Category Archives: Urban Fantasy
Predatory by A. Ivy, N. Bangs, D. Duvall and H. Jayne
ORDER A COPY: Predatory
Publisher: Zebra Books
Publishing Date: May 7, 2013
Paperback: 384 pages
Rating: See each story
Four of today’s most exciting paranormal authors take readers into the thrilling realm of vampires, immortals, and other supernatural beings with a thirst for illicit desire…
Out Of Control by Alexandra Ivy
Ph.D student Angela Locke has a crush on her sexy professor, Dr. Nikolo Bartrev. When she learns he’s actually a Sentinel with extraordinary powers, she joins forces with him to catch a psychopath. But soon, their hottest pursuit is of each other…Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs
Cassie Tyler agrees to sub for her friend at the funeral home where she works. But she gets more than she bargained for when a group of men attack her and a vampire comes to her rescue. . .In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Immortal Richart d’Alençon can’t forget the woman who rewarded him with a sensuous kiss after he saved her from a trio of vampires. While Richart knows that loving a human can only bring trouble, the taste of forbidden lust is too great to resist. . .High Stakes by Hannah Jayne
When vampire fashionista Nina LaShay’s design contest rival is found dead, she’s the prime suspect. Sexy photographer Pike is number two. He’s the kind of man who makes Nina salivate. But will she have to reveal herself to have him–and to save them both? Or does Pike have a secret of his own?
Out of Control by Alexandra Ivy
Angela Locke is just weeks away from finishing her PhD when visiting Professor Hottie…umm, Dr. Niko Bartrev comes to the college and for the first time ever, the only biology Angela can keep her mind on is the kind involving a naked Niko. Niko isn’t really a professor at the college to monitor Angela’s class. He’s actually a Sentinel on the trail of an escaped high-blood who wants the knowledge in Angela’s brain to change her advance DNA and make her a normal human. Niko fears that when Angela learns of his deception, even if it was for her own good, he might have lost his chance with her forever.
THOUGHTS:
This short story is supposed to be the introduction to the new Sentinel series. Although there is a basic explanation of the Sentinels, who are guardians, and the high-bloods, who are mutants (some dangerous/some not), this story was really too short to build to any real understanding and interest in the new series. I would definitely have to hold off judgment of the Sentinels until after Book #1.
Rating: 3 stars – Being an Alexandra Ivy fan I will check out the next Sentinel book, but this short didn’t do anything to really draw me to the series.
Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs
Cassie thought she was just going to help out her friend for a few hours answering phones while Felicity had an “emergency.” The problem is Cassie is at the wrong place/wrong time and some men show up to remove her from the job permanently. When she ends up killing one of them in self-defense, she releases the vampire they had captured and now he has taken Cassie under his wing for her own protection, but how can she be safer in the arms of a hot, sexy vampire?
THOUGHTS:
Nina Bangs in one of those authors on my I want to read list, where I hope that someone offers me a review copy and give me an excuse to pop her on my TBR list. This story was just ok. There are some things that I don’t understand why she wrote them in, but again, I haven’t read anything of hers yet so I don’t know what’s part of her series and why she added them.
Rating: 3 stars – This story should have intrigued me enough to grab Book #1 of the series, but the characters just didn’t interest me.
In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Richart d’Alençon has been an Immortal Guardian for about 240 years now but the night he saves Jenna McBride from a group of vampires, is the night that truly changes his life. Guardians are not supposed to date humans, but he is so drawn to the lively Jenna that he can’t think about anything else but seeing her again. He wants to take the relationship further, but not until he can confess the truth to her. When Richart is wounded and drugged by an unknown enemy, he teleports directly to Jenna’s living room, carrying swords and covered in blood, just before passing out. Maybe she won’t notice anything weird about that? Uh, oh. If he survives the night, he’ll be in so much trouble.
THOUGHTS:
I like the Immortal Guardians series, and we got to know Richart a little more in the last book, Phantom Shadows, where we see him sneaking phone calls to his human girlfriend. I definitely enjoyed Richart and Jenna’s story.
Rating: 5 stars – I like the Immortal Guardian series, and this had all the fun, excitement and great characters that I have come to expect from Dianne Duvall.
High Stakes by Hannah Jayne
When fashionista Nina LaShay goes to New York City to compete in a fashion show, she bring her best designs, her scissors, but she forgets to pack an alibi. When her fellow competitors start turning up dead, of course, who is the first one they look at…the vampire. Like she would even need to snack on those “breathers” just to win. Nina had this competition in the bag. Now she has to figure out who’s killing the rest of the competitors before she ends up in jail or in a body bag.
THOUGHS:
Nina is a great character from the Urban Fantasy series, The Underworld Detection Agency. As roommate, co-worker and BFF of the main characters, Sophie Lawson, Nina is always around to add life and some fashion sense to the story. It was nice to see Nina shine in her own story, but something was missing without Sophie. Think Ethel without Lucy.
Rating: 4 stars – It was a good story, but if I didn’t follow the UDA series, I don’t know if this would have convinced me to try the series. Nina is playful and snarky, but without Sophie, you are missing the star of the series.
Favorite Scene:
From In Still Darkness By Dianne Duvall:
“I was attacked by vampires?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” How could he keep something like that from her?
“Jenna—“
“I was attacked, Richart! You should have told me!”
“How?” he asked helplessly.
“Easy. You should have said, Jenna, I know this is going to sound strange, but you were attacked by vampires and I rescued–okay, I see your point. I would have thought you were off your rocker.” She rubbed a shaking hand over her face. “I can’t believe this. Did they…? What did they do to me?”
“Other than the bite, you were unharmed. They must have just taken you when I came upon you.”
“Am I infected?” If all Richart had said was true, she would turn into a psychotic vampire if she transformed. She didn’t have the special DNA need to make her immortal. She couldn’t read minds or teleport or see the future or whatever else they could do.
“No. A single brief bite won’t turn you. You would either have to be bitten fairly often over a stretch of time or have your blood drained until you were on the brink of death, then infused wholly with infected blood.”
And the vampire had only bitten her once. Briefly.
Richart covered the hand she had braced on the mattress with on of his. “Are you all right?”
She met his concerned gaze. “I’m freaked out over being attacked and having no memory of it. That’s really scary.”
“I know.”
“So you—what—killed them Blade-style?”
He smiled. “All but one, who got away, yes.”
“One got away?” Panic shrieked through her. “What if he came back? What if he bit me again and I just can’t remember it?”
“He didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Have you experienced missing time again? Have there been any blank spots you couldn’t recall?”
She thought hard, trying to think of any other instances. “I don’t think so. But how can I be sure?”
“I’ve been guarding you,” he admitted, seeming almost ashamed.
“Guarding me?”
“I used speed and stealth to obtain your work schedule and have been at the store every night when you arrived and departed in case he returned and tried to harm you.”
She stared at him. “Every night?”
“Yes.”
“Is he likely to return?”
“No. He would have done so before now.”
“Yet you continued to watch over me.”
He shrugged. “At least you said watched. Sheldon kept accusing me of stalking you.”
Blessed by a Demon’s Mark by E.S. Moore
ORDER A COPY: Blessed By a Demon’s Mark (Kat Redding)
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publishing Date: December 31, 2012
Paperback: 280 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Kat Redding’s life is dangerous enough when she’s hunting the rogue vampires who prey on Pureblood humans. But now that Kat is thinking of getting out of the killing business, she’s faced with a slew of new problems. Like the demon Beligral, who offers help at an escalating cost, and the werewolf cult with whom she’s entwined professionally and personally. And then there’s Countess Baset—the terrifying vampire who wants Kat to become her personal assassin.
It’s no wonder that Kat has been seeking refuge in the mysterious town known as Delai, a place where she can shed her Lady Death persona and live a life that’s as close to normal as she’s ever known. But even in this haven, something feels askew. Delai is a little too serene. And the more she discovers, the more Kat realizes that the only choice left to her is not whether to do battle, but which side she’ll risk her life to defend.
Kat Redding has been hiding out in the Town of Delia for the last few months. She is tired of her life surrounded by death and killing and just wanted to bask in the feeling of peace she feels in Delia, even if she knows deep down there is something wrong with the Town. But it is time to go back and can feel Ethan’s demon calling her back to pay the price of the promise she made. The problem is when you run away from your life with no word to anyone, the world moves on without you especially when they all think you are dead.
Which was probably for the best because more than just her friends have been waiting for Kat to return. There is a Major Vampire House looking for revenge against Lady Death and they have been rather vehement in their questioning of her friends. There are drawback to having a reputation like “Lady Death” whenever vampires and werewolves show up dead, they believe Kat is responsible. Countess Baset believes that Kat is responsible for the death of her lover and she won’t stop ‘til she finds Kat.
Whether it is Kat’s time in Delia messing with her or the pain that her friends have moved on with their lives without her, but Kat isn’t thinking straight. Not when she is decides to let everyone know she’s back, in a big way, by feeding quite publically in the area run by Count Mephisto, a major Vampire Royal, and not when she decides to take on Countess Baset by herself.
Kat needs to get her head on straight before she gets herself killed and her actions are taken out on the few people she truly cares about.
THOUGHTS:
This story shows that it is not good to be a friend of Kat Redding. I thought the story was very frustrating in the beginning. I don’t know if it was Kat’s time is Delia, Levi’s blood deprivation program to cure Kat’s vampire problem, or just leftover trauma following her brother’s death messing with her had, but she does some really stupid things in this story, most of which affect her friends. She is also very angry and nasty toward the only people who truly care about her; including Jonathan, the werewolf leader of the Luna Cult, who is my personal hero. I love Jonathan. So that probably pissed me off most of all. (If she gets Jonathan killed, I am finished.)
But where Kat was a killer who used her skills and cunning to attack and destroy the smaller Vampire Houses, she acts a little unstable in this story, running hot and cold with her friends, declaring that they are trying to control her, while getting herself into some bad situations where she has to bargain her soul and her freedom.
Although she starts acting more level headed by the end of the story, the damage has been done. Kat has been backed in the corner by several major players due to her dumbass actions which are going to be significant impact on not only her future, but those of her friends.
I am also hoping that Kat Redding is not getting a case of Sookie Stackhouse Syndrome where every supernatural creature wants her. Although Jonathan has definite feelings for her and we know the other werewolf leader has also declared he wants to mate with her so together they can rule the area (*bwahahaha*) , it came off that more than just those two are making moony eyes at Kat. Please don’t go there!
Received ARC from Kensington Books. Thank you.
Favorite Scene:
“Don’t you start in on me, too.”
He held his hands up. He was holding something in his left hand.
I felt myself soften without meaning to. The coat looked just like the one I’d worn for years. I’d managed to lose both of my old coats while dealing with the mess my brother had caused.
Jonathan saw me looking and a small smile quirked the corners of his mouth. “I thought you might like a new one.” He glanced at the coat on the table. “It appears you have not replaced your other, so it seems the gift is warranted.” His gaze traveled back to me. “I’ve waited a long time to give this to you.”
For some reason, that made me angry. Just seeing Jonathan made memories of my brother flood into my head. I couldn’t stop blaming him for Thomas’s death. He’d been there and hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it.
“Keep it.” I said. “I don’t need it.”
Jonathan looked hurt. He lowered his hands and gave me such a pained look, I almost felt guilty for turning away his gift.
“Look.” I said, trying to keep most of the anger out of my voice. “Tell me why you’re here and then get the fuck out of my house. And take your maimed wolf with you.”
Jeremy flinched, and I could tell I’d hurt him almost as bad as I’d hurt Jonathan, maybe more. Why was I being such a bitch when all they were trying to do was help?
Jonathan’s jaw stiffened as if he was fighting off the urge to say something less than respectful. He managed to compose himself before speaking.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said. “When Jeremy called and said you were back, I didn’t know what to think. I was really starting to believe you might be dead.”
I glanced at the young wolf. He quickly looked away, face flaming. Ethan stepped protectively near him and glared at me.
What the fuck? Ethan used to be scared of the Luna Cult wolves, had even warned me against them more than once. And now he was defending one of them? Things had really changed since I’d been gone.
I hate change.
“You’ve seen I’m okay,” I said, shifting my attention back to Jonathan. “Now go.” I tried to walk past him, but he refused to move out of my way.
“No,” Jonathan said. “You’re not okay.”
“Who gave you the right to decide how I’m doing?’
“No one,” he said. “But I can see it in your eyes, hear it in your words. Something is very wrong with you and I only want to help.”
My hands balled into fists and I stepped closer to the Luna Cult Denmaster, seriously invading his space. “Nothing is wrong with me. It’s everyone around me that’s pissing me off. I’m tired of everyone telling me to hide, to run away. I never should have come back if that’s the way you’re all going to act.”
“Then why did you?”
Anger flared and I had to fight really hard to keep from lashing out. I should have listened to Ethan before when he’d warned me against the Cult. Now here I was with them in my house and they’d seemingly swayed him to their side. I was losing control of my own life.
Jonathan glanced over his shoulder, apparently unconcerned with my nearness. “I’d like to talk to her alone,” he said.
Both Jeremy and Ethan turned and headed for the stairs without hesitation. Ethan glanced back once, giving me a pleading look as if asking me to cooperate, before vanishing down the stairs.
“I—“
“Shut up and listen to me for a minute,” Jonathan said turning back to face me. His eyes flared yellow and I took a step back, snapping my mouth closed. I’d never seen him this angry before without some severe provocation.
“You have no right to talk to any of us like this,” he said. “I’d almost forgotten how stubborn you could be.”
“I…” This time I trailed off on my own.
“Ethan is supposed to be your friend and you left him to fend for himself. Jeremy lost his arm in an effort to help your brother. He thinks he is useless now, thinks the world has no place for a ‘maimed wolf,’ as you so eloquently put it. I gave him a reason to live, and I will not let you throw that away because you are too stubborn to see we are all here trying to help.”
Guilt crept in past all my anger and confusion. I felt like a fool for lashing out so quickly. Just because I didn’t like what they were saying didn’t mean I should ignore them. They were only concerned for my well-being.
Then why did it feel like they were trying to control me?
Tainted Night, Tainted Blood by E.S. Moore
ORDER A COPY: Tainted Night, Tainted Blood (Kat Redding)
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publishing Date: July 3, 2012
Paperback: 352 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Kat Redding is a vampire with a job to do—wiping out the vamps and werewolves who prey on Pureblood humans. Someone has to do it…as long as that someone is her. But suddenly Kat, also known as Lady Death, has competition, and it’s causing problems. Vampire houses and werewolf clans alike are blaming her for a spate of gruesome murders, and Kat needs to figure out who’s really responsible before she becomes the next target…
On the hunt, she forms an uneasy alliance with both the Luna Cult and a powerful rogue werewolf. But the truths Kat’s uncovering—about her enemies and her few remaining confidantes—are far from comforting. And when the chance comes to leave her life of vengeance behind, Kat must decide whether her real motive lies in protecting the innocent, or sating her own fierce hungers.
***NOTE: THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS HERE!!***
In this continuing series, Kat Redding, also known in the supernatural world as Lady Death, finds out that someone is running around the city killing vampires and werewolves with a sword, and although it is not Kat’s style to kill random individuals, rumors are circulating that Lady Death is responsible for these new slayings.
Kat is again approached by Jonathan Alucard, the werewolf alpha of the Luna Cult, to help catch the killer before more weres are killed and to keep the werewolves from going after Kat. Kat is not overly excited to again be involved with the Luna Cult since they were all almost killed the last time they worked together. More importantly, Kat is more than a little unhappy to find Jonathan standing on her doorstep. Normally Kat would kill anyone who knows where she lives, but she can’t seem to work up the desire to hurt Jonathan. Jonathan also wants her to work with werewolf, Adrian Davis, the Alpha who took over the former vampire house. Adrian is still very interested in mating with Kat and he has been having her followed to keep an eye on her, both for his own interests and to make sure she is not the killer. Kat’s feelings still haven’t changed about Adrian and she’d much rather kill him and done with him than play nice and work together to find the killer.
In hunting for the killer, Kat stumbles first onto a human religious cult known as The Left Hand, who hunt the werewolves and vampires, and although they are only human, they are quite dangerous. She also comes upon a bizarre Town known as Delai, where the residents didn’t seem to be cowering in the night in fear of the predators that lurk in the dark. There she meets Levi, the Mayor of the Town, and although he knows that Kat is a vampire, he seems to want her to settle in with them.
When Kat accidently comes upon the killers, she is shocked to learn that it is a group of Tainted, humans who have been tainted with both werewolf and vampire blood, a mix of blood which usually just leads to madness. These tainted are working together as a team and she is nearly killed trying to take them down. The worst shock of all is that the leader of this Tainted Army is Kat’s brother, Thomas, who was Tainted with both werewolf and vampire blood at the same time Kat was turned vampire, and who Kat thought was long dead.
Kat doesn’t know if his leadership is due to his extensive training with Kat prior to their capture, or is Thomas beginning to remember who he was. Now Kat is willing to risk anything and everyone she cares about to save her brother from what he has become. She is even willing to enlist the help of Ethan’s demon in order to bring him back.
I was again quickly drawn in to the world created by E.S. Moore and sped through this story. Kat is still very unwilling or unable to fully trust anyone, not even human Ethan who is her helper in her fight against the evil that prowls the night. Although this is in the realm of Urban Fantasy and not paranormal romance, I was quite happy to see a little more growing between Kat and Jonathan. (I have my own little crush on Jonathan 
).
BUT I have to say that the ending has me pretty crazed and more than a little pissed off, and I am trying to reserve judgment until I read the next story since I am certain there must be some very important plot set up happening here.
The Town of Delai gives off a very Twilight Zone feel or something out of a Stephen King novel, the kind of Town you drive in to, but you can never return from. You just know that something is wrong. I see from the preview pages from the next novel at the end of the book that we will be returning to Delia, so I will again reserve any judgment on this part of the story until we get a chance to see where we will be going.
Although I want to jump into the story and kick some Lady Death butt myself, I will definitely be picking up a copy of Blessed by a Demon’s Mark due out in January 2013 to see where the story leads.
See our interview with author E.S. Moore for more about the Kat Redding series.
Favorite Scene:
“I know you don’t like visitors,” Jonathan said. He looked uncomfortable sitting at the table. He kept lacing and unlacing his fingers as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands.
“No shit.” I placed the gun on the table, the barrel aimed right at him. I kept my hand on it to let him know how much I didn’t like having people show up unannounced at my doorstep.
“I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then speak.”
He sighed and ran his fingers trough the hair on the left side of his head. He looked much better than he did the last time I had seen him. It had been at The Bloody Stake, and he’d still been suffering the result of our semi-successful joint run against House Tremaine. The limp was gone and all his wounds appeared to be healed, though that could be deceiving.
Jonathan was a sorcerer, which allowed him to hide what he wanted to hide. He claimed he could only cast glamours, but I refused to believe it. Any sorcerer who wanted to live would claim they could do very little. Anyone stronger was sought out and killed.
Jonathan used his glamours to keep the Luna Cult Den hidden. He was able to hide the Den, making the old library on the Ohio State campus look run-down and abandoned from the outside. On the inside, it was anything but.
He’d used his glamour on me once as well, making me appear as a Luna Cult member so we could infiltrate House Tremaine together. It had worked, to a point. I hadn’t been able to keep myself from killing a few wolves along the way, which, in turn, gave us away when Adrian Davis sniffed me out.
Before I met him, Jonathan had kept his face hidden with a dark hood aided by a glamour that made his face all shadows and darkness. Only recently had he started using his magic to hide the damage done to his face, reconstructing it so that anyone looking at him wouldn’t cringe.
The slightest hint of guilt crept into me. I’d been the one who’d ruined his face. He was once a member of House Valentino, a House I had taken down after they had turned me into a vampire. My blade had cut a large chunk of his skull off, leaving him mutilated and near death. He survived and had a change of heart, choosing to turn against his vampire masters and fight for the liberation of the werewolf.
Yeah, I wasn’t so sure why I was siding with him either.
Jonathan looked up at me and a sadness came into his eyes. “I was wondering if I would ever see you again,” He said. “I thought we had gotten past our differences and could at least be friends.”
I frowned. “Is that what this is about?”
“No,” he admitted. “But I needed to get it out. I dislike the thought of you risking your life alone when you could have my help.”
“I manage.”
He rubbed at his forehead like a headache was coming on. “Things would be much easier if we could learn to work together. This animosity between us need not exist. Maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so far gone if you had come to me.”
I frowned even harder. “What’s happened?”
He licked his lips and brushed off his jacket, though there was nothing on it. He looked downright nervous, and it was making my trigger finger itch.
I moved my head away from the gun just in case. I would probably feel bad if I killed him because he sneezed at the wrong moment.
Under Suspicion by Hannah Jayne
We are going to be giving away winner’s choice of a copy of Book #1-Under Wraps or Book #2-Under Attack. Giveaway ends Friday, April 20th. U.S. or Canada residents only!
Thank you to Kensington Books for the giveaway!
ORDER A COPY: Under Suspicion (The Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles)
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Company
Publishing Date: May 1, 2012
Paperback: 333 pages
Rating: 5 stars
She’s the new head of the Underworld Detection Agency’s strangest division. What a nightmare…
Being a human immune to magic helped Sophie Lawson get promoted. It’s also made her a major, very reluctant player in a game that stretches beyond even the Underworld. Having handsome buttoned-down Englishman Will as her new guardian is one tempting blessing, especially since sexy fallen angel Alex is mysteriously MIA lately. But as a frightening number of demons start disappearing around the city, Sophie suspects that an Armageddon-level prophecy is about to become everyone’s nightmare. And her investigation is testing her bravery — and Will’s unexpected vulnerability — in ways neither could predict. Now Sophie and Will are fast running out of time as an unstoppable evil prepares to lay waste to demons and humans alike…
Sophie Lawson is the only human working at the Underworld Detection Agency. The Underworld Detection Agency monitors, regulates and assists demons in the San Francisco area, sort of like the Social Security Office for demons. Sophie’s mother and grandmother were Seers, so Sophie is the only human or “breather” on staff since she is immune to magics and glamours.
In this chapter of the Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles, Sophie has noticed that several of her clients have not arrived for their monthly appointments, including hot-headed dragon Mrs. Henderson. Since Mr. Dixon, new vampire head of UDA, doesn’t share Sophie’s concerns, she takes it upon herself to check on Mrs. Henderson only to find her home trashed and dragon’s blood smeared everywhere. When even Sophie’s on again/off again love, fallen angel and FBI agent, Alex Grace doesn’t believe her, Sophie decides to tackle what she believes is a supernatural killer on her own.
With the help of her best friend, roommate and vampire, Nina LaShay, Nina’s brooding nephew Vlad and Sophie’s sexy Guardian, Will Sherman, Sophie tries to locate the killer; if only she could get everyone focused on the problem at hand.
Currently, Nina is falling in love with Harley Cavanaugh, author of the new book Vampires, Werewolves and Other Things that Don’t Exist, and Sophie can’t convince her that she can’t get to happily ever after with a man who doesn’t believe she even exists.
Vlad is still busy fighting for the Vampire Empowerment Movement (VERM) so that all vampires are in charge and are free to dress like Count Chocula; and breaking VERM rules by dating a breather himself.
And with things off again with Alex and his being on a stakeout across the country, things are starting to heat up between Guardian Will and Sophie in his absence. (“Guardian—and not in that “until your eighteen” sort of way, but in an “until the balance of power has been restored between the good and the fallen, I will protect you” kind of way”).
While Sophie stumbles through another investigation in her I Love Lucy way, you will again be laughing and chuckling at the snarky comments and zippy one-liners. Once again, Hannah creates a world and characters that are so charming and delightful.
This story was fun as well as entertaining and just thoroughly enjoyable. I continue to look forward to where she will take us next. I am also looking forward to seeing how this will play out with the Sophie/Will/Alex triangle. Sophie has been “ready to lay down my soul” in love with Alex from the beginning, and although he is noticeably attracted to her, he is standoffish in his “I’m trying to get back to heaven” way. Will he change his mind now that the competition for Sophie’s affection has heated up? Oooo, I can’t wait to see.
My only comment would have been that the end of this story leaves us with Sophie opening the door to a mystery man that leaves her gaping. In this case, I would have left it there since I would have been panting to read the next book to see who was at the door. The publishers have added a few pages from the next book to draw you in, and you find out who was at the door. Kind of ruins the mystery, but I for one will be looking for the next book coming out in the Fall.
Received an ARC from Kensington Books. Thank you.
Just leave a comment to be entered for winner’s choice of a copy of Book #1-Under Wraps or Book #2-Under Attack. U.S. or Canada residents only!
Thank you to Kensington Books for the giveaway!
Favorite Scene:
“Hey, come on. We don’t have much time.”
Will’s eyes were focused over my head; his lips pressed together. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed slowly.
“What?” I looked over my shoulder at the two carved cement lion/dragon statues that guarded the mouth of Chinatown. “Those? They’re not real. Promise. They don’t come to life during a full moon or a Keeping Up with the Kardashians Marathon or anything.”
“It’s not that,” Will said, starting to shuffle with the tourist crowd. “It’s”—and here he wagged his head from side to side, hazel eyes scanning, scrutinizing—“Mogwai.”
I stopped dead and crossed my arms, feeling one eyebrow creep up, “Mogwai?”
We had crossed through the Chinatown gates and were flanked by a couple with thick Midwestern accents, who were pausing to photograph everything, and a guy power walking while listening to his iPod loud enough to hear every one of Steven Tyler’s wailing screams.
“Yeah,” Will said, voice lowered, “Mogwai.”
“Look, Will, I know every single demon in the Underworld. And a majority of the upper world, too—wait? A Mogwai?”
Will nodded nervously, as if saying the word would bring one about.
“That’s a Gremlin, Will.”
“If you feed it after midnight, it is. And whose midnight, you know? They’re Chinese, right? Is it when it’s midnight in China or here? And, well, I’m British. Does my Mogwai become British—”
“It’s a freaking Spielberg movie, Will!”
Will stopped, putting his hands on his hips. “And you don’t think it was based on something real?”
I could feel my left eye begin to twitch. “Fine.” I put out my hand, wiggling the tips of my fingers. “Give me your wallet.”
“No. Why?”
“Give it to me.”
Will reluctantly fished his wallet from his back pocket and handed it to me. I pulled out his credit cards and all of the cash—seventeen dollars, all in ones—from it; and handed it back.
“Hey!”
I shoved his money into my pocket, clapped a hand on his shoulder. “See? Now I’ve got all of your money. There is absolutely no chance of you buying a Mogwai, unless you’ve got some magic beans in your pants. Now let’s get going.”
Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne
ORDER A COPY: Under Wraps (The Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles)
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Company
Publishing Date: March 1, 2011
Paperback: 343 pages
Rating: 5 Stars
As a human immune to magic, Sophie Lawson can help everyone from banshee to zombie transition into normal, everyday San Francisco life. With a handsome werewolf as her UDA boss and a fashionista vampire for a roommate, Sophie knows everything there is to know about the undead, the unseen, and the uncanny. . .
Until a rash of gruesome murders has demons and mortals running for cover, and Sophie finds herself playing sidekick to detective Parker Hayes. Dodging raging bloodsuckers, bad-tempered fairies, and love-struck trolls is one thing. But when Sophie discovers Parker isn’t what he seems, she’s got only one chance to figure out whom to trust. Because an evil hiding in plain sight is closing in. . .and about to make one wisecracking human its means to ultimate power.
Sophie Lawson is the only human working at the Underworld Detection Agency. The Underworld Detection Agency monitors, regulates and assists demons in the San Francisco area, sort of like the Social Security Office for demons. Sophie’s mother and grandmother were Seers, so Sophie is the only human or “breather” on staff since she is immune to magics and glamours.
This is the first chapter of The Underground Detection Agency Chronicles. We meet Sophie Lawson, the only human at UDA. She is working as the secretary—I mean Administrative Assistant to the gorgeous and sexy Pete Sampson, head of the UDA and werewolf, whom Sophie has a bit of a crush on. Part of her duties for Mr. Sampson is to chain him in his office each night so that he doesn’t go on a rampage through the streets of San Francisco.
SFPD Detective Parker Hayes comes to Mr. Sampson requesting his help on some very disturbing murders in the area, including a victim drained of blood and another who was shredded within minutes. Since Mr. Sampson cannot wander the city loose at night, he offers Sophie’s assistance to the SFPD since she is the most knowledgeable about the various supernatural types.
As they try to nail down the killer, Sophie attempts to introduce Det. Hayes to the world of the underworld supernaturals, including an introduction to Sophie’s best friend and roommate, vampire Nina LaShay. While Sophie is working with SFPD, Nina is supposed to be chaining up Mr. Sampson, but since Nina is a bit flighty, she quickly forgets. Clues start leading in the direction of a werewolf and Det. Parker begins to look toward the missing Pete Sampson, but Sophie can’t be convinced that her Mr. Sampson would ever be a killer, werewolf or not.
The longer she works with Det. Hayes, Sophie can’t decide if she wants to punch him or kiss him, and then questions start to emerge that Det. Hayes is not being 100 percent honest with Sophie.
I treated myself; taking the time to backtrack to this first story in the series. I had so thoroughly enjoyed Under Attack and just finished Under Suspicion, and wanted to see how the series began. Although I didn’t think this story was as humorous as the other two stories, it was just as well written and enjoyable, and I finished it in a day. If you are a fan of Urban Fantasy, I would definitely recommend this series to you. If you haven’t tried it yet, grab a copy of Under Wraps and get started today. You will be happy you did.
Favorite Scene:
“So,” Nina repeated, her midnight-dark eyes glittering, “how was your day with Officer Love? Excellent? Wonderful? A freak show of wild, breather sex?”
“I’m sitting right here!” Vlad moaned.
“You’re one hundred and twelve, get over it. Humans have sex,” Nina called back.
“Gross.”
I downed my wine and Nina frowned.
“That bad, huh?” she asked.
“Not with Officer Lo—I mean Detective Hayes. He’s fine—straddles the fine line between obnoxious and wonderfully hot—but fine. It’s this case.” I shuddered. “There was another murder today.”
I saw the top of Vlad’s head poke over his laptop screen as he listened in. Nina looked away, reaching for an out-of-date InStyle magazine on the coffee table. “I still don’t see why this is such a big deal. Everyone kills everyone in this city. Everyone’s either dead, undead or dying.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “Nina, this is serious. The crime scene, it was awful. It was a woman our—or, my—age. There was blood everywhere.” I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. “And someone removed the woman’s heart.”
Nina’s eyes flashed. “Removed it?”
“Removed it?” Vlad repeated. “Completely?”
I nodded. “Gone. Hayes is convinced it’s a vampire.”
“Stupid,” Vlad groaned, going back to his computer game.
Nina raised an eyebrow and snapped a magazine page, ignoring Vlad. “Is that so?” She sat forward. “Does this detective even know anything about vampires? Anything at all? Humf.” She snapped another page. “He probably thinks we’re anti-garlic too.”
“You hate garlic.”
Nina pinned me with a glare. “It gives me bad breath.”
Vlad chuckled from his spot at the table.
Nina rolled her eyes. “Anyway. We don’t do hearts. Or waste blood. Ever. Starving vamps in Africa, you know?” She pointed, her eyes narrowed…
I sunk back into the couch, my stomach gurgling. “I can’t think of fashion right now. People are dying. And other people are thinking it’s coming from the Underworld. You know—
Nina wrinkled her pixie nose. “I know. Delicate balance between worlds, blah, blah, blah.” She tossed the magazine and kicked her legs up onto the coffee table, balancing her chin in her palm. “You don’t think it’s coming from the Underworld?”
“I don’t know. There was veiling and a pentagram, so it’s got to be someone who knows their magics.”
Nina eyed me, the corner of her mouth turning up. “Pentagrams? How very every eighties horror movie. And any demon could learn to veil; it’s magic one-oh-one.”
“Can you?” I asked.
Nina looked away. “Any person could learn to do it, too.”
“Well, the veiling was one thing, but the rest…I’ve worked in the Underworld for a long time, Nina. I’ve worked with vampires, werewolves, even hobgoblins, and I’ve never even seen a hint of this kind of”—I shuddered again—“destruction.”
Nina raised a sculpted eyebrow.
“Not even from zombies,” I added. “Or ghouls.”
“Well,” Nina said, sitting forward, “remember when that Choas demon ate your goldfish? That was pretty destructive.”
“A Chaos demon ate your goldfish?” Vlad said. “Cool.”
“It was not cool,” I snapped. “He swallowed Tipsy whole. And the little plastic pirate ship she was hiding in.”
The Slayer by Theresa Meyers
ORDER A COPY: The Slayer: Book Two of the Legend Chronicles
Publisher: Zebra Books
Publishing Date: April 1, 2012
Paperback: 345 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Brothers Winchester, Remington, and Colt know the legends—they were trained from childhood to destroy demon predators, wielding the latest steam-powered gadgetry. It’s a devil of a job. But sometimes your fate chooses you…
Winn Jackson isn’t interested in hunting nightmares across the Wild West—even if it’s the family business. Unlike his rakehell brothers, Winn believes in rules. As sheriff of Bodie, California, he only shoots actual law breakers. That’s what he’s doing when he rescues the Contessa Drossenburg, Alexandra Porter, a lady with all the elegance of the Old World—grace, beauty and class. And then he sees her fangs.
Alexandra isn’t just some bloodsucking damsel in distress, though. She’s on a mission to save her people—and she’s dead certain that Winn’s family legacy is the only way. Luckily, aside from grace and class, she also has a stubborn streak a mile wide. So like it or not, Winn is going to come back with her to the mountains of Transylvania, and while he’s at it, change his opinions about vampires, demon-hunting, and who exactly deserves shooting. And if she has her way, he’s going to do his darnedest to save the world.
Winchester (Winn) Jackson is the Sheriff of Bodie. He left the life of a Hunter behind him long ago, but now his brother Colt needs Winn’s help in finding the three parts of the Book of Legends so they can close the gates of Hell which the Archdemon Rathe is trying to pry open. When Winn is approached by the beautiful Lady Alexandra Porter, the Contessa Drossenburg, to help her find the missing portion of the Book of Legend, he knows he could use her resources to locate the missing portion of the book which was last seen in Europe; but can bring himself to work with the vampires without worrying about becoming dinner.
The Vampiric Royal Court has sent Alexa to do whatever necessary to bring back Winchester Jackson to help find the Book of Legend. They believe that the Jackson brothers are the Chosen from the prophesies. The vampires don’t want the demons taking over the earth any more than the Hunters since the demons plan to destroy the humans; the vampire’s source of food.
But the Darkins are more plentiful in Europe then in America, and include werewolves, fae, elves, dragons, trolls. Even the Hunters play be different rules than the Hunters of America. Winn and Alexa need to learn to work together and trust each other quickly since there they are alone against a whole continent full of enemies, all looking to get control of the book and the Chosen.
The race to the Book of Legend heats up as time is running out to force closed the gates of Hell in this second book of the Legend Chronicles.
This second book in the Legend Chronicle trilogy starts off a little slow. We know from The Hunter that Winn and Alexa show up and assist Colt and Lily during the events of their story, so we spend some time seeing events we have already witnessed, just from another point of view.
But once we leave the United States and get to Europe, things certainly pick up as just about every supernatural faction is racing against Winn and Alexa to get to the Book. Since everyone is out to get them, they can’t trust anyone, but they will find some unusual allies.
Although we once again find ourselves traipsing around in dark tunnels with booby traps, it is not the majority of the story, and we do have more of those interesting steampunk inventions.
This was definitely more exciting than Book 1 and I am looking forward to the big showdown in Book 3.
Check out our review of The Hunter (Book 1).
Received ARC from Kensington Books. Thank you.
Favorite Scene:
He stepped closer, putting his hand on the wagon behind her. His chest was close enough to her that he couldn’t even feel a current of air slip between them. She inhaled sharply and stared up at him, both defiant and glorious. Win let his mouth curve up into one of those legendary, devastating Jackson smiles his Pa had passed down to each of his boys.
“You know if we go in there together, you aren’t going to be able to keep your hands off me.”
Alexa gave an outraged gasp at Winchester’s audacity and firmly fisted her hands at her sides to keep from slapping him. She swore silently to herself in Russian, Hungarian and French. He was as arrogant as any male vampire. “You, sir, overestimate the power of your charms.”
The light of challenge ignited in his eyes as he leaned in farther, the scent of male and leather invading her space and teasing her excellent preternatural sense of smell.
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” he said in a soft rumble that set off sparks along her nerves and tightened the coil of awareness spiraling through her yet another notch, perhaps two. The intensity of his focus on her, like a hungry animal sensing its prey, made Alexa squirm. Then he came closer.
The firm ridge of his sensual mouth skimmed over her cheek and below the lobe of her ear, the bristles of his beard lightly abrading her skin, making it even more sensitive.
She could deny it all she wanted, but the animal magnetism of Winchester Jackson was far more addictive than all the power, prestige and wealth of the vampire nobility she’d been surrounded by her entire life.
Alexa couldn’t seem to stop herself, against her better judgment. The warm touch of his mouth as he nibbled and kissed along the column of her neck sent ripples of desire coursing through her, making the ichor beneath her skin flow like honey. And when he came back up, his mouth at her cheek, she turned and deliberately held them a whisper away from a kiss. “Maybe you just can’t resist me,” she whispered, her lips brushing enticingly against his.
Winchester growled, the sound of it vibrating straight through her. He was lethal animal magnetism and she was doomed. He crushed his mouth to hers in a kiss that demanded everything of her. Like a forest fire it roared through her, all heat and intensity, and left nothing but fragile ash and smoldering coals behind. The slick sensual slide of his tongue tasting her made her recall exactly what a heartbeat felt like; the sensation moved through every cell of her body like one gigantic pulse, beating from the very center of her being.
To Walk the Night by E.S. Moore
ORDER A COPY: To Walk the Night
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publishing Date: January 3, 2012
Paperback: 300 pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Even a vampire has to face her inner demons…
Kat Redding is the very thing she hunts: a vampire, thirsting for blood, capable of killing any creature unlucky enough to get in her path. The difference is, Kat kills her own kind in order to protect human Purebloods. She’s good at what she does. Good enough to earn the nickname Lady Death—and the enmity of every bloodthirsty being around. But now a vampire Count is intent on merging his House with a werewolf cult to create a force of terrifying power.
Kat can’t allow that to happen. Even if it means taking on a den of weres and a vampire more ruthless than any she’s encountered before. She has the weapons, the skill, and a few allies. But that may not be enough to eliminate the Count before her own dark nature rises to the surface—and costs her whatever is left of her humanity…
Kat Redding is a vampire that hunts vampires. This is the time after the Uprising, when vampires and werewolves made their presence known and declared themselves rulers of the night and the humans (Purebloods) began to hide in their homes after dark. Kat has made it her mission to destroy the Vampire Houses who prey on those foolish or desperate enough to be out after dark.
Now the Luna Cult, worshipers of werewolves, want Kat’s help to destroy the power hungry House Tremaine and free their leader being held by the vampire House. Although there is nothing Kat enjoys more than taking down the vampires, she is concerned if she can really trust a monster to guard her back.
In this new Urban Fantasy, E.S. Moore shows us a world where children aren’t the only ones who should be afraid of the dark. Unlike many of the stories where supernaturals exist quietly protecting humans from other supernatural threats, in this world Vampire Houses dominate the night, using werewolves as their guard dogs, and any Purebloods (a/k/a humans) found wandering the night are fair game, kept as slaves and used for blood and sex.
Like most first books in a series, it was a little slowing going in the beginning as we set up the background of our heroine and the city around her, but once we got into the story it really picked up.
There are more than enough dangling story lines to keep me interested in reading the next book which comes out in July 2012.
Received ARC courtesy of Kensington Books. Thank you.
Favorite Scene:
Jonathan stood and walked around his desk. He stopped all of five feet away from me and I still couldn’t see his face. “I should probably explain something to you first,” he said. “The more you know going in, the more likely you are to understand why I came to you. There are certain things you should know, things best shown to you rather than told.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said. Something about Jonathan’s tone had me on edge, but I managed to keep my cool. So far, aside from Pablo’s attitude and Nathan’s angry demeanor, no one had really shown me much in the way of hostility.
Jonathan glanced over to his two associates and nodded ever so slightly. Both Nathan and Gregory sat down, though Nathan did so much slower, as if he wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. The tension level in the room rose tenfold, and I desperately wanted to know what was going on before I accidently shot someone.
“Would you care to take a seat?” Jonathan asked, motioning toward one of the recliners. It was black and leather and looked really comfortable.
“No thanks,” I said. “I’m fine just where I am.”
Jonathan bowed his head in acquiescence before speaking. “I though you might say that. I take it some of the rumors about you are true. It’s probably why I haven’t seen Joshua since he was sent to deliver my message.” His tone hardened. “I assume he is dead.”
My hand slowly fell to my waist. I didn’t draw, but I wanted to be ready. I didn’t like where the conversation was heading.
Nathan started to rise, but Jonathan waved him back down. The big man hesitated, his frown deepening, before settling back down on the couch.
“He broke in to my house.”
Jonathan leaned back against his desk and sighed. “I should have expected it, really. Joshua is an impulsive man. He was to deliver the note and leave before anyone knew he was there. I should have realized he would want to see you himself.”
I glanced at Nathan before answering. The big man was glowering, but he didn’t seem like he was getting ready to fight. Yet.
“I didn’t want to do it,” I said. “But I don’t like people knowing where I live, which brings me back to my question. How did you know where to find me?”
“It wasn’t easy, honestly. Even though I knew who you were, you had moved to a new location before I could act on my knowledge. It made tracking you down that much more difficult.”
I clenched my fist. How long had this guy known about me? “How?” It was all I could think to say.
“You made a mistake,” Jonathan said. “It happened a long time ago, back before you were as well equipped as you are now Back before you had made a name for yourself.”
I stared at him, unsure what to make of the statement. What kind of mistake had I made, other than getting myself captured once? I was always careful, even back when I was young and stupid.
Jonathan stood silent for a long moment before speaking again. “I was your mistake,” he said. His hands slowly rose to the hood concealing his face and slide it slowly back from his head. There was a shimmer, as if the air around his head was disturbed by some unfelt wave of heat; then his features came into focus.
