Review: TAKEN

Taken by Lilith Saintcrow
A stand-alone Harlequin paperback.

Genre: adult urban fantasy romance

About Taken:

Sophie Wilson never believed she was special. Avoiding a violent ex, she can’t remember the last time she felt truly safe. Then vampires murder her best friend and Sophie is kidnapped by a dangerously sexy shapeshifter.

Zach insists Sophie is a shaman–someone with a rare gift for taming a shifter’s savage side–and he needs her to help him save his pack. Now, with a malevolent enemy closing in, Sophie and Zach must risk everything on a bond that may be their only salvation…

Source: Info in the About Taken was taken from the author’s website at http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/journal/the-books/taken/ on 21/06/2011.

My Thoughts:

I’ve read this author’s previous work before but I did not like Strange Angels. However this author has such a compelling author’s voice that I decided to give her work another go. Besides another book blogger said that her Lilith Saintcrow persona writes differently from her Lili St. Crow one. So I reasoned to myself that in this work, the things I did not like in Strange Angels might not be there anymore. However, Lilith Saintcrow still has a penchant for stupid heroines. Although this time around it’s not so bad. Besides, it was in line with the character’s personality make-up. Which made the character just this side of annoying. I would give the character development a 3 out of 5.

The “author’s voice” is still good in this book but for some reason it did not feel as good as it was with Strange Angels. Don’t get me wrong, it is still compelling, just not as compelling as I remember it to be with Strange Angels. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5.

The cover could use a little bit of lightening up. I know the fantasy noir is high up in the market at the moment but it didn’t quite work with this cover art.

The world building is not only very good, it’s masterful! Lilith Saintcrow brought the world of the Carcajou wolves come to life very vividly! I’ll have to give it a 5 out of 5.

Overall, I did enjoy this book although not as much as I expected, given that Lilith Saintcrow has such a compelling “author’s voice“. Overall, I’d say that this book is a 4 out of 5.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4.5
World Building = 5
Character Development = 3
Plot = 3
Pace = 4
Story Itself = 4
Ending = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Wishlist: Lightbringer

WISHLIST:

Lightbringer by K.D. McEntire

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy Romance
Series: NA

Summary:

Wendy has the ability to see souls that have not moved on—but she does not seek them out. They seek her. They yearn for her . . . or what she can do for them. Without Wendy’s powers, the Lost, the souls that have died unnaturally young, are doomed to wander in the never forever, and Wendy knows she is the only one who can set them free by sending them into the light.
Each soul costs Wendy, delivering too many souls would be deadly, and yet she is driven to patrol, dropping everyone in her life but her best friend, Eddie—who wants to be more than friends—until she meets Piotr.

Piotr, the first Rider and guardian of the Lost, whose memory of his decades in the never, a world that the living never see, has faded away. With his old-fashioned charms, and haunted kindness, he understands Wendy in ways no one living ever could, yet Wendy is hiding that she can do more than exist in the never. Wendy is falling for a boy who she may have to send into the light.

But there are darker forces looking for the Lost. Trying to regain the youth and power that the Lost possess, the dark ones feed on the Lost and only Wendy and Piotr can save them—but at what cost?

Lightbringer is a YA urban fantasy/romance set in a world a breath away from our own. Similar in tone to Tithe and Unleashed, Lightbringer tiptoes down the line between love and horror as Wendy discovers herself and the darkest parts of the afterlife.

Source: Info in the Summary was taken from Goodreads on 08/07/2011.

Review: THE NYMPH KING by Gena Showalter

The Nymph King by Gena Showalter

Genre: paranormal romance

About the Nymph King:

Enter a world of dark seduction and powerful magic . . . enter Atlantis . . .

Females young and old, beautiful and plain crave Valerian’s touch. None can resist his blatant sensuality and potent allure . . . until he steals Shaye Holling from a Florida beach and holds her prisoner in his underwater kingdom.

The cynical Shaye wants nothing to do with the mighty warlord, but she’s inexplicably drawn to him. For underneath the warrior’s arrogant beauty lies a complex and powerful man. A man whose caress is like fire . . .

Now Valerian must fight for the privilege of claiming her as his own. Because there’s one thing Shaye doesn’t know…

Source: Info in the About The Nymph King was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96131.The_Nymph_King on 14/10/10.

My Thoughts:

I’ve read this book sometime ago so this is a restrospective review. This book is the first and last book I’ve read of Gena Showalter’s work. And the reason I avoided Gena Showalter like the plague ever since. Not all her work is probably this bad but I tend to avoid this author now because of what I have sampled of her writing with this book.

The author has a good “voice“. The way she told the story was compelling. But her writing style is annoyingly geered towards titillation at the expense of quality. It reads like a bad B-rated movie. I started to realize that it was bad about one quarters into the book but I persevered in the hopes that something good is going to happen just around the bend… but by the time I came to the last page, that “something good” is nowhere to be seen. On top of that, the plot is weak and is just this side of predictable. A more tolerant reader might find this book enjoyable but this book is so not for me.

Overall Rating: 0.5 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
I bought this book with my own money. Not only do I want my money back! I want my wasted reading time back!!

WISHLIST: BONDS OF JUSTICE

WISHLIST:

Bonds Of Justice by Nalini Singh

Genre: urban fantasy romance

About Bonds Of Justice:

Return to the powerful, turbulent Psy/Changeling world created by the “amazingly talented”* Nalini Singh, as a human detective finds himself working the most unlikely of cases—in the dark heart of a Councilor’s domain…

Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor’s closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture…

Sophia Russo is a Justice-Psy, cursed with the ability to retrieve memories from men and women so twisted even veteran cops keep their distance. Appointed as Max’s liaison with the Psy, she finds herself fascinated by this human, her frozen heart threatening to thaw with forbidden emotion. But, her mind filled with other people’s nightmares, other people’s evil, she’s standing on the border between sanity and a silken darkness that urges her to take justice into her own hands, to become judge, jury…and executioner…

Source: Info in the About Bonds Of Justice was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/bonds.php on 02/06/2011.

WW28: PLAY OF PASSION

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous – WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Play Of Passion by Nalini Singh
Page 28, 1st Sentence:

The lieutenant was waiting for him to say it.

I think this sentence is part of the wolf mating dance 🙂

About Play Of Passion:

Passion and reason collide with explosive force in the newest installment of Nalini Singh’s “mesmerizing”* Psy/Changeling series. As a conflict with Pure Psy looms on the horizon, two powerful wolves fight a far more intimate war of their own…

In his position as tracker for the SnowDancer pack, it’s up to Drew Kincaid to rein in rogue changelings who have lost control of their animal halves—even if it means killing those who have gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite…and who threatens to enslave his wolf.

Lieutenant Indigo Riviere doesn’t easily allow skin privileges, especially of the sensual kind—and the last person she expects to find herself craving is the most wickedly playful male in the den. Everything she knows tells her to pull back before the flames burn them both to ash…but she hasn’t counted on Drew’s will.

Now, two of SnowDancer’s most stubborn wolves find themselves playing a hot, sexy game even as lethal danger stalks the very place they call home…

Source: Info in the About Play Of Passion was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/play.html on 01/09/2010.

Review: ON THE EDGE

On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
Book 1 of the Edge series

Genre: urban fantasy romance

About On The Edge:

Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken (where people drive cars, shop at Wal-Mart, and magic is a fairy tale) and the Weird (where blueblood aristocrats rule, changelings roam, and the strength of your magic can change your destiny). Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.

Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum wage, off the books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).

But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it . . .

Source: Info in the About On The Edge was taken from the author’s website at  on 14/09/2010.

My Thoughts:
This is suppose to be book 1 of the Edge Novels but I think each of the Edge books can be read as stand alones as it seems that each book contains different sets of characters though all of them happens in the same world.

Like the Kate Daniels series which launched Ilona Andrew’s writing career, this book also has the superb story telling quality with humor between the lines. The characters were masterfully weaved that they felt like old friends. My favouritest of them all is Jack with his too big paws and inability to resist chasing colorfull tails even if said tail is attached to a very dangerous animal indeed! Just gotta love that cuteness!! I just wish there is a follow up book which features Jack and his family… The ending was slightly predictable but I still enjoyed it. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a happy-ever-afters.

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 4

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Guest Post: Jacqueline Paige

I feel like I was just handed a blank piece of paper and told to fill it. Well, lets see … I could talk about the hundred + aspects of magic, but that one seems to be over done if you ask me. Do a Google on magic and see what I mean.

I’ve given my brain free reign to fill this blank page and the topic it randomly tossed me is curses. This theme is tied into my Salvation book, as well as many of my other books.

While writing them I didn’t see the connection, until someone pointed it out. In Behind the Mask my main character was cursed by her sister to be forgotten. In Twice Cursed (coming out in February) my main witch has been cursed, well, twice (coming up with that title was easy). I’m presently working on a trilogy and a spell/curse is the main plot. So I guess my cursed pirate ghost in Salvation isn’t an oddity for me.

While my unknown of theme of curses is a surprise to me, in truth curses have been around for all of human existence in all areas of the globe and all belief systems. To illustrate this I’m going to tell you about some ‘famous’ curses.

The first one is the curse of James Dean’s car: In 1955 James Dean was killed while driving his Porsche 550 Spyder. In the next year the very same car was involved in two more fatal accidents. The car was purchased by hot-rod designer.

During a tune up the car fell on the mechanic’s legs and crushed them. Later the owners of the sold engine and transmission, two doctors who raced cars, while racing against each other, one driver was killed, the other seriously injured. Someone else had purchased the tires, which blew simultaneously, sending the driver to the hospital.

The car was set to appear in a car show, but a fire broke out in the building the night before the show, destroying every car except James Deans, which survived without so much as a smudge. The car was then loaded onto a truck to go back to California. The driver lost control en route, was thrown from the cab, and was crushed by the car when it fell off the trailer. In 1960, after being exhibited by the California Highway Patrol, the car disappeared and hasn’t been seen since.

The next time someone says an object is cursed… I might listen.

There is also the famous Egyptian mummy curse Tutankhamen’s tomb – where the inscription read “Death comes on wings to he who enters the tomb of a pharaoh” and the person that found the tomb, apparently died from pneumonia and blood poisoning following complications from a mosquito bite.

I for one feel uncomfortable just looking at the artefacts on display in the museum from Egyptian tombs – never would I be brave enough to dig up one of their tombs.

Here is one I found entertaining… In 1945, William Sianis brought his pet goat to Wrigley Field to see the fourth game of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. Sianis and his goat were later escorted from the game, and Sianis reportedly put a curse on the team that day. Ever since, the Cubs have had legendarily bad luck.

Over the years, Cubs fans have experienced agony in repeated late-season collapses when victory seemed imminent. In 1969, 1984, 1989, and 2003, the Cubs were painfully close to advancing to the World Series but couldn’t hold the lead. Even those who don’t consider themselves Cubs fans blame the hex for the weird and almost comical losses year after year. The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 — no other team in the history of the game has gone as long without a championship.

I don’t follow sports that much – is this one true?

So there are a few famous, if not odd curses in history. I make mine much more interesting in my books and completely unpredictable.

Maybe the next time someone utters the words ‘I’m cursed’ I will definitely believe them.

Thanks for having me here!!

Salvation by Jacqueline Paige

Genre: paranormal romance

About Salvation:

Two centuries of not existing is about to change…

Lost in a place between living and dying, confined to roam endlessly over the same grounds for all eternity and cursed to never be seen again, Jareth wanders through time alone and longing for the sea once more. When he realizes there is one thing he yearns for more than he ever did the sea, he is tossed into a world he is unfamiliar with.

Stuck with a life that never goes her way, Miranda is determined to get at least one thing she wants. When that one thing turns out to be a sexy pirate that lived over two hundred years ago, she finds herself faced with more than one challenge to have him.
Can they break the curse and be together?

Source: Info in the About Salvation was taken from the press release received for this book from Goddess Fish on 02/11/10.

I SO WANT TO READ THIS: MAYBE THIS TIME

WISHLIST:

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Genre: paranormal romance
About Maybe This Time:

When Andie Miller goes to see her ex-husband, North Archer, to return ten years of uncashed alimony checks, he asks for one final favor: A distant cousin has died and left him guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already; will she take the job? Bribed with money and a need for closure, Andie says yes, but when she meets the two children she realizes things are much worse than she feared. The children aren’t any run-of-the-mill delinquents, the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers, and something strange is happening at night. Plus, Andie’s fiance thinks it’s a plan by North to get Andie back, and since Andie’s been dreaming about North since she arrived at the house, she’s not sure he isn’t right. Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie’s tarot card–reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie’s sure things couldn’t get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could be different….

Source: Info in the About Maybe This Time was taken from the author’s website at http://www.jennycrusie.com/books/fiction/maybe-this-time/ on 31/08/2010.

WISHLIST: SALVATION

Salvation by Jacqueline Paige

Genre: paranormal romance

About Salvation:

What woman wouldn’t want their very own sexy pirate from the eighteenth century?

Lost in a place between living and dying, confined to roam endlessly over the same grounds for all eternity and never to be seen again, Jareth wanders through time alone, longing for the sea once more. When he realizes there is one thing he yearns for more than he ever did the sea, he is tossed into a world he is unfamiliar with.

Stuck with a life that never goes her way, Miranda is determined to get at least one thing she wants. When that one thing turns out to be a sexy pirate that lived over two hundred years ago, she finds herself with more than one challenge to have him.

Can they break the curse and be together?

Source: Info in the About Salvation was taken from the author’s website at http://jacqpaige.webs.com/salvation.htm on 03/10/10.

WW28: THE TURNING

WW28

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous – WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering: The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout

Page 28, 1st Sentence:

There was a phone number and driving directions.

About The Turning:
Book 1 of the Blood Ties series

I’m no coward. I want to make that perfectly clear. But after my life turned into a horror movie, I take fear a lot more seriously now. I finally became Dr. Carrie Ames just eight months ago. Then I was attacked in the hospital morgue by a vampire. Just my luck.
So now I’m a vampire, and it turns out I have a blood tie to the monster who sired me. The tie works like an invisible leash and I’m bound to him no matter what I do. And of course he’s one of the most evil vampires on earth. With my sire hell-bent on turning me into a soulless killer and his sworn enemy set to exterminate me, things couldn’t get much worse — except I’m attracted to them both.
Drinking blood, living as an immortal demon and being a pawn between two warring vampire factions isn’t exactly how I’d imagined my future. But as my father used to say, the only way to conquer fear is to face it. So that’s what I’ll do. Fangs bared.

Source: Info in the About The Turning was taken from the author’s website at http://jenniferarmintrout.com/bt.html on 05/06/2010.

I would like to thank whoever sent me The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout because I cannot for the life of me remember where I won this book from!!