Magic Rises (Kate Daniels, #6) by Ilona Andrews

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Atlanta is a city plagued by magical problems. Kate Daniels will fight to solve them—no matter the cost.

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.

Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap…

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Another great read in this series. One of my favorite paranormal series. Glad that Kate and Curran are strengthening their relationship and hope that series continues to build.




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Stirred (Jack Daniels Mystery #8) by J.A. Konrath

Stirred by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


They are the very best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.Only fate could bring two such extraordinary people together?or the depraved manipulations of a homicidal criminal who takes lives for the sheer pleasure of watching his victims die.Luther Kite is a monster among monsters, growing increasingly bored with his kills. So he sets his sights on the one adversary who can offer him a true challenge: Lt. Jacqueline ?Jack? Daniels, the best homicide detective to ever come out of the Chicago PD. Jack has brought the city's most notorious criminals to their knees. But now she may die on hers, in a specially crafted hell Luther Kite has been building for years. Trapped in a nightmare from which none have escaped, Jack has never been so close to death...nor had so much to live for.Fast-paced, suspenseful, and darkly comic, Stirred brings J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series and Blake Crouch's Luther Kite series to a riveting, heart-stopping conclusion.


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First I need to say that while the Forward in this book says that no prior knowledge of the Jack Daniels series by Konrath or the Luther Kite series by Crouch is necessary before reading this book, I personally think that it is a good idea to have already read them both. I found this to be a satisfying ending to the Jack Daniels series (though I am one of those fans who would not mind one bit if Konrath wrote another book in the series)but I would very much have liked to have already read the Crouch series before reading this book. I had them on my wishlist but now I think that I will probably not bother as I feel like I would not enjoy them as much when I already know what the conclusion is going to be.

I will however be searching high and low for any and all books/stories that contain even a glimmer of konrath's Jack Daniels characters in the future!

Konrath has definitely made me a fan!!

One aspect of this book that I loved is the ability to hyperlink characters and events to the descriptions and explanations contained at the end of the book. I think that this is a fabulous feature that ebooks are able to offer over paper/ink books.



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Shaken (Jack Daniels Mystery, #7) by J.A. Konrath

Shaken by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Chicago cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has chased, and caught, dozens of dangerous criminals over the course of her career. But she's about to meet her match.
When Jack wakes up in a storage locker, bound and gagged, she knows with chilling certainty who her abductor is.

He's called "Mr. K." More than two hundred homicides have been attributed to him. His victims have died in the most horrible ways imaginable. He's the essence of evil. Some think he's just an urban legend. But he's real. Jack has tangled with him twice in the past, and both times he managed to slip away.

Now Jack will finally have a chance to confront the maniac she's been hunting for over twenty-five years. Unfortunately, it won't be on her terms. In less than two hours, Mr. K is going to do to Jack what he's done to countless others. And Jack is going to learn that sometimes the good guys don't win...



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I was a little concerned about the three different time lines, but it really worked well. In fact I would be willing to say that it increased the suspense three fold.

I love this series and I am going to be sad to read the last book, but I am thrilled to know that there are so many short stories that include Jack, Harry, Herb and Phin. I am looking forward to reading each and every one of them!!

This book gave us a lot of background for Jack and how she has been involved with some of the killers who have been featured in these books as well as some from other books.As always the action is non-stop and I found myself holding my breath as I turned the page to see how Jack was going to survive (though I never had any doubt that she would, with the help of her friends).



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Vampires Gone Wild (Vamp City, #1.5; Love at Stake, #13.5; Diaries of an Urban Panther, #3.5) by Kerrelyn Sparks, Pamela Palmer, Amanda Arista, Kim Falconer

Vampires Gone Wild by Kerrelyn Sparks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


V is for VampWoman by Kerrelyn Sparks

Pamela decides to shed her prim and proper ways for spandex and a mask to help fight the Malcontents. Now if only she weren't so distracted by the sexy vampire fighting by her side . . .

A Forever Love by Pamela Palmer

Trapped in Vamp City, Lukas has been unable to return to the beauty who stole his heart. But now that she's stumbled into his world, it will take every ounce of cunning he possesses to keep her alive.

First Dates Are Hell by Amanda Arista

Valiance's first date in a hundred years is going great . . . until they're attacked in the parking lot and quiet, unassuming Esme turns out to be way more than she appears.

Blood and Water by Kim Falconer

Beneath the waves of San Francisco Bay lives a vampire race that wants nothing to do with the "landers" except to feed on them. But when Stellan sets eyes on Angelina, everything changes.
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I picked up this book at Amazon solely for the Love at Stake story. I of course enjoyed the story of Lady Pamela and Mikhail, as I do all of the Love at Stake stories.

I did not really care much for Blood and Water by Kim Falconer. There were elements of the story that were okay but overall I was not drawn into the story like the others in this book. I did however very much enjoy the other two stories in the book, A Forever Love by Pamela Palmer & First Dates Are Hell by Amanda Arista, and look forward to finding the other books in the series where these two worlds exist.

So overall a quite enjoyable read that introduced me to 2 new authors and two new worlds that I can not wait to explore.



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Endgame (Sirantha Jax, #6) by Ann Aguirre

Endgame by Ann Aguirre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Regret nothing.

Sirantha Jax has the J-gene, which permits her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. She loves nothing more than that rush, but the star roads have to wait…

Her final mission takes her to La’heng, a planet subjugated during first contact. Since then, the La’hengrin homeworld has been occupied by foreign conquerors.

All that’s about to change.

Now, as part of a grassroots resistance, Jax means to liberate the La’hengrin. But political intrigue and guerrilla warfare are new to her, and this will be the most dangerous game she’s ever played—spies and conspiracies, a war of weapons and hearts, and not everyone is guaranteed to make it out alive..

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As much as I am going to miss the world of Sirantha Jax I was pleased to see everything wrapped up and the series end the way that it did. Ann Aguirre has a very special talent for creating worlds that the reader can immerse themselves in. The world of Sirantha Jax has been an exciting one to visit.



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Turkey Day Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #7) by Leslie Meier

Turkey Day Murder by Leslie Meier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Tinker’s Cove has a long history of Thanksgiving festivities, from visits with TomTom Turkey to the annual Warriors high school football game and Lucy Stone’s impressive pumpkin pie. But this year, someone has added murder to the menu, and Lucy intends to discover who left Metinnicut Indian activist Curt Nolan deader than the proverbial Thanksgiving turkey—with an ancient war club next to his head.

The list of suspects isn’t exactly a brief one. Nolan had a habit of disagreeing with just about everybody he met. Between fixing dinner for twelve and keeping her four kids from tearing each other limb from limb, Lucy has a pretty full plate already. So what’s a little investigation? But if she’s not careful, she just may find herself served up as a last-minute course, stone-cold dead with all the trimmings…

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Typical Lucy Stone mystery. I did not know who the killer was until they caught him, so that is a plus. I was actually going to give Bill credit for not being a neanderthal in this book, but in the end, he was. I enjoy reading these mysteries mostly because I enjoy visiting the folks of Tinker Cove and seeing how Lucy's kids are growing.





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Jack: The Tale of Frost by Tony Bertauski

Jack: The Tale of Frost by Tony Bertauski

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Sura is sixteen years old when she meets Mr. Frost. He’s very short and very fat and he likes his room very, very cold. Some might say inhumanly cold. His first name isn’t Jack, she’s told. And that’s all she needed to know.

Mr. Frost’s love for Christmas is over-the-top and slightly psychotic. And why not? He’s made billions of dollars off the holiday he invented. Or so he claims. Rumor is he’s an elven, but that’s silly. Elven aren’t real. And if they were, they wouldn’t live in South Carolina. They wouldn’t hide in a tower and go to the basement to make…things.

Nonetheless, Sura will work for this odd little recluse. Frost Plantation is where she’ll meet the love of her life. It’s where she’ll finally feel like she belongs somewhere. And it’s where she’ll meet someone fatter, balder and stranger than Mr. Frost. It’s where she’ll meet Jack.

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This is going to be a very hard review to write. I have been eagerly anticipating this book every since I read Claus: Legend of the Fat Man earlier this year. Claus was easily one of my favorite reads of the year, so I was expecting a lot from this book. Sadly I did not quite find what I was hoping for. Where Claus had amazing world building with so much detail that I was totally immersed in the story, I felt that Jack lacked those exact things. I was able to fill in some gaps because I had read Claus (which in my opinion is a necessity before you read Jack) but I just did not feel like I was being drawn in like I had been while reading Claus. I don't feel like I really got to know any of the characters well enough to connect to them. I almost feel like I was just getting a glimpse into Mr. Frost's life, whereas I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to get to know May, Templeton, Jonah, Joe and Sura. I wanted to be a part of Frost's plan, not just see the end result of it. I wanted more! This will not deter me from reading the next installment -- Frosty: Journey of a Snowman, but I do hope that Tony gives us more of what I so loved about Claus -- all those wonderful little details that made me believe that the world that he created on the North Pole could exist and could be the basis for our modern day beliefs in Santa Claus.



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The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake, #14) by Kerrelyn Sparks

The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrelyn Sparks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


He's Out of Control

Dougal Kincaid has something to prove. After being injured in a battle with the Malcontents, he's ready for active duty protecting unsuspecting mortals from these villainous vampires who want to rule the world. But first he has to get control of himself . . . because just the sight of a certain lovely doctor has his injured hand doing some peculiar things, not to mention the sizzling sensation that burns along his dragon tattoo.

Vampires? Vampires?! As a scientist, Leah is having trouble believing that these immortal creatures exist. But there they are, standing in front of her, asking for help in solving a genetic puzzle that can save mankind. There's even one in a sexy kilt! Just one look into Dougal's gorgeous green eyes sets her pulse racing. But can she trust him—and the overwhelming desire that refuses to be ignored?

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Another enjoyable read in the Love at Stake series. Dougal finally gets his chance at love. The vamps make some headway in their war against the Malcontents and we get to revisit several of the couples that have been featured in earlier books. Love this series!!



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