Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison



Storm’s Heart is the story of Niniane (Tricks) and Tiago (Dr. Death). Tiago is a member of the King of Wyr’s security team and is a powerful ancient in his own right. Niniane aka Tricks is the former head of PR for the King of Wyr whom also happens to be the sole heir to the Dark Fae kingdom. Niniane has been in hiding ever since she was 18 when her family was assassinated. After the death of the former King of the Dark Fae, Niniane must return to claim the throne as the rightful heir. Tiago travels with her as protection and along the way their attraction builds until the only thing that will satisfy it – is a mating.
My most favorite thing about this book is the humor and the WTF situations the characters found themselves in. Case in point, the newsfeed of Niniane kicking the crap out of her family as they attacked her. This may not sound funny, but the way the author set it up the result was ultimate comedy. The second best thing in this book is Niniane herself. Her character is so likeable and so easy to identify with. There were so many times in the book where I would think to myself I couldn’t handle this and I would just run away. Niniane had the same thoughts. It made her so much more believable and realistic. Piggybacking off the first in the series I knew to be prepared for some brutal, straightforward honesty. So far that is a consistent character trait with these ancient Wyr men. They are honest to the point of cruelty, but also no nonsense and men of action. Tiago follows closely behind his Wyr king in these characteristics.
One piece of information I think it’s important to understand is that when thinking of the Wyr you need to recognize that they are all ancient beings and are not subservient to Dragos. My interpretation is that Dragos is just the most organized and the most willing to lead.
I knew from Niniane’s introduction in the first book of the series that when she did decide to claim her birthright there would be a great deal of espionage and court backstabbing involved. I felt for Niniane not knowing who she could and couldn’t trust, but I was glad to see that she had a discerning eye for possible enemies. The fact that the only people she could trust were the Wyr, but she couldn’t rely on them to help her was so frustrating. The politics is easy to understand, every race minds their own business, but I still felt bad for Niniane’s situation. So when Tiago made himself her chief of security I did a fist pump in satisfaction. Once the characters were in place I couldn’t wait until the sexual sparks flew. And did they fly? I loved how Tiago cut right through Niniane’s manipulative sexpot persona. Once they pledged themselves to each other they were like the dynamic duo. He watched her back while she cut through all the bureaucratic bullsh*t, but at the same time he was able to lend his experience at spotting dishonesty and recognizing deceptive people.
As much as I enjoyed the entire book the end was the ultimate for me. The reader is already rooting for Tiago/Niniane and when they overcome it all, but not without casualties L , you can’t help but take a much needed breath. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Fury by Laurann Dohner




There is something that needs to be addressed before the review. This series is similar to a present series by another famous author. If I didn’t address this issue then I’d be showing my bias. Yes, there are similarities (the fact that their DNA is spliced with animals and a few other things), but overall both series stand alone. 

One thing that is a constant with Laurann Dohner (LD) is her ability to immerse and pull you into the story in the first chapter. I was so horrified and so disgusted by how the New Species were being treated that I was automatically a fan and rooting for their freedom. I knew she could write action, build suspense, and was an expert (wd?) with love scenes, but after reading this new book my level of appreciation for her has skyrocketed.

This book is full of tension, sexual and plot wise. Neither Fury nor Ellie bother to hide the attraction they have for each other. It’s a build up to see who will give in first and what will push them both over the edge. The outer tension is the world’s reaction to the creation and existence of this New Species group. Naturally, there are the pro-New Species and there are the factions that are pro-Human.   

Besides the constant back-stabbing and murder plots, it was fascinating to see how the New Species were learning to exist outside of the labs. For example, the women were learning how to do everyday tasks as simple as vacuuming and using a microwave. It’s amazing how much we take for granted the doing of simple tasks. I was also interested in the steps New Species was taking to establish their own sovereignty. What I always enjoy about LD’s writing is that she keeps me on my toes. At the point where I get complacent and feel like I relax into the story she throws in a scene or conversation that literally makes you sit up and go WTF. Case in point, the part of the book where pro-Human fanatics broke into the New Species compound and were headed straight for the women’s dormitory. I actually sat up in my seat and reread the scene twice to make sure I got every dangerous description and detail.

As per usual, Laurann Dohner inserts characters that will have their own stories in the series. I honestly couldn’t find one whose story I was not interested in. I am extremely interested in reading the stories of the smaller female New Species. I did notice that the DNA the New Species were mixed with didn’t seem to be that important. It was mentioned that Fury was mixed with canine, but that is as far as it went. There wasn’t too much exposition into the DNA mixing. Maybe more will be explained in a later book.  

The antagonists in this book aren’t relegated to one person, but a group of people. There are adversary’s coming at the New Species colony from within as well as from the outside world, which opens up the book to the realm of espionage. And because there are so many positions inside the colony i.e. doctors, security, PR, etc. it’s difficult to pinpoint who the ‘bad guy’ is. An excellent plot device. I know I’ll love this series as much as I do the others.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Kendra Leigh Castle "Dark Awakening"



Dark Awakening is the story of Tynan MacGillivray and Lily Quinn. Tynan is a hunter for the Ptolemy clan in search of a seer that will help them solve murders that are happening inside of their clan.
Going into this book I had preconceived notions that Tynan would be this powerful shifter whom was greatly respected by his clan. Not. This is the first thing I enjoyed about this book. The author instantly snatches you out of normalcy. She introduces you to a male character that is not the biggest and baddest around. I am not saying Tynan isn’t tough and a force to be reckoned with, because he is, but most readers are used to the main male character being someone of importance within the core group. In this case Tynan is the lowest of the low, in Ptolemy clan pecking order that is. This, in itself, was enough to put me on Tynan’s side.
[Lily Quinn starts off as a regular human that may be of importance to the Ptolemy Queen who sends Tynan to find and return with her.]
The book begins with a definition of the different clans and bloodlines. After seeing this I was a bit apprehensive that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the clans without having to flip back and forth. After the fact I can say I only had to flip to the front twice. To further support this idea of clans Kendra Leigh Castle (KLC) inserted the concept of sigils. These were tattoos that each clan member that identified which bloodline they belonged to.  In the case of Tynan he possessed one that marked him as a low caste and intertwined with this one was the Ptolemy symbol, which identified him as a servant of that clan. It was very reminiscent of Blade, but instead of only familiars wearing them everyone had one.
I enjoyed the character make up of Lily as well as Tynan. There were aspects of Tynan that were hard to stomach, but further supported how loyal his character was. i.e. his blind devotion to Queen Arinsoe. I loved Lily because she wasn’t content to be led around by Tynan and blindly accept his assistance. She wanted to know where she was going, why she was in danger, etc. It took over two pages for Tynan to talk her into accepting his help. To me her reactions and responses were extremely realistic. I found myself thinking that is exactly what I’d say.
In my opinion, the most important plot device the author employed was the use of boogeyman characters we are already familiar with i.e., Dracula, Nero, and Lilith. She stayed true to their reputations except for Lilith. (Going any further would require me to put up a Spoiler alert).
Although, it’s going to sound cliché my favorite part of the book was the end. Things fell into place exactly as I hoped. Throughout all of the running and trying to discover the truth of Lily’s background, KLC found time to insert supporting characters that I hope will have their own stories. The last thing I will mention is the subject of the love scenes. There aren’t a lot of love scenes, but at the point in your reading when you notice there hasn’t been one it happens. I give this a high rating just for the world KLC created.