Dark heroes and game-playing faeries... loved it!
926898
I loved all the books in this series. It's refreshing to have heroes and heroines who are multi-dimensional, both good and bad. Troy in particular is a great character... dark and mysterious, very dangerous and yet a hero. I loved the insight into the faerie mentality and their ways of getting around not being able to lie. This is a very well-written book.

The one criticism I would have is that there are a couple of spelling mistakes like 'lied' instead of 'lay' and 'tube' instead of 'tub', but this is a captivating and book that will enchant faerie lovers!
3081016
I really love a well written fantasy romance, and when you throw in a compelling menage relationship and some spanking too, well, it's all icing on a very substantial cake.  I loved Dravern and Taric as heroes.  They were so well written, distinct in their personalities and had flaws and virtues that made sense to the reader.  Kyra, the heroine, is an elf maid, and her encounter with the soon to be giant killing brothers is a lot of fun.

The spanking scenes were varied and weren't the same, which is refreshing.  I will definitely be checking out more books by this author!
1715182
What a wonderful world involving the Sidhe Fae! So often, they are presented as all bad, regardless of caste - Seelie or Unseelie. This was a nice mix of Druidism, Humanism, and Fae.

Although there were times that I felt that Maxie was young for her age, certain things she would say, I found myself truly intrigued and grew to really like her.

The men are, of course, hot. A woman could do no better between The Prince of Dadga, Breslyn and Lord Julian MacTalbot. As I have already commented to Claudy...can't I have both? NO?! bummer.

Anyway. Lots of sexual tension, mystery and drama!
A great read, and glad to have read it!
3071037
Title: Mortal Enchantment

Author: Stacey O'Neale

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Series: Mortal Enchantment, book two

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review--thanks so much, Stacey!

Elementals. Elementals are one of my favorite sort of beings to read about. I mean, who hasn't dreamed of having dominion over the most powerful forces in nature? To own the waves of the ocean, to call upon the fire deep within the earth? Oh, I'm getting distracted. On to the review.

Mortal Enchantment picks up after the explosive climax of The Shadow Prince, this time turning to Kalin as the main character. On her birthday, she must go to Avalon to learn to use her gifts of elemental power--being the Air Court princess and all. But when she goes to Avalon, her father is missing. Forced to be completely on guard within a court full of secrets, intrigue, and clandestine power struggles, she also is distracted by the sexy Rowan, who seems to have his own motives for protecting her.

I'll start off with the things I enjoyed: I really liked the world-building. It was great, and I really enjoyed the way the faerie courts were structured--it still fit the world, but it was unique all at once. I liked the characters, too: Rowan, Kalin, and Marcus and Ariel were all relatable and well-nuanced. And the evil characters, too, which I won't name for spoiler reasons.

The pacing was awesome--once things started rolling, I couldn't put it down. I was completely glued to the pages, especially towards the end. There were things I didn't like, too, and that's why I gave it 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5: Kalin seemed really hormonal and boy-crazy toward Rowan, and their relationship seemed to evolve out of thin air. I would've liked to see them develop more, rather than Kalin lusting after him every two seconds.

And that ending--Oh my God! If I didn't have the third and last novel lined up, I would be dying! I'm so excited to read Fragile Reign! The bottom line: A fantastic sequel to The Shadow Prince, Mortal Enchantment was riveting--I loved it! Next on deck: Fragile Reign by Stacey O'Neale!
3813640
This book was so much fun! It's a unique genre mash-up between paranormal, romance, and super-hero books. Even though there's a lot of heaviness in the story--between the death of Nicholas's girlfriend Justina years before, the death and destruction brought about by the bad guys, and some other elements I don't want to spoil--the witch Gavina provides comedic relief at just the right moments. Plus, the story had so many twists and turns, I had to keep turning pages. This is the first novel I've read by Nicole Zoltack, but it will definitely not be the last.
4634605
(This review was originally posted at VampireBookClub.net)

I have heard friends, Goodreads pals and fellow bloggers opine on the wonders of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series and how the Barrons character will make any woman weak in the knees. Then I was advised to wait to start the series until November, so I wouldn't die in anticipation of the final book's release (Shadowfever comes out in January). So, let's just say I went into this one with very high expectations.

And, early on, I didn't get the big deal. But I kept reading Darkfever, and before I knew it I was roped into Moning's witty writing and engaging characters. I get it. (Though, the way people talk about Barrons I expected romance in the first book -- there is none. He's just really insanely alpha and sexy.)

In this urban fantasy page-turner, we meet MacKayla. She's heading to Ireland from Georgia because her sister -- who had been studying abroad -- was murdered and the Dublin police aren't doing a damn thing. Her plan is to find evidence to get them to open the case. She is determined to find her sister's killer. Unfortunately, all she has to go on is a cryptic voicemail mentioning a phrase she doesn't understand and a whole lot of panic.

What follows is her decent into the world of the fae. Not the pretty faeries of Disney movies, but cruel beings who think themselves better than humans. Mac is a sidhe seer, or one who can see though faery glamour, only she doesn't understand it. This is where the brusque Jericho Barrons comes in. He'll teach her about the fae, if she'll help him in his own mission.

And she's going to need his help, not only to find her sister's murder, but to stay alive. Dark faeries are escaping an Unseelie prison and arriving in Dublin. People are dying and her sister may just have been the latest casualty.

The wry tone of our protagonist keeps the dark fantasy in Darkfever from weighing on the reader. With constant danger, overwhelming new experiences and a bold `other' world, it is near impossible to put Darkfever down once you're acquainted with MacKayla.

(And, yes, I plan to devour the whole Fever series before January. I can already see why it's so addictive.)
4522941
This book stands out amongst the other fantasy books I've read and the fantasy movies I've seen. It is hauntingly dark and wildly creative. Just when I thought I would see a worn-out trope on the next page, the author surprised me with something new and inventive--that happened multiple times as I was reading it.

I highly recommend this book for readers of dark fantasy. It is a creepy, raw book with a lot of heart, great and memorable characters, and brilliant ingenuity. And it still has the essentials that most fantasy readers want: a magic system, a dragon, a quest, wizards and orcs and gnolls and young heroes and a heartbroken father trying to resurrect his dead family--and much more. So, so cool.

I can't wait for book 2 to come out!
3917823
Although I love the variety of paranormal books out there, this book was a refreshing change of pace! I have always been enchanted with faerie tales and this was a fresh and electrifying tale!(Pun intended!)
843759
I've never been much of a "fantasy being" fan. But, hanging around Facebook one day,  I saw a page by offered by Shelah Dow and decided I had to take a closer look. As much as I love looking at books with beautiful fairies and fae, they actually aren't that much different from each other. And so, if you're as bored with the normal beautiful Fae and Faeries books as I am, this is definitely a book to pick up!

Shelah Dow is a very creative artist and I am enjoying getting to know her work. I have to say, I really like her faery creatures and witchy women. The images within this book are not your 'standard fare' of impossibly pretty faeries and fae people, just the same, they are absolutely delightful. I enjoyed coloring her swan-necked beings and look forward to sharing some of them on Facebook. They are so fun and intriguingly different. They have just enough weirdness to completely hook  me.

There are all matter of creatures added to the pages in this book, fairy cats, mice, spiders and my favorite, her dragons! Shelah Dow's book is wonderful drawn and so fun to color. Eventually, when I color it all in, and I will, I'll buy it again. I am really looking forward to my next coloring book by this indie artist!
3920371
Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:
*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review
I utterly enjoyed this book. It seemed to be exactly what I needed at the time, and kept my interest from beginning to end.
It should be noted that I hadn't read the previous 2 installments of the Grim series before reading this for review, and that was O.K. Sorta. The book was absolutely fine as a standalone, but now I have 2 more books that I've bumped up in my TBRSoon list. :)
Storm Warned had one of those despicable villains that you love to hate, heroes and heroines that you cheer on every step of the way, an interesting and beautifully built world with some very cool intricacies, and a supporting cast that will definitely make you want more.
Liam is a tortured hero. He had a bad break in life and it caused him to put aside his dreams and secret himself away. You can't help but feel for him, and while there were times I sort of wanted to shake him, it all played out beautifully. Caris was fun, feisty and independent, a true counterpoint to his misery. The two of them together blended harmoniously to create a beautiful melody of love (yes that was a terrible punish statement, as the storyline very heavily revolves around music, something I absolutely adored!!).
I am really looking forward to reading more in Ms. Harper's Grim world, and I definitely recommend Storm Warned if you're in the mood for some Fae.
1329915
I remember reading and really enjoying Holly Blacks older urban fantasy novels around eight or nine years ago, and I still credit those (along with the TMI series) with getting me really into YA books. I sort of held off on reading this for a while because I was worried I wouldnt enjoy her work anymore, but I'm so glad I finally picked this up!!

Theres a certain atmosphere to Blacks writing, a way she incorporates faerie magic into contemporary settings that feels fresh and timeless and dangerous. Its creative and mysterious and so utterly believable that I almost feel like I should start carrying a giant sword every time I go for a walk in the woods.

The Darkest Part of the Forest is more of a rural fantasy than an urban oneits set in the small town of Fairfold, a place well-known for its mysterious happenings, unexplained deaths, and the faerie prince who sleeps under a glass coffin deep in the forest. Hazel and Ben are siblings whove grown up in the town, and they spent their childhood hunting some of the more dangerous creatures that lurk in the woods. Hazel has the courage and fighting skills of a warrior, while Ben is able to charm the creatures with his gift for music. In their free time, they spend their days lingering around the glass coffin, each imagining themselves falling in love with the beautiful boy inside. But something is changing in Fairfold. The fey are growing more restless. Ominous messages are tucked inside of acorns, and when the faerie prince goes missing from his coffin, Hazel is forced to reckon with a bargain she made years ago.

I really loved the mystery of this book, the way the plot pieces itself together through a series of memories, discoveries, and adventures. Its enthralling, the kind of story that pricks its claws into your shoulders and keeps you flying through the pages because you NEED to know whats really going on.

The ways this book plays off of fairytale tropes is also SO well done. The girl can be the valiant knight, the boy can fall in love with the prince, and even the most terrifying of monsters aren't whator whothey seem to be.

I honestly have such mixed feelings about what to rate this. It was creative and compulsively readable, with a fantastic sense of atmosphere. The thing is, the ending just wasn't quite satisfying enough. It all felt very rushed, and I didn't think there was a clear enough buildup to the final confrontation. It was like a helium balloon thats outlived its primesort of wilted and flat and all-around unfortunate. I also thought Bens perspective was really underdeveloped in comparison to Hazels. I wanted more of a balance to the narrative, and IMO, a lot of the pacing issues would have been solved by allowing Bens character to have deeper development and more POV chapters. Its definitely not perfect, but I think I can comfortably settle on four stars.

Now that Ive read this, Im SUPER excited to move on to The Cruel Prince (hopefully) soon! Ive heard that one is even better, and features some cameos that Im really looking forward to!
1751337
first off I'd like to say I received this book for free :-) not only did I find a new author but I also found a wonderful series. Deanna Chase gave a fresh look at fae Magic. I was really sorry to see this series end I'm looking forward to the next adventure that she takes us on :-)
4189532
This is not your typical LitRPG book which is what makes it so awesome. The main character, Jason, is not good, is not a hero, is not some muscle-bound barbarian, instead he is a lite-weight nerd that is constantly picked on by everyone. Only in the game does he become powerful and chooses to go to the dark side in order to dispel his anger and frustration that the real world presents to him.  Despite the fact that he is Chaotic-evil and decides to become a Necromancer to funnel his rage, I as a reader root for him to win out over the good and "light" players. What does that say about me as a reader? That the author did a fantastic job of creating a complex narrative that was truly enjoyable.
Looking forward to the next book!
881034
What I love most about Reign of Shadows is its ability to bring me back to my favourite book worlds, namely Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. It has this dark fairytale re-telling but Jordan introduces enough elements for it to be classified as original fantasy. The POV alternates between Luna and Fowler and this transition is smooth. I didn't feel like I was being thrown into the mind of another character after just getting used to the former. I instantly liked Luna, and it was great going on this adventure with her and watching her grow as an individual.

World-building is usually my favourite part of a novel and Im happy its the case here. Luna has lived in a tower all her life and has little experience of the Outside world, beyond the Black Woods. Her world is defined as Outside and Inside. Like Luna, the world starts out small for the reader and as she experiences Outside, the same can be said for the reader. This is an intriguing aspect to consider because like Luna, the reader knows theres more to Jordans world than the Black Woods, but no limit has been set. I also loved the idea of a world shaped by darkness, with only an hour of midlight. There are bats four feet wide, huge eels, and my favourite, dark dwellers  creatures that live in the earth and feed on anything in their path. I love the idea of things you can only imagine becoming real.

Jordan places an emphasis on character development, mostly focusing on Luna and Fowler. This one-on-one interaction is great for the reader, who gets to know both characters while the two get to know each other. I found Luna shared more to the reader than Fowler, but I liked trying to figure out Fowlers past. Theres a lot of romance and while I did enjoy it, I found it moved too fast in the beginning; it was almost cheesy. Life-and-death situations do bring people closer, but at the end of the day Luna and Fowler are still strangers. It was more believable near the end.

I loved the plot up until the end when the book ended on a cliffhanger. This ended up confusing me and my interpretation of the plot. At the beginning the main characters set out to find Allu, a mythical land free of dwellers. Analyzing it a bit more, you could also say Lunas goal is to not live in the tower the rest of her life (which is accomplished). I haven't seen this advertised as a series, but even if theres a sequel in the works I personally feel book #1 should always have some sort of conclusion. Its fine to include that possibility of more, but I don't believe there should be a huge cliffhanger. As weird as it sounds I still enjoyed the adventure, even with my confusion of the plot.

Jordans writing has good flow and shes at the stage where shes in-tune with her writing. Jordan knows what words to choose and creates an almost poetic element to the book. Even with the plot confusion, Jordan has gained a new reader and Im 100% certain Ill read a sequel. I recommend Reign of Shadows for fans of Cornelia Funke and Stacey Jay.
3752505
Warning: Before you begin reading this book, make sure to have the sequel readily available because you will want it right away. I didn't have the second book and spent a few minutes staring at a wall after turning the last page. The Falconer originally lured me in with the promise of steampunk, Scotland, and fae. It absolutely delivered on every single one of those promises. This series is incredibly addictive and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Aileana is such a wonderfully broken character. When we first meet her, her world has been torn apart by her mother's death and the knowledge of what she witnessed that night. Aileana revels in her nightly hunts of the fae, savoring the power and sense of revenge each death brings her. What I particularly liked about this book is that she still conformed to (or at least attempted to) the standard of high society. While she didn't like them, she still accepted the power they had over her life. Many books gloss over the social repercussions of being different in that time period and I loved that this one didn't.

The world building was a little skimpy and left me with many questions (and the need to read the second book to find out more). I hope to see the world fleshed out in the rest of the trilogy. Most of the explanations about the world came up as Aileana learned about them. Since she doesn't know much herself, the reader is left wondering about some things (such as her powers, what's special about her bloodline, etc). However, there was enough world-building to allow me to enjoy the novel without feeling as if I was missing essential pieces of information.

Onto my favorite character. Derrick was funny, warm-hearted, and good (as well as sassy and honey-obsessed). The inclusion of a good fae to contrast with the morally ambiguous and evil ones was a brilliant idea of the authors. I loved his relationships with both Aileana and Kiaran. Now I just need to figure out how to lure him (or a pixie like him) into my closet to take care of my clothes....

The romance was one of the weaker aspects of this book for me. Aileana seemed to flip-flop between her feelings for the two men in her life, occassionally giving me whip-lash. Also, Kiaran's romantic history was too shadowed in mystery to make me truly root for him. I can see the chemistry between them but would have liked a little bit more detail/fleshing out of their relationship.

The Falconer is definitely worth a read if you enjoy this genre. The author made some excellent character choices across the board that allowed it to stand out from some similar novels I've read recently. I was so engrossed in the characters and the excellently paced plot that I didn't realize I had finished the book before turning the last page. I am definitely going to continue with this series (particularly after that absolutely brutal cliffhanger!!)

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
2118077
I generally stick to high fantasy when reading, but lately I've branched out into the urban fantasy genre. Cameo the Assassin happens to be one of those new discoveries I have made.  I must confess, I am not a vampire fan in the least, and when I saw that this book was tagged as a vampire book, I was a bit unsure of what to expect.  But the plot sounded interesting and I've been trying to read more indie books of late, so I went ahead and purchased the Kindle version.  I'm happy to say that the whole undead theme seemed, at least to me, a background detail; the story is more about the characters and their battles within and without as opposed to a focus on what supernatural powers the undead possess.
  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the nonstop action and the unique setting of this story, I absolutely loved the two main protagonists the best.  Cameo and Black Opal are so hopelessly flawed that one would never consider them to be ideal heroes at all.  They both have a past that is dark and dismal, and as the reader gets to know them, this past is revealed little by little.  I consider this to be a wonderful attribute to the story, for there is nothing worse than reading about a hero or heroine who is absolutely perfect.  Bravo Dawn McCullough-White on a well crafted tale!
2970596
Fabulous, imaginative, and dark fantasy - I loved everything about this book!!