Contemporary Books - Page 2

Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Angieville: CRY WOLF 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

With the release of CRY WOLF (the first in a new series), Patricia Briggs fans can now look forward to two Briggs books coming out per year. A Mercy Thompson in the winter and an Alpha and Omega in the summer. So. Very. Awesome. After inhaling the original "Alpha and Omega" short story in On the Prowl last year, I could hardly wait to follow Anna and Charles's story in full-length book form and now, having finished it, I can honestly say it was a treat.

Picking up immediately after the events of "Alpha and Omega," Anna finds herself and her few belongings bundled up and on her way to Montana with a wounded Charles and his father, the enigmatic Bran, otherwise known as the Marrok, aka leader of the entire werewolf population of North America. Nervous and unsure of just what she's gotten herself into, Anna suddenly finds herself living at Charles's house, attending werewolf funerals, and embroiled in the same kind of wolf politics she was assiduously kept out of during her time with the Chicago pack. Unsurprisingly, it's one step forward, two steps back for Anna as she attempts to settle into her new life and decide whether or not she even wants to carve out a place for herself with Charles--a still waters run deep sort of man who is reserved, doesn't like crowds, but is also the Marrok's chief assassin.

Anna is a very different breed of heroine from Mercy. After being changed, she was never given the chance to get her bearings and accept her new life. The cool thing about being an Omega (something she is only just beginning to figure out about herself) is she has all of the protective instincts of an Alpha, without any of the violence. This makes her strong and able to influence the mood of every wolf around her. The lame thing is that without those violent instincts, she can be taken advantage of and manipulated to a rather spectacular degree. I liked that this first book didn't rush things. There is plenty of ground left to cover as far as Anna's untapped abilities go and whether or not she and Charles will be able to bridge the still vast gulf between them. I loved the extra time we got to spend with Bran--one of the most interesting characters in this world. I'm looking forward to more on his background and his mate. Because, even though she's heinous, I feel particularly sorry for Leah. It's no kind of life she's got right now and I find myself harboring a little hope for her and her Marrok.

Lastly, CRY WOLF just happens to include a sneak peak of the first chapter of Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)--the fourth Mercy Thompson book. Did I skip to the back and read it first before delving into CRY WOLF? Maybe...

Editorial Review:

Now Briggs begins an extraordinary new series set in Mercy Thompson’s world—but with rules of its own.

INTRODUCING THE ALPHA AND OMEGA NOVELS...

Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry, Book 6)

Laurell K. Hamilton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 162 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.


From the Hardcover edition.

Faefever (Fever, Book 3)

Karen Marie Moning

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 210 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestselling author of Darkfever and Bloodfever returns to Dublin’s Fae-infested shores in a bold, sensual new novel. Hurtling us into a realm of seduction and shadows, Karen Marie Moning tells the enthralling tale of a woman who explores the limits of her mysterious powers as she enters a world of ancient sorcery—and confronts an enemy more insidious than she could ever have imagined.

He calls me his Queen of the Night. I’d die for him. I’d kill for him, too. When MacKayla Lane receives a torn page from her dead sister’s journal, she is stunned by Alina’s desperate words. And now MacKayla knows that her sister’s killer is close. But evil is closer. And suddenly the sidhe-seer is on the hunt: For answers. For revenge. And for an ancient book of dark magic so evil, it corrupts anyone who touches it.

Mac’s quest for the Sinsar Dubh takes her into the mean, shape-shifting streets of Dublin, with a suspicious cop on her tail. Forced into a dangerous triangle of alliance with V’lane, an insatiable Fae prince of lethally erotic tastes, and Jericho Barrons, a man of primal desires and untold secrets, Mac is soon locked in a battle for her body, mind, and soul.

As All Hallows’ Eve approaches and the city descends into chaos, as a shocking truth about the Dark Book is uncovered, not even Mac can prevent a deadly race of immortals from shattering the walls between worlds—with devastating consequences.…

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The editors of Many Bloody Returns deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.

New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in Many Bloody Returns.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year’s morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)

Patricia Briggs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 263 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wolf folklore at its grandest 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Briggs after reading so much praise for her books but it didn't take long to feel as if I passed out and woke up in werewolf heaven. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love werewolf anything so this was such a treat, totally unexpected because urban fantasy these days is such a wide mix, usually with witches and vampires with a wolf here and there, but this beast of a book has teeth, muscle, wit, charm and plenty of brawn. Briggs did an incredible job of floating the reader in a sea of incredibly perceptive werewolf folklore that was simply stunning and extremely interesting and she made it feel primordial and Earthy, the instincts, thrills and even some passion was intelligent and very deep. This book is merely a perception that its fantasy and fun, everything reads so realistically that I had a hard time believing that this world was made up. It was a lot to get through as the plot thickened very quickly, the main heroine had no other choice but to plunge and run wild with the pack and troubles never seemed to stay far behind.

Basically this novel is about Mercedes, a seemingly young girl (you never know how old those creatures really are) that can turn into a coyote at will. An echo of Native American folklore runs thorough the tale as she keeps herself busy running a car repair shop, pretending that she's nothing but an ordinary citizen. Never mind that her next door neighbor Adam is an alpha male, that's the big werewolf on campus, running a large pack of fluffy, irksome and very volatile werewolves. There is also Stefan, her vampire friend whose care she's fixing, and if anyone reads these kinds of books seriously, then they know that vampires are so much more devious and complex than the cunning and ultra sensitive weres and they can never get along! It isn't long when the two sides start to merge into Mercy's life when a strange boy shows up at her door, smelling like a wolf. He brings trouble with him and pretty soon something happens and Mercedes has no choice but get closer to the wolves and vampires to try and fight a new enemy, trouble is no one knows who the person is and why they are killing werewolves with strange drugs. When trust and loyalty issues come up between friends and pack members things get ugly as no one ever wants to refuse a fight, and fight they do.

I can't even scratch the surface of how freaking awesome this book was, so rich and intricate, totally delectable and gut stirring- a definite hit in my opinion. Now all I have to do is read the rest of the series to quench my thirst, I'm very curious future that unfolds in front of Mercedes and her very cool albeit dangerous friends. Briggs makes the life of a wolf almost beautiful, of course I don't know if I'd want to be one but it would be lovely to turn into one and run like a dog into the sunset once in a while.

Happy Halloween `08

- Kasia S.

Editorial Review:

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)

Ilona Andrews

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 126 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Disappointed in main character 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I picked up this book because of it's high reviews. I read the first few chapters.. and then started skimming, hoping Kate would be less irritating. Strong, confident heroines are my favorite sort of protagonist but Kate was.. too bitchy, too kickass, too independent, too awesome at wielding her named phallic symbol. Too much of a stereotype. It feels like she's trying too hard to be an anti-hero and ultimately, just coming across as false and smug.

The alcohol, sex, and gore all seemed rather forced in an attempt to be edgy and raw.

I love fantasy/paranormal/scifi literature and I'm glad that so many people enjoyed this book -- I really wanted to find a new author and series to follow but it just didn't work out for my personal taste. Perhaps the high reviews skewed my expectations -- I thought it would be old school Blake, Harrison, Briggs, maybe even a female Butcher's Harry Dresden.

Editorial Review:

Mercenary Kate Daniels cleans up urban problems of a paranormal kind. But her latest prey, a pack of undead warriors, presents her greatest challenge.

Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)

Karen Chance

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Almost excelant 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is set in the Cassandra Palmer world and you really need to read those first.

It has good if a bit uneven characters some humor and a decent plot (although it is a bit coincidental). (Why is it that plots recently seem to be more and more like graphic novels?) Good humor particularly the house and the psyotropic effects of fairy wine. Some nicely written erotic scenes.

So why the low score? Are the author and editor tea totalers? Wine doesn't burn no matter what. The final combat scenes are well written, but obviously not by someone who has ever been around a fire (OK I'll give you a can of sterno). This completely blows a book that otherwise would be a 4. I am being generous giving it a 3 as it is. To bad because other than that major goof it's a decent read.

bTW the cover isn't horrid.

Editorial Review:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen chance has written a paranormal—with bite.

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. Unlike most dhampirs, though, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity. Now Dory’s vampire father has come to her for help— again. Her Uncle Dracula (yes, the Dracula), cruelest among vampires, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.

Although Dory prefers to work alone, Dracula is the only thing that truly scares her—and when she has to face him, she’ll take all the help she can get…

Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic, Book 1)

Keri Arthur

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

here be dragons.... 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

destiny wakes up on the beach with a dead man beside her and no memory (for awhile)of what happened. the book starts out slow and builds up quite nicely. i love the aspect of dragons,adventure and romance. i did not know this was the start of a series as the ending seemed like a true ending and not open ended like her riley jensen series. overall i liked the book and will invest in the newer chapters of this series.

Editorial Review:

Desire calls. Danger Lurks.
But...

When Destiny McCree wakes up beside a dead man on an Oregon beach, she knows only this: she has to keep moving, keep searching, and keep one step ahead of the forces that have been pursuing her from the heart of Scotland to this isolated spot. Why? The death of her lover has left her alone, with little memory of her past. A glimmering serpent-shaped ring is the one clue she has—and a bargaining chip in a most dangerous game.

Enter Trae Wilson, a master thief with a sexy, knowing grin and a secret agenda of his own. Destiny and Trae both have powers far beyond the human—and both are running for their lives. Together they’re riding a tide of danger, magic, and lust…but with killers stalking their every move, they must use any means necessary, even each other, to survive—until the shocking secret of one woman’s destiny finally unravels.…

Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16)

Laurell K. Hamilton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 295 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

The downward spiral continues.. breaking point? 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I have this to say to LKH, and about Blood Noir and the new direction of the Anita Blake series.

If you're going to write porn, learn to write it well. If you're going to continue calling these "real" novels, you might want to up the plot factor and let the sex become a delicious little treat every few chapters.

BN is too full of poorly written sexual encounters for me to consider it seriously. If you want to turn it into the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (if you know what I mean, wink wink) series, by all means, but please, start to use words and phrases besides "breathy" and "just flat does it for me". It's like LKH has been walking the line between eroticism and being too embarrassed to write what she's really "seeing" for many books now, and it's getting old.

(A side note about LKH follows, feel free to skip to the bottom for the rest of my Blood Noir review)
If you'd like your audience to start taking you seriously again, please give us back our strong, independent Anita. And please stop giving her new metaphysical powers every time she gets into a fight (which is happening less and less frequently).

As for sleeping beauty, aka Marmee, that's a WONDERFUL plot waiting to happen.. it could take the series back where it belongs and onto a whole new level.. please write it on par with the first few books, and whatever you do.. please don't have Anita hop into the sack with the zombie/vampire/lycanthrope/ghoul/etc combination I'm sure you'll turn Marmee into.
/rant.

In short, Blood Noir is either a poorly planned and written novel, or a poorly executed porn. Given LKH's penchant for backtracking in just about every previous book, you could certainly skip this one and not miss a thing. My advice? Wait for paperback, or ignore it all together.

(Oh, and to echo a previous review I had written.. when are Anita and the gang going to start dressing like it ISN'T 1987?) How many royal blue shells, or shells of any color, for that matter, does Anita own? Does anyone call stockings "hose" anymore? And we all know the litany of complaints about the way she dresses the men. Yikes.

Editorial Review:

Readers can’t get enough of the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

A favor for Jason, vampire hunter Anita Blake’s werewolf lover, puts her in the center of a fullblown scandal that threatens master-vampire Jean- Claude’s reign—and makes her a pawn in an ancient vampire queen’s new rise to power.

Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

Jim Butcher

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 127 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I miss Lash 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Jim is at it again. Butcher has two issue that keep the stories from being Masterful IMO. First is that he has too much going on all at once. There is almost never just one bad guy normal three or four coming from different angles. He is amazing in that the story does not end up with a lot of confusing. The second is that he writes every book for the mass audience. Where this is great for his publisher, hearing the recap gets a bit old for some of us when we hit book 10. I'd like to see him put a Dresdin companion in every book telling the story to date and explaining how spell circles work... Either way though i'm hooked and am going to keep reading.

joe

Editorial Review:

The new novel in the New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series.

No one's tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she's calling in her marker. It's a small favor he can't refuse...one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills- and loyalties-to their very limits.

It figures. Everything was going too well to last...