One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Stormwalker, Book 1
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 352 Pages, 4968 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


Janet Begay's heritage is seeped in the Native American culture. She's a Stormwalker, able to channel and use the elements and energies of storms. Though she's been estranged from her family for the past several years, she's returned to the southwest after so long away to deal with the other, much less pleasant side of her lineage...and all its hazardous implications.

Janet has returned to her own back yard to prevent her demonic mother from slipping the bonds of her prison and stop the never-ending attempts to free herself from Beneath. Until Janet's sure (or has the first clue) how to do that exactly, she's working a missing persons case and renovating an abandoned hotel. But her mother isn't content to let her daughter be so close without sending her deadly minions from Beneath to retrieve her. And those minions aren't too concerned with the condition Janet's in while they do it.

The assists from her intense, sexy, overprotective, and secretive not-so-ex-boyfriend Mick and the enigmatic input of the licentious god Coyote may keep Janet alive and out of jail, but ultimately the insidious seduction of the power of Mommy Dearest may rip Janet, then the world, apart.

Allyson James (who also writes as Jennifer Ashley) has kicked off this series with a likable heroine with strong ties to her culture and a sexy hero (a large drink of sizzling goodness coated in yum, that one) who would do just about anything for her...except tell her about himself. She's set them up with a plot that provided some interesting conflicts and adding a cast of...not totally likable...secondary characters. The premise of the book is sound: Janet's demon mother possessed a human woman and seduced her Native American father in the hopes of creating a child capable of freeing her from Beneath, a demon realm loosely connected to our own through magical vortexes. She succeeded and now is trying to get Janet into a position to free her. To add depth there are the additional plot threads of the missing woman and the renovations to the hotel Janet plans on running.

As the backbone of the book, those threads provided a strong starting point. My problems with the book started to arise with how those threads were woven together. The potential for a rich, vibrant, and unique world was there, but the story didn't quite go all the way to adequately explain and build that world to give me more than a superficial understanding of Janet's reality or the rules of magic that exist there. I enjoyed the glimpses of Native American influence and the trip back to Janet's childhood home, but I wish there had been significantly more with her grandmother. Her character tread the line of stereotype, but I enjoyed her. Yet while Janet went back home to face her past, and face the family she abandoned, the book never really delved beneath the surface of all that history to connect me to Janet as a character and allow me to see what put her on her present path. Instead readers are told things almost in summation during scenes with her father and her grandmother, before the arc of the plot moved along to something else.

And speaking of the plot, I felt it lacked the sort of increasing tension and conflict development of my favorite urban fantasy novels, and instead seemed to almost meander from point to point. Despite the clear and present threats and several words of warning of impending doom, there were few instances where I felt the characters had any real sense of urgency - whether it was dealing with Janet's mother's antics, investigating the missing person, or dealing with the mystery of the body in the hotel. It's easy to instill urgency in characters who are desperately trying to survive Nightwalker and Skinwalker attacks, but when something wasn't directly threatening them, Janet and Mick (when he wasn't disappearing) seemed to operate more on Island Time than anything else. On a side note, I'm no more clear than county sheriff Nash Jones was on what made Janet qualified to find a missing person.  That particular plot thread seemed very weakly connected to the characters and the overall arc. I could have done without it.

About the sheriff...the antipathy between he and Janet wasn't really supported or explained by the events in the book, so he came off as a total jackass, but his backstory was very interesting and his character one of my favorites in the book. There was just something about him that I enjoyed and I wouldn't have minded at all if Janet had ended up with him. Actually, the scenes between Janet and Nash were so fraught with tension (some of the best scenes in the book) that I kept getting the feeling that I missed a prequel novella or some other sort of story including the characters that set up the antagonism. It's a feeling I got more than once while I was reading.

It probably doesn't sound like it, but to be honest, I didn't dislike Stormwalker. There were several things that bothered me about it, but overall, I was entertained while reading it and there were things I admired about Janet - most notably how she chose to end her relationship with Mick five years ago and the reasons for it. I wish I'd gotten out of a bad relationship like she had back when I was her age. That sort of strength is laudable, and isn't at all impacted by her decision to let Mick back into her life and heart now that they're in a different time and place and are different people (mostly). The development of their relationship felt realistic and organic to the characters and the revelations during it were awesome.

If I hadn't already decided to give the second book in the series, Firewalker, a try based on my appreciation for a lead character who isn't stupid and who I didn't despise, as well as the potential for development of the series, what I found out about Mick would have made me grab it anyway to see where his storyline goes. I have to admit, though, I'll be hoping for a tighter plot with better pacing and a bit more depth in the world building in that one.

I would like to caution readers more familiar with the romances and paranormal romances of Allyson James and Jennifer Ashley that while there is a romantic thread between Janet and Mick, Stormwalker reads much more like an urban fantasy novel than a paranormal romance. Hard core PNR fans may be disappointed (though really, a dream or two about Mick...or Coyote...or Nash...or any combination of all three...should cure that right up) and/or put off by the first person point-of-view narrative. I enjoy UF as much as PNR, and am used to first person POV, so that was not a detractor in my review.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Konigsburg, Texas, Book 4
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 6434 Locations
Formats: Kindle


The eldest of the Toleffson brothers has long known he's the black sheep of his family. His three younger brothers are all good guys. Erik isn't. Cal, Lars, and Pete are happily married to equally good women. Erik isn't. The three also have successful careers they enjoy. Erik...well...he might have that, if the puke-face mayor of Konigsburg stops trying to get his butt fired even before his probationary period as Chief of Police comes to an end.

And then there's Bambi... Well, her name is Morgan Barrett but she's got these incredible eyes that remind Erik of...actually, never mind that. Morgan's managing Cedar Creek Winery while her father is on the mend and she's running herself ragged working sixteen hours a day trying to prove herself. When she met Erik, she was so exhausted she yawned in his face, but other than that, it was a great first impression. Heck, at least she wasn't drunk like he'd first thought.

After a rocky childhood and hoodlum youth as a bully who was too fond of booze, Erik doesn't drink. Morgan works with wine. Erik is quietly trying to make up for a past where he tormented his brothers. Morgan is desperate for an ounce of respect from her father. Erik's just doing his job, Morgan's trying to make one for herself. And somehow, though they are definitely different and complicated individuals, they're sort of made for each other.

Welcome back to Konigsburg.

I admit, I've been waiting for Erik's book since his character was first mentioned. I thought his history was an intriguing counterpoint to the almost too-good-to-be-true brothers (emphasis on almost) and as the series progressed I became more and more interested in him as a character. He always seemed so deserving of redemption and yet certain he wasn't. I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out that Long Time Gone had more going for it than featuring my favorite of the Toleffson brothers; it was the best book of the bunch for other reasons, as well.

There was much more of the Konigsburg, Texas quirkiness that I so enjoy. This delightful tourist town is full of odd and unique secondary and ancillary characters who add a depth and sense of Texas culture to each story. The first book in the series, Venus in Blue Jeans, was full of it, but the two subsequent books didn't feature the town quite as much - to their detriment, in my opinion. Thankfully, Konigsburg is back in all its quirky glory in Long Time Gone, including the shenanigans of a biker weekend and a wine festival. I just love that town and its inhabitants.

Morgan and Erik are great characters, richly layered and complex. Erik, for all his regret for his past, and all that he doesn't feel worthy of redemption just yet, is a good man with a strong sense of right and wrong. He's strong and dependable, and so drawn to Morgan that he's adorable with it. Morgan has her own inner strength and a sharp mind for business. She's got issues with her father, but her work ethic is impeccable. And the way she's drawn to Erik, accepting of his darker impulses, is heart warming.

Benjamin paced the development of their relationship nicely, and their progression through the story felt very organic and true to them as individuals. The book has a nicely layered plot arc that highlighted Erik's and Morgan's individual strengths and delved into their issues as it blended their lives together. Some of that blending was smooth, some a little ragged for the sake of conflict in the story, but it was all creative and realistic. I found myself more than a little enchanted by the journey.

I just felt this was an all around a better book than the previous three. Deeper and more interesting characters, better character development, a stronger and more comprehensive plot with pleasing layers, exceptionally well suited romantic pairing, and a background full of the quirky and odd town of Konigsburg all enhanced my reading enjoyment. I've been a big fan of this series from the very beginning, but this book just really worked for me on almost every level.

The only thing that kept this from being a fully five star read for me was the absence of a scene with the brothers in which they finally resolved their dark past. The road to redemption is more like a broken sidewalk - it's pitted and cracked and definitely uneven, littered with the detritus of life. But for those who truly seek it, and walk it diligently, it should lead to resolution and forgiveness. At least in fiction, anyway. I wanted that for Erik - that moment when he got to lay down the burden of his past and move forward with his brothers' unilateral forgiveness. Things are better for them, yes, and there has no doubt been an acceptance of the past and a burgeoning renewal of their brotherhood with Erik included. I was just hoping for a little more and I'm left feeling a bit of the bittersweet in its absence.

Meg Benjamin has hit her stride in Long Time Gone: Konigsburg, Texas Book 4 and while the Toleffsons will definitely hold a special place in my heart, I'm thrilled that the Konigsburg saga continues with Brand New Me. According to Meg Benjamin's website, this fifth book in the series will be available December 7th. That's definitely good news, because I'm not ready to move out of Konigsburg just yet. I'm hoping I don't have to for a long, long time.

Konigsburg, Texas Series:

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Big Bad Wolf, Book 1
Rating: 3 Stars
Length: 3781 Locations
Formats: Kindle


Lily St. Claire has had the hots for Daniel Kane since high school, in fact has dreamed of him for years...odd dreams of man becoming a wolf with startling blue eyes, but upon returning to Baton Rouge after years away, the reality of seeing the man he's become rocks her to her core. But despite him working through the female population like it's his own personal smorgasbord of raunchy fun, he never seemed to notice her much.

Newly appointed Police Chief Daniel Kane noticed Lily St. Claire, all right. He's wanted her since they were both teens, but a promise to his sister kept him from making her his, despite how delicious she's always smelled to him. Seeing her upon her return to Baton Rouge, though, cleared up more than just a few things for him. While Lily smelled fantastic before, the allure of her scent now kicks all his instincts into high gear. She's a Dormant, a human with special abilities destined to be mate to a werewolf. To him. Had he known her nature, he never would have let her out of his sight all those years ago. Now that he knows, no promise to his sister - no force on earth, actually - will keep him from marking and claiming her. But there's another werewolf who knows who she is, what she is, and that wolf is a killer.

Before he gets a chance to do more than place an initial mark on her, she gives herself up to the killer to save her best friend, Daniel's sister, and the race against time and the war against Daniel's very nature begins.

Heather Killough-Walden has penned a couple of books I've thoroughly enjoyed in Hell Bent and The Third Kiss: Dorian's Dream, and there were aspects of The Heat (The Big Bad Wolf Series) that showed promise, but I had too many issues with it to appreciate it as much as I did those two titles.

I found the plot oddly disparate, two major plot threads that were developed and concluded independent of each other instead of being blended together to form a more balanced story arc. The main characters lacked much in the way of depth or dimension, their world was very sketchily built, and the relationship between Lily and Daniel had almost no development. The last was mostly due to the fact that it's almost impossible to develop a romance in a book if the lead characters only share a couple of scenes, as was the case here.

On top of that, through a combination of actions that lacked intelligence and some that were just bad luck, Lily spent the majority of the book captured or in danger, and I'm not a fan of books that portray the female lead as nothing more than a damsel in distress who the male lead has to save again and again. Every time I read her being referred to as a Dormant I kept seeing "doormat" and it just wasn't appealing to me. My reading preferences lie elsewhere. I would have preferred she be given a more proactive, independent role, and wish that the concept of a Dormant had been both better defined and more cohesively developed.

I was very pleased, though, with the character Malcom Cole and the plot arc surrounding him. I sincerely hope that the second book in the series deals with him, and in it we see a more balanced, comprehensive plot with a stronger female lead who is more involved in her own story. I found Cole to be the most fascinating of the characters in this book and his backstory showed the most depth and complexity. I'm looking forward to seeing how his story progresses.

The Heat isn't a bad book, per se. Killough-Walden has definite writing chops. I just wasn't totally thrilled with the way this one was pieced together and didn't think it was as well developed as others I've read by her. The second book in this series, The Strip, is due out sometime in the future, but I couldn't find any concrete information on a release date on the author's site. On the bright side, there are several other books by Killough-Walden that I've purchased but have yet to read. I'll be getting to them soon as I wait for the next in The Big Bad Wolf series.

Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Series: N/A
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 298 Pages, 8386 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


There's a right time for death. In the sultry heat of a Memphis night, a damaged young woman goes missing. A cop slips over the edge. A powerful man steps over the line. A powder keg of family secrets and despair ignites. And Ol' Man River keeps rollin' along. It's time.

He was once her lover, after a tragedy a decade ago united them. Now detective Billy Able is looking for the missing Sophia Dupree and wading through a morass of conflicting agendas and moral decay. To make matters worse, his partner Lou is acting irrational and suffering violent mood swings, taking his aggression out on Billy and almost getting them both killed. Then what first seemed to be a none-too-surprising (nor unheard of) binge weekend away from home starts to look more and more like homicide and Billy is left with an ugly suspicion about the perpetrator of the crime, a hole in his heart from his partner's actions, a laundry list of powerful people playing games with his investigation, and a sister of the victim (his ex-lover) he's drawn to despite himself. It's going to be a rough week.

With Sophia's sister Mercy as a subtle influence and a soft beacon, Billy lugs his personal demons around Memphis trying to get his case worked while the world around him blows up and flies apart. He's got a strong suspect and a lot of hate in his gut to fuel him, but the sum of his own sins weigh heavy on him as he plods his way towards answers, praying for closure.

A lyrical narrative with nearly poetic descriptions of the complex southern charm of the city of Memphis and the author's comprehensive understanding of the south and its inhabitants bolsters this solid southern police procedural, transforming it into something graceful but gritty. The characters may lean more towards archetypes than unique individuals, but in this case, it's part of the charm and familiarity imbued in the book.

Billy Able is a rumpled, harried detective who's driven to find answers, flaunting authority and skirting around the edges of outlaw. He's a solid cop, but he's also a flawed human being, and more interesting and sympathetic because of it. Mercy is a bit more of a puzzle, the ignored but invited daughter returned from the big mean city of Atlanta without any pomp and circumstance. Or notice. She, too, is damaged in her own way, though less flawed with it. Turner does a good job of providing some realistic development between them that felt organic to the situation and to their characters and didn't trip into any romantic suspense cliche. This is no romance novel. The only time I think the development surrounding their relationship evolution flat-lined on me was the very last scene. It seemed to me to be an odd way to end the book and I'm still not sure why it went that way. It was the only time that I felt the slight tinge of romance cliche cheese factor.

The antagonist and a couple of the secondary characters have some point-of-view threads running through the book, and some of those are positively chilling, and all inexorably woven into the fabric of the suspenseful story. Turner captured the tone and flavor of the south with artistic deftness and provided a complex and layered plot that offered some surprising twists.

I had a few rough moments with Billy, who was three dimensional and real, but not entirely likable through the whole of the book (most of the characters weren't actually - they were sadistic, narcissistic sociopaths). He was driven, always driven, but sometimes his stubborn propensity to drive in the wrong direction got on my nerves. There were a few aspects of the plot that I wasn't wholly satisfied with, either. A secondary plot thread featuring Lou's character was so heinous that it eclipsed the importance of the primary focus of the investigation, dulling much of my interest in the final 'figure it out' climax scene. I wish that secondary plot thread had been given the same amount of closure as the primary one, because there were far too many unanswered questions around that (like how the hell did the parties involved get involved to start with), and it didn't seem like anyone was asking that question as the story progressed.

Despite that, A Little Death In Dixie stands tall as a very well written southern police procedural, with enough deft touches and careful progression to impress on any level. Looking back on it after finishing it, I'll always appreciate the small, seemingly insignificant items that added a sense of foreboding or forewarning for the readers. And I'm always going to wonder if "Go Fish" was shortened from "Gone Fishing" for space, or if it was more of a pointed request or command to Billy, or possibly...just a reminder of a child's game. Or all three. Chilling.

I'll be keeping my eye out for more Lisa Turner books in the future. This one hooked me and I think it bodes well for future books. I very much enjoyed it.

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Karmic Consultants, Book 4
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 1851 Locations
Formats: Kindle


Ciara Liung is a Finder for Karmic Consultants and her services are contracted out to the FBI to find stolen jewels. She's got an 85% jewel recovery percentage rate but a 0% bad guy capture rate, and that's a bit of a problem for her new handler, FBI guy Nate Smith, who thinks Ciara is crooked as hell. No one's that good on recovery and that bad on helping secure arrests, and the bogus psychic crap is a joke. Gorgeous shut-in who's only psychic when she's naked and floating in water? Not in Smith's world.

But Ciara's on the up and up, she really is psychic and she really does need the water and the absence of clothes when she's Finding to focus her gift and prevent psychic dissonance. She's spent the last ten years stuck in her home, unable to touch people and unwilling to risk psychic feedback if she goes out in public. Nate's belief or disbelief matters little to her, until he starts rattling her cage about her being a criminal.

The theft of Monaco's royal jewels threatens to blow up into an international incident, and Nate's planning on using the theft to prove Ciara's guilt. He drags her along with him when her gift points them to Atlantic City, but things don't quite go as planned. Instead of uncovering a mess of dirty little secrets and proving her guilty, Nate starts to believe. And believing is infinitely more dangerous for them both.

I'm a huge fan of this Karmic Consultants series, and I get more and more impressed with Vivi Andrews as I go along. This is a quick, funny read with two characters who strike a lot of wickedly fun sparks off each other. The narrative is smooth, there's lots of witty repartee between the characters, and the characters were pretty well developed for the short length of the novella.

I'm disappointed this wasn't a full length novel, though. I loved The Ghost Exterminator (Karmic Consultants, Book 2) and The Sexorcist (Karmic Consultants, Book 3). Both of those were novel-length and provided all the sexy fun, romance, and plot a fan could hope for. The Naked Detective suffered from the limitations of its length.

The biggest problems I had were with the too-quick change of heart Nate goes through and the sudden about-face of Ciara's gift while they're together in Jersey. Neither were well supported in the plot or satisfactorily explained, and both could have been handled much better with more room to develop than they were given. Of lesser concern, but a concern just the same was the perfunctory and abrupt development and climax of the plot thread with the jewel thieves. I was very disappointed in that.

The Naked Detective isn't a bad novella. Vivi Andrews writes characters with shining personality and puts them in situations, or has them thinking or saying things, that make me chuckle. Overall I liked what was there in this novella; my issues were with what wasn't. The main characters are likable (well, they are once Nate yanks that cane out of his...um...yeah) and the set up for the story was sound, with lots of juicy character and plot development potential. I would have really enjoyed seeing that potential more fully realized in a novel.

Karmic Consultants Series:

Novella

Novel

Novel

Novella

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Demonica, Book 5
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 432 Pages, 6158 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


She is responsible for an epidemic that is scouring the earth of his kind, but the sparks between them are incendiary. Sin is the only female Seminus demon to have ever been born, not that she's particularly fond of that fact. She's strong and independent, and has chiseled herself into a deadly weapon after surviving a past chained to her succubus needs and owned by one cruel master after another. She long ago gave up any such niceties as tenderness and affection, and emotions are for saps.

He's lived for a thousand years, which is young for the half-warg (werewolf), half-vampire dhampire species, but Con has spent his time as a mostly irrepressible rogue, flitting from one thing to the next to stave off boredom and court excitement. He found a place as a paramedic at UG, the demon hospital, and has thrived there, but a chance meeting with his boss's sister Sin rocked his body and stirred his blood. Finding out she's the one responsible for the warg epidemic horrifies him, though, and his desire for her is tinged with loathing.

When politics and warg agendas take precedence over survival, Con steps in and with the help of Sin's brothers, manages to save her from imprisonment. But being incarcerated by torturous demons is the least of Sin's problems when her assassins start coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of the fact she's not in her den. Soon Sin and Con are forced to keep fleeing for their lives even as they struggle to help in the effort to stop SF from wiping out every warg on the planet.

I loved this book. I've been a fan of the Demonica series since the beginning, and I think Sin Undone is the best of the bunch. It's a fabulous swan song for a strong, original series bursting with excellent characters, sizzling sensuality, and layered, intricate plots full of danger and sacrifice.

Sin and Con are the best parts of this book, their individual development and the way their relationship evolves captivates as the world surrounding them gets grimmer and the future more grave the longer the epidemic spreads. They have complicated metaphorical demons riding them, and paired with the external crisis, these characters are imbued with a rich history and enough emotional baggage to bury lesser mortals. 

One of Ione's gifts is creating characters who not only fit together perfectly, but who provide each other exactly what they need to heal from their past traumas, no matter how oblivious they are to those needs. Con brings out the best in Sin, allows her to get in touch with emotions long since denied. In Sin, Con finds the one person he can care about beyond his own self interest, a woman who accepts the darker aspects of his nature and doesn't judge or shy away from it.

They start out with a sexual chemistry that burns but they are steeped in mutual dislike. Their banter and aggression drive them hard. When they start to look past those prickly surface personae and get to the core of each other and themselves, their relationship becomes truly powerful and intense and ultimately pleasurable to experience. The additional threats of Sin's assassins trying to kill her and the warg civil war add a lot of depth and layers to their journey.

Though paranormal romances are at the top of my list of favorite genres, I've been disappointed for much of this year by many books I've read, even those in some of the long-standing series that I've been a fan of for years. There's been a gem here or there, but overall, PNRs just haven't been working for me. Sin Undone worked for me. It's more than just one of those gems, it's one of the best of them. Ione had me thoroughly emotionally invested in the characters and their relationship (the fun parts, the sexy parts, and the gut wrenching parts), and practically entranced by their story.

I loved Sin Undone, and was extremely satisfied by the overall plot arc and how all the pieces came together. I did have a few minor issues with the story, though, one or two things that seemed a little convenient or a little emotionally manipulative, like Con having time to convince Luc to do something unspeakable, but not cluing him in on the outcome. It's not like the outcome wouldn't be apparent, so not telling him made no sense. I also wasn't totally enamored with the ancillary plot thread of the Feast warg. Beyond that, though, this book was totally stellar in almost every way.

I don't want to say goodbye to these characters, but I appreciate Ione for drawing the series to a conclusion that stays true to the body of work instead of dragging on and on until the fire is gone. For a final book in a series, I thought it was exceptionally well done and tied up a lot of loose ends even as it was setting up events for Ione's Lords of Deliverance series, which is set in the Demonica world and will include familiar and beloved characters from the Demonica series.

And if I'm looking forward to Eternal Rider (Lords of Deliverance) with a fevered intensity that borders mindless obsession...well...just ignore the drool.

Demonica Series (Complete):