Tag: Urban Fantasy

Sixth Grave on the Edge
by Darynda Jones
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9781250045638
Series: Charlie Davidson #6
Publication Date: May 4, 2014
Pages: 326
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Most girls might think twice before getting engaged to someone like Reyes Farrow—but Charley Davidson is not most girls. She's a private eye and grim reaper who's known to be a bit of a hell-raiser, especially after a few shots of caffeine. Her beloved Reyes may be the only begotten son of evil, but he's dark and sultry and deeply sexy and everything Charley could hope for. Really. But when the FBI file on Reyes' childhood happens to land into her lap, she can't help herself: She opens it...and then the real fun begins.

First, Charley finds a naked corpse riding shotgun in her car. Then, a man loses his soul in a card game. Throw in a Deaf boy who sees dead people, a woman running from mobsters, and a very suspicious Reyes, and things can't get any worse for Charley. Unless, of course, the Twelve Beasts of Hell are unleashed…

The covers of the Charlie Davidson series always have a quote on the front comparing them to Janet Evanovich’s books.  It’s a particular pet peeve of mine, because it seems every other book with any humour in it at all has a Stephanie Plum comparison quote on it’s cover.  And they are never anything like the Stephanie Plum books.  However, if anyone comes close it’s Charlie Davidson.  But she is oh, so much more.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the Plum novels, they’re a hoot, but I think it’s a bit of a backhanded compliment to compare Charlie to Stephanie.

Charlie is a P.I. and the grim reaper –a portal to heaven.  She’s in love with the son of Satan himself; created and sent to Earth for the sole purpose of destroying her.  Only the son has his own agenda; he’s in love with Charlie and has been for centuries.  She just barely juggles both jobs and in spite of herself, manages to make a difference.

I love these books and I loved Sixth Grave… Ms. Jones hasn’t yet written a bad book, imo.  They are first and foremost entertaining; Charlie’s thoughts and dialogue are written as an almost continuous stream of jokes, but it’s not just about the funny.  There is a lot of pain, a lot of violence, a lot of empathy, a lot of mythology, and some –not a lot– scorching love scenes (pun sort of intended).  The series’ premise is steeped deeply in biblical mythology, and belief and faith are strong themes without bringing religion into it.  I enjoy this part even more than I enjoy the humour.  Sixth Grave just hit all the right buttons for me.

The only negative notes for me, and the reason it’s a 4 star instead of 5 is the repetition of a couple of pieces of information that felt more like someone forgot they’d already been mentioned than just refreshers, and the ending.  The ending, although it feels like the inevitable evolution of the mythology Ms. Jones has created, has me worried.

Worried or not, I can’t wait for Seventh Grave’s release.  Ms. Jones owns me at this point. If you like Urban Fantasy that straddles the PNR line (or crosses it – I could argue either way), can handle some non-gratuitous violence and love wise-cracking, kick-ass heroines who have the power and strength to save the world, you might enjoy these books and I highly recommend checking them out.

Murder of Crows
by Anne Bishop
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780451465269
Series: The Others #2
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 354
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: ROC Hardcover

Thank god that’s over!  Let me explain:

This weekend in Melbourne we had an Indian Summer.  (For those of you not familiar with the American term:  Indian Summer: a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn.)  I know this only in the vaguest sense because honestly, I couldn’t freaking put the book down long enough to look outside.  Laundry didn’t get done.  DH was resoundingly ignored.  Luckily he cooks or we’d have both gone without eating.  I’m not exactly sure what I did eat, come to think of it – he put a plate in front of me and I ate whatever was on it.  I do remember chewing…  I’m sure it was delicious…

Thankfully books like this only come around a couple of times a year.  The compulsive need to keep reading is, I think, something that’s best enjoyed in small doses.

Murder of Crows was just as good as Written in Red.  Tess and the Elementals are still my favourites, and I still enjoyed the swift and devastating justice that is consistently delivered by the Others.  That sounds blood-thirsty doesn’t it?  But the world Ms. Bishop has created is a very black and white world in terms of morality.  The Others control all the land, all the resources, and where humans are allowed to live and how much of any resource can be used.  Clear cut rules exist for other/human interaction, (although the Others prefer no interaction at all).  Following the rules brings peace, or at least detente.  Breaking the rules means death.  No warnings, just death.

Meg is what happens when you introduce gray to this black and white world.  Human, but not prey, she doesn’t judge and treats everyone, Other or Human, with kindness.  This book starts to explore just what kind of changes are possible when one person/other, and then another, and another choose shades of gray.

The immediate plot of Murder of Crows is the continuation and resolution of one started in Written in Red as well as The Controller’s ongoing campaign to bring Meg back to his facility.  Instead of a slow build up leading to a final climax, this book is a series of smaller climaxes each bringing the story closer to an end.  While I’d rather not wait for the third book, at least the story ended with at least as much satisfaction as anticipation.

Night Broken
by Patricia Briggs
Rating: ★★★½
isbn: 9780425256749
Series: Mercy Thompson #8
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 341
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace

When her mate’s ex-wife storms back into their lives, Mercy knows something isn’t right. Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions—she wants Adam back, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him, including turning the pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. As the bodies start piling up, she must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

2021 Update: On re-reading, I still think that first scene is way over the top – even more so than River Marked.  I actually dinged it another .5 star on my second read because of this.  The rest of my original review is absolutely spot on.

Original review: I’ve been avoiding my computer all day, because I knew I’d have to write this review (well, ok, I don’t have to, but I’m willingly committed to saying something about each book I read).  And I don’t really know what to say – I liked the book, but I’m a bit conflicted.

I would definitely count myself a fan of the Mercy Thompson series and Patrica Briggs’ writing in general, and, make no mistake, I devoured this book and enjoyed it.  I’d tell anyone who has read her books that this one is a worthy entry.  If asked about it, I guess this is about what I would say:

A really good read.  This book felt like it had a bit more humour that most of the others in the series; one-liners or dialogue that are funny but not comedic.  We get to see Mercy struggle with being the better woman when Adam’s ex-wife comes to town.  We find out more information (although not much) about Coyote and another walker is introduced.

But two things I’d mention about the story.  The first one is a bordering-on-eye-rolling thing.  The first scene where we meet Christie’s stalker reminded me a bit of the over-the-topness from some of the final scenes of River Marked.  I really love how Ms. Briggs weaves different myths and cultures into the Mercy universe and this one is no different.  She had me going to Wikipedia to learn more.  I just felt like that first scene was overdone.  The final scene was fantastic though; really, really well written.

The second struggle I have is an on-going one with the whole series.  It is a testament to Ms. Briggs excellent writing and subtle (most of the time) handling of difficult or dark issues that keeps me coming back, book after book.  But I can’t stand reading about anyone hurting animals.  Hate, hate, hate it and normally I just close the book and get rid of it when I stumble across one that includes animal cruelty/sacrifice/anything-that-isn’t snuggly.  But the Mercy books (and at least one Alpha & Omega) include animal death.  It isn’t dwelt on, or detailed (much) and it’s usually after the fact, but it’s still really difficult for me to get through and it diminishes my enjoyment of the books.

If Ms. Briggs granted me one wish, it would be that future story lines wouldn’t include bad things happening to good animals and a solemn oath that nothing will ever happen to Medea.  Because I have serious angst about that sweet cat and her continued safety.

But Ms. Briggs doesn’t know me or have any reason to grant me wishes, so I’ll keep on reading, keeping my fingers crossed for the critters, and focussing on all the great things that make this series worth reading.

Frost Burned
by Patricia Briggs
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780441020010
Series: Mercy Thompson #7
Publication Date: March 4, 2013
Pages: 342
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Ace

After a traffic accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack. They’ve all been abducted. Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related to the political battle the werewolves have been fighting to gain acceptance from the public—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outmatched and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

I was late to the Mercy-love, and was only convinced to try this series a few months ago.  I LOVE it when that happens, as it means that there are lots of delicious stories just waiting for me to gorge myself on.  And even though the series is darker than I usually like in my books, a bit more gory, a bit more creepy and violent, gorge is exactly what I did.  I totally fell for all the characters:  Mercy is someone I’d choose to be friends with – she’s neither butch, nor victim, nor susie-mary-sunshine.  Adam, while not my personal type (Samuel comes closer) is a good mate for Mercy.  Stephan and his Scooby Van?  Priceless!

I held off ordering Frost Burned hoping that I could string out the reading to get me closer to the March release of the new book, but when push came to shove, I couldn’t leave it any longer on the TBR pile.

I can’t believe anyone interested in UF hasn’t already read this book, but in the interests of thoroughness, Frost Burned starts with Mercy and her step daughter Jesse are in a car accident during a midnight shopping spree on Black Friday.  Calling for assistance, Mercy finds that everyone in the pack is missing: no one is answering their phones and a cryptic message from the Marrok indicates that phones are not safe to use.  Mercy needs to find her mate, find her pack and figure out who’s behind the mass kidnapping and what they hope to accomplish.

It’s obvious from my rating that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so when I say that I found the structure of the story to be a bit different, that’s a good thing.  As many books as I read, I sometimes find myself a bit bored by the tried and true path most fiction takes: introduction, conflict revelation, build up of tension as the conflict is worked through, climax, and the wrap up.  It’s a cross-genre structure and it works, but it adds a bit of predictability to any book, no matter the plot line.

So, when the book starts off with the pack’s abduction, my first thought was ‘ok, I’m now going to read 20 chapters of Mercy searching for her mate and pack, fighting off random attacks from bad guys, going down blind alleys and chasing down false clues until she finally finds the pack and engages in a final battle to free them’.  Hah!  Frost Burned surprised me – Ms. Briggs tweaked the formula; this is a book that has at least two sets of conflict/buildup/climax arcs, offering a story that is quick to action.  It felt like the book and plot were off and running well before I expected it to be, and what I thought was the major plot point was resolved almost immediately, which means I was thoroughly sucked in because I wanted to know what was going on?!  It also means this was a very intricate, complex plot that left me in a completely different place at the end from where I expected to find myself.