Urban-Fantasy

REVIEW: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

REVIEW: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Dear Ms. Harris: Now that I read so much in digital, I don’t pay as much attention to book covers as I used to. But the cover for Dead Ever After says so much about the book itself, that I’m tempted to tell people who wonder how the series ends to take their cues from(…)

REVIEW:  Smoketown by Tenea D. Johnson

REVIEW: Smoketown by Tenea D. Johnson

  The city of Leiodare is unlike any other in the post-climate change United States. Within its boundaries, birds are outlawed and what was once a crater in Appalachia is now a tropical, glittering metropolis where Anna Armour is waiting. An artist by passion and a factory worker by trade, Anna is a woman of(…)

REVIEW:  Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

REVIEW: Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Dear Ms. Ward: I’ll be honest — I was a rabid fan of the first three books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. In fact, I’ll still pull out Lover Eternal sometimes, because I enjoy Rhage and Mary’s story so much. But as the series turned more towards Urban Fantasy and became more epic in(…)

REVIEW:  Slashback by Rob Thurman

REVIEW: Slashback by Rob Thurman

Dear Ms. Thurman, It’s rare that a long-running series can hold my attention. Very few authors have successfully have kept my engagement levels high over extended periods of time. (And one of them I freely admit is done so with no small amount of resentment — George R. R. Martin, I’m looking at you.) Usually(…)

Janine’s Best of 2012 List

Janine’s Best of 2012 List

My top ten favorite books published in 2012, ranked (that part was haaaard) and described: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore Review by me. This intricately plotted YA fantasy about a young queen’s heroic determination to uncover buried truths about her father and nation was an almost flawless read. Beloved characters from Graceling return and new ones(…)

REVIEW:  Iced by Karen Marie Moning

REVIEW: Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Dear Ms. Moning, The Fever series was exciting and unparalleled in urban fantasy. When I heard you were branching off from the Fever series with a second trilogy, I had high hopes. Sadly, this book fell short of my expectations. Whereas the Fever series was held together by the glue that was Mac and all(…)

REVIEW:  Kept by Shawntelle Madison

REVIEW: Kept by Shawntelle Madison

Dear Ms. Madison: The “Coveted” series is narrated by Natayla, a werewolf on the very bottom of the pack hierarchy. She suffers from OCD and overall weakness in strength. I wasn’t sure from the text whether it was for psychological disorder or physical weakness that made her pack view her with disgust but she is(…)

REVIEW:  The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams

REVIEW: The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams

Dear Ms. Williams: SPOILERS FOR THE SHADOW READER are contained in this review. Here’s the thing I don’t understand. If fantasy books are supposed to be so hardcore, why are the female characters often depicted without agency? And if they aren’t considered romances, why is the primary conflict which hot guy to pick? McKenzie Lewis(…)

REVIEW:  Angel Ink by Jocelynn Drake

REVIEW: Angel Ink by Jocelynn Drake

Dear Ms. Drake, My previous exposure to your novels didn’t work so well for me but I’m always willing to give a writer another shot, especially if it’s for a different series. I also admit that a couple years ago, I was in the midst of severe urban fantasy burnout. While I’m still jaded on(…)

REVIEW:  Lightning Rod by Vaughn R. Demont

REVIEW: Lightning Rod by Vaughn R. Demont

If I could offer one piece of advice now, as I fall past the eighty-fourth floor of Victory Tower, with the sky above me the swirling eye of a crimson hurricane, the blade of a goddess stuck in my thigh, and a man I used to love preparing to end the world, it would be(…)

REVIEW:  Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

REVIEW: Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

Dear Ms. Carey, I’m a huge fan of yours. I loved the original Kushiel trilogy and while I thought the succeeding trilogies didn’t quite live up to that beginning, the Phedre novels still rank high among my favorite fantasy novels. Your non-Kushiel novels didn’t hit me the same way but I still appreciated what you(…)

REVIEW:  Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

REVIEW: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

Dear Ms. Armstrong, All things must come to an end. That includes your Women of the Otherworld series. I can’t believe it’s been over ten years since we were first introduced to Elena, the only female werewolf in existence. And while I’ve liked some books more than others, I still consider this series to be(…)

REVIEW:  Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady

REVIEW: Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady

Dear Ms. Brady: I picked this book up randomly from my pile of paper ARCs. I had no preconception of the story. The ARC had a plain blue paper cover and while it may have had a cover flat attached to it at one time, it was nowhere to be found when I began reading.(…)

REVIEW:  Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

REVIEW: Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

Please note: This review is for book three in a series, so it contains some spoilers for the previous two books. Readers who would like to hear more about the Peter Grant series but remain spoiler free are invited to check out the review of the first book, Midnight Riot (also known as Rivers of(…)

REVIEW:  The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong

REVIEW: The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong

Dear Ms. Armstrong, Bitten was one of the first urban fantasy novels I read from the current subgenre that sprung up during the last decade. I loved Elena, Clay, and the world you introduced. When you expanded the Otherworld setting beyond the werewolves, I had mixed feelings. I have a weak spot for the pack.(…)