Thread of Death by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is almost guaranteed that when I read one of the installments in the Elemental Assassin series I am in for a great read. As the arc that included Gin Blanco's war with Mab Monroe came to a close I wondered how Jennifer Estep could possibly top that ending. How could she possibly write a story that would let the fans know that Gin is still going strong and there is so much more to learn about her and the other members of her family? Interestingly enough, it is weird to see so much action and excitement in such a short package as this novella, but, she makes it work. Jennifer Estep managed to draw me further into Gin's story and wonder what could possibly top the showdown between Gin and Mab. Maybe the answer is not in how to top it but in how to show the readers that there is so much more that can happen sans Mab.

In this novella we see the next few days after the showdown. We see the some of the immediate effects on Gin's life. She attends a major event in this novella and the event itself is completely turned upside down. We also get an idea of where things will begin for Tangled Threads which is due out really soon and is an also an amazing story. One of the things that we also get a glimpse of is Gin growing along with those around her realizing that maybe Gin's no-nonsense attitude towards handling impossible situations that threaten someone might just be the only way for things to go, especially if you were raised to be an assassin.

Excellent read and I can't wait to re-read all of them and get my hands on the audiobook of Tangled Threads!

Review can also be seen at http://LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspot.c...



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The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished The Rook and I began to worry about writing a review that would due the rating I plan to give this book some justice. I started making notes about my impressions before I was even a quarter through the book. It made such an impression on me that I went to find the author's website so that I could follow him on Twitter. I started feeding my thoughts into Goodreads as I got through different parts of the book, which is something I never do. I typically post Twitter updates but this seemed easier so that it would note the percentage I was at on my Kindle Fire when I made my note. I stopped reading yesterday and became concerned that I would not get to see more of this intriguing story after I finished the book. I jumped on the Internet and went to Daniel O’Malley’s website and saw that he has plans to do more stories in the Chequy world. As I finished posting an update early yesterday on Goodreads I caught a glimpse of the overall ratings of the book and thought impossible. We all read something and get vastly different impressions of what we read. Some things work for us and some things don’t. The beginning of this book did move so fast and have such a convoluted beginning that I had to re-read some parts. When I caught on to how things worked I knew I was one of the people for whom this book worked very much.

The Rook was one of those books that I knew I wanted to read and was watching for at least a month before its release date. I was drawn to it just from reading the synopsis and kept hoping for it to be released early. I bought and downloaded it first thing the morning it was released and made the mistake of taking a peek at it before starting work. It was a mistake because I was so totally enthralled that I wanted to send an email that I was leaving for the day and go find a good cup of coffee and a quiet, comfortable place to read for hours. I did tear myself from the book until that night and was really happy that I did not have to teach at the university that night.

This book has something for just about everyone. If you want a mystery, it is there. If you love action, the fight scenes with cool supernatural powers are there. If you like a bit of horror or gore, there is a bit of that too. It is not for romance readers, though there are a couple of irons in the fire that might prove interesting. One of the great things about this book that I wanted to mention separately was the author’s humor. I finally used the highlight feature of my Kindle Fire because there were several parts in this book that literally made me laugh out loud. A great example was when Myfanwy and her assistant Ingrid left a very important meeting and Myfanwy was still feeling things out from the memory loss. She asked Ingrid her impressions from the meeting and the scene went something like this. “Yes, I want to hear your thoughts on what we jus t saw”, Myfanwy said enthusiastically. “Did you think I brought you along for kicks? That was a classic date, with snacks and a show, and now I expect you to deliver the goods”. There are so many more humorous situations throughout the book.

Let’s take a look at the characters. Our heroine with the oddly pronounced Welsh name Myfanwy is pretty much the kind to whom most of us can relate. She is thrown into her world in the most terrorizing circumstances, with no memory and surrounded by dead bodies. We follow the person that Myfanwy becomes in her new life as she learns about her important position in a secret organization. She doesn’t just jump in and suddenly know how her powers work and kick butt in the name of justice. She has serious growing pains as she is thrown into situation after situation where she has to learn not only who she is becoming, but she also has to learn who Myfanwy was before things unfolded. Ingrid is a bit of a wild card because she is the person closest to Myfanwy as her executive assistant. There is an intricate system in place in the Chequy that utilizes some of the nomenclature of the game of chess. One of the characters that came in towards the end that I really liked was L’il Pawn Alan (No this is not his name or title. He is Pawn Alan but his stature and personality earned him this nickname in Myfanwy’s head) who, like Myfanwy, turns out to be more than meets the eye.

I can say that this book was a wonderful experience and I definitely look forward to more work from Daniel O’Malley despite him being an MSU graduate when Michigan is clearly the best!

Review can also be seen at LadyTechiesBookMusings.Blogspot.com


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Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Truly phenomenal book! I really enjoyed this book. I even got to a point where I had to slow down because it felt like it was going too fast. I did not want the experience to end. I love both series and realized I am just a fan of Faith Hunter's writing. I was in a chat the other day where she was the featured author and it was great learning more about her writing process. It was interesting learning how hard she works to research Cherokee customs, folklore and mythology. You can even tell how diligently she researched the behavior of large cats. I enjoy a lot of authors work, but, I truly love the Jane Yellowrock series.

I had several realizations throughout the book about Jane's relationship with Big Evan. Initially I was sick of the blame game and eventually I had an epiphany and later in the book so did Jane. This book seemed like a crossroads for Evangaline, Jane, Rick, Evan, Molly, and even Beast. Heck, this book feels like change for everyone. The best parts of the story showed how well Faith Hunter writes a fight scene. As I was reading the fight scenes time always seemed to slow down and I literally could picture each shot, swipe, kick and punch and several fight scenes were so vivid that I just had to re-read them.

I tried to pay close attention to everything that I was reading so that I did not miss any important gems. There was so much good information about Jane and Beast given in this book. There were some new supernaturals brought into the story and that worked really well also. I'm keeping my eye on Leo because he seems to be up to something regarding Jane. Angie Baby and even Little Evan had bigger parts in this story and they were great additions to the action and intrigue of Raven Cursed. I spent some time digesting the story and the name fits the storyline very well. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment, Death's Rival. I would appreciate a copy right now please.

Review can also be seen at http://LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspot.c...

To Play the Lady by Naomi Lane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I totally loved this book! I have only read a handful of high fantasy and almost all of them have been in the last year or so. The reason I have not been able to read high fantasy before is that I had an aversion to author-developed worlds, hence my preference for urban fantasy which is also not something I have always read. Previous to my introduction to urban fantasies I was strictly mysteries and thrillers and that period was the longest for me in my reading history. I have to see something in the book synopsis that leads me to believe that a book will draw me into its world. I kept seeing great reviews for To Play the Lady. I eventually downloaded the sample and knew I would enjoy it.

Jenna is a girl that you care about from the moment you see that she and her brother Peter are different from all of the other teenagers coming to court. The other girls studying with the Queen as her ladies are all nobles as are the boys training to be knights like Peter. Peter seems to not have as difficult a time with his peers as Jenna has with some of the older girls. Not only is she not a noble, but, she comes from a wealthy family, is darker skinned and comes from a dessert area. In addition, she continuously stands out for her many talents despite her age and there is nothing meaner than a teenage girl so Jenna has to overcome a lot of petty jealousies as well. She stands out even from her brother who is also very talented.

One of the great things about To Play the Lady is that Jenna is learning about herself at the same time as we are learning about her gifts and about some of her family's history. It serves as a bit of intrigue because as much as she and Peter try to keep their family's secrets the more things happen to expose them. Another great thing about this story is how Jenna's gifts are discovered. She doesn't magically have a bunch of gifts and suddenly knows how to use them. She grows in every way in this book including her magical gifts. She has some talents that she has trained in as a child might when their parents invest in piano lessons or gymnastics lessons or the myriad of other things my parents invested in for me as a child to help me develop as a well-rounded individual. Jenna did not spring up perfect with a ton of friends with no problems. This story shows how kids, even in medieval times, are subjected to prejudices and abuse. It demonstrates how they can persevere when they have the right tools and support. The princes, Sebastian, Eamon and Dominic all have very different personalities but, they have friendship between them just as the love and friendship is very apparent between Jenna and Peter. I think there are several mysteries with other relationships at court waiting to be exposed.
There are twists and turns everywhere you look in this book. There is a bad guy who we can all see and something else in the works on that front along with the many machinations and politics of court life. I was not finished reading the book before I was researching more about the author and hoping that there were more books on the horizon. I cannot compare it to other fantasy books and even if I had read more than a handful I prefer to take it on its own merits and this book is great, with good character development, good world building, and a great story. I look forward to the next installment!

Review can also be seen at http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...

Last Breath by Rachel Caine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For me these books always entertain to the fullest. I may not have everything go the way I want. But, the vampires are always vampires and always protect themselves first. There is a very delicate balance between them and the humans. One of the things I'm curious about is when they say that Emily founded Morganville does this mean she founded and created this town? If so, I understand that they need some humans to remain there and those that come and go have a different relationship with the vampires than those that area aware of them. How did Michael, Shane and the others that knew each other since they were kids end up locked there? Were their families there already when Emily "found" Morganville or did they migrate there and get trapped there?

Claire is always the lynch pin for the stories but, for the most part this entire thing centers on how she came to Morganville, and her relationship with the vampires so when things happen like they did in this story then you have to wonder what happens when Claire's relationship with the vampires changes.

Reviews can be seen at LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspot.com

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was poetically written. Laini Taylor has a wonderful gift with words. I kept trying to tie being a daughter of smoke and bone to literal things. I was able to trace her definitely being a daughter of bone. I'm still a little unsure of the smoke but, that might not be a literal translation so I will have to give it more consideration.

I opted to take a risk and buy this on audiobook. The risk comes from the chance that having the wrong narrator completely ruining the experience of the story. I love listening to audiobooks. The narrator in this instance, Khristine Hvam, did a great job. There were one or two spots, mostly at the end when someone distracted me that I had to listen to the last 3 or 4 minutes a couple of times to ensure I did not miss anything. I was hoping that despite how hurt both sides had been due to the war there might be some form of peace without loss of Karu's family members. As both sides of the story are told you see that that each fight really does have two sides and it all depends upon perspective. Possibly, in the beginning there was one clear wrong, but, over the many, many years the wrongs on both sides were perpetuated. There were so many shocks and twists with the war and determining who was who in this story. It did not detract from the beauty of the story. You found yourself wishing for forgiveness all around and seeing similarities in this story to so many aspects of history.

One of the best parts is the author’s vivid imagery of place. I was already dreaming of visiting Prague after seeing a travel show with the bridge full of sculptures. It was great having Laini Taylor confirm its beauty through the gift of her words. I am imaging a place full of culture and art that will take my breath away the same way Rome totally amazed me with its history, people and culture. Another great part of this story is despite all the heartbreak and sadness that war can bring was Karu’s hope and I look forward to the next book in this series.

Review can also be seen at http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.c...

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The Hedgewitch Queen by Lilith Saintcrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is a little harder to review. I loved the story but, I am at a crossroads about how I feel about Vianne. Hedgewitch Queen was pretty well written with wonderful characters, imagery, and language. We only get a cursory glance into each of the main actors in this saga. The story is very focused on the current events beginning with some very serious court intrigue, which is one of my favorite topics.

Vianne is an interesting character but, I'm not sure she is very loyal to anyone other than the princess. It may be because of years of living and navigating the arena of high court or how things happened with her parents. But, the end of this story along with several of the thoughts that she had throughout the book leads me to believe that possibly her loyalty is a bit fleeting. It is not necessarily based upon her relationship with people like Tristan and the other guards, a relationship based upon months of traveling together, supporting each other and protecting each other. But, it appears words from people she met and has only known for a very short time can undo all that was built or possibly change her mind. She doesn’t know the character of many of the people she meets but, she has a chance to judge people based upon how they have treated her. Well there is the rub. This book ends in a huge cliffhanger wherein I do not get to make up my mind about her until I see which way the wind blows in the next book. I'm seeing ulterior motives in the whisperings of new found family members because I can say first hand that not all family has your best interests at heart.

I had to take a peek at Lilith Saintcrow's website to get a hint of what might be on the horizon for the next book and see it is to be released in June of 2012. The title and cover has me a bit worried. At least we already know it is a two-part series so we know things will be tied up and I hope everyone, but Duc and his vile sidekick, gets what they want!

Review can also be seen at: LadyTechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com

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