Showing posts with label urban dark fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban dark fantasy. Show all posts

Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld) Review

Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld) ReviewA friend had been urging me for months to read Kelley Armstrong's "Bitten," the first book in the "Women of the Otherworld" series. She told me that the novel was well written and unusual, with a fresh take on the same old werewolf/shapeshifter tale. So I finally got around to reading the book and all I have to say is "WOW!" I can't think of one negative comment to make, not that I'd want to. I only have praise for this terrific read and for the author. The plot is excellent; the dialogue is at times serious, at others very funny, filled with dark humor. And it's all very believable - if you believe in werewolves, of course.
Elena Michaels is a young, attractive, athletic journalist who lives in Toronto, Canada with her older lover, Philip, an architect. He is very serious about her and wants to marry her. Elena thinks she might care for him enough to marry him, except for one problem. Elena is a werewolf. As a matter of fact she is the only female werewolf...in the entire world. The werewolf gene has always been passed down from father to son - never to daughter. Almost all females bitten by werewolves have died before their bodies could adapt to the change. Elena's body adapted, which is more than can be said about her mind. She almost lost it for an entire year after her transformation. Then she finally accepted her fate. But she couldn't accept the betrayal, the bite, that made her other than human.
Ms. Armstrong's werewolves live in packs. They do not kill human beings. Those who choose the life of a loner, eschewing the pack, are called mutts. They are not to be trusted because they can become very violent, unpredictable, and sometimes kill people, just for the love of the kill. Therefore a special pack, the one Elena belonged to, tracks and monitors the mutts, worldwide.
Elena left her pack over a year before and is trying to make it on her own in the big city. However, the wild still calls to her and exerts a powerful pull. When a serious problem arises, Elena is called home to her pack's large forest estate in upstate New York, to assist them in their need. Then the real adventures, struggles and romance begin.
Ms. Armstrong's characters are marvelous. Elena is a feminist and holds her own among the males. She gives as good as she gets. She is sassy, cynical, realistic, good in combat, but inside she's about as tough as a marshmallow. The other characters are every bit as strong and complex. Their lives and histories unfold as you read. And there's a wonderful sense of comaraderie and caring among the pack. After you finish the book, you will care about them too. I have already ordered the next two books in the series: "Stolen" and "Dime Store Magic." This is a real find! Very highly recommended!
JANABitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld) Overview

Want to learn more information about Bitten: A Novel (Women of the Otherworld)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3) Review

The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3) Review"The Undead Kama Sutra" is Acevedo's third installment in the Felix Gomez series and while I have some minor quibbles, the overall effort shows growth and maturity in the writing and in the character development. Acevedo's Felix Gomez is an Iraq War vet turned vampire who has become a hard boiled private investigator in a classic noir sense. He lazily relies on his supernatural powers (hypnosis, stealth, etc.) to solve everyday cases and make a living while trying to balance his past as a human with his needs as a vampire.
Acevedo has created a plausible world of modern vampires that rivals that of Charlie Huston (see "Half The Blood In Brooklyn"). Both series portray the vampire world as coexisting in our modern world but in highly secretive fashion, with Gomez governed by and assisting, at times, the Araneum, a governing council for vampire behavior. While the texture and mood of their modern day vampire worlds are clearly different in the renderings of Huston and Acevedo, the vampire/human relationships and interactions and the philosophy, "laws", and governing structure underpinning their worlds are fun to unravel.
In this third installment, Felix is searching for the complete "The Undead Kama Sutra", a manual of sexual positions that promises great psychic benefits for vampires. This search ultimately teams him with Carmen Arellano, a sex driven vampire already deep into research on the manual. Their search is interrupted by the death of an alien who issues a cryptic warning to Felix to "find Goodman and save the Earth women".
This dying request launches an extended investigation that ultimately involves vampires, other extra-terrestrials, governmental and military conspiracies, a cosmetic industry conspiracy with aliens, a pretty darn good mystery, and some heavy discussion of sexual encounters that remain more talked about than fulfilled. Wow! If all that does not scare you off, then jump into the strange world of Mario Acevedo...it is a fun world to visit.
I enjoy reading the details of the rules and procedures for vampires living among the humans in Felix's life. For example, his joy at eating hot Mexican food laced with whole blood, or the various outcomes of his "fanging" a human along with how he controls the enzymes that have various functions in the process. Acevedo creates interesting fully fleshed characters and his plots are often unique to this genre. He still has problems with pacing at times, but that is becoming a minor quibble as his works matures. I recommend this series to fans of vampire literature or of supernatural noir.The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3) Overview

Want to learn more information about The Undead Kama Sutra (Felix Gomez, Book 3)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Crossed: A Void City Novel Review

Crossed: A Void City Novel
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Crossed: A Void City Novel? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Crossed: A Void City Novel. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Crossed: A Void City Novel Review***** Hey little sister what have you done *****
Eric is back and cruder than ever in J.F Lewis's epically awesome `Void City' series.
A lot happened in the second book `Revamped'. Eric and his Mouser, Talbot, defeated a demon and incurred the wrath of Hell. Eric finally got wise to the wily ways of tantric witch, Rachel and agreed to keep her as his thrall if she stayed in line. Eric also turned a bunch of Sweetheart Row prostitutes into thralls and now has a ready supply of servants/snacks at his remodelled Demon Heart (now a bowling alley). Eric also discovered who his maker is - a French aristocrat emperor vampire called Lissette.
Oh, and he proposed to his girlfriend/latest vampire child, Tabitha (despite having a sidelines affair with her sister, the very same witchy Rachel).
`Crossed' begins on the day of the wedding . . . and if you think Eric taking to the aisle is going to reform him, the first page is a rude awakening. Eric is about to say "I do" but before the nuptials he and Rachel have a little fun in the rectory. Still, despite the single most unromantic wedding speech (with Eric promising to cheat and eventually forget the bride's name), the crazy vampires do get hitched and hitch a ride to Paris, France for the honeymoon.
Except that Eric's maker, Lissette, pays a visit to Void City to meet with her creation. And Eric and Tabitha have to face off against Europe's true immortals if they hope to stay in Paris.
Rachel has plans of her own to crash the honeymoon and the power behind Void City has a scheme brewing.
You can bet that the honeymooners won't be having a grand old time in the city of love.
***** Hey little sister shot gun! *****
I loooooooove the `Void City' series. I maintain that the books are not for everyone - yes, there are hot girls on the covers, but the characters within are morally bankrupt and the storyline is often a twisted fare. In other words, J.F. Lewis is writing vampires as Bram Stoker intended - gloriously mean. They snack on people, kill without consequence and to hell with all the rest.
And Eric may just be the most unrepentant of them all. Eric has rage blackouts when he turns into uber-vamp - a blackened, winged monster who is the embodiment of Eric's anger. Eric is also incapable of feeling, much - like with Tabitha, he knows he doesn't love her but he doesn't hate her all the time and that warrants a wedding. Still, Eric has flashes (however dim and brief) of decency. He has firm rules about not harming children, and in fact he saved his adopted `daughter' Greta from a human monster years ago. Eric also maintains that the love of his life is Marilyn - the human woman who he was once engaged to but who also cheated on him and perished in the explosion at Demon Heart.
With Eric, it's a game of checks and balances. Overwhelmingly, he's corrupt and morally bankrupt. But if he was completely villainous and devoid of redemption, then he wouldn't be interesting to read. The true brilliance in his character is wading through the snark and murk and crossing your fingers that Eric does something somewhat `nice', for once.
Rachel is another villainous all together. I would wage that she's worse than Eric, partly because a death by leukaemia and a trip to hell changed her for the worse. Rachel is so teeth-grindingly awful; and it's made doubly worse by the fact that Eric has a soft spot (blind spot!) for her. Still, she's one of those `evil' characters who is so outlandishly, gut-wrenchingly awful that they bypass annoying and head straight into fascinating reading.
The same can be said of Eric's adopted vampire daughter, Greta. Part of `Crossed' is told from Greta's perspective and it's so twistingly psychotic that she's a (sick) delight to read. Greta had a traumatic childhood, and even though she's been an adult vampire for years now, she's still living in the fall-out of post-traumatic stress. Greta's mindscape is at once childlike and chillingly primal. She's hungry; so she (over)eats. She wants to know what a ribcage looks like; so she kills someone and feeds them to Fang (Eric's vampire car).
I love J.F. Lewis's characters. They can be cut and dry awful, but it's his glimpses into the gray areas that keep you coming back for more (like a martyr) in the hopes that the redemption finally overtakes the cruelty.
***** It's a nice day to start again *****
I definitely get the feeling that `Crossed' is all about `the long game' for J.F. Lewis and his `Void City' series. Many new players come out of the woodwork and show their sleight of hand. From Ebon Winter, the singing God and son to Phillip . . . to Phillip's staked show-case, Percy. I had a feeling that these bit players would step to the forefront eventually, I was just ridiculously happy that Lewis trotted them out in this third book. Percy, especially, has me grossed-out and intrigued...
`Crossed' also marks the mention of Eric's `destiny'. There are many references made to Eric's place in the grand scheme of things - and many characters reveal how they have a hand in Eric's trajectory. I cannot wait to see how this all plays out . . . Lewis has left many bread-crumbs throughout `Crossed', and I can't wait to see where they lead to.
***** It's a nice day for a white wedding *****
As J.F. Lewis is prone to do, `Crossed' ends on a giant chasm of a cliff-hanger. I'm talking heart-in-your-throat-ass-on-the-edge-of-the-seat kind of cliff-hanger. It will greatly affect Eric and his `destiny', and especially impact on Tabitha and the un-life she and Eric have embarked on.
I will say that I hope the next book in the series has more Eric/Tabitha interaction. We've never really read them together for extended periods of time (what with Eric banging her sister and all) . . . but these two at the end of `Crossed' were hilarious (like a twisted Lucy and Ricky) and I'd love to see more wicked banter between them.
***** It's a nice day to start again *****
`Crossed' is yet another tantalizingly abhorrent instalment in the `Void City' series. J.F. Lewis keeps getting better and better, and Eric keeps getting nastier and nastier. I love it! I especially love reading these books to catch snatches of Eric's prospective soul and evidence of his (possible) redemption. `Crossed' is definitely looking towards the `Void City' long game and what is in store for Eric . . . yes, there's a Grand-Canyon-sized cliff-hanger, but it's all worth it for the grand new turn the series is taking. Plus, I can't begrudge Lewis a cliff-hanger ending when he wrote one of the funniest and twisted references to make me cackle: "Chitty Chitty Fang Bang". Touché, Lewis.Crossed: A Void City Novel OverviewCOMMITTED. CONFLICTED. AND UTTERLY CHAOTIC. In spite of his continuing hot-blooded affair with his soon-to-be sister-in-law Rachel, Eric's plan is simple: Give his vampire girlfriend Tabitha the fancy wedding she's always wanted, then head off to Paris for their honeymoon in the hopes of tracking down his sire, the Empress vampire Lisette. The City of Love proves anything but romantic when the True Immortal rulers of Europe try to block Eric from entering the Continent—and subject Tabitha to a series of challenges to prove her vampire worth. Back home in Void City, Eric's volatile daughter Greta is getting lonely and bored—and that's not good news for anyone. And when, like a bat out of hell, Lisette descends upon Void City to wipe Eric and his brood off the face of the earth—forever—this much is clear: the honeymoon is over.

Want to learn more information about Crossed: A Void City Novel?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...