King Cave - By Scarlett Dawn *Review*

Forever Evermore Series - Book 2 | Add to Goodreads
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The revolution is here, but the most dangerous attack may come from within...

The safe, comfortable world of Lily Ruckler and her fellow Mystical Kings and Queens is rocked to the core by the attacks at King Hall. Not only does Lily have to kill the Commoners attacking her people, she also has to assume the mantle of leadership, and bring the surviving Mysticals to King Cave.

It should have been too much, but she is not alone. Ezra becomes her rock, her best friend, the one person who understands. As Pearl and Jack struggle with inconsolable loss, Ezra and Lily work to keep the Mys community safe in their new home, and plan a deadly retaliation.

Their friendship saves them both...but it also draws attention. Whispers. Judgment. It's not normal for Shifters and Vampires to be friends, and when a horrifying truth is revealed, their relationship morphs from unusual to unspeakable. Lily is good at keeping secrets that could get her killed. Is she willing to risk Ezra's life as well?

Aha! Here's where the romance begins! I admit I saw this coming but not in such an explosive fashion. I'm not going to say anything more than that because it is vital you read it without spoilers. ;) After the shocking events (read cliffhanger) at the end of "King Hall" we retreat to the King Cave Sanctuary. This poor protection dome becomes drama central - at some points I felt it was a little sopa pera-esque - just when you thought it couldn't get any more dramatic, BOOM - next level. This second book of the series focuses heavily on the relationships of the four prodigies and I didn't mind the focus. It fleshed out the characters a little more than "King Hall" and I enjoyed their weird interactions. However, if you were hoping on some development about the Com plot to kill Mystics it's not really here. There is obviously a larger political game being played but it happens outside of the narrative we are receiving. We get pieces of the story within the romantic focus but only drips and dribbles. "King Cave" felt like a book of two parts with a teaser to the next installment ("King Tomb" btw) at the end. Was I entertained? Hell Yes! But would I have liked a little more plot outside of who was sleeping with who and why? Yeah kind of but I'm thinking Dawn has a few aces up her sleeve waiting for book three. The ending is still a cliffhanger but not as bad as "King Hall." I am dying to read "King Tomb" and if you like fantasy/romance join me on the Forever Evermore series train!

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Reapers Bounty - By Charlotte Boyett-Compo *Review* #COYER

WindVerse Series - Book 12 | Add to Goodreads
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Theron Sarandakos is a Reaper, a panther shifter who puts his stealth and guile to work as a bounty hunter. His assignment is to catch a thief, and he's determined not to fail. But when he sets eyes on his quarry, Celeste Wynth, he knows at once that she is his one true mate, destined to be his. Their lust threatens to burn up the jungle world where he makes his home, but Lettie will be shunned by her people unless she agrees to marry the man she's been betrothed to since childhood. And Theron's family has other plans for him as well. To be together forever, they will be forced to fight for their love.

Sweet shifter romance. I started the series with this book and it's not necessary to read all of the books in order. "Reaper's Bounty" works as a stand-alone novel yet obviously if you read the preceding novels you might have a better background on the other characters. I loved it as is and enjoyed meeting Theron and Lettie. Lettie is a fabulous head strong female lead despite her weirdly sexist home culture. Theron is an interesting loner and I enjoyed how he was constantly one upped by Lettie. There are twists and turns a plenty to keep you occupied outside of the love story and a satisfying ending. All in all another wonderful read by Charlotte Boyett-Compo!

Copy received from author in exchange for a honest review.

Oracle of Philadelphia - By Elizabeth Corrigan *Review* #COYER

Earthbound Angels Series - Book 1 | Add to Goodreads
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Carrie works at a diner in South Philadelphia, dispensing advice to humans and angels wise enough to seek her counsel. But there are some problems that even the best advice can’t solve.
Her latest supplicant, Sebastian, is unique among those who have sought her aid. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his sister’s life, but his heart remains pure.
Carrie has lived for millennia with the knowledge that her immortality is due to the suffering of others, and she cannot bear to see another good man damned when it is within her power to prevent it.
In order to renegotiate his contract, Carrie must travel into the depths of hell and parley with the demons that control its pathways. As the cost of her journey rises, Carrie must determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to save one good soul.

Loved it! At first I was worried it was going to get all Biblical preachy on me but thank goodness it didn't. Corrigan uses Christian old testament just like Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology and uses it well! I loved the new spin on oracle powers, demons and angels. I was drawn in from page one and could not put "Oracle of Philadelphia" down. My only issue was I couldn't quite believe how vested Carrie was in the soul of Sebastian. I understand wanting to save him but the suffering and risks she endured was above and beyond the call of duty. I mean she didn't even know the guy! Carrie talked to him once and met him twice before deciding she was willing to do what she had to do to save him. Obviously he was a nice guy and pure of heart but she wasn't emotionally vested in him and he was quite resigned to his fate so...

Aside from that I truly enjoyed how Corrigan wove together strands of various different myths, legends and stories to create Carrie's history. I admired Carrie's strength and determination even while doubting her motivation. The storyline was perfectly closed off though my interest in Gabriel and Cassie was piqued. There is a sequel from Bedlam's point of view which I am going to have a look at but probably not until I've depleted a significant portion of my to-read list. "Oracle" is a great urban fantasy novel and the beginning of what looks to be a fantastic series.

Elizabeth Corrigan has degrees in English and psychology and has spent several years working as a data analyst in various branches of the healthcare industry. When she’s not hard at work on her next novel, Elizabeth enjoys singing, reading teen vampire novels, and making Sims of her characters.

She drinks more Diet Coke than is probably optimal for the human body and is pathologically afraid of bees. She lives in Maryland with two cats and a purple Smart Car.

The Air that I Breathe - Lila Veen

Where to start? I just finished reading this series and I was hooked after "Burning For You." But something happened in "Drowning in a Dream" which leads me to where I am now in "The Air that I Breathe" book 3 in the Blackwater series. I'm going to just come right out and state my problem for the record - Drama. It seems strange to have an issue with drama when most books require it in order to exist. However, I find that I have come to an example of an overload on drama. I love the story Lila Veen weaves but in this final installment, it was only seconds after everything was sorted that it was tipped on it's head once again. It seemed that everyone was lying or manipulating each other for personal gain. The horrible twisted web of relationships that tied so many different characters together - introduced partially in "Drowning in a Dream" - continued to become even more entangled with relationships being revealed between almost everyone and their brother (it's horrible that I almost mean that literally). I barely had a hold on what was going on and the final straw was the relationship between Theo and Olivia. I just couldn't. I never liked V.C.Andrews penchant for throwing weird twisted family relationships into her books and I cannot stomach it in this one either.

I kept reading despite feeling ill because I needed to know what happened to Leah - it wasn't her fault that the Lavanne family were a bunch of nutters. I'd hoped the ending would bring some much needed relief and happiness but no,

Thirteen - By Kelley Armstrong

** spoiler alert ** Savannah gets to be with Adam which was what I was hanging out for. I mean we all knew it was a forgone conclusion but it was nice to have it in writing. The Cabals try to charge Savannah with killing someone important or something which leads to the death of some old guy who is related to them. Angels keep flitting in and out as do the demons. To be honest I lost track of this series a little after Paige got together with Lucas. Once I pick the books up I remember why I was hooked but they haven't been books that have stuck in my mind. The ending was satisfactory and the battles were definitely gory, actually more so than necessary. Everyone is still alive and happy at the end of it so it's a job well done.




It definitely isn't the best book in the series and I wish we had gotten more Clay and Elena overall. A solid series that does require a bit of mental maneuvering to keep them all together. I recommend the series to any fans of urban fiction, Devon Monk, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs and Faith Hunter.




3/5




xxx

George

Under A Spell - By Hannah Jayne

Underworld Detection Agency - No. 5

Being an urban fiction fanatic this story held a lot of promise. In between Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs and Devon Monk releasing their new books I try to find those series that are on par with them but I have missed. I thought that maybe I had found one with Hannah Jayne and her series the Underworld Detection Agency. Sophie Lawson is our main heroine and she is a null which means that magic doesn't work on her. She is also the vessel of souls which means... she gets a cute Guardian called Will who is British? I only started on this book which is in the fifth in the series so forgive me for not knowing. It's something important I tell you that.

Anyhoo, she has to go back to high school in order to investigate girls who are disappearing and showing up dead from the angle of witchcraft. She is not a police officer just a PARANORMAL investigator, something Alex, the fallen angel, likes to remind her about. Sophie has some kind of weird history with Alex, I think they used to date but now they are broken up? Regardless Alex is now a right douche bag and takes out his anger on Sophie. She acts horribly weak around him and though I gather their relationship went sour she is usually more kick ass confident than when she is in situations with him.

Back in the high school Sophie is masquerading as a teacher, which is very worrying because she is in no way trained and in addition has horrible memories of high school. She manages to get through her fear/disgust/horror/hate of high school and get the job done. I have to say Sophie came across as a little childish which made me a tad confused about her age because I thought she was an adult. She seems to be on the edge of teenager and adult but not enough of either to make her believable in the important job she holds. Investigating CRIMES, real life people die, crimes... She reminds me a lot of Stephanie Plum and though I just wrote a review on Ms. Plum I read this book before Notorious Nineteen. Sophie bumbles through her investigation with a lot of luck and protection from Guardian Will. She lives with Vampires which was an interesting twist though a bit of a tangential story line that often had me annoyed for being taken away from the action.

Her character was often highly judgmental and didn't change her opinion despite obvious evidence to the contrary. I wasn't entirely sure if this is because she was back in high school for this book or if it is the same throughout the series. Despite supposedly being an experienced investigator Sophie's investigating technique appeared to be nosy, rude and inexperienced. She was blunt, apparently oblivious to the affect her questions had. I think this is what confused me most about Sophie, that she is constantly stuck between two different people not being one or the other. She is smart but ditzy, experienced but rude, solves problems but fumbles through her job? Her personality isn't coherent and neither is the book, stuck weirdly between young adult and urban fiction. I felt a lot of promise with its potential as an urban fiction novel and really loved the ongoing story about the vessel of souls. While I really want to read the next book to find out about it I am not sure I would be able to read through more bipolar Sophie Lawson and asshole Alex. If the characters get a little revamp I could see this series as becoming a fav!

3/5

xxx
George

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Jayne and Kensington Books for the copy!
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