New Book Review: Hydromancist

Tags

charmaine pauls, clandestine, covert, dhampir, paranormal, spies, vampire, water

Rated 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars of Greatness!

As always…Pauls delivers a great love story full of intrigue, angst and hot love making! There were times in the story where I wondered exactly how the main character was going to get out of the jam she was in and sure enough, it made me read all the way to the very end to get answers.

The story follows Maya Martin, a Cape Town orphan turned gangster in her early years, who was found by Cain, the leader of a paranormal task force, for extraordinary abilities to control water. Her skill is known as a hydromancist by paranormals and is very powerful and deadly. Cain has sent Maya on a mission close to her own heart. She must stop the illegal sale of arms which will be shipped by boat to Mozambique from Costa Rica. She must get close to the distributor, Tim Fardel, who happens to be a wealthy, heavily guarded ambassador. As she gets close to Tim, she learns that she is very attracted to him and his heart seems to be good. She feels conflicted in what her research has found on him and what he is showing her one on one.

By a fluke meeting with the head boss, she is targeted by him. Tim must do what he can to protect her but also has his own selfish motive for wanting to mark her as his own to keep her untouchable. Maya doesn’t realize that marking her will change her life forever.

This story was a very fast paced and satisfying read. It has romance, spying, fighting, sex and paranormal abilities. You get a taste of everything. I loved Maya in the previous novels so it was awesome to finally get her backstory and see her as more than a bad ass, quick witted woman. I also secretly liked the interracial love in this (but felt a little taken aback when she changed her dreads…I wanted her to stay in all her cultural glory and be loved by a handsome man that liked it too). Other than that, I withheld the final star because I think the ending was a bit quick and convenient regarding cures and the like. Overall, still a solid addition to the series!

Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

*This eBook was given to me by the author for an honest review.

Check out the author, Charmaine Pauls’ entire series on her website at www.charmainepauls.com

 

New Book Review: Saga (Volume Six)

Tags

family, fantasy, love, saga, sex

Rated 4 of 5 stars

So we all know that I love this series, right? Well, nothing has changed…end of review.

Okay, okay, slow down….let me tell you about what I loved, okay?

The story continues with a closer look at the growing, Hazel. If you haven’t read the series yet…Hazel is the daughter of two badass fighters/thieves/parents/lovers who are not supposed to be together. Papa bear is from the Moon which hates “wings” from another planet. While being imprisoned, Marko (Papa Bear as I affectionately call him) falls for his prison guard, the hot-tempered and blunt Alana. They make war and make a baby. Hence, beautiful and funny Hazel. Throughout the comic, Hazel narrates from her point of view which is hilarious yet strangely thought provoking. She’s the cutest little mixed breed baby…and the FIRST. Which means that everyone in the universe wants her dead (if they ever found out about her) because they are trying to kill the parents just for BEING together.

Anyway, Hazel was left with her badass grandma who is thoroughly tatted up and not afraid to bash a head in or two over her son, Marko or her grandbaby. Anyway, Marko and Alano must find where Hazel is since they were separated during an ugly heist.

The book also follows parallel stories of a hired assassin who has completely gone bat-shit crazy after the death of every person he loves…his sister (also an assassin) and his girlfriend (also an assassin). You’d think this guy would get a new profession, right? Nope. He puts on 100 pounds, talks to ghosts of his loved ones and searches for their killer. *I didn’t care for a lot of this portion of the story with him and the reporters but I know it will tie in with the next volume. But now I have to wait!!!!!!!!! Aghghghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I waited so long for this one and it ended with a BANG. Can’t wait to see Volume Seven….can’t freakin’ wait.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

Get the Saga series using my Book Depository affiliate link HERE (You get FREE shipping, I get a couple cents for sending you there! Woohoo!)

New Book Review: The End Of The World As We Knew It

Tags

novel, zombie apocalypse

Rated 4 of 5 stars

*Audiobook*

This story was a great suspense novel turned zombie love story. At the beginning of the book, Cole has the readers confused on whether this is an apocalypse novel that shows how survivors hung on to dear life during the worst of times. As you enter the full story of an investigative team trying to reconstruct what happened during a massive outbreak that killed 80% of the people on the planet many years ago…you get dumped into the story of Alex Watts and her fiancee Jason during the time. Alex used her cell phone voice memos as a reflection of what was happening with her and during the first sign of the breakout. I found it hilarious, thrilling and a bit voyeuristic while listening. Then you escape to Jason who has written his story in a journal of how he plans to find his beloved even during the plague. I really enjoyed both facets and characters in the novel (although I felt there were some moments that I felt things happened quite conveniently in the story). The ending gives you an emotional tie to the book which is really all that matters in the end, right? This story is ideal for those that are tired of zombie novels and want something a little different.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

Buy the book from Audible BUY HERE

New Book Review: Waking Up Dead

Tags

Audiobook, ghost, novel

Rated 4 of 5 stars

*Audiobook*

Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins, Narrated by Angel Clark was an interesting read. The concept itself was one that I found entertaining from the beginning. We listened to this novel while on a long road trip and the story kept our attention throughout. Now, there were things I didn’t enjoy…the narrator had a very limited cache of voices and many were too screechy/whiny for my taste. Luckily, the main character’s voice (which was the bulk of the book) was not as bad but had its moments. The narrator channeled a younger woman than the one portrayed in the book. The character was late twenties while the voice sounded 18 or so. Anyway, the storyline itself was good but had a few holes in the story (why didn’t this technical writer turned ghost find a way to have someone write down everything that happened and anonymously send it to police?) Other instances were so small, we just let them go and enjoyed the ride. The author does a good job of painting a picture and providing readers with some pretty gross visuals. I liked that a lot, honestly. In the end, I found the story enjoyable for those that like suspense with a little humor. Not sure if there will be additional books with this character as there were some unresolved issues with the main characters death that we were left hanging on with. Either way, I’d find it and listen to it.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

Buy the Book on Audible at BUY HERE

 

New Book Review: The Devourers

Tags

india, shapeshifting

Rated 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed Indra Das’ breakout novel, The Devourers, because it meshed a fantasy novel into so many other things. It touched on taboo topics like homosexuality, rape, tribal sacrifices, unconditional love (although very complex), friendship and finding who you are in the midst of being so many things.

In the novel, you follow two stories interwoven throughout the book of Izrail, a half-breed werewolve, and Cyrah, a strong and courageous woman. You also learn a bit about Fenrir, an ancient werewolve, early on and then more so through the lives and choices of others in the story line. I found some moments to be brutally difficult to read (killing of children or rape of women seem to be difficult for me because well, I have a kid and I’m a woman). Even through the brutality, there is a lesson to be captured if you think deep enough. The story really had so many hidden meanings that I think I could potentially read this one again and glean new meaning from it.

The authors word choices and general tone were spot on for a novel set in India. You get a bit of history but also feel as though you are transported into the story as someone living and breathing in India. I think this is one reason Das is considered an excellent writer because as the story unfolds as a journal entry of a different time and place, the readers are transported there, not questioning whether the authenticity is lost. I found the story to ebb and flow, not too fast but also just quick enough to ensure you read more. I languished a bit on the tail end of the novel but hungrily digested Cyrah and Jevah-dan’s adventures. It was the sweetest spot in the whole book and one not easily forgotten.

I would recommend this book for readers who like fantasy but with a heavy dose of realism. This isn’t fantasy on steroids. You’ll get character driven writing, lots of (real) world building and a touch of werewolves and shape shifting that really in essence boils down to tribal culture. If these things interest you as a reader, then you will “devour” this novel.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended!

*I received this book for free at BookCon 2016 as an early reader.

New Book Review: Aeromancist

Rated 5 of 5 stars

Charmaine Pauls has the perfect blend of paranormal, suspense, romance and erotica. I love reading her books so much that I take my time with them and really hate to finish. I find myself reading too fast and realize that I’ll be without the characters for a while…so I slow it all the way down. Even still, I love this series and can’t get enough!

So to continue the series, you meet and get personal with Lann Drean, an aeromancist (aka a person that controls weather). He is wonderfully intellectual (owns and is refurbishing an antique library) and is very tough yet gentle. He has his issues with jealousy but nothing like Josselin, his team leader. He definitely lets others know what is his and not to trespass on his territory. Anyway, Lann accidentally gets Kat pregnant. He’s shocked because he believed he was infertile. The push and pull of Kat and Lann at the beginning of the pregnancy was ah-maaazzzing! It was so realistic how Kat harbored her own pain and distanced herself from him even though she was falling for him. Also, Lann did not know who to trust and wrestled with himself to let Kat into his once solitary lifestyle. The way Pauls wrote this couple has an edge of reality and you feel like you could relate to what each person was feeling.

Unfortunately, Kat’s baby is not only important to her and Lann. They are chased by a threat that wants the baby for himself. This is where the action ramps up and the pages fly by. I thoroughly enjoyed Pauls’ second addition to the series (not counting the prequel). Read it to find out what happens to the baby and Kat.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended!

New Book Review: The Abduction of Joshua Bloom

Rated 1 of 5 Stars

• This was a DNF book

I couldn’t finish this book even though it has an interesting concept. The writing style was a major problem for me. It was very cliche and somewhat elementary in its portrayal of places, feelings and objects. I liked the idea of the story, from what I gathered, which consisted of a young boy who was cloned and taken by aliens onto their ship. They are searching for a new habitat and traveling to different planets to test whether they are suitable. They are studying his kind because they seem suitable mates for habitation of their planet. They have the young boy working with the crew of the spaceship. There is a funny play on power where men are considered weak and unintelligent while women are leaders and decision makers. I liked that twist. Unfortunately, the writing needs a bit of work to really give the readers a sense of camaraderie with the characters and to really appreciate the outer world that is created.

Raging Book Reviews Not Recommended

New Book Review: Six of Crows

Tags

bardugo, DNF, leigh, six of crows

 

2 of 5 Stars

THIS IS AN AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I think having less voices would have helped a bit. I was completely lost for the first half of the story (which is a really LONG time to stick with a book seeing as this one is a behemoth). Also, the story had very fascinating places but everything seemed to jump around and assume the readers knew the places (or at least I felt like that enough to check to make sure this was indeed Book One). So unfortunately at the halfway mark I was like:

What could Leigh Bardugo have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
I’m not sure if this book faired well with multiple actors. It definitely could be accomplished (and maybe smoother) with two actors. Also, the story itself had a LOT going on throughout the story. It followed so many characters that I found myself losing track of who did what.

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?
Less narrators but they were admittedly all VERY good actors. It felt a bit disjointed with so many characters and not a straightforward plot and central gang of characters (especially when you add in the world building and sub-characters).

What character would you cut from Six of Crows?
I don’t know if I’d necessarily cut whole characters but I’d maybe choose about 3 to really showcase their back stories so people don’t get lost in all the intricate details of every character and forget which action happened to a particular character.

Any additional comments?
I couldn’t finish the book because it was extremely long and after the first half was very difficult to follow, I lost steam. I liked the scene when the “witch” was saving the guy in the sea. That captured my attention as did the opening “deal gone bad” in the beginning with Inej on the rooftops. I enjoyed the action but the narratives and background things had me completely lost when it went from one character to another. I liked Inej a lot as a character and wouldn’t mind reading more about her. Strong female characters are appealing to me naturally, so I gravitated to her. Everyone else though…blah.

Raging Book Reviews

New Book Review: Hard As Stone

Tags

brookes, gay, sara

4 of 5 stars

Sara Brookes does a great job of telling the story of Brady McDonnell, an emergency room physician with a heart of gold who craves an enigmatic gargoyle named Garrett. Brady wants to save every patient just as most doctors do except when he finds himself on a downward spiral of losing patients one after another, he falls headlong into a depressed, panicked state. Garrett carefully watches him from a distant and figures it is time to stop Brady’s self destruction and show him his real feelings.

The story takes on a romantic edge yet still stays aligned with something more than the two men loving each other since they were in college. Brady has his work and the readers get to follow him on his excursions but I did feel left out with Garrett’s back story. I would have liked to know more about how he became a gargoyle and what gargoyles actually do (other than sit on buildings of course). Furthermore, I was a little shocked that Brady wasn’t shocked about seeing a gargoyle turn into the man he loves. I expected more reaction and felt the story suffered slightly due to that climax not being fully fulfilled for the readers. We knew it was coming but when it came, it was lackluster. Overall, I though the book was well written and detailed. The erotic scenes were a good balance to the story although Garrett’s character needs more development. Solid M/M read.

*Free for honest review from Reading Alley

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New Book Review: Heart of a Hunter

Tags

angels, demons, miles, tamela

3 of 5 stars

Tamela Miles’s novella, Heart of a Hunter, is the start to a demon hunter series. This first novella is enough to wet the appetite and gain interest in the characters even with its rough character development and cliche, overly dramatic dialogue. I liked that Tamela made a strong, female lead character at the beginning of the book and questioned why she let that edge slip in Elle as the story went along. Elle was a very strong, sassy character then after she had a boyfriend and lost her virginity, she turned into a crying, non-confident mess for most of the book. I hope that Miles makes Elle angry after her loss and turns her into her true bad ass roots! Needless to say, I’m interested in seeing how the story line develops. Even though its flawed, Miles shows that she has a knack for storytelling.

*Free for an honest review from Reading Alley

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