Tag Archives: Cin Craven

Sin Slayer by Jenna Maclaine

Book Review, , , , , ,
Overview

Title: Sin Slayer
Author: Jenna Maclaine
Series: Cin Craven #3.5
In: Huntress (Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Strong women, Vampires
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novella
Year: 2009

Thoughts

I liked this different take on the Jack the Ripper story. I mean, it wasn’t necessarily introducing a whole new lore into the world, but it was still a fun and unique take on a very well known serial killer. It also helped to further place Cin and her cohort into the “reality” of the world. I also just love that they made such a truly horrible and terrifying man into a demon… I mean, it’s a great way to justify the horribleness of his deeds.

This novella does round out the Cin Craven series. But since I haven’t read any of the standalones and am not quite sure what happens in them, it also works wonderfully as a standalone. Which is wonderful, because with all of the different books on my TBR, it may take me a little while to truly get into this series…

Cin is wonderfully independent and powerful. Something about her outfit and strength has seriously stuck in my head. I’m always a huge fan of any story which features a strong and independent woman. But one that is in Victorian England, dressed in leather and lace? Yeah, that is right up my alley…

I love that although this is the last novella in the series – it also finishes on a note of hope and potential for the future. I love stories that make you think of the wonderful characters all happily riding off into the sunset together, to have more adventures. More life. After all, life continues after the happily ever after.

<- Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men GoHuntress ->

Image source: Amazon

The Righteous by Jenna Maclaine

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

The Mammoth Book of Vampire RomanceTitle: The Righteous
Author: Jenna Maclaine
Series: Cin Craven #0.5
In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Strong women, Vampires
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: He needed a spy at the English court.

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Synopsis

Devlin: warrior, mercenary… vampire.
Justine: human, courtesan… slayer.

Sent to Paris by the High King of the Vampires, Devlin is not prepared to fall in love with the very woman he was hired to kill.

Thoughts

Following on from The Eternal Warrior, I wasn’t sure where this story would go. I know that the main series focuses on Cin Craven. And, as with the other two short stories that I have read in this series (I have yet to actually read one of the novels), I absolutely loved this!

I loved the lead couple in this – Justine and Devlin are both awkwardly righteous and filled with honour. They are fun, and reading about their unconventional courtship was a different pace from any of the other stories that I have so far read in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. The fact that this ties in perfectly with The Eternal Warrior and the Morrigan’s masterplan just made it all that much more enjoyable.

 <- Fangs for Hire Review Knowledge of Evil Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Eternal Warrior by Jenna Maclaine

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

The Mammoth Book of Irish RomanceTitle: The Eternal Warrior

Author: Jenna Maclaine

Series: Cin Craven #0.1

In: The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance (Trisha Telep)

Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)

My Bookshelves: Celtic, Dark fantasy, Strong women, Vampires

Pace: Slow

Format: Short story

Publisher: Running Press

Year: 2011

5th sentence, 74th page: But I will never forgive you.

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Synopsis

In the dawn of a new millennium, the goddess Morrigan must forge a new race of warriors to protect both Faerie and the human world from an unimaginable evil. This short story is a prequel to the Cin Craven series, first published in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance.

Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect from this short story – I just know that I bought The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance because this tale was in it. It is a prequel to the Cin Craven series, and I’ve been hanging out to read the rest of the tales in the series. And I really wasn’t disappointed. This was thoroughly enjoyable, kind of cute and had just the right amount of sass.

Cullen and Morrigan feel like they are setting the scene for a massive battle. But, The Eternal Warrior also just tells their own personal story and highlights the intricacies of all that (I’m assuming) comes before. There is this weird push and pull between the two that I find kind of intriguing – it is obvious how much they care for one another, but there is so much bitterness there, and the extra spice made me kind of sad that the story ended so soon. Now I need to pick up the next Mammoth Book and read The Righteous.

 <- Daughter of the Sea Review Eternal Strife Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Dark Sins by Jenna Maclaine

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

strange-brewTitle: Dark Sins
Author: Jenna Maclaine
Series: Cin Craven #1.5
In: Strange Brew (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Strong women, Vampires
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Whatever the wizard had dosed him with had put him so far under that there was no consciousness left.

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Synopsis

Venice 1881, Cin Craven’s journey starts and she is forced to battle some fairly sinister forces.

Thoughts

The employment of the Morrigan in a story about vampires was not something that I expected. Neither was the merging of a vampire and a witch into one incredibly powerful being. However, it worked brilliantly! Cin Craven is everything that I love in a heroine – and the fact that she is a vampire was a different twist. Unlike a lot of vampire stories that have become popular in our modern culture, her condition as this type of paranormal creature is not fully romanticised, nor is it portrayed as something that all simpering teens desire. It was a lot darker and, due to this, felt a lot truer.

The placement of the story in 1881 Venice had so many romantic connotations – ones that were maybe not fully realised, but the use of this backdrop left a lingering feeling of love and sophistication to the carnage into which Cin steps. This juxtaposition between the two conditions and Cin’s team and those of their enemies worked beautifully to create a reality in which the storyline flourished.

 <- Ginger Review Strange Brew Review ->
Image source: Goodreads