Once Bitten Review

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Once Bitten ReviewNew author - great story. I love books by such authors as Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Robin McKinley, Nalini Singh, Michelle Sagara, Katie MacAlister, Rachel Caine, Ilona Andrews, Carrie Vaughn...I love Fantasy, SciFi, Urban Fantasy. Well, I loved this book. Kalayna Price creates a world you want to visit and characters you want to know. My only complaint - it was too short. I wasn't ready to leave Kita and her friends. I want more.
Kita is a shifter who turns into a calico house cat and as her father's heir, she doesn't think she is up to the task of leading her clan, full of such shifters as lions and tigers. So she escapes to earth through a gate that opens on the full moon. Constantly hiding from the hunters sent to find her she is just scraping by, surviving hand to mouth, day to day. She is not really living, nor does she actually hope for more out of life. Truly a lost little kitten in a big bad world. I loved that the author let us know just how lost Kita was, how foreign she found earth by the little keepsakes she keeps in her coat pockets...like a couple of marbles. When Kita first found the marbles she thought they were very pretty rocks. The story is fast pased and for Kita it quickly goes to heck in a hand basket only to find herself a newly made vampire. She has no idea what that means for her. She's not even sure she's still a shifter. Talk about a fish out of water...a lost little kitten. Through her struggles she finds more strength within herself then she ever could have imagined. (She is woman hear her meow.) After being such a loner and so alone for the last 5 years, she finds true friends. People she can count on when things get rough...and they definitely get rough. I'm really looking forward to more in the haven series with book two, 'Twice Dead' coming out February 2010.Once Bitten Overview

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Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) Review

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Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) ReviewThis is an extremely good start to a series - well-structured and original, with unexpected plot developments and convincing characters who are deep and finely-drawn enough to hold the reader's interest. Rather than just presenting us with a cardboard cut-out hardboiled-but-vulnerable heroine and bad-boy anti-hero, the author slowly peels back the layers of backstory at judicious intervals throughout the book to reveal credible reasons for Pete's prickliness and Jack's damage. She also avoids overstretching the suspension of disbelief that is necessary for any fantasy story, by inserting authentically gritty touches - such as the grim realities of using heroin to numb mental pain.
The Black and its assorted denizens are comparable to Simon Green's Nightside, but only to the extent that fans of that series are likely to enjoy this one. Jack Winter's physical description is a touch reminiscent of Spike in Buffy the Vampire slayer, but a sly reference to Billy Idol (to whom Spike is an homage) in the text indicates that this is a conscious credit rather than a crib.
So why only 3 stars? Because the catch is that while the book is set in London, it is not written by an English native, and while the direct speech might be enough like that of a Brit to be accepted in the US, to an English reader it sets the teeth on edge and spoils what is otherwise a very impressive read. The mistakes are subtle, but grating - 'bugger all', for instance, is generally slang for 'nothing' in UK English and is inaccurately used here. Nor does using 'bloody' as punctuation in almost every character's dialogue (it appears at least twice on every single page) substitute for an authentic written English accent - the general effect is of something translated from another tongue by someone to whom UK English is a second language - grammatically accurate but the vocabulary use is just a bit off. If Ms Kittredge sorts out this weakness in future books, the Black London novels could become one of the best new series to hit the fantasy arena.
**Since first posting this review on Amazon.co.uk, other British readers have also commented adversely on Ms Kittredge's grasp (or lack thereof) of UK slang and speech patterns. It's a great pity, but there is still time for her to correct this one flaw before the next book in the series is published. Let's hope ...Street Magic (Black London, Book 1) Overview

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Darkness Becomes Her Review

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Darkness Becomes Her ReviewSYNOPSIS:
Ari was born with teal eyes and silver hair which can not be changed nor destroyed. She has always felt like a freak. Ari has grown up in numerous foster homes since her mother left her as a child. Now that she's older, she wants some answers as to who she is and where she has come from.
Ari is not guaranteed many answers when she finds her mother has been dead for many years. She does, however, uncover one short and not extremely detailed message: RUN. Where can she run and who exactly is she running from? Ari knows someone, or something, is after her.
She decides to return to the place of her birth, New 2, the rebuilt city of New Orleans which was destroyed by multiple category 4 hurricanes when she was a child. Ari has never been sure of what New 2 really holds but once she returns, she finds it is very different. Where growing up Ari was pretty much a freak, in New 2 she is practically normal.
Creatures here seem to be afraid of Ari and what she can do, whatever that is. She is determined to find out the truth about herself, but sometimes the truth is more terrifying and haunting than Ari could ever suspect.
The premise was quite different than what I've come across in most YA paranormal novels recently. It had an entire slew of different creatures. Your more common vampire and werewolf showed up, as well as more unique characters like harpies, gods and arachnid people.
The setting of New 2 - an improvised version of New Orleans - was quite interesting. With the amount of hurricanes that hit around that area, I could actually imagine the type of damage that could happen and the way the city was rebuilt by the society in this novel. New 2 is now a secluded and dangerous sector separated from the rest of the U.S. after it's purchase and refurbishment by the Novem. The area is now riddled with rumors of the supernatural.Darkness Becomes Her Overview

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Bite Me Review

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Bite Me ReviewBite Me is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelf forever and I'm just now getting around to reading. It's also one of those books I wish I'd picked up the second it came in my mailbox.
While the first couple of chapters start out slow, Bite Me quickly wrapped me up in lots of suspense, drama, and romance. It was a nice change of pace from many of the other paranormal books out there because, instead of fawning over the vampires and their hotness, these characters are kicking vampire butt. In fact, my favorite thing about the book was the characters. They had spunk and personality, which added so much to the story. I also loved all of the different paranormal creatures introduced.
Like I mentioned, the plot moves pretty quickly and there's a lot of fun vampire-butt-kicking, as well as some romance and drama.
The one thing I do feel like I need to mention is that while this is marketed towards YA, there's a lot of romance that I feel would also be more suited for an adult novel. But, that's just my personal opinion and while it didn't take away from the story for me, I just wanted everyone to be aware of that.
Overall, I highly recommend this.
Bite Me Overview

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Deadtown (A Deadtown Novel) Review

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Deadtown (A Deadtown Novel) ReviewFirst the pros:
- I really enjoyed our heroine, Vicky. She was powerful, funny, smart and kicked all kinds of tail. Not quite as awesome as my current favorite, Kate Daniels, but I would say that she's not too far off.
- The plot was interesting, moved quickly and concluded well. The menace was believable, the dramatic elements were clever and I just liked it. I thought the premise was an interesting twist on the old favorite. And that is getting much harder to do lately.
- World-building. We didn't get to see as much of the world as I would have liked, since the focus was mainly on the action, but what we saw was interesting and original.
All this counts for a lot, but with the urban fantasy market as crowded as it is, it takes that extra something for a book to go from good to great in my view. And the one, massive con was something I couldn't move past: the cast.
I did not like any of the supporting cast. They were, almost without exception, untrustworthy, evil or plain old jerks and they made the book a lot less believable. The one I took the most exception to, and will use as the example to illustrate my point, is Tina.
Tina the zombie sidekick is actually a potentially interesting and original new character. Unfortunately Tina completely lacked charm. Every time she appeared on the page I wanted someone, anyone, to slap the heck out of her. Not for being a smartass, but for consistently pulling crap that could get our heroine killed. She's a danger to pretty much everyone around her, literally from the first chapter. The heroine can probably empathize, since she was something like that as a teenager, but Vicky's actions as a teenager actually DID cause a tragedy. Every time Tina appeared and did something stupid that could get the heroine killed I wondered why the heroine would ever agree to train her, knowing that the attitude could get someone killed. It didn't make any sense. I cant imagine her associating with, much less training, someone who doesn't listen, will STEAL from her, and is a danger to her AND her clients. She has experienced the consequences of such a lack of control and unwillingness to listen in her past and out to know better. It ripped me right out of the story, as I spent the time thinking WTF!
Tina was the character that aggravated me the most, but far from the only one. The client and politicians were a cliche, the lawyer boyfriend plain unlikable, and the human love interest was boring. If we must have a romance (and I know it's pretty much a given in this genre- I don't mind it when it's done well), I hope the author will introduce a viable third candidate in the next book. The closest I came to really liking any character other than the lead was in flashbacks to Vicky's dead relatives.
I will certainly check out the reviews of the second book in this series when it is published. I hope that further development will make the cast a bit more interesting and fun to read about. There are just too many good urban fantasy books out there right now to buy one that doesn't get me interested from the beginning. If the cast issues are addressed, I will absolutely buy the next book.Deadtown (A Deadtown Novel) Overview

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Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1) Review

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Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1) ReviewGrave Witch is an enthralling paranormal murder mystery. Set in a world where the imaginary have come out to play, Fey are members of government and magic is as common as kleenex. Our heroine Alex Craft is a rare Grave Witch able to raise shades, give them enough energy to be visible, and use "grave sight" to see into alternate planes of reality. But even to other grave witches she different, with the ability to see and speak with death himself.
The story begins with Alex just trying to make ends meat, and while helping out her sister, stumbles onto a ritualistic serial murder. Before she even knows it someone's trying to kill her, while death, ironically is trying to save her life. In a world where disapperances are all too common, the Fey are doing there best to kidnap her. And sexy new Detective Andrews seems to be everywhere she is, becoming just as bad as her new ghost stalker. But Alex has to find the murderer, and soon, her own life depends on it.
Grave Witch is fast paced, and complexed. There was a lot going on in this book. All the different threads could have become a jumbled mess, but were well handled, and came together nicely in the end, weaving some unexpected surprises sure to provide the foundation to the sequel. Kalayna Price's new book is heavy on the storyline, light on the romance, that built slowly bewteen Alex and her admirers. This has potential for a serious love triangle in the next book. With the foundation set and charaters established I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
This is a great book to curl up in your favorite comfy spot and get lost in. For Hours. Highly entertaining. Hard to put down.Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1) Overview

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Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files, Book 1) Review

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Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files, Book 1) ReviewSYNOPSIS:
Jace Valchek is a very good profiler for the FBI in St. Louis and she has worked very hard to earn her top-notch reputation. Suddenly her entire world is turned upside down when she finds that she has been moved by magic into a parallel universe and that no amount of clicking her heels together will get her back to Kansas. At least, not the Kansas she knows.
OPINION:
Wow, Oh Wow! Just fasten your seat belt and hang on tight for this fantasy excursion into another world altogether. Jace is pulled without any warning whatsoever into a parallel universe because there is a serial killer on the loose and the NSA in that world needs the profiling skills Jace has to help them catch their killer before another murder takes place. Now, Jace is good at her job but she has never faced situations like these before. To begin with let's just take into account the makeup of the population she is now in. The percentages are: 37% vampire, 43% lycanthrope, 9% golem and 1% human. Uh-oh! And, the NSA boss Jace is working with, David Cassius, assures her that the serial killer is not only human, but that this particular human is insane. These ritual killing victims are vampires and lycanthropes alike but all of this seems to be leading to a big picture which is likely to put the entire universe at risk.
This story started out with Jace being called in to help profile the serial killer but went on to get bigger and bigger until it involved Jace trying to save an entire world. As if that wasn't enough for a girl to handle on a good day, Jace is having some very bad days. It seems that her body is suffering from RDT (Reality Dislocation Trauma) and her only option is to drink an herbal concoction called Urthbone, a substance which will help ground her both physically and psychically to her new environment. When she takes the Urthbone it makes her more sensitive to the emotions of some of those around her, when she doesn't she gets so sick that she lands back in the hospital. So, what's a girl to do?
This book is an intense reading experience and definitely not for the faint of heart. The descriptions of the victims of the killings and HOW they were killed are graphic and gruesome. Remember that Jace was dealing with victims who were either vampire or lycanthropes. That meant that special considerations had to be taken into account for HOW to not just kill them, but make them stay dead. Really, really inventive stuff from this author but not for those with a tendency to queasiness. Jace is a fabulous character for me. She is smart-mouthed but funny at the same time, sarcastic, witty, definitely not charming and she doesn't show a lot of sympathy for rules or rule-makers, but her intuition for scoping out another person is usually spot on. I liked her, I liked her a lot.
RECOMMENDATION:
I highly recommend this book. Now, does the above mean that it was a perfect book? Nope, at least not for me. My problems with it may seem small but to me they mattered. First of all, saving the entire universe??? Really? The scope of this book grew to be so large that it became almost overwhelming. It only worked for me because I forced myself to LET it work. I think the adventure went too far too fast for someone who has just landed in that universe. Hey, that's just me, but it is my opinion. Next, the use of abbreviations. I really got annoyed. Pire for vampire, thrope for lycanthrope, vic for victim. Every flippin time I came across one of those my little pea sized brain took a stumble and I had to back up and read the sentence again to understand why we were talking about spires, OH, NOT SPIRES, JUST PIRES. Well, sure, that makes me feel better. To me, the first time I saw vic I thought it was a typo. Then I wondered who Vic was. Oops, vic as in victim. I see by the excerpt from book #2 that these same abbreviations will be present again. Darn! Without those things which annoyed me personally as a reader, I know I would have had nothing but praise for D D Barant who is a new author for me to keep tabs on.
By the way, if you want to know why it is called The Bloodhound Files series, read the book. That's how I found out.Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files, Book 1) Overview

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Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1) Review

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Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1) ReviewIf Urban Fantasy were a poker game, and UF authors were the players, Jennifer Estep would be the one who sat down at a high stakes game full of steely-eyed gamblers, pushed a huge pile of chips into the middle of table and said, "All in." In a genre full of gritty locales and bada** heroines, Estep found a way to up the ante.
Gin Blanco, the heroine of Spider's Bite, is an assassin. She's not a former assassin. She's not an assassin in the service of some higher cause, she has no special dispensation from angels or demons or any other supernatural group that hands out licenses to kill. She's an assassin for hire and she takes real pride in a job well done. Gin does prefer to kill people who deserve it - she does a fair amount of "pro bono" work, as she calls it - but this is one book that doesn't gloss over the fact that even her charitable activities leave bodies on the floor, wives without husbands, children without fathers.
The plot is fast-paced, a real page-turner. As the book opens, Gin is just finishing one job and, once the deed is done, she's immediately sent on another. She prefers a little more prep time, but the contract is worth $5 million and the job doesn't sound too hard: all she has to do is kill a middle aged accountant within a certain time frame. For an assassin of Gin's caliber, nothing could be easier. But just as she's about to pull the trigger, Gin discovers she's been double-crossed: the client who took out the contract on the accountant took out another on Gin herself. The plan was for Gin's death to tie up any loose ends related to the accountant's murder and keep suspicion away from the client. But things don't go as planned. Gin kills the assassin hired to kill her rather than the other way around, and then she goes looking for revenge.
Gin isn't squeamish about killing, but she does have a softer side and she's utterly dedicated to the few people in the world who she really cares about. Saying she'd protect them with her life is putting it mildly. I found Gin surprisingly likable. She's so confident, so at ease with herself, and she throws herself into whatever she does 110%. I was really convinced by her personality, by the mix of deep feeling and heartless violence, and I rooted for her even as the bodies piled up.
The fantasy aspect here has a lot of supernatural species running amok in the world - dwarves, vampires, and giants - but especially elementals. Elementals have magic related to one of the four elements: fire, stone, air, and ice. In some cases, two. Gin is a Stone elemental, and the villain of Spider's Bite is an Air elemental. The magic is pretty thoroughly integrated into the story, but all of the characters behaved like humans. There didn't seem to be any kind species-centric personality traits - no werewolves with pack instinct, no vampires who can't control their bloodlust, etc. This made the magic feel a lot more mundane...which might be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective.
Spider's Bite didn't make me jump up and down with glee, but it's probably the best series-starter I've read in a couple of months, and I'm eager to read the sequel.Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1) Overview

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