Review: Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla

Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla

• Pub. Date: December 06, 2011
• Publisher:  Signet Eclipse (Penguin Group)
• Pages: 316
• Series: Shaede Assasin #1

http://amandabonilla.com

In the shadows of the night, Darian has lived alone for almost a century. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind—an immortal Shaede who can slip into darkness as easily as breathing. With no one else to rely on, she has taught herself how to survive, using her unique skills to become a deadly assassin.
When Darian's next mark turns out to be Xander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation, her whole worldview is thrown into question. Darian begins to wonder if she's taken on more than her conscience will allow. But a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished...

First Line: I live in the gray.


Review: I've had Shaedes of Gray sitting on my shelf since December of last year when it was released. When I bought it I was excited to dive into it but sadly I just now got around to reading it and I wish I did read it when I had bought it because Amanda Bonilla did a really great job in this new Urban Fantasy series. It was fast paced full of supernatural beings of all different kinds, great action scenes, and a plot that held my interest to the very end.

I've never read about Shaedes so this was a new concept for me. Darian is a Shaede meaning one who at night can walk in shadow form while in the day light is confined to her corporeal form. She was not born one but was created close to a century ago when Azriel her maker rescued her from her human life where her husband Henry liked to use her as his very own personal punching bag. Sadly Azriel soon abandoned her as well and she existed for a century working as an assassin and thinking she was the only one of her kind left.

Darian was a strong female but yet we still saw her vulnerable sides. After being burned by those she trusted she kept everyone at a distance. Including Tyler who lets just say is not what he seems. I really enjoyed being inside her head even if she swears like crazy at times.

There are two love interests the main one is Tyler who apparently when you open up the book there is already an established connection between the two. I found this a little getting used to but it didn't take away from the book for me. The other interest is Xander the King of the Shaedes. I personally wasn't a fan of him, and Darian makes it pretty clear she doesn't care about him either. Honestly I really didn't understand where or how Xander's affections developed for Darian one minute she is working for him the next he is confessing how much he wants her. Personally I like the Tyler and Darian match he just has a more likable nature.

Shaedes of Gray wraps up nicely although there were a few things left unresolved which will obviously be addressed in Blood Before Sunrise the next book in the series.


Memorable Quotes

"I carried, tucked inconspicuously beneath my coat, a dagger and a short saber slung across my back. I never use guns-too impersonal."

"Could I leave even if I wanted to? In to deep already, I'd been sucked into a world that might not let me go." 

Buy on

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Review:Dark Descendant by Jenna Black

Dark Descendant

• Pub. Date:April 2011
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Pages: 336
• Series: Nikki Glass #1

http://www.jennablack.com/

"From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . .

Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. 

But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy. ..."

First Sentence: My entire world shattered on a cold, rainy, miserable, night in early December.


Review: This is the first book I've picked up by Jenna Black, main reason for me picking up this book is  because i'm on this whole Urban Fantasy kick but also because I found the synopsis highly interesting.

Dark Descendant is a fast paced read full of action and several twists and turns that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. The heroine Niki Glass rocks! I loved her character, she was strong, independent, and did whatever it took to protect the ones she loved. Then there is also the fact that she is a descendant of Artemis which is a rarity so she is gifted with some serious skills that comes from the gods.

I also loved all of the secondary characters, Black did a wonderful job giving them each personalities that made each one stand out for their own reasons. I know I shouldn't after all the horrible things Jamaal did and the grief he caused Nikki but I loved his character in the end. He really grew as an individual and I am actually looking forward to reading the second book in the series just to get a little bit more of him.

For all my romance lovers there really was no real romance in this novel although you can tell it is building up to one (hopefully). But being a serious romance lover myself I didn't even care about the lack of romance because of how good this book was and the concept behind it.

Overall an excellent read and I highly recommend it. I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series.

Review: Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

• Pub. Date:January 2011
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Pages: 594
• Series: Fever #5

http://www.karenmoning.com/

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”

"MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.

In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. 

Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it."

First Sentence: 
Hope strengthens.


Review: When I first started this series I had no idea how much of an addiction it would become. By far the best series I have ever read, it was one hell of a roller coaster ride and Shadowfever the fifth  book to the Fever series lived up to it. I devoured the almost 600 page book. Every free moment that I had Shadowfever was in my hands and there were several times I lost track of time.

 It was wrapped up very well and left me very satisfied as a reader. Shadowfever was full of surprises, I didn't see any of it coming. There were a lot of minor characters from the previous books that you find out actually played bigger roles than you thought in the grand scheme of things, and the ending well I never would have expected it. So many lies and secrets surface in this book making it a thrilling and engaging read.

After reading the Fever series I have become a huge fan of Moning and will pretty much pick up anything she writes. I am so glad to know she will be writing  two more books to the series later on. Right now I'm excited to read her new trilogy coming out Fever World which will be a spin off of Fever with some key characters such as Dani, Christian, and Ryodan. But I will anxiously be waiting for the sixth and seventh book to the Fever series which wont be coming out for a few very long years because I would love nothing more then to dive back into the lives of Mac and Barrons.
If you haven't picked up this series yet ...what are you waiting for?

Review: Raziel by Kristina Douglas

Raziel by Kristina Douglas

• Pub. Date:January 2011
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Pages: 384
• Series: The Fallen #1

http://www.kristinadouglas.com/

"

Kristina Douglas’s sexy new series introduces a realm of fallen angels and ruthless demons, where an eternal rebellion is brewing . . . and one unsuspecting woman can change the fate of the Fallen forever.

She was just an ordinary mortal . . .

“You’re dead” is so not what Allie Watson wants to hear. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like the dark, angelically handsome man who ferried her to this strange, hidden land. The last thing she remembers is stepping off a curb in front of a crosstown bus. Now she’s surrounded by gorgeous fallen angels with an unsettling taste for blood—and they really don’t want her around. Not exactly how she pictured heaven.

. . . until death catapulted her into a seductive world she never imagined.

Raziel is unsure why he rescued Allie from hellfire against Uriel’s orders, but she stirs in him a longing he hasn't felt in centuries. Now the Fallen are bracing for the divine wrath brought by his disobedience, and they blame Allie for the ferocious Nephilim clawing at the kingdom’s shrouded gates. Facing impossible odds at every turn, the two must work together to survive. Raziel will do anything to defend his spirited lover against the forces of darkness—because Allie may be the Fallen’s only salvation."

First Sentence: 
 I am Raziel, one of the twenty fallen angels spoken of by Enoch in the old books.


Review:

Raziel our protagonist fallen angel is to escort Allie to the afterlife but things don't go as planned and he pulls her back from the hellfire against the orders of Uriel. I did enjoy Raziel but it does start off slow, with a lot of world building. But after a few chapters the plot moves along fairly fast and next thing I know i'm done reading with alot of questions still unanswered about their world. I seriously did like Raziel he was sexy as hell, brooding and unemotional on the surface but thanks to the point of view switch offs we get to learn what is really going on in his head as well. Allie was a one of those female characters whom I found annoying at times and then there where times thanks to her I had a couple of laugh out loud moments. The best moments in the novel was when her and Raziel were in a room together and their back and forth banter which kept me turning pages. As far as them being in love I didn't see it, to me their relationship was all physical. One thing that did bug me a lot about this novel was Allie and how she was dead but yet she was still able to bleed, and be killed. I thought she was already dead so how can she be killed again? This is one of the reasons I dropped the rating on this book it doesn't make any sense and nor was it ever explained. Overall Raziel could have been awesome but in the end it was a good read with alot of potential.

Review: City of Bones ( The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones ( The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare 

• Pub. Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Format: Paperback 485
• Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

http://www.cassandraclare.com/

"When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? 


This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know."

First Sentence: "You've got to be kidding me," the bouncer said, folding his arms around his massive chest.

After recently picking up Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel and falling madly in love with it, I picked up a copy of City of Bones the book that I have seen on bookshelves for the past few years and constantly passed up at BN. I can't say I fell in love with this one but I did find it an enjoyable read. Not something I finished in one sitting but still devoured it within a couple of days.

I love the urban fantasy genre and the world created by Clare was a very entertaining one to read about.  The world building was of course on point and I could visualize everthing that I was reading. The dialoge flowed and characters seemed  real enough, although I didn't find myself attached to any of the characters and I personally couldn't stand Simon.

What really made me upset was the ending the whole Jace-Clary-Valentine relationship took me a minute to take in and than I had to go and ask some of my other fellow blogger buddies if things changed later in the series because otherwise I would have stopped at book one.

Overall I did find this to be a fast read full of intense situations and filled with action packed pages. I did not find it to be what all they hype around it claimed but it still made for an interesting read and i'll be picking up the second book.

Review: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

• Pub. Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Series: Fever series #4
• Fromat: Hardcover pp362

http://www.karenmoning.com/

"MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master’s spell.…In New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin’s battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest—and most erotically charged—adventure of her life.


He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust. 


As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…


It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.."

First Sentence: Death. Pestilence. Famine.

Review: Okay so i'm still yelling at myself for waiting so long for starting this series but damn it I am so glad I did. Especially with cliffhanger after cliffhanger each one more intense than the previous installment.

I loved getting into Dani's head for a little bit in the beginning of the book. I think she is such a fun and interesting character. I sometimes forget she is only thirteen. I would love to read a book with her as the main heroine. 

If you want to talk about savage Mac that was all her in Dreamfever. I can officially declare her as my favorite Urban Fantasy female character. I can't get enough of her. And lets not forget to add Barrons to the mix. I can't get enough of him and Mac together and all that tension between the two...wow! I am eager to start Shadowfever and see how Moning wraps it all up.

Review: Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie Moning

Faefever (Fever Series #3) by Karen Marie Moning

• Pub. Date: September 2008
• Publisher:Random House Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover 314pages

"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..."

First Sentence: I'd die for him.

Review:I can't believe how freaking awesome this book was. The series as a whole has just been amazing so far. As of right now Faefever tops as my favorite book out the series. I don't want to ruin the series for anyone who still hasn't read it so this review will be short just like my previous ones for this series.

I am officially a fan of Mac and her Mac Halo <<< loved it. Just when I thought the girl couldn't get any more badass..she does, and as each book progresses her character grows into something to be reckoned with.

V'lane - so far I only thought Barrons was complicated but we get to learn a whole lot more about V'lane in Faefever and he is way more complex then what I thought.

Major cliffhanger at the end! I really wish I listened to some of my fellow book bloggers and had Dreamfever on hand..BUT noooo I thought I could handle whatever cliffhanger would be thrown at the end...NOT the case at all! An addiction is what I have developed and it's not going away anytime soon.

Review: Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Bloodfever (Fever Series #2) by Karen Marie Moning

• Pub. Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Format: Paperback 337pp

"MacKayla Lane's ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland"s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.


In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million -year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V'lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.


For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them..."

Review: I'm keeping this review very short, because I am eager to go start the third book in the series.

Highly addictive series so far. At first I was mad at myself for waiting so long to start the Fever Series but now i'm glad I waited since Moning creates cliffhangers that would have most def tested my patience. Mac is a lot less girly girl in Bloodfever and a whole lot more bad ass. As for Barrons I effin love him. Dark, dangerous, and mysterious..enough said! We still don't know what he is which is another reason for me to continue the series besides all the obvious such as great plot and character development.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

• Pub. Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Format: Mass Market Paperback , 342pp

"MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. 

Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens. 

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….
As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…"

Review: I am so mad at myself for waiting sooo long to start this series. Darkfever was beyond an amazingly thrilling read. I loved the world Moning created, I felt like I was right there besides Mac and Barrons living in their world.

This book surprised me, despite all the rave reviews I kept hearing about this series in general I kept putting it off since i'm not really into the whole "fae" thing. Well that was the case until now.

Mac is a favorite of mine. She was your typical girly girl which I did find odd in an urban fantasy read, but her character develops throughout the book and while not completely losing her love for pink or pretty girly clothes she does turn into one bad ass chick. Even when she was depicted as just the girly girl I still found her to be a strong character, and the reason being she had no problems traveling thousands of miles to avenge her sisters killer.

There is also Jericho Barrons. I freaking love his character although he is still a complete mystery. Can't wait to get to know more about him as I continue the series.

I did enjoy Mac and Barrons interaction with each other, no love at first sight they downright can't stand each other. There really is no romance at all in Darkfever. I'm not even sure if there is going to be a "Mac & Barrons," I'm just assuming based off of the sexual tension between the two.

Overall one of the best Paranormal Urban Fantasy books I've read.

Review: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire by  Courtney Allison Moulton

• Pub. Date: February 2011
• Publisher:Harper Collins
• Format: Hardcover , 464pp
• http://www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com

First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her,killing her.


Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has know him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.


Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.


My Review:The minute I heard about Angelfire I knew it had to be moved to the top of my TBR pile and I was not disappointed. I loved every minute of it. Moulton created a world full of the fallen,reapers and even glimpses of archangels. We are introduced to the heroine Ellie, a typical high school teenager with school problems,daddy issues,and boy problems,and all this before Will walks into her life where she learns that her soul is thousands of years old and she must fight and kill reapers who prey on human souls.

Ellie's character was very real,unlike most YA novels where the main heroine falls head over heels in love with the male protagonist upon setting her eyes on him and eats, breathes,and sleeps every word out his mouth I am glad to say that's not how it went between Will and Ellie. When Will told Ellie that she is the Preliator and that he is her guardian she has her suspicions and tells him to get lost.I also did find it literally funny, how during the midst of her world being turned upside-inside out she still had time to care about her makeup.

Ellie has a great relationship with her mom but not so much with her dad.Honestly i'm interested to see what Moulton has in store for her father. There were slight hints and clues that there is more to him than meets the eye.

Moulton did an awesome job with the action scenes. Ellie is one kick-ass full of heart type of girl.She is powerful beyond compare to anyone including Will. Unlike other YA novels Ellie can handle herself and she does not need anyone to fight for her.

Now lets move on to the heartthrob Will. I loved him. He has been Ellie's guardian for 500 years watching her die several times since he took over the role of her guardian.He has been deeply in love with Ellie for centuries and is angry that he can never save her. He knows she will be reborn again but that's just not enough for him. Will is sexy,loyal,and intense. He has a sense of humor that we get glimpses of and he can be anti-social at times.

One thing that was left unanswered through out most of the book right up until the end was that even though we are introduced to Ellie being the Preliator no one really knows how her existence came to be, not Ellie, not Will, No one. And when I finally did find out it was so unexpected that I went from liking to loving the book.

Moulton did leave us hanging on Will and Ellie's relationship.
I am so mad that I have to wait till next year for more of Ellie and Will. The way the relationship between the two left off has me eagerly awaiting for book two of the series.

Kick-ass action scenes,strong protagonist heroine,reapers,and a very sexy love interest put together with a fast paced engaging plot made for a great read. 

Archangel's Consort ( Guild Hunter Series #3)by Nalini Singh

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