Tag Archives: Paranormal Fantasy

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for prom nights from hell book cover

Title: Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper
Author: Kim Harrison
Series: Madison Avery #0.5
In: Prom Nights from Hell (Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe & Lauren Myracle)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Death, Grim reapers, Paranormal fantasy
Dates read: 14th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher:Harper Collins
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Farther down the hall three kids loitered at the main door.

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

Synopsis

Madison doesn’t like that she had to move to a small town to spend time with her Dad. She doesn’t like her school. And she doesn’t like that she was forced to go to a lame, pirate themed prom. But she’s going to like what happens next even less…

Thoughts

Well, this story certainly features the worst birthday and prom ever. Yet, it was also the best kind of prom to read about. After all, it involved death and reapers and all sorts of mysteries that I can’t wait to stop and unravel. There’s most definitely a reason for my current obsession / love of Kim Harrison…

There is something about world building that always draws me in completely. Particularly when it is done so beautifully and succinctly in a novella. I’m already drawn into the world of Madison Avery and all of its law. And, even though the lead character is a girl that would usually just frustrate the heck out of me (she’s so against being a part of anything that she’s coming off as snobbish), it somehow all works together brilliantly.

I love that there is a whole heap of reaper lore in this story. There’s good reapers and bad reapers. And then all sorts of mystery and backstory that I really, really want to dig into! I can’t wait to find more stories which feature this lore and world building.

It sucks to die on your birthday, but the greater mystery in this story is one that fascinates me….

<- The CorsageKiss and Tell ->

Image source: Harper Collins

The Perils of Effrijim by Katie MacAlister

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for death's excellent vacation book cover

Title: The Perils of Effrijim
Author: Katie MacAlister
Series: Aisling Grey #4.5
In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Demons, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 13th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: I’m a sixth-class demon.

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

Synopsis

Effrijim just wants to spend his ten day vacation with the love of his life. But things don’t quite go as planned when a She-Bitch gets involved.

Thoughts

The first comment in my notes was “Poor Effrijim”. After all, this story is just one calamity after another. Just a whole series of problems that stop him from having a relaxing vacation and leave him feeling frustrated and ready to scream. It’s just not the optimal vacation and left me feeling seriously bad for Effrijim, even as I laughed and laughed at all of the bad that befell him.

Titania and Oberon made a great cameo appearance in this story. They’re altered story line was fun and entertaining. I also loved how militant and kick ass Titania was. After all, she is completely unorthodox and has been wronged. I also love how she decides to keep Oberon in line from now on…

Jim’s torture is what dreams are made of. It was the kind of torture and storyline that had me laughing happily throughout the entire story. I finished this with a huge grin on my face and a desire to just read more.

<- Seeing is BelievingThin Walls ->

Image source: Amazon

The Devil’s Jack by Laura Anne Gilman

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for dead man's hand book cover

Title: The Devil’s Jack
Author: Laura Anne Gilman
In: Dead Man’s Hand (John Joseph Adams)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Demons, Paranormal fantasy, Weird western
Dates read: 12th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Titan Books
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: “But you waited.”

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

Synopsis

Jack knew better. But he still made a deal with the devil. And now he’s Devil’s Jack, running errands for seven and seven and seven again.

Thoughts

A deal with the devil is never a good idea. But it is a really fun thing to read about. I mean, a deal with the devil is guaranteed to be an interesting beginning to a story. And a great driver for morally grey characters. After all, if they’re doing evil things, then it’s because the devil asked them to and it isn’t because they are evil themselves…

I love how although this is a story about a man who has sold his soul to the devil, it’s primarily about him outsmarting the devil. And the fact that both he and the devil know that even if he’s momentarily outsmarted the devil, it’s just a moment. A quiet little rebellion that ultimately does nothing for Jack.

This was a really fun and humorous short story. I absolutely adored it and had a huge smile on my face the whole time that I was reading it. It was funny and cute. Full of clever, witty moments and just a seriously enjoyable read.

<- What I Assume You Shall AssumeThe Golden Age ->

Image source: Amazon

The Corsage by Lauren Myracle

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for prom nights from hell book cover

Title: The Corsage
Author: Lauren Myracle
In: Prom Nights from Hell (Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe & Lauren Myracle)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Paranormal fantasy, Young adult
Dates read: 10th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher:Harper Collins
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: The corsage curled, as if the petals were shrinking in on themselves.

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

Synopsis

A girl who is desperate for her forever boy to ask her to prom finds a corsage that will grant three wishes. But what follows creates a prom night from hell.

Thoughts

This was a seriously creepy and tragic prom story. Like goosebumps and looking over your shoulder (which in my case meant looking at a blank wall) type creepy. And yet, it was somehow kind of sweet and most definitely heartbreaking. More the kind of prom that I want to read about than the happy, sappy happily ever after crap. Which we won’t go too much into what that actually says about me…

The Corsage is a prom story about first loves and first heartbreaks. With a pretty major twist – it’s not the kind of heartbreak that you would expect. Or at least, it wasn’t what I would have expected in this collection. I had honestly anticipated a lot more happiness and cheerful endings. I’m so happy that Myracle proved me wrong.

Like a lot of stories that feature wish fulfillment in some way, this story acted as a great reminder that what you wish for may not be what you actually want and need. And sometimes making a wish can be the worst possible thing to do. It leaves this story sitting in my pile of not-so-happily-ever-after stories. And definitely one of my favourite novellas…

<- The Exterminator’s DaughterMadison Avery and the Dim Reaper ->

Image source: Harper Collins

Seeing is Believing by L.A. Banks

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for death's excellent vacation book cover

Title: Seeing is Believing
Author: L.A. Banks
In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Psychics, Werewolves
Dates read: 10th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: She really liked you, and you all trusted each other.

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

Synopsis

She has the Gift, but it’s causing her to live a bit like a spinster. Then her brother encourages her to go on vacation, and things take a far more enjoyable and lustful turn…

Thoughts

I really loved the New Orleans feel to this story. Which makes sense, because part of it is based in the city itself, and the rest is based elsewhere. It’s certainly fun and it’s one of the few cities in the USA that actually interests me…

A lot of the stories that I read about psychics and people who have the gift focus on the whole idea of how much the horrors of the future can damage a person. This story instead focused on the ways in which the gift can destroy relationships and spell the end before the beginning. Luckily, it’s not all bad, and there is a happy ending in there as well.

I love that this story has it all – werewolves and psychics, cops and witches, revenge and the beginning of new loves. There’s also a fun pole dancer thrown in there to make it all that much more fun and giggle-worthy.

<- Safe and SoundThe Perils of Effrijim ->

Image source: Amazon

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1) by Holly Black

Title: The Cruel Prince
Author: Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Fantasy, Paranormal fantasy, Young adult
Dates read: 3rd – 9th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: My blood is on fire, boiling in my veins.

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

Synopsis

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered. The fearsome assassin abducts all three girls to the Faerie court, where Jude soon realises that to survive she needs to be as cunning and deceitful as the Fey themselves. But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan.

Thoughts

I seriously can’t stop thinking about this novel. Even though I’m writing this review days after I finished reading it, the words, the occurrences, the entire story is still in my mind’s eye. It was just amazing. Which really isn’t surprising since it was written by Holly Black and everything that I’ve had the pleasure of reading by her is a book that quickly finds its way to the top of my list.

The twist at the end of the story was only obvious about a paragraph before it happened. So, really not obvious or something that I guessed at all. And it was the best twist ever. Luckily, I couldn’t find The Wicked King in my TBR immediately after I finished The Cruel Prince… considering I have a massive stack of books that I’ve already started reading…

Jude is an awesome, completely kick ass lead character. I’m not necessarily in love with her as a person… she’s a little too confrontational and kind of nuts in my opinion. But as a product of being raised by the fae? Yeah, I absolutely loved her. It kind of makes me fear what Taryn will be like in the later books… I mean, they’re twins and whilst they’ve taken a different route to power… it’ll be interesting to see what happens next is the least that I can say.

I’ve only read the one series by Holly Black, and the thing that I loved the most about it was that she depicts the fae beautifully. She continues that vein in this story – the fae aren’t fun, happy, or light. This already feels so much darker than her Modern Faerie Tales series. But it’s still a great indication of the horrors that are in the traditional faerie tales….

<- More Holly BlackThe Lost Sisters ->

Image source: Goodreads

Safe and Sound by Jeff Abott

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for death's excellent vacation book cover

Title: Safe and Sound
Author: Jeff Abott
In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Humour, Paranormal fantasy, Vampires
Dates read: 7th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: Blank.

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

Synopsis

This journalist is just looking for a big, amazing story. But what she finds with her underhanded ways instead… well, somebody is Safe and Sound.

Thoughts

Little known fact – when I finished high school and was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, I seriously considered journalism. But, already at that point, I felt like it was a field more about sensationalizing a story, rather than telling the truth. This short story was a great reminder of that feeling – how the media often just picks the story that is going to get the most attention, just because it will get the most attention. Truth and honesty be damned.

The vampire angle in this story was completely fun and brilliant. It was also entirely predictable, but I did love the way that vampires filtered into a story about the media and a missing boy. I also loved how there was a total comeuppance to the story using the vampire as the angle. They’re not normally the good guys – and in this story they still certainly aren’t. But at least the vampire delivered some poetic justice.

This short story made me think of all of the people that go missing and the stories that are never told. It left me feeling a little melancholy, but in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

<- The Innsmouth NookSeeing is Believing ->

Image source: Amazon

The Innsmouth Nook by A. Lee Martinez

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for death's excellent vacation book cover

Title: The Innsmouth Nook
Author: A. Lee Martinez
In: Death’s Excellent Vacation (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 4th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘So what brings you to Clam Bay?’ he asked.

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

Synopsis

All they wanted to do was open up a quaint little B&B in a small coastal town. But then tourism dropped off. And the locals really didn’t like these two interlopers coming into their town. And then, well, things just got worse.

Thoughts

To start with, I was a little bit “eh” about this story. I mean, two guys from the Big Smoke move to a tiny, backwater town… it’s not exactly a groundbreaking or really very original story. But then it started to develop. And I got hooked. And now I’m still thinking of it with fond memories.

As someone from a tourism area, I completely understand how drastically tourism can impact on a town. This story helped to drive this fact even further home. Plus, it was quite entertaining the new form of tourism that started to encroach on the town.

This short story is a great mix of mythology and folklore. And just the general wit, fun and mayhem that I seriously enjoy in a good short story and paranormal fantasy tale.

<- Meanwhile, Far Across the Caspian Sea…Safe and Sound ->

Image source: Amazon

The Exterminator’s Daughter by Meg Cabot

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for prom nights from hell book cover

Title: The Exterminator’s Daughter
Author: Meg Cabot
In: Prom Nights from Hell (Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe & Lauren Myracle)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Vampires, Young adult
Dates read: 4th November 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher:Harper Collins
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: “Yes,” Adam says calmly.

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

Synopsis

Mary knows one thing… that her friend’s prom date is evil. And it’s her job to take him down. But things don’t always go quite to plan… they can be better.

Thoughts

I most definitely want more of Adam and Mary in my bookshelves. I’m not sure that I’ll get more. But it’s most certainly something that I desire! They work so well as a cute teensy couple. Yet, Mary is also completely kick butt and more than a little damaged. Just how I like my heroines.

I’m still a big believer in the fact that prom is completely, totally and utterly boring. But, this one feels a little bit more fun. Mostly because it involves a cute boy and vampire hunting. Alright, I might be a strong, independent woman, and my own prom I did have a cute date… but not a cute date that would use a water blaster to kill a vampire. Or shoot ketchup at him…

This novella involved not only Dracula’s son, but the exterminator’s daughter. And she also happens to be the daughter of a mad scientist… which, honestly, what’s not to love about that? There is so much fuel in this story for more amazing tales, and it’s a seriously fun little journey. Particularly when the ending is so… full of future possibilities.

I’ve read a few books in the Princess Diaries series. So I’m used to Cabot’s fun, cute and easy to read teenage stories. This fit all of the usual bills and was definitely a story that I would read again and again. A bit like Cabot’s other stories…

<- Prom Nights from HellThe Corsage ->

Image source: Harper Collins

Stray by Rachel Vincent

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Stray (Shifters, #1) by Rachel Vincent

Title: Stray
Author: Rachel Vincent
Series: Shifters #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 30th – 31st October 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Mira
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: He chuckled, sounding distinctly unsympathetic.

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

Synopsis

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MOVIES AND REALITY?
IN REAL LIFE, I WAS THE MONSTER.

Faythe Sanders looks like an ordinary student, but she’s hiding a dark secret: she is a werecat, a powerful supernatural predator. Yet headstrong, independent Faythe resents her power, heading to college to escape her family and her overprotective ex, Marc.

That is until a stray – a dangerous werecat without a pride or territory – catches her scent. With two werecat girls already missing, Faythe is summoned home for her own protection.

But Faythe will do whatever it takes to find her kidnapped kin. She has claws – and she’s not afraid to use them.

Thoughts

This is one of those novels that I have stopped and started a couple of times. And then I read it all in one sitting. There was just something about it that finally grabbed my attention and pulled me in. I think, after you get past the fifth chapter, Vincent really hits her stride and pulls you in. But it does take a little while. And then WABAM! A fantastic novel that I seriously enjoyed.

To start with, I was beyond annoyed at the gumption and attitude of Faythe’s family. And even her ex, Marc, they were just so damn heavy handed and irritating. But, as the story unfolds you kind of begin to see why they act that way. Not that their behaviour is okay, but Faythe is also a little bit of a brat and doesn’t stop to discuss things… she just informs people. I loved that the understanding for why the Sanders act the way they do grows throughout the book, alongside Faythe.

Fayth goes through an awesome transformation throughout this novel. I found it really well written. Instead of one huge moment of epiphany and understanding, she slowly grows into herself and becomes the adult she probably would always have been. It makes me intrigued to read Rogue as I want to see how her newfound maturity serves her as she grows the hell up.

I think that one of the reasons I couldn’t put this down was the action crest towards the middle. I was about to put this aside and cook myself dinner, but there is a moment that has a definite trigger warning attached. And at that point, I just really, really needed to know what in the heck was going to happen next…

<- More Rachel VincentRogue ->

Image source: Goodreads