Nita Good Book
Lately, I've been reading quite a bit a romance, mostly historical and paranormal with a little contemporary mixed in. I also enjoy fantasy, urban fantasy, and history.
Cassie does a lot of running around in this one (which is pretty normal for her). She's working hard on trying to figure out how to get to the demon realm in order to get Pritkin back. This involves a bit of time traveling and vampirenapping. In between all the action we actually learn more about what the gods are up to and more about Cassie's mother. I thought this book would be all Pritkin all the time, but he's not in it as much as some readers would like. Mircea is just about only mentioned in this book, except for one weird shower scene.
I always mention Chance's action scenes in my reviews of her books. They are all over the place for me. Sometimes I have trouble picturing what is actually happening. That was the same for me in this book. But I love Cassie and being inside her head. She's funny and loyal and willing to put herself out there. I also enjoyed Chance's interesting take on vampire, demon, fae, and god mythologies, especially in this book. We actually learn quite a bit. I think that makes up for the meager Pritkin and Mircea sightings.
This one also ends on another cliffhanger, so be prepared for that.
ARC provided through NetGalley.
I love this series so so much. It just keeps getting better and better. I loved the fact that this one took place away from Atlanta. I loved the mythology, the politics,and the new characters introduced. There was Kate and Curran drama, but I felt like it pushed the relationship forward. Hugh is a fascinating character. I look forward to seeing more of him. This book also made me a million times more anxious for the Kate and Roland meet up. It's going to be epic.
I'm not going to finish this one. The characters and the story aren't holding my interest at all.
Viehl departs from the paranormal romance genre for steampunk alternate history. What if America had never won its independence and stayed a subject of the English Crown? Viehl brings us this world and adds a bit of steampunk and a people who very much believe in magic and curses. Well, almost everybody. Kit is a private investigator who looks into claims of magic. She believes all mages and fortune tellers are charlatans. Her current case is for a women who believes she is cursed. Investigating this case will bring her into a place she promised herself she would avoid - high society and the presence of a certain Death Mage.I'm definitely intrigued with the world and her characters. I really enjoyed the diversity and uniqueness to Viehl's characters in her Darkyn and Kyndred series. I equally enjoyed the characters in this book. Kit is a fun character to follow, very independent and smart. I want to learn more about Kit's past and "ability" that she doesn't believe she has. She has a great circle of friends and a possible love triangle with the previously mentioned Death Mage and a policeman who was a childhood friend.
This series is more like a serial with three different parts. This first book ends with no resolutions and will probably leave you anxious for the next book. I know I look forward to it.
ARC provided through Edelweiss.
Hmmm, how would I label this book? - YA alternate historical steampunk with a dash of time travel. The book has two young female protagonists. The first, Evaline Stoker, besides having a famous author brother, is also the ancestor of a famous vampire hunter readers of Gleason's Gardella series will be very familiar with. The other, Mina Holmes, is the niece of the famous detective and has inherited his power of observation. They will need all the skills they possess to investigate why young ladies of society are going missing and dying. I really enjoyed Gleason's steampunk London. It's dark and dangerous. And I'm a fan of mysteries involving Egyptian mythology. I had a fondness for Mina more than Evaline, so enjoyed her chapters a little more. Though I really enjoyed Evaline's possible love interest - cocky and flirty Pix. Mina has two possible love interests. Dylan is adorable, but I have a softer spot for the crotchety police detective, Inspector Grayling. You can tell he's completely put out by his attraction to Mina. The ending is left a bit unsolved, but without an annoying cliffhanger. I'm excited to see where Gleason takes this series.
Here's what I like about the heroine, Kate: she's ambitious, she's kind, and she's smart. I really loved Kate's family - very supportive and happy. She sees a way of reconciling her father with his family and bringing respect to her younger sisters and herself outside her family by marrying as high as possible. She becomes almost single minded in this goal. She's extremely beautiful and uses her beauty to further her cause. If Grant had given us just a beautiful social climber, I probably wouldn't have liked her. But Grant shows us a much deeper person. She's always kind to and perceptive of her sisters and to those she meets. She's smart, always able to involve herself in family debates. She thinks things through. I loved following her line of thought as she came to realize her true feelings for Nick. Nick I liked too. He's a beta hero. He's known Kate's family for three years. Kate shot him down (he's a barrister and holds no title) when he showed interest in her in the beginning. And though his attraction for her never went away, he doesn't push her or become bitter towards her. Nick stays a good family friend. He does let his position and society push him away from his brother, and though I could never imagine letting either get in the way of my relationship with my family, I can see why he did. But I also liked the fact that it's something he does come to regret and hate. I liked how this storyline was resolved.
Both had to look beyond their ideals and set ambitions to find their happiness in themselves and together.
The writing is just as superb, lovely, and smart as the previous two books. My favorite quote:
She would not tear them. A lady didn't destroy library property. But if she were ever to write a novel, it would be the opposite of a love story. Her hero and heroine would choose duty over their hearts' desire, that their children need never be taxed for a romantic indulgence that was none of their own.
Oh, Kate, I'm glad you're not living out your own idea of a novel.
ARC provided through Edelweiss.
This book had quite a few negatives for me. Character development, especially Andrew's, was too slow for me. I really didn't understand Mia and Whitney's friendship. It seemed very uneven in the beginning and then Whitney acted very resentful and pathetic the whole time they are on the run. Character reactions were off or silly. Characters would laugh at the oddest times, I thought. And the bad guy was ridiculously evil. The reasons for the Registry and really how American society ends up in this book really didn't work for me. I guess I just couldn't imagine a society with teenage boys running all willy nilly with no real support or direction and then forcing them at 19 to serve in the armed forces for four years. I guess I would expect more chaos from such a setup.What I did like - I was worried this book would be very male-negative. We were supposed to like Andrew, but I found him overly stubborn (like, through the whole book). But I was happy when caring, stronger male characters showed up. I also liked Mia - even though I felt like, beyond her revelations of her society and not wanting to marry and then running, she really didn't grow as a character. At the same time I guess I would say she is strong willed, which I liked.
I was pretty bored at times for a book with characters on the run and in a very dangerous situation. Overall, this book was a meh for me.
ARC provided through Edelweiss.
