Teaser Tuesday - Fury 02 - Green-Eyed Envy

The Teaser Tuesday is back - after a couple of months of no memes here on E-Volving Books.
I just finished Drink Deep (Merit, an UF Vampire series) and am halfway through the second book in a Fury series by Kasey Mackenzie. I picked it up because an urban fantasy around Furies was new, and thought it might be worth checking out.
 
"Recognition hit Harper like a punch to the stomach. She staggered a crooked step back, brushing up against Scott behind her and Penn to her right."
 
Mini Review:
The first book was decent, but this novel isn't nearly as kick-ass. The heroine isn't going full fury-mode and fighting very much so far. The mystery she is solving doesn't appear to require typical detective skills, and the plot devices are weak.
My rating: Meh.

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To join into the TT fun, visit the link below!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Teaser Tuesday: Alpha & Omega 02 by Patricia Briggs

I'm in a re-read mood now, and this will always make me turn to the best Urban Fantasy authors out there - Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison and others.

This teaser is from Patricia Briggs' fantastic Alpha & Omega books (werewolf), Book 2 - Hunting Ground:

"What would it feel like to love music as she did and not be able to sing or play? Or worse, to be proficient but never cross the line between a collection of notes and pitch and rhythm to real music?
To know that you were missing it by just a hair but have no idea how to take it from metronome correctness to power and true beauty."

- said by Anna, the rare Omega wolf.
Mini Review:
I love Patricia Briggs! I hope you pick up one of her books - the Mercy series is intriguing with a strong female lead, she has some interesting couplet books (2 books per series) titled Hurog something, Raven something...you know how the naming convention works in sequels, right?
These Alpha & Omega books narrowly overlaps the Mercy series, you will see some familiar characters in greater depth. Solid action-packed sequences, and character-building of a rape victim and more! Come read.

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To join into the TT fun, visit the link below!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Ilona Andrews and Magic Slays

The book I've been blabbering about here is finally releasing TOMORROW!
*Squeeee*
Incredibly excited - my amazon account tells me it is "pre-ordered and will be delivered to your Kindle on May 31st, 2011".
I did an excellent job of forgetting about it all of last week (something I thought would be the only way to stay sane this month), but I can't help being an excitable fangirl today!


Anyone else waiting for a book?

Review: The Deadliest Bite by Jennifer Rardin

Why I picked it up:
I picked up the first Jaz Parks Urban Fantasy/Vampire book a while ago, and read a couple of books before I got a little bored.
Having noticed that the final book in the series (Book 8) was out, and on NetGalley, I decided to complete the series and then review it in toto.

Series Summary:
Jaz and Vayl are secret agents in the US Govt, assassinating who they are told to. Jaz is a spunky female assistant assassin (tongue twister!), while Vayl is the vampire, eternally hunting for his long-lost sons.
Over the first couple of books, they make friends with a Seer, a genius inventor, and an angel, amongst others. Jaz grows more powerful over the books, and new elements about the world they are in come to light - a battle between good and evil, the zone where Ghosts reside, and fake "Sensitives". We see some military action, as both Jaz and Vayl work for the CIA, while fighting their growing attraction for each other.

What I liked about The Deadliest Bite:
This is a definite "last book". Lots of ends are tied up and I saw a huge improvement in the writing flavor from the first. I thought this might be a trite vampire love story, but the characters are really strong and fiercely written and saves the book from falling into a stereotype.

Minus:
So many incidents/scenes in a book make it a little hard to remember what happened in the previous books, and so I'm left with a vague recollection of the earlier novels. Some of the technology (like Jaz's mechanical, smart, transforming cat) is too far-fetched for me to swallow, even in if it is military funded.

Aside: Very sad to note that the author passed away so early in her life.
This series is a SOLID B+, and Great when read separately with breaks between the novels.

I would recommend it to:
Ilona Andrews fans, Katie MacAllister readers, vampire novel readers :) *like, duh*

Teaser Tuesdays #33 Burning Bridges (Retrievers #4)

Those of you used to seeing my Teaser (after all, this is my 33rd!) might know that I tend to post usually from some book in a series, usually not the first.
Well, then this week isn't any different ;)
Laura Anne Gilman is a new author, one I've read for the first time over the last week.
Here's the teaser:

"What's going on here?"
He didn't mean to use his Dad-voice. Just like Lowell's tone, it always seemed to slip out when confronted by the two of them hissing and spitting like cats.

Another Teaser from the beginning of the book:

Wren Valere was spitting mad. Literally. Her arms ached, her leg muscles still burned, and she could feel the adrenaline still running in her body like a drug, despite having been home, safe, for twenty minutes and more.
"I hate my job, some days."

Mini Review: 

A good, gritty urban fantasy story. This wouldn't convert non-UF readers, but a decent read for those of us who crave a solid heroine-centric fantasy story.
While Laura has a well-paced writing style, I'm not sure you missed a lot if you missed one or two books before starting the series. Still, I'm going to keep reading the Retriever series this week. 

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Teaser Tuesdays is hosted at Should Be Reading.

Teaser Tuesday #31 - Highborn

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays, a bookish meme hosted weekly by Miz B, at Should Be Reading.

The latest novel from Yvonne Navarro is an award-winning Urban Fantasy novel called Highborn (The Dark Redemption Series). I've carefully picked the teaser out to give you not just an introduction to the book itself, but also an insight into our heroine's head.
Teaser:

That first touch, that kiss...no one knew better than Brynna how it could work on the psyche. Memory, desire, pheromones, hormones. They all played a part in how the universe went round. Birds and the bees. Demons and angels and humans.

Like it? Leave me a comment and a link!
Quick Review:
Honestly, I thought this was going to be "just" another urban fantasy. Usual tropes fell into my mind - angels, demons seeking redemption and some fighting thrown in for fun. Yvonne, the author, uses these worn themes brilliantly, but brings her own twist. 
The story rapidly got interesting as chapters progressed. I opened the first page with zero expectations, but Brynna and her entry into our world, her mishaps with the cops, and her slipping into a real existence in Chicago were all captivating. 
I'd recommend this book to all fantasy readers, and thriller fans. If you are wandering around the interwebs, looking for the next good read, here it is!
Link to author: http://www.yvonnenavarro.com/highborn.htm

General Call-out:
For those of you interested in my blogger spotlight, I'm calling for bloggers with ebooks/ereaders to interview here!

Teaser Tuesdays #14 - Anna Strong chronicles

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

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Today, I'm beginning Chosen (Anna Strong Chronicles, Book 6):

Even though this is Book 6, I really don't remember any details AT ALL from the previous books. I'm hoping that I start following the storyline as I read. Also, I recently finished The Way of Kings (my A+ review is here) and I know almost any book is going to fare poorly in comparision. *keeping my fingers crossed*

"Underwood is more than an old-soul vampire. He possesses more than vampiric powers. He uses sorcery.
What sort of creature does that? What sort of demon?"




What is your chosen read for today? :)
Have you seen my Giveaway yet?
 I also have an International Giveaway – Win Any Book of choice for $15
Giveaway at e-Volving Books

Guest Post - Beth Fantaskey: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

I guest-posted at Kate's lovely site called I just wanna Sit here and Read - with a Review on a book and its follow-up novelette by Beth Fantaskey:

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Click to check it out! An excerpt from my review: 

"Characters: The character of high-school student Jessica was realistic, and snarky. Her friends were interesting, and the sense of small-town america was spot on. The multiple love interest angle J. struggles with was fun too."

Summary from GoodReads:
The undead can really screw up your senior year ...
Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé.

Walker Papers #4 - Walking Dead by C.E. Murphy

Grade: B+

Extract: “It’d been nearly a year since I’d been laid out in a parking lot with a sword in my lung and a smirking coyote offering me the choice between death or life as a shaman. In all my waking hours I’d never thought of wanting any kind of mystical gifts or healing powers, but I’d wanted to die even less."

To bring you up to speed with the series so far:

Joannie is a reluctant, press-ganged Shaman. Inclined to dismiss all the Shamanic power she holds as useless, woo-woo stuff, it takes her a couple of books and about 6 months of story time to begin to accept and explore her strong abilities. Saving the world helps, and she has begun exploring her abilities with the help of her spiritual teacher. 

Joannie's day job is being a mechanic for the police force, and she has recently been promoted to detective. Her boss, the Captain is the strong, silent type with major appeal. Since her recent promotion (Book 3) to detective, any possibility of a relationship between them has been nixed.

Summary: When Joannie is pressed into a 'Xena, warrior princess' costume for Halloween, she anticipates a night of fun. However, the party is interrupted by a miasmic force, and she and her partner on the force Billy have to save their friends. This is linked to a murder and robbery that happens at a Museum later, as the stolen Cauldron has the power to bring back the dead. Joannie has to find the cauldron, the culprit, and restore peace to these souls. She gets helped by her old nemesis, the Wild Hunt and its leader.

Plus: Joannie is a normal human being who has been forced into the abilities she has, and copes like anyone of us would - she fumbles, bumbles and generally lurches from one catastrophe to the next. She describes what she does in a very vivid, colorful, normal style, just as if you or I were creating magic with no training. Realistic and charming!

Minus: One too many twists in the tale for me here, I could hardly remember what was going on. This is one book to start and finish quickly. While #4 Walking Dead shows our reluctant heroine finally getting comfortable with her abilities, a little less whining might have gone a long way. I have also given up on the relationship with her and Morrison, it seems to be going nowhere. "He's just not that into you", anyone?

Overall: This makes for a pretty interesting read, and does justify my anticipation for the Walker Paper series novels. While it might not be a great urban fantasy, it is a good series to pick up if you don't know for sure what to read next.

The previous books in the series are:

Teaser Tuesday #7 - Maker's Song 1- Rush of Wings

I seem to in that hazy valley in between books - I just finished Spider's Bite - Elemental Assassins by J. Estep  last night, and haven't really latched on to the next. So this teaser is from a book I am just beginning
Maker's Song #1 Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix

"The majority were Goth - dyed black hair, pale makeup, black lipstick and liner, male and female. Some of the young men seemed to think that they were Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise in that old vampire movie: long hair, lace ruffled shirts, velvet jackets, and silver-headed canes"




What are you reading? Drop a comment to let me know!

And if you haven't taken part in my first contest - there is still 5 days to go before the winning entry is picked! International Prizes to be won, names thought up -  http://readseverything.blogspot.com/2010/06/catchy-name-contest.html

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

Grab your current read, Open to a random page, Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, avoid Spoilers.

Update and Review: Twice Bitten, Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill

Chicagoland Vampires: Book 3
Released: July 6th, 2010
Grade:
Excerpt: " You'll recall he wanted to speak about security arrangements for the convocation?"
I nodded. Gabriel had mentioned it when he'd dropped by a week ago. 
"As it turns out, you were the security arrangement." I blanched. "I'm the security arrangement? What does that mean?" Ethan took another drink before recapping the bottle. "It means, Sentinel", that we are throwing you to the wolves."

 I'm really looking forward to this book, as this is first book where we get a good look at the other supernatural species in Chloe Neill's world, the shapeshifters.

Plus: I really liked the new Alpha who was introduced here, thankfully not bringing in a love triangle (I eternally fear this from my days reading Anita Blake). The book is unusually self-aware i..e Our intrepid heroine's dialogue includes references to Urban Fantasy lit, and even popular authors. The snarky comments, the great action scenes keep the book lively and fun to read.

Minus: Not a lot. I had some trouble getting into the book, got distracted easily (for which I entirely blame myself). Once I committed to finishing it last weekend, the pages flew by, and there was good reason to sleep late.

Overall: Chloe Neill is worth picking up, and thankfully is not holding to the genre's trite stereotypes. Her book is a breath of fresh air, and promises to be a solid start to a long career!

 Link to Buy: Twice Bitten: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel

Review: Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill

Grade:B I had first posted the second book in the Chicagoland vampire series as the Teaser Tuesday #2.                                                                   The first book, Some Girls Bite's blurb: "..She’s traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan’s attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone’s still out to get her.."

Chloe Neill's debut book is a straight-forward Urban Fantasy novel. The novel is set in modern day Chicago, in a world where the vampires are about to reveal their presence to the humans. All vampires either belong to Houses, or are Rogues. Three of these vamp houses are in Chicago, and all the action in the novel centers around them. 

Merit, a human Ph.D. student from a prominent Chicago family, gets changed into a Vampire as a result of an attack in the park by a rogue vampire. The attack nearly kills her, and to save her life, the Master of one of the Houses changes her. It soon becomes evident that she is stronger and faster than the average vamp, and she gets named Sentinel of her House, a sort of chief Bodyguard. She begins investigating the series of murders, in which she had nearly became a victim herself.

The action in this novel isn't as fast paced as it could have been, and Merit just seemed to slip a little too easily into an action-oriented lifestyle, after a life spent as a research student. Except for this part, I really enjoyed her character and the learning process she goes through as a newly-inducted vamp. All said and done, this book made me want to read the second Chloe Neill immediately.

Book 2: Friday Night Bites                                                 Grade: A-                                                                                Excerpt: "Folks, we're at a crossroads here. We've been outed, we've been investigated by Congress, and now we've got the paparazzi breathing down our necks."                                           This second book gives us a closer look at Merit's family. Her internal vampire also seems to be behaving as a different entity, and she has to work at controlling its impulses. Merit is being wooed by the head of another House, and has to balance both this new budding romance and her job/life as Sentinel of a House. The Master of her House, Ethan, and her have some significant chemistry going on, so that complicates things :). Ethan also begins showing some signs of humanity, perhaps woken up by Merit. 

 Plus: One of the nicest things about this series is its Chicago setting. Having spent some time in this city, reading about all the familiar areas is nostalgic. I also enjoyed all of Merit's training sessions with her katana, and her instructer, the mysterious Catcher.

Minus: I really wished that Merit would talk to people about her doubts regarding the vampire inside her! Sometimes, things can be solved easily, without all that drama...but not in this book! I also didn't realize why being a vampire/witch meant that you had to give up your life-from-before or your JOB....perhaps I'm being pedantic, but if society has been unaware of a sub-species, shouldn't that mean that they integrated really well? With information being so widely available in today's world, any isolated group of people would be under government suspicion sooner than later.

Overall, the book has plenty of humor and sarcastic wit. I would rate this pretty high, and Ms. Neill is comparable to the guru of this kind of wit, Jim Butcher, and also Urban Fantasy doyennes, Patricia Briggs and Kelley Armstrong. Perhaps the plot is not as strong as it could be, but the characters are well drawn!

Rachel Vincent - Shift

Grade: B/B+

Rachel Vincent's Shift is Book #5 in the Werecat series. I sped through the first 3 books, then took a breather before picking up the rest. Most of you might not have read the series, so I shall try to avoid spoilers.

Excerpt:

"My father sat in his wing chair at the end of the rug, and his refusal to rise was—on the surface—an uncharacteristic show of disrespect toward a fellow Alpha. But I knew him well enough to understand the truth: if he stood, he might lose his temper. "You're asking me to let my son's murder go unavenged." His voice was as low and dangerous as I'd ever heard it, and I swear I felt the rumble deep in my bones. It echoed the ache in my heart."

The series follows a Pride of werecats, and focuses on the Alpha's daughter Faythe. As the series continues its fast-paced march, it becomes evident that Faythe is being lined up to be the first Tabby Alpha. The werecat society is fairly standard urban fantasy, and the tabbies are protected while the male cats fight to be numbero uno. Faythe is different from the norm; assertive, strong, and a fairly bad decision maker, she bucks the trend and ends up being an enforcer for the Pride.

Overall, my impression of this rare werecat series is very positive,  but this book so far has been the weakest of the lot. Faythe remains torn between two men, and while this provides for a lot of romantic stunts, I could only wish for her to make up her mind already! The author really drags this two-men-arc for way too long, at the cost of some major character development. Pick someone already, woman. In the first book, I felt Faythe was a little immature, but forgave her on the basis of her age. Though having to deal with her emotional trauma now, in the midst of a Pride war, just doesn't do it for me.

On the positive side, the tension between the cats is palpable, the scenes are tautly written, and the 'villains' of the book are the newly-introduced Thunderbird species. Quite exciting..I'm sure the next book Alpha (Shifters Book 6) is going to be the highlight of the Shifters novels.

Other Reviews:

All-Consuming Books

Teaser Tuesday! Chicagoland Vampires

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

Grab your current read, Open to a random page, Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page, avoid Spoilers.

 

My Teaser is from "Friday Night Bites", Book 2 of the Chicagoland Vampire series. Here it is!

 

He sheathed the blade, then grabbed two bokken—wooden training swords that roughly echoed the shape and weight of the katanas—and came back again. He spun one bokken in his hand, as if adjusting to its weight. The second, he pointed at me. “Let’s go, Sunshine.”

Please post links to your teasers below, I cant wait to find out what you are reading!

Upcoming Releases - June + July

Here are some fantasy and urban fantasy releases to keep an eye out for:

June 29th

Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8):

The blurb says "Kitty Norville, Alpha werewolf and host of The Midnight Hour, a radio call-in show, is contacted by a friend at the NIH's Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology. Three Army soldiers recently returned from the war in Afghanistan are being held at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs.  They're killer werewolves—and post traumatic stress has left them unable to control their shape-shifting and unable to interact with people.  Kitty agrees to see them, hoping to help by bringing them into her pack.   "

July 1st and July 6th

Mercedes Lackey's The Sleeping Beauty and Shadow Grail #1: Legacies

Legacies is a YA novel with Rosemary Edgehill (and their collaboration has yielded good results in the past). The blurb says:

"Who—or what—is stalking the students at Oakhurst Academy?

In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic."

The Sleeping Beauty (July 1st release) has this note from the publisher :

"Lackey's fifth fairy tale retelling (after 2008's The Snow Queen) also includes passing nods to "Hansel and Gretel," "The Frog Prince," and "Puss-in-Boots," along with cameo appearances by Brunnhilde and Wotan. Despite plenty of twists and laughs, the plot is surprisingly forgettable, and most of the fun comes from finding all the fairy tale in-jokes peppering the pages."

The books before were a decent read, no heavy thinking required, so I would probably get around to reading this too between grittier tomes.

July 20th

L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Imager's Intrigue: The Third Book of the Imager Portfolio. L.E. Modesitt writes very correct and detailed fantasy novels, I would create a new genre for these books - "Engineering Fantasy". He describes the magic in this world so like an engineer would! Very detailed, clear possibilities and specific costs of usage.

 

Dark and Stormy Nights is a collection of stories including works by Jim Butcher (Aleran Codex), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty), Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels) and Vicki Peterson. Also, it is edited by P.N. Elrod, and I find that any collection of stories he edits is sure to be fantastic.

Also on July 20th, is the second book in the YA Fallen series by Thomas Sniegoski, The Fallen 2: Aerie and Reckoning. Blurb:

"Destined for Heaven or Hell?

Aaron's senior year has been anything but typical. Half-angel and half-human, he has been charged to reunite the Fallen with Heaven. But the leader of the Dark Powers is determined to destroy Aaron—and all hope of angelic reconciliation."

What are you looking forward to?