ARC Review: Archangel’s Heart by Nalini Singh

Archangel’s Heart
Author: Nalini Singh
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Guild Hunter #9
Rating: C

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Elena and Raphael are back again as the focus of another Guild Hunter book. This time the pair is called away from New York for a meeting with the Cadre. When they arrive, Elena is shocked to hear that she resembles someone who used to live in the area. Thinking there may be a connection to her mother’s past laying in the city, Elena investigates with the help of fellow angel Aodhan.

I mentioned in my review of “Archangel’s Legion” that Raphael and Elena’s books are usually game changers in the Guild Hunter series. Well… I was wrong. “Archangel’s Heart” was a filler book. We do have some fairly big revelations about Elena’s family, but I wasn’t on board with the direction of that storyline.

ARC Review: Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

Vassa in the Night
Author: Sarah Porter
Release Date: Sept. 20, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fairytale Retelling
Series: N/A
Rating: B+

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Brooklyn is cursed and people barely seem to notice. A single night in Brooklyn can last for what amounts to days in the outside world. Vassa and her step-sisters spend the long nights fighting off boredom with movies and books. When all the lights suddenly burn out in their apartment, Vassa is sent to the only store that remains open the whole night, BY’s.

BY’s dances on chicken legs within a circle of decapitated heads. A warning to potential shoplifters of what will happen to them if they attempt to steal anything. For Vassa, who has always been wrongfully perceived as a kleptomaniac, it’s suicide to step inside. Wanting to prove everyone wrong, she takes the chance.  When Vassa is inevitably accused of shoplifting, the owner of BY’s makes a deal. If Vassa can work three nights in the store without messing up, she’ll be free go home. Vassa quickly learns that the store and it’s inhabitants has no desire to play fair. To survive, she’ll need to rely on some unlikely allies.

ARC Review: Wild Embrace by Nalini Singh

Wild Embrace
Author: Nalini Singh
Release Date: August 23, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Psy-Changeling (Novellas)
Rating: B-

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“Wild Embrace” is a collection of four novellas set in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. Unlike past collections, all four of these stories have never been published elsewhere.

Echo of Silence

Engineer Tazia Nerif gave up her family to follow her dream of working on the deep-sea station. Facing another lonely mandatory shore leave, she’s surprised when the aloof Psy she works with suddenly invites her to spend the time off with him.

Out of the four stories in this collection, “Echo of Silence” was the one I was the least excited about. So, of course, it actually ended up being my favorite in the anthology. The glimpses we saw of the deep-sea station were fantastic. The novella really worked to wet my appetite to see more of this setting and the people working there. 

ARC Review: The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Release Date: July 19, 2016
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Standalone
Rating: B-

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“The Woman in Cabin 10” is a surprisingly fast paced read. It dives straight into a tense situation within the first few pages and keeps up that pace for nearly the entire story.

Journalist Lo Blacklock is covering the maiden voyage of a small and very exclusive cruise ship when she’s awoken in the middle of the night to a scream and splash from the cabin next to hers. Dashing to her balcony, she finds blood on the darkened partition separating her side from the other room. Convinced something horrible has happened to the woman staying in that cabin, Lo alerts the ship’s crew. By the time they arrive, the blood has vanished and she’s told that no one was staying there. After a quick headcount reveals all guests and crew accounted for, Lo is written off as imagining things. When the internet connection on the ship is cut-off and things start to go missing from her room, Lo realizes she may have attracted the attention of a murderer.

Review: Forevermore by Kristen Callihan

Forevermore
Author: Kristen Callihan
Published: 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Darkest London #7
Rating: B-

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“Forevermore” is the final installment in Kristen Callihan’s Darkest London series.

St. John (Sin) Evernight has been in love with Layla Starling since they were children. Separated as teenagers, their lives took two very different paths. Layla rose to stardom as a singer while Sin became the plaything of a cruel creature. Years later, Sin is reunited with Layla as her guard against an ancient evil intent on claiming her. Believing himself too corrupted to be anything more than Layla’s protector, Sin is set on keeping her at arms-length. Layla, however, is determined to keep Sin in her life now that she’s finally found him again.

ARC Review: A Study in Sable by Mercedes Lackey

A Study in Sable
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Elemental Masters #12
Rating: B-

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It’s been forever since I read a book from Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series. So, I’m pretty behind. However, I couldn’t resist jumping ahead a little once I saw that this one was promising a Sherlock Holmes inspired story.

“A Study in Sable” centers on the friendship of two women with special abilities. Nan can read people’s thoughts and summon a Celtic warrior when threatened. Her counterpart, Sarah, sees dead people and can help them cross over to the other side. The two have been working together for years to keep various magical entities in check. After taking a job to banish a horde of ghosts that have been plaguing an opera singer, Sarah becomes enraptured with the prima donna. As Sarah changes and starts to distance herself from her friends, Nan begins to suspect that there is something insidious going on. Unsure if her guess is correct or if it’s just jealousy, Nan enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Review: Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Kill the Boy Band
Author: Goldy Moldavsky
Genre: Young Adult
Series: N/A
Rating: C –

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“Kill the Boy Band” is a stand alone YA book from a debut author. I couldn’t resist this one, primarily because of the title. It seems like every teen generation has at least one major boy band that they get obsessed about. So, I was entertained by the idea of a group of teens accidentally killing them.

The narrator of this book likes to give fake names to everyone, so I can’t remember if we ever got her actual name. The names she gives out are all from 80’s teen movies (Samantha Baker, Sloane Peterson, etc.). She’s also a compulsive liar, so what she’s telling us is rather unreliable. I rather liked this, but the story fell a little short for me. I was expecting more of a farce, but this book tried to get a little too real with the plot.

Review: Never More by Dana Marie Bell

Never More
Written By: Dana Marie Bell
Series: Gray Court #6
Publish Date: May 26, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: C-

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Never More is the sixth book in Dana Marie Bell’s Gray Court series.

As a favor to a close friend, Amanda Pierson agrees to be the planner for Robin Goodfellow’s wedding. As they tend to do, things quickly go wrong when the groom’s adult son, Raven, takes a shining to her.

The concept behind these characters is fun and I was fairly excited to read this since I had enjoyed Robin’s book and Raven’s role in it. However, this book dragged.

ARC Review: Soulbound by Kristen Callihan

Soulbound
Author: Kristen Callihan
Release Date: Feb. 24th 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Darkest London #6
Rating: B +

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Soulbound is Kristen Callihan’s 6th Darkest London book. It’s also, unfortunately, the second to last book in the series.

Adam, the GIM King, has spent centuries searching for his soul mate. When he’s called to make Eliza May into one of his GIM, he knows he’s finally found her. Eliza is the one person who could lift the curse Queen Mab placed on him all those years ago. Panicked at the thought of losing her, Adam makes the mistake of chaining Eliza to his side. After months locked in a silent battle Eliza manages to escape, only to run straight into Mab’s clutches. Now they must work together in order to defeat Mab once and for all.

ARC Review: Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

Dead Heat
Author: Patricia Briggs
Release Date: March 3rd 2015
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Alpha and Omega #4
Rating: B –

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Dead Heat is the long awaited fourth book in Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series. While this series can be read without reading the Mercy Thompson books (to which it has strong ties), I would highly recommend reading the Alpha and Omega stories in order, due to the world’s politics.

Taking a trip down to Arizona to buy a horse and see an old friend should’ve been a simple journey for mated werewolves, Anna and Charles Cornick. Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned for the pair, as they quickly find themselves in the middle of an investigation. Something has been hunting children in town and has made the mistake of attacking a family considered Pack. All signs are pointing to the Fae, even though they’ve all quarantined themselves away. Anna and Charles will have to step lightly as they look into the attack to avoid tipping the scales on the cold war between the Fae and humans.

At this point in the series, most of the dust between Anna and Charles has settled. They seem to have reached a point in their relationship where they’re both feeling secure and that shows here. There’s some mild tension between them about the possibility of a baby, but that takes an extreme backseat compared to the other things happening. I’m a huge fan of internal conflict between protagonists, so I definitely missed the tension in Charles and Anna’s relationship throughout Dead Heat.