The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig (Mookie Pearl #1) Angry Robot (May 2013) Ebook, 400 Pages Urban Fantasy The Blue Blazes is an urban fantasy novel by Chuck Wendig and is set in a version of New York that has a literal Hell below it. The eponymous Blue Blazes refers to a mineral compound, cerulean, found down below that allows users to see demons and half-breeds as they really are, it also makes the user stronger and more resilient. The protagonist is Mookie Pearl, a mob enforcer and user. He…

Werewolves Be Damned by Stacey Kennedy (Magic & Mayhem #1) Entangled Publishing (April 2013) Ebook, 204 pages Paranormal Romance Nexi Jones watches helplessly, as her adoptive parents are slaughtered by werewolves. She is saved by two men dressed in leather kilts that call themselves Guardians. Taken back to an Otherworld where she is told she is part-guardian and part-witch, Nexi wants nothing more than to get revenge on the creatures that killed her parents. She is willing to do anything, even be instructed by Kyden, an elite Guardian. The man is,…

Down London Road  by Samantha Young (On Dublin Street #2) Penguin (May 2013) Paperback, 407 Pages Contemporary Erotic Romance Having devoured On Dublin Street in a matter of a few days, I was more than giddy at the prospect of reading Down London Road. As with its predecessor, Down London Road continues with a story that is an emotional rollercoaster ride that by the end of the book you are exhausted but happy that everything worked out in the end. True, for those few days, I once again sacrificed sleep…

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy #2) Indigo (June 2013) Paperback, 224 pages YA Fantasy Warning: contains spoilers for book one Picking up where Shadow and Bone (previously titled The Gathering Dark in the UK) left off, Siege and Storm follows the adventures of Sun Summoner, Alina as she struggles to remain hidden from the Darkling and protect her childhood friend, Mal. The close of book one left Alina and Mal on the run from the Darkling, endeavouring to escape as far away from Ravka as they can…

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young (On Dublin Street #1) Penguin (January 2013) Paperback, 407 Pages Erotic Contemporary Romance On Dublin Street is part of a collection of books I own called, “The publishers claim it’s hotter, darker, sexier, edgier than 50 Shades of Grey”. Anyone who has read any of my reviews on erotic romance knows how much I didn’t like 50 Shades to the point I only managed to read 10%. So again, I picked up this book, waiting to see what On Dublin Street had in store…

Seal of Surrender by Traci Douglass (The Seven Seals #2) Crimson Romance (May 2013) Ebook, 187 Pages Paranormal Romance Seal of Surrender is the second instalment in The Seven Seals series. With the second in a series, there is always that worry that it will not live up to the first. This is not an issue here. I personally think it was better than Seal of Destiny. This is not to say that Seal of Destiny wasn’t good in the first place – I loved it. In this novel we…

After Hours by Cara Mckenna Intermix Publishing (April 2010) Ebook, 270 pages | Erotic Romance  After Hours has a really interesting premise: an erotic romance set predominantly in and around a mental institution is guaranteed to catch your attention. The setting could have really detracted from the romantic aspect of the story, by bringing up such a serious issue, but instead it just seemed to heighten the effectiveness of the relationship between the two main characters, Erin and Kelly. Erin is a woman who has lived her life for other people, and who is…

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Headline Review (Aug 2012) | Paperback, 438 pages Contemporary Fiction The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a book I’ve been excited to read for a very long time, and I wish I’d had the chance to read it sooner. Set in 1920s Alaska, the book tells the story of middle-aged couple Jack and Mabel who left their city home in pursuit of an isolated farming life. Needless to say Alaska is not all they’d imagined, and from the opening we begin to see how it’s…

The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O’Malley Head of Zeus (Jan 2012) | Paperback, 512 pages Urban Fantasy The story starts with a letter, a letter to Myfanwy Alice Thomas from Myfanwy Alice Thomas. Myfanwy wakes up in someone else’s body except it isn’t someone else’s body, it is hers. Confused? Well so is she. Myfanwy has two black eyes, has been severely beaten and surrounded by dead bodies. She finds a set of instructions in her pocket that lead her to the life she used to have. It…

Blood and Feathers (Blood & Feathers #1) by Lou Morgan Solaris (July 2012) | Paperback, 384 pages Urban Fantasy The term “Urban Fantasy” gets banded about willy-nilly, when trying to pigeonhole books that are set in the modern times, but have a paranormal element to them. Many times, it is used to try to disguise paranormal romance books in order to sell more books. Blood and Feathers is the first book in a long while where the term Urban Fantasy describes the book to a T. This is a book that…

The Siren (The Original Sinners #1) by Tiffany Reisz Mills & Boon (Jan 2012) | Paperback, 432 pages Contemporary Erotic Romance If you are a regular reader, you’ll know how much I despised Thirty Shades of Grey. So whenever I read a tag line stating that this book is better than Thirty Shades I am more than a bit cautious. To all of you I say, this book more than deserves the accolade because this book is just one of those reads that you HAVE to read on. From the first page…

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher Tor Books (Oct 2012) | Paperback, 352 pages Sci-Fi Romance Ok… so… WOW. What do you mean that’s not enough???? Oooh.. ok, so you want some details. Fair enough. Here comes the why. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you will already know that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only is it a brilliant new concept, but the chemistry between the two main characters is great, and you really get a fabulous idea of the world in which it all…

Wolfsbane (Rebel Angel #3) by Gillian Philip Strident (Aug 2012) | Paperback, 435 pages Fantasy Warning: May contain spoilers to previous books Every so often you get a book, or if you are really lucky, a series that seems to defy words in order to explain how good the series is. Wolfsbane and in turn, The Rebel Angel series, are in that league. This is truly turning into a series that deserves more recognition for the amazing world building and character development, which other series only dream of achieving. Wolfsbane is the novel in…

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson Gollancz (Oct 2009 ) | Paperback, 643 pages | Fantasy The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy novel that takes magic and corruption to new depths, with a citizen’s uprising threatening the oppressive conditions of the Lord Ruler’s reign over the Final Empire. The majority of this fantasy novel takes place in the city of Luthadel, the central stronghold of the Lord Ruler and the area in which the noblemen reside and wealth is power. However, there is still a divide…

Tarnished (The St Croix Chronicles #1) by Karina Cooper Avon Books (June 2012) | Paperback, 384 pages Steampunk For me, steampunk books can be a very hit or miss affair, with some books trying too hard to be quirky with its inventions or trying to be “modern” in a Victorian setting. Thankfully, Tarnished isn’t one of these books and to be honest should be tagged more as a thriller set in Victorian England, with hints of steampunk technology. This isn’t a bad thing and is actually a very fun read, as…