Firebolt (The Dragonian) by Adrienne Woods Review

Series: The Dragonian #1
Publish: September 19th 2014 by Fire Quill
Format: ebook, 394 pages
Rating: 5 / 4

Synopsis: Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself.

Review:
  I’m not much of a fun of books about dragons, but the beautiful cover and the synopsis got my attention. The story’s not really what I was expecting, it was even better.

  I was expecting a medieval setting, instead we get world that is a more advanced but still full of magic and fairytale like creatures. It is a beautiful and colorful world, perfect for the mysteries and excitement the book presents. The author writing style is great and the story flows easily. The whole installment narrated by Elena who is new to this magical place so we experience every little detail alongside with her. Her reactions and emotions come through spectacularly. It’s strange how easily magic and technology work together in Paegeia, but if we break down the story, the bare core of it a simply fairytale where the heroic prince who saves the day is replaced with Elena.

  Beside the beautiful world the book has a fantastic cast, too. Elena, the heroine, has no clue about magic and dragons so everything is quite a shock to her. The acceptance comes slow and hard and however much hers is the most realistic reaction I ever read about, sometimes she acts so dumb and infuriatingly hysteric. Then in no time she accommodates to her new life and genuinely tries to understand her new surroundings. That is until the first hardship, when she returns to the dumb, hysteric girl from the beginning of the book, some instance she even acts as a brat. So even if she portrays the most realistic reaction from someone who just finds out about the supernatural world I was expecting a stronger and more resilient main character.
  Becky and Sam, her room-mates personalities aren’t constant trough the story. My first impression about Becky was that she is a quirky, scatter-brained, mouthy and more of a laid back person, later she shows a more badass but also entitled side of herself. Sam transforms from strong and free-spoken to a skittish and gentler character. But they have a really strong friendship and they quickly include Elena in it, too. They are also extremely loyal, understanding and have a rebel spirit. Then there is Lucian, the quintessential prince charming with more determination and stubbornness than anyone. He is a stereotype through and through. I wasn’t too happy about his advances but as my other reviews show I usually like the dark ones.
  Blake stays an enigma and acts like somebody with multiple personalities. There are also a lot of interesting secondary characters, whom add to the book complexity.

  I have two big problems with the story. One is the pacing or at least the pacing of Elena change. In the first ¾ of the book she struggles to adjust to her new life then in a blink of an eye she starts to plan her grandiose world saving mission. It’s too fast change for my taste. The other is a minor detail which is the fact that a lot of “mystery” or secret is really obvious and predictable. You can guess almost everything from the clouded stories if you play attention. Unfortunately it has the potential to ruin the further books. So I’m hoping for a twist in the installment.

  Despite the little kinks I really enjoyed the story. It is well constructed, exciting, interesting and has a little bit of everything a fantastic fairytale needs. Looking forward to Thunderlight.

By Viki

Bind the Soul (Steel & Stone) by Annette Marie Review

Series: Steel & Stone #2
Publish: January 9th 2015 by Annette Marie
Format: ebook, 304 pages
Rating: 5 / 4

Synopsis: The most important rule for an Apprentice Consul is simple: Don't get involved with daemons. Well, Piper is planning to break that rule — big time.
After a near-deadly scandal with the Sahar Stone, she has the chance to return to the only life she's ever wanted. All she has to do to keep her Apprenticeship is forget about Ash and Lyre. Ash might be enigmatic and notoriously lethal, and Lyre might be as sinfully irresistible as he is irritating, but they’re not bad for a couple of daemons.
There's just one problem: Ash is missing.
Really, she shouldn't risk her future for him. He lied. He betrayed her. But he also saved her life, damn it. Wherever he is, he's in trouble, and if she doesn't save his sorry butt, who will? But with every dangerous secret she unravels, each one darker than the last, she slips deeper into Ash's world — a world with no escape for either of them.

Review:
  I loved the first book so I purchased the second and third installment in the series as soon as possible. The author doesn’t disappoint in this book either. However in the second story she shows us another side of the world she built. In Chase the dark we see how the Earth side of things work while Bind the soul plays mostly on the Underworld’ side. Or more like in a little pocket of it.

  The story starts with Piper and Lyre desperate search for Ash, whom wellbeing they worry about quite much. So our favorite trio is not together, what stays a common motive through the book. Actually it’s more like a Piper only mission. Sure Ash and Lyre show up here and there but until the last third of the book they don’t have much of a role. In this story there are a lot more dark elements than in the previous one. We get a glimpse how Ash grows up through Piper hardships, and thanks to this can understand a little better. Since the whole story is narrated from Piper point of view so it’s helps a lot to understand and relate to other characters.
  The story is not as fast paced either but has plenty of actions and complications enough to keep the reader’s attention. Piper is still struggling with her lack of magic and her father changed a bit either so he is no help at all. The fact that she gets a lot of new information about her dual magic and her capability to wield the Sahar stone just makes her work harder. So it’s safe to say she didn’t get more confident and content with what she has. Samael torture just gets her spirit lower and lower in a short period of time. Fortunately she is really stubborn and feels a deep loyalty toward Ash what helps her fight back. Before that in her desperation she shows her uglier and more manipulative side, too. Even her naivety shows, mainly toward daemons or mostly Mysis. However he bursts her bubble relatively fast. What I really liked were the subtle but noticeable romantic notions between Piper and Ash. These little scenes are quite cute, pure and honest but both of them try to deny them. There are still a lot of things they have to work out in that department.
  While Lyre doesn’t have a substantial role in the story, Ash is present quiet much. Although he truly feels like a secondary character some of the times. As I mentioned earlier we get an explanation about his actions and guarded personality. It also turns out that he is really honorable and would be a spectacular leader. On the other hand the connection between him and Piper that formed in the first installment starts to show more and more, you can clearly see how it gets stronger and how much trust he lies with Piper.
  There are a couple of new characters too but I don’t think either of them would be good. I had hopes for Mysis after his initial introduction but it turned out real fast how manipulative, condescending and power hungry truly is he.

  Overall this book has a completely different undertone than the first; I think it’s admirable ho the writer created an entirely different atmosphere with the same world, topic and cast. There is a lot of good, funny, heartbreaking and action packed part in it and I really liked it. I was hoping for a bit more positive or happier ending than we got. I can’t wait to read the next installment.

By Viki

Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny) by Helen Harper Review

Series: Blood Destiny #2
Publish: December 29th 2012 by Helen Harper
Format: ebook, 156 pages
Rating: 5 / 4

Synopsis: After escaping the claws of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the Brethren, Mack is trying to lead a quiet lonely life in Inverness in rural Scotland, away from anyone who might happen to be a shapeshifter. However, when she lands a job at an old bookstore owned by a mysterious elderly woman who not only has a familiar passion for herbal lore but also seems to know more than she should, Mack ends up caught in a maelstrom between the Ministry of Mages, the Fae and the Brethren.
Now she has to decide between staying hidden and facing the music, as well as confronting her real feelings for the green eyed power of Corrigan himself.

Review:
  The second book in the Blood destiny series starts roughly six moths after where Bloodfire ended. I was really excited when I started it because the first one was simply fantastic, but in the end I was a bit dissapointed.

  The characters and the writing style is still the same and I sill like it but there is a huge hole in the book. In my opinion there isn't a story behind the happenings. Sure there is a lot of action and badass fighting, new developments and emotions but nothing realy connecting and more important main thread than in the previous one. Because of this and the lenghtof the book when I finished I felt like I lost half of the book somewhere along the way. Kinda ended in the middle of the action. And I had high hopes, I don't like when I have to be dissapointed. It was unfortunate. This huge missing piece was my main problem with the book, I liked the way things were working in the first book, but in this everything chaneged. There is a jumble of everything supernatural in it. Mack pisses of everybody who counts, meddel with the fae, with magic and with the shifters even more. And I missed the shifters. Sure there are shifters in it, mainly Corrigan I just don't get why, doesn't really have a place in the story. They just show up out of the blue. Don't get me wrong I accept every minute I can get from Corrigan, but their part of the story is out of place is this book. So there is everything in it, a confusing mix of otherworld and the whole thing is rushed. It is good for making a great foundation for the following books but nothing else.But I still liked it. When you have a great main character and an interesting world and a talented writer, it is almost impossible to write a bad book. I look at it like a bridge or a companion novella.

  I loved Mack how she was in the first book. She isn't worst in this just a bit more emotional and maybe reckless. After leaving the pack she became pennyless and really lonely, oh and a bit paranoid, too. But her fighter spirit saves her again and again. Her biggest problem in this installment she cares too easily and can't give up somebody even if it means she becames the target. She gets new abilitis and those just complicates her life. Honestly I laughed a lot because of her reactions. There are a lot of changes in her personality and I can't decide yet if it is good or bad that she started to mellow.
  Then there is that so called sexual tension between her and Corrigan, it is still there and finally they started to realize it, too. I'm rooting for them they are cute together.
Unfortunately, Corrigan lost a little of his shine for me. He is a bit slow realizing the true and looks a bit dumb because of it. An beside that his obsession with Mack starts to seem unhealty. Okay, I still like him but come on get yourself together and man up. Just like in the first book.
  There are quite a few new characters but we still doesn't get to know them deeper. However, in this book I doesn't rmind it that much I did it in Bloodfire. Solus isn't really lieabel, at least I doesn't like him. And the others just keep dragging Mack down.

  I'm goingto continue the series despite my initial dissaponitment. I hope Corrigan and Mack romance ging to fire up a bit and the story gets back to the right tracks. I really like the general conception of the book I hoping for the best.

Bloodfire (Blood Destiny) by Helen Harper Review

Series: Blood Destiny #1
Publish: December 27th 2012 by Helen Harper
Format: ebook, 246 pages
Rating: 5 / 5

Synopsis: Mack might be, to all intents and purposes, a normal looking human, but she lives with a pack of shapeshifters in Cornwall in rural England after being dumped there by her mother when she was just a young child. She desperately wants to be accepted by her surrogate family, not least because a lot of them hate her for merely being human, but for some reason her blood just won't allow the transformation to occur.
With a terrible temper to match her fiery red hair, Mack is extraordinarily useful in a fight, and when her pack alpha is brutally and abruptly murdered, she swears vengeance. Unfortunately, his murder also draws in the Brethren - the leaders of the shapeshifter world - who will slaughter everyone in Mack's small rural pack if they discover her true identity. Unfortunately Corrigan, the green-eyed muscle-bound Lord Alpha of the Brethren, doesn't let much slip by him...

Review:
  This is the first book I ever read from Helen Harper but I's sure I'm going to look for her works from now on. I have it on my to read list for a while now, but for some reason I didn't read it yet. However, the other day I stubled upon it again and started it. I'm glad I did, because it is an excellente story and I found a lot of similarities with one of my favourite series. I quckly became a fan.

  The story starts after a devasting event in the pack life and from there everything start to spiral out of control at least for Mack. There is already a lot of threat for her life but suddenly these multiply. There is a great chance that her true identity is gets exposed but she is too determined to get revenge so she is willing to risk it. The whole mystery about Joh murderer is strongly interwined with Mack history and secrets. However, while Mack part of the suspense is quite predictable the other part isn't. Thanks to this there is a really strong balance in the plot. I really liked the book, it was a little strenge in parts but in the good way. Everything takes olace in the British Islands with a little supernatural twist. I think the autor idea about the paranormal world is quite godd, but in this book it mainly focuses on the shifter population and doesn't really talks about other species. Otherwise I like the general background of the story. There is a tangled web of lies and secrets in the shadows what makes difficult everybody lifes.
  The plot is well spaced and gradually unfolds. A well written book with interesting characters, exciting world and an action packed plot. The whole story is told by Mack who gives us a hazy picture since she isn't quite sure what's going on either.

  There is a lot of interesting character in the book but we only get a clear picture about Mack. She is my cup of tea. Strong, snarky, fiery and generally a trouble maker. She is raised by the pack and they are the only family she knows, but since she is human her mere existence is a therat for the pack. She needs to keep a low profile for a while but foe some reason she simply can't do it. No matter how much she tries. Everywhere she goes trouble follows. I really like her personality but it is a bit strange that nobody ever quetioned tha fact that she is a better fighter than most shifters when is is just a human. Beside this her bloodfire thingy is a little hazy, it takes a while to really unterstand the meaning of it. This ridiculous disregard of clues from their part is easily forgivable because it doesn't take away from the story.
  Corrigan is the only one who sees the signs of her power he just can't put together the right picture. However he is a really observant and in my opinion quite likable character. Sexy, strong and smart and for some reason Mack got his attention from the beginning, too much of his attention. I love the interactions between the two and I think there is a hidden attraction somewhere behind their fighting. He knows perfectly which buttons to push and not just with Mack, everybody. I like him, I hope there is going to be something more between him and Mack.
  I like most of the pack, well expect Anton, but unfortunately we doesn't get to know them enough. There is a lack of deeper introduczion for them. They all love Mack in different ways. Most of them is kind and loyal.

  It is a beautiful and interesting story, but it is missing something, something I can't quite put my hands on. Still I loved it. I can't wait to finish the second book, since there is a lot of place for development in every way, but for a first book it's perfect. It's spieced with a lot of surprising twist and turn most of them I couldn't perdict and I liked it. It is a fresh and a phenomenal book. Perfect for everybody who likes urban fantasy.