Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2) by Ilona Andrews

Claire Shannon is a killer. She uses no weapons, only her mind.

Born on a planet locked in a long war, Claire is a psycher, a woman with the ability to attack minds and infiltrate a biological computer network where psychers battle to the death. But when the war abruptly ends, Claire must hide her psycher's ability to survive. She is deported to a new planet, a vivid beautiful place, where she meets Venturo Escana, a powerful psycher, whose presence overwhelms both her mind and her body.

She thought she had left war and death behind, but now she must fight for her new life and this battle might just cost her everything...
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My View:

The Kinsmen world is fascinating and I love learning more about it. Ilona & Gordon write such absorbing worlds and characters. I look forward to any more pieces they give us regarding the Kinsmen.

The story is rich and absorbing with the reader being drawn in and held captive until the very end of the book.

I loved Claire from the very beginning. She came across as a very strong and independant woman. Ven....I mean WOW! If only I could find a guy like this around here. He is very self-assured, yet very sweet with Claire.

Claire is a soldier. She was taken into the military at a very young age and comes from a world where she has known nothing but war and the responsibility of defending her countrymen. She has a strong connection to her team and when that bond is broken she has to adapt fast.

Claire is sent off-world to another planet, which in contrast to her own is extremely vibrant both in people & environment. She gets a job, by hiding skills which if discovered could lead to her death.

During this time we meet Venturo. He is a strong, capable and lethally talented "Psycher". He is also compassionate and is the one to give Claire a chance in this new world she finds herself in.

The story moves on and our hero & heroine show the strength and innate honour they both possess during the twists and turns of this adventure.

Although the story is not the most complex or long that I have read, I truly fell in love with the characters and the world of the Kinsmen.

Archangel's Blade (Guild Hunter #4) by Nalini Singh

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is back in the shadows of a deadly, beautiful world where angels rule, vampires serve, and one female hunter must crawl out of the darkness to survive . . .


The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past . . . but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.


Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality . . . the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.


As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting, and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more . ..


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My View


*Spolier Alert*


I really enjoyed this story, however I am having trouble with the ending. I can't really put it in to words yet. I'll have to digest it a little first.

This was a very moving story and Nalini has once again proven what a talented writer she is.

I've always liked Dmitri and was excited about this book being about him, and giving us a better look into his past and what he has been through.

I really loved learning about Honor. She is a strong woman and is a character I hope we see more of in future Guild Hunter installments.

Having thought a bit more about the ending, I think it's the past lives thing that is getting to me.

I get that Dmitri fell for Honor, but it seems that it's more a case of her being the "vessel" of Ingrede's soul/memories than of who Honor is. I don't know if anyone else feels this way or if it was how Nalini wanted it to seem, but it just felt a little off. It's a beautiful premise - that souls who loved as deeply as Dmitri & Ingrede's did, would find each other again, but it seemed to take something away from who Honor is. Maybe I just don't have a feel for who Honor was before her abduction and that's whats messing with me.

I don't know. I'll have to re-read this story again to see if I feel differently about the ending.

All that being said, I truly enjoyed this story and can't wait for the next Guild Hunter installment.

Keep up the great work Nalini!

Grave Witch (Alex Craft Book 1) by Kalayna Price

Not even death can save her now.

As a grave witch, Alex Craft can speak to the dead-she's even on good terms with Death himself. As a consultant for the police, she's seen a lot of dark magic, but nothing has prepared her for her latest case. When she's raising a "shade" involved in a high profile murder, it attacks her, and then someone makes an attempt on her life. Someone really doesn't want her to know what the dead have to say, and she'll have to work with mysterious homicide detective Falin Andrews to figure out why...


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My View:


I loved this book.  I could not stop reading it.  I enjoyed Alex's interactions with Falin & Death and all her friends.


There is a lot of potential in this world and I can't wait to see where Kalayna leads us.

Deadtown (Deadtown Book 1) by Nancy Holzner

They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders — but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Vicky’s demanding job keeping the city safe from all manner of monsters is one reason her relationship with workaholic lawyer (and werewolf) Alexander Kane is in constant limbo. Throw in a foolhardy zombie apprentice, a mysterious demon-plagued client, and a suspicious research facility that’s taken an unwelcome interest in her family, and Vicky’s love life has as much of a pulse as Deadtown’s citizens.

But now Vicky’s got bigger things to worry about. The Hellion who murdered her father ten years ago has somehow broken through Boston’s magical protections. The Hellion is a ruthless force of destruction with a personal grudge against Vicky, and she’s the only one who can stop the demon before it destroys the city and everyone in it.

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My View:

When I first started reading this book, I didn't think it would grab me, but I was wrong.  I really enjoyed this book.  The world is interesting and the main character can be quite charming.   I've already ordered the next in this series at my local library and I can't wait to get my hands on it :D

The Becoming (Anna Strong Chronicles Book 1) by Jeanne C. Stein

Anna Strong is trained for anything...until she's attacked one night, only to awaken in a dark world that exists between the living and the dead. Here, Anna struggles with her love for the two men who inhabit the realms of each: Max, a human DEA agent, and Avery, a Night Watcher who joins Anna in pursuit of the vampire who changed her life.
 
Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil where survival is not just for the living.

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My View:

I enjoyed this book.  The world is very intriguing and I can't wait to read more in this series. 

Rosemary And Rue (October Daye Book 1) by Seanan McGuire

October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas... 

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer.


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My View:


I really liked this book.  October is an interesting character, who has had some very sad things happen to her and I can't wait to read the next book.  The glimpses of Tybalt are fantastic!  I think he will be another of my favourite male leads!

Staying Dead (Retrievers Book 1) by Laura Anne Gilman

Manhattan's night life just got weirder...

It starts as a simple job--but simple jobs, when you're dealing with the magical world, often end up anything but.

As a Retriever, Wren Valere specializes in finding things gone missing--and then bringing them back, no questions asked. Normally her job is stimulating, challenging and only a little bit dangerous. But every once in a while...

Case in point: A cornerstone containing a spell is stolen and there's a magical complication. (Isn't there always?) Wren's unique abilities aren't enough to lay this particular case to rest, so she turns to some friends: a demon (minor), a mage who has lost his mind, and a few others, including Sergei, her business partner (and maybe a bit more?).

Sometimes what a woman has to do to get the job done is enough to give even Wren nightmares....

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My View:

Really enjoyed this novel.  It's a great start to a new series.  I enjoyed Sergei & Wren's banter and interactions.  The cast of character's are very enjoyable and I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Hard Magic (Paranormal Scene Investigations Book 1) by Laura Anne Gilman

Welcome to P.U.P.I.—Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigations

A handpicked team trained to solve crimes the regular police can't touch—crimes of magic.

My name's Bonnie Torres. Recent college grad, magic user and severely unemployed. Until I got a call out of nowhere to interview for a job I hadn't applied for. It smelled fishy, but the brutal truth was I needed the work—so off I went.
Two days later I'm a PUPI—me and Nick, Sharon, Nifty and Pietr. Five twentysomethings, thrown into an entirely new career in forensic magic.

The first job we get is a doozy: proving that the deaths of two Talents were murder, not suicide. Worse, there are high-profile people who want us to close up shop and go away. We're sniffing out things they'd rather keep buried.
Looks as if this job is gonna get interesting. The only problem is, we're making it up as we go along….

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My View:

I liked this book.  It did take me a while to get into it, but by the end I was glad a stuck with it.  This is the first book from this author that I have read and I will be checking out her other titles soon.

The characters are great, lot's of room to develop, and they are in all, very likable.  The story was good, if a little bit slow in getting going, but it seemed to flow okay and ended well.  I will be checking out the next in this series "Pack of Lies" when it comes in at my local library.

Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge Update

So, I've just spent an hour combing through the shelves and computer catalogue system at my local library to get some of the unread books for my challenge list.

I managed to collect:

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman
The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod
Greywalker by Kat Richardson
Staying Dead by Laura Anne Gilman

I've now been home and reserved the remainder of the books to my reserve list, so hopefully I should have a few more of them to tick off the list before I head back to work.

I was very surprised when I realized that only 3 books from this reading list aren't available at any of our city libraries.  I never knew there were so many Urban Fantasy readers in my city, but it's nice to know there are people like me who like to escape the everyday drudgery to fantastic worlds of magic and the paranormal :D

Now my hardest decision is going to be which one to read first...

Catch you all again soon with an update and hopefully some reviews :D