Category Archives: Urban Fantasy

Review: One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

2168860One Foot in the Grave
(Night Huntress, #2)
By: Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
Published: April 29, 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:

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Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She’s still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around Bones awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline rush of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head—wanted: dead or half-alive—means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard Cat tries to keep things professional between them, she’ll find that desire lasts forever…and Bones won’t let her get away again. Original.

 

1thoughtsThis second book takes place 4 years later. Cat is now the team leader of her special forces group who take down the undead. She has turned cynical and sour over the years but she will do anything for her team. After all these years she still misses Bones and cannot seem to forget about him. However after a turn of events Cat is reunited with Bones and it doesn’t take long for their relationship to rekindle. But Cat seems to have a price on her head and Bones is ready to do anything in order to keep Cat safe, which includes joining her team.

The first part of the book is about Cat and her new life. You see how much she has changed but no matter what she still holds onto the past. She is respected by her team of men and she would do anything to make sure they are safe. Then comes Bones who after years of searching for Cat, has finally found her and no matter what refuses to let her go again. So since Cat is so dead set on staying with her men since, let’s face it, without her half vampire strength and speed, they would be dead without her, Bone decides to join the special forces group. Once Bones is on board, he and Cat pick up where they left off. There of course are a couple of bumps along the way, like someone putting a bounty on Cat’s head, Bones’ ex-lovers popping up and a little problem with Cat’s vampire father making an appearance.

This one sets the stage for Cat and Bones to work with the team and create a stronger vampire fighting unit. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Cat and Bones’ story.

 

1favequoteTate and Bones are ready to fight and Tate rubs it into Bones’ face that he has known Cat for 4 years now whereas Bones only knew her for 6 months.

“Quit it! Tate, enough of the taunts, and Bones, how old are you? Why don’t I just give you a pair of my panties to hang around your neck? Then whenever you feel jealous, you can wave them at whoever’s pissing you off.” -Cat

 

 

Previous reviews from Night Huntress
Halfway to the Grave
kRISTIN

Review: Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill

7060582Twice Bitten
(Chicagoland Vampires, #3)
By: Chloe Neill
Publisher: NAL Trade
Published: July 6, 2010
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.

Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire.

 

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Review: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

38619Magic Bites
(Kate Daniels, #1)
By: Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Ace
Published: April 1, 2007
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

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Review: Never Deal with Dragons by Lorenda Christensen

17798617Never Deal with Dragons
(DRACIM, #1)
By: Lorenda Christensen
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: July 22, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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Consoling a sobbing dragon and serving pig buffets are just part of the job for Myrna Banks. Working for a mediation firm, it’s her job to get humans compensated for damages caused by the dragons who now rule. But her “typical” day is interrupted by Trian Chobardan, an old flame who sneaked out of her bed two years ago, taking her heart and a handful of classified documents with him.

Myrna would love to show Trian the door, but he’s been sent by North America’s reigning dragon lord for help negotiating a truce with a powerful rival to avert war. Myrna agrees to help, even though she’ll be stuck with Trian as a partner.

As the two work together, Myrna finds Trian to be surprisingly supportive—and still irresistibly attractive. Though her brain tells her not to forget his betrayal, her body feels differently. When they learn the enemy dragon lord is planning something no one could have imagined, Myrna has to learn who she can trust before she loses not only her heart, but her life.

 

1thoughtsMyrna was demoted at her job when her boyfriend stole important work documents from her home and virtually disappeared from her life. She’s now the assistant to a man who not only hates dragons but can’t dragonspeak, which their job is to mediate problems between dragons and humans. So when her ex, Trian, walks into her place of work, she’d like nothing better than to throw him out on his butt. However, she soon finds herself in the middle of a dragon war and must rely on Trian to keep her alive.

There wasn’t a lot of romance in this story. In fact the majority of it is pretty much urban fantasy with a smidgen of romance at the end. So with that being said, I was a little disappointed that a paranormal romance didn’t have much in the way of romance. However, the story itself was highly entertaining and I found myself enjoying it.

There is a lot of fighting, a ton of dragon action taking place in the story and quite a bit of suspense. I liked that the author didn’t play down the dragons. Instead they took front and center in the story. Their scaly hides were always present. She showed how they viewed humans as no more than slaves and she even wrote a particular disturbing scene with a terrified goat and his last minutes of life before being eaten by a dragon.

One of the big shockers in the book did not come as a surprise to me. In fact, from the beginning I knew what it was, and was a little disappointed when it was revealed that everyone made such a big deal about it… and yet no one figured it out. I always hate when I know the big secret before I’m even fully immersed in the book.

Regardless of my issues with the book, I did find it entertaining. I liked the suspense and fighting in the book. I like that the author didn’t make dragons vegetarians or make them humanized in the eyes of the reader. They are predators and she wrote them as such. This is a good book for someone who is interested in reading an urban fantasy about dragons.

 

1favequote“I was beginning to worry I’d have a heart attack combining exercise with sexual attraction.”

kRISTIN

Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

9565045Second Grave on the Left
(Charley Davidson #2)
By: Darynda Jones
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: Aug. 16, 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

 

1thoughtsCharlie is the grim reaper, the portal to heaven, she can communicate with the deceased, she is a private investigator during the day, oh yeah and she is in love with Reyes, who just so happens to be the son of Satan.

In the second intallment of Charley’s story we are taken on another one of Charley’s P.I. jobs. Her best friend/neighbor/assistant, Cookie, finds out that her friend has gone missing and Charley takes the case to figure out where her friend Mimi has gone. However, things start looking bad when Mimi’s old classmates start turning up dead and Charley has to figure out what the connection is before time runs out.

Reyes also makes a bunch of appearances as well but he’s in his incorporeal form. Charley finds out that after his escape from prison, he was captured by demons and is now being tortured by them. Reyes refuses to tell Charley where his body is because he feels that it’s a trap and that the demons are really after her. After all, if they get Charley, they get the portal into Heaven. However, his body can only take so much before it dies and neither of them know what will happen if Reyes were to perish.

Again, Darynda has done a great job writing an entertaining story that will have the readers laughing and on the edge of their seat until the very last page. Even though Reyes is the son of Satan and he threatens Charley a lot, you sort of don’t hate the guy for it. As a young boy he was kidnapped by a cruel man who tortured and beat him. Not only that but you add the fact that for centuries he was a General in his father’s (Satan) army, what do you really expect? Not only are the characters developed well but the story flows beautifully. Everything that is written has a purpose and is never lacking in entertainment. I will definitely be keeping up with this series. I cannot wait to see what crazy adventure Charley goes on next. Not only that but I really want to know more about Reyes.

 

1favequote“I’m an excellent liar. Ask my dentist. He swears I floss regularly.” -Charley

 

Previous reviews from Charley Davidson
First Grave on the Right

kRISTIN

Review: Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Hounded
(The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)
By: Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: March 3, 2011
Genre: Urban Fanstasy
Rating:
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The first novel in the original, six-book Iron Druid Chronicles—introducing a cool, new, funny urban fantasy hero

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

 

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Review: Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

Spider’s Bite
(Elemental Assassin, #1)
By: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: Jan 26, 2010
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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“My name is Gin, and I kill people.”

My name is Gin Blanco. They call me the Spider—the most feared assassin in the South (and a part-time cook at the Pork Pit BBQ joint.) As a Stone elemental, I can hear the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet and feel the vibrations of the soaring mountains above me, though I don’t use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

After a ruthless Air elemental double-crossed me and killed my handler, I’m out for revenge. And I’ll exterminate anyone who gets in my way. I may look hot in a miniskirt, but I’m still one of the bad guys. Which is why I’m in trouble when irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine agrees to help. The last thing a coldhearted killer needs when she’s battling a magic more powerful than her own is a sexy distraction… especially when he wants her dead just as much as the enemy.

 

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Review: The Cat’s Meow by Stacey Kennedy

 

The Cat’s Meow
(Witches Brew, #1)
By: Stacey Kennedy
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Published: Dec. 13, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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Libby is an Enchantress—a witch gifted by the Goddess to conjure spells. When a magical presence is detected around a recent string of feline slayings, Libby takes the case to uncover the reasons behind the odd deaths. Much to her displeasure, the coven also sends a sexy warlock, Kale, to assist her.

While having the muscle around proves to be useful, fighting the attraction between them is worse than a hex, especially considering Kale is keeping secrets. But soon, Libby has bigger problems than the elusive warlock when her spells turn up clues that point to something far more sinister than slaughtered cats.

Now Libby has landed herself in the midst of an uprising. She trusts no one and isn’t safe—not from the warlocks stirring up trouble. Not from the worrisome rebellion she can’t escape. And certainly not from Kale, who is weaving a very dangerous spell over her heart.

 

 


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Review: Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

 

Cry Wolf
(Alpha & Omega, #1)
By: Patricia Briggs
Publisher: Ace
Published: July 29, 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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Anna never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack… and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. Then Charles Cornick, the enforcer- and son- of the leader of the North American werewolves, came into her life.

Charles insists that not only is Anna his mate, but she is also a rare and valued Omega wolf. And it is Anna’s inner strength and calming presence that will prove invaluable as she and Charles go on the hunt in search of a rogue werewolf- a creature bound in magic so dark that it could threaten all of the pack.

 

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Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

 

Faefever
(Fever, #3)
By: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delecorte Press
Published: Sept 16, 2008
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:
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He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows’ Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds—with devastating consequences.

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