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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1) in Books

Feb 15, 2019

Wow. That's about all I can think of to sum up my thoughts. <u>Rosemary and Rue</u> is a knock-out debut of what looks to be a fantastic series. The protagonist, October (Toby), is interesting, tough yet still fragile, sympathetic, and her character as a whole seems so realistic. The plot and mystery held my interest and I never fully grasped the truth, I pretty much found out when Toby did, and I respect an author who can do that without everything coming out of left field. The ending was melancholy, but perfectly done. The more I think about this book, the more impressed I am; there isn't one thing I would change (although I would like to know where I could get a rose goblin ;P). This secret world of faeries is well-developed, completely fascinating, and very different from other urban fantasy series, I can barely wait to see what the next book brings.

An aside: I appreciate the pronunciation guide at the front, it came in handy whenever I forgot how Cait or Luidgaeg were pronounced.

Kudos

Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Shady Lady (Corine Solomon, #3) in Books

Mar 1, 2018

Shady Lady (Corine Solomon, #3)

Ann Aguirre | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

I have to give a fairly high rating to a book that involves a woman who largely saves herself from multiple assassins (natural and supernatural) sent by the head of a drug cartel. There are sexy men in her life (three, in fact), but she's definitely the heroine here, not a clinging vine. That's a refreshing approach.

To be honest I don't think this book should be shelved with paranormal romances at all. It deserves to be called urban fantasy, or something along those lines, because relationships are not the main focus of the plot.

Corine has changed a great deal from the beginning of the series, and we learn much more about her background in this volume, explaining some of her behavior. The exposition is never tiresome or without reason — it's worked into the plot very nicely. I enjoy seeing character development, and getting more of the "why" helps the reader make sense of her decisions.

This volume feels like the end of the series, but it was a nice little trilogy and well worth reading.

Kudos

Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Skin Deep (Laura Blackstone, #1) in Books

Mar 1, 2018

This is an intriguing beginning to a series. I've played a character with similar abilities in a long-running roleplaying game, so I was particularly interested in this book. I think the author did an excellent job of exploring just how much could be done with "essence" (glamour), while setting believable limits to the character's abilities. She has an exceptionally well-trained memory, but even she slips on a few details here and there when juggling too many personas or with someone very close to her for a long time.

The plot was less interesting to me, frankly, than the character. In fact, the details are a little fuzzy and I just finished the book earlier today. (Of course, I've read most of the next book since then, too). Even while reading it, though, some details strained believability. That detail took the rating down a point.

Still, I was interested enough to go right on to the next book in the series, and I intend to read more of del Franco's work. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy urban fantasy.

Kudos

David McK (3587 KP) rated Nightlife (Cal Leandros #1) in Books

Jan 28, 2019

Originally picked up on a whim (as a Christmas present from my Amazon wishlist back in the early 2010s), and I'm glad I did. Be looking for more of this series, methinks.

<edit in 2018>
I've just re-read this again, and can fill in a bit more now than my previous 'review' (above).

This falls firmly into the Urban Fantasy genre, mainly told in the first person, with Cal(iban) Leandros the main narrator of the story, and with the Grendels (or Auphe, or Elf!) the main antagonists: the main, but not the only. In this world (or New York), there's also a Boggle in the park, Trolls (at least one) in the underground, Werewolves, Vampires and other associated mythological creatures, including one who takes a prominent role: that of Darkling (whose sisters are the Banshees of Irish myth). Caliban definitely undergoes quite a bit throughout this story with a major transformation in his character taking place roughly about halfway through: read it, and you'll see what I mean!