"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
WARNING - extreme fangirling ahead
I can only remember one time I was disappointed in a Kate Daniels book. Magic Rises had that moment when Kate decided that Curran preferred that cupcake, Lorelei, to her...really? You went there, book? I DO NOT want, nor accept, that kind of nonsense in my KD stories. Mercifully, we have nothing of the sort in Magic Shifts and in fact the Kate/Curran partnership is completely, beautifully rock solid. Halle-frickin-lujah.
I love that we've moved away from the Pack, freeing Curran to focus exclusively on Kate. I really loved the expansion of Julie's character, showing only previously hinted at development she's experienced at Kate's side.
Ilona and Gordon have positioned this story and the plot 'shift' perfectly, aligning us for the ultimate showdown with the inimitable Roland. And now we wait! *sigh*
Pretty torn on how to rate this. I loved the premise (superhero nerd alert!) but the character's voice was too juvenile for his age and the story suffered for it, IMO. I thought the world building had a good frame work but since we stuck with David's POV we never saw much complexity in terms of setting, the larger impact of the Epics coming to power, etc. Not sure I'll continue.
Emotionally complex and intense, really well done. Vivienne is a smart, thoughtful woman exploring and working through the trauma that defined her early in her life. She meets Jonah, and together they take the exploration to the next level but suddenly the stark honesty of their relationship causes it to change and they both realize they want more. Watching the two of them peel back their emotional scars is riveting and heartbreaking at the same time. Can't wait for the second book since
(show spoiler)*This book is most certainly not for those with non-con/dub-con/sexual assault triggers (less)
Maybe a teeny bit long, I might have just wanted to get to the end to see what happened. I'll admit I lost my composure at the end and cried a bit. This story is weighty, heartbreaking and utterly gorgeous in turn. I blazed through most of it in one day I was so completely captivated. Adding Saint-Malo to my list of must places to visit.
This wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't the book for me. I liked Akira: supremely in charge of her life and sexuality. The sex scenes were pretty over the top and well done (definitely adventurous, so kudos for that!). But I thought the conflict was thin and didn't drive the story quite enough. I mean, I understand that family can scar you but to make that the whole problem? I guess I just didn't 'buy' it. I took another chance hoping to find something enjoyable outside my usual genre choices and bombed out again..ah well.
March's Reading Challenge ~ Go Forth!
This month you will read:
A well written historical in a time period I didn't even know I'd enjoy. Originally written for the 'Love Has No Boundaries' free fiction event put together by the Goodreads M/M Romance group, I picked up the expanded and re-edited version on Amazon, and what a great find! I'd like to read more from this author and I will definitely seek out more medieval settings.
Some quick thoughts:
Oooh, I liked this! A very intriguing magic system fitted into some basic world building. Felt similar to the Shadow Campaigns novels in that it's a flintlock fantasy. The characters here were interesting but the villains a little too evil. Still, I will read the next prequel and then probably book 1 which has been widely lauded.
Vividly written with excellent world building and distinctive characters, I'm really sorry to say this book bored me to tears. I just kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. Not even the developing romance held my attention and the strong YA flavor did not help. The book ends quite abruptly on a tense, adversarial note but it won't be enough for me to continue
A good, epic fantasy yarn, I definitely enjoyed it. There were moments where Saker had me slapping my forehead (hello, TSTL!) and I definitely felt it could have been edited down a bit overall, I still thought it was very well written and fun to read. I will also mention that there were a few times where things went a little too according to plan but my heart was in my throat at those moments so I guess I can't complain. There is an excellent cliffy ending so be warned, but book 2 just came out so it won't hurt too much!