THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD (Throne of Glass #0.1) by Sarah J. Maas PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury RELEASE DATE: 13th January 2012 FORMAT: Kindle, 63 pages GENRE: Fantasy, Young Adult A Throne of Glass novella. On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she…
TOUCH OF FROST (The Mythos Academy #1) by Jennifer Estep PUBLISHER: Kensington Publishing RELEASE DATE: 1st August 2011 FORMAT: Paperback, 350 pages GENRE: Paranormal, Young Adult My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in…
Wild & Steamy (Anthology) by Carolyn Crane, Jill Myles, Meljean Brook Self-Published (Aug 2011) Kindle Edition, 119 pages Paranormal & Steampunk Romance KITTEN-TIGER & THE MONK by Carolyn Crane Reviewer: Gemma Reading shorts in an anthology can be a hit or a miss at times. You either have the short stories, which are part of a series that read like they are deleted scenes and you really need to be up-to-date with that series to have a Scooby on what is going on. Or you have the other short stories, that although they…
Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy (The Relics of Merlin #1) Sourcebooks Casablanca (Aug 2012) Ebook, 309 pages Historical Paranormal Romance Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy is a paranormal romance set towards the end of the 19th Century, (although historical influences don’t play a massive role in the plot!). To begin with we are given a short prelude about the Relics of Merlin, thirteen magical artifacts that contain the magic of Merlin himself. These relics are all that remains of his strongest power, as his magic has been filtered down through…
HATER (Hater #1) by David Moody PUBLISHER: Gollancz RELEASE DATE: Sept 2009 FORMAT: Paperback, 263 pages GENRE: Horror Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened ‘Haters’ by the media, the attackers strike without warning. The assaults are brutal, remorseless and extreme: within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people are becoming maddened, vicious killers. There are no apparent links as a hundred random attacks become a thousand, and then thousands, right across the country. Everyone, irrespective of gender, age, race, sexuality or any…
Beyond Time Series by Elizabeth Marshall Self-Published (2011) Ebook, 105 pages Paranormal Time-Travel Romance Haunting Grace, Changing Grace and Saving Grace are three short stories that together comprise a novella. At the time of writing this review, they are all free to download on Kindle (UK), so I thought I’d give them a whirl. As they are all essentially three parts of one story, I’ve found it easier to review them as one. Each are a quick read, and I read each in the space of an hour. So if…
Sword & Blood (The Vampire Musketeers #1) by Sarah Marques | Prime Books (April 2012) Paperback, 336 pages | Fantasy This appears to be the first vampire novel by renowned author Sarah Marques, who perhaps is better known as Sarah Hoyt, Elise Hyatt or Sarah D’Almeida. It is under the latter pseudonym where she has written a whole series of ‘Musketeer’ mysteries. Sword & Blood is her interpretation of the famous Alexandre Dumas story The Three Musketeers. The plot of Sword & Blood largely follows the original Dumas story with the exception that humanity is…
HOLLOW PIKE By James Dawson PUBLISHER: Indigo RELEASE DATE: 2nd February 2012 FORMAT: Paperback, 312 pages GENRE: Paranormal, Young Adult She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid – after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone…
KISS THE DEAD (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #21) by Laurell K. Hamilton PUBLISHER: Headline (UK) | Berkley (US) RELEASE DATE: June 2012 FORMAT: Hardcover, 359 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more. But even…
GRAVE MERCY (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers PUBLISHER: Andersen Press (UK) | Houghton Mifflin (US) RELEASE DATE: 7th June 2012 (UK | 3rd April 2012 (US) FORMAT: Paperback, 484 pages GENRE: Paranormal, Young Adult Young, beautiful and deadly. Trained as an assassin by the god of Death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself under prepared – not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target…
The Wish List by Gabi Stevens (Time of Transition #1) Tor Books (May 2010) Paperback, 371 pages Paranormal Romance The Wish List by Gabi Stevens is a book filled with magic, love and the emotional turmoil at discovering new powers. It subverts the magical boundaries of witches and wizards by introducing fairy godmothers, which aren’t commonly used in paranormal fiction. Kristin Montgomery is thrown into the magical world from the very first chapter, when her three aunts suddenly spring the news upon her that she is a fairy godmother, and will…
BLACK WINGS (Black Wings #1) by Christina Henry PUBLISHER: Ace Books RELEASE DATE: 30 Nov 2010 FORMAT: Paperback, 295 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy She’s an Agent of Death who really needs to get a life. As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. It’s a 24/7 job with a lousy benefits package. Maddy’s position may come with magical powers and an impressive wingspan, but it doesn’t pay the bills. And then there are her infuriating boss, tenant woes, and a…
Changeless by Gail Carrriger (The Parasol Protectorate #2) Orbit (April 2010) Paperback, 388 pages Steampunk Romance Warning: contains spoilers for ending of Soulless Changeless by Gail Carriger picks up where Soulless left off, with Alexia Tarabotti happily married to Lord Conall Maccon, and the new Lady of Woolsey Castle. Due to her husband’s state as an alpha werewolf, this also makes her the new alpha female of the pack. This provides some great comedic moments in which the males have to come to terms with Alexia’s feisty character! The main plot of this book…
Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank (The Nightwalkers #1) Piatkus Books (2012) Paperback, 370 pages Paranormal Romance Jacqueline Frank is a new author for me, and I have heard some wonderful things about her, so I was really looking forward to reading Jacob. For me it seemed very similar to another paranormal romance book that I have read, but I will go into that in a bit. Jacob is an Enforcer for his people. This means that when someone steps out of line, and breaks their laws, he is the guy that…
FATED (Alex Verus #1) by Benedict Jacka PUBLISHER: Orbit (UK) | Ace Books (US) RELEASE DATE: March 2012 (UK) | Feb 2012 (US) FORMAT: Paperback, 304 pages GENRE: Urban Fantasy SOURCE: Publisher Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future—allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success. But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to…
