Tag Archives: urban fantasy

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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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Book Review: Fae’s Torment, by Atlas Rose & Kim Faulks

I received a signed copy of Fae’s Torment, by Atlas Rose and Kim Faulks in a Supernatural book Crate I ordered.

fae's torment rose and faulks

Hate. Retribution. Revenge.

It burns in my veins and keeps me awake at night, hunting Crown City’s streets like the ones who took from me. 

But it’s not these streets where I want to spill blood. It’s over there, across the bridge. Where the shadows of this world cloak their sick, foul secrets…and where they trade magic for mortal lives.

I can’t get across there. Can’t walk in their world. If I could, I’d take this knife and shove it between his ribs.

But I doubt I’d find a heart.

None of them had hearts. Not their leader, Shrike, or Mojin, the one I see the most, or Honor and Ruin, the ones I don’t see. The ones no one sees.

They’re the ones who corrupt. They’re the ones who kill.

They’re the ones who took my brother from me…

Only I found a way to get to them now. This new seductive club the Wolves opened  called Dark City needs mortal women to entrance these beasts and I’m the one they’ll want.

The one who hides the truth behind her smile.

And a knife against her thigh.

Only when I take my chance I’m the one taken instead. But my enemy doesn’t want me dead…they want something else. Something those dark Unseelie eyes promise…and I might never sleep again.

my review

I was reluctant to dive into this book. It does have a note that says, “Each Mafia Monster series can be read as a stand alone in the same world. There is cross over of your favorite characters to help you understand underlying motivations better, but it’s not necessary to read from book one.” The thing is, I don’t always trust authors when they tell me a book can be read as a stand-alone, especially when—like here—it is either book 7 in an over-arching series or book 1 in a new one. In the end, I gave it a read. I’d say it’s just followable. I was really confused in the beginning and, honestly, never had a firm grasp on the world.The struggle is trying to pick apart what I wasn’t understanding because I’d not read the previous books (that the authors say aren’t necessary) and what I didn’t understand because of poor plotting and world-building.

Despite all of that, I was still able to enjoy Izzy and the fae’s insanity. None of it makes much sense, if you think too hard about it. She’s always trying to kill them, for example, but never seems to do more than press a knife to their neck or leg. If you really wanna kill someone, why are you pausing to threaten and not just doing it? Over and over again, I wondered this. And the potent mix of hate and lust that the fae so liked in Izzy would be seriously detrimental to her mental health. Talk about toxic and abusive! But by the end I was invested in the craziness enough to look for the next book (which isn’t out yet).

My only real gripe (besides the thin world) was the utterly unnecessary attempted rape scene. It contributed nothing to the book other than the apparent authorial need to ask, “can a heroine truly be strong unless someone’s at least tried to rape her?” It didn’t even make sense. She suicidally throws herself at groups of immortals but basically does nothing but beg when  a couple human men nab her. Ummm, that’s one seriously inconsistent characterization there.

Outside of that, I did have fun with this one eventually. It’s never going to top my favorite list, but I look forward to book two in a “it’s bonkers but fun” kind of way.

 

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Book Review: Ginger Storm, by J.P. Rice

I received an Audible code for a copy of The Scarlet Dragon Saga (books 1-3), by J. P. Rice. However, I chose to listen only to Ginger Storm (book 1) at this point. It was narrated by Liz Brand.

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I’m the most notorious magic thief in the world.

I shouldn’t have let the Morrigan teach me how to steal black magic through blood rituals. Now that I’m filled with deadly magic, I struggle to control the darkness.

My powers also make me a prime target for jealous Gods and the stupid magic councils.

But when an enchanted relic that has haunted me for most of my life goes missing in my old city, I shove fear aside and return to the place where everyone wants me dead.

To find Lugh’s Spear, I’ll need to team up with former enemies and figure out which one of my allies is lying to me. The Bounty Huntress from the Supreme Magic Council is hot on my heels too.

With several powerful entities closing in on me, I could leave town and take the easy way out.

To the chagrin of some supernatural tough guys, that’s not happening. I never take the easy path. I plan to find Lugh’s Spear and return it to the Celtic Gods.

My black magic blood can turn me into a murderous maniac at the drop of a hat. If I can control my inner darkness, I might be able to solve the mystery.

my review

I hate to say it (especially since what I actually have is the compilation of books 1-3), but I was not a fan of Ginger Storm. Is this a spin-off of another series, or something? I really feel like nothing was developed enough for me to be invested in…or sometimes even understand. Mythical characters came and went, creating a disconcerting soup and no notable world-construction.

Plus, I spent most of the book waiting and waiting and waiting for a plot to pop up. And when it finally did (way, way, way late in the book) June seemed able to manifest abilities at will. I didn’t feel like she was a well-delineated character, so much as if the author just randomly pulled whatever out of their hat when they needed it.

But worst of all—for me—was that it’s so cliched in the way every man either loves or perves on June (for real or with ulterior motives) and almost every single woman in the book (other than June) is either nameless arm candy, slutty, murderous, or just vile in some other way. I don’t actually know anything about J.P. Rice, but I’d bet dollars to donuts they’re a man. The unconscious male-gaze is that kind of strong in this one. Not misogynistic, just subtly but clearly from the mind of a man. Which isn’t a bad thing, in and of itself. But it’s not something I enjoy, personally.

I don’t know that I hated this enough to not finish the compilation (because unfinished audiobooks linger and annoy me). But I disliked it enough to not want to listen to another right now.

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