat mini zombies?) she stumbles onto the fact that her territory is under siege by a coven of witches. The timing could have been better, after all, Adam and the pack are helping the government negotiate a meeting with the Gray Lords (fae) that will hopefully end in peace. Mercy again finds herself in the middle of a ‘situation’ and it takes the combined efforts of her pack to facilitate the survival of everyone.

Mercy is one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines. Even though she’s mated to the Alpha of the Columbia Basin pack, is the daughter of Coyote, and step daughter to Bran- THE North American Alpha, she is a character that many of us readers can identify with. She is a woman who lives for normality. However, being Coyote’s daughter, mischief is never very far away. In Storm Cursed, Mercy’s role as ‘she who spoke big words on the bridge’ is never more apparent. She now has to leave that wish for normality behind her and actively interfere for those who ask for her help. Her interference previously has always been passive. Mischief finds her, but now she must find the mischief in order to stop all of the chaos. It’s an interesting change for this character and I quite like seeing her take a more leadership role in her own life.

There were many plots and sub- plots intertwining through Storm Cursed that makes it really hard to talk about the plot without giving away some key plot points so I’m not going to talk too much about those other than to say there was a lot of very satisfying action scenes where Mercy and the gang got to outsmart the bad guys. I loved these action scenes, but a more subtle defining moment for Mercy’s character was when she and Mary Jo were dealing with the mini goat zombie’s (or was it zombie miniature goat’s?) and they had a heart to heart. Mary Jo is one of the wolves who is against Mercy and Adam’s relationship. Even though Adam declared a cease fire on any active resistance to he and Mercy’s marriage, Mary Jo still subtly lets Mercy know she’d prefer Adam with Christy, his ex-wife. Mercy usually rolls with the punches, but Mary Jo’s dig catches her at a weak moment and she speaks her thoughts on why Adam and Christy were bad together. Why would you want your Alpha to be with someone who tore him down and made him regret who he was? Christy was that woman who make him feel bad about himself and ashamed of being a wolf. I believe this conversation with Mary Jo will be the turning tide in Mercy’s relationship with the pack and we could see a united front in future storylines. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so!

The title of this book is Storm Cursed which is certainly apropos because they are in fact battling a coven of witches and their evil curses, but that is not the only cursed storm in this novel. In fact, this series is rife with objections against behavior that is beyond the norm. There are government factions who are against non humans, both fae, wolf, and vampire. There are vampire politics and hierarchy whose lineage becomes transparent both in Marsilia’s seethe as well as rooted throughout America and Europe’s vampire community’s. Then there are the more commonly found bias’s among humans against homosexuals and women, themes that are vividly portrayed on these pages. In Storm Cursed, we see the beginnings of absolution for many of these things. Kyle, Warren’s lover, is given a hierarchy of sorts within the pack, politicians begin to see more clearly through the clouded glasses of bias and hate, and yes, women’s roles are not subjugated but given strength through their actions. This novel starts as Storm Cursed, but almost ends up being a blessed storm. One that provides a cool wind of change. I can’t wait to see what the next Mercy Thompson novel will bring and in what other ways the subjugated will become uplifted.

I received a free copy of this ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Storm Cursed (A Mercy Thompson Novel)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Wild Country (The World of the Others #2) by Anne Bishop

Bennett’s human citizens were wiped out by the terre indigene’s Elders in the purge after the Humans First and Last movement failed. It is being allowed to rebuild with a mix of humans, Intuits, and Terre Indigene who will run the town. When word gets out that it is being re-settled with people who will work a trade and run businesses, there is an influx of people who wish to live there. Will humanity rear it’s ugly head again? Well, this is an Others book, so yes, but the story is fascinating and our group of townspeople band together to eliminate the threat that may live among them.

Wild Country was one of my most anticipated books this year and it did not disappoint! A few characters were familiar from Lakeside, but their world that was shook up from the purge changed things dramatically. Humans are required to prove themselves with hard work and an unselfishness that does not come naturally to some of humanity. Our main characters are the exception and the way they rebuild trust is proof again that not all of humanity is corrupt.

There were so many sub plots running through Wild Country that it’s hard to choose a favorite. I loved human Deputy Jana’s need for approval from her Sheriff Virgil Wolfgard, who does not trust humans after his pack was slaughtered at their hands. When he starts to treat her as pack, and she allows and understands it, my favorite moment of this book is created. Another great sub plot is between Jesse, an older intuit woman who is treated with some honor by the terre indigene, and Tolya Sanguinati mayor of Bennett. Tolya, just like Vlad in the Lakeside Others series, is intrigued by some of the more basic emotions in humans and with Jesse there is a trust that has been developed by working together on this project. I’m not sure where their relationship will lead, but I’ll admit that I too am intrigued and can’t wait to find out. If there’s another book in this series that is!

All of the sub plots in this book eventually intertwine and lead to a final conflict that will again leave the question of how and will the terre indigene allow humanity to exist. Will the good folk in Bennett outweigh the bad? I really liked Lake Silence, the first novel in this new Others series, but Wild Country takes us back to why we love this world so much. Yes, humanity can be just awful, but these novels also shine a light on what makes humanity wonderful too. It’s those moments and contradictions that keep me coming back to this intriguing world. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this free ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“It was a pretty fun read, and was hard to put down, so I finished it in just about a day. I said to myself after not liking Lake Silence very much that it was probably just a dud and that I would continue one nonetheless because I love the world of the Others, and I think the terra indigine are brilliant beings to read about. Well, here I am, and I’ll definitely be sticking around here for the next in the series too! But I really hope that the bad guys of Thaisia start getting smarter. ” Superstardrifter

Click this link to purchase!* Wild Country (World of the Others, The)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Happy Monday everyone! I ran across this post on Book Date and liked the idea of sharing what I’m currently reading, so here goes!

JUST FINISHED

Rosie’s Travelling Teashop by Rebecca Raisin

First Sentence: “You’re just not spontaneous enough Rosie…”

CURRENTLY READING

Wild Country (World of the Others #2) by Anne Bishop

First Sentence: A year from now, it would be called the Great Predation-those terrifying days when the Elementals and the Elders, the terra indigene who are Namid’s teeth and claws, came out of the wild country and brutally thinned the human herds in Thaisia.

Wow, these are two totally different kinds of books, aren’t they? LOL!

What are you reading?

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chick Read: Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4) by Faith Hunter

When PsyLED leader and werepanther Rick LaFleur finds himself naked outside a witches circle where a black cat has been sacrificed he calls in his team to investigate. When it happens again it becomes apparent that someone is using magic to summon Rick to them. What they have to find out is who, why and how to stop it before Rick becomes the sacrifice that will summon a demon.

Circle of the Moon advances Nell’s journey away from her Churchwoman background towards a “city” life. Her magic gets stronger and she has to constantly fight the urge to kill for her land, Soulwood, but she is also in a more maternal role with becoming the guardian of her younger sister Mud, who also has earth magic tendencies similar to Nell’s. Her tentative feelings for Occam resolve into want and his feelings for Nell into love. It is so easy to love them as a couple because it’s a healing kind of love where they are better together than apart.

Nell’s character wasn’t the only one evolving in Circle of the Moon. Tandy seemed to be taking on some new characteristics that I’m curious to see where they lead in future novels. Rick, also, went through quite a evolution and of course being at the center of they mystery he would, but I felt different towards him after seeing what he was going through. More sympathetic to him? I think I am!

The thing about Faith Hunter novels that always amazes me is how she intertwines a few plots so that they seem separate and then all of a sudden converge onto the same path. This novel was no different. Although the Church was more of a subplot than in previous novels, her “adoption” of Mud kept her family in the story. Her romance with Occam was stronger than in previous books because she is finally ready to move forward towards a relationship with him. The mystery was fabulous. I’d imagine if I had kept pace with the Jane Yellowrock series I may have been just a little more informed over Rick’s background but I really didn’t care. I was caught up in the action, the characters, and the resolution of this case. It was great reading and I enjoyed it thoroughly! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given a free ARC of this book for my honest opinion and it was honest!

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I can’t think of a single problem with this book, it satisfied every fan-impulse/desire I had, was a step up from previous installments in many ways, and told a solid and complete story that still drives the reader to want more. I can’t imagine a Hunter fan not liking this book — and it’s the kind of book that should get her some new readers, too.” The Irresponsible Reader

Click this link to purchase!* Circle of the Moon (A Soulwood Novel)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads9 Comments

It’s Monday! What are you Reading?

Happy Monday everyone! I ran across this post on Book Date and liked the idea of sharing what I’m currently reading.

JUST FINISHED

Undying: An Unearthed Novel by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

First Sentence Read: The darkness is close and still, and absolute.

CURRENTLY READING

Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4) by Faith Hunter

First Sentence Read: The night sky was a wash of cerulean blue over the trees and the roofline, with a trace of scarlet and plum on the western horizon.

I can’t wait to curl up on my couch and spend my day reading!

What are you reading?

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chick Read: Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) by Ilona Andrews

I am thrilled to have gotten an ARC of Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews. I am a huge fan of  this series and have read, listened to, and dreamed about every novel. I’ll be honest though, if I hadn’t gotten this ARC I may have sat on this novel for a little while. It’s so hard to say goodbye to characters you love so much! As this book comes out on 8/28 I knew I’d have to buckle down and get over my emotional pain and read the novel. Without giving away the plot too much, here are my brief thoughts.

Kate- The reason why I love this heroine so much is because even though she has this incredible power and could do and be pretty much anything she wants, she remains true throughout this series. She wants to have friends, love, and have a home with Curran. A home, not a castle, not as ruler, just as a woman wanting to be with her man. Magic Triumphs stretches Kate further than she’s ever been. As we have seen in the Oracles visions in past novels, Kate knows she will battle her father, Roland, which may cause her son or her husband Curran’s death. She will do absolutely ANYTHING to keep their deaths from happening.

We found out at the end of Magic Binds that Kate is pregnant, so I’m not spoiling anything by saying that this novel starts off with the birth of their son and the majority of the novel takes place while her son is around 1 years old. He is such a fun presence in this novel and added something new and fresh to Kate’s character. MOM. I also loved seeing how proud Curran is of his son, and I think my favorite line in this book is Curran’s “He’s a prodigy.” Conlan, their little boy, is a little more than Kate had expected and his antics provide some much needed humor to what could have been a really darkly emotional novel.

The whole Kate Daniels series has been leading up to her battle with her father, Roland. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone when I say that yes, they battle. However, before that happens they have a couple of heart twanging moments that make you wish things had been different for Kate. It’s a shame she didn’t get the father she needed, but then we wouldn’t have had all of these wonderful stories to read! I feel like Roland paused for a moment reflecting on that same wish. That he’d have had the chance to just love his daughter. However, he is who he is and can’t change his megalomaniac ways…

Curran. I just love him. In Magic Triumphs he proves his worth as mate to Kate. They are now parents and we see them go through another evolution in their relationship, but Curran takes things even beyond where I saw his character going in order to keep his family safe. When I stop to think about it, it’s pretty jaw dropping, but my lips are sealed!

Magic Triumphs ends on a positive note. When I say that, I mean that we are given hope that more novels in this world will be written. We already know that Hugh and Elara have their own series, and they are actually an integral part of this book as well. We get a hint at the end that two more characters may have their own stories written. I can only hope!

I am going to end this review by copying what Ilona Andrews wrote on their blog. Paraphrasing, of course. ‘If this is the first time you have picked up a book in the Kate Daniels series. Put it down. Pick up Magic Bites. It’s our least favorite in the series, but the first and it needs to be read in order. It gets better, we promise.’ Boy does it!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Magic Triumphs

Click this link to purchase!*Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Future Lost (Future Shock #3) by Elizabeth Briggs

Elena and Adam have traveled to the future several times, initially as part of a team hired by a tech firm, Aether Corporation. Each time they have traveled, they have seen different visions of what their future would be like, and those future’s keep getting more and more grim. After things went wrong in the previous novel, Future Threat, Elena and Adam and their friends are determined to never make that trip to the future again, but Adams search for the cure to cancer becomes and obsession. When he disappears one day, Elena finds out that he took a trip back to the future again, alone.

Future Lost does a great job of subtly recapping the previous two novels into the plot, so I could quickly become engrossed in the plot and root for Elena to finally find security and happiness in her life. When Adam goes missing I knew where he went and eagerly looked forward to seeing what their future world looked like now. Without getting into the intricacies of the plot, I’ll just say “Apocalyptic” would be a good description.

Elena is an easy character to root for. She’s led a tough life and has found happiness with Adam and seen a future that she is willing to fight towards. Hope is one of Elena’s greatest characteristics, but unfortunately she has to set it aside and go back to a darker place using some of her darker skills to fight the Aether Corporation and save her future. Adam starts off this novel in a darker place than Elena and it’s interesting to see how her initial hopefulness and his desperation to find the cure for cancer seem to run on a parallel path to each other, only meeting when her hope turns to desperation and his desperation to hope.

Future Lost was the darkest of the three novels but that glimmer of hope ran through the story like a grain of gold waiting to be mined. The plot took me on a journey of feelings, despair, desperation, sadness, love and most importantly that hope. On any other novel I may have felt the conclusion was a little too perfectly wrapped, but I think the feeling of calmness I felt was a kind of conviction that the characters finally found themselves in the right place, at the right time. Their happily ever after stretching out in front of them. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

To read my review of Future Shock click HERE and Future Threat click HERE

I was given a copy of this novel through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Future Lost

Click this link to purchase! Future Lost (Future Shock)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads