Fantasy

One Good Dragon Deserves Another (Heartstrikers #2) By: Rachel Aaron

one-good-dragon-deserves-another

One Good Dragon Deserves Another (Heartstrikers #2) By: Rachel Aaron

Plot:

After barely escaping the machinations of his terrifying mother, two all knowing seers, and countless bloodthirsty siblings, the last thing Julius wants to see is another dragon. Unfortunately for him, the only thing more dangerous than being a useless Heartstriker is being a useful one, and now that he’s got an in with the Three Sisters, Julius has become a key pawn in Bethesda the Heartstriker’s gamble to put her clan on top.

Refusal to play along with his mother’s plans means death, but there’s more going on than even Bethesda knows, and with Estella back in the game with a vengeance, Heartstriker futures disappearing, and Algonquin’s dragon hunter closing in, the stakes are higher than even a seer can calculate. But when his most powerful family members start dropping like flies, it falls to Julius to defend the clan that never respected him and prove that, sometimes, the world’s worst dragon is the best one to have on your side.

Review:

There was a ton going on in this book, lot of immenent death, and seers manipulating the future, and dimensional travel. There was a new dragon introduced that was fun, she wasn’t as evil as the other dragons seem to be. I like the dragons that aren’t as one dimensional, but so far it seems like most of them are, though Justin isn’t bad. He’s just young and stupid so you kind of expect him to act the way he does. I really hate Bethesda, she’s just so stupid. I don’t think I’m supposed to think she is, but that’s all I can think.

Julius was still great and while Marci isn’t growing on me I don’t hate her. She had some small development this book but still not too interested in her.

Bob is awesome.

Didn’t really see the end coming so that was nice. I’m curious to see how things are going to turn out with what happened at the end. I doubt it’s going to be pretty.

4/5

Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers #1) By: Rachel Aaron

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Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers #1) By: Rachel Aaron

Plot:

As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don’t cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn’t fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.

Now, sealed in human form and banished to the DFZ–a vertical metropolis built on the ruins of Old Detroit–Julius has one month to prove that he can be a ruthless dragon or kiss his true shape goodbye forever. But in a city of modern mages and vengeful spirits where dragons are considered monsters to be exterminated, he’s going to need some serious help to survive this test.

He only hopes humans are more trustworthy than dragons…

Review:

I’ve been going through books I’ve downloaded but not read and I discovered this one. I remember reading the sample for this and liking it but for whatever reason I didn’t read it as soon as I downloaded it.

I love when I find a good book I’d forgotten about. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the world created. It was fun and interesting and I loved that Julius was nice, basically a goodie two shoes, but life was so hard for him. I hate when people say it’s easy for the people that always choose good to be good. You can see how much Julius suffers because of it but it doesn’t make his character boring, you feel for him and it’s fun to see him start to stand up for himself.

The side characters were hit or miss for me. I liked the dragons, but I thought that Marci was just eh. She wasn’t annoying or stupid she just didn’t really do anything for me. She’s got potential so we’ll see what happens.

Really liked the book and I’ve already started to next.

4/5

Witch for Hire (Witch for Hire #1) By: N.E. Conneely

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Witch for Hire (Witch for Hire #1) By: N.E. Conneely

Plot:

Most witches don’t work for police departments, but Michelle isn’t your average witch. She’s clanless, looking for a warlock who isn’t offended by her lack of family connections, and in danger of losing her job if she can’t find the escaped trolls before they start eating the local residents. Trolls, angry police, and misbehaving spells are the least of her problems. Statues attacking homeowners might be problematic for your average witch, but to Michelle it’s another day at the office. Her real concern is the wizard suddenly interested in dating her and an old elf set on pestering her. When her happy family is rocked by a long kept secret her stable life falls apart faster than she can pick up the pieces. And she still hasn’t found those trolls.
Review:

This was a pleasant surprise. I honestly can’t remember when I got this book, it’s been sitting on my kindle for a long time apparently.

First off, the world that was created was fleshed out and felt new and interesting. Well, maybe not new, but it wasn’t just your typical add supernatural elements and stir. The supernatural has always existed and humans at some point had been slaves. There was history and little things for each species, it was interesting and fresh for me.

Second, I really liked how the story progressed. You were basically just following Michelle around in her life with no indication that anything bigger might happen. It was fairly chill up until the end and even that wasn’t too balls to the wall. It was a nice change of pace from constant action in an urban fantasy, but it was by no means boring. Getting to see the world and all that was going on made things fun.

Those two points really made me enjoy the book. Michelle as a character isn’t anything amazing, but she has the possibility to grow on me. There were also a few other characters that I enjoyed, though, I hope the secrecy around her parents isn’t dragged out.

All in all, I’m excited to have found this book and I’m looking forward to the next.

4/5

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

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Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

Plot:

Name: Raine Benares
Race: Elf
Job: Seeker, bride, peace talks referee
Problem: Back-stabbing diplomats, bride-hating mother-in-law

You would think that after having successfully destroyed the Saghred (aka, a legendary soul-sucking rock) and sending an evil goblin demigod to the Lower Hells that I would get some time off to plan my wedding to my sexy paladin fiancé Mychael Eiliesor, right? Wrong. Not only do I have to brace for meeting Mychael’s parents and cope with my burgeoning new powers, but it seems there may be another calamity brewing.

After the recent change in goblin leadership, the new—thankfully non-psychotic—king is willing to participate in an elf/goblin/human peace treaty. The Isle of Mid is the site of these delicate negotiations, meaning all hands on deck for Mychael and his Conclave Guardians. When the head of elven intelligence (and my wedding guest) Duke Markus Sevelien is nearly assassinated upon his arrival, I suspect my mother-in-law will be the least of my concerns. Sabotaging these talks may be only the first salvo in a treacherous and deadly new apocalyptic plot!

Review:

There were four years in between when this book was published and the last one, so it’s been a while since I’ve read these characters. It’s kind of weird because from what I do remember the last book was supposed to be the last book so I’m not sure why this book was made.

As a reader there are series that I absolutely love and the idea of them ending causes an almost physical pain, but at the same time I’ve seen enough series run too long and suffer because of it and I’d much rather still love the series when it ends. Some characters and worlds will always have stories to tell, but sometimes you need to at least leave some characters alone and move on.

As an author I understand that it can be difficult to get readers to go with you to a new series, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When you rely on one series for your entire income and the second one isn’t doing as well it can be tempting to go back to your cash cow. I don’t know Shearin so I don’t know if that’s what happened here, but I wonder.

Looking at a few reviews on Goodreads there were several people complaining about the ending on the previous book and the lack of closure so maybe this book is for them.

Anyway, Wedding Bells, Magic Spells was alright. Plenty of epic stuff going on, lots of governments in peril, it was just difficult to get back into caring about the characters since it’s been so long since I read them. Also it ended on a cliffhanger which means that there will be more books.

3/5

One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #30 By: Ilona Andrews

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One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #30 By: Ilona Andrews

Plot:

Dina DeMille may run the nicest Bed and Breakfast in Red Deer, Texas, but she caters to a very particular kind of guest… the kind that no one on Earth is supposed to know about. Guests like a former intergalactic tyrant with an impressive bounty on her head, the Lord Marshal of a powerful vampire clan, and a displaced-and-superhot werewolf; so don’t stand too close, or you may be collateral damage.

But what passes for Dina’s normal life is about to be thrown into chaos. First, she must rescue her long-distant older sister, Maud, who’s been exiled with her family to a planet that functions as the most lawless penal colony since Botany Bay. Then she agrees to help a guest whose last chance at saving his civilization could bring death and disaster to all Dina holds dear. Now Gertrude Hunt is under siege by a clan of assassins. To keep her guests safe and to find her missing parents, Dina will risk everything, even if she has to pay the ultimate price. Though Sean may have something to say about that!

Review:

The Innkeeper Chronicles is posted piece by piece on Ilona Andrew’s blog and this was the first one I read that way. It’s probably the last too if I can resist. I love Andrews books and I really love this series, however reading a book that slowly piece by piece is excruciating and I’m not sure if I could handle it again.

Thankfully once the books are complete they release them on kindle and anyone not able to take the blog route can just buy it and enjoy it like normal. Once I could I pre-ordered and with my Christmas vacation time I read this like a normal Ilona Andrews book, meaning I stayed up until almost four in the morning and I’m eternally thankful that my husband was home that week and I didn’t have to wake up with our daughter.

In book form the story has been edited and little things were added, not really enough to make someone who read on the blog feel cheated, but enough to tighten up the story and make it feel more polished. I don’t completely remember the ending on the blog, but the ending in the book really set up the next and it’s going to be difficult (impossible) for me not to read it online again.

I love Dina and the person she is. She’s nice and caring and even though she’s surrounded by excellent fighters she still brings a lot to the table in a battle situation. Sean is a wounded soul that you just want to cuddle and he hasn’t fallen into the much used trope of feeling he’s unworthy of love. There was a lot of character development for both of them and we got to meet more family which was awesome.

This is really such an awesome treat of a series and I feel so blessed that Andrews keeps writing more.

5/5