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June 19, 2010

Skin Game (Skin Series Book 01) by Ava Gray

Filed under: Reviews-Paranormal,Reviews-Romance — Suramya @ 8:58 PM


Skin Game (Skin Series Book 01)
by Ava Gray

Description:

A beautiful fugitive’wanted dead or alive.

Kyra is a con woman and a particular kind of thief. She steals with a touch, but she only takes one thing: her target’s strongest skill. Which means she can be a fighter, an athlete, a musician, an artist’anything she wants’ for a limited time. Heartbroken, she turns her gift toward avenging her father’s murder; with deadly patience, Kyra works her way into casino owner Gerard Serrano’s inner circle. After pulling off the ultimate con, she flees with his money and his pride.

A hit man who never misses the mark.

Reyes has nothing but his work. Pity for Kyra, he’s the best and mercy never sways him once he takes a job. He’s been hired to find out where Kyra hid the cash’and bring her back to face Serrano’s ‘justice.’ Dead will do, if he can’t locate the loot. He’s never failed to complete a contract, but Kyra tempts him with her fierce heat and her outlaw heart. So Reyes has a hell of a choice: forsake his word or kill the woman he might love.

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Review:This is a book that I had tired to read before and for some reason couldn’t read more that a chapter at the time. When I started reading it again I thought that it would be the more of the same and would probably end up abandoning the book in the middle. But to my surprise I really enjoyed the book the second time around and finished it quite fast. I guess the first time I read the book I wasn’t in the mood for the kind of story this book had or something. I am just glad I reattempted to read the book.

The main character of the book is Kyra who has the ability to steal the strongest skill a person has by touching them skin to skin and she uses this ability to con people. The book starts off by introducing us to Kyra in the process of conning someone in a pool game. The plot was pretty simple but interesting and the way the characters interact with each other kept the book interesting.

One thing to keep in mind when suggesting this book to others, it has a lot of explicit sex scenes in it so don’t recommend it to someone who gets offended easily or is not old enough.

Final Recommendation: A good read. Will be getting the next book in the series.

June 14, 2010

Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Book 01) by Patricia C Wrede

Filed under: Reviews-Fantasy,Reviews-Young Adult Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:54 PM


Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Book 01)
by Patricia C Wrede

Description:

Eff Rothmer is the twin sister of a seventh son of a seventh son, growing up on the edge of the “safe” settled area of the U.S. in the 1850s (though history has not gone quite the way it did in our world-the Civil War, for instance, happened in 1832, and Lewis and Clark never came back…)

This is the first book of a fantasy trilogy about settling the West in a world where magic works and the New World was not settled until modern magic (of Columbus’ day) made it
possible to fend off the dangerous wildlife (which includes both imaginary beasts like steam dragons and spectral bears, and real-life post-ice-age creatures like wooly mammoths).

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Review:This is a book that I had been waiting to read for a long time. It took forever for the store to deliver it to me but now that I have read it, it was worth the wait to get it.

The book has been written for young adults and stars Eff who is the 13th child in her family and because of that is expected to bring bad luck to everyone around her. The only people who don’t believe her are her immediate family and her twin brother.

The book starts when Eff is quite young and then covers her life till she turns 18. During this period she learns more about herself and the world around her and how even though she is the 13th child that doesn’t mean that she would bring doom to everyone around her.

Its a very nicely written coming of age story that takes place in an alternate universe where magic is real and the wild west is actually wild and the frontiermen have to deal with both magical and mundane threats.

Final Recommendation: A great read. If you know teens who might be interested in reading Fantasy then I recommend that you suggest this book to them.

June 13, 2010

Blood Song (Blood Song Book 01) by Cat Adams

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:18 PM


Blood Song (Blood Song Book 01)
by Cat Adams

Description:

Bodyguard Celia Graves has definitely accepted her share of weird assignments, both human and supernatural. But her newest job takes the cake. Guarding a Prince from terrorists and religious fundamentalists is hard enough, but it seems like the entire supernatural world is after this guy too. When she is betrayed by those she is employed to help, and everything goes horribly wrong, Celia wakes to find herself transformed.

Neither human nor vampire, Celia has become an Abomination – something that should not exist – and now both human and supernatural alike want her dead. With the help of a few loyal friends – a sexy mage, a powerful werewolf, and a psychic cop – Celia does her best to stay alive. On the run from her enemies, Celia must try to discover who is behind her transformation.before it’s too late.

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Review:This is a book by C T Adams and Cathy Clamp who together write under the pseudonym Cat Adams. The book covers the story of Celia Graves who inspite of being a ‘vanilla’ human is in the bodyguard business against supernatural threats.

During an assignment to protect a prince she is attacked and partially turned into a vampire. This gives her some of the strengths of being a vampire along with the vampire looks. So she has to figure out why she was turned and kill her sire before she is turned completely.

The book had a simple plot and not too many twists. In fact a large part of the book was setting some of the background for future books in the series. In spite of this the book was a good read and the characters were relatively well developed. Some of the secondary characters were not that well defined but that didn’t spoil the book for me.

Final Review: A good read. Will be waiting for the next book in the series before I make a decision about the author.

June 10, 2010

Demon Hunts (Walker Papers Book 05) by C E Murphy

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:17 PM


Demon Hunts (Walker Papers Book 05)
by C E Murphy

Description:

Seattle police detective Joanne Walker started the year mostly dead, and she’s ending it trying not to be consumed by evil. Literally.

She’s proven she can handle the gods and the walking dead. But a cannibalistic serial killer? That’s more than even she bargained for. What’s worse, the brutal demon can only be tracked one way. If Joanne is to stop its campaign of terror, she’ll have to hunt it where it lives: the Lower World, a shamanistic plane of magic and spirits.

Trouble is, Joanne’s skills are no match for the dangers she’s about to face – and her on-the-job training could prove fatal to the people she’s sworn to protect..

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Review:In this book Detective Walker has finally started accepting her legacy and powers. But the latest case is one where even magic seems to give no clues as to who the murderer is.

The book was a good read where a lot of gray area was tested. Some characters returned to the book that were though to have passed through and we get a glimpse of how Walker grew up to be the person she was and what her childhood was like.

The plot was interesting and book was a fun read. Nothing too heavy or anything but still a good read.

Final Recommendation: A good read

June 9, 2010

Inhuman Resources (OSI Series Book 03) by Jes Battis

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:15 PM


Inhuman Resources (OSI Series Book 03)
by Jes Battis

Description:

When a powerful necromancer is killed, Occult Special Investigator Tess Corday must handle the heavy politics in the occult community as carefully as she handles the scant evidence. But with her sometime lover Lucian Agrado representing the necromancers in the grisly matter, things are about to get out of control…fast.

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Review:The third book in the OSI series picks up about a year maybe two after the events in the previous books. When I started reading the book I had high hopes with it.

However I had to stop after the first couple of chapters because it felt like the author thought that the book didn’t have enough drama and decided to put in the tried and true feature where the main female character is very insecure about her relationship and so on.

Thankfully I restarted the book after a few days because the initial drama wasn’t dragged out and the book got quite interesting after that ended. If I hadn’t re-attempted to read the book then I would have missed out on a good book.

The plot was interesting and the characters were well developed. The book ended in a self-sufficient manner while giving information to set the stage for the next book in the series.

I don’t know if the author will see this but just as an advice, don’t fill the next book with too much angst or something. There are too many books out there that do that. Be different.

Final Recommendation: Book starts off slow but is a good read.

June 7, 2010

From Hell with Love (Secret Histories Book 04] by Simon R. Green

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 8:01 PM


From Hell with Love (Secret Histories Book 04]
by Simon R. Green

Description:

It’s no walk in the park for a Drood, a member of the family that has protected humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries. They aren’t much liked by the creatures they kill, by ungrateful humans, or even by one another.

Now their Matriarch is dead, and it’s up to Eddie Drood, acting head of the family, to figure out whodunit. Unpopular opinion is divided: it was either Eddie’s best girl, Molly. Or Eddie himself. And Eddie knows he didn’t do it.

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Review:Think James Bond with magic and then add a bit of aliens, Gods and Immortals and you get the world of Eddie Drood. The book is based in the same universe as the Nightside books but the two never interact thanks to some ancient binding pacts.

The book has a very fast paced plot and has some interesting plot twists. The ending was completely unexpected and sets the way beautifully for the next book in the series.

The characters were mostly well developed though some of the secondary characters could have used a bit more fleshing out. The book is filled with one liners and has a distinct feel of homage to the Bond movies/books. Some of the plot twists I expected but some I didn’t which made this a very interesting read.

If you haven’t read the previous books in the series then you might miss out on some of the finer plot points but in a pinch you can read this as a stand alone book too.

Final Recommendation: A great read. Really recommended

June 6, 2010

A Flash of Hex (OSI Series Book 02) by Jes Battis

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 7:55 PM


A Flash of Hex (OSI Series Book 02)
by Jes Battis

Description:

In our line of work, there were demons and necromancers, and then there were’other things. Older things without names that you didn’t ever want to meet. I swallowed a lump in my throat, knowing I was in the presence of evil’

As an Occult Special Investigator, Tess Corday has seen her fair share of disturbing crime scenes–but nothing ever shocked her as much as the ritualistic murder of a drugged-out runaway kid, who she soon learns was not the first such victim.

All the dead teens had traces of the dangerous magical drug called Hex in their bodies. All were the children of powerful mage families. All were killed with the sacred tools of mages. It adds up to the chilling possibility that the OSI is dealing with a serial killer, one who has incredible inhuman powers.

To stop the slaughter, Tess and her partner Derrick will go anywhere and do anything’including seeking help from the necromancer Lucian Agrado, whom Tess is under orders to avoid . But as the deaths continue, Tess becomes convinced that the identity of the killer is locked inside her own head. And the question is’how many rules is she willing to break to get to the truth?

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Review:The second book in the OSI series picks up about 6 months after the end of the previous book. Tess Corday has been promoted to OSI Level 2 and has formally adopted Mia along with her partner.

The plot was quite intricate without becoming laborious and the characters were well developed. Different facets of their personalities are explored and we learn some really interesting facts about some of the characters (I can’t tell you more without spoilers) and certain characters from the first book make an unexpected appearance in the book.

The story universe is expanded a bit more from the 1st book and the characters have a quite sense of humor that borders on the macabre at times but is quite fun to read.

Final Recommendation: A great read. Going to go get the next book in the series now.

June 5, 2010

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase

Filed under: Reviews-Paranormal,Reviews-Romance — Suramya @ 7:48 PM


Strange Neighbors
by Ashlyn Chase

Description:

When all-star pitcher and shape-shifter Jason Tanner buys a small apartment building, he sees it not only as an investment but as a place to escape the demands of major league baseball. That is, until he meets his tenants – a sarcastic unemployed crime-fighter vampire; a wereraven with a morbid sense of humor; a super-friendly salesman werewolf; and two witches with an owl who work as phone sex actresses. Not to mention a beautiful, all-too-human nurse. But with all the hooting, howling, and hollering going on, how’s an all-American shapeshifter supposed to sweep a girl off her feet?

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Review:This is the first book I have read by this author and it looks like it might be the first book in a series. So far I haven’t found any confirmation if thats the case but if it is then that would be great.

The book is based in an apartment building where each of the tenants have their secret and when Merry moves into the building she is the only one who is not a paranormal. Add in the sarcastic ghost of a murdered writer from the 60’s and you have the beginning of a great book.

Most of the characters in the book were great but I really didn’t like the character ‘Dottie’. I found her to be quite irritating and could have done without her in the book.

Other than that the book was a fun read.

Final Recommendation: A good read

June 4, 2010

Night Child (OSI Series Book 01) by Jes Battis

Filed under: Reviews-Urban Fantasy — Suramya @ 7:50 PM


Night Child (OSI Series Book 01)
by Jes Battis

Description:

Enter the night world of the OSI… OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR

Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver’s Mystical Crime Lab, is used to seeing dead vampires. But there’s nothing ordinary about this case. Not the lab results on the cause of death. Not the teenage girl living at the address found in the vamp’s pocket, who may well be in thrall to a demon. And certainly not Lucian Agrado, the necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to be part of the solution, but Tess suspects he might be part of the problem.

Soon she finds herself in the middle of a paranormal conspiracy that will change her life forever – and possibly end it.

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Review:Night child takes us to an alternate world where Vampires, Mages and Demons exist and while their existence is not known to public at large enough people know about them that a government agency has been created to deal with crimes committed by paranormal entities.

The book was a good read. It took a slightly different view of Vampires and Mages by making them humans with Demon blood instead of just plain humans who have died or have a hereditary trait that allows them to control power.

The characters are well defined and the plot was also quite interesting. It took me almost till the end of the book before I was able to figure about who was the killer.

Since this is the first book in the series I am going to go get the second one now and I am adding this author to my list of authors to watch out for.

Final Recommendation: A good read

June 2, 2010

Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help by Douglas Anthony Cooper

Filed under: Reviews-Young Adult Fantasy — Suramya @ 7:44 PM


Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help
by Douglas Anthony Cooper

Description:

No one except Milrose Munce knows that ghosts of former students live in his school. Not only is Milrose aware of these ghouls – he’s on a first-name basis with all of them. Of course, some are more likeable than others: the third floor is the home to nearly all of his good friends. Most of them – like Imploded Ig, Deeply Damaged Dave, and Toasted Theresa – were the victims of science experiments gone wrong though they do manage to maintain a sense of humour about their demise. Then there are the ghost athletes who lurk in the basement – a pretty disagreeable group, the majority of them having died after a particularly clumsy manoeuvre on the school’s sports field.

After Milrose is given yet another detention for offering his teacher an answer that was just a bit too clever, his life takes an unexpected turn. He is sent to a hidden den in the school’s basement to receive Professional Help. Here, he and the quick-witted Arabella, a fellow captive, are put under round-the-clock supervision of the maniacal Massimo Natica. Fortunately for Milrose and Arabella, once they join forces with their ghostly friends, Massimo Natica doesn’t stand a chance.

In the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, the dark comedy and imaginative brilliance of Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help will appeal to adults as much as it will to younger readers.

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Review:Inspite of having a weird name this book is one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time.

The main character in the book is a boy with a higher than normal intelligence who also happens to be able to see and talk to ghosts. Now as expected the staff of the school where he meets most of the ghosts in his acquaintance are not happy about seeing him talk to empty space or laugh at jokes that only he can hear so they send him to “Professional Help” where they try to cure him of his problem along with another student who also shares his ability to talk to Ghosts.

He along with the Ghosts of the students who haunt the school mount a campaign to rescue them from the “Help” and it includes a lot of explosions, bad poetry and sarcastic wit.

The characters were very well written and the dialog between the characters was quite funny.

Final Recommendation: A great read

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