Tag Archives: Marjorie Liu

Huntress by Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine

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Overview

Title: Huntress
Author: Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine
In: Huntress (Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Short story collections, Strong women, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology, eBook
Year: 2009

Thoughts

This is an absolutely fantastic collection. I loved all of the stories, loved the theme. And just all in all had a great time reading this. To be fair, I’ve actually read all four of the authors featured in this anthology at some point in the past. So it was going to be a pretty good bet that I would enjoy this… a lot.

The common thread of strong women hunting and being just all around kickass was another moment that just cemented my enjoyment of this collection. I’m always a fan of women who kick butt and take names. When that is placed within an urban fantasy setting, I tend to dive into it with even more aplomb. It’s nice to depart reality for a while as a strong woman takes charge…

Each of these novellas is part of a bigger, enjoyable series. I might not have all of them on my shelves… but I probably will soon. They give you a taste of these wonderfully crafted worlds without giving too much away. Plus, they are completely readable as standalone stories, if you feel like you don’t necessarily want to start yet another series.

A fantastic anthology, one I will read again and again. A good way to spend a few hours drifting off from reality.

<- Sin SlayerDevil’s Bargain ->

Image source: Amazon

Warchild by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: Warchild
Author: Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda
Series: Monstress #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Graphic novels, Steampunk
Pace: Fast
Format: Graphic novel
Year: 2020

Thoughts

As always, this graphic novel is dark with many twisty threads. The further into this series that I get, the more I realise that there is a lot of thought that has gone into the backstory of this. It’s definitely one that I need to sit down and reread, just so I can see how all of these threads connect in hindsight. It’s brilliant though, and unlike books that are just prose, takes a whole different kind of thought process. Which, of course, I thoroughly enjoy.

I love that at this point in the series, both the past and present are woven together. It shows that there are misconceptions about Half-Wolf’s past and there are some pretty big treacheries in her future. These facts just add to the darkness of the story. Not just aesthetically speaking, but also emotionally. Liu and Takeda are brilliant at just giving you hints of the motives of all of the players on the board…

There are just so many story lines in this, and then, whilst I’ve been trying to concentrate on this fact, I would get sucked in by the graphics. The pictures throughout this are absolutely gorgeous. And, again, every time I look at it, I discover something new. I was reading this while waiting for blood tests, and it was so damn easy to get mesmerised by the beauty of the pages.

Honestly, I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series. And to discover just how much trouble Half-Wolf is about to find herself in…

<- The ChosenThe Vow ->

Image source: Goodreads

Robber Bride by Marjorie M. Liu

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview

Title: Robber Bride
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
In: Huntress (Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge & Jenna Maclaine)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dystopia, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology, eBook, Novella
Year: 2009

Thoughts

This novella wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but also seriously good. However, there was definitely more of an ick factor than I was anticipating… the lead was definitely more of a grey hero than anything. She had good motivations, but she also didn’t necessarily have innocence on her side. Plus, at the beginning I thought that Irdu would be the romantic interest – they had the set up for it. But, nothing, and I repeat nothing turned out as I anticipated.

Although I don’t necessarily agree with all of the choices made throughout this story, I do love that the lead will do pretty much anything to chase down someone she cares about. I mean, there are constant moments throughout this where she is questioning her decisions, but she is still driven by her loyalty. Honestly, if I end up in a post-apocalyptic world, I would want someone like The Fixer on my side.

I really loved the Crow shapeshifter in this novella. There was a bit of a driving off into the sunset feeling with him, but nothing overt. He is also obviously loyal, although I’m still vague on the motivations if I’m being honest. He was a great alternative romantic entanglement that worked a lot better for my happiness.

This was a fantastic novella. One that I seriously enjoyed, but also couldn’t quite understand all of. I feel like I could reread this multiple times, and not quite get all of the nuances throughout…

<- Devil’s BargainDown in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go ->

Image source: Amazon

The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

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Overview
The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, #1) by Marjorie M. Liu

Title: The Iron Hunt
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Hunter Kiss #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Demons, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 22nd May – 19th June 2021
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: For the first time in my life, I did not care.

Synopsis

Silver smoke winds around my torso, peeling away from my ribs and back, stealing the dark mist covering my hands and lower extremities…tattoos dissolving into demon flesh, coalescing into small dark bodies. My boys. The only friends I have in this world. Demons.

I am a demon hunter. I am a demon. I am Hunter Kiss.

By day, her tattoos are her armor. By night, they unwind from her body to take on forms of their own–demons of the flesh, turned into flesh. This is the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has ever known. It’s the only way to live, and the very way she’ll die. For one day her demons will abandon her for her daughter to assure their own survival–leaving Maxine helpless against her enemies.

But such is the way of Earth’s last protector–the only one standing between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veil. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment–and one man– changes everything…

Thoughts

I’ve been hanging to fully get into this series since I read the first Hunter Kiss novella. But, for whatever reasons I’ve been putting it off. But, now I’m definitely going to keep diving into this series. There’s the whole intrigue of the end of the world going on. And a question of heart. A question of loyalty. There’s just a whole lot of wow going on.

I like that Maxine is the first if the hunter women to actually stop and put down roots. They’re still unconventional. But they are roots, nonetheless. It creates a wonderful, sweet and nice world that she is able to rely on. And, since this whole series seems like its going to revolve around the idea that maxine is special and last… it just adds that extra layer of mystery.

I really loved the feeling of mystery and world building that Liu was able to create. I know from some of the other works I’ve read by her that she tends towards a darker style of story. I know that my heart strings are going to be plucked drastically throughout this series.

The boys that surround marine are also adorable. I’m sure that finding demons adorable is a bit odd… but nevertheless, I still find them wonderful. And im not sure if I’m excited for Darkness Calls for the continuation of the storyline… or getting to spend more time with Maxine’s “boys”

<- Hunter KissDarkness Calls ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Chosen by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Monstress, Vol. 4: The Chosen by Marjorie M. Liu

Title: The Chosen
Author: Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
Series: Monstress #4
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Graphic novels, Steampunk
Dates read: 27th March 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Graphic novel
Publisher: image
Year: 2019
5th sentence, 74th page: It will just take time for lesser beings to grasp the truth.

Synopsis

A new war between humans and Arcanics is bubbling to the surface. A rift in the sky has revealed the devastating potential of the long-imprisoner Monstra. And Maika Halfwolf is at the center of it all.

In this fourth volume of MONSTRESS, collecting issues 19 – 24, Maika comes closer than ever before to the answers she’s long sought – but those answers carry a steep price. As her friends and allies reveal long-held secrets and shifting allegiances, Maika finds herself at the mercy of the Lord Doctor, a charismatic demagogue whose connections to Maika and Zinn run deeper than anyone could have imagined.

Thoughts

This is a glorious graphic novel. Just like the rest of the books in the Monstress series. They are dark, twisted and intense. Completely, beautifully graphic. And I honestly can’t tear my eyes away from the pages whenever I open that first page.

The plot is seriously thickening in this series. I am waiting impatiently for the next collection to come out because, as with every other volume in this series – it ends on a bit of a cliff hanger. There is something about this that makes you ridiculously excited to pick up the next story and immerse yourself again and again and again. But, now I have to wait…

Graphic novels are a medium that are seriously growing on me. However, I still do find that I can’t keep track of the characters as well as I do when it’s a novel written in prose. So there were probably a few important moments throughout this that I missed. A few key characters from the past that are reappearing, and it took me a little longer than it usually would to recognise them. Yet, this makes the adventure so much more fun. After all, I’m stretching some new mental muscles in doing so.

This is definitely a book that I’m going to pick up again and again and again. Whenever I want something a little bit dark, and kind of easy to enjoy. It’s just fantastic and completely impossible to forget.

 <- HavenWarchild ->

Image source: Goodreads

Haven by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for monstress 3 haven book cover

Title: Haven
Author: Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
Series: Monstress #3
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Graphic novels, Steampunk
Dates read: 19th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Graphic novel
Publisher: image
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: If we’re here, it’s because family protects family.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Maika Halfwolf has begun to unlock the mysteries of her past – but the challenges of the present are only growing. In this third volume of MONSTRESS, collecting issues 13-18, Maika’s journey takes her to the neutral city of Pontus, where she hopes to find temporary refuge from her pursuers. Unfortunately, Pontus may not be as safe as Maika and her allies had hoped.

s the impending war between humans and Arcanics creeps ever closer, and powerful players fight for the chance to control her future, Maika finds she must work with Zinn, the Monstrum that lives inside her, in order to ensure their mutual survival. But even that alliance might not be enough to prepare Maika for the horrors to come.

Thoughts

I’ve been putting off reading the next instalment in The Monstress series until it would complete a little more of one of my reading challenges… and when it finally came up on that week in my challenge… well, I completely devoured this. It probably helped that I was having a kind of dark week, and the darkness in the illustrations and storyline of this graphic novel hit the spot perfectly… now I just have to save up the money for the next book in the series…

I’m not someone who reads a lot of graphic novels… actually I’ve really only become interested in the genre in the last eighteen months… but for me, this is everything I never knew I wanted in a graphic novel. A fantastic combination of east and west… with a very healthy dose of mythology and steampunk thrown into the mix. But, mostly, I’ve loved how as this series has progressed, the story has gotten darker and darker, more complex and intensely twisty.

What started as an easy story about Maika Halfwolf has by this point become an incredibly complex tale of politics, war and the gods. There are a few points throughout which I lost a bit of track of who was who, but it was incredibly easy to quickly pick up the thread of the storyline again. After all, Liu and Takeda have done an amazing job of telling the story.

Although I enjoy this story, it is the stunning beauty and power of the illustrations which truly drew me in. There is an intensity and power to the panels which I haven’t seen in many illustrations, one that will leave goose bumps up your arms as you flick through the pages. And quite possibly linger in your dreams when you lay your head down at night.

 <- The Blood ReviewThe Chosen Review ->
Image source: image Comics

Sympathy for the Bones by Marjorie M. Liu

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for an apple for the creature book cover

Title: Sympathy for the Bones
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
In: An Apple for the Creature (Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Horror, Witches
Dates read: 7th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: All my teaching will be for naught if you keep up this way.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Ruth thought she was raised by someone who loved her. But now she realises that that’s just not quite the case… and she’ll do anything to get out of this sticky situation.

Thoughts

I haven’t read many stories about voodoo or hoodoo (I know there’s a difference, I just don’t know what that difference is…). Yet, it’s something that fascinates me. Which of course immediately drew me into this short story. Especially when the lead female voice was so strong and obviously unhappy with her trainer. Unhappy with the atrocities that she is committing over and over again because the elderly woman is asking her to.

I knew that there would be a bit of blood and death in this story – after all, the title is Sympathy for the Bones. What I didn’t expect was the grave digging, the darkness and the ability of the lead female to turn this darkness to her own advantage. Though I’m not sure if she’s good and was going to walk of into the sunset and live happily ever after. Actually, it kind of felt like she was just following in her mentor’s footsteps and not really pursuing the freedom that she so dearly wished for.

 <- Academy Field Trip ReviewLow School Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrisson, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu & Vicki Pettersson

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Holidays Are Hell

Title: Holidays are Hell
Author: Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu & Vicki Pettersson
In: Holidays Are Hell (Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu & Vicki Pettersson)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Short story collections, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Harper Fiction
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: The cold hit me, and I held my crossed arms close now for warmth.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

This holiday, spend quality time with family and loved ones—living and dead . . .

There’s no place like home for the horrordays—unless you’d prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it’s a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year’s with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish!

Thoughts

I was expecting a far more intense Christmas-theme throughout this collection of four novellas. Although all four are set within the holiday season, one of the stories heavily themes Thanksgiving, another the Chinese New Year. So, although not completely about Christmas, the holiday themes that I was expecting were still there, playing a great backdrop against the urban fantasy battles and tales that unfold across the pages.

Compared to the rest of the holiday collections I’ve been reading recently, Holidays Are Hell has a much darker spin on the holidays. The stories that take up this collection aren’t completely dark and twisty, but they’re not light, shining and hopeful. Kind of a bit more realistic about the joys of Christmas as I’ve felt them for the last few years…

 <- The Harvest ReviewTwo Ghosts for Sister Rachel Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

Six by Marjorie M. Liu

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Holidays Are Hell

Title: Six
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
In: Holidays Are Hell (Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu & Vicki Pettersson)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Strong women, Urban fantasy, Vampires
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Harper Fiction
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: His Chinese had an English accent, and he was tall and clean-cut, clad in a navy suit with a lilac tie.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Six is a well trained agent for China. It isn’t until she meets Joseph, a necromancer that she finally meets her match. And her first vampire. And that’s where things quickly begin to unravel.

Thoughts

I absolutely adored this novella. It’s fast-paced, kind of sassy and full of action. Not to mention the woman in the couple is the one more likely to kick your ass. That, and all of this fast-paced, sassy action takes place in Shanghai, with the backdrop of the Chinese New Year. The setting gives an extra layer of character and beauty to the storyline that I don’t often experience in novellas.

I enjoyed this version of “vampires”. It didn’t take the normal shape of blood-sucking fiends, but it did have the same thematic tones as other vampire stories. Mixing in a necromancer or two just helps to up the stakes and create a world that I’m really disappointed only exists in this one novella. I actually went online hunting to see if this is part of a greater series or word. But, alas, it isn’t.

Although I thoroughly enjoy the urban fantasy aspects of this tale, I think that the bit I enjoyed the most is the Chinese background. You can tell that Liu has spent time in Shanghai at the turn of the year, her familiarity almost screams from the page. The characters and the storyline won’t fail to draw you in, but it is the setting that has made this such a memorable tale for me.

 <- Run, Run, Rudolph ReviewThe Harvest Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

Wild Thing by Marjorie M. Liu, Maggie Shayne, Alyssa Day & Meljean Brook

Book Review, , , , , , ,
Overview
Wild Thing

Title: Wild Thing
Author: Marjorie M. Liu, Maggie Shayne, Alyssa Day & Meljean Brook
In: Wild Thing (Marjorie M. Liu, Maggie Shayne, Alyssa Day & Meljean Brook)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Short story collections, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Plump, ripe, sweet.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Four extraordinary talents bring the most uncommon desires to life in a bold new anthology of romance on the edge.

Enter the forbidden and recklessly exciting world of the demon horde and their willing victims…

Listen to the secrets of a beautiful animal whisperer who’s drawn intimately closer to danger, and to the most suspect of all male animals – man…

Get swept away by the passions that rise out of the unfathomable depths of the lost city of Atlantis…

Follow the dark shadows that stalk both the living and the undead in a world of restless vampires and guardian angels…

Thoughts

I tend to buy these small collections of novellas to contribute to one of the series on my shelf. And then when I read them, I get to discover new authors and series that just continue to expand on my collection…

I loved this collection of novellas. I was expecting a very mushy gushy collection judging by the fact that it is classified as paranormal romance. However, it wasn’t like that at all. Each of the stories did feature sex and some form of romance, but it wasn’t incredibly intense. The sexual tension helped to add an extra layer to the storyline, without taking over it.

And don’t get me wrong… I love the stories that are all about the romance, but sometimes it’s nice to have a set of stories which have a sexual tension component, without it just being about that.

 <- Animal Magnetism ReviewWild Hearts in Atlantis Review ->
Image source: Amazon