Review – Dearly, Departed September 28, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 4 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", books, dearly departed, lia habel, paranormal romance, reading, zombies
add a comment
Title: Dearly, Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Publisher: Del Rey
Published Date: August 14, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0345523327
Available at: Amazon – Kindle – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Love can never die.
Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
Review:
I was really skeptical about a zombie love story. I didn’t believe it could work, but so many bloggers loved this book I had to give it a try. I’m glad I did. It’s a really good book!
Nora is a petite, doll-like girl. Yet she’s full of fire and she can take care of herself. She meets Bram after he rescues her from the Greys, the bad, evil zombies. Bram is actually not a shabby zombie, he’s well-preserved. That helped win me over.
What really got me convinced is that after her initial fright was over, Nora started seeing Bram and the other zombies as people. Especially Bram in particular. She began to see past the fact that they were the undead and started to see the person underneath. Bram was pretty special. He was a gentleman, he cared about what she thought and felt. I even got a little crush going on for him.
The plot supports the romance as well. It’s not particularly genius but it’s still exciting and enjoyable. There’s enough of an opening in the end for another book and I look forward to reading it.
Even if you have zombie prejudices like I did, this book might surprise you. It puts them in a new light and it’s a good one. Give it a try!
Review – Infected: Shift August 28, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 3 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", andrea speed, books, infected: Shift, paranormal romance, reading
add a comment
Title: Infected: Shift (#5)
Author: Andrea Speed
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: May 14, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1613725061
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Sequel to Infected: Freefall In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds. Between his mutating virus and his rocky relationship with his artist boyfriend, Dylan, Roan has enough problems to solve without taking on other people’s, but that’s the nature of his work. Someone has to look into the case of the murdered trans woman, and if the perp is the dirty cop Roan suspects it is, the police are not the right people for the job. But now Roan has a new obstacle to overcome: someone caught part of his transformation on video, and the media frenzy is making it hard to do his job. One case nets him a hockey team full of new friends. Another leads to an attempt on his life. And Roan’s hustler sidekick drags him on a quest for revenge. With his world and his body both in turmoil, Roan is finding it harder and harder to see the line between justice and vigilantism.
Review:
Although I didn’t read the other books in this series this book stood well on its own. The story was a little fragmented though. The plot seemed to be separated into two stories. The first half of the book has to do with the murder of the trans woman and the second half of the book involves a completely different case that was in no way related. There was a definite disconnect.
Through it all Roan is going through this self-flagellation process for being an infected that’s abnormal in the sense that he’s above normal. He continually tells himself he’s a freak. He believes he’s no good to his boyfriend and he proceeds to alternately destroy his personal life and mend it. He was incredibly self-destructive. He couldn’t see that every time he tried to do something right he ended up hurting himself even more. Roan also lamented over his dead husband more then half the time. I understand that grief over a loved one is never ending, but it seemed rather excessive.
The book did have some redeeming qualities. It’s very well-written. I was drawn into the grim action scenes and the world building was well done. There were a group of hockey players that had me entertained. There was also a dominatrix with a minor role that I really liked. Holden the sidekick hustler was another character I liked as well. He knew who he was and he didn’t fool himself.
This book had a lot of potential, but it seemed like it just missed the mark. I’m kind of on the fence as to whether or not I should look for more books in this series.
*A free copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Review – Death’s Inception August 21, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 5 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", books, death's inception, paranormal, paranormal romance, reading, romance, tamara rose blodgett
add a comment
Title: Death’s Inception
Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: June 17, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1477424087
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Kyle Ulysses Hart and his team of scientists mapped the human genome in the year 2010. As Brain Impulse Technology came online… so did the long arm of the United States government. A covert, military-driven regime was born with genetic manipulation the key to future widespread control.
When pharmaceutical laboratories, funded by the Graysheets, discover a way to unlock paranormal potential through compulsive inoculation, their exploitative dream is realized.
Clyde and Caleb’s lives are predestined to intertwine as they cross paths, his history becoming Caleb’s future.
A lone teenager named Jeffrey Parker, falls prey when he manifests the rare, Affinity for the Dead.The Graysheets abandon all pretense of stewardship, ripping him from his family for their nefarious purposes.
Can Jeffrey remain who he was destined to be in an environment exclusively built for mass control?
Review:
This prequel to the Death series was enlightening and revealed a lot about Clyde and Jeffrey Parker. I’m a big fan of Tamara and her writing. This novella was no exception to how much I love her work.
When Jeffrey’s life falls apart as his paranormal powers start to awaken, his life falls apart. The Graysheets take control of his life and he’s changed forever. It was particularly tragic seeing how the Graysheets took over Jeffrey’s life.
I was really excited to get a glimpse of Jeffrey as a teenager. He’s exceptionally smart and precocious. He has to become incredibly tough because of all the trauma he’s gone through. He’s also extremely determined. Jeffrey showed a side of himself that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
Seeing Clyde when he was alive was surprising and delightful. Clyde was a great character to explore. On one hand you want his story to have a happy ending on the other hand you know it doesn’t end well. It was tough. I still thought his story was sweet.
I thought the transitions from one story to another were smooth. There was never a sense of being jarred out of your senses or of their being a stilted conversation lag. There’s also romance in the story, but I’ll leave you to read it to find out whose romance it is.
Although I wanted to read even more once the book was through, I didn’t get the sense of an incomplete story. I think all good books leave you with the sense of wanting to prolong the experience no matter what, just like this one did.
Review – Death's Inception August 21, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 5 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", books, death's inception, paranormal, paranormal romance, reading, romance, tamara rose blodgett
add a comment
Title: Death’s Inception
Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: June 17, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1477424087
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Kyle Ulysses Hart and his team of scientists mapped the human genome in the year 2010. As Brain Impulse Technology came online… so did the long arm of the United States government. A covert, military-driven regime was born with genetic manipulation the key to future widespread control.
When pharmaceutical laboratories, funded by the Graysheets, discover a way to unlock paranormal potential through compulsive inoculation, their exploitative dream is realized.
Clyde and Caleb’s lives are predestined to intertwine as they cross paths, his history becoming Caleb’s future.
A lone teenager named Jeffrey Parker, falls prey when he manifests the rare, Affinity for the Dead.The Graysheets abandon all pretense of stewardship, ripping him from his family for their nefarious purposes.
Can Jeffrey remain who he was destined to be in an environment exclusively built for mass control?
Review:
This prequel to the Death series was enlightening and revealed a lot about Clyde and Jeffrey Parker. I’m a big fan of Tamara and her writing. This novella was no exception to how much I love her work.
When Jeffrey’s life falls apart as his paranormal powers start to awaken, his life falls apart. The Graysheets take control of his life and he’s changed forever. It was particularly tragic seeing how the Graysheets took over Jeffrey’s life.
I was really excited to get a glimpse of Jeffrey as a teenager. He’s exceptionally smart and precocious. He has to become incredibly tough because of all the trauma he’s gone through. He’s also extremely determined. Jeffrey showed a side of himself that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
Seeing Clyde when he was alive was surprising and delightful. Clyde was a great character to explore. On one hand you want his story to have a happy ending on the other hand you know it doesn’t end well. It was tough. I still thought his story was sweet.
I thought the transitions from one story to another were smooth. There was never a sense of being jarred out of your senses or of their being a stilted conversation lag. There’s also romance in the story, but I’ll leave you to read it to find out whose romance it is.
Although I wanted to read even more once the book was through, I didn’t get the sense of an incomplete story. I think all good books leave you with the sense of wanting to prolong the experience no matter what, just like this one did.
Review – Blood Singers August 7, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 4 stars, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult.Tags: "book review", blood singers, books, paranormal romance, reading, tamara rose blodgett, YA, young adult
add a comment
Title: Blood Singers
Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett
Series: The Blood Series
Publication Date: March 8, 2012
Publisher: Tamara Rose Blodgett
ASIN: B007IVVKWG
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Twenty-year old Julia Wade, a young woman tragically widowed, is in the middle of a bizarre bid between two mythical species who are vying for the unique properties she offers; her blood. The vampires need her to balance the food load of the human species and give them their coveted “Lightwalkers.” The Were wish to be moonless changers; a Rare One can make that a reality.
Julia wants to belong to herself.
Can she free herself and begin a new life?
Review:
Julia Wade is an average high school student, in love with her high school sweetheart. They do what normal teenagers do. Eventually they get married in Las Vegas then he tragically gets killed and she gets kidnapped by vampires. In the end, different factions end up fighting over her because she’s a “Rare One”.
The book’s premise was unique. The writing was very engaging and while I understood Julia’s grief after the death of her husband I wished she had shown more spine. Still she found her footing and became someone I could like if not admire. Maybe she’ll grow more in future books.
The men in the books are numerous and varied. There’s William the vampire, Joseph the werewolf, then there’s Scott the Blood Singer. They’re each unique and have something to recommend to themselves. My favorite is William but it’s hard to say who the front-runner is.
There was an unexpected twist in the book that once you figured it out, it took a long time to culminate. Other then that this was a great read. There were other unexpected turns that took me by surprise.
I have one problem with the book that really bothered me. I think it was excessive to use Julia’s clenching bladder in the action scenes. I think one scene with a clenching bladder is more then enough. . .
Other then that this is a really good book. I’m anxiously awaiting September for the release of the next book.
Review – Her Sweetest Downfall August 3, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 3 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book reviews", books, her sweetest downfall, ophelia's journey, paranormal romance, reading, rebecca hamilton, the forever girl journals
add a comment
Title: Her Sweetest Downfall
Series: The Forever Girl Journals
Author: Rebecca Hamilton
Publisher: Immortal Ink Publishing
Publication Date: July 19, 2012
ASIN: B008NAFU9A
Available at: Amazon
Summary:
Ophelia is on a quest to find out what led to the disappearance of her mother. But what does the fairy tales her mother told her as a child have to do with it? And do they have any truth to them? Could there really be vampiric Cruor and fairylike Ankou? Could her mother still be alive? Ultimately Ophelia will have to decide how much she is willing to sacrifice not only for herself and the man she loves, but for the fate of mankind.
Review: (Some spoilers.)
I love the cover of this short 94 page novella. It’s gorgeous! So yes, I do judge a book by its cover and I did like this book. It was exciting and romantic.
It begins with Ophelia in the service of the Lady Karina as a maid. She’s sent on an errand and ends up in the hands of Ethan. He helps her understand that the mark her bears is the sign that she is a member of an elite race. This race is meant to save the world from a cruel faction who is hellbent on genocide.
Ophelia was very likable despite being so guarded. In fact, I liked her because she was so guarded. She was tough and, except for one glaring moment, she had all her wits about her. The one glaring moment came towards the end. She decided to lead Queen Callista away from Ethan and Lenore despite the fact that the Cruor have heightened senses? How could she forget that? I can only suppose it’s because she was a newborn.
Ethan wasn’t my favorite male lead. He was likable enough. I just couldn’t swoon over him. Mostly because he had this big secret over Ophelia that was never revealed. Maybe that’s a lead for another story or that was something from another book, but it irritated me.
The book had plenty of action. From the moment Ophelia was sent on her errand into the woods until the very last few pages, things were constantly in motion.
There was a strange point in the book where Robert was promised something big by Ethan. This promise led to Robert’s help in Ophelia’s introduction to the Maltorim’s asylum where Queen Callista resides. The promise was very mysterious and seemed to dangle in front of the reader like a carrot to a donkey but nothing ever came of it.
The magical races in this book are inventive and creative. Among them are the Ankou that shepherd Mort’s (dead souls) and are a little like fairies. Then there are the Cruor which are like vampires. There are also the dual-breeds which the Maltorim’s are determined to annihilate.
On the whole this book was a good if not great read. I’ll definitely look for the other books in this series.
Review – Dark Seeker July 25, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 3 stars, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult.Tags: "book review", books, dark seeker, paranormal, paranormal romance, reading, taryn brown, YA, young adult
add a comment
Title: Dark Seeker
Author: Taryn Brown
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publish Date: October 4, 2011
ASIN: B005QEPZIM
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Janie Grey comes from a line of Seekers, a group that hunts the undead. One night she meets Kai, who she mistakes for a Daychild, a half-demon, half-vampire. Only he isn’t like a Daychild. Not only does he have human traits, soon he’s breaking down the walls around her heart.
Review:
The opening fight scenes almost completely turned me off of this book. They were so corny! The dialogue was completely laughable and hard to believe. I kept on plugging though and the book got better. Soon I became more invested in the characters as I got to know them. The bad lines happened less and less often. I was able to concentrate on the storyline a lot more even if the storyline wasn’t much better then the corny dialogue.
Basically Janie’s life is centered on her Seeker duties of killing the undead. The undead being all vampires and vampire/demon hybrids or Daychildren. Then she meets Kai who throws those definitions out the window and her life into confusion. The ensuing romance commences as they find out that a new breed of vampire is trying to be created by the Daychildren.
Janie was a somewhat likable character. She wasn’t that smart though. She took on a lair of Daychildren by herself and she was ill-equipped. I don’t consider that smart. Kai had to rescue her. It’s hard to get behind a girl who can’t really take care of herself.
Kai was pretty blind himself. Every other minute he’s rescuing her from one scrape or another then he’s saying “What am I thinking? You can take care of yourself.” That’s a contradiction. Obviously she can’t take care of herself if you have to swoop in on your motorcycle and save her every time you turn around.
Janie could still kick ass though. She had some mean fighting skills and she could hold her own in an evenly matched fight. She showed an independence of spirit I admired even if it was reckless to the point of stupidity. I admired her independence not her recklessness. She also showed a willingness to let her guard down when the time called for it.
Kai was sexy as all get out. There was a love triangle with Matt, the wresting captain, but Matt didn’t stand a chance. I mean, c’mon! Kai had that dark mysterious past going on for him. He was also very sweet when he wanted to be. And there was no denying the fire between Janie and Kai.
A big obstacle came between Kai and Janie. I won’t say what it was for fear of spoiling the book, but I find it hard to believe that Janie would ever just forgive and forget so easily. I had a really hard time suspending belief.
On the whole, it was a light and fun read that I enjoyed. I’ll look forward to reading the next in the series and I already plan on reading the prequel!
Review – Duplicity July 1, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 3.5 stars, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult.Tags: "book review", books, duplicity, nikki jefford, paranormal romance, parnormal, reading, YA, young adult
add a comment
Title: Duplicity
Author: Nikki Jefford
Publisher: Nikki Jefford
Publication Date: May 20, 2012
ASIN: B0084V0L7E
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
If Graylee Perez thought sharing a body with her twin sister was bad, dealing with a duplicate of herself is two times worse. Gray the second doesn’t seem to get that Lee’s boyfriend, Raj McKenna, is off limits. Then there’s the problem of Adrian Montez. He expects one of the Grays to be his.
Nearly a year later, the council is onto them for past misdeeds; Lee, along with the rest of the coven, has lost control of her powers; and Gray is being stalked by what looks like the Grim Reaper.
If they work together, they may stand a chance of setting things right and making it out alive.
Review:
I wasn’t in love with this second book as much as I was with the first book. The jokes fell flat and it felt like Lee was pouting a lot of the time. It also felt like Gray was sulking. I realize they were in a tough situation but instead of taking the hard knocks they seemed to act like spoiled teenagers part of the time. Not all of the time, just part of the time.
Some of those situations, such as the strange contact who shows up looking like the Grim Reaper, was rather unrealistic and corny. I also thought the instance where Raj kissed the second, duplicate Gray was inevitable yet cliched. The romance between Marney, Gray and Lee’s Mom, and Mr. Morehouse, Lee’s guardian was also rather predictable.
Adrian as a villain didn’t ring true. He didn’t come off as powerful or formidable. I know he was meant to show a soft spot, but I think his soft spot showed too much of a weakness. Instead he just floundered as an intimidating warlock.
Still, the book was well-written for all it’s flaws. I enjoyed it as light-hearted fun. I was able to withhold my judgment somewhat and immerse myself in its superficial pleasures. It was not without its rewards. I would recommend this series for anyone who’s not looking for something serious or who’s looking for something fun.
Review – Entangled June 29, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 4 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", books, entangled, nikki jefford, paranormal romance, parnormal, reading, YA, young adult
2 comments
Title: Entangled
Author: Nikki Jefford
Publisher: Nikki Jefford
Publish Date: February 20, 2012
ASIN: B007BCORJK
Available at: Amazon
Summary (From Publisher):
A Resurrection Spell Gone Wrong
Two months after dying, Gray wakes up in Charlene’s body. As a witch, can anyone
blame her mother for attempting to bring her daughter back to life? Only now
Gray’s stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in twenty-four hour shifts. The
race is on for Gray to find a way back inside her own body before Charlene
purges her from existence. Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts,
not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell and worse – her heart. But
Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.
Review:
This is truly a young adult book in every sense of the word. Graylee and Charlene truly act like the teenage twin sisters they are. They fight like adolescent girls over clothes and other minor woes. They tease each other. Charlene has a hard time getting over the heartbreak of a break-up. They’re typical teenage girls.
Except for the witch part. Charlene can float and Graylee can turn invisible. Pretty cool stuff. Even Raj can freeze people in their tracks. In that way they’re not so typical.
Then you have the evil twin part of the plot. Charlene is hell bent on purging Graylee from her body after a resurrection spell goes wrong. Basically obliterating her existence. It sounds corny but it works for this book. In fact the whole book got in touch with my inner sixteen-year-old that I never knew existed even when I was sixteen.
The romance between Raj and Graylee was sweet. Sweet as only romances between two teenagers can be. It evolved naturally and that was nice to see.
Raj was an interesting character. He had a lot of depth and emotion to him. I think he was my favorite. His tenderness towards Graylee was touching.
Graylee acted like a typical teenager. She made mistakes that a teenager would make but was remarkable in her own way. Graylee engendered sympathy for her plight as the book wore on as she was so obviously the victim.
It was a cute and fun book. I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a good light-hearted read.
Review – His Dark Embrace June 12, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 3.5 stars, Paranormal Romance.Tags: "book review", amanda ashley, books, his dark embrace, paranormal, paranormal romance, reading
add a comment
Title: His Dark Embrace
Author: Amanda Ashley
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
ISBN-10: 1420121332
Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble
From Goodreads:
Tall, dark, mysterious—and with a faint scar on his cheek that only makes him more gorgeous—Kaiden Thorne is one schoolgirl obsession Skylynn never forgot. Now, returning to her childhood home after eight years, she can’t believe her reclusive neighbor is still living across the street—and hotter than ever. Skylynn doesn’t know how Kaiden manages to stay so young, virile, and impossibly attractive. But she knows she wants him…even if he harbors a fearful secret he refuses to tell her.
When Kaiden sees the beautiful young woman Skylynn has become, he can no longer control the bloodlust that is his true nature. Once he pulls Skylynn into his arms, presses his lips against hers—and accidentally draws blood—he longs for more. Only she possesses what he wants and what he needs. Only she can save him or destroy him. But once Skylynn agrees to help Kaiden battle his darkest desires, there is no turning back…
Review:
I don’t normally read Paranormal Romances but I happened to be in the mood for one and this one caught my eye. It’s a good one.
Skylynn is grieving for her recently deceased grandfather and is wrapping up his affairs in his house. Across the street is her old neighbor, Kaiden. All her old schoolgirl crush feelings come roaring back when she sees him again.
Kaiden has watched Skylynn grow up into a beautiful woman. A beautiful desirable woman. Only he has a dark secret. He’s a vampire. How she reacts when she finds out he’s a vampire is entirely realistic, but you know what they say! Love conquers all!
Skylynn’s brother Sam gets thrown into the picture in an intriguing plot mix making the story interesting and all the more fast-paced. He wasn’t the most charming character I’ve ever read but he was a good addition to the story.
There are good plot twists and I liked the way the story’s pace moved. There were some new paranormal elements on vampires that I haven’t read before. Desmairis, the novel’s villain was a little corny but he did make you hate him a bit. He added a lot of the plots thrills.
In fact there was more then one instance where the book got a little corny, but I didn’t mind. It still made for a good story. I had a good time with Kaiden and Skylynn. It was a nice romance with some fun paranormal components to it.
The Akamai Reader 