supernatural Archives - Page 10 of 12

Yzabel / July 20, 2014

Review: The Girl From The Well

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night.

A dead girl walks the streets.

She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.

And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.

Because the boy has a terrifying secret – one that would just kill to get out.

The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as “Dexter” meets “The Grudge”, based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.

Review:

(I got an ARC of this book through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.)

Not so much “terribly scary” for me in the end, in that I don’t scare easily, yet fascinating nonetheless for its depiction of ghosts, the appearance they have after death, and the imagery it conjured. I could fairly easily picture Okiku, the murderers she targeted and got revenge on in place of the dead children, said children literally latched onto those men’s necks and linked to their limbs by spirituals cords… And the woman in black… well, all right, that one I’d definitely attempt to draw someday, although I’m not sure I could do her justice. I think the way the story was told, too, contributed to this: somewhat cold and detached, and special, because it’s a strange mix of omniscient and first person point of view (the story’s told by Okiku herself, who’s able to observe other characters and their reactions, and sense their thoughts and feelings). In any other story, it probably wouldn’t have worked for me; here, it did, because it seemed to fit with the ghost’s paradigm. I don’t know if other readers in general would like it, but as far as I’m concerned, it partook the fascination I had for this novel, through descriptions that were just the right length and just suggestive enough (all the more for the intended YA audience), without falling into the realm of “too much”.

The Girl From The Well is loosely based on a well-known Japanese legend, that of a servant girl who worked for a lord, and was tasked with keeping ten precious plates; she was tricked into believing she had lost one of them, and was put to death for her “carelessness”. As a result, she became a vengeful spirit who drove her former lord to death—and the number 9 sends her spirit into a frenzy. This was nicely reflected in the book, in that Okiku tends to count whatever she sees (people, items…), and the accursed number indeed makes her react violently. Forever detached from both human world and and elusive afterlife, she can only watch, in between enacting revenge throughout the world on people who’ve killed children, but were never punished for their bad deeds. The Smiling Man, especially, was of quite a scary persuasion—I find smiles way more frightening than other expressions whenever such characters are concerned.

However, this isn’t exactly Okiku’s story. Hers was already written, already told, and this is more a “what would happen some three hundred years later, how would such a vengeful spirit evolve with time.” Partly to her own surprise, she finds herself drawn to Tarquin, a boy with strange tattoos, and whose fate is doomed to be a dark one if what plagues him isn’t destroyed in time. (Note: there’s no romance involved—a very welcome element in my opinion. It would just’ve been weird and misplaced in such a story.) Odd things happen around Tark, his own mother has been locked in an institution and has tried to kill him several times, and he just doesn’t understand much to what’s happening. But other people slowly start to notice the presence that haunts him, those people being mostly Okiku and his cousin Callie, and it’s up to them to try and understand what his problem his, and how to solve it, which involves going back to his roots.

On the downside, I wasn’t too convinced by the characters in general, in that they seemed more driven by the plot than people with their own lives. Okiku’s involvement was also somewhat problematic, since she was mostly a watcher and didn’t act as much as I expected her to. I think I would’ve liked her nature as a vengeful spirit to show through more than it did; for instance, one of the vengeance scenes made me feel like it had been put there as some kind of reminder, and not really as part of the plot. There was also one huge blunder that could’ve been easily avoided if only one of the characters had spoken out loud about a specific event, yet didn’t for… no reason? I don’t mind characters making honest mistakes, but not when the latter are the product of unexplained reasoning.

Overall, I had a hard time putting this book down, and remained fascinated, though with hindsight, those aspects I mentioned prevented me from rating it higher. (3.5 stars)

Yzabel / July 17, 2014

Review: Dark Child – The Omnibus Edition

Dark Child: The Omnibus Edition by Adina West

My rating: [rating=1]

Summary:

Lately things have been getting weird for pathology technician Kat Chanter. She’s been craving raw meat, and having dreams so realistic they’re scary. When she accepts a job offer from the prestigious Hema Castus Research Institute, she hopes she’ll have the chance to discover what’s wrong with her, but instead, her move to New York thrusts her headlong into a treacherous hidden world, where the wrong move could be fatal . . .

Tarot, witchcraft and astrology all take on a frightening resonance in Dark Child’s richly imagined alternative reality where vampiric beings live among us, hidden by magic. Dark romance tangles with paranormal fantasy and page-turning suspense in this enthralling tale of ‘dark child’ Kat Chanter, half-human and half-vampire, who has woken an ancient prophecy and must face a formidable destiny.

Dark Child was originally released in serial form.

Review:

(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

In the beginning, I found the story interesting… Then I lost interest pretty quickly, and struggled to finish it.

The premise was what drew me to it; while the whole vampire/shapeshifter thing is nothing new in urban fantasy, the mythology behind those here was pleasant to discover, though a bit heavy sometimes in terms of information dumping. I also liked Kat at first, as she took matters in hands, analysed her own blood to try and find out what the anomalies in it meant, and so on.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Mostly I’d chalk this out to four factors:

1) The pacing. At some point, I was seriously going into cabin fever mode, itching to read something else than “characters remain cooped up in hiding in some house in the mountains”. When action happened, it came a little too late to my liking, and was over too quickly. It made me think, really, so that was it? After that, the ending seemed to drag, too.

2) The characters. Kat turned out to be a rather bland, passive person who let a lot of other people talk about her as if she was an object (right under her nose). Some of it was understandable, because at some point she was compelled to remain quiet, through the use of another character’s power. But it went on later, even when such powers weren’t enacted anymore. I had good hopes for this character, and she clearly didn’t live up to them, not even a little. The others had a few distinctive features, but they never struck me as remarkable in any way. As for the “villains”… Yeah, well, not very active either.

3) The romance. Completely useless in my opinion. It didn’t bring anything to the plot, and the two male ends of the love triangle never registered as interesting for me. The only redeeming feature in it was Kat at least realising that getting involved with the Bad Boy wasn’t such a great idea.

4) Borderline Too Stupid To Live decisions. Totally subjective factor here, because I’m a geek and I get that people who’re less tech-savvy than I wouldn’t necessarily consider such issues, but… Seriously, when you’re on the lam, you do not use your cell phone to call your parents. Hello there? GPS tracking? Stuff like Facebook apps registering your location? Bad guys tapping the line? Whatever?

I wanted to like it. I really did. Alas, alas…

Yzabel / July 7, 2014

Review: Tales of the Hidden World

Tales of the Hidden World by Simon R. Green

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Seventeen delightfully unexpected stories from Simon R. Green–including a brand-new adventure of the Droods–take us deep into the Darkside, embroil us in the Secret Histories, and lead us into the shadowy places where monsters and demons roamWelcome to the worlds of Simon R. Green. In this wide-ranging collection, the “New York Times”-bestselling urban fantasist opens doors into hidden places: strange realms bordering our own mundane existence and prowled by creatures of fancy and nightmare. Here are the strange, frequently deadly–and sometimes even dead–things that lurk in garbage-strewn city alleyways and grimy subway stations after midnight, visible only to the most perceptive human or inhuman eye.In these tales, Green revisits the ingenious worlds within worlds that he created for his wildly popular novels. Take a stroll on the Darkside with a jaded street wizard, an underpaid government functionary responsible for keeping demons, vamps, and aliens in line. Enter the hidden recesses of Drood Hall, where the aging family member who creates powerful weapons that protect humankind recalls his long and bloody career. Join a squad of no-longer-human soldiers dispatched to combat the all-consuming jungle on a distant planet. Visit a house at the intesection of two realities that serves as a sanctuary from the evil of “all” worlds. Confront the unstoppable zombie army of General Kurtz in a brilliant homage to “Apocalypse Now.” And whatever you do, never forget that there “are” monsters out there. Really.Each story includes a new afterword by the author.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

I’m not quite sure what to make of this anthology. I only know Simon R. Green through his Hawk & Fisher series, of which I only read the first volume, so I applied for this one thinking it’d make a good introduction to his writing in general, but… I’m not so sure anymore. For instance, the first story, for instance, deals with the Armourer of the Drood family, and while I mostly got what it was about, it feels like not knowing the corresponding series is a slight problem. Or maybe it’s just me.

Also, I admit I skipped the second story (“Street Wizard”), because I had already read it a few weeks ago in another anthology.

Most of those stories were rather dark, which was all right with me, since I was in a mood to read about characters put in such situations. I guess mostly my problems with this anthology stemmed from the choice of stories, whose plots in general didn’t seem so thrilling, and whose twists were fairly predictable (“Dorothy Dreams”), or kind of flat (“Down and Out in Deadtown”). The last third of the book is made of older shorts dating back to the 70-80s, and they feel different, incomplete, somehow… unfinished? The last two in particular puzzled me: the prequel was printed after the “main” story, and it removed all suspense as to whether the characters would survive their adventure. I don’t really understand that choice.

I read Hawk & Fisher in French, not in English, so I can’t compare the author’s style here with that in his novels. When it comes to this specific collection, I thought it was heavy on the adverbs.

All in all, lots of good ideas, but not so well executed.

Yzabel / July 2, 2014

Review: Greene’s Calling

Greene’s Calling by A.D. Starrling

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

An immortal healer.
An ancient legacy reborn.
A chain of cataclysmic events that threatens to change the fate of the world.

When a plane crashes in the Amazonian swamp where Conrad Greene is attempting to live out the rest of eternity, the jaded immortal who was once one of the Bastian First Council’s greatest assets stumbles across a conspiracy involving the recently elected president of the United States.

Caught in the middle of the intrigue is US Secret Service agent Laura Hartwell, the one immortal on Earth most likely to put a bullet through Greene’s skull.

Greene is coerced into returning to the life he had left behind by the leader of the Bastians and reluctantly agrees to assist the Americans in their investigation. As disturbing incidents start to unfold around the globe, Greene and a team of elite human and immortal agents must track down an elusive organization hell-bent on shifting the power balance of the world.

Can Greene stop the deadly countdown that threatens to alter the course of human history and regain the trust of the woman he loves?

Review:

(I got an e-copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

This is the third book in this series (“Seventeen”) I read, and even though I haven’t rated those any higher than 3/3.5 stars so far, I must say they do all fall in the “I liked it” category: there are slight changes in the genre itself (man-hunt, artifact/ancient secrets, special services…), things sometimes go too fast for serious character development, but all things considered, whenever I want an action-packed story with guns, helicopters, wild chases and people with powers (immortals), these novels deliver.

Both merit and flaw here: each novel focuses on a different character. Merit, because it allows the author to put these people (immortals as well as their human allies) into situations for which they are more suited than others, and have a bigger picture slowly come together—something tells me there should be at least two more installments to this series. Flaw, because said characters can’t be explored as deeply as they would if they were the heroes of two, three, four books. Somehow, we get a glimpse and back-story elements, but there are times when I’d like to see more.

However, as I mentioned above, the “Seventeen” books are pretty good in terms of action, lively fights, and from what I know, believable research, if a little over-the-top now and then (I tend to like a bit of over-the-top, by the way). Picturing each scene is fairly easy, and I’m positive they’d also do great as movies. Hardened secret services agents, assasination attempts, political play on a worldwide level, antagonists that go back to older days, an investigation taking place in several European cities… Mostly those elements make for an entertaining read. Not something I’d discuss at length for a book club, sure, but then, this isn’t what I expect from such novels. I expect to be entertained and awed with good action scenes—and those I get.

One interesting thing: the kickass medic. I haven’t seen that kind of combination too often (a healer-type character who can also hold his/her own and doesn’t have to be protected by the others). All right, Conrad’s power is kind of unique, in that all the others who had it are now dead, from what I understood, but it ties into the red thread intrigue going on from novel to novel. I really hope there’ll be more about that in the next volume, about those immortals with a specific mark on their skin, and what their role is supposed to be (because there must be one, right?). Both Crovir and Bastian societies are somewhat tied into working with each other, and it sort of hints at a bigger threat looming in later.

There’s one side of the story I would’ve liked to see explored more, though: the consequences of so many heads of state being targeted. The characters realise what’s at stake, and do their best to prevent it, but I thought we didn’t get to see exactly how things played out for regular people. Did they care? What about the lockdown on airports? How did international diplomacy unfold? It was here, but somehow “in the background”, and it made the threat less… tangible.

This qualm put aside, it was a pleasant read. Not too deep, but definitely entertaining.

Yzabel / June 12, 2014

Review: Seven Kinds of Hell

Seven Kinds of Hell by Dana Cameron

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Archaeologist Zoe Miller has been running from a haunting secret her whole life. But when her cousin is abducted by a vicious Russian kidnapper, Zoe is left with only one option: to reveal herself.

Unknown to even her closest friends, Zoe is not entirely human. She’s a werewolf and a daughter of the “Fangborn,” a secretive race of werewolves, vampires, and oracles embroiled in an ancient war against evil.

To rescue her cousin, Zoe will be forced to renew family ties and pit her own supernatural abilities against the dark and nefarious foe. The hunt brings Zoe to the edge of her limits, and with the fate of humanity and the Fangborn in the balance, life will be decided by an artifact of world-ending power.

Zoe’s mission takes her and her friends across the globe on a frenetic quest for no less than Pandora’s Box.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

Although this novel contained a few things I liked, I’m afraid it won’t leave me with a lasting impression, mostly because of the characters themselves.

I enjoyed the archaeological-related plot: ancient artifacts whose purpose isn’t known in the beginning, a “relic” (Pandora’s box) that I’ve seldom seen in urban fantasy and other contemporary books, travelling through Europe in search of clus, trying to find out sites to dig in (literally)… I’ve always had a soft sport for Indiana Jones-like stories, and for what it’s worth, I think the level of details in “Seven Kinds of Hell” was just the right amount for me: believable without turning into lessons. A real archaeologist might disagree, I don’t know; it’s not my area of expertise.

There’s a lot of action going on, too, and while I may not have wanted to read such a story in one of my most introspective periods, right now this kind of reading agrees with me. Someone looking for characters running away, fighting unknown enemies, finding unexpected allies in the middle of a fight, and so on, will likely appreciate this side of the novel.

On the other hand, the characters didn’t work for me. Zoe had her shortcomings and her good moments, like any proper character should, should I say, but I was extremely annoyed with her for a couple of decisions she made, that had catastrophic consequences. The guy who gets abducted? She led her enemies to him, instead of immediately leaving town, like her mother told her to do on her deathbed (and like she had done for most of her life). I could understand a “normal” person hesitating, trying to see her friends a last time. Someone used to doing that? Not so much. Then, later, a character dies, who wasn’t saved because Zoe missed a big time opportunity—somewhat understandable, considering the circumstances. Less understandable is how she basically ditched said character at some point, even though she knew something fishy was going on; if she hadn’t, I’m positive things would’ve turned out very differently. From the beginning, I had a hunch this poor person was here only to die, and unfortunately, I was right. Zoe’s decisions sometimes bordered on the Too Stupid To Live—or to allow other characters to live.

The secondary characters looked interesting, but I never got the feeling I “knew” them enough to really care, especially Ben and Ariana, who seemed to be dropped in there. (Gerry and Claudia “felt” like they had some kind of back story, at least.) As for the bad guys, they were the classic kind. No surprises here. I admit I rolled my eyes at the Russian villain.

The plot, mostly in the beginning, is slowed down by a few flashbacks. While not uninteresting per se, they distracted me, and enforced my “will you get out of town at last, Zoe?” reactions. I also found the ending a little too convenient to my liking, with Zoe getting help from someone she briefly met years ago. That person had reasons to act in such a way, but it still came out of the blue.

I have mixed opinions about the mythology. Fangborn society had a nice “we’ve been watching over you for ages” aspect, and I would’ve liked to know more about it, about its vampires that are more like shapeshifting snake-like creatures, about its oracles, too. On the downside, they seemed just a little too perfect and deluded sometimes, which mad them somewhat bland.

In the end, this novel held my attention mainly because of its “race for artifacts” side, but definitely not for its characters.

Yzabel / June 8, 2014

Review: The Lost

The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

My rating: [rating=3]

(I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

I tend to have a strong liking to such stories: mysterious little towns hiding all sorts of secrets; characters lost in them and trying to find their way, only to find out that something dark is lurking behind; and so on. I must say I was enthralled by the atmosphere in “The Lost”. The aforementioned small town felt creepy as hell, and its inhabitants’ reactions didn’t do anything to shake off that feeling, for sure. The mob that thinks Lauren is responsible for their new woes. The underlying desire to make her run away from the town, with the intent of resorting to more if this doesn’t work. Women planting dead flowers; characters going from cheerful and welcoming to crazy and threatening; a kid in a faded princess dress, cuteness all over her, a teddy bear under her arm, and a knife in her hand; the mysterious tenant of room 12 (will we ever know who he was?). Roads that lead to nowhere, or rather, always lead back to the same place. The desert and dust stormes encroaching more and more on Lost, giving a sense of mortality to a place that at first appears to be eternal. There’s something fascinating in such people and surroundings in my eyes, and I can never get tired of those.

As far as characters go, I especially liked Peter and Claire. Peter’s quotes weren’t innocent, and his antics could never completely hide the fact he was tired of his duties, and probably going half-crazy (if this fate of his wasn’t already achieved). Claire was both frightening and cute, a little girl wandering a decaying place in search for the family she had lost.

Other, more secondary characters’ stories also lent themselves to speculation. Considering what happened to Tiffany, did something similar happen to Victoria? Even when they realise what they’ve lost, can those people really come back to their older lives, or will the latter make them feel just as much at a loss in the end?

The novel also left me with theories that, though never debunked of confirmed, are however strongly hinted at. The ties between Lauren and the Missing Man, for instance. The lie Lauren cooked about his daughter might hit closer to home than she thinks…

However, I didn’t love this novel. I enjoyed reading it, and… that was all. I think I can chalk this off to three things:

1) The writing. For starters, first person present tense does it less and less for me, after having read so many books that use such narratives, and here, I really don’t think it fit that much, probably because of the “tense + short sentences” combination. Sometimes, it worked, but when descriptions were involved, it threw me out of my little bubble of creepy atmosphere:

I step over a soiled sweatshirt. There’s a wallet lying on the curb. I pick it up and flip it open to see a driver’s license and an array of credit cards. I’ll hand it in at the lobby.

I’m not asking for long, convoluted sentences; but while I got used to those after a while, it wasn’t enough for me to deem them enjoyable.

2) Lauren, in some ways. I just couldn’t warm up to this character. I understand her being disoriented and wanting to find a way home, but I wish she had stopped being a whiner much sooner.

3) The romance, which is somewhat part of point 2), felt weird and displaced. Lauren struck me as acting and reacting more like a teenager than an adult woman. I don’t know if I’m just a cold-hearted person, but poring over how beautiful the guy is when lost in a place where almost everyone wants you dead isn’t exactly my idea of “doing something constructive to get the hell out of here.”

In the shadows, he looks mysterious and perfect, also dangerous.
[…]
I look at him, his perfect chiseled face and his beautiful black eyes.

I’m still holding mixed feelings about the somewhat predictable development, because I find “this was just a dream/coma” tropes overdone. On the other hand, maybe this is more linked to my growing ability to spot tropes and imagine what the next step will be (I read a lot and have a paranoid imagination, too). Ambiguity permeates this new setting, sowing doubt in the character’s as well as the reader’s mind:

He’s perfect. Almost too perfect. He could be the fantasy man in a coma-induced world, and Peter could be real and waiting for me to wake up in Lost.

And the ending being left open as to Lauren’s fate puts the story back on its creepy, somewhat “magical” tracks.

I’d probably pick the next book in this series, to see what happens to Lauren.

Yzabel / May 18, 2014

Review: Dollhouse

Dollhouse by Anya Allyn

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Dress-up turns deadly. . .

When Cassie’s best friend, Aisha, disappears during a school hike, Cassie sets off with Aisha’s boyfriend Ethan and their best friend Lacey, determined to find her. But the mist-enshrouded mountains hold many secrets, and what the three teens discover is far more disturbing than any of them imagined: beneath a rundown mansion in the woods lies an underground cavern full of life-size toys and kidnapped girls forced to dress as dolls.

Even as Cassie desperately tries to escape the Dollhouse, she finds herself torn between her forbidden feelings for Ethan, and her intense, instinctive attraction to The Provider, a man Cassie swears she has known before…

Because Cassie’s capture wasn’t accidental, and the Dollhouse is more than just a prison where her deepest fears come true—it’s a portal for the powers of darkness. And Cassie may be the only one who can stop it.

Review:

(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

A likeable story—on the creepy side, that is, but if I didn’t want creepy, I wouldn’t have applied for this book, right? I liked the atmosphere conveyed through the book, at least when it came to the house itself and its inhabitants (this isn’t a spoiler; the title gives it away, after all). It was oppressive, left little doubt as to the stifling nature of the place, and the toys as well as Jessamine’s behaviour were definitely elements of unease. I was never scared, to be honest, but this doesn’t necessarily means “Dollhouse” won’t be scary to other other people. In any case, in terms of imagery, those were themes I could relate to.

The plot is kind of strange. It’s both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. On the one hand, it fits the overall atmosphere; on the other, sometimes things were a little confusing. At first I thought it may be a purely horror/mystery story, then different supernatural elements creepeed in. I was all right with that, though: it may be part of what the book was meant to achieve, depending on how one considers it, and it also contributed to the characters’ confusion. So, for me, it worked.

I found the pacing somewhat uneven. The first chapter pulled me in, then the next ones were slower, and I think some of the scenes in the dollhouse itself dragged a little. Again, this is one of those double-edged aspects in my opinion: slowing down the story, yet also reflecting the bleak existence of the “dolls”, the day-to-day routine under Jessamine’s guidance (if one can call that guidance…), the world being narrowed down to a few rooms only, with few activities available. So, slow in pacing, but fitting in theme.

I didn’t find the characters really memorable, and was mostly interested in the atmosphere and in looking for hints about the bigger picture, I admit. Cassie was kind of bland, Ethan and Aisha as well, and Lacey was easily forgotten. This is probably one of the weakest points in this book: I kept feeling that those friends didn’t really care about each other. That they went looking for Aisha not in the hopes of finding her alive, but of removing suspicion from Ethan. That they didn’t have much in common, and didn’t look like a strong enough group to go through the hassle of camping in the mountains at night to search for the missing girl. Cassie leaves Lacey[Lacey (hide spoiler)] alone in a creepy place, then oh, surprise, she’s missing as well. Rule number one: you never, ever leave someone alone. Not in such a setting.

The romance… Meh. I wasn’t convinced. But then, I seldom am.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that may very well be quite annoying. You can somewhat imagine what will happen, but if it’s still rather abrupt, and felt more like a chapter was missing, rather than a real ending.

I’m giving it 3 stars because I really enjoyed the theme, the atmosphere, the imagery it all evoked. I found it easy to picture the rooms, the clothing, to imagine what the dolls’ life was like. If one is looking for strong characters, though, perhaps this isn’t the right book.

Yzabel / May 12, 2014

Review: Shadows & Dreams

Shadows & Dreams by Alexis Hall

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

My name’s Kate Kane. And right now, I don’t know which is more dangerous: my job, or my girlfriend. My job makes me the go-to girl for every supernatural mystery in London. My girlfriend’s an eight-hundred-year-old vampire prince. Honestly, I think it’s probably a tie.

A few weeks ago, I was hired for a simple missing person case. Next thing I know, I’m being arrested for murder, a vampire army is tearing up London, and even my dreams are out to get me. Something ancient, evil, and scary as hell is on the loose and looking for payback. The vampires are in chaos, the werewolves are culling everything, and the Witch Queen can’t protect everyone.

Which means it’s down to me. And all I’ve got to hold back the shadows is a stiff drink, a quirky sidekick, my creepy ex-boyfriend, and the woman who left me for a tech startup. It’s going to be another interesting day.

This title is #2 of the Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator series.

Review:

[I got an ARC of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

I liked this one better than the first one. Partly because I already know the characters, but also, I think, because I found it less heavy on some of the things that had bothered me in the previous volume.

Characters, first. The reader will meet known ones again: Julian, Nimue, Ashriel, and get to know more about others (such as a Eve). Kate remains a fun point of view character, with a good dose of humour even in dire situations. She has a tendency to do things that aren’t exactly good for her, but at least she acknowledges it… even though it doesn’t prevent her from getting into dangerous situations. Elise plays a more important part, being here from the beginning, this time, and I must say she’s also a character I’ve taken quite a liking to. She’s discovering life as a normal human being (well, as normal as possible in the circumstances, that is), has an interesting way of speaking and apprehending the world, and I found that her becoming Kate’s assistant actually helped with furthering the plot. In “Iron & Velvet”, I sometimes felt that Kate stumbled upon information; Elise being tasked with finding information streamlines things a bit, and makes the investigation more believable in my opinion. Last but not least, Eve: she may seem bigger than life to some, but I found her geeky, Batman-wannabe side quite funny. And she gets the job done; no comic-relief useless sidekick on her part here.

There was less romance/erotica this time, and for me, it was for the best. I guess I’m used to the Kate-Julian relatioship now, so I wasn’t bothered by insta-love or anything similar. Owing to the plot, the two women didn’t spend as much time together, which wasn’t pleasant for them, sure, but also allowed less room for the sex scenes. (I don’t have anything against sex scenes, only they didn’t work for me in book 1, in part because of the weird similes often associated with them. So, yes, less of those here meant less clunky scenes in my opinion.) Although I still think Kate should learn to keep her dick in her pants, metaphorically speaking, she wasn’t as unfocused as previously, and therefore felt more believable as a PI.

I must admit that the Patrick/Sofia routine, while funny at first (with all the drama queen antics and the woe-is-me-I-totally-shape-the-world-to-my-beliefs attitude that clearly hints at bad emo stories), became a little tiresome after a while. I must’ve rolled my eyes as often as Kate did. But then, Patrick is an infuriating character, and one that is meant to serve as a comic relief.

The bit about the Vampire: the Requiem game made me smile. No irony lost here. It reminded me a bit of the RPG bit in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and I wonder if this was intentional or not? On the other hand, I’m certainly not holding that against the author here, because it’s the kind of scene I like (and would probably write as well at some point).

Not the best book of 2014 for me, but definitely an improvement on the first one. I think I’ve warmed up to this world and characters.

Yzabel / May 7, 2014

Review: Deadly Curiosities

Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z. Martin

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, an antique and curio shop with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up.

Review:

[I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Hard to tell whether I liked it, or found it simply “OK”, so let’s consider this a 2.5 stars.

There are a lot of good ideas in this novel. About the magical community (the Alliance isn’t so big, the Family is likely to become a pain in the neck at some point). About the various kinds of magic, that I haven’t seen used that often in urban fantasy yet (weaving magic and psychometry, that is). About items and how they can become beacon of positive or negative energies. It goes to show that even the most inconspicuous little things can be harbingers of danger. And a store full of antiques, acting as cover for the magic folk to gather those special items and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands? Quaint and delightful—much like the town of Charleston, for which I could get quite a good feeling through the many little stories. (One of the secondary characters works in the historical archives. I tell you, you always need to know someone who works in a museum or something. Always.)

Another thing I liked was that, for once, there was no romance here. I don’t dislike romance, but sometimes I find there’s too much of it in UF in general, and it can more easily detract from the darkness and magic. Here, I didn’t want to read about a love story: I wanted to read about the antique shop, the mysterious items, Cassidy’s power, and so on. And this is what I got. So I was glad.

Unfortunately, this novel just didn’t click with me. I’m not even sure why exactly. I liked the ideas, the characters seemed interesting, but I never connected with them. I don’t think we get to see Sorren before the 30% mark, if I remember well, which I found too bad. As for the demon hunter, it was kind of annoying that he was introduced so late into the story, then made to die; his death would’ve been more striking if I had got to know him better. Yes, I’m a masochist. I know.

Regularly enough, I also found myself a little bored. It may have been because of the writing style: usually good when it came to descriptions of places, or to the stories passed around regarding the town and its inhabitants, but somewhat clunky in other parts. Examples would include repeated uses of the same first name in three consecutive short sentences, or some dialogue lines basically stating the same thing twice in a row. At first, I didn’t really notice it, but after a while, it started weighing down the narrative. The pace was perhaps a little too slow as well, though I can’t tell if this was because of the aforementioned style, or if it was just sluggish.

I’d place this novel among the ones that aren’t uninteresting, and could blossom into a good series; however, so far, I’m not really convinced.

Yzabel / April 30, 2014

Review: A Gift of Ghosts

A Gift of Ghosts by Sarah Wynde

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Akira Malone believes in the scientific method, evolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. And ghosts.

All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth-she can see and communicate with spirits. But Akira is sure that her ability is just a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.

Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.

But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?

Review:

[I got a free copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

This was a quick and light read, and I mostly appreciated it. Not the best book I’ve read this year, but definitely enjoyable.

I liked its take on ghosts, how they behaved, the way they were bound to places that had been important to them in life or at the moment of their death. Their world wasn’t in black and white only: the “bad” ghosts, though definitely dangerous, aren’t totally unredeemable, and aren’t intrisically bad either; conversely, a “safe” ghost could turn into a dangerous one just as well if overwhelmed with grief. A lot seemed to be about balance, about regrets left behind, but it wasn’t so simple as “just get rid of your regrets and you’ll find the white light that’ll help you move on.” This predicament (for both the ghosts and Akira, who had her share of bad experiences with people she had tried to help) was interesting, and left room to various interpretations on the reader’s part. Being able to see ghosts doesn’t mean Akira can “save” them, and it explained her attitude on the matter. For instance, she doesn’t like advertising her ability because then she’s asked to bring closure to the ghosts’ relatives; yet simply relaying said ghosts’ messages doesn’t ensure their family will feel better, nor that the dead will manage to move on.

Those plots with the ghosts may or may not be seen as a problem. In a way, the story felt a little disjointed, in that those subplots were of the slice-of-life (pardon the pun) kind and didn’t seem to serve a larger purpose at first. However, in the end, they were important to understand Akira’s views, played a part in how relationships developed, and I think they also helped shape the ending. (I liked the twist with Henry, by the way.)

The writing itself was pleasant. Good formatting and editing, no weird sentence structures (if there were any, they really didn’t strike me). There was one sex scene that might seem weird at first, because the flirting/foreplay part involved a lot of references to physics; I think it depends on the reader here. I liked it, and I guess my inner geek just found it sexy—much better than the usual purple prose I’ve seen in too many depictions of romance/erotica—but I can also see how it wouldn’t work for other people.

The two things I liked the less were:

1) The setting. We have a small Florida town seemingly full of psychics, with Zane’s family members also having their share of powers, but we don’t see them that much. It would’ve been interesting to have a better glimpse into the life of Tassamara as a whole.

2) The characters were somewhat lackluster (though some got better later in the book). I think I liked the ghosts characters (Dillon and Rose mostly) better than the human ones. Akira especially struck me as a little too passive: accepting a job she didn’t know that much about for starters, not reacting that much to situations that should’ve prompted a more heated answer… I got a better feeling of her later on, but not at first.

In general, this novel had its faults, but as far as I’m concerned, the ghost-related plots made up for them.