Book Review: Sanctuary, by Ilona Andrews

I borrowed a copy of Ilona Andrews‘ Sanctuary through Hoopla.

It’s not easy serving the Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death…especially during the holidays; and especially when you’re out of eggnog and one of your pesky, freeloading mythic creatures has eaten your last cookie.

Roman would like nothing more than to be left alone, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and begs for sanctuary, Roman takes him in. Now elite mercenaries are camped out on his property, combat mages are dousing the house with fire, and strange priests are unleashing arcane magic. They thought Roman was easy pickings, just a hermit in the woods, but they chose the wrong dark priest to annoy. For while Roman might be patient, he is the Black Volhv, filled with the love of his terrible god. For his adversaries, it’s a fight to the death, but for him, it’s just another day in the neighborhood.

The Kate Daniels series is one of those that I wish I could come to new and read for the first time. I enjoyed it a lot, and Roman has always been a favorite side character. So, I was thrilled to discover that he was getting a book of his own book.

It’s only a novella. So, the plot isn’t deep or convoluted. But Sanctuary is full of all Roman’s customary piss and vinegar. He is his characteristic sarcastic self, brooding and bemoaning his god’s love. There’s a whole menagerie of cute critters and a bit of holiday cheer (or lack thereof). All in all, I hope there is more to this spinoff series.

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Review: Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews

Book Review: Inextricably Tied, by Aveda Vice

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I picked up a copy of Aveda Vices‘ Inextricably Tied on Amazon. I think it might have been on a Stuff-Your-kindle day.

Harbinger is reckless.

It only makes sense that she keeps the world at arm’s length. No one to answer to. No one to lose. No one to touch her banshee skin and become connected forever.

It’s a system that works — even if it means keeping her partner, Flint, from getting any closer to her.

Flint is restrained.

As Harbinger’s bodyguard, he has to be — until pulling her behind his gargoyle armor accidentally links them. Now Harbinger’s privy to the romantic feelings he’s denied himself for years…

And Flint’s no longer the only one connected to her.

Agony is unlike anything they’ve ever seen.

A night terror extracted from a serial killer, Agony doesn’t care who he hurts — and Flint and Harbinger look like perfect targets.

Forced together by circumstance, the three search for the remains of the murderer’s victims…and try to keep from killing each other in the process.

But as the mystery comes into focus, the lines between the three of them begin to blur. What started as begrudging partnership becomes as intertwined as their bodies in the dark.

The bond between Flint and Harbinger is fraying — but Agony isn’t the only one to blame. Not when Flint and Harbinger have painful histories they’ve spent their whole lives running from.

Every step toward uncovering the truth proves that the only way to untangle these complicated webs is to unravel them…and each other.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s predominantly smutty, though there is a fairly serious murder mystery ostensibly being solved. Both Harbinger and Flint have past trauma they are working through, and Agony is a new entity, just learning what it means to exist in reality. So, there’s some unexpected heft for a smutty book. Mostly, however, I liked the dynamic between the three of them a lot.

I wasn’t thrilled that the beginning of Harginger and Flint’s relationship happened in a prequel, and the reader feels the lack of it in this book. I mean, this is certainly readable on its own. But I regretted not having read the prequel, personally. I’ll be on the lookout for more of Vice’s books, regardless.