Tag Archives: elves

Book Review of Jacked Cat Jive (Kai Gracen #3), by Rhys Ford

I borrowed an audio copy of Jacked Cat Jive, by Rhys Ford, through Hoopla.

Description from Goodreads:

Stalker Kai Gracen knew his human upbringing would eventually clash with his elfin heritage, but not so soon. Between Ryder, a pain-in-his-neck Sidhe Lord coaxing him to join San Diego’s Southern Rise Court, and picking up bounties for SoCalGov, he has more than enough to deal with. With his loyalties divided between the humans who raised him and the Sidhe Lord he’s befriended and sworn to protect, Kai finds himself standing at a crossroads.

When a friend begs Kai to rescue a small group of elfin refugees fleeing the Dusk Court, he’s pulled into a dangerous mission with Ryder through San Diego’s understreets and the wilderness beyond. Things go from bad to downright treacherous when Kerrick, Ryder’s cousin, insists on joining them, staking a claim on Southern Rise and Kai.

Burdened by his painful past, Kai must stand with Ryder against Kerrick while facing down the very Court he fears and loathes. Dying while on a run is expected for a Stalker, but Kai wonders if embracing his elfin blood also means losing his heart, soul, and humanity along the way.

Review:

I gave the first two books in this series four stars, but I just can’t this one. While I still thought Kai was a fun character and the banter was there, I felt like the book didn’t accomplish anything. There didn’t seem to be any real plot. Yes, they were going to rescue the children. But mostly they got in a transport vehicle and then reacted to everything that jumped at them. And a lot of things predictably jumped at them. That seemed to be most of the book, Kai fighting one monster after another. There was a random sweet moment with the dying adoptive father, that then didn’t go anywhere. And the book ended where I would have preferred it began. Greg Tremblay did a good job with the narration though.

On a side note, I picked this up while browsing Hoopla looking for something to read. When I saw it, I thought, “I liked the first books. Sure, I’ll listen to that.” It wasn’t until near the end of the book that I remembered the author is being a bit of a prat on social media about Dreamspinner not paying a lot of its authors, translators, artists, etc. I probably wouldn’t have listened to the book if I’d remembered that at the time I borrowed it, or at least not listened to it right now.

Review of Waking Magic: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Leira Chronicles #1) by Martha R. Carr & Michael Anderle

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I won a copy of Waking Magic, by Martha Carr and Michael Anderle through Goodreads.

Description from Goodreads:
There are some on our planet who believe you can’t handle the truth, so the truth has been hidden for millennia. The only problem is the truth is coming back… Early.

Some of the crazy history shows on cable TV might not have the answers, but at least they ask the right questions.

Homicide detective, Leira Berens is in a race against a magical force with a mischievous troll by her side with a penchant for swearing.

The stakes are real. And so is the magical world she just visited.

An elven prince is dead, a timebomb as a necklace is loose in her world, and her mother may not be crazy.

It’s a lot. But with help from unexpected places, Leira is going to accomplish more than she ever thought possible.

Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran.

Because some believe you can’t handle the truth.

Review:
I was bitterly disappointed by this. Let me start with a little bit of a rant. This is labeled as the first book in a series, book 1. But I picked it up and was completely confused, lost. The story had obviously started somewhere else. How can that be if this is book one, I asked.

Well, apparently there is a book .5. Now, I have no problem with .5 books (or however you want to labeled something that comes before book one). This is the place for a prequel. But if the story is part of book one, if it’s necessary to read and understand the story, then I firmly believe this is not a prequel, it’s not book .5. IT IS BOOK ONE. So, I take some serious issue in how this author has chosen to number the books. I couldn’t pick up book one and find the start of a story. I couldn’t easily catch up or follow it. This is a serious problem for me. Especially since it doesn’t really end either. So, I didn’t get a complete beginning or ending.

Outside of that (for me) one big issue, I also thought the book rushed and unfocused. Tell me, if you have a few short days to find someone and a magical object would you take the time to go bowling? As an author, would you dedicate pages to someone’s trip to CVS?

There was very little in the line of plot progression, character development or world building. (Maybe it’s all in that previous book, which only further supports my assertion that it should be book one.) I’ll grant that the characters were likable and the troll cute. But you never get to know them.

The writing is mechanically fine and I don’t remember too many editing errors. But I have no desire to continue the series.

Edit: Another reviewer, who did read the ‘prequel’ stated that it is the “the first 3 or so chapters of the book, despite being published separately.” I’ll add that it’s not even a freebie. So apparently you have to pay for the first 3 chapters of this book separately. That’s a big FAT “no” from me.