The Month in Review(s) - February 2016

Ah, February - a month of storms and Valentine's cards. And books of course.

 

Check out all my reviews from this month...

 



Kids

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (aka just 'The Lightning Thief') by Rick Riordan - Fantasy, Mythology

Adult

Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder - Poetry
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Classics, Romance
The Trouble With Wolves (aka 'The Trouble With Weres') by Leigh Evans - Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae
Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates - Romance (m/m,) Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves, LGBTQ+, Short Story

Graphic Novels

Grumpy Cat Volume 1 - Kids, Humour, Media Tie-In
Red Sonja/Conan: The Blood of a God - Fantasy, High Fantasy 

Popcorn Reviews (Film)

Seventh Son (2014)

Review Time! - The Thing About Wolves by Leigh Evans

Title: The Thing About Wolves (also published as The Thing About Weres)

Author: Leigh Evans

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae

Series: The Mystwalker Series (#2)

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

This was another pretty random read from my library. Honestly, I wander around just going 'ooh! mine now!' and that is how I choose what to read the majority of the time.

This is a sequel (not that I've read the first one,) so I will keep the spoilerage to a minimum (i.e. the level that's in the blurb for this book.)

Premise:

Hedi Peacock-Stronghold is half-fae (fairy,) and half-werewolf.

She's trying to keep her mate's werewolf pack (that's mate in the animalistic sense, rather than a friend) together in his absence. But what about when he returns?

She thought it would be all her wishes coming true: her mate, Robson Trowbridge, returned to her, and bringing Lexi, her brother, in tow. But things are rarely that simple.

Oh, and there's people trying to kill her. Can't forget those!

Best bits:

A lot of this was really fun - I love Hedi's sarcasm, and some of the situations she ends up in are so complex and random that I enjoyed the sheer 'hell, just go for it!' attitude of the author.

I found Lexi an exceedingly complex character - if you don't feel at least some sympathy for him, you are made of stone. Simple as.

And my mental squeals at Hedi to 'not be stupid and do this instead' seemed to actually be heard! I know! I'm so used to characters taking the stupid route, that it's a pleasant surprise when they decide to do the smart thing for once.

Not so great bits:

There were moments when I lost interest because the plot slowed down or the author seemed to lose some degree of control - these were noticeable, but overall the book managed to scramble its way back on-track.

There are, obviously, spoilers for the previous book in the series - if you want to avoid that then read the books in order.

There's a bunch of swearing and some violence that won't be to everyone's taste - and a few sex-bits (fans self,) so if that isn't your thing, you've been warned.

There's also references to torture, addiction, and child abduction - and probably some other stuff too - that some people may find distressing.

Verdict:

I really enjoyed this book - and it grabbed me. I felt sorry for Lexi, loved Hedi's attitude (and willingness to listen to my mental suggestions,) and the whole fae and werewolf deal-y that was going on; really enjoyable.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• Time to Review the Evidence - The Shape Stealer
• Review Time! - Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton

The Month in Review(s) - January 2016

From now on I'm going to provide a brief 'Month in Review(s)' post.

This is literally a re-cap of all the reviews that I've written this month, collated in one post.

So now you can take a shufty at the books (and the odd film) that I've reviewed in the month, and catch up on any you may have missed.

Enjoy! :)

Kids

Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson - Historical Fiction

Young Adult

Dark Hope by Monica McGurk -  Angels, Paranormal.
The Invisibles by Francis Gideon - Romance (M/M), LGBTQ+.



Adult

Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton - Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Zombies, Vampires, Crime, LGBTQIAP+
Poetry From the Lady of the Pier by Effrosyni Moschoudi - Poetry, Short Stories, Chick Lit

Graphic Novels

STARVE Vol 1 - dystopian

Non-fiction

Death, Disability, and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond by Jose Alaniz

Popcorn Reviews (Film)

Batman (1989)
Constantine (2005)


I'll do a Charity Reading Challenge 2016 update when I've actually read something towards it. (Note to self: remember to read stuff for that challenge.)

Review Time! - Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton

Title: Dead Ice.

Author: Laurell K Hamilton.

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Zombies, Vampires, Crime, LGBTQIAP+ and Polyamorous

Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (#24.)

Amazon: UK - USA.

A few starting notes:

I received a free paperback review copy of this book from the UK publisher, Headline, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is #24 in the series - I know, it's a big series. I'd read a few before, and really enjoyed them, but haven't read all of them, and certainly not in order.

Dead Ice can be read as standalone with very little problem, but there are a few spoilers for previous events in the series, so be aware of that if you want to read this book as standalone. 

As usual, the level of spoilerage in this review won't go beyond what's in the blurb of the book.

Premise:

US marshal, zombie animator, and legal vampire executioner, Anita Blake, is on the trail of someone making zombie porn.

That's ick enough in itself, but there's something different about these zombies... zombies shouldn't be capable of fear.

If that wasn't enough, Anita also has wedding plans to deal with, and relationships - both personal and political - to juggle as well. Things are going to get interesting.

Best bits:

I love the frenetic energy of these books - things happen in a whirlwind of personal, professional, fur (there are wereanimals,) and fangs.

Anita's sarcasm and exasperation are, quite simply, awesome. And she's pretty kick-ass in general.

This series is pretty much the pinnacle of urban fantasy (and I do love me some urban fantasy - what with all the paranormal faffing around cities and everything...) and this instalment does justice to Hamilton's reputation as the queen of this genre.

The plot here is involving enough to keep you reading - keeping the right mix of Anita's personal and professional lives with the promise of a criminal case leading through it all.

Strangely, this book is also pretty emotionally healthy. Nope, I mean it.

Sure, bad stuff happens, a lot, and everyone is slightly broken because of it (of course,) but Anita and her household work pretty damned hard to make sure everyone is open, and no-one ignores what they're feeling. Nice and refreshing in any book.

Not so great bits:

Not everyone is going to be happy with the references (though no graphic scenes,) to BDSM.

There are also explicit sex scenes, including with wereanimals, which ultimately aren't going to be to everyone's taste. They are however handled about as tastefully as you could reasonably expect of explicit sex scenes.

There's a lot of characters here - which can get a little confusing when you're trying to remember who said what with who. But overall, it's not too difficult to regain your bearings.

Some of the LGBTQIAP+ representation - especially regarding intersex people - might be a bit off; though there is so much going on here that it's difficult to fully define that. Overall though, just having this amount of LGBTQIAP+ rep in a book is great.

Verdict:

An enjoyable instalment in a tried-and-tested urban fantasy series, showing that Ms Hamilton has enough in reserve to keep the involving plots and intrigues going for quite a while yet.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Site

Amended 29th October 2016

Liked this post? Try these:

Zombies and Vampires Through My Letterbox
Time to Review the Evidence - The Shape Stealer

Zombies and Vampires Through My Letterbox

So chuffed this morning to receive Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton in the post from the UK publisher Headline. (As always, of course, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

This is the whopping #24 in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series - an extensive and popular urban fantasy series (and I love me some urban fantasy - paranormal creatures faffing about in cities? What's not to love?)

I've read others in the series (though not all of them, because that's just how I roll sometimes,) and loved them, so have pretty high hopes for this one.

I'm sure this instalment will have the requisite number of vampires, zombies, and other paranormal creatures and stuff of a similar nature, to keep me very happy.

This time around, Anita's on the trail of someone making illegal zombie porn... should be an interesting read!

My review will be up as soon as I've read the book.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Site

Comics Wrap-Up - Disorientation and Vampires

Spring 1: Born Again, is another of the Double Take comics that I've been working my way through. I have to say, unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with this one. Apart from the unnecessary naked girl on the cover (which, let's face it, happens in comics from time to time,) and some of the (ahem) artwork that is most definitely not appropriate for younger audiences, I didn't actually have a clue what was going on. This may just have been me being a bit dull. But I have no clue what this was about - something to do with water? I was even confused about whether this was supposed to be one time period or two - there was 1960s stuff going on, and then what seemed to be modern stuff (though I'm not sure,) and I just got really disorientated with the whole thing (sigh.) Maybe I'll try reading it again some time - with more coffee in me - to see if it makes sense then.

The other comic-reading I've done this week is of the vampire variety - Halloween is coming up after all. I read Dark Horse Does Vampires Right - this is a sampler of vampire stories from Dark Horse - one of the larger non-Marvel, non-DC, publishers. Dark Horse's stable (ha, unintended horse pun,) tends to be quirky and/or slightly gothic. Vampires are one of their mainstays because of their rights to various Buffy the Vampire Slayer titles, which continue on past the show's seasons. Half of this collection of six tales involve titles from the Buffy pantheon - and I have to say, the Spike story bl***y rocked! I also love that the big, cataclysmic event, which changed everything in the Buffy universe was named 'Twilight,' somebody knew what it was they did - and is probably still chuckling to themselves to this day. The Strain and Baltimore stories were pretty cool - if a little creepy/bloody for some tastes. I like the art for the House of Night story - a comic adaptation of the House of Night YA novel series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. I've noticed a lot of YA gets adapted to comic/graphic novel form these days - which is pretty cool in my ever-so humble nerd-girl opinion. So, yeh, if you want a taste of Dark Horse's vampire titles, I do recommend this sampler - though it's perhaps a little mature for some readers.

Time to Review the Evidence - The Shape Stealer

Title: The Shape Stealer (US Link)
Author: Lee Carroll
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Series: Watchtower

A few starting notes:

This is another random pick from my last library haul (I have renewed, I won't be hunted down by mercenary librarians, it's fine.) I didn't realise when I picked it up, but it's actually book 3 of the Watchtower series. That didn't bother me too much because it's not like I've never dived into a series mid-way through before.

Lee Carroll is actually the pen name of a two-person writing team.


Premise:

Garet James, the Watchtower (a magically guardian-y type person,) has some stuff to deal with. Her boyfriend is a vampire (well, sort of,) and there's an ancient demon following them (don't you hate it when that happens?) plus there's a whole lot of time-travelling hijinks going on.

Best bits:

It's fun! The tone is light and enjoyable, and definitely readable.

The short chapters make it easy to dip in and out of, and it's easy to follow even with all the twists and turns of the plot. This is a chillax, Sunday afternoon when your brain needs some down-time kind of book. With supernatural stuff chucked in for good measure.

I'm also a fan of the urban fantasy sub-genre in general (that's where there's vampires and stuff faffing around modern cities,) and this carries it of competently.

Not so great bits:

I'm sorry, but the poetry and song lyrics just didn't do it for me. I found them naff. Very naff.

There's also plot-holes aplenty here, as is the hazard with time-travel plots - all those pesky paradoxes! But if you just let the plot-holes exist and quiet the voice that argues with them, you should be fine.

Verdict:

This is fairly enjoyable - a quick light read with the plus of supernatural goings-on and a good pace.