Review: The Hike by Drew Magary

The Hike
Author: Drew Magary
Published: August 2016
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Series: N/A
Rating: C

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In the mood for something trippy? Then “The Hike” is for you. Ben is on a work trip when he decides to take a short hike while waiting for a meeting. When he sees two men wearing the skinned-off faces of Rottweilers dragging a dead body in the woods, he makes a run for it. Pursued by the killers, Ben quickly finds himself stumbling down an unfamiliar path where things like talking crabs, cannibalistic giants and a humongous cricket wait for him.

The best way to describe “The Hike” is as a series of crazy nonsensical events. While the constant barrage of weirdness coming at Ben was exactly what I had been looking for, it stopped working for me around the mid-point. Mostly because “The Hike” seems to be trying to make a point about anger or depression through an “Alice in Wonderland” style story, which doesn’t come across very well.

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.

Review: Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh

Archangel’s Legion
Author: Nalini Singh
Published: 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Guild Hunter #6
Rating: C-

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After a short break from following guild hunter Elena and archangel Raphael, the series returns to focus on these two in Archangel’s Legion. In this one, the couple is trying to stave off a war while hiding how out-of-control Raphael’s powers are becoming.

Whenever it’s an Elena and Raphael story you know something major is going to happen in the series. Despite their books being game changers, I’m never thrilled to see Singh return to the couple. Raphael is a character who is a little too powerful and the fact that he keeps gaining abilities is not helping things. Unfortunately, heaping powers onto main characters is a trend that happens in many long standing urban fantasy and PNR series. While it wasn’t surprising to see Singh go down this route, I was a little disappointed that she did. I would have preferred to see Raphael struggle with losing powers. Raphael has been one of the more powerful angels his entire existence. It would have been much more interesting to see an exploration of him dealing with dwindling powers and trying to maintain his place in the angel hierarchy amidst a war. As it stands, the plot of this one was pretty predictable since, at this point, I’ve seen it done so often.

Review: Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Good Morning, Midnight
Author: Lily Brooks-Dalton
Published: 2016
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian
Series: N/A
Rating: C+

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When you’ve sacrificed everything for your career, how do you make sense of life once civilization falls and everything you’ve striven for no longer matters? This is a question that aging astronomer Augustine and a group of astronauts have to ask themselves when they discover they’re among the small handful of survivors at the end of the world.

When the evacuation party came to remove Augustine from his post at a research facility in the Arctic, he refused to leave. He had accepted the position with the knowledge that he would eventually die there and had no intention of changing his plans. When he discovers a young girl left behind, he has to accept a responsibility he has been avoiding his entire adult life.

Review: Wicked Ever After

Wicked Ever After
Author: Delilah S. Dawson
Published: 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Blud #4
Rating: C-

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“Wicked Ever After” is the final book in Deliah S. Dawson’s Blud series. Clocking in at less than 200 pages, this is more of a novella than anything.

The story picks-up a few years after “Wicked as they Come”. Traveling between Sang and Earth has taken its toll on Letitia. Even though she’s only in her 30s, she has the body of a 60 year old. Letting her husband, Criminy, turn her into a bludwoman (basically a vampire) would solve the problem, but it would mean she would never be able to leave Sang. Letitia doesn’t feel like she can just abandon her grandmother, so she devises a way to bring her over. This doesn’t turn out the way Letitia had expected though. Once in the new world, her grandmother declares that she doesn’t want anything to do with Letitia and runs off. Worried, Letitia and Criminy follow.

Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched
Author: Patricia Briggs
Published: 2016
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Mercy Thompson #9
Rating: C+

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I started reading the Mercy Thompson books right smack-dab in the middle of the series. Since I had read all of the Alpha & Omega series, which is a spin-off, I actually found it really easy to fall into these books.

There’s been a war brewing between the Fae and humans ever since the human justice system failed to prosecute someone who had harmed a Fae’s child. In response to the growing tension, the werewolves have declared the feud none of their business and have worked to avoid getting trapped in the middle. This neutral stance is threatened when Mercy and her husband, Adam, decide to offer their pack’s protection to a child wanted by the Fae. To avoid all werewolves getting pulled into the war, Adam and Mercy’s pack is disowned and marked rogue. This leaves them completely on their own against the Fae and vulnerable to werewolves outside of their immediate pack.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Rating: C-

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A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in Sarah J. Maas’ series by the same name. I’m surprised that people are considering this a Beauty and the Beast re-imagining. It only vaguely links to the fairytale. If I hadn’t been looking for the parallels, I doubt I would have made the connection between the two at all.

After Feyre kills a Fae, a great beast shows up on her family’s doorstep. He gives her the option of either coming with him forever or being killed. Not wanting to be killed, Feyre agrees to go with the beast and plots to escape as soon as possible.

When she arrives at the beast’s house, he transforms into a gorgeous Fae. Turns out he’s Tamlin, a High Lord, and just has the ability to turn into a beast at will. His only flaw is a mask permanently affixed to his face, which is the result of a curse that he shares with all of his people. As Feyre settles in, she soon discovers that Tamlin and his people are keeping secrets about a blight that is plaguing the Fae lands. Fearing that it will bleed over into the human lands, Feyre sets out to uncover as much information about it as she can.

Review: Inu x Boku SS, vol 1 by Cocoa Fujiwara

Inu x Boku SS, vol 1
Author: Cocoa Fujiwara
Published: 2010
Genre: Shoujo Manga
Series: Inu x Boku SS #1
Rating: C

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On a whim, I got Inu x Boku SS, vol 1 from the library last week. It’s been a while since I’ve read any manga, but I was looking for something quick to read. After finishing this, I’m rather apathetic about the series.

Ririchiyo Shirakiin moves into an apartment building populated with half supernatural beings and finds that her parents have hired Soushi Miketsukami to be her bodyguard. Even though Ririchiyo is annoyed at this turn of events, she finds it difficult to resent the ridiculously positive and kind Soushi. This first volume works to introduce us to the series’ world and all the inhabitants of the apartment building who slowly become Ririchiyo’s friends.

Review: The Mistress Deception by Susan Napier

The Mistress Deception
Author: Susan Napier
Published: 2000
Genre: Category Romance
Series: N/A
Rating: C+

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The Mistress Deception surprised me a bit, I was expecting more crazy out of the blue revelations à la The Bellini Bride. Instead, this is a fairly decent category romance.

Rachel is a 30-something personal trainer who co-owns a failing security business. After so kindly helping a rich guy, Matthew, out of his wet clothes at a party where she was working guard duty; Rachel is outraged when incriminating photos and a harassing letter show up on her doorstep.

Review: Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Immortal in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Published: 1996
Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery
Series: In Death #3
Rating: C-

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Immortal in Death is the third book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. After reading this one, I’m thinking about skipping a few books ahead to read some of the later ones in the series. These first few books are OK, but I’m not enjoying them as much as I did the later book I read.

In this one, Eve Dallas is faced with a case that hits too close to home. Her best friend, Mavis, is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a super model. All the evidence points to Mavis being the killer, but Dallas is determined to do everything in her power to prove she’s innocent.

One of the best parts of this book is that we have less Roarke than in the previous two novels. While this might be a downer for some, I’m not a fan of the man, so it was a huge positive for me.