The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.
The rules are very simple: spotlight a book that begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.
This week’s letter is: O
This week pick: On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
From the back: Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between two worlds: on one side lies the Broken, a place where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is nothing more than a fairy tale; on the other side is the Weird, a realm where blueblood aristocrats rule and the strength of your magic can change your destiny.
- On the Edge
Only Edger like Rose can easily travel between worlds — but they never truly belong in either. Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself. But things didn’t turn out the way she’d planned, and now she works an off-the-books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life determined to have Rose (and her power). But when a terrible danger invades the Edge — a flood of creatures hungry for magic — Declan and Rose must overcome their differences and work together to destroy them, or the beasts will devour the Edge and everyone in it.
Comment: This is the first book in a new series by the authors of the Kate Daniels books. It’s a bit hard to categorize. It’s definitely fantasy: magic and magical lands that coexist with the mundane world we live in. It’s more of a romance then the Kate books, but it’s still heavy on action and defeating the bad guys. Ilona recently talked about the differences in writing style between the two series. On the Edge is “written to imitate Regency era romances“. Declan is a nobleman; Rose is the poor young woman, raising two younger brothers. He’s arrogant and she’s fiercely independent. A little more tweaking and you almost have a historical romance.
I read this one when it first came out, and it the first full length novel I read entirely on my Sony e-Reader.
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The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.
The rules are very simple: spotlight a book that begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.
This week’s letter is: N
This week pick: Nightkeepers by Jessica Andersen
Nightkeepers
From the back: As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly doesn’t expect to be strapped to a stone altar as a human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax a demon from the underworld — or to be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king, who claims to recognize her from his visions. Striking Jaguar thinks he is the last of the Nightkeeper warrior-priests, but as the end-time approaches, his mentor reveals there are twelve others. In reuniting them, Strike — king by birthright — gains the power to summon a Mayan god to combat the demons. But the woman of his visions is the gods’ chosen sacrifice. Now he must decide between love and duty. . .or find another way to invoke otherworldly magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.
Comment: Nightkeepers is the first book in The Final Prophecy series, based on the Mayan 2012 doomsday legend. It’s another favorite series, this time a paranormal romance. The series is a chunky one, so far. Each book is at least 400 pages each. There are many characters and, in the first book, we get to meet and know almost all of them, which sets up the rest of the series. To me, this gives the book an epic feel.
The series has a very specific ending, so it’s not going to be a long, no-end-in-sight type paranormal. Starting with Dawnkeepers, the focus is more on just one primary couple, with the occaisonal second or third point of view when needed. Even so, I feel the books didn’t lose the “epic-ness” when the story focused on the relationships. If you’re looking for a series that doesn’t contain shape-shifters, vampires, or the fae (and you’re not fazed by the page count), I would recommend giving this series a try. Below is the book list and links to my thoughts on the first two.
Nightkeepers
Dawnkeepers
Skykeepers
Demonkeepers (April 2010)
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Note: I scheduled this entry in advance so that it posts at 8:00 AM. I’ll be late getting the link posted on the host’s blog.
The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.
The rules are very simple: spotlight a book that begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.
This week’s letter is: M
This week pick: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Magic Bites
From the back: When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake. Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles. The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings — and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league — but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Comment: There was never a doubt in my mind regarding what book I would feature for the letter M. The Kate Daniels series is one of my favorites. It’s urban fantasy, not a romance — though there is a slowly evolving relationship between Kate and Curran. The series also features non-glamorous vampires and creatures/beings from different mythologies and folklore. For instance, in the short story “Magic Mourns”, the characters have to deal with a creature straight out of Greek mythology.
Though I loved the book, Magic Bites — being the first book in a series — has it’s rough spots. Kate pushes her luck a lot and is mouthy, and there are several “Eewww” moments. But what makes it all worth it is the first time Kate meets Curran. Below are the links to my thoughts on the three books and short story, plus — as a bonus — a little bit of silliness I posted last December.
Magic Bites
Magic Burns
Magic Strikes
Magic Mourns
Cover Talk
