Saturday 29 August 2015

Flora Reviews... "On The Hunt" by Alexandra Ivy, Rebecca Zanetti, Dianne Duvall and Hannah Jayne



Read: 26th – 29th August 2015 
Format: Kindle 
My Overall Goodreads Rating:  3.5 Stars



...So what’s this book about?
This book is a collection of four original urban fantasy and paranormal romance novellas from the authors’ ongoing series featuring vampires, immortals and other creatures that go bump in the night! Alexandra Ivy’s “Sentinels”, Dianne Duvall’s “Immortal Guardians”, Hannah Jayne’s “Underworld Detection Agency” and a prequel novella for Rebecca Zanetti’s Dystopian series “The Scorpios Syndrome” (coming in February 2016)

I was lucky enough to receive this Kindle version for free from Netgally.com in exchange for an honest review. 

I have rated each of the novellas individually and just click on the authors’ names to be whisked to their own websites in a new window.

Book 1- “On The Hunt (The Sentinels #2.5)” by Alexandra Ivy
The blurb says:

Mika Tanner has loved Bailey Morrell, a beautiful Healer, since childhood. But his duty as a Sentinel, a supernatural guardian of an ancient race, clashed with her rebellious spirit. Now a dangerous new anarchist group not only threatens life as they know it—but any chance of their being together again...

I haven’t read any of Ms Ivy’s books before so know nothing of her Sentinel series, but I was impressed how quickly I felt involved in this world; relevant back-story was explained sufficiently without causing a detrimental effect to the pace of this novella. All of the characters were written with a skill that gave them depth and became real for me very quickly. Mika and Bailey past history, the reasons why their relationship faltered and how it developed during this short tale was balanced nicely with the hunt for the missing sentinel-in-training, Jacob.

So, basically what I’m saying is I really enjoyed this story. It is well written, fast paced story (as novellas should be), with a bit of mystery, hot lust/romance scenes and left me wanting to read the rest of The Sentinel series.
Book 1- My Rating 4 stars

Book 2 - "Scorpius Rising (The Scorpius Syndrome prequel)" by Rebecca Zanetti
The blurb says:

With a deadly disease spreading like wildfire across the country, microbiologist Nora Medina needs to focus all her energy on stopping the pandemic. Playing with dynamite—in the form of her way-too-hot ex—is the last thing she should be doing. ​But forced to work with Deacan McDougall against unexpected enemies with the seconds ticking by, she knows the explosion is coming...

I haven’t read any of Ms Zanetti’s books before. Dystopian tales are not my choice of reading material and attraction to a male alpha character, like Deacan (Deke), I just don’t get. The “romance” and sex scenes are as far removed from erotic as you could get for me. However, I can appreciate the skill of Ms Zanetti’s writing style; I’m not a scientist but the detail felt completely believable. I thought that the plot development was good; building in tension and glimmers of hope. The feelings of terror about the spread of the bacteria and what the future holds for any of survivors makes it a great prequel.

So basically what I am saying is, sometimes as a reader you click with a story and sometimes you don’t, the sex/romance and the dystopian settiing didn’t click for me but I will definitely look out for other genres written by Ms Zanetti as I was very impressed with her world building talents.
Book 2- My Rating 3 stars


Book 3 - "Phantom Embrace (Immortal Guardians #5.5)" by Dianne Duvall.
The blurb says:

Immortal Yuri Sokolov was born with the ability to see spirits, yet he's never seen one as lovely as Cat Seddon, the woman who haunts his home and his dreams. But amid their star-crossed love, a new danger may have Yuri facing a different kind of eternity.

I am already a BIG fan of Ms Duvall’s Immortal Guardian series and have read all of the 6 novels published to date plus the novella. This novella takes place during the same timeframe as the 5th book “Night Unbound” but like the other novellas in this book, any relevant back-story is revealed throughout this tale adding depth of understanding for the reader without disrupting the flow/pace. This story is a warm, lovely but heart-wrenching paranormal romance with a self contained HEA (Happy Ever After) ending while still continuing a gripping back story arc.

I loved it; very easy to read and beautifully written. This book made me chuckle as well as shed a few tears and I liked that some of the story’s mysteries were solve by the end while letting others remain elusive.
Book 3- My Rating 5 stars


Book 4 - "Stake Out (Underworld Detection Agency #6.5)” by Hannah Jayne.
The blurb says:

Vampire fashion designer Nina LaShay has a lot on her plate—just two days until fashion week and the model who was flirting with her photographer boyfriend is now a corpse in her studio. But when dead turns into undead and dangerous, Nina must find out who’s responsible…before the beautiful baby vamp takes too many bites out of the Big Apple.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series or indeed anything by Ms Jayne’s before and I must be honest and say that I found this novella a bit of a struggle. Although I’m far from being a fashion-slave I do enjoy a good detective/thriller story so, after reading the blurb, I was actually looking forward to reading this mystery story but this murder mystery part of the tale (the expected sleuthing & tension building) was sadly overshadowed by our main character’s fashion show “tunnel vision”. In my opinion the writing style isn't as smooth as the others in this book, the plot didn’t feel as seamless and I felt a bit lost at times with the whys and wherefores of the world and the characters too, I think this novella was solely written for her existing fans, who would of course know all of this.
Book 4- My Rating 1 stars


...So, what did I think of this book overall?
I have enjoyed reading this book and being able to take a peek into these popular series. I’ve found a couple of new-to-me authors to look out for and have enjoyed reading an “exclusive” to an existing series that I love. So, if you’ve read any of the above authors or any of the series here, then I think that this book would make a welcome addition to your collection.

I’ve even made it easy for you, my lovely followers; you can just click on the links below and check out the book yourself.

*         Buy ON THE HUNT on B&N



Sunday 23 August 2015

Flora Reviews... "Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) by Deborah Harkness



 Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy #2) 

Read: 9th – 15th August 2015
Format: Kindle
My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

...So what’s this book about?
This is the middle book in the All Souls Trilogy. The blurb on Ms Harkness’ own website says:

A Discovery of Witches introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Drawn to one another despite longstanding taboos, and in pursuit of Diana’s spellbound powers, the two embark upon a time-walking journey.
Book Two of the All Souls Trilogy plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies and subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night.  The mission is to locate a witch to tutor Diana and to find traces of Ashmole 782, but as the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them they embark on a very different journey, one that takes them into heart of the 1,500 year old vampire’s shadowed history and secrets. For Matthew Clairmont, time travel is no simple matter; nor is Diana’s search for the key to understanding her legacy.
Shadow of Night brings us a rich and splendid tapestry of alchemy, magic, and history, taking us through the loop of time to deliver a deepening love story, a tale of blood, passion, and the knotted strands of the past.

Funnily enough, although this book is the middle part of a trilogy, (I read them over 14 months apart and could remember very little detail from before ;-) ) I don’t think that you have to read “A Discovery of Witches” to enjoy this one as relevant information is always recapped when necessary throughout the book but as with any series that involves the same characters, readers who have many feel a more in depth connection and experience a deeper understanding.  

 ...So, what did I like about it?
When reading Ms Harkness’ novels, you can tell that she is a highly intelligent academic with a great passion for history and science but the way that she transforms those hard facts into an engaging tale just confirms what a wordsmith and literary alchemist she is in her own right. 
All of the characters in this book, both fictional and historical, came alive for me because of the depth of realism she wrote into them and although you know the outcome of some of the events in this Elizabethan epic, I still found myself turning the pages, needing to know what happens next. But it’s not all doom and gloom, I did chuckle too. ;-)

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
Unlike “A Discovery of Witches” (the first book in this trilogy), I do not feel that “Shadow of Night” can be placed in the contemporary paranormal romance genre,  because for me, it reads more like an epic historical novel - once my mindset realised this I really enjoyed reading it.
Going into this book, you know that as it’s the middle of a trilogy, you’ll be left with more questions than answers and possibly a cliffhanger. Well, without revealing any spoilers (you know I don’t do that in my reviews) I will say that you won’t be disappointed but you can breathe easy – it’s not a frustrating cliff-hanger, I can safely wait another 14 months before reading the final book “The Book of Life”. ;-)

...So, basically what I’m saying is...
I really enjoyed this book. Yes “Book of Shadows” features vampires, witches and daemons but it has the same depth of detail, pace of story and tapestry of history woven throughout as Edward Rutherfurd's epic historical novel "Sarum", I couldn’t help but get drawn in. 
If you are a fan of historical novels, and don’t mind the paranormal twist, then give this book a try. 

Sunday 16 August 2015

A challenge to read more... Reading Rainbow (part 4)

Since joining Goodreads.com I have found many “new to me” authors and series. I took the site’s general “2014 Reading Challenge” and have signed up again this year. In addition to that I decided to sign up for a few reading challenges that the groups I belong to have set it’s members. This post is all about the annual reading challenge that the “Urban Fantasy” Group have set for the whole of this year (2015)…

Your goal: 7 to 37 books, depending on your level
 

Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2015 (Honestly, I originally designed this to be an open-ended challenge that would take however long you need to complete it. So if December rolls around and we’re still not done, we could roll it over into next year.)
 

The rules:
- This challenge is divided into four parts. You may choose to do all parts or only one, two or three parts.
- The books may be from any genre, unless specified otherwise in a category.
- Re-reads are allowed as are books used for other challenges.
- You may post your list up front or as you go and you may make changes as you go.
 
Choose your level:
Fingerpaint – Any one part
Watercolour – Any two parts
Acrylic – Any three parts
Oil – All four parts


PART ONE ~ 7 books - Completed!!!
PART TWO ~ 8 books - Completed!!!
PART THREE ~ 12 books - Completed!!!

PART FOUR ~ 7 books
And finally, read a book in which a primary character’s name (first or last) begins with each letter:
 

R: Ryland Samuels – “Darkness Unleashed (Order of the Blade #7)” by Stephanie Rowe
A:Acacia (Casey) Simopolous – “Marked (Eternal Guardians #1)” by Elisabeth Naughton
I: Ian Fitzgerald – “Forever in Darkness (Order of the Blade #4) by Stephanie Rowe
N: Sebastien (Bastien) Newcombe – “Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians #3)” by Dianne Duvall
B: Tiff Banks – “Along Came a Demon (Whisperings #1) ” by Linda Welch
O: Josephine O’Connor – “Grumpy Old Wizards” by John O’Riley
W: Willow Rhoswen – “Influential Magic (Crescent City Fae #1)” by Deanna Chase


BONUS TIME ~ 3 books
You can read these books in addition to the ones above or you may use them to replace up to three books from above. For example, if you’re having trouble finding a book for the “I” in Roy G Biv in part 1 but you have one with a rainbow on the cover, you could use the bonus rainbow cover in place of the “I”.
Bonus item #1: A book with a rainbow on the cover. Clouded Rainbow" by Jonathan Sturak
Bonus item #2: A book with the word rainbow, rain, or bow in the title.Vigilante of Shadows (Scarlet Rain Series #1)" by Miranda Stork
Bonus item #3: A book that you’re ‘tickled pink’ to read. Date me baby, One more time (Immortally Sexy #1)” by Stephanie Rowe



So, have you read any of these final books? What did you think of them? As always you can see my reviews on Goodreads.

...and that's it  - challenge completed!! That was fun! You can look back at all the books I've read to complete this reading challenge by searching the tag/label #ReadingRainbowYearlyChallenge2015 and a montage of the books is below.


UF Reading Rainbow Challenge 2015 book montage

Hounded
Fear the Light: Who Murdered Dracula?
The Council
Forbidden Forest
Darlings of Darkness
Claimed by a Demon King
Hunted by a Jaguar
Taken by a Dragon
Duncan
Jonas
Darkness Seduced
Darkness Reborn
Darkness Arisen
Darkness Unleashed
Forever in Darkness (Order of the Blade, #4)
Shadows and Gold
Of Swine and Roses
Date Me, Baby, One More Time
Huntress
Steal the Light


*flora*'s favourite books »