Eve of Destruction - Marked Bk 2 - S.J. Day

Evangeline "Eve" Hollis is back in the 2nd Marked novel, Eve of Destruction. She only thought things were rough in the 1st of the series, Eve of Darkness, but now she's off to boot camp. You see, Eve still hasn't really been taught how to kill Infernals (not that this fact has stopped her) yet. So, along with 8 other Marked Novices Eve is off to an abandoned military base to train to become a full fledged Mark. It may turn out to be the longest week of Eve's life.

The Novices begin to drop one by one and Eve begins to search for the killer hidden amongst them. Be it a traitor or Infernal. Add to this fact that the cable TV brand of ghost hunters chooses this week to investigate the military base and suddenly the entire Mark system is in danger. Eve struggles with keeping the "paranormal researchers" alive while keeping the Mark system quiet.

Eve becomes the de facto leader of the remaining Novices by the simple fact that she is the most experienced. Cain (her mentor) and Abel (her boss) are on separate assignments, and are not around to help her this time. If Eve wishes to get out of this week alive then she's going to have to put down this new threat and get as many of the others out as possible.

Ms. Day gets the first thing for me right in a sequel. She allows her heroine to grow while at the same time not letting her do anything out of character from the 1st novel. Eve is a truly wonderful character. Just when you think that all of the heroines for urban fantasy must be assembled in some factory along pops Eve Hollis.

You'll also be glad to know that the kernel that Ms. Day revealed in Eve of Darkness that the eternal struggle may not be as simple as good vs. evil is further explored. Plus, the growth and where she leads the love triangle between Eve, Alec Cain and Reed Abel is almost worth the ride alone in these books.

S.J. Day brings the best thing and author can to the urban fantasy genre, something new. I, for one, cannot wait for the release of Eve of Chaos. You'll find yourself turning page after page. While every novel comes to an end it also lets you in on the beginning of the next novel. Just to ensure you mark the next release date on your calender. Eve of Destruction gets 3.75 stars out of 4.

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^{Please check out the author's website here, her blog here or you call follow her on Twitter.}

Eve of Darkness - Marked Bk 1 - S.J. Day

Looking for a new twist on one of the very oldest stories? Perhaps just something different from your regular urban fantasy novels this summer? Then I give you author S.J. Day's Eve of Darkness, Book 1 of the Marked series...

Evangeline "Eve" Hollis was a good girl who knew what she wanted and what she didn't by the time she was eighteen. She's still pure of body (and mostly of mind) and wanting to stay that way for the foreseeable future, but all that changes when she sees the tall, dark, stranger on the Harley outside the ice cream shop where she works. His name turns out to be Alec Cain, and he becomes her first, her best and the only lover she still dreams about almost a decade later. Until a liaison in a stairwell with a man who reminds her so much of Cain that she finds herself unable to resist. This leads to her being branded with a triquetra, and becoming the newest bone of contention in the oldest sibling rivalry.

Cain reappears in Eve's life after a decade to become her mentor in this new world she's been thrust into. Eve, a self confessed agnostic, has found out that the brand on her deltoid is the actual Mark of Cain and that she is now a bounty hunter for God. Being marked a sinner Eve is being given a chance to work for her redemption. That work involves the hunting of Infernals (demons, dragons, werewolfs & others). Unknown to her is that she is not only a hunter of these Infernals, but is equally hunted by them. Handing out her assignments in this new life is angel (hoping to soon be promoted to Arcangel) Reed Abel. Being hunted from the start, Eve must learn how to kill if she wishes to stay alive and to save an immortal soul she didn't ever think existed.

Day manages to hit all the right notes of an urban fantasy heroine making her smart, sarcastic and at times funny, but also adds to her as well. Eve isn't a loner and has a pretty nice life (which she really wants back) before all of this befalls her. The intelligence helps quite a bit since she has to absorb so much so fast. From having to learn the hierarchy of Heaven where Arcangels are the top of the food chain and the Marked are the lowest to her actually "learning" about Cain and Abel.

Alec Cain is the quintessential bad boy (and basically sex walking to Eve) while Reed Abel is the straight arrow who desires Eve as well. Day takes a few chapter and verses from Genesis and begins to weave her own mythos from there. You are immediately thrown into the story from chapter one, but how Eve was Marked is explained subsequently. Day builds Eve's story well from the beginning which gets you good and hooked and reading well past your bedtime. This is a novel you can definitely read in one sitting because the complexity of the plot keeps you turning pages and reading more needing to know what happens next. Eve of Darkness holds your attention and doesn't let go.

On a personal note, as one of the few male reviewers of this genre, can I just say how well Day handles the sex scenes in this novel? As someone who's skipped whole chapters in past UF novels because the sex scenes were so mechanical and boring, I was completely drawn into Day's writing style. Very visceral, very real and very steamy.

Thankfully Eve of Darkness is already in bookstores. Day will also release two more Marked novels this summer, Eve of Destruction on June 2nd and Eve of Chaos on June 30th. If you thought this was a trilogy, you're mistaken. Day has assured us that there are more Marked novels to come and I for one am grateful. I give Eve of Darkness 3.5 Stars out of 4.

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Please check out the author's website here or her blog here (the first chapter is available here BTW) or you call follow her on Twitter.

Black And White – Bk 1 of The Icarus Project - by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kitteredge

In the year 2102, there were two girls who went to an elite school for superheroes called “The Academy.” Joannie “Jet” Greene whose powers are controlling and creating shadows and Callie “Iridium” Bradford who has light based powers. Black and white, right? Light and darkness, yin and yang, how could they ever become friends? Due to a room assignment in their second year, they do.

By 2112, 5 years since graduating from “The Academy,” (a place owned and controlled by the Corp who train all superheroes) Jet and Iridium have gone from best friends to worst of enemies. Jet being the corporate poster girl of New Chicago and Iridium becoming the protector of Wreck City (aka New Chicago, Grid 16.) Little does either of them know that they’re working the same case from opposite sides. A case with roots that go back almost a decade, when they were only pre-teen roommates at The Academy. A conspiracy that neither of them realizes revolves around Jet.

The tagline for the novel is: “The line between superhero and supervillian has never been thinner…” I believe it should be revised to: The line between mainstream hero and anti-hero has never been thinner. In Black and White Jackie Kessler writes Jet, the mainstream hero and Caitlin Kittredge writes the bad girl, anti-hero Iridium. As a rule I’m generally leery when it comes to co-authored pieces because you can generally “hear” when one author is writing and when the other is. But, not since Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett has a co-authored novel come across as seamless as Black and White does.

You can tell the Fangirl love that went into Black and White. Ms’ Kessler and Kittredge know their superhero comics. From a misunderstanding leading the two heroes to fight one another to the “Bwahahaha” at the end of the novel a la’ Kieth Giffen’s Justice League of America. Please don’t just think that this is just a comic book in novel form. Kessler & Kittredge blend elements of romance and mystery into this well thought out story as well.

The pacing of Black and White is superb as well. It bounces back and forth between the past and the present, but due to some deft writing never seems to interrupt the flow of the novel. Black and White isn’t just for fans of comics, (even though there are a few inside jokes that only Fanboys and girls will get. Dr Frank Wurtham author of Seduction of the People anyone?) fans of thrillers will end up satisfied as well.

I just can’t believe that I have to wait until July 2010 for the second book, Shades of Gray. Black and White goes on sale June 2nd. It’s well worth preordering. I give Black and White 4 out of 4 stars!

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Please visit Jackie Kessler’s website here.

And Caitlin Kitteredge’s here.

Or The Icarus Project’s website here.

Product Details

* Paperback: 464 pages
* Publisher: Spectra (June 2, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 055338631X

Stray – Werecats Bk 1 – Rachel Vincent

Faythe Sanders is a female werecat who’s been attacked by a “stray” while at college. She didn’t like her life being laid out before her (especially with her not having lived it yet) so, she left the protection of her Pride for college and now grad school. Faythe is summoned back to her Pride at the behest of her father, the Alpha. Marc, her ex-fiancé and the Pride’s chief enforcer delivers her father’s message. Along with Faythe’s attack, several other female werecat’s have been attacked and have disappeared from the North American Prides. This isn’t a request, and as much as she doesn’t want to, Faythe finally agrees to return.

She is confined to the ranch her Pride calls home for her own protection. Unfortunately, for her this means that everything she ran away from to go to college is still there to be dealt with. Her family and Pride, her former lover Marc, and ultimately the destiny she is supposed to fulfill. This is all still too much for Faythe and she bolts only to find herself also captured by the stray. Learning the kidnapper’s plans, she must find a way to escape not only for herself, but also for the future of the Pride.

Stray suffers from a problem I seem to find in the majority of the first of a series books, it takes a while to get going. At least a third of the book is setup, explaining what has happened in Faythe’s past to bring her to this point. Fear not because it is all worth it. From her problems with the Pride to her break-up with Marc, it does all coalesce into a fine novel.

I do love my shapeshifter books. Especially when the author brings something new to the table, and I believe Ms. Vincent does. If you’ve ever owned a cat (owned is the wrong word since they tend to choose who they wish to be around the most) or multiple cats, you’ll see the similarities in the Pride’s group dynamics and that of domesticated felines. From Faythe being rebellious and at times selfish to the casual violence sometimes found in the Pride.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten then you'll enjoy Stray as well. Stray also possesses a strong female, shapeshifting protagonist and her struggles to find her place back into her Pride. Once Stray finishes with Faythe’s backstory, you’ll find it extremely hard to put down. Ms. Vincent has put quite a bit of thought into the werecat society (plus, the shapeshifting process itself), and you can tell that she has more surprises in store for the readers of future her novels.

I give Stray 3 out of 4 stars. The next book in the Werecats series is Rogue.

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Please give a visit to Ms. Vincent's website or blog.

· Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
· Publisher: Mira (June 1, 2007)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0778324214

Night Shift - Jill Kismet BK 1 - Lilith Saintcrow

First off as small confession, Night Shift is my first Lilith Saintcrow book. I know, I know how can I call myself a preternatural reviewer and I’ve never read any of Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine’s books. Well, I’ll do my best to muddle through and at the same to tell you about one of the most intriguing female protagonist that I’ve had the pleasure to read in quite some time.

Jill Kismet is a Hunter of Hellbreed., those who are the nastiest of the nasty that happen reside here on Earth. More than likely because Hell won’t have them. She’s not just a Hunter, she comes close to almost being an old west peacekeeper. As long as you’re on her planet you’re going to follow the rules or your demon ass will be put down, and hard.

Kismet is new to doing this alone. Her mentor was lost a few months previous and she also carries the mark of a certain Hellbreed upon her. The mark gives her enhanced abilities the only trade off is that this Hellbreed wishes for a few days of her time every month with the end result hopefully being that he owns her soul.

Things are tough, but Jill manages until the day she is called upon to look over the scene of an especially heinous cop killing. A were-wolf was involved in the slaying, but Jill believes that a Hellbreed was pulling his strings. Only one problem with this theory, Weres and Hellbreed do not run in the same circles.

Jill must get to the bottom of this case before the bodies really start to pile up. Unfortunately, both her physical and mental limits are going to be pushed to the breaking point not to mention that she finds her own immortal soul in serious jeopardy.

Night Shift is Ms Saintcrow’s opening novel in her Jill Kismet series. As with the first story in what you know is only the first part in a longer serious, quite a bit of time is spent setting up things and trying to fill in rough sketches of all the supporting characters. I do indeed like what she’s setting up; it’s like jazz with Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker playing the sax. It’s very moody with dark undertones.

Don’t let this frighten you. Saintcrow does not make the mistake of letting the mood ruin or slowdown her story in anyway. Gritty is the best was to describe it. Gritty Noir. Fighting the Hellbreed, Jill must walk the tightrope between using what powers she has sparingly to fight or the arsenal she carries upon her person.

Night Shift, depending upon what Preternatural Books you read, is probably “darker” and more “horrific.”

Night Shift get’s an Excellent, a 3.5 out of 4 Stars from me, and I expect the next will get a four hands down.

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You can find out more about the other novels of Lilith Saintcrow and read her blog on her website or on Twitter

Her next Jill Kismet Novel is Redemption Alley (Jill Kismet) due August, 09.

Bloodring - Rogue Mage Bk 1 - Faith Hunter

This debut novel from Ms Hunter (Well, under the Faith Hunter name, more can be found under her Gwen Hunter name) introduces us to Thorn St Croix, a neomage. Set in a post apocalyptic world with only one problem. The second coming has yet to show his or her face. In their stead however are angels called Seraphs who seem to run everything and are bound and determined to punish humanity for their sins.

There also happen to be many devils and demons running about making life even more miserable for the innocents. Not to mention the kylen – offspring of Seraphs and humans, and we remember how well that worked out in the Old testament - and neomages, who are sequestered in their 'havens' or enclaves. Supposedly, for their own good, but mostly because the neomages’ power could upset the delicate balance the Seraphs have in place. However, there is one unlicensed mage who lives amongst the humans, you guessed it, Thorn St Croix, and her husband has recently been abducted. Was it mentioned that the penalty for any neomage found wandering from the enclaves is death?

The kidnapping of Thorn’s husband Lucas is where everything Thorn has worked for may be destroyed. The investigator in charge of the case is a kylen by the name of Thaddeus Bartholomew. The thing is is that Thaddeus is completely ignorant of his heritage. Thorn has little choice but to help Thaddeus if she ever wishes to see her husband again.

For a first novel, plus the obvious beginning of a larger story just starting to unfold, it has very good pacing and a nice storyline. All of that on top of a break neck ending that’s really nicely pulled together it makes Bloodring very worth picking up. For the promise it makes as the first book of the trilogy if for nothing else.

This novel get’s a Good rating: 3 out of 4 Stars from me, simply for being the first in a longer story.

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Faith Hunter is the author of many mysteries and thrillers under the name Gwen Hunter. Please check out her website.

Her next novel Skinwalker: A Jane Yellowrock Novel is due out July 7th 2009. On a personal note…She’s a real sweetie.

Marked - House of Night - P.C. and Kristin Cast

This is book one in P.C.& Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, Marked. The title has to do with what happens when a teenager develops a crescent moon mark upon their foreheads. This mark means that the teenager is going to be possibly turning into a vampyre. This happens to the novel’s protagonist, Zoey Redbird. She has been “marked,” or chosen to become a vamprye. Therefore she must leave her hum drum mortal high school and enter, The House of Night, what is basically a finishing school for those who survive the change to become adult vampyres. Not that all of those chosen do make it to adulthood. Sometimes the fledgling's body simply rejects the change, in other words, either the young make it or they die.

For Zoey being marked first truly frightens her. Until she discovers the vampyre Goddess Nyx has also chosen her to become something more than an ordinary fledgling. She enters into The House of Night light years ahead of other fledglings. With powers and abilities that shouldn’t be open to her for years. On the downside, a bloodlust and the ability to “imprint” upon humans (neither of which should be a problem until she’s an adult) keep her wary of these gifts.

When the Mistress of the House discovers her abilities, she is made the leader of the most exclusive group at school, The Dark Daughters. However, not all is as it seems at first glance. Even the ousting of the former leader of The Dark Daughter’s and Zoey's taking her place is called into question.

If there is anything that Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
& The Graveyard Book) and JK Rowling (Harry Potter 1-7) have taught me, it’s to not pay too much attention to a Young Adult label. Stephanie Meyer (Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
may be the person responsible for so many vampire novels for YA’s, but I believe Marked is a stand out amongst these. The entire vampire finishing school aspect is new and worth your time to check out.

The Cast’s have several nice spins on the old vampire mythos. Plus, some lovely addition’s of their own. You can tell there are more books in this series by what is revealed and what isn’t, but it doesn’t disappoint. The clues and hints dropped in Marked simply insure that you’ll want Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) even more. Marked is the beginning of an enjoyable series.

Marked receives a Good rating: 3 out of 4 Stars

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Make sure to check out Tempted (House of Night Novels) Coming 10-27-09 .Visit P.C. Cast’s website or visit the official website for the House of Night series.

Blood Bound - Mercy Thompson Bk 2 - Patricia Briggs

Mercy (Mercedes) Thompson is a VW mechanic and a shapeshifter of a sort: she’s a "walker." Walker is short for "skinwalker", which happens to be a Native American shapeshifter. She's also the only one of her kind that she’s ever met. Besides being able to shift into a coyote at will, having a preternatural nose with the abilities to sort scents around her and sense magic, she happens to not be affected by some of the more common vampire magics.

Mercy resides in the same world as you and I with one sharp difference: the general public is aware of supernaturals. While that category is broad and includes shapeshifters (walkers and werewolves), vampires, demons, and witches, the lesser fae were the only group known. These fae were in fact revealed by their own "Grey Lords" years previous, and recently the werewolves have followed suit.

Mercy happens to owe her vampire friend Stefan (head vampire in the Scooby-Doo fan club) a favour or two. Stefan keeps her abilities a secret from the other vampires in his seethe in exchange for work on his VW Bus and other things. He asks Mercy to sit in on a meeting, in coyote form, with an out-of-town vampire who has yet to pay his respects to Marsilia, the head of his seethe.

The only thing Mercy scents during the meeting is vampire, recent death and the fear radiating off Stefan. Stefan, who has been around since the Renaissance and is one of his mistress’s head lieutenants, is not one to frighten easily. Although, in this case, his fear happens to be understandable because this is no ordinary vampire. His name is Corey Littleton and he happens to be ridden by a demon.

Blood Bound is the second book in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson series. With all of the groundwork that Ms. Briggs laid out in Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1), she has the time and space for a complete thrill ride in Blood Bound. This novel is one you’ll need to strap yourself in for because it’s going to be hard for you to put down. While not needing to read Moon Called before diving into Blood Bound, it will help. This is my second read-thru of the series and it’s so enjoyable to see all of the fine nuisances that Ms. Briggs includes in her novels. Seeing the pieces of her tapestry in their genesis and knowing what they will become never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Patricia Briggs is one of the stellar talents in fantasy. Not just paranormal, she can run the entire gambit in fantasy. I look forward to and value each and every one of her novels and know, with complete confidence, that they can be purchased at the date of release in hardbound. If you are looking for an enjoyable new series to start, the Mercy Thompson series is one I would recommend with all of my reviewer’s heart.

Blood Bound rightfully receives A Classic rating, 4 out of 4 Stars.

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Please check out Ms. Briggs website.

Agents of Light and Darkness, The Nightside bk 2, Simon R. Green

Like film noir? Well, how about neon noir? This is the world of the Nightside. The dark reflection of London. Where all your dreams and desires, virtues and vice, damnation and enlightenment can be found, for a price. This is also where PI, of a sort, John Taylor has been recently called back to. Taylor isn't like the PI's you're used to, he's only good at one thing...finding anything...especially if those things don't wish to be found. He uses his third eye, his private eye to see things that others can't or have the good sense not to look for. It's the one useful gift he got from his mother.

The mother that he's never known anything about except that when his father found out she wasn't human, he killed himself by inches with a bottle. The mother that he's been told that if he goes looking for her could bring about the ruination of the world. Not just the Nightside, but the entire world.

Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, Book 2) begins in a church of all places. Not that places of worship are that hard to find in the Nightside. Just stroll down The Street of the Gods and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one. This church however is nowhere near there probably because it's the only church in the Nightside. This church is older then the Street of the Gods, older then the Time Tower, even older then Strangefellows, the oldest pub in the world. The church is St. Jude's even older than Christianity itself. Dedicated to the patron saint of lost causes, and if there was ever a more fitting saint for the Nightside no one's thought them up yet.

This time Taylor's PI, white knight persona is going to send him on a quest. A grail quest to be exact. Oh no, sorry, not that one. Not the one that Christ drank from at the last supper. The un-holy grail. The cup used by Judas Iscariot which can bring ultimate power with the only cost being ultimate damnation. It seems that if this cup is found by the wrong players a little something called Armageddon will happen. Taylor is commissioned by the Vatican itself, and he figures, "How hard could it be?"

Hard. Quite a number of angels are in search of the cup. From both sides of Light and Dark. The only thing they have in common is their equal disdain for humans. Add to the fact that Taylor can't use his gift without said angels swooping in and and trying to kill him, he reckons some help is needed.

He calls on Suzie Shooter, also known as Shotgun Suzie, and Oh God It's Her Run! As well as Razor Eddie, Punk God of the Straight Razor. With a little help from Alex Morrissey, descendant of Uther Pendragon (On the wrong side of the sheets) and Merlin Satanspawn who is buried in the cellar of the pub Alex owns, Strangefellows.

Oh, and there's also the Speaking Gun. The only weapon ever made that can harm angels.

With dark humour and deft writing Green begins to show the larger story he's telling here. The secondary characters begin to get a back story and the tale of who is John Taylor's mother unfolds. This is a wonderful second novel in the series, and brings us firmly back to the Nightside. Where the laws of physics not to mention reality aren't laws so much as suggestions.

Welcome back.

Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, Book 2) receives a rating of Excellent, 3.5 Star out of 4

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