Tag Archives: urban fantasy

Book Review of the Niki Slobodian series #1-4, by J.L. Murray

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I grabbed all of J.L. Murray‘s Niki Slobodian series off of the Amazon free list over the last year or so.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The Devil is a Gentleman
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
The Devil Was an Angel

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue SeaDescription from Goodreads:
Niki Slobodian sees things – things that aren’t supposed to be there. Labeled an Abnormal by New Government, her name is tacked onto the Registry, which seems to be getting longer these days. Now she can’t work or she’ll end up the same place as her father: in prison. But with no money coming in, Niki’s getting desperate. 

So when a mysterious client offers to get her off the Registry in exchange for taking his case, Niki jumps at the chance. All she has to do is round up a homicidal Dark that’s escaped from Hell and is cruising around the city in borrowed bodies. The murders are piling up, with Niki’s notorious father somehow involved, and Niki’s running out of time. And it seems the Dark isn’t the only thing that escaped…

Review: 
I really quite enjoyed this book. I found Niki to be a strong, quick-witted heroine. Her sidekicks were useful and there was a surprising amount of humour. It all came together in an interesting paranormal action/adventure mystery with excellent writing and flawless editing. There did seem to be a lot of history between some of the characters that made me wonder if I was really reading the first book, but I caught up soon enough.

My only real complaint, two-fold as it is, was that the book felt very short. Amazon lists it at 160 pages, but I started it after dinner and was in bed before 11. In that time, I also bathed the kiddies and sent them off to dreamland. So even if it there is an physical page count of 160 somewhere, I bet it’s double spaced.

Also contributing to this perception of brevity was the way challenges were overcome very, very easily. If seemed like Niki and her crew waltzed in, said “be gone” and vanquished the big-bads effortlessly. Of course, it wasn’t that simple, but it felt like it was. She managed to solve two mysteries and save the day twice in the 160 pages available. That didn’t leave a lot for buildup, tension, or elaborate planning.

Yes, it all felt too easy but that really was made up for by the humour and engaging characters. I can’t wait to read The Devil is a Gentleman.

The Devil was a Gentleman Description from Goodreads: 
Where Niki goes, death is never far behind. 

Everyone Niki knows hates Congressman Frank Bradley. He is the father of New Government, after all. He started the Registry, and the world adopted it. Bradley is the man who separated Abnormals and Normals, and made it a crime for Abbies to exist.

So when Bradley shows up at Niki’s door bearing a terrible secret, then promptly disappears, she feels compelled to dig deeper. But the more Niki uncovers, the more danger she is in. A mysterious organization is out for her blood – literally – and her father’s criminal past may not be as self-serving as she thought. There is also the matter of Niki’s inscrutable employer Sam and the secret of his identity. With help from her partner Bobby Gage, Niki finds out just how little she knew about her family, and the truth of who she really is.

Review:
I’d call this another hit. I continue to enjoy Niki and Bobby’s wit and the mysteries Murray sets up for us. I also really started to feel the influence of, or similarities to Kim Harrison‘s The Hollows series or Laurell K. Hamilton‘s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter (before the plots devolved into cheap erotica). It has a similar gun toting, strong heroine with a tendency to gather followers, fans and abilities as the series progress.

Like the first, this book also felt short. It also introduced some interesting side characters, that seemed to have just been dropped unceremoniously and it ended on a doozy of a cliffhanger, which I hate, but the writing was just as crisp and well edited as in the first. I’m looking forward to book 3, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Before the Devil Knows You're DeadDescription from Goodreads:
The worlds are out of balance. The Creator is missing. And the war between Heaven and Hell has begun.

Niki Slobodian came back, but there were side effect. She is filled with a strange power no one seems to be able to explain. Not even Sam. She is also plagued with strange visions whenever she touches anyone. This does nothing but complicate the fact that she may be the reason for the war raging in the streets of her own city. A war that could mean the end of humanity. 

Niki has always done whatever she had to for the people she loves, but this time is different. With carnage escalating and the people she cares for in danger, Niki and Sam must work together to save what is left of humanity. And with a psychotic archangel trying to assume to post of the Creator, and one slim chance to right the balance, the odds are against them.

Nothing is ever easy for a Slobodian. Not even stopping a war that could unmake the world.

Review:
I’m still enjoying this series, but it’s also faltering in much the same way as many other such series. There seems to come a time when the main character reaches a point where she goes from being an exceptionally powerful or talented whatever, to becoming the most powerful. It becomes unbelievable after a while and I think Niki reached that point in this book. Perhaps it will be pulled back a bit in the next one. I hope so. Because if she remains so all-powerful, what challenge can there really be? I’m holding off on my judgment on this until I finish the next book.

Some major Biblical characters are offed in this book. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that one…and I’m not even religious. But it’s difficult to fathom using preexisting myths and then ignoring or changing large parts of them in order to fit the plot. It’s jarring. Be that as it may, Niki again proved herself to be a resilient woman of stellar moral fibre and imperturbable determination.

The Devil was an AngelDescription from Goodreads:
Niki Slobodian knows loss. She knows tragedy. But she has never known this kind of pain. After the war the Archangel Michael waged on her city, Niki is dealing with the loss of her loved ones. And the haunting suspicion that everything was her fault. As well as her new duty to help all the lost souls cross over.

But when Niki’s only living friend, Bobby Gage, comes up missing, she has to take action. She enlists the help of Lucifer and together they learn that Bobby has been tracking Kane, the man who murdered his family, and is now killing again, leaving a trail of mutilated corpses all across the globe. And with the power to disappear unnoticed, it seems an impossible feat to find him and stop him.

But Niki is familiar with the impossible. And she would do anything to help her only living friend. Anything.

Review:
I’d say this was a great end to the series, but I get the distinct impression that it isn’t actually the end. Rather, The Devil was an Angel is simply the most recent book published in the series. I’d certainly be interested in reading more if Ms. Murray decides to write them, but I’d be disappointed if it turned into one of those series that never actually concludes. I find that so unsatisfying.

I was plenty satisfied with this book, however. Niki continued learning about herself and her abilities. She grew a lot as a character, especially around the matter of acceptance. Lucifer was an interesting incarnation of himself. I really felt bad for poor Sam though, despite all his misdeeds and the first half of the book is almost devastatingly sad.

There is quite a bit more gore in this book than the previous ones. I’m not particularly bothered by this, but some might be. But Ms. Murray’s writing remained exceptional ’till the end. Thumbs up.

Book Review of Jeaniene Frost ‘s Night Prince novels: Once Burned and Twice Tempted

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I picked up copies of Jeaniene Frost‘s Once Burned and Twice Tempted at the local secondhand shop.

Once BurnedDescription from Goodreads:

She’s a mortal with dark powers…
After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire…
He’s the Prince of Night…
Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Review:
I’m really a little surprised at myself for reading this. The only other Jeaniene Frost books I’ve read were the first of the Night Huntress series, and I really didn’t care for them. But I found a paperback copy of this at the charity shop for pennies, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Surprisingly, I liked it. I especially appreciated Frankie’s strong personality. She stood up for herself again and again. Vlad lacked warmth of any sort, but he was supposed to, so it was pretty easy to overlook. Still, this made him a little hard to like. I managed it though. He made a good alpha male. Plus, it would be pretty much impossible to not love Marty and/or at least like Maximus.

I thought it was interesting that Cat and Bones showed up here. I haven’t read past book two of the Night Huntress series, but I get the distinct impression that there may be more overlap between these series than I know about. I think that’s cool and all, but it leaves me wondering if I’m missing out on something. Is this a spinoff series?

I read a lot and a lot of the books I read come from the Amazon free list. This means that many, if not most of them are from Indie houses or self published authors. When I review them I often feel compelled to mention the editing. Anyone who has read many such books knows that the editing can be hit or miss. Well, I find myself similarly inspired to mention editing here too. These books are published by HarperCollins, a fairly big name publisher. But I noticed a ton of editing mistakes in it. I can’t honestly say it was any better edited than some of the good Indie/self published books I’ve come across. Just one more example of the three publishing methods coming closer together, I suppose.

All in all, this book encouraged me to give the author more attention in the future. Many of the things I previously disliked in her writing (what of it I had read anyway) weren’t present here. So I can honestly call this a fun PNR that kept me interested enough to seek out the sequel.

Twice TemptedDescription from Goodreads:

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges…
Leila’s psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn’t sure what the future holds. If that weren’t enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she’s also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won’t admit that he loves her.
Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity…
Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.

Review:
While I didn’t dislike the book I can’t claim to have liked it as much as the first book. For one thing, I thought the characters started to drift a little. Leila went from a strong-willed, determined heroine to a whinny, clingy, girlfriend of the worst kind. Now, I still respected the fact that she was willing to walk away. That pretty much rocked, but that was only a small part of the book.

Then there was the whole pseudo-love triangle in the first half of the book. Nope, didn’t care for that much–both because I don’t care for love triangles and because I wanted to know more about Vlad, not Maximus. (Though I did like Maximus and would love to see him happy at some point.)

Then there was the whiplash worthy change of heart Vlad had toward the end that felt so very unnatural. It was, of course, necessary for the plot to progress, but if felt pretty darned sudden. (As did the wedding. Where did that come from?)

I did like Vlad’s super protectiveness. I do love seeing a strong man fighting to protect what he loves, but the reader saw so little emotion from him in general that his sudden effusiveness was almost painful. The book is still a fun little bit of fluff. I’m not wholly disparaging it. But it’s not as strong a book as Once Burned.

I also found the same editorial issues as in book one to be present in this one. It just wouldn’t be fair to skip mentioning it just because this is a big name publisher. I expect more. 

Comment on H. P. Mallory’s Dulcie O’Neil novels

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It probably would have been better to do this last month for Halloween, but I grabbed H. P. Mallory’s, To Kill A Warlock (Dulcie O’Neil, #1)  off of the Amazon KDP list. I enjoyed it, so I went ahead and bought books 2, 3, and 4. (I borrowed book 5). 

These books focus on Dulcie O’Neil. Goodreads describes the series like this: Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator — a law enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Individually each of these books is all alright. Mallory has an easy, comfortable writing style that allows the reader to coast along unhindered. It is much like your best friend is telling you a story over a tall glass of some from-frou alcoholic beverage. There are some interesting characters, a couple steamy sex scenes, and a lot of sexual tension. Taken as a whole, however, I was underwhelmed with the series. 

To Kill A Warlock introduces Dulcie and her friends/coworkers, who share the limelight. However, as the series progresses each book focuses more and more tightly on just Dulcie, which I think is too bad. I know she is the main character, but she isn’t the centre of the world(s). She is like Netherworld crack apparently. All beings lust after her. She almost gets raped more times than I could count. The leaders of The Resistance listen to, and even seem to take orders from her, as soon as she makes herself known. (Guess there isn’t a need for her to prove herself in any manner.) She is the daughter of someone important, the best at her job, etc. The books just seem to spiral closer and closer to her and therefore allow for less and less development of the other characters. Though I did love a few of them. Bram is AWESOME and I really wanted him to find some happiness for himself. He was my favourite character by far. Knight is darned sexy all the way around. Quill keeps you guessing. Dia is a hoot and Sam is Dulcie’s Samwise Gamgee. You can’t help but like her. 

The books do seem to be getting shorter with each new one and ending on sharper and sharper cliffhangers. Book four was especially abrupt. It ended on a such a dun-dun-dun moment that I was almost afraid to even start book five. It is the last one currently available and I didn’t want to commit to another book only to get to the end and find that the pattern of the story not ending on the last page continued (which it does). Toward the end I started to feel like these weren’t even complete books. One bled too easily from one to the other and to be honest I would have preferred it if they weren’t so broken up. Each book recaps each of the previous ones. So, book one was recapped in book two. Books one and two were recapped in book three. Books one, two, and three were covered in book four. You get the point. It got really repetitive and took up a lot of space in the already short books. If there weren’t so many of them this wouldn’t be necessary and I wouldn’t have had to read the same passages over and over again. And considering book five literally started in the middle of the same conversation that book four ended with (to continue the previous example) it is safe to say the two books read as one. 

(I don’t know if it is coincidence, but I seem to be seeing this happen a lot lately. I have to wonder if the spread of the cheap ebook has somehow made it appear OK to create series that are almost closer to extend chapters of the same story instead of actual separate books. -Food for thought)

All-in-all there were aspects of this series that grated on my nerves, mostly because they emerged so often (same phrases used in every book for example). But I wouldn’t have read all five of them if there wasn’t some value to them. The story is an interesting one. You want to know what happens in the end…whenever that might be. There are enough alpha males pumping testosterone into the air to keep a hot blooded female smiling. Mallory lets her imagination run wild on the mystical creature front (though is is also a distraction and could be considered a detraction) and the writing is quirky and fun. I might have enjoyed it more if I had put some time between the books, but that’s just not the way I like to read a series. It’s worth picking up if you have the patience for it though.