Tag Archives: fantasy

Lineage

Book Review of Lineage (Masters of the Lines #1), by Angela Fiddler

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LineageI downloaded Lineage, by Angela Fiddler (aka Barbara Geiger) from Amazon. It was, and still is, free.

Description from Goodreads:
Love didn’t just kick you when it were down; it staked you out and turned you into a vampire. Not that Vision was bitter. His ex-lover taught him nothing lasts forever, while his ex-master taught him to submit and the fine art of not resisting silk restraints. In exchange, Vision let both of them keep their heads. He considered it a fair trade-off. 

Now Vision is a master, but still finds himself wanting to be on his knees. 

Enter Hanz. He’s just a driver, but he knows what Vision wants and how to make it sting the way Vision likes most. 

Vision won’t be fooled again. Sure, Hanz is sweet. The respect feels genuine, and, what’s worse, he honestly seems to love Vision. Older, wiser masters counsel Vision against Hanz. And, of course, they’re right. Hanz does have something to hide.And, as if on cue, along comes Vision’s ex-lover, the cause of and solution to being kicked, staked, and vamped. Vision is caught again, and this time not with ropes and silk. Now if he can only keep his neck and his heart intact…

Review:
Did I read a different book than everyone else? Because this has pretty good reviews, but I thought it was a bloomin’ hot mess! Half of it is in flashbacks, which honestly is better written than the scenes in the present, but better isn’t good. There is no interaction between Vision and Hanz before a single aborted sex scene and them deciding they were in love forever. None you guys! There was far too much sex. It cluttered up the already choppy narrative, but more than that it was utterly random. Like people standing in a hallway and one suddenly dropping to his knees to blow the other. What? Why?

The book is labeled #1, but there is obviously history somewhere and I REALLY felt the lack of it. The world isn’t explained. Vampires tapping ley lines, cool, but why? How? Is that what makes you a Master? Why don’t male and female vampires interact? Are they all gay? Why did Bethany need Hanz’s sister’s blood to turn him? What is a talent and how do you get one? No idea.

There are plot holes. Vampires need to be released from their previous masters, but Vision was never released from his. So, how’s that work? Plot points aren’t explained. Vision is the only master with two territories. I know where one came from. Where did he get the second? No idea. Vision is supposed to have betrayed all his masters. How? No idea.

Then, the whole thing ended by introducing a new character and a cliffhanger. Really? Yeah, I wasn’t happy with this one.

Strange Magic

Book Review of Strange Magic (Yancy Lazarus #1), by James A. Hunter

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Strange MagicI downloaded a copy of James A. Hunter‘s Strange Magic from Amazon, when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Yancy Lazarus is having a bad day: there’s a bullet lodged in his butt cheek, his face looks like the site of a demolition derby, and he’s been saran-wrapped to a banquet table. He never should have answered the phone. Stupid bleeding heart—helping others in his circles is a good way to get dead.

Just ask the gang members ripped to pieces by some kind of demonic nightmare in LA. As a favor to a friend, Yancy agrees to take a little looksee into the massacre and boom, he’s stuck in a turf war between two rival gangs, which both think he’s pinch-hitting for the other side. Oh, and there’s also a secretive ass-hat with some mean ol’ magical chops and a small army of hyena-faced, body- snatching baddies. It might be time to seriously reconsider some of his life choices.

Yancy is a bluesman, a rambler, a gambler, but not much more. Sure, he can do a little magic—maybe even more than just a little magic—but he knows enough to keep his head down and stay clear of freaky-deaky hoodoo like this business in LA. Somehow though, he’s been set up to take a real bad fall—the kind of very permanent fall that leaves a guy with a toe tag. Unless, of course, he can find out who is responsible for the gangland murders, make peace in the midst of the gang feud, and take out said magical ass-hat before he hexes Yancy into an early retirement. Easy right? Stupid. Bleeding. Heart.

Review:
I thought this was a pretty good urban fantasy. Yancy had an amusing personality and I appreciated that he was supposed to be 65 (though he looked and acted much younger, which compromised the mature adult hero a bit). The baddie had a bit more depth than many such books and the whole thing wrapped up nicely.

I did however think that Yancy and Greg’s constant banter felt forced and disruptive, annoying even. I felt like I was missing some history, the when, how and why of getting his mage powers, for example, not to mention who trained him. The writing also tended toward repetition at times.

Book Review of The Rest Falls Away (The Gardella Vampire Hunters #1), by Colleen Gleason

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The Rest Falls AwayI downloaded a copy of Colleen Gleason‘s The Rest Falls Away from Amazon, when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Beneath the glitter of dazzling nineteenth century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil…

Vampires have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners. If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long ago taken control of the world. 

In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake. But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous moonlit streets, Victoria’s heart is torn between London’s most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her dark, dangerous duty. 

And when she comes face-to-face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make a choice between duty and love.

Review:
This was a bit of a mess, if I’m honest. The dialogue was quite stiff, in that forced historical sort of way. There were long vampire info-drops that never strayed from established vampire lore, so hardly felt necessary. New talents or vampire abilities popped up unexpectedly and seemingly at random. The vampires and their leader where little more than props, with no appearance of a brain between them and they were defeated with such ease that Victoria rarely even wrinkled her ball gown or mussed her coiffure. And this after becoming unbeatable after about a month of training. Victoria also had an irritating habit of making overly boastful comments before fights. There was a certain amount of humor and the situation with Victoria and her realization of having been selfish was thought provoking. Otherwise, I’d call this a failure for me.