Tag Archives: Urban Fantasy

Oblivion by Calvin Klein by Christopher Fowler

Book Review, ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: Oblivion by Calvin Klein
Author: Christopher Fowler
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Urban fantasy
Dates read: 13th July 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: Helen really wanted a cigarette.

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

Helen just wants to find the oblivion of consumerism that her marriage has led her to crave. But, when she finds out that she might not be able to get her fix, she decides to something a little bit drastic…

Thoughts

I always like to say that I’m not that materialistic. But then you walk into my house and see the walls of books, and it becomes obvious that in some ways, I am incredibly materialistic. Which meant that this story was not only a really fun read, but also a somewhat uncomfortable one. It spoke to trends in society and what we perceive as needs and how they could be our eventual downfall. As I said, very uncomfortable.

This story quickly went from kind of amusing, to kind of uncomfortable, to completely horrifying in very quick order. At the beginning, it is obvious that Helen has a bit of an issue and needs to deal with her own personal life. Quickly it becomes apparent that it’s more than a little issue and the woman is getting desperate. And then she does the desperate thing. Which makes you wonder how far we would go for our materialistic / capitalist fix…

Although this story made me kind of question many of my own motives and decisions, it was still fun. And the ending provided a glimmer of hope to the story as Helen trots off towards a new future, with a new hope and understanding of just what true happiness and need are all about.

 <- The Duke of Riverside ReviewFairy Gifts Review ->
Image source: Patricia Briggs

Vampsploitation by Jaye Wells

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of vampire romance 2 book cover

Title: Vampsploitation
Author: Jaye Wells
Series: Sabina Kane #0.5
In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy, Vampires
Dates read: 12th July 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: Anger because I was sick and tired of being underestimated.

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

Sabina just wants to work on her own, but a trick of birth and politics means she’s stuck with an opinionated macho man. Could he be her ticket out and something more? Or is he just a dunce?

Thoughts

I bought the first book in this series ages ago. With no idea what it was going to be about and what it would be like. It just had a cool name and was on sale. Which meant that reading this short story certainly made me think that I made the right decision. Now I just have to exercise some self-control and not open it again straight away.

For such a short story, there are two themes explored incredibly well within this tale. For starters there’s the one about prejudice and “othering”. Then there’s also the issue of trust. Not only are they great methods to keep me involved in the story, they also set up the beginning of the series perfectly. Which makes sense, since this is the prequel…

I’ve always had some trust issues. I think that many people do, so it’s always a little too easy to relate to these in a story. Add to that the fact that Sabina is an assassin, and you can see how these trust issues are going to lead to a very messed up and complex heroine. After all, this is just the beginning of her problems. I’m sure there are about to be much more.

 <- Crimson Kisses ReviewTrust Me Review ->
Image source: Bookdepository

The Bad Hour by Thomas E. Sniegoski

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

Title: The Bad Hour
Author: Thomas E. Sniegoski
Series: Remy Chandler #5.5
In: An Apple for the Creature (Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Angels, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 12th July 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: Remy sat behind the desk in his Beacon Street office putting together an expense report for a client whose job he had finished the previous week.

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

Synopsis

Remy always seems to get the more difficult cases, those that involve the supernatural. But when him and his loyal companion must attend doggy obedience school, he discovers that sometimes it’s not all bad.

Thoughts

I have two beautiful, annoying, slightly crazy and incredibly loyal dogs. Which means that any story that features “man’s best friend” is going to make me happy. Especially when the main character is able to communicate with his loyal hound. If only I could have the same slightly ridiculous, incredibly fun conversations with my two furry companions…

Although I really loved the storyline of this tale, what I loved most was the interactions between Remy and his hound. I frequently talk to my dogs, but, sadly, they never respond. However, if they did, I can imagine that they would talk much like they do in this story. Slightly stupid, slightly witty and incredibly amusing. His horror and disappointment at being a “bad dog” made me think of the look on my Staffy’s face whenever he’s in trouble. Equal parts devotion and devastation.

In a collection of urban fantasy stories about school and teaching, a puppy school has got to be my favourite kind. I love being surrounded by dogs and reading about a scene in which this is happening left me in my happy place. Even if the badness was caused by the tales of one such hound…

<- VSIPirate Dave and the Captain’s Ghost ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Duke of Riverside by Ellen Kushner

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: The Duke of Riverside
Author: Ellen Kushner
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, LGBTQI, Medieval fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 12th July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: Why would you want to go there with me?

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

There’s a young man whose decided to come down to Riverside and find his death. What he doesn’t realise is that no one is going to end the life of an unarmed man. But what he finds instead is much, much better.

Thoughts

The wit and dry humour in this story had me chuckling a fair bit. There was something about a strange, lanky scholar who was desperate to be killed roaming the streets and just having absolutely no luck. It got even better when you found out that he was a duke and abhorrent to the rest of his family. The beauty, humour and irony in the story had me cackling more than I should probably admit if I still wanted people to consider me sane (which I don’t, so it’s fine).

Growing up, I never seemed to read many stories which featured LGBTQI characters. But as my reading tastes have grown, I’ve noticed that it’s a theme that shows up more and more frequently. Or it may just be that it’s a theme that is written about more frequently as our society changes. Regardless, it’s something that I always love in my stories. And the unexpected coupling of two men in this story took me completely by surprise. Partly because in the beginning I thought it would be a tale about Alec just being killed in some random, heinous way. And partly because it’s a medieval fantasy-esque story, and I tend to find that that’s not a relationship that is outwardly hinted at.

The final scene of this short story is one of those that is incredibly difficult to get out of your head. The entire time I’ve been writing this review, I have that great, final image struck into my brain. But, you really must read this story yourself to have that fine enjoyment.

 <- On the Slide ReviewOblivion by Calvin Klein Review ->
Image source: Patricia Briggs

Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong & Lori Handeland

Book Review, , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for dates from hell book cover

Title: Dates From Hell
Author: Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong & Lori Handeland
In: Dates From Hell (Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong & Lori Handeland)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Short story collections, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 22nd June – 11th July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Avon Fiction
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: Jerking in sudden decision, she dropped the pen and pulled out the Yellow Pages, looking for the biggest insurance ad that wasn’t connected to one of Cincinnati’s older vamp families.

Synopsis

She thought her date was out of this world. Acutally, he was not of this world…

We’ve all been on bad dates, dreadful experiences that turned out to be uniquely memorable in the very worst way. But at least our partners for these detestable evenings were more or less… human!

Now Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, and Lori Handeland – four of the very best writers currently exploring the dangerous seduction of the supernatural – offer up dating disasters (and unexpected delights) of a completely different sort: dark, wicked, paranormally sensual assignations with werewolves, demon lovers, and the romantically challenged undead. Sexy, witty, chilling, and altogether remarkable, here is proof positive that some love matches are made someplace other than heaven.

Thoughts

Normally I love collections like this because you can read one novella, finish it, put it down and walk away. I did manage to do this… but it was quite a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I had already read something by every one of these authors, and so I knew that what was just around the corner was going to be fantastic. And it was this knowledge that made it nigh on impossible to stop thinking about this storyline.

There is something about stories of horrible dates that I kind of love. Not because I’ve ever been on one (I met my other half when I was seventeen and have been stupid in love since). But I can imagine the horrors of what pretty much everyone must go through. It’s a way to live vicariously through something. Adding in the extra aspect of fantasy and the supernatural just made it all the more fun. And a little bit more alien than even a first date is to me.

Anybody who loves paranormal fantasy or romance is going to love this collection of novellas. If you also enjoy heroines who are strong and independent and more than likely to get themselves into trouble… then this is even more likely to make you deliriously happy. Like it did me… now I need another collection like this to while the nights away…

 <- Dead Man DatingUndead in the Garden of Good and Evil ->

Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

VSI by Nancy Holder

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

Title: VSI
Author: Nancy Holder
In: An Apple for the Creature (Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Cops, Urban fantasy, Vampires
Dates read: 11th July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: FBI.

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

Claire is in an uncomfortable marriage, but a two week training trip away with her partner (who she has a bit of a crush on) might help her find a way out of it. Even if it’s not quite the way she had planned to escape a loveless life.

Thoughts

From fairly in this story it seemed to be a tale about vampires. After all, the first, very naked perp that Claire and Jackson bring down is a woman with filed down teeth. What I didn’t expect was Holder’s unique take on a modern vampire and who the actual serial killing crazy person was going to be. That took me nicely and pleasantly by surprise.

Most urban fantasy stories which involve a cop tend to either have a completely platonic relationship or one full of romance. This was somewhere in between, it was obvious from the beginning that there was an extra level of feeling between Claire and Jackson, but then there’s a mention of her husband. This little spanner isn’t one that I normally come across. Most of the paranormal and urban fantasy stories I read involve the act of falling in love, but not what happens when that falls apart. I liked this change in relationship status, I wouldn’t want to read a huge amount of stories which deviate this far, but every now and again they’re fun.

I enjoy the idea of a vampire serial killer. Don’t get me wrong, it would be ten times more terrifying than a human one, but it gives a good reason to hunt down the culprit. That whole us versus them doesn’t sit overly well with me, so having a reason to hunt down a vampire and study him… it just added that extra shine and enjoyment to this story. A story which I’m quite disappointed is over.

 <- An Introduction to Jewish Myth and Mysticism ReviewThe Bad Hour Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Dead Man Dating by Lori Handeland

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for dates from hell book cover

Title: Dead Man Dating
Author: Lori Handeland
In: Dates From Hell (Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong & Lori Handeland)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Demons, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 11th July 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Avon Fiction
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: His face was fierce, his eyes dark, intense as they stared into mine.

Synopsis

On their first date, Kit goes too far with Eric, shot by bystander Chávez, then wakes to no blood, no body.

Thoughts

You know a story’s going to be good when it starts out stating that she was on a date with a dead man. Literally. Completely, totally and utterly, stone cold. Dead. The fact that a mysterious, Latino man dives in to save the day and the woman is stubborn enough not to let him escape. Well, it was going to be a fantastic story from the very beginning.

Handeland seems to have a way that is both witty and serious with her writing. As Kit struggles to escape the seductive demon chasing her and sort out her feelings for the demon hunter in her life, she also manages to be a little bit pithy about the world around her. The tragedy of her past, the terrifying circumstances of her present, nothing dulls Kit’s ability to find humour in everything and a way to move forward. Which of course, made this story completely impossible to put down. I even walked into the edge of the doorway, I was so desperate to finish this and make my dinner at the same time.

The construction of the world in this novella is fantastic. I love the layering of real world issues and realities (calling a twenty-something year old virgin rare for starters) with a demon hunting reality. Many of us often claim that the world is kind of going to shit, and Handeland seamlessly takes this idea one step further with the discussions of a coming apocalypse. Now I just have to find some more works by her to fill up my happy little, addicted brain.

 <- ChaoticDates From Hell ->

Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

On the Slide by Richard Bowes

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: On the Slide
Author: Richard Bowes
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Time travel, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 11th July 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: Grainy black-and-white detectives in suits and hats chased a gunman over the roofs of early 1960s New York.

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

He’s trying to slide through time to fix up the mistakes of the past. But is he going to be able to do this on the set of a movie?

Thoughts

It took me a little while to understand what was happening in this story. Mostly because it’s a short story in a collection of urban fantasy tales, and it didn’t quite seem like a fantasy until about three quarters of the way through. And then I started to really pick up on the nuances and quiet storylines that I’m beginning to recognise in Richard Bowes’ short stories. It was at this point that I decided I really wanted to go back to the beginning and read it again with more awareness.

The idea of sliding through time isn’t anything new, but the dreamy and twisty way in which Bowes tells the story made it feel a little newer. There was something that made you feel like you were sliding in and out of time as you read the story anyway, so when that final transition occurred, it wasn’t so shocking. Rather, it felt… inevitable.

In a collection of tales of urban fantasy, this was a nice, contemporary spin. There wasn’t the same level of supernatural and preternatural characters and stories which I’m used to. And I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone and try something new… especially when it takes you pleasantly by surprise.

 <- How the Pooka Came to New York City ReviewThe Duke of Riverside Review ->
Image source: Patricia Briggs

How the Pooka Came to New York City by Delia Sherman

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: How the Pooka Came to New York City
Author: Delia Sherman
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Fae, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 4thy July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: The shoat it belonged to squealed and bolted, leaving only four and their dam for the Pooka to fight.

Synopsis

The Pooka is a trickster of marsh and bog. So he’s not entirely sure why he’s in New York City, but maybe he should just make the best of his situation…

Thoughts

Most of the fae stories I read form some mentioning of the immigration of the Fair Folk to America in some way, shape or form. There’s always a mention of the industrial revolution and a discussion of how hard it was, even for these supernatural immigrants. But I’ve never read a story that actually takes place in this time. That talks about those first moments off the boat in a whole new world that is just as convoluted and confusing to the fae as it was to the humans. Until now. And I find that I kind of love it…

As with all of the other short stories I’ve read by Delia Sherman, there is a great level of wit and humour to this story. And a slight twist to it that made it so much more fun and more difficult to put down. But, mostly I loved the nature of the trickster and the weird juxtaposition of a man who is accompanied by a fae who is supposed to save him. When the fae is so iron sick that he can barely save himself…

I loved the vivid descriptiveness of this story. I felt like I was actually standing next to the Pooka as he discovered a new world. Trudging through a new reality that I didn’t understand or quite like… but one that had so much potential.

<- CursesOn the Slide ->

Image source: Patricia Briggs

The Battle of the Labyrinth – the Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan & Robert Venditti

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for the battle of the labyrinth graphic novel book cover

Title: The Battle of the Labyrinth – the Graphic Novel
Author: Rick Riordan & Robert Venditti
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians – the Graphic Novels #4
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Graphic novels, Greek mythology, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 28th June – 4th July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Graphic novel
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: That’s why the Titans’ army is after it.

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

Honestly, blowing up another school was the last thing I wanted to do.

As the son of a Greek god, I’ve had my share of near-death disaster – and now my arch-enemy Luke wants to invade camp via an ancient labyrinth.

If he succeeds, thousands of bloodthirsty monsters will attack. So it’s ‘Goodbye, sunshine; hello, darkness’ as four of us descend into the terrifying underground and beyond…

Thoughts

It took me a little longer to get into this graphic novel than the first three in the series. I don’t know if it’s maybe because I just didn’t originally like this storyline as much (it mostly just sets up the final battle), or if I picked it up at an inconvenient time. But, regardless, it took me a fair bit longer to read than a graphic novel usually would. Although, once I got past the first part / chapter, I didn’t stop.

There was a lot of information in the original novel, and a lot that was missed out in the graphic novel. But Venditti and Riordan managed to work this perfectly. I didn’t feel like important aspects were skipped out on, but rather, wondered why I enjoyed them so much in the novel. There was a great flow and pace to the storyline as you sink into the depths of the labyrinth and hope for the best with Percy and all his friends.

One of the parts of this graphic novel that stuck with me was the panels which showed Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson walking through the labyrinth. Each panel has a different background to the characters and I thought that this showed the tricky, everchanging nature of the labyrinth perfectly.

 <- The Titan’s Curse – The Graphic Novel ReviewThe Last Olympian – The Graphic Novel Review ->
Image source: Penguin NZ