Urban Fantasy with Unusual Protagonists
587695
Premise: the heroine, named Delia, and her nerdy male partner are in the business of antiquing -- with a twist. They concentrate on relics or archaeological antiques sometimes as well as things like old pepper grinders. They enjoy their business even though they have a lot of trouble making ends meet. When they stumble across a dead body on one of their scavenging adventures, it ends up involving them in a bigger mystery than anything they ever expected -- something finally worthy of the heroine's "Indiana Jones" type aspirations!

While this book felt rougher than Buroker's other novels, I would still consider this author to be one of my favorites. The character interactions weren't standard or predictable--any romance plots in here are going to be slower to develop, I think, although I trust the author to develop them as well as in the Emperor's Edge. There are no superhero protagonists in here who can outthink or outfight all the villains, so that was great. However, the world isn't as richly drawn as Buroker's fantasies, possibly because it was set in contemporary times, and the characters, while a change of pace from the more over the top characters in other Buroker books, seemed flatter. Additional characters added as the book progressed received even less characterization than the 2 main protagonists.

That being said, about halfway through the book, after making the mental switch to the author's contemporary voice, I was definitely on the Rust and Relics train. The protagonists, while it was clear to both them and the reader that they were in way over their heads, acted in pretty believable manners, and their vulnerabilities and weaknesses made the danger components feel even more dangerous.

Recommended for Buroker fans, urban fantasy fans, contemporary fantasy fans, possibly rural fantasy or magic realism fans. I'll definitely keep reading this series.
699211
Glynn is back in a new genre - urban fantasy.

David White thought he was an ordinary cop - until he ran into a group of vampires, and survived the experience. And had his eyes opened to a hidden world that was all around him. And he enters that world.

David is a protagonist with flaws that he has to learn how to deal with. And as part of that, he needs to accept that he's not the man he always thought he was.

As usual, Glynn's writing is what I would describe as workmanlike - not great, he's unlikely to win a Nebula. But he's a really good story-teller - I always end up devouring his books, and my sleep always suffers because I'm unable to put them down, and I've made the mistake of starting them in the evening.

I was given an electronic ARC in return for an impartial review.
3206861
As a fan of the Urban Occult Fiction genre, this book was a breath of fresh air. The genre is dominated by female authors who, while very good writers that created interesting main characters, soon lean more towards Occult Erotic Fantasy (or "Monster Porn", as I've taken to calling it).

Gustainis created an interesting world with interesting characters and this book had me looking forward to more from this series. (Sadly, I hated the next two books.)
3194366
Chasing Embers is the first book in the Ben Garston Urban Fantasy series. I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I am very glad I did. Fantasy has always been my genre of choice, and while I still enjoy standard/epic fantasy, I'm more drawn towards urban fantasy now. The one thing that is typically missing from urban fantasy that was often present in the older fantasy stories is dragons. And of course, that would stand to reason as where wizards, and other magical creatures can pass for human fairly easily, dragons are a little different. So, there has not been a lot of dragon-centric urban fantasy. This is one of the few exceptions. Ben Gartson is a dragon. The last dragon. a "remnant" (one of each type of magical creature that was left in the world). This is an excellent introduction to a very interesting main character and a novel approach at building an urban fantasy world. I cannot wait for the next one.
4009729
This is the first book that I fit by this author. I'm a big fan of the urban fantasy genre when it is more Dresden Files, Alex Verus, or Charming of Pax Arcana.  The common theme among these books is the hero fighting against much stronger opponent.  I feel the back story for the main character, Fort, was sufficient to explain his fear of confrontation and the other personality flaws.  The motivation for Fort was quite clear and easy to get behind.  I found is friend Suzume very interesting and I also liked his brother, Chivalry.

Some of the self published newcomers in this genre are poorly edited,  littered with plot holes and just bad.  This book is NOT one of those.  This book had a very good flow, the decisions of the characters meet sense, and the book was quite enjoyable.

However you may notice that I've only given four for this review. Here's why.
1. What's this book does not have that the previously mentioned books have are decent action sequences.  Generally in the urban fantasy genre the hero does a lot of physical battling well moving through the story. This book has only one true action scene.
2. The other things the many books of the genre have is a lot of dry whit and humor.  This book doesn't really have that.

Overall I find this one is the better books that I have recently read in the urban fantasy genre. I do highly recommended and think that the storyline has a lot of potential.  I have already purchased the next book in the series.
1310153
Interesting characters and plot.  Great start to an urban fantasy series.
4375918
Black Blade Blues isn't just another urban fantasy with vampires, werewolves, and fae.  The author moves us in a whole new direction; bringing us into the subculture of Renaisance Faire afficionados as they battle bad guys from Norse mythology. And it works.

The protagonist, Sarah Beauhall, is a bit difficult to like for the first part of the story, but as the author sucked me into Sarah's unique  landscape, she faces some tough decisions, and I found myself sympathizing with her.  There's some terrific world-building here, and I found all the characters in the story interesting.  Good resonance at the end, but I'll bet there's a lot more adventure to come.

I'm a new fan, and looking forward to reading the next in the series.
4586212
There are two challenges inherent for an author working in the Urban Fantasy subgenre, which is a narrowing of the vast fantasy category and a refreshing change from the medieval world and errant knights that dominate the class of fantasy offerings. Lovers of the urban-type story don't miss the dragons, thank you very much.

Without the normal props, the urban fantasy author must create a gritty world of realism that causes the reader to wonder whether such a world actually exists around them and provide a fresh presentation of the stock types that populate these stories: vampires, werewolves, witches.

Melissa Olson hits those marks for the most part in this awakening or coming-of-age story of a young witch not aware of her power until one night she catches a couple shoplifting diapers from the all-night store she works at and by the way, they are also kidnapping her niece.

Read the rest of my review at http://stoneeggs.blogspot.com/2015/04/boundary-crossed-book-review.html
4298043
Premonitions is an urban fantasy/horror/heist thriller. The protagonists are all immoral criminals, yet author Jamie Schultz manages to make most of them characters that you care about. They are a diverse group, as is fitting for the storys setting: a dark, occult version of LA County, California, that feels noir and grimy.

One of the protagonists is being driven insane by visions that she needs to control like a bad drug habit; if she doesnt, she cant distinguish between whats concretely real to everyone elses vision and what is being projected only by her personal psychic visions. This is not the kind of preternatural power one dreams about... But it makes for a mind-blowing subplot.

There are demons and magic and supernatural artifacts and a mad cult. It all blends into a creepy atmosphere. The story gets a bit convoluted, and can be confusing, but not overwhelmingly so. Its a side effect of misdirection, which the book is full of; the benefit is that it creates a wild story that never gets boring and leads to a few surprises. The storys pacing is outstanding. The prose is interesting, with liberal use of street slang; I learned some new expressions as a result. One odd piece of insight: the author seems fascinated by the colors of light, describing different castings rather frequently. Given the role of visions in the story, I was struck by this emphasis on ocular vision. It looked like it might be subtle or subliminal subtext, as though he was trying to be indirectly enlightening But it was still a dark narrative.

This is the kind of contemporary speculative fiction that I like; I have a premonition Jamie Schultz will be doing some more great work in the future. And for once it seems appropriate to say I am looking forward to the next book.
1073001
I very much enjoyed this urban fantasy for the following reasons:

1. Well-written, believable female protagonist.  She is smart, a bit anti-social but always does the right thing, brave and loyal.
2. Great world-building. I enjoyed the various unique species of individuals introduced and their respective weaknesses and powers.
3. Some romance - not very explicit - but still liked the development between the two main characters.
4. Liked the male protagonist.  I normally prefer an anti-hero alpha bad@ss, the one in this story was all of that without being a jerk (I'm okay with "jerk" behavior because how can you be anti-hero and bad@ass without that?  But in this case, the male protagonist was truly a good guy).
5.  Will likely reread this book more than once.
6.  Will likely purchase the next book in this series.

What I didn't like so much:
1. I felt a little more depth could have been afforded to some of the main side characters.  In a way, they felt like 2D characters present merely as a foil to the main characters.
2. I felt the ending was a bit abrupt and wrapped up too neatly.

All in all, I think this is a pretty good read if you like urban fantasy with romance mixed in.
835975
Pretty good urban fantasy with some very typical hero flaws. While I firmly believe this could use a good editing I still feel it's a good enough work to earn four stars. The amnesia aspect is handled well but is partially the cause of a sluggish start to the story. Once things get going it's a fast and enjoyable ride. With so many characters of all sorts it's not easy to connect with any of them, but with all that had to be explained I can understand why. I was thankful to see more focus on the goings on and not having to read who loved who and how deeply for most of the book. Give it a chance and just read it for the entertainment value and you won't be disappointed.

I received a digital copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
3240348
This first book in a new urban fantasy series introduces Alex Connor who is the new coroner for Hughes County in Pierre, South Dakota. Alex ran for the post on a bet. She is a new college graduate in forensic science who is a med school dropout. Things got in the way. Like a conviction that her stepmother was a demon, a boyfriend jailed for assaulting her stepmother, and Alex's own mental problems and hospitalization. After all, the things Alex has seen all her life, including trolls under bridges, couldn't possibly be true.

Pierre and her new job should be just the new start she is looking for. However, when her first body gets up and walks off in the middle of an autopsy, she gets involved in the paranormal part of Pierre. When she confesses to the police chief that the body is missing, she gets directed to Precinct 13 - the paranormal police force in Pierre. There she meets a number of other paranormals including a half-fae officer, a golem, a technomage, and a werewolf-vampire cross.

Life gets even stranger when she learns that she might be a witch. But if she is a witch, where is her familiar? Enter the former boyfriend - Valentine - who happens to be a very rare dragon and a most unusual familiar. Alex is soon very involved in solving the case of her missing necromancer and also a case involving crop circles and cow mutilations.

This was a fun introduction to a new series. Alex is a great character who adapts pretty well to the new world she has entered. Valentine is also a unique sort of hero and love interest. Dragons are exactly cuddly or human but he is devoted to Alex. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
2891339
Solid urban fantasy. The writing flows well and the characters are interesting. The author delivers a fun adventure. Pithy dialogue is a plus.
4065335
If you like urban fantasy series this is a great book to check out. Its take on celtic lore and how it interacts with modern day is really interesting and different (which is really hard to do with so many great urban fantasy series out there). I am really excited to see book # 2 in the series to see where the story and characters go, the story has awesome potential. LOVING IT!
3804786
So, I have perhaps the advantage and disadvantage of writing this review after having read ten books in the Dresden Files series this excellent book spawned. First, to put this book in context, it fits inside the genre of urban fantasy (contemporary or other urban settings with magic and vampires and werewolves and wizards and fairies and witches, etc). Contemporary or urban fantasy is currently the fastest growing segment of the SciFi/Fantasy segment and accounts for a huge proportion of the best sellers. Within the genre, one non-trivial distinction of this book is that it has a male protagonist whereas I'd guess 3 out of 4 (it feels like more) of contemporary series seem to have kick-butt supernatural heroines. Of the male protagonists, Harry Dresden stands tall indeed.

Speaking of Harry, he is the lanky, unapologetically chivalrous private eye narrator, and the only wizard in the Chicago Yellow Pages. From his rundown apartment, he tries to atone for a troubled past by helping likable female police lieutenant (Lt Murphy) solve magical mysteries, under the watchful eye of Warden Morgan, a self-righteous representative of the Wizard's White Council who wants to execute Harry for his alleged past dealings with illegal black magic. He is aided by his ghostly companion who lives in an enchanted skull.

Overall, the book was well plotted, funny in places, and introduced a cast of surprisingly believable characters in a setting that is thoroughly enjoyable and imaginative. But the real reason to read this book? The series gets better as Butcher gains more experience.

The start of a very entertaining fiction journey that I suspect will be considered seminal to the ongoing modernization of the fantasy genre (from medieval to modern times). If you like this book, definitely read the second in the series. Fool Moon.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Fool-Moon-The-Dresden-Files-Book-2/dp/0451462025/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2)</a>
813152
This is a creative new twist on typical Urban Fantasy. Every creature from myth, legend, folklore, etc, actually exists within their own different dimensions. Except that now, portals leading to those dimensions have somehow opened up, allowing these fantastic beings to spill out into an unsuspecting human world. Steps have been taken to conceal this fact from the general populace, with hexes placed on each city that contains portals to these dimensions, so that peoples memories of any creatures they may have encountered during their stay are wiped clean upon their departure from that city. The locals simply live with, and some even make profit from the creatures they now share their cities with. When the portals first opened, our main character, Chase Lawter, inexplicably found himself able to harness and use the Dim - the mysterious space between dimensions. He is the only human in existence to be able to do so, and he quickly sets up a business, in which he can make a profit by being able to do so. Even Chase has no idea exactly what he may be able to accomplish with his power, and he tends to figure it out on the fly - typically when hes faced with danger and reacts instinctually to deal with it. In his line of business hes faced with danger on a fairly regular basis, and he has formed a team of associates/friends - including a yeti, a zombie, and a human that was raised by trial and fire by the Fae - which assist him in the running of his business, completing jobs and of course, staying alive. This first book in the series is chalk full of action, humour, and creatures galore.
4088075
Received a copy in exchange for an HONEST Review

  This book was described to me as Urban Fantasy, which it is, but it's more like Urban Erotic Fantasy.  That's not my normal jam, but I liked it well enough.  The author has a vast array of colorful characters and vividly captures what I think New Orleans must be like. (Never been there, but I've heard things lol) The premise of the story is pretty good. Beings known as Omens are bearing witness to important moments in the lives of regular people.  There are Light and Dark Omens and are just as you could imagine.  Light Omens witness the good happening to a deserving person, while Dark Omens witness, well Dark events in a person's life before they ultimately end.
Baker, a Dark Omen is witnessing Matlyn Wren, while Ingrid, a Light Omen is simultaneously witnessing her sister Parrish.  It was neat to read these stories simultaneously and compare the differences.
Baker finds himself in a bit of a pickle when his jaded sensibilities are washed away and he develops an intense attraction to his latest charge...Matlyn.
Not a fan of erotic elements, but technically speaking, the writer has a good character development and the story progression was a bit confusing because it went back and forth through time. I do have to say that I was glad I got a chance to read this because it made me hop out of my YA comfort bubble. Change is a good thing!
 All in all I give it a 4 star review and recommend it to 18yrs and up crowd for explicit material.  Happy Reading!