Sunday, May 10, 2015

Melanie's Week in Review - May 10, 2015




Hello everyone! I hope you had a good week. This was a big decision week for me and not just decisions about what I would read. I made the big decision this week to change jobs and nail biting was big on the agenda this week. I did enjoy a couple of good books that I would like to share with you.

If you read my WIR last week you will remember that I had received a copy of Pirate's Alley by Suzanne Johnson (Tor Books, April 21, 2015). It seems AGES since I read the last book Elysian Fields but its only been a year. This series has really grown on me and Pirate's Alley is another great instalment in the Sentinels of New Orleans series. This book starts not long after the events of book 3 where the hero of the tale and sentinel DJ gets blood bonded to an Elven big-wig, is left homeless after an undead axe murderer burns her house down, and is almost turned into a loup garou. It's a wonder that she can keep her disasters straight she has so many and in book 4 she is due for a few more.

In this instalment DJ is expected to guard the undead hunky pirate Jean Lafitte during a perilous time for the various supernatural factions. Lafitte is on the war path and out for revenge all while DJ is expected to stop him from doing just that. Her job becomes that much more difficult when her best friend Eugenie divulges a big secret that forges alliances and destroys relationships all over New Orleans. On top of this DJ's relationship with her shifter boyfriend, Alex, is strained by the brewing war between the supernatural races and the sense of duty they both feel towards their friends and loved ones. This instalment explores which will prevail.

I thoroughly enjoyed Pirate's Alley. I like DJ more with each new instalment. She is really torn between what she should do and what is better is better for her loved ones. This makes her seem all the more realistic and true to her character. I am glad that Johnson hasn't allowed DJ to become too self righteous or too much of a goody two-shoes. Pirate Alley is another great book in this series. Again, the book cover rocks....I LOVE this cover and appreciate that the model stays the same across all the books. This is one of the few models who looks exactly how I imagine the character to be.


Book 2 of the week was Midnight's Kiss by Thea Harrison (Berkley, May 5, 2015) which is the eighth of The Elder Races series. This instalment features the vampire king Julian and one of the princesses of the Light Fae, Melisande. The former lovers had an acrimonious separation twenty years ago but when Melisande gets kidnapped by the evil Justine, Julian is in hot pursuit. Escaping a dungeon, feral vampires and a  political coup are all in a days work for Julian but can love prevail?

I thought this instalment was just OK. I think this series is getting a little stale and formulaic as I there doesn't seem to be a series arc and every instalment is just two opposites attracting. Also, Harrison broke my number 1 romance rules - any woman who gets kidnapped, locked in a dungeon, almost killed and almost raped does not want to have sex with her extremely hunky ex-lover - but yet, that is what Melisande does. There is quite a bit of 'cave' sex and it just didn't come across as romantic. I hope that Harrison ramps up the excitement in book 9.


I was looking on my Amazon recommendations (again, I know very naughty) when I came across Dog with a Bone by Hailey Edwards. I was mostly attracted to the 99p price of this Kindle edition and thought that Thierry sounded like an interestingly conflicted character. I was however, quite disappointed. This is a fairly standard young adult urban fantasy. Thierry is a half human/half supernatural who becomes a peacekeeper just like her estranged father. She is joined on her first case by the incubus Shaw, also her trainer and love interest.

I think the preview didn't really represent the story and I wouldn't have bothered reading it had I known that the plot was going to be 90% teenage angst and 10% character development. Thierry and Shaw can barely focus on the murders mystery they are trying to solve during several bouts of heavy petting. Overall, I find it quite dull. Perhaps a younger a reader would find it more enjoyable.


My final read for the week was Day Shift by Charlaine Harris. This book was reviewed last week by Qwill so check out what she thought of it.


That is it for me for this week. I hope you have had a productive week and until next week Happy Reading.

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