Tag Archives: urban fantasy

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Book Review: The One and Only Crystal Druid, by Annette Marie

I received a signed copy of Annette Marie‘s The One and Only Crystal Druid in a Supernatural Book Crate.
the one and only crystal druid
I’m not your average girl.

My best friend is my switchblade. My favorite hobby is using it on the cruel, the abusive, and anyone who gets on my bad side. I’m a convicted murderer with a chip on my shoulder and a dangerous lack of restraint.

And then there’s Zak.

His rap sheet makes mine look tame. The bounty on his head is worth more money than I’ll ever make, and the deadly fae that shadow his every step wield more power than I’ll ever know.

He’s the Crystal Druid, and his first mistake was setting foot on my turf.

His second was saving my life.

And his final mistake will be failing to realize that however dark, however ruthless, however broken he is…

I’m worse.


I’ve read several of Marie‘s books now and enjoyed them all, to greater or lesser extents. Though I’ve not read all of the Spellbound series (only the first), which one of the main characters here is from. (I felt I was missing some history, but the story was certainly followable.) Regardless, I quite enjoyed this book too.

I liked both Saber and Zak as main characters, and Rikr was a fun side characters. The little bit of mystery was engaging and I enjoyed seeing the characters in action. I did, however, think Saber was too feral and unpleasant a lot of the time. She came across as mentally unstable more than anything else.

With the twist at the end and the still unclear question of what happened in the past, I’m looking forward to book two.

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Other reviews:

Westveil Publishing: The One and Only Crystal Druid Review

???? The One and Only Crystal Druid by Annette Marie

 

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Book Review: Moon Scorned, by Marty Mayberry

Moon Scorned, by Marty Mayberry was featured over and Sadie’s Spotlight and I was so taken with the cover that I picked it up for review from R&R Tours.

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I fell hard and fast for the alpha of an elite pack.

Then he rejected me.

Everly

Asher took off when I needed him most, rejecting me and my inner wolf. Then my half-sister is murdered at an exclusive college that’s enshrouded in magic and secrets. When the school offers me a scholarship, I accept and move onto campus. I’m going to find out who killed her, then rip them apart. And if I run into Asher while I’m there? He’ll learn I’m no longer his sweet little thing. He’s about to taste the fury of a wolf shifter scorned.

Asher

Everly’s everything to me, but to protect her, I had to shove her away. If I go near her, the Drudge Pack will discover who she truly is. My father—their enforcer—will kill her. But when she shows up at Ravenmire College, my inner wolf hungers. I’ll do anything to keep her safe—even if that means sacrificing myself and betraying my dangerous family.

my review

I think that this book will appeal to a lot of readers. It’s not a bad book at all. Everly is admirably willing to stand up for herself and shrug off mean-girl BS. Asher is sweet in his desperate desire to do the right thing, even as it hurts and he’s scorned for it. There’s an interesting world here and the writing is quite readable.

However, the book also starts out feeling as if there must be a previous book and then ends on a cliffhanger with absolutely nothing concluded. Here’s my feeling on cliffies. It’s one thing to wrap-up part of a story and leave some threads open for continuation of a story. The reader finishs the book with at least some sense of completion. It’s another to publish part of a story, ending it with nothing concluded. Those are not the same thing. I have no interest in further committing myself to series that do the latter, because I just assume the next book and then the next book and the next will end the same and I have no faith in ever actually getting an ending.

However, none of this is uncommon and I doubt everyone is as annoyed by this as I am (since it’s become a pet peeve of mine). If this doesn’t bother you and you’re looking for a familiar feeling academy(ish) YA/NA paranormal read this one is probably worth your time to pick up.

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Giveaway:

Win a copy of the prequel novella, Moon Hunted.

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Book Review: Shifting Fates, by Meredith Clarke

I picked up a copy of Shifting Fates, by Meredith Clarke on one of its Amazon freebie days.

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Here’s the thing, I need you to believe monsters are real.

But ask me that question, and I’ll tell you the truth. No, it’s not possible. The more believers out there, though, the busier I am at night booking walking ghost tours in New Orleans’ French Quarter. I like giving tours, love them actually. I was born to do this—well, I thought I was until I met him. Now everything I thought I knew has changed.

It was a normal tour, like all the rest, except Spencer isn’t like anyone I’ve ever met. How am I supposed to resist those sapphire blue eyes and the sexiest smile I’ve ever seen? I mentioned he’s hot, right? And it’s not just him. He has three friends. Three men who look at me like I am the sun and the moon.

Just because Spencer saves me from a man whose speed is lightning fast and claims he and his pack mates have been looking for me doesn’t mean I should fall for them, does it? The temptation to give in to their suggestions is hard to resist. Maybe too hard.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to point out tombstones and landmarks. Maybe there is something to the prophecy Spencer’s pack talks about.

Maybe I don’t know sh*t about monsters after all.
But now I believe in them.

my review

This was a big ol’ fail for me. My biggest (in terms of most personal) gripe is that I work hard to avoid rape in the books I read for entertainment. The reader here is told in just about the first chapter that a decade earlier Rosalie’s foster father tried to rape her. He failed, she ran away, end of story. Except that it’s not the end of the story. Her whole personality seems built around this one attempted rape. And while it’s horrible and (one assumes) traumatic, even at 92% the reader is STILL being reminded of Roger and his attempted rape 10 years earlier. (Plus, she runs into a vampire who tries to assault her too.) I really REALLY hate when rape is used as some sort of ubiquitous seasoning to a story. It contributed nothing and irritated me every single time it was mentioned again…and again…and again…and again.

Outside of that, the book is just inconsistent. One minute Rosalie is afraid, the next she’s giggling coquettishly, the next she’s up in the face of werewolves twice her size, threatening them (despite having no authority or reasonable reason to think her threats would hold sway). The plotting is ham-fisted, the romance is herky-jerky, her powers are all deus ex machina in times of need, the sex is just embarrassing to read, and the reverse harem aspect felt cartoonish. I won’t be continuing the series.

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