Audio Review: Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter

Mecry Blade

by Faith Hunter

(Jane Yellowrock #3)

Khristine Hvam (Narrator) 

Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker and vampire hunter for hire. But lately instead of just slaying vampires, she’s been working for them.

Jane crosses paths with a stranger who has arrived in New Orleans, enlisted to hunt vampires who have gone insane-or so he says…

The Heroine: At first look Jane is a tough as nails herione. She sees a job that needs to be done and she does it. But on the inside she is like everyone else, looking for a place to belong and someone to love. And she does all of this while figuring out how to balance her needs/wants with her beast's needs/wants. It's not always easy.

The Love Interest(s): I've not been on tean Rick from the begining. Sure he's sexy and tough but I feel like he is the safe guy that Jane decides to spend time with. I don't really feel any real connection between the two. Jane's secret and Rick's job keeps them from reaching the next level.

Now George, aka Brusier is the one that really tempts Jane but his the blood servant of the Master Vamp of New Orleans and Jane feels that she would come last in his life. But in Mercy Blade Jane starts to see that she's not 1st on Rick's list either.

I'm still holding out for Jane and Brusier to get together. I feel like he showed us he can take care of Jane in ways that she needs. But Jane is not one to easy fall into bed with someone. So it may take sometime for her and Brusier to finally seal the deal, if they do. (Fingers crossed)

The Plot: Like the other two books in the series, Mercy Blade is full of action, mystery and a touch of romance. There's humor, horror, blood and tearful moments.

The Series: I'm now 3 books into the Jane Yellowrock series and I'm still in love with the herione and the world. I can see me enjoying this series to it's end, which is not anytime soon. Faith Hunter stated in an interview that she is contracted for at least 3 more books which would bring us to a total of 9 with possibly more. I say bring them on! Fans of UF series with strong heriones that need some love in their life need to check out Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.

Narration: Khristine Hvam IS JANE YELLOWROCK! She just knocks the narration out of the park from the timing to characters' accents. I won the next two books in paperback but I'm fighting the urge to get them in audio because I love this world on audio. I lost that battle. I now have them on audio. 

  

Click on covers to see my other reviews

Review: Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

Green-Eyed Demon

by Jaye Wells

Sabina Kane series #3

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes.

Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks--a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon--head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and--perhaps most frightening of all--humans.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past.

Well I'm three books deep into the Sabina Kane series and I'm still enjoying it. Wells keep delivering the snark and introducing us to more fun secondary characters. All the while showing us that a once cold heart bitch assassin and turn into a kick ass heroine.

Sabina and the gang is back (minus one vanity demon) looking for Masie. The Kane family is one dysfunctional bunch. You've got Sabina and Masie, twin sister that are half vampire and mage. Which it really hard since the two races can't stand each other. Then throw in their grandmother, the vampire bitch that is the head of the vampire race. Dear ol' granny kidnapped Masie in last book, The Mage in Black.

The gang lives New York City to search the Big Easy for Masie. All kinds of weird stuff goes down in New Orleans, from zombies to drag queen shows. But it's not all fun and games. There's some serious action and magic use going on in this installment. Sabina is really starting to come into her own magic and I think she is only going to get stronger in that area.

We get more action in the romance department as well this time around. Although I'm not 100% sold on Sabina and Adam. But time will tell if I come around to them being a couple.

So to sum up Green-Eyed Demon: snark, midget orgy, fast paced action and a little brown chicken, brown cow.

To check out my reviews of the other books in the series click on the covers below.

  

Audio Review: The Good, the Bad and the Undead by Kim Harrison

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead 

by Kim Harrison

(The Hollows #2)

Narrated by Marguerite Gavin

Rachel Morgan is back and in more trouble than ever!

Former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan has it pretty good. She has left the corrupt Inderland Runner Service and started her own independent service. She's survived werewolves, shape-changing demons, bad-hair days, and sharing a church with her vampire roommate, Ivy. She even has a cute (if human) boyfriend-what more could a witch want? But living with a reformed vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be, particularly when your roommate's very bad ex-boyfriend wants her back and wouldn't mind you in the process. And especially when he's six feet of sheer supernatural seduction and you've got a demon mark that makes vampires literally hotter than hell.To save herself and Ivy, Rachel must confront the vampire master-and the dark secrets she's hidden even from herself.

A fish called....Rachel. Rachel is floundering her way through life post IS.

I am really surprised by the amount of humor in this series and we get a lot of it in the opening scene where Rachel is on her current job; to steal back a fish, a were team's mascot.

Rachel is learning that being on her own is not all rainbows. She's still dealing with Ivy's weird vampire emotions; never knowing if Ivy is going to kill her or vein rape her.

Then there's her consultant work with the FIB, where she's helping in a serial killer case. But after messing things up on a murder scene Rachel goes from trying to nail Trent as the killer to working with him. Speaking of Trent, we finally learn what he is.

With each book I find myself enjoying the world and characters more. With the exception of Nick, he is just too stupid to live when it comes to summoning demons. But with each summoning I find that I like "Al" and with the events in The Good, the Bad and the Undead we are sure to see more of him.

To sum up The Good, the Bad and the Undead it's a mix bag of humor, blood and intriguing characters and unique world building.


Narration Note: I'm enjoying Marguerite Gavin's narration of the books. Although she does make Rachel sound whiny at moments but honesty, Rachel can be a little whiny so it works. Her Jenks is great.

Review: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

The Mage in Black 
by Jaye Wells 

Sabina Kane #2 

 

Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, the leader of the vampire race, just tried to kill her. When she arrives in New York to meet the mage side of her family, the reunion takes the fun out of dysfunctional.

On top of that, the Hekate Council wants to use her as a pawn in the brewing war against the vampires. Her mission will take her into the bowels of New York's Black Light district, entangles her in mage politics, and challenges her beliefs about the race she was raised to distrust. And Sabina thought vampires were bloodthirsty

1st Rule of Demon Fight Club...Don't talk about it. 2nd Rule of Demon Fight Club...read this freaking book for the Demon sidekick alone and you won't be disappointed.

That's right the lovable Mr. Giggles is back bitches. I absolutely love Giguhl, Sabina's demon familiar. He's great for a laugh and we find out that he can hold his own when it comes to a fight. His and Sabina relationship is funny and touching. They have each others back and Sabina learns to let her big boy demon out on his own. Sabina has to stop being a stage mother when Giguhl gets into an underground Demon Fight Club that is ran by The Shade, a vampire from Sabina's past.

Sabina, Adam and Giguhl starts out on a cross country trip from L.A. to New York. From page one we get a hilarious action scene at a gas station where Sabina and Adam have to fight for their lives against three vamps that was sent to take her out.

After the group makes it to New York, Sabina is thrown into the Mage life. She meets her twin sister and whole host of other Mages. Sabina is out of her element while she tries to learn to use her magic from her Mage heritage.

There a little bit of romance in the works but with the supe world on the brink of war it gets push aside for the time being.

I'm enjoying the world and characters that Jaye Wells has created. She does an excellent job of balancing the action and snark. The Mage in Black is another winner in the urban fantasy genre and feel like the next book, Green-Eyed Demon is only going to be even better as Sabina wages war on her evil grandmother.

Part of:

Make sure you head over to Goldilox and Three Weres 

for this month's discussion post.

Read-a-Long Schedule:

1/25/2013: Red-Headed Stepchild
review/discussion at The Book Nympho

 2/22/2013: The Mage in Black
review/discussion @  Goldilox and the Three Weres 

3/29/2013: Green Eyed Demon
review/discussion @  The Book Nympho  

 4/26/2013: Silver Tongued Devil 
review/discussion @ Readers Confession

5/31/2013: Blue-Blood Vamp
review/discussion @ The Book Nympho

Review: Shaedes of Gray by Amanda Bonilla

Shaedes of Gray 

(Shaede Assassin #1) 

by Amanda Bonilla 

Mass Market Paperback, 316 pages 

Published by Signet Eclipse

"I'd learned the hard way that love is nothing more than the sharpest blade, and it can easily be turned against you. I refused to let anyone have that kind of power over me ever again."

Darian has lived alone for almost a century in the shadows of the night. 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.

Darian finds herself struggling to keep her employer, Tyler, at arm's length, especially since his seductive smile makes her want to break her rules about love. The work he offers is necessary to protect the innocent—and a welcome distraction. But 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 has taken on more than her conscience will allow, but a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished.

One thing you must keep in mind when reading Shaedes of Gray is... Tyler never disappoints.

And nether does Amanda Bonilla writing skills. It's been a while since I stayed up past my bedtime to read a book. Bonilla has crafted an exciting world with all kinds of paranormal species. One being Shaedes, that can hide in the shadows of night and turn into a floating like mist during the night hours. But they are trapped in their human form during the day while their polar opposites the Lyhtans; can "poof" and be unseen in the daylight ours. But in the case of Shaedes of Gray, the light is not the good side.

So you have a good side and a bad side and a heroine Darian, that has no clue that this supernatural world exists. How can that be when she is a Shaede herself? She was lied to for years by her maker and slowly learns about the other supernatural beings along with her own race.

Darian has been working with Tyler, a human that acts as her middle man with her clients. He sets up the assassin jobs but he's more than just her "boss" that happens to have a crush on her.

Darian is like another of my favorite assassins (Gin Blanco from Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series) she has one rule, she doesn't assassin innocent people.

When Tyler sends Darian on her current assassin job her whole world is turned upside down, both business and personal wise.

If you are looking for a well written Urban Fantasy that delivers a great heroine that can only get better and secondary characters that will only help her come into her bad-assery then you MUST read Shaedes of Gray.

To get a taste, you can read the Chapter 1 at Amanda's website.

Next Books in Series:

  

Similar Heroines:
Gin Blanco - Elemental Assassins series by Jennifer Estep
Merit - Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill
Mac - Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

Review: Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Red-Headed Stepchild 

by Jaye Wells

(Sabina Kane #1) 

In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she's on. She's never brought her work home with her---until now.

This time, it's personal.

Red-Headed Stepchild is a fantastic start to the Sabina Kane series. Jaye Wells does a great job of balancing humor and action in this fast pace urban fantasy novel with a hard-ass heroine that grows a heart by the end of the book.

The book almost read like two for me. The 1st half we have a tough as nails heroine that would rather just do her job as an assassin for Domina, the vampire council, than have any down time and friends. In fact in the opening scene we see Sabina kill her friend because her grandmother, a member of the Domina told her to. No real questions asked.

Lavinia, Sabina's grandmother, is a total bitch and has treated Sabina as a second rate citizen all her life because she is half mage. But Sabina is good enough to carry out the death sentences that Lavinia is too good to do herself.

The second half of the book we Sabina change when she starts to realize that she has made friends with the small group of people that is helping her with her undercover assignment that the Domina has sent her on. She doesn't know how to act seeing as she's never really had any friends.

Among the group of friends is a super sexy mage named, Adam. Sabina learns about the mages' way of life from Adam, including how to use magic. Adam comes off as a stalker at first until his story unfolds. Then he is someone that Sabina is glad to have around.

Another person that Sabina finds herself being friends is the demon, Giguhl that was summoned to "test" Sabina by trying to kill her but one funny thing after another happens and Sabina finds herself with a house quest she can't get rid of. Giguhl is an AWESOME side character and helps bring humor to the story and I can't wait to see more of Mr. Giggles (the pet name that Sabina gives him).

All in all Red-Headed Stepchild is an urban fantasy book with everything, action, humor and a budding romance and an evil bad guy looking to take ove the paranormal world. If you like kick ass herione with a surprising soft side and Demons that are addicted to the home shopping network you should give  Jaye Well's Red-Headed Stepchild a go.

Audio Review: Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Skinwalker 

by Faith Hunter 

(Jane Yellowrock #1) 

Narrated by Khristine Hvam 

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps..

“I figured even the most jaded and cynical inhabitant might report a bloody girl in a party dress carrying a severed head by its hair.”  ~ Jane


I've read few shifter/were books where the person has a inner monologue with their beast and I love it when it happens. Faith Hunter does an fantastic job at showing the two different being that share the same skin. Skinwalker doesn't have one heroine but two, Jane the woman and her big cat.

Jane is a shifter which means she can shift into any animal but her true beast is a large cat and when Jane picks a different animal, to add her in hunt for a rouge vampire, her big cat is not happy. Jane's not sure how she and her beast became one because she doesn't remember her childhood before age 12 where she was found wandering out of the woods. There are jokes through the book that she was raised by wolves.

Skinwalker takes place in New Orleans where Jane has taken a job to hunt down and terminate a rouge vampire. The only vamps that Jane has really interacted with are the ones she kills as part of her job. So when she is hired by and has to work with the local vampire council she has to change some of her thinking about vamps. Like not calling them vamps, it's a racial slur. She also starts seeing that they are not all monsters. Some of them can even be kind of sexy....

Jane also find her self working a with a local "Joe", a human by the name of Rick and like the vampires he is more than meets the eye.

In true UF fashion there's no hot sweaty monkey sex but there is a potential for a love triangle set up. Jane is attracted to both the human and the vampire. Her cat is also interest in both men for different reasons. I'll keep reading to see which guy wins the attention of both woman and cat.

If you're looking for a well written story about an Über kick ass heroine that can land on her feet as her out look on the "enemy" is changing you will love Skinwalker.


Narration Note:
Khristine Hvam does an amazing good with the narration of Skinwalker. Only after a couple of chapters I could not picture anyone else bring Jane to life. She also does a great job with the male voices.

2013 Immortal Reading Challenge

I briefly mentioned this one in my last post with the challenges I signed up for but now the Maidens over at Under the Covers have posted the 2013 challenge. So here it is in all it's glory.

The Immortals Reading Challenge runs from 

January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013

Category 1:
Read any THREE books with vampires as the main characters.

Planned Reading List:

1. Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost
2. Blood and Whiskey by Clark Hays & Kathleen McFall
3. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead 

Bonus Entries: Additional TWO books with vampires

1. Bound by Blood by Amanda Ashley
2. The Vampire Next Door by Ashlyn Chase

Category 2:
Read any THREE books with angels and/or demons as the main characters.

Planned Reading List:

1. Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark #6) by Kresley Cole
2. A Rush of Wings (The Maker's Song #1) by Adrian Phoenix
3. In the Blood (The Maker's Song, #2) by Adrian Phoenix 

Bonus Entries: Additional TWO books with angels and/or demons

1. Beneath the Skin (The Maker's Song, #3) by Adrian Phoenix
2. Etched in Bone (The Maker's Song, #4) by Adrian Phoenix

Category 3:
Read any THREE books with Fae/Witches as the main characters


Planned Reading List:

1. Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1) by Kim Harrison
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows #2) by Kim Harrison
3. Every Witch Way but Dead (The Hollows #3) by Kim Harrison

Bonus Entries: Additional TWO books on Fae/Witches.

1. It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake 
2. A Witch Before Dying by Heather Blake

Category 4:
Read any THREE books with shifters or werewolves as the main characters.


Planned Reading List:

1. Dragon Bound (Elder Races #1) by Thea Harrison
2. Storm's Heart (Elder Races #2) by Thea Harrison
3. Serpent's Kiss (Elder Races #3) by Thea Harrison

Bonus Entries: Additional TWO books on shifters or werewolves.

1. Oracle's Moon (Elder Races #4) by Thea Harrison
2. Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1) by J.D. Tyler