Book Thingo » Paranormal romance

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Kat — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 1)

The Elder Races series has become my BDB replacement. It’s totally cracktastic.

After reading Wandergurl’s review and at the urging of Decadence and Kate, I finally picked up the first book in Thea Harrison’s Elder Races series.

I’m hooked.

Pia Giovanni is blackmailed into stealing from Dragos, Wyr (shapeshifter) leader and one of the most powerful creatures in the world. She’s on the run, but he’s determined to find out who stole his…penny.

Dragon Bound gets off to a snappy start, with Dragos’s pursuit of Pia and her attempts to elude him. Dragos’s enemies are determined to bring him down, and Pia is inadvertently swept up in their conflict. Her life has been based on the need to protect herself, but with Dragos refusing to let her go, it seems her secrets may put her in even greater danger than either of them could have anticipated.

Dragos is your typical alpha male, leader of a savage community, whose ruthlessness is suddenly tempered by his fascination with—and later love for—the heroine. Pia is not exactly weak—she has her own skills and resources—but her greatest strength in the relationship is her ability to understand Dragos’s nature and help him be a better person. Species. Wyr. Whatever.

“I am jealous, selfish, acquisitive, territorial and possessive. I have a terrible temper, and I know I can be a cruel son of a bitch.” He cocked his head. “I used to eat people, you know.”

If he meant to shock her out of crying, he succeeded. A snort burst out of her. “That’s awful,” she said. Her nose was clogged. “I mean it, that’s awful. It’s not funny. I’m not laughing.”

He sighed. “It was a long time ago. Thousands of years. Once I really was the beast the Elves call me.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep, shuddering breath and rubbed her fingers along the seam of his T-shirt. “What made you stop?”

“I had a conversation with somebody. It was an epiphany.” His voice was rueful. He rocked her. “From that point on, I swore I would never eat something that could talk.”

If you like sassy heroines, there’s plenty of it in Dragon Bound. One of my favourite scenes is when Pia gets drunk with the PR representative for Dragos’s corporation and they indulge in a bit of girl bonding.

Yes, the writing is sometimes mired in purple prose (‘broad mushroom head’—yes, it’s exactly what you think it is) and the kind of awkward language (‘I’ll pursue that comment later.’ Really? Do people talk like this?) that fans of paranormal romance readers regularly endure—perhaps even enjoy, because who am I to judge?— but Dragon Bound also embodies all that we love about the genre.

Yay or nay?

The Elder Races series has become my BDB replacement. It’s totally cracktastic.

Who might enjoy it: Paranormal romance series fanatics

Who might not enjoy it: People who expect paranormal romance characters to act like normal people

Title: Dragon Bound (excerpts: one, two, three)
Series: Elder Races (Book 1)
Author: Thea Harrison
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
A format: 9780425241509 (9/6/2011)

This article was published by Book Thingo via RSS. If you're not reading this through your feedreader or via a Feedburner email subscription, please report it to us using this contact form. Thank you.

More at Book Thingo:

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Kat — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook (Iron Seas, Book 2)

It’s rare in romance to find an uncompromisingly strong heroine and even rarer to find a hero who understands how to love such a woman. This book gets it just right.

Although Meljean Brook is one of my autobuy authors, I was hugely disappointed by her first Iron Seas novel, The Iron Duke. I found Rhys Trahaearn unheroic, rapish and generally irritating. I hadn’t planned to read any more of this series, except I forgot to tell the bookshop, and they put aside a copy of Heart of Steel for me.

This is fortunate, because Heart of Steel is everything I love about Brook’s writing. Adventurer Archimedes Fox and Captain Yasmeen, who appeared in the first book, remind me of Hugh and Lilith from Brook’s The Guardians series. Their romance is cheeky but filled with subtext and things left unsaid that make it just that much more thrilling.

Archimedes Fox is presumed dead and Yasmeen makes a bargain with his sister to sell off a valuable Da Vinci sketch in exchange for a portion of the proceeds. But there are complications. Word seems to have got out, and some people are not above a bit of murder to get their hands on it. The sketch is stolen. Oh, and Fox isn’t actually dead.

Soon, Yasmeen has her own very personal reasons for wanting to find who is after the sketch. Fox, for reasons of his own, has decided to fall deeply, tragically, romantically in love with Yasmeen as they pursue treasures, mercenaries and assassins.

It’s a testament to Brook that she can create a character like Archimedes Fox, who treads a precarious line between roguish charm and utter ridiculousness, and find the perfect heroine for him—one who is unbowed and unyielding. Fox is the heart of this story, but Yasmeen is its strength.

There’s a lot of world building in this book, some of which follows on from The Iron Duke. It’s possible to read this as a stand alone novel, but it may be more satisfying to read the series in order. It does gets a bit dense in parts, so if you’re an impatient romance reader like me, you might find yourself skimming through the political and historical background, even though they’re crucial to understanding how the plot comes together.

The romance in Heart of Steel is relatively understated. Fox is determined to prolong his romantic agony. Yasmeen, of course, tells him he’s being ridiculous, but Fox has his reasons. Brook could have developed this aspect of his character more, but Fox is so much fun that it hardly matters.

Yay or nay?

It’s rare in romance to find an uncompromisingly strong heroine and even rarer to find a hero who understands how to love such a woman. Heart of Steel gets it just right.

Who might enjoy it: Steampunk romance enthusiasts

Who might not enjoy it: Acrophobics

Title: Heart of Steel (excerpt)
Series: Iron Seas (Book 2)
Author: Meljean Brook
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
B format: 9780425243305 (1/11/2011)
PDF: 9781101542798 (1/11/2011)
ePub: 9781101545676 (1/11/2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Decadence — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:00:04 +0000

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush Saga, Book 1)

A bodice-ripper for the Twilight generation. If you look beyond its uncomfortably age inappropriate start, you’ll find unwanted but undeniable chemistry, highly realistic teenage logic and page-turning mystery.

Hush, Hush is a really interesting book to review. Its plot is reminiscent of a 1970s bodice-ripper where the older, more experienced hero antagonises the virginal young heroine as much as he tempts her. Becca Fitzpatrick doesn’t let a lack of sex (this is teen fiction, after all) prevent her from having Patch Cipriano forcefully seduce Nora Grey at every opportunity. They each have other potential love interests who make the other party jealous, but the once-intimidating hero actually becomes the safer option and they are forced to team up to survive.

Rape-tacular biology in motion

There are aspects of the book that don’t present well despite Fitzpatrick’s best intentions, and I’m going to get the crap out of the way first because most of it happens in the first half of the book.

In what must be the most pedo-tastic lesson plan ever, the Biology teacher (who is also the stereotypical results-driven sports coach) introduces the topic of sex by asking Nora to tell her class what she looks for in her ideal mate. She shies away, so he asks Patch, who lists vulnerability among his preferred qualities, then shines the spotlight back onto Nora, detailing why he is attracted to her and announces that her discomfited blush means she wants him, too.

While Patch has been around for centuries and flirts like an adult, at fifteen Nora is definitely underage, so the scene read like a prelude to rape where the perpetrator is laying the groundwork for reasonable doubt and psychologically isolating his victim from support because all anyone is likely to remember is that Patch flirted with Nora and she ‘liked’ it.

What adds to the squick factor is that it stems from an inappropriate question from an adult teacher that would violate the Child Protection Act. The coach takes credit for a successful lesson, calling it ‘biology in motion’, tacitly supporting Patch’s behaviour. I’m surprised that his next lesson didn’t involve asking them for a live demonstration.

Unwilling to act on her attraction to Patch, Nora asks the coach to separate them, but has trouble explaining to herself what the problem is, so she makes no real effort to communicate it to him. And he’s so oblivious to her distress that he tells her she also has to tutor Patch for no extra credit.

Her best friend Vee Sky suggests a campaign to get the coach fired, but Nora shuts her down and Vee never speaks another word of sense again. She later gives Nora bad advice about continuing to see someone who physically threatens her because it gives Vee more opportunities to throw herself at his uninterested friend despite several public rejections.

After her father’s murder, Nora is left to raise herself while her mother travels for work. She says they have a deal where, as long as she behaves responsibly, her mother won’t have to take a lower paying job that would give her time to supervise Nora. In other words, Nora is made responsible for her mother’s ability to keep the family home as well as her own upbringing. Forcing her mother to be her parent would actually be a failure on Nora’s part. Nora is forced to be capable of looking after herself, but events in this book highlight the reasonable need a teenager has for someone to take care of her. She develops a habit of handling things herself without it ever occurring to her to ask for help when she needs it. She even pushes help away without any apparent consciousness that she is in over her head.

Nora has a nervous tic of popping enough iron pills to ensure she never has another bowel movement in this lifetime, but despite her attachment to this security blanket, she is willing to give them up for the remainder of the school day to stalk Patch. I wondered if her anaemia was a sign that Nora was more than human, but it was dropped partway through the book.

Why did I finish the book?

One reason I kept going was to see just how bad it could get, figuring that a negative review would be quick to write. It would have been easy to dismiss Fitzpatrick as a bad writer, but there’s more to the story and it actually gets a lot better. Yes, she creates an extreme situation in Nora’s lack of support system, but she captures the awkwardness of teenage years where a ‘smart’ girl is overlooked through neglect and her own inability to see she’s in an unhealthy situation.

Vee is loud and sometimes annoying, but Fitzpatrick quietly shows that her confidence is a defence mechanism. What Nora describes as ‘voluptuous’, others brand as ‘fat’, and Vee unsuccessfully tries fad diet after fad diet. She reminds me of Lula from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series with her lack of subtlety and ability to rationalise the irrational to get her own way.

Nora and Vee definitely both make stupid choices, but the reasons why are clear. I could reasonably see an insecure teen making mistakes out of a belief they need to be independent or a desire to be more than they are perceived. What some readers might consider flaws are a well-portrayed part of the teenage condition and it resonated within me because while I wasn’t either of those characters, I had some of those qualities when I was their age.

I’m not a fan of bodice-rippers, but like one that haunted me long after I read it, Hush, Hush had a magnetic quality that kept me turning the pages. Except for the inappropriate classroom scene, I enjoyed watching Patch make Nora squirm while she goes back for more because she doesn’t want him to keep besting her.

I think that’s part of what makes their connection so interesting. Any relationship between Nora and Patch was never going to be one between equals because of his preternatural abilities and centuries of experience. But he got under her skin and seduced her into actively pursuing him. I’m drawn to the conflict between hero and heroine as long as the connection is there, especially when it’s inconvenient or unwanted like it is in Hush, Hush. Sadly, the classroom scene is the only insight given to Patch’s interest in Nora, but hopefully we’ll see this become more fleshed out in later books.

The book opens centuries ago with an exchange where an angel demands an annual fortnight of service from a young duke and it made me wonder which one was Patch and what this has to do with the present day. Setting aside the question of what kind of teenager loans out their car, how could Nora hit someone with Vee’s car and write it off, only for any signs of collision to disappear? How is this connected to a girl’s murder at another school and how is Patch always there when Nora needs help? Since I’m not in the habit of killing fairies, I just had to keep reading.

Yay or Nay?

Hush, Hush is a bodice-ripper for the Twilight generation. If you look beyond its uncomfortably age inappropriate start, you’ll find unwanted but undeniable chemistry, highly realistic teenage logic and page-turning mystery. I have to hand it to Fitzpatrick—she knows how to dole out the crumbs.

Who might enjoy this book: Fans of bodice-rippers, Lauren Kate’s Fallen series and the Twilight saga

Who might not enjoy this book: Readers who hated Twilight, like gentlemanly heroes and expect their heroines to be strong, well-defined, independent and kick-arse

Becca Fitzpatrick will be in Australia in December at The Black Hand Ball, hosted by Simon & Schuster. Click here for details and bookings.

Title: Hush, Hush (excerpt)
Series: Hush, Hush Saga, Book 1
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Hardback: 9781847386946 (11/2009)
C format: 9781847386953 (11/2009)
B format: 9781847386960 (9/2010)
Ebook: 9781847389169 (11/2009)

More at Book Thingo:

Signing: The Black Hand Ball, Sydney (featuring Becca Fitzpatrick) — 7/12/2011

Shadow Kin by M. J. Scott

Kat — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Shadow Kin by M. J. Scott (Half-Light City, Book 1)

Shadow Kin straddles urban fantasy and paranormal romance. If you’re not fussed about first person narrative and POV shifts, this book introduces a fresh voice in the genre that won’t have any trouble finding an audience.

When Shadow’s attempt to assassinate a sunmage fails, she knows she’s in big trouble. First, there’s her boss, the Blood Lord Lucius, for whom failure is punishable by death…or worse. Then there’s Simon, the sunmage, who persuades Shadow to betray Lucius.

Shadow is a wraith, and all her life Lucius’s protection—such as it is—has been her only sanctuary. It’s also a dark prison she’s desperate to escape, and Simon’s offer of protection is the first real chance she’s had since her Fae family abandoned her to the Blood Lord.

The story gets off to a fantastic start—fast-paced and intriguing, with a kick-arse but vulnerable heroine. Perfect urban fantasy fodder, and I couldn’t put it down. Debut Australian author M. J. Scott sets up an intriguing world featuring vampires, demons, fae, mages, Templars and more. Shadow Kin is the first book in the Half-Light City series, and Scott introduces political and cultural tensions, as well as mysteries that will no doubt be more fully explored in later books.

There are moments of violence, but also of intimacy. Surprisingly, some of the most intense scenes are between Shadow and Lucius—the kind that sells chills rather than thrills down the spine.

POV-sensitive readers will have issues with how Scott has chosen to shift the narration between Shadow and Simon. Changes in the narrator are marked by sun and moon symbols, but they can be awkward. Both narrators use first person, which makes the some POV shifts bewildering.

The real problem is that there isn’t a compelling reason for Simon’s point of view, other than to reveal parts of the plot that Shadow has no knowledge of. The payoff isn’t worth it, because not only does shifts to Simon’s POV affect the story’s pacing, Scott fails to capitalise on Shadow’s deeper internal conflict by being in the wrong head at the wrong time.

The story also suffers from that perennial paranormal romance weakness of sappy endings. Scott does better than most, but it still niggles, especially when compared with the polish of the story’s beginning.

When I first met Scott at last year’s R*BY awards dinner, she had just signed her first book contract, so I’ve been looking forward to Shadow Kin for over a year now. It was worth the wait.

Yay or nay?

Who might enjoy it: Readers who like an intricate plot

Who might not enjoy it: Those who refer to themselves in the third person

An e-galley of this book was generously provided by Penguin USA via NetGalley.

Title: Shadow Kin (excerpt)
Series: Half-Light City (Book 1)
Author: M. J. Scott
Publisher: Roc/Penguin
A format: 9780451464040 (6/9/2011)
Ebook: 9781101541098 (6/9/2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Book launch: Shadow Kin by M. J. Scott – 22/9/2011

Heart Search by Robin D. Owens

Wandergurl — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:38 +0000

Heart Search by Robin D. Owens (Celta's HeartMates, Book 10)

A good addition to the series for Celta fans who are curious to see how characters have evolved and want to catch up on previous characters’ lives.

I first read Robin D. Owens’ HeartMate earlier in the year. Within the next month I managed to collect every single book in the Celta series by visiting random bookshops in the Philippines and through some creative used book buying via @GirrlitsBooks. Needless to say, I love everything about this series—even the apostrophes.

Laev T’Hawthorn was stupid a few books ago and, as a twenty-year old, married the wrong girl, thinking she was his HeartMate. She fucked him over, to put it in simple terms, and later died when a devastating illness swept the land. Laev, now head of his family after the death of his grandfather, has since discovered that she stole family heirlooms and sold them. He is determined to get them back, and in doing so right some of the wrongs he felt he has brought upon his family by choosing the wrong woman.

Camilla Darjeeling runs a tea house (in case you couldn’t get this from her name) and is a very independent woman who has worked very hard to get herself a better station in life. She also knows Laev is her HeartMate. (She can’t tell him—this is a law of the land, just so you know that she’s not just being unnecessarily stubborn.) She’s being bothered by her unscrupulous father and uncle, who keep stealing everything she owns and physically abusing her despite her best attempts to avoid them.

Camilla refuses to acknowledge Laev is her HeartMate, and he refuses to try and find her because of his past experiences and regret. Eventually, their sexy-time dreams catch up with them and they finally hook up in real life, but neither them wants to go further than that.

Laev and Camilla’s relationship came across at times like a friends-with-benefits tale that evolved and and turned out well. Their hesitation to move towards romance, despite the fact that it was inevitable, was realistic and well-portrayed. People do have regrets, and this does stop them from moving forward or trying to love again, because they’ve been burned before. Camilla’s lack of trust for men, brought about by abuse from the men in her family, was also realistic. If you take away all the juju and magic porting and mind-talking cute animals, they really could just be two people having issues with commitment.

You can’t read this book without reading the rest of the series. The Celta series has a very finely ingrained mythology, which you won’t entirely understand if you start with Heart Search, which is set ten years into the future from the last book and focuses on a younger generation. You don’t have to read all the preceding books, and you don’t even have to read them in order—I didn’t—but you need another book to start with before you get to Heart Search. It’s so far along in the series that it’s best to read one or two of the previous books in the series (any of them, really) beforehand.

Yay or nay?

A good addition to the series for Celta fans who are curious to see how characters have evolved and want to catch up on previous characters’ lives.

Who might enjoy it: Celta HeartMates series fans

Who might not enjoy it: Apostrophe haterz

Title: Heart Search (excerpt — PDF)
Series: Celta’s HeartMates (Book 10)
Author: Robin D. Owens
Publisher: Berkley
A format: 9780425241387 (2/8/2011)
ePub: 9781101517291 (2/8/2011)
Adobe: 9781101507896 (2/8/2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison

Wandergurl — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:42 +0000

Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 2)

My new auto-buy author. Even if the hero had turned out to be a wimpy web-footed shapeshifter from outer space whose non-human form was even weirder looking I’d probably still buy it.

Tricks, former head of PR for Culebre Enterprises, has come out of hiding after the death of the Dark Fae King to reveal herself as the heiress to the throne. Not surprisingly, people are trying to kill her. Enter Tiago Black Eagle, wyr sentinel sent by Dragos, her ex-boss who gave her refuge (see previous book), to make sure she’s okay and find out who tried to kill her. They haven’t had much interaction until now, but they make up for lost time pretty quickly. Can Tricks and Tiago find out who’s trying to kill her before she ends up dead, and still have time for some nookie?

I think I’ve written a similar summary before. Hell, I think I might have done it for Dragon Bound, the first book of this series. But hey, why ruin something that works?

Thea Harrison is my new auto-buy author. Even if the hero had turned out to be a wimpy web-footed shapeshifter from outer space whose non-human form was even weirder looking I’d probably still buy it. (But I’d ask Decadence first.) I am utterly fascinated by her world building and enjoy the universe she’s created.

Tricks and Tiago are great characters. Tricks could have easily turned into a Mary Sue, or Miss Super-Independent-I-Don’t-Need-Anyone, but instead she acknowledges what she needs to learn and gets on with it. Tiago could also have turned into a grunting alpha—honestly, I think of him as Conan or Taboo (from the Black Eyed Peas)—but he’s worked out well. Harrison, and by virtue of this, Tricks, doesn’t try to change him, even at the end, when they’re mated (this is not a spoiler as I’m sure we all know this is going to happen—it’s a romance) and he’s got to be Mr. Faerie. There are also none of the if only they spoke to each other this conflict would not have happened bullshit. When something happens to her, they talk about it right away. They even talk about the whole mating gig. I really liked that in the story.

I found the external plot around murder attempts on Tricks quite interesting, and that kept me reading more than the actual romance. I liked the murder investigation and how everything moved along but, yes, eventually I killed a fairy three-quarters into the book.

Yay or nay?

Yay. But you need to read Dragon Bound first. Storm’s Heart can stand alone, but the first book is better. This doesn’t suck—not at all; it’s pretty good—but you might as well get book one too. :-)

Title: Storm’s Heart (excerpts: one, two, three)
Series: Elder Races (Book 2)
Author: Thea Harrison
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
A format: 9780425242667 (2/8/2011)
Ebook: 9780748132508 (2/8/2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Heartless by Gail Carriger

Wandergurl — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:13 +0000

Heartless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 4)

The latest instalment of the Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series proves that some things can get even better with time.

Alexia Maccon (nee Tarrabotti) has got herself into trouble again. Aside from the ‘infant inconvenience’ that has led to everyone trying to kill her—featuring, this time around, zombie, semi-mechanised porcupines—she has to solve a plot to assassinate the Queen. All while waddling about, moving, investigating her husband’s past, fussing over members of the pack and having tea.

This latest instalment of the Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series proves that some things can get even better with time. This book was just as witty and compelling as the others—I read it at every possible moment—and even more creative. (The porcupines were totally original.) Alexia, despite being preggers and totally dependent on her parasol, hunky werewolves and her unflappable butler to prop her up, still manages to save the day and pop out a baby besides. (Yes, the progeny makes its appearance in this one, which is not a spoiler since you can tell that from the size of her in chapter one.)

Connal, Lord Maccon, is still the smitten werewolf, but he gets to play a bigger part in this book, what with managing his pack. (In the last book he was a mostly absent ass.) His gruff but affectionate nature has ensured that I kind of have a soft spot for him, especially since his wife is doing such a good job of training him. Lord Akeldama, Alexia’s gay BFF has a bigger role in this books as well, and he invents even more affectionate nicknames for her. We also get further glimpses into his character, and we get to see more than his all-knowing, fashion-loving self.

This book fleshes out other secondary characters. We get to learn more about vampire hives, pack politics and how an alpha becomes an alpha. There’s also a whole bunch of dirigibles and we even get to find out Biffy’s real name.

Which brings me to this important point: I love this book, and this series, but you really can’t start from here. It can, if you must, stand alone. The central plot point is explained in such a way that it finishes in this book, but all the secondary threads, including the one involving the baby that has been stretched for the last few books, don’t end or start here. It will leave you wondering, and the continuity is better if you begin from the start.

Was there anything I didn’t like about it? Well, I kind of figured out a major plot point from just a little after the beginning. I also still really dislike Alexia’s sisters. Also, I don’t really get why it’s called Heartless. I don’t think it fits with the theme of the book—I think they just wanted something that ended with ‘-less’. Other than that, I have to say I liked it better than the last one.

Yay or Nay?

YAAAAY! I’m so glad there is more of this series and I look forward to the next one. (In May, 2012!) Highly recommended for people who are kinda over paranormals and want something different. Yes, this still has vampires and werewolves, but it’s steampunk. And Victorian London. And so incredibly witty it will make you laugh out loud. Also, there’s a lot of tea.

Title: Heartless (excerpt)
Series: Parasol Protectorate (Book 4)
Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher: Orbit/Hachette
B format: 9780356500096 (7/2011)
A format: 9780316127196 (28/6/2011)
Ebook: 9780748122677 (7/7/2011)

Books in the Parasol Protectorate series

More at Book Thingo:

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Wandergurl — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:22 +0000

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Elder Races, Book 1)

The perfect antidote for a paranormal romance slump. I have been sucked into another series!

Pia Giovanni has been blackmailed into stealing something from a dragon’s horde. After becoming the only being in the world to get away with it, she finds herself targeted by Dragos Culebre, a powerful member of the Elder Races. (Yes, he is a dragon. Yes, he lives in a big tower in New York.)

Dragos can’t believe someone has managed to steal from him, but instead of dismembering the thief he finds himself, well, feeling. At the same time, he knows that there’s more to this theft than meets the eye, and before long he and Pia are on the run, trying to unravel the plot against him.

First of all, I had to overcome a lot of resistance to reading this book. The lead character’s name is Pia, the name of my short, spunky, super curvy, bob-cut Asian ex-flatmate. While she has equally interesting adventures of her own, it was hard to imagine the name as a tall, lanky vegetarian blonde dating an almost seven-foot tall hunkachunkaburnin’ love (Okay, she’d do that too—Who wouldn’t?—but she is definitely not blonde!) and I worried I wouldn’t be able to get past that. Thanks to the amazing Decadence’s persuasive powers, however, I finally borrowed the book from her and promptly devoured it over a few train rides.

You may or may not have noticed that I’ve been in a paranormal slump lately. So much so that I can’t even bring myself to pick up J. R. Ward’s latest—which is ironic since we will freely admit to starting this blog partly so we could get J. R. Ward ARCs.

Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound was the perfect antidote to that slump. Okay, so dragons have been done before. So have shapeshifters and hunky seven-foot tall alphas. What makes this book a breath of fresh air is just how everything is put together.

Pia is a respectable, admirable heroine who tries hard to get herself out of trouble, especially when it’s not really her fault. She’s spent most of her life lying low, trying to keep herself from being noticed. One nasty ex-boyfriend later and she ends up in the dragon’s den.

Dragos is, of course, the perfect alpha. He’s dark, he’s broody, and he has longish black hair that just brushes against his neck (sound familiar?). He has a personality, though, and it’s not all thuggish. Pia and Dragos come together naturally. It’s not one of those scenarios where suddenly they are thrown together and in two days, whoops, we’re walking down the altar. They do get there eventually, but it’s entirely plausible, at least in their world.

The secondary characters are priceless. Dragos has a bunch of boys who are not only sequel bait but amusing and fun to read. Harrison does a great job with the world building. The urban fantasy element draws you into the world but makes it believable, enough for you to be able to feel that you can live alongside them, the way they’re meant to in the novel. It’s fantastical but believable at the same time.

There’s a plot. It’s about people trying to overthrow Dragos (not that he really has a throne, but you know, he’s a powerful entity). It was a good story and I really got into all the adventure. Harrison does good on the adventure bits. And the romance bits. And the rest of it in general.

What didn’t I like about the book? I would have to say Dragos, while having that personality and being a great read and all, had too many similarities with all the other alphas I’ve read. I realise they all have to be a certain way, but he sometimes felt like an amalgamation of a whole bunch of alphas from other books. That said, I still really liked his character a lot.

Yay or Nay?

A resounding YAY. I intend to get my own copy and, yes, I have been SUCKED INTO ANOTHER SERIES. (Thanks, Decadence.) It is all worth it though. I’m really enjoying this and would highly recommend it to anyone who is a bit over your average paranormal and wants something well written and just a bit different from the rest.

Title: Dragon Bound (excerpts: one, two, three)
Series: Elder Races (Book 1)
Author: Thea Harrison
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
A format: 9780425241509 (2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Death’s Sweet Embrace by Tracey O’Hara

Kat — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Death's Sweet Embrace by Tracey O'Hara (Dark Brethren, Book 2)

Ends with an excellent twist—one that I didn’t guess until the very end—but let down by the execution.

I’ll be honest. I thought I’d like this book much more than I did. Although the first book in the series, Night’s Cold Kiss, had its flaws, I generally enjoyed the story and was looking forward to more.

Snow leopard shifter Kitt Jordan’s dream is to be reunited with her estranged daughters and to make peace with her pack. It seems to be within her reach, until she’s called to be part of a task force hunting down a brutal serial killer. Kitt has to work alongside Raven, with whom she has a rather tragic history, and it seems that there’s still something between them. Despite the attraction, Kitt knows that getting involved with Raven again will pretty much scuttle her chances of a reunion with her pack and her daughters.

Meanwhile, the serial killer’s MO is to find young Bestiabeo (shapeshifters), paralyse them and rip out their hearts. There’s a lot of gore in this book.

I was expecting a more romancey book. Death’s Sweet Embrace does have a romance, but it didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me and too many things pulled me out of the story. The love scenes seem out of place, and many scenes don’t transition well. Kitt and Raven lack chemistry—certainly nothing like Antoinette and Christian in the first book. I didn’t feel a gradual emotional development between them.

Characters also seem to act unprofessionally, considering their position. For example, Kitt’s boss, Oberon throws his coffee mug at a glass wall after taking offense at a comment by a rival agent. Who does that? Maybe it fits in a world populated by animal shifters, but if so, I didn’t feel as though there was enough context around the characters to make it acceptable.

The prose is also…uninspired. I just feel like this book could have been so much more. For example, as Kitt is being attacked, this is part of the narrative: ‘Broken bones weren’t an issue for a Bestiabeo, the true name of her race.’ Awkward.

Or this: ‘The incorporeal apparition glowed, his pellucid form surrounded by a silver-blue aura—and Gideon’s heart ached just looking upon such ethereal beauty.’ I’m a fan of the less-is-more camp when it comes to description, so this style of writing just doesn’t appeal to me. I often overlook it in romance, but this time it just bothered me.

And the story lacks layers—frustrating when there’s actually a great plot, world building and characters to work with: ‘What had started out as something amazing had ended by leaving a foul taste in her mouth, and she was the shit who had caused it.’

At this point, I’m not sure if any of my other criticisms are just a result of me being disengaged from the story and focusing on nitpicks. There’s some POV confusion. A character is said to deliver her baby prematurely at 37 weeks. Maybe this is premature for shifters, but for humans that’s pretty much to term.

Structurally, the plot threads feel mismatched and I think the story starts at the wrong place. There’s also some unnecessary back story from Night’s Cold Kiss, which could have been less detailed and kept within the context of this book. Similarly, the romance seems tepid because it starts off at the wrong point in Kitt and Raven’s lives.

The ending has an excellent twist—one that I didn’t guess until the very end—but it’s let down by the execution. The actual resolution involves a back story that isn’t really explored properly throughout the rest of the book.

Yay or nay?

Unfortunately, I think this series is going in a direction that I probably won’t be following—more heavily towards urban fantasy and away from romance. However, if you’re after the mystery and action and world building more than the romance, this might still work for you.

An e-galley of this book was generously provided by HarperCollins via NetGalley.

Title: Death’s Sweet Embrace (excerpt)
Series: Dark Brethren (Book 2)
Author: Tracey O’Hara
Publisher: Harper Voyager
A format: 9780061783142 (25/1/2011 — US; 5/4/2011 — Aus)
Ebook: 9780062041654 (25/1/2011)

More at Book Thingo:

Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward

Decadence — Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:16 +0000

Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) - Australian/UK edition

A book for those already invested in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Prepare for more darkness than usual and don’t expect all your questions to be answered up front.

It’s not going to surprise anyone to read that I approach a new Black Dagger Brotherhood book differently to any other book. I scribble notes as I go along and I started reading Lover Unleashed with a mental checklist:

Is there anything written on the inside cover in the Old Language?

No, but there are crossed daggers, one black hilt, one white. Symbolism?

Are there any new words in the glossary?

Lhenihan – ‘A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, it refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.’ Hmm, interesting.

New characters?

Xcor and his band of bastards: Throe, Zypher and the three cousins, as yet unnamed.

Who could the hero of Envy be?

I won’t answer this here, but when you read the book, it becomes obvious.

The threesome

Um, probably not with who you would expect it to be, but overall a very good scene and one that was necessary for the development of one or more of the characters involved.

V and Butch

One of the hints J. R. Ward dropped was that something would happen between V and Butch. I would have been more open to the idea before they both bonded with females, so I was concerned about what was going to happen.

But aside from its inherent darkness given V’s state of mind throughout most of the book, I had no problem with that scene and not just because Ward made sure to show that the shellans were OK with it, too. I’ve always enjoyed the connection between V and Butch and their relationship was convincingly able to develop further without detracting from their relationships with their shellans, much to my relief.

Xcor (pronounced Cor)

Maybe it’s his ‘evil’ motives combined with his leadership style and refusal to join the twenty-first century that bother me, but I’m not sure I like him. His parts were typically not my favourites in the book and I read them mostly out of curiosity. Having said that, he makes a splash and also has opportunities to show honour to balance out his apparent lack thereof. I have to admit, I haven’t always liked Rehvenge or Xhex, but I enjoyed their books. (Don’t take that to mean I’m saying Xcor is getting a book, but obviously nothing can be ruled out yet.)

Throe was one of the bastards to actually be named in Lover Unleashed and we were given some of his back story. I enjoyed reading about how he ended up where he did and to be honest, I’m more interested in reading the bastard scenes for him than Xcor because I find him more likeable.

Xhex and No’One, Tohr, Murhder

There was no room for Tohr (who only got a brief mention), Murhder or Xhex and No’One, but I’m confident they will appear in later books.

Back to the review…

Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) - US edition

Lover Unleashed was not the easiest book to read because it was quite dark and didn’t have as many humorous lines and moments as the earlier books. I will always want to read about V and I’m glad he had such a large role in Lover Unleashed, but at the same time, it was hard to read about him falling apart again. Having fallen in love doesn’t make him less difficult to deal with, nor does it erase the unhealthy emotional defences he formed over the centuries, and this creates conflict between him and Jane, which is compounded when she is forced to put her patient’s needs above her hellren’s. Even though I’d read hints that Ward had given in the lead up to Lover Unleashed’s release, I still felt unprepared for where the story would take me.

If I’ve made Lover Unleashed sound like it was as much Lover Unbound Part 2 as Payne and Manny’s book, well, it kind of was, actually. There was no way Ward could exclude V’s reaction to finding out he has a twin when she could soon be dead or crippled, or avoid reopening his wounds caused by his relationships with his parents, but honestly, I read the book more for V than for the main couple. I’m not sure how Ward could have equipped the Payne and Manny plot to compete with V/Jane/Butch for my attention since Manny was appropriately relegated to the human world outside the Brotherhood’s milieu, and Payne was trapped on the monotonous Other Side, where there were few opportunities for her character to develop.

Manny surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations and was a worthy hero for Payne. I think that readers who perceived Marissa as a weak heroine in Lover Revealed will be more satisfied with Payne’s strength. She is clear about what she wants and doesn’t take her issues out on Manny, but she is more subdued and less aggressive than we’ve seen her in earlier books. Manny is very much focussed on Payne’s needs and tries to enable her to find her own way and be herself without changing her, which is what Payne needs most. He still has the balls to stand up to the Goateed Hater, but doesn’t have the overblown masculinity suggested by the name MANny MANello.

Payne and Manny’s HEA and development seemed incomplete and, without spoiling anything, some parts of the plot relating to Manny will only become clearer over time. Maybe Ward should consider more epilogues like the one she wrote at the end of Lover Awakened, where we saw a much more stable Z with his loving daughter and his shellan still very much alive.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Payne will be the first female Brother, because Ward let that cat out of the bag in 2006, but I was hoping that her induction would have been a part of Lover Unleashed. It’s also safe to say that Ward’s approach has changed since she wrote the first three books she was contracted for. Her endings were more complete and there were fewer loose ends, with those remaining being part of the series arc. Now, each book is more like a slice of Brotherhood life in general, with a couple getting together by the end. I both like and dislike this. I like that my favourites will make appearances in later books, but sometimes it feels like Ward relies on being able to return to her characters in later books, or maybe there are too many concurrent events for her to jump ahead in time to close off major plots for that book’s main characters. Sometimes it gives the impression of expectations raised without being met. It’s hard to know if we’re going to find answers in a later book or be left hanging. Maybe this would be easier to handle if we were getting a new book every six months instead of every year.

But the plus side of this is that I’ve become more invested in secondary characters before they get their own book, like I did with John Matthew over the course of the series from Lover Eternal onwards.

Qhinn/Blay/Saxton

Qhuinn’s character is forced to develop as Blay is happily cohabiting with Saxton (while now oblivious to Qhuinn) and he has to examine whether he most wants to be with the best friend he loves or the Chosen who can bring him the respectability he’s secretly always wanted. We’ve seen Qhuinn act as a male of worth in earlier books while creating a persona and lifestyle for himself that keeps people, particularly Blay, at a distance, but in Lover Unleashed he’s waking up to the fact that he can be a better male.

Interestingly enough, while all the other plot arcs can be connected to either V or Payne, the Qhuinn/Blay/Saxton triangle stands on its own within the book, but having it share the dichotomy of love and freedom that is explored in other relationships argues for its inclusion in Lover Unleashed.

A book of parallels

Lover Unleashed is a book of parallels (the themes of inequality and not belonging in Payne and Manny’s relationship compared with the same in Butch and Marissa’s, or the twin relationship with one trying to save the other) and reversals (where Qhuinn is on the outside looking in while Blay is doing his own thing, or Butch looking after V, even if it’s not for the first time).

This all serves to demonstrate that Ward’s head is still very much in the game, so it’s hard for me to say whether the bits I didn’t like so much were to do with Ward and her book or me as a reader. I think the fact that I have a mental checklist (let alone one that includes V and Butch, but not Payne and Manny) indicates that I have expectations about what the book will hold. It’s not that I believe that I can or should predict everything that happens (and how much fun would it be to read if I could?) but it’s hard not to expect, maybe not for things to be handled a certain way, but for some things to be explored to a certain extent and in a particular time frame.

Yay or nay?

Lover Unleashed is not the book for new readers to begin with, and the books are becoming less and less self-contained. By now, they’re written more for the readers who have made enough of an investment in the series to have read this far.

Even though the series and Ward’s current approach are not perfect, I’d still recommend Lover Unleashed, especially to readers who feel as though V didn’t get enough air time in his own book or that Marissa disappointed in the vampire female-human male dynamic.

I experienced the same reading hangover after Lover Unleashed that I do after every new Black Dagger Brotherhood book. But just be prepared for more darkness than usual and don’t expect all your questions to be answered up front.

Title: Lover Unleashed (excerpt)
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Book 9)
Author: J. R. Ward
Publisher: Hachette Australia
C format: 9780749955601 (April 2011)
Hardback: 9780451233165 (March 29, 2011)
Ebook: 9781101513477 (March 29, 2011)

Where you can buy this book

Books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (UK/Australia)

Books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (US)

More at Book Thingo: