Book Trailer and links to purchase
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Switching tracks…
For a long time now, I have been blogging about Karen Chance’s books and talking about my relationships with the main characters in that world in an almost casual way. During that time, Jeaniene Frost has released two books, that although I had purchased them and added them to my to be read queue, I hadn’t read them yet. So, I am issuing a little bit of a warning and a caution for all those Karen Chance fans who are following me. I am reading Jeaniene Frost’s night Prince finale. This may be a wee bit confusing because in this series Vlad (aka Dracula) is the hero and is married to a psychic Leila. They are fighting against a foe named Mircea who is somehow his stepson as well as his nephew by blood as Radu’s son. So for the next little bit of time, my posts might become a little confusing. In all honestly, I am having enough trouble switching tracks within my own mind so that I can fully enjoy the end of the Night Prince series as I return to the world of Jeaniene Frost’s creation. So, should I be making statements that make no sense in the context of the Karen Chance universe, please forgive me as I am visiting Jeaniene Frost’s universe and thus those statements might make sense in that context. But given the fact that I keep having to remind myself which series I am reading, the statements may not be making sense in that context either. It is kind of like the process when learning a new language–your thoughts are in your native language and then you translate them into the new language. So, now I am reminding myself it is not that Vlad but this one and that sentence shows my inner monologue is confusing–let alone the outer one…
Fiction
Avon
February 28, 2017
384
In the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampires’ . . .In the wrong hands, love can be a deadly weapon For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now, falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him. A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them . . . and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.
Sherrilyn Kenyon’s DragonSworn
I have long been a Sherrilyn Kenyon fan and continue to be one. Although the newest series did not live up to my expectations, I am a fan of her worlds. I love the complex mythology and am constantly amazed by how varied her world has become. It is a vast network of various mythologies and yet somehow they all seamlessly interact. This is truly an amazing feat given that Egyptian and Greek and Sumerian Pantheons were never meant to mix. This book promised explanations of Falcyn’s origins and perhaps even his orneriness. This book did indeed explain Falcyon and his surliness.
I love the Dark Hunter world as well as the Were Hunter and Lords of Avalon worlds. I loved this book, as it returns to the stories that are as typical as a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon can be in that they are all atypical. This book was a little bit difficult for me as there are so very many story lines and interrelationships to try and keep straight. Even using the website as a cheat sheet, when the Lords of Avalon, dragon, were hunters and dark hunter worlds intersect things can become complicated and this book added in the Apollites as well. Put a cameo in by Simi and you have all the parts of Kenyon’s world in one place. It seems that this book may be a two for one in that Blaise makes a romantic connection as well.
So, my review of this book is overwhelmingly positive. My only complaint is that I have trouble keeping everything straight and that is a failing on my part but given that we book 28 and the length of some of those novels, I’m going to give myself a break. And admit I used Sherrilyn Kenyon.com as a cheat sheet when I got a little confused, but I figure that is why the character directory is there.
Fiction
Dark-Hunter Novels (Hardcover)
2017-08
352
There is nothing in the universe the cursed dragon, Falcyn, hates more than humanity . . . except Greek humans. In a war he wanted no part of, they systematically destroyed everything he’d ever cared for. Now he waits for the day when evolution will finally rid him of the human vermin. Medea was born the granddaughter of the Greek god Apollo, and among the first of his people that he cursed to die. But she will not let anyone rule her life. Not even her notorious grandfather. And when Apollo sends a new plague to destroy what remains of her people, she refuses to stand by and watch him take everything she loves from her again. This time, she knows of a secret weapon that can stop the ancient god and his army of demons. Once and for all. However, said device is in the hands of a dragon who wants nothing to do with politics, the gods, humanity, demons or Apollites. And especially not her. He is the immovable object. She is the unstoppable force . . . When Apollo makes a strategic move that backfires, he forces Falcyn back into play. Now Medea either has the weapon she needs to save her people, or she’s unleashed total Armageddon. If she can’t find some way to control the dragon before it’s too late, Falcyn will be an even worse plague on the world than the one Apollo has set loose. But how can anyone control a demonic dragon whose sole birthright is world annihilation?
Book Review for Kelley Armstrong’s Rituals (some Spoilers)
I have greatly enjoyed visiting Cainsville this past week. Watching Olivia, Gabriel and Ricky navigate discovering their pasts and the roles they were expected to play was fun and learning along the way with them the paranormal origins and the crazy treatment of those who did not fit into either of the main groups was a crazy ride. And I have looked forward to the conclusion of this story especially given the surprise at the ending of Betrayals when Ricky stepped aside to give Gabriel his shot with Olivia.
Watching the group fight their past incarnations and the meddling of both sides was frustrating. In many ways, the urge to just shake the main characters was high. And yet as each of the succeeding third party scheme and design traps and pitfalls there is a underlying layer of hope–that these three can somehow beat fate. Each of their previous incarnations are bitter and seem determined to make the same mistakes happen again while they advise Olivia, Gabriel and Ricky not to make the same mistakes. It’s frustrating.
All through the story, Gabriel’s continuing social dysfunction takes a large role in the story. And seeing him struggle to be what Olivia needs is painful at times. Having Gabriel’s mother return and Pamela escape from jail is not only unexpected it is shocking. And in this last book, finding that the powers who were so desperately awaiting their Matilda made deals that they didn’t consider the ramifications of was just plain disappointing
This end had the potential to be epic. No matter which decision was made, there could have been closure and healing with the story coming full circle. Instead of secret male pacts determining the future we could have had a reasoned and equal decision. Having a strong heroine with two strong males making well reasoned decisions seemed like what was coming.
Instead, Ricky backed off the field and Olivia was so glad to have the least crumb of attention from Gabriel that despite the fact he continued to misstep, Olivia chose Gabriel and then the three of them decided to do what they were told from the very beginning wasn’t an option. I did not see a happily ever after when this book ended. I saw continued heartbreak for Olivia as Gabriel continues to misstep. I see a friendship between Ricky and Olivia that will always have a sexual undertone and a feeling of lost opportunities. And the relationship between Gabriel and Ricky will always have a petty jealoussness under it.
As sad as the end made me because it took so much of Olivia’s strength and growth and threw it out the window as soon as Gabriel made the least bit of effort, it could have been worse. I am glad that they end up with neither the elders or the hunt winning. But instead it seems that everyone loses.
Fiction
Random House Canada
August 15, 2017
496
The fifth book and the exciting conclusion to bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's "impossible-to-put-down" Cainsville series, in which she mixes hard-hitting crime writing with phenomenal world-building to create a brand of fiction all her own. When Olivia Taylor-Jones found out she was not actually the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers, her life exploded. Running from the fall-out, she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois, but she couldn't resist trying to dig out the truth about her birth parents' crimes. She began working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer who also had links to the town; their investigation soon revealed Celtic mysteries at work in Cainsville, and also entangled Olivia in a tense love triangle with the calculating Gabriel and her charming biker boyfriend, Ricky. Worse, troubling visions revealed to Olivia that the three of them were reenacting an ancient drama pitting the elders of Cainsville against the mysterious Huntsmen with Olivia as the prize. In the series' fifth and final novel, not only does Gabriel's drug addict mother, who he thought was dead, make a surprise reappearance, but Kelley Armstrong delivers a final scary and surprising knock-out twist. It turns out a third supernatural force has been at work all along, a dark and malevolent entity that has had its eye on Olivia since she was a baby and wants to win at any cost.
a Quote along with some Other Things
“She’d called him a coward, running away whenever she pulled him toward something he didn’t like. It was not so much cowardice as ego, and not even so much protecting his ego as safeguarding the supports that kept it intact. Success bolstered his ego. Doing what he was good at and avoiding failure in every possible way. He’d first realized that in high school, when he’d dropped out of geometry, not because he disliked it but because he wasn’t good at it. Algebra came easily. Calculus was also fine. But there was something about geometry that he could not wrap his mind around. So he dropped the course. The moment he discovered he did not have the knack for something, he stopped trying to do it. Empathy, friendship, dating, relationships in general. He embraced a challenge only if he knew he could succeed. The hard truth of the matter was that Gabriel was spoiled. He got what he wanted, and did not want what he could not get. “ Kelley Armstrong Rituals
I am thoroughly enjoying my quest through Cainsville this time around. It never ceases to amaze me that every time I read one of my favorite authors my mind finds little parts of the story to delight over. The plot of each novel, for the most part remains the plot. There are a few slight deviations from that rule where knowing the plot in its entirety changes the substance of the story. This happens with Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series, when the overarching hatred between mages and the Carpathians leads to the discovery that their lack of fertility comes from an evil wizard’s working of a spell. It definitely happens in Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series. I think it is beginning to happen in the Anita Blake Series as we see more challenging foes as well as more powerful allies.
Sometimes, I find myself amazed though how much knowing one of the larger series in paranormal romance leads to the calm acceptance (to some extent) of fantastical creatures from myth and lore. One of the things I have greatly enjoyed in the Cainsville series is the interweaving of some pretty obscure Celtic imagery, characters and lore. Would the imagery of the Wild Hunt as a biker gang be so easily accepted had it not sort of appeared that way in the Dresden files? And now, Kelley Armstrong has introduced the slaugh which plays a large role in Laurell K Hamilton’s Meredith gentry Series. This Slaugh is a very different incarnation from the one in Merry Gentry’s world, but the idea itself is more easily accepted since it plays such a large role in Merry’s world.
I guess that the point of this general ramble is that everything is connected and , no I am not going into deep philosophical questions of identity or politics. I am just remarking upon the fact that so many have before–everything is possible and yet nothing can ever truly be new. And now I go back to Cainsville a little bit sad because I know the end is near but a little bit happy to as I never know quite what to expect until a story actually reaches its end.
Fiction
Random House Canada
August 15, 2017
496
The fifth book and the exciting conclusion to bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's "impossible-to-put-down" Cainsville series, in which she mixes hard-hitting crime writing with phenomenal world-building to create a brand of fiction all her own. When Olivia Taylor-Jones found out she was not actually the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers, her life exploded. Running from the fall-out, she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois, but she couldn't resist trying to dig out the truth about her birth parents' crimes. She began working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer who also had links to the town; their investigation soon revealed Celtic mysteries at work in Cainsville, and also entangled Olivia in a tense love triangle with the calculating Gabriel and her charming biker boyfriend, Ricky. Worse, troubling visions revealed to Olivia that the three of them were reenacting an ancient drama pitting the elders of Cainsville against the mysterious Huntsmen with Olivia as the prize. In the series' fifth and final novel, not only does Gabriel's drug addict mother, who he thought was dead, make a surprise reappearance, but Kelley Armstrong delivers a final scary and surprising knock-out twist. It turns out a third supernatural force has been at work all along, a dark and malevolent entity that has had its eye on Olivia since she was a baby and wants to win at any cost.
YAY!
Open Books added me to their list of Book Bloggers and Reviewers! Someone out there has noticed me for doing what I love, without any lobbying by me!
[Top]More Official Facts From Karen Chance
I love the freebies that Karen gives away all the time. I consider her Q&A documents to be just another peek of having an author who values her readers in addition to honoring her characters. All that being said… Here’s the link to her latest Q&A…
BUT WAIT… before you read this you must have read Ride the Storm or spoilers will abound and some of it won’t make sense…Here’s a link to buy the book too!
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https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-cassandra-palmer-series-by-karen-chance/q-and-a-61/1456635661084210/
[Top]Kelley Armstrong has another giveaway going on right now…
https://www.facebook.com/KelleyArmstrongAuthor/
Enter the latest giveaway and you may get an autographed copy and a messenger bag
[Top]Coolest Products I have seen in a While
I just found this awesome journal! This company is located in California and the products are made in the USA
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