Urban Books - Page 8

The Becoming (The Anna Strong Chronicles, Book 1)

Jeanne C. Stein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 56 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

good first book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a good first in the Anna Strong book series.
I had read some of the others first and so this one had a little more information that i needed.
This was a entertaining book, Anna gets irritating sometimes that she just does not "get it."
She needs to tell her partner about her life, and needs to talk to williams about her "change."
The thing it did find confusing especaially after reading all the others is that the characters said she is "the One" The One what??
The one to kill Avery or just something else we do not know.
Anyhow, i enjoyed it and loved Casper too.

Editorial Review:

Anna Strong is trained for anything-until she's attacked one night, only to awaken in a dark world that exists between the living and the dead. Here, Anna struggles with her love for the two men who inhabit the realms of each: Max, a human DEA agent, and Avery, a Night Watcher who joins Anna in pursuit of the vampire who changed her life.

Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil where survival is not just for the living.

The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1)

Sergei Lukyanenko

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 59 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Night Watch series has caused a sensation never before seen in Russia -- its popularity is frenzied and unprecedented, and driven by a truly great, epic story. In 2005 Fox Searchlight announced it had acquired the Russian film adaptation for an American release. Interest in the books here is now set to reach a fever pitch.

Set in modern day Moscow, Night Watch is a world as elaborate and imaginative as Tolkien or the best Asimov. Living among us are the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. A thousand-year treaty has maintained the balance of power, and the two sides coexist in an uneasy truce. But an ancient prophecy decrees that one supreme "Other" will rise up and tip the balance, plunging the world into a catastrophic war between the Dark and the Light. When a young boy with extraordinary powers emerges, fulfilling the first half of the prophecy, will the forces of the Light be able to keep the Dark from corrupting the boy and destroying the world?

An extraordinary translation from the Russian by noted translator Andrew Bromfield, this first English language edition of Night Watch is a chilling, engrossing read certain to reward those waiting in anticipation of its arrival.

The Demon You Know (The Others, Book 3)

Christine Warren

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Witty and Fun!! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Others have been outed and as predicted, the humans aren't taking the existence of witches, vampires, werewolves and were-anything very well. There are riots going on in New York City and Abby Baker is stuck in the middle. She's busy cowering behind a bunch of cars when a group of thugs start beating up a teenage Other. When the Other gets knocked into her, the demon snatched his opportunity and possessed her. Well, not a demon, a fiend. Rule is a demon and he has nothing in common with Lou, the fiend who now lives inside Abby. Rule takes her to the Vircolac, the Other's Headquarters for protection where they discover that Lou has a deadly, world annihilating spell that could end the world if he and the spell fall into the wrong hands. His current position inside Abby puts her in grave danger and the Others are determined to protect her with or without her permission. With humans rioting and the fiends and demons in the middle of a war, Rule needs to be concentrating on protecting the Above world and the Below world, and doesn't need the distraction of Abby's cotton candy scent. A virtual prisoner within the Vircolac and stuck with the company of Lou, Abby demands Rule's attention. They fall in love during one of the most inopportune moments in history, but they are helpless to resist the attraction. Meanwhile, the fiends are making their move and Rule and the Others are scrambling for a way to save her but Abby and Lou have the knowledge that could destroy the world, and even if it means dying to protect it, sacrifices have to be made.

Rule and Abby were really cute together. Not a whole lot of angst in this one, which I appreciated and when Abby does descend into self pity, Tess is there to slap it right out of her. Tess is one of those girlfriend's who will always tell it to you straight and is always ready with a good, strong slap. Abby's ability to insinuate herself right into Rule's big, tough heart was so cute and I liked how Rule didn't fight back too hard. Rule's reactions to the misconceptions regarding demonology was really entertaining and Lou was one of the funniest, smarmiest character's I've read in a long time and I thought him one of the greatest self sacrificing characters, too. His and Abby's conversations were kind of the highlight for me in the book and when he would "blink out" I really missed his smart aleck wit.

The world building the Other's continues in a fun and interesting way and it's was always great to revisit characters. I can't wait to read more in the Other series and highly recommend this as an entertaining read. Enjoy!!

Editorial Review:

As a research grunt at a local television station, Abby Baker tends to blend into the background, which is where she’s most comfortable. But when she ends up being the last resort to cover a hot story, Abby discovers a whole new side to her personality when she is possessed by a fiend—a type of rogue demon. Suddenly everyone wants a piece of her. And now the demon Rule—also a hunter of his own kind who have gone astray—is Abby’s only hope…
 
Meanwhile, the Others—vampires, werewolves, and witches, oh my!—have come out of the supernatural closet and the rest of the humans are all aflutter. Mischief is afoot in the demon realm, and Rule knows that Abby is key to figuring it all out before the fiends tip the fragile balance between the newly-discovered Others and the humans over into an epic battle. Now it’s up to two lost souls to make love, not war…..

She's No Faerie Princess (The Others, Book 2)

Christine Warren

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Queen Mab's niece, Fiona, has long been bored to tears by the intrigues of Court life. She'd prefer to cut loose at a punk club, knock back a few Thai beers, and hook up with a likely lad of similar interests. But when Fiona goes AWOL, she only gets as far as Manhattan's Inwood Park before a nasty demon nearly puts a permanent crimp in her plans—and a dark stranger sparks her desire...
 
All work and no play make Tobias Walker one cranky werewolf. After six months of doing his part to keep the peace during the delicate negotiations between the Others and humankind, he'd like nothing more than a good night's sleep—preceded by an enthusiastic mating session. The alluring woman he rescues in the park might be the answer to his most lustful prayers, but only if they can both stay alive long enough to find out who wants her dead and why.
 
Now, Fiona and Tobias must unravel a tangled web of treachery that spans branches of the Fae, Other, and mortal worlds, all the while falling into a dangerous attraction that could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship—or the end for them both...

Visions of Heat (Psy-Changelings, Book 2)

Nalini Singh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Hailed as a major new talent in paranormal romance, Nalini Singh takes us deeper into the world of the Psy and the changelings in her latest extraordinary novel, where a gifted woman sees passion in her future-a passion that is absolutely forbidden by her kind... Used to cold silence, Faith NightStar is suddenly being tormented by dark visions of blood and murder. A bad sign for anyone, but worse for Faith, an F-Psy with the highly sought after ability to predict the future. Then the visions show her something even more dangerous-aching need...exquisite pleasure. But so powerful is her sight, so fragile the state of her mind, that the very emotions she yearns to embrace could be the end of her. Changeling Vaughn D'Angelo can take either man or jaguar form, but it is his animal side that is overwhelmingly drawn to Faith. The jaguar's instinct is to claim this woman it finds so utterly fascinating and the man has no argument. But while Vaughn craves sensation and hungers to pleasure Faith in every way, desire is a danger that could snap the last threads of her sanity. And there are Psy who need Faith's sight for their own purposes. They must keep her silenced-and keep her from Vaughn...

The Twilight Watch (Watch, Book 3)

Sergei Lukyanenko

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Night Watch and Day Watch, the first two books in this remarkable series, established Sergei Lukyanenko as a breathtakingly bold talent. Part fantasy, part vampire story, and part detective potboiler, this is the most successful science fiction series of all time in Russia and a true international sensation. In America, Fox Searchlight released the film adaptation of Night Watch to rapturous reviews, and adaptations of the next two books are in production.

The world of Lukyanenko is as elaborate and imaginative as Tolkien or the best Asimov: Living among us are the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. A thousand-year treaty has maintained the balance of power, and the two sides coexist in an uneasy truce.

In Dusk Watch, the Others face their greatest threat yet. A renegade Other, his identity as yet unknown, has absconded with a fabled spell-book of untold power and appears bent on attacking the entire earth. Now forces of the Light and the Dark -- the Night Watch and the Day Watch -- must cooperate to stop him. Anton, the hero from Night Watch, is back, but when the culprit turns out to be none other than his partner, the race against time becomes more urgent than ever. In a world where reality and magic commingle, and where different degrees of existence are layered one atop the other, nothing is ever quite what it seems.

Cast in Shadow (The Chronicles of Elantra, Book 1)

Michelle Sagara

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great first book to this series! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book and once it arrived it sat on my shelf for several months. I couldn't get beyond the cover, which didn't give me a lot of confidence in the book.
However, when I finally pulled it off the shelf and started reading, I was sucked right in to the story.
Loved the characters, the variety of them, the depth, and their struggle with light and dark within themselves and each other.
Thought the relationship (if you can call it that) that Kaylin has with Lord Nightshade was awesome..the hint of sensuality..
Very impressed with the depth of the story and the journey it takes you on...never quite knowing what's around the corner (or who).
Left me wanting more.

Editorial Review:

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddles streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered -- and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin . . .

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers -- powers that no other human has. Her task is simple -- find the killer, stop the murders . . . and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

Stolen (Women of the Otherworld, Book 2)

Kelley Armstrong

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

favorite in the "Elena" trilogy 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

"Stolen" was by far my favorite of the three novels by Kelley Armstrong featuring Elena the werewolf. In "Bitten" I didn't much care for Clay or her relationship with him, but in "Stolen" something clicked and I completely fell in love with the characters.
Kudos on the cover art as well.

Editorial Review:

It was in Bitten, Kelley Armstrong’s debut novel, that thirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites and claimed the proud identity of a beautiful, successful woman—and the only living female werewolf.

In Stolen, on a mission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the net of ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in his underground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals—witches, vampires, shamans, werewolves—are then released and hunted to the death in a real-world video game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match.

The Dark River (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 2)

John Twelve Hawks

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Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A frantic race to save a long-lost Traveler.
An epic battle for freedom.
Two brothers whose power puts them on a collision course . . .with each other.



In The Traveler, John Twelve Hawks introduced readers to a dangerous world inspired by the modern technology that monitors our lives. Under constant surveillance of the ‘Vast Machine,’ a sophisticated computer network run by a ruthless group, society is mostly unaware of its own imprisonment. Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, brothers who were raised “off the grid,” have recently learned they are Travelers like their long-lost father— part of a centuries-old line of prophets able to journey to different realms of consciousness and enlighten the world to resist being controlled. But power affects the brothers differently. As The Traveler ends, Gabriel hesitates under the weight of responsibility. Michael seizes the opportunity—and joins the enemy.

THE DARK RIVER opens in New York City with a stunning piece of news. Gabriel’s father, who has been missing for nearly twenty years, may still be alive and trapped somewhere in Europe. Gabriel and his Harlequin protector, Maya, immediately mobilize to escape New York and find the long-lost Traveler. Simultaneously, Michael orders the Brethren—the ruthless group that has been hunting Gabriel—into a full-scale search. Gabriel yearns to find his father to protect him; Michael aims to destroy the man whose existence threatens his newfound power. The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote region of Africa that is rumored to harbor one of history’s greatest treasures. And as the story moves toward its chilling conclusion, Maya must decide if she will trade everything to rescue Gabriel.

A mesmerizing return to the places and people so richly portrayed in The Traveler, THE DARK RIVER is propelled by edge-of-the-seat suspense and haunted by a vision of a world where both hope and freedom are about to disappear.

Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1)

Simon R. Green

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 82 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Superficial story for *very* light reading 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Having just read the Man with the Golden Torque (pretty good book by the way) by the same author I was interested in reading more of his work and came by this series. The story and characters really have a lot of potential for being really good. I like what the characters could be though the bottom line is they never really reach their potential.
John Taylor is a Private Eye who has a gift for finding things when he's working in the inner heart underground supernatural world of Nightside which he has of course exhiled himself from for the past 5 years. He's down on his luck when he's approached by a woman with a daughter who has been missing for a month. The whole book is really a prolonged search for the daughter while explaining all the wonders and terrors of nightside. This is what all the conversations are about including 5 minute explanations for every person that John Taylor introduces to his client.
The bottom line is it's not a story with characters that you can connect with because there really isn't anything deeper to them than what's on the page. But if you really want a 30 minute read to pass some time and like the neon noir urban fantasy scene you're probably going to like this book. I'm just hoping that he digs a little deeper in the following books.

Editorial Review:

John Taylor is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.

For John Taylor, there's no place like home...