[Audiobook Review] The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison

The Outlaw Demon Wails
The Hollows #6
Kim Harrison
February 26th, 2008
Eos

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To save the lives of her friends, Rachel did the unthinkable: she willingly trafficked in forbidden demon magic. And now her sins are coming home to haunt her.

As Rachel searches for the truth behind a terrifying murder, an even greater menace threatens, for the demon Algaliarept will stop at nothing to claim her, and the discovery of a shocking family secret throws Rachel's entire life into question. If she is ever to live free, Rachel must first walk willingly into the demonic ever-after in search of long-lost ancient knowledge.

But when you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line...and there are some lines that should never be crossed.

 Since it is Kim Harrison audiobook time, I finished The Outlaw Demon Wails.  I have not read or listened to this one before so I have to say it comes in as a close second to my favorite in the series so far because my favorite is still  A Fistful of Charms.  In this book Al has escaped the Ever After because someone is summoning him out.  Al is out of blood, Rachel's blood that is, and he is torturing her loved ones just to piss Rachel off.   Rachel must team up with Trey to save herself and the ones she cares about and travel into the Ever After.  Meanwhile Rachel discovers a shocking secret about her parentage that will have her questioning who she is.  Also, Ceri has some shocking news herself and Quin will put himself in mortal peril to help Ceri.

As always in a Rachel Morgan book there is a lot going on and Rachel must deal with it all as well as trying to heal from the tragedy that struck her in the previous book.  I don't know how Kim Harrison does it but the story never bogs down as Rachel moves from one crisis to another.  In this book we get a glimpse into Rachel's childhood and more contact with her mother.  I love her mother and my favorite scene is when she is giving Rachel advice on her love life.  I liked how all the plot lines come together in the end and Rachel is able to save the day with just the right amount of humor and dramatic flair.

As far as the narrator of this book it is the only one that does not have Marguerite Gavin narrating and this narrator is Gigi Bermingham.  My only complaint about this book is the narrator I disliked the way she voiced Jenks but it wasn't enough to make me stop the audiobook.  When listening to this book just do like I did and keep reminding yourself she only does this book and Ms. Gavin will return for White Witch, Black Curse and it will help you get through Jenks' voice narration.  Overall, I really like Outlaw Demon Wails and give this audiobook four solid laser pistols.

[Review] Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Firelight
Darkest London #1
Kristen Callihan

January 31st, 2012
Forever

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Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Hi it's Amy back with some more romancing and this time I just finished Firelight(Darkest London) by Kristen Callihan. It is full of mystery, action, and of course hot steamy romance.  Let me tell me you Firelight does not disappoint and I  really liked it.  It is about Miranda a girl that in her youth was a street waif named Pip.  One night when she is accosted by a street gang, a mysterious cloaked man comes to her rescue and she never sees him again.  Years later in an act out of Beauty and the Beast her father gives her to the mysterious nobleman Lord Archer to wed.

Lord Archer is the notorious Dark Lord because he is so disfigured he was wears a full or half mask all the time.  She later discovers that the mysterious man in the alley was Lord Archer and that he has been keeping track of her because he was entranced on their first meeting.    Now someone who is dressing like Lord Archer and committing murder is out to frame him and kill Miranda.

For me, this book reminded me of Phantom of the Opera or Beauty and the Beast meets a Victorian gas light mystery.  I found myself really drawn into the mystery that surrounded Lord Archer.  I was kept guessing all the way through as to what Lord Archer was and I never saw the truth til the end. As far as the mystery of the murders I suspected about half way through who the murderer was but the motive had me guessing.  I love a good mystery that leaves me stumped til the end.

As for the romance between Lord Archer and Miranda  it was steamy and full of chemistry.  So while the story might not be original the twist to it was and I enjoyed reading the unraveling of the mystery and seeing Lord Archer and Miranda fall in love.  I am a sucker for happy endings and finding redemption through love.  I give Firelight four solid laser pistols.

I will definitely be reading more from this author and the next book in the series is Moonglow and it stars Miranda's sister Daisy.

[Review] The Hot Gate by John Ringo

The Hot Gate
Troy Rising #3
John Ringo
May 3rd, 2011
Baen

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The fight to free the Earth from alien domination began in "Live Free or Die," and continued in "Citadel." Now Tyler Vernon, and his troops aboard the gigantic battle station "Troy," face a desperate battle with the forces of galactic tyranny. And the very survival of the Earth and its people is not all that is at stake. The galaxy itself must choose to live free or die--and if the tyrants win this battle, darkness will fall across the galaxy for millennia to come.

 

Chris here again with some more laser pistol and to counter balance all that romance.

The Hot Gate picks up right where Citadel left off and with much the same characters. John Ringo continues to draw my attention as his characters seem to come alive on the page and the story feeds my inner geek.

This time our heroes have to deal with not only hostile aliens and the battlefields of space, but the far more dangerous battle ground of diplomacy. And not just with the aliens, but with other groups on Earth.

Class and culture issues are a main point here. But, win the fight for survival among the stars, there is only one culture that Earth can stand to have. And that's the one where things are done right the first time, and every time. After all, you don't usually get a second chance to suck vacuum.

I will say the first half of the book is a little slow, with lots of build up for the faster paced action we're used to in the later parts of the book. That was my only real complaint about the whole book, I had to read through the occasional boring part, but I knew in the end, it would be worth it.

Overall, I give The Hot Gate a solid 4 out of 5 laser pistols. Trust me, when you get to the serious action, you'll agree it is worth it.

 

 

[Audiobook Review] For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison

For A Few Demons More
The Hallows #5
Kim Harrison
March 20th, 2007
Eos

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Despite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble . . . until now. A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, claiming victims across society, and the resulting terror ignites a vicious Inderland gang war. And while the ancient artifact Rachel is hiding may be the key to stopping the murderer, revealing it could also create a battle to the death among the numerous supernatural races that live in and around Cincinnati.

For every action has its price, and when the vampire master Piscary is set free and the demonic Algaliarept dares to walk openly under the sun, even Rachel Morgan can't hide forever.

 So since it is Kim Harrison Audiobook month in honor of Ever After coming out January 22.  I have re-listened to For A Few Demons.  I give this book four solid laser pistols.  Rachel has a lot on her plate,  tyring to find out who is killing weres and keeping The Focus safe.  As always when I revisit the Hollow with Rachel Morgan I love the world and the supporting cast.  I adore Jenks in all his pixie glory and Ivy as well.

I loved the action in this book and though parts might have moved a little faster for my taste it was still an enjoyable listen.  Rachel is hunting a were killer, playing guard duty for Trent at his wedding, trying to hold her relationships together and all of it comes to a head in this book.  I loved the scene at the wedding it was priceless and had me laughing.  The end of this book is bittersweet and I was reminded at how sad I was for everyone involved.  Rachel as always lives her life by the seat of her pants and not making good decisions and hoping for the best.  The catastrophic event she faces at the end will force her to grow up and reevaluate how she live her life.  I recommend checking out all the book in the Hollows series you won't be disappointed.  Marguerite Gavin is wonderful narrator and I love how she brings the cast alive.

[Review] A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry

A Royal Pain
Megan Mulry
November 1st, 2012
Sourcebooks Landmark
338 pages

Caution this review may contains spoilers 

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Bronte Talbott follows all of the exploits of the British royals. After all, they're the world's most preeminent dysfunctional family. And who is she to judge? Bronte's own search for love isn't going all that well, especially after her smooth-talking Texan boyfriend abruptly leaves her in the dust.

Bronte keeps a lookout for a rebound to help mend her broken heart, and when she meets Max Heyworth, she's certain he's the perfect transition man. But when she discovers he's a duke, she has to decide if she wants to stay with him for the long haul and deal with the opportunities-- and challenges-- of becoming a royal.

 Hi it's Amy back again with more romancing.  I just finished A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry and I have to say for me this book gets three solid laser pistols.  It is a contemporary, New Adult or Chick Lit, novel about a young woman swept off her feet by a dashing British gentleman she later discovers is actually a duke.  This book for me was a little hard to get into because of the writing style.  The writing style is reminiscent of Marian Keys or Sophie Kinsella but it was a bit more awkward.  Once you get past the writing and the beginning of the book the story starts flow.

It starts off telling the story Bronte's sad and torrid love affair with Mr. Texas and what brought her to Chicago and all the self doubts and bad childhood memories that brought her to the state of mind she is in when she finally meets Max Heyworth.  He is British and leaving so they are supposed to have a no strings attached affair but sometimes it's not always easy to leave the feelings at the door and they fall in love.

The summary lead me to believe this book would be about a plucky, cusses too much, American girl trying to find her place in British upper crust society.  But it's really about a girl with too many hangups and almost losing a man who really loves her because she can't let go of the past.

 I liked the chemistry between Bronte and Max and I felt their love was real.  But at times I had to set the book down because Bronte would piss me off with her self doubt I don't want to lose my freedom and who I am in this relationship B.S. and again would push Max away.  She does this several times in the book and I know Max has issues too, but if I were him that crap would get old real fast for me too.  I felt like the parts with his family were quickly glossed over and not really much to them they accept Bronte pretty quickly.

I like Max and Bronte as a unit maybe not as individuals and I loved the supporting cast.  Bronte's friend and client, Sarah, and Max's fun loving womanizing younger brother, Devon.  Bronte's and Max's friends David and Willa add something special to the book.  I will probably read the next book since it will be staring Devon and Sarah.  It wasn't the romance in A Royal Pain that was bad and I loved that part thought their love affair was very sweet.   It was Bronte's tortured heroine bit that got on my nerves and moved this book for me down from a four to a three because loving someone unconditionally and having them return that doesn't mean the loss of independence and that they are trying to change you and that it takes Bronte the entire novel to figure that out.

[ARC Review] Pantomime by Laura Lam

Pantomime
Laura Lam
February 5th, 2013
Strange Chemistry

Arc courtesy of Angry Robot via Netgalley.

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R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

 Hi guys it's Amy back finally with my first book review of 2013.  Let me start off by saying that for me Pantomime is just so so and for that reason I give this book three laser pistols.  The reason for this because it's starts off interesting but looses steam half way through the book and picks back up at the end.  Also, this book is left wide open for a sequel because there are just too many questions left unanswered by the end of this book.  The reason it gets a three laser pistols and not a two is that I love the idea of this world and the circus and I thought the author did a good job building the world.  It's just that the mystery fell flat for me.  I love circuses and the magic and mystery they represent and if you are looking for a book with a good circus in it then R.H. Ragona's Circus of Magic doesn't disappoint.  It has freaks, acrobats, and performers and I love that it all seen through Micah's eyes so the magic and mystic is not clouded with cynicism.  In the end the circus itself could not keep my attention and I felt that at times I had to force myself to pick Pantomime back up. 

[Review] Dogs of War by Adrian Sparkman

Dogs of War
Adrian Sparkman
November 22nd, 2012
Lurkadian Publishing
279 pages

Amazon

Jace Walters had never bothered to consider the future and what it might hold for him. The night of his high school graduation was the start of a journey he couldn't have imagined if he had tried.

Jace and his friends find themselves abducted by alien slavers looking to refill their depleted stores of cannon fodder. But Jace and his friends, Earthly and alien, aren't going to just be warm bodies for the meat grinder.

Now fast forward ten years: Jace and his crew have become some of the most feared, and sought after mercenaries in the known universe. They hadn't thought of ever seeing Earth again, but their Masters have a little problem.

A dangerous experiment has escaped and is heading for Earth and THAT could turn into a PR nightmare, so Jace and the crew are dispatched to retrieve the experiment at all cost. Hopefully before Earth's dominant life form becomes extinct.

Well, this book caught my eye after reading the summary, and I will admit this book didn't disappoint.

The author throws you right into the action and feeds you bits of the back-story throughout the book. But it is done in such a way that the book never bogs down with meaningless narrative. The author doesn't weigh the reader down with techno jargon. This book can be followed easily by a casual sci-fi fan who isn't going to question every little piece of technology.

I found myself drawn into this story and didn't want to put the book down. The story had me laughing at the jokes and feeling for the characters as they faced adversity.

I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 laser pistols and recommend it for casual readers of both sci-fi and adventure.

 

[News] Amy's Absence

Well folks, Amy was in the ER for intense abdominal pains the other day. She's doing better, but it has put her off her reading schedule for a few days. She'll be back to writing reviews soon.

Chris