Review: Goddess of Spring

Goddess of Spring tells the story of Carolina Santoro, a 43 year old woman running a bakery. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself in the body of Greek Goddess Persephone, the Goddess of Spring and daughter of Demeter.

It turns out that Demeter has sent Persephone to the real world in an attempt to make her more mature. In Persephone’s stead, Lina must travel to the Underworld, realm of the dead, and make nice with the Ruler of the Underworld himself, Hades. He isn’t all blue flame and snarky wit, though (I do believe Disney has warped my take on Greek mythology a tad) Cast’s portrayal of Hades will have you swooning, and he’s probably the reason you’ll be buying this book. Goddess of Spring is rich with references to the mythical underworld – the river Styx, Lethas, Dread steeds and lovable three-headed canine Cerberus all make their appearances throughout the book.

There’s not much action in this book; it’s more of a take on mythological romance than anything else. Those wishing for a more plot-oriented reading experience will have better luck with Cast’s House of Night series.

See also: Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Light, Goddess of the Rose, Goddess of Love, Warrior Rising

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 9.5/15

Review: Divine by Choice

I didn’t enjoy Divine by Choice as much as I did for its predecessor, Divine by Mistake (which I didn’t enjoy that much to begin with. Sigh). P.C. Cast continues Shannon’s story in the Partholon series, where Shannon is the Beloved of an mythological utopia. Married to her centaurian husband ClanFintan and loved by the masses, Shannon has the perfect life – well, an almost perfect life, just without the comforts of the modern world.

The plot devices Cast used in this book had me yawning uncontrollably for most of the book. We all know the chant: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes… a mutant centaur baby! Shannon’s pregnancy becomes painfully obvious within the first few pages of the book – poor appetite and nausea for a newlywed, imagine that! She remains annoyingly dense to the whole situation, though, and it’s only when she hurls all over ClanFintan’s lap that the truth finally makes it to her addled brain.

Things are not all marital bliss and overprotective husbands, though. Shannon soon finds herself back in the real world through Rhiannon’s intervention. It turns out the former Beloved isn’t happy with the hand she’s been dealt with and wants a do-over. Not all is lost, ho! For Shannon runs into hot guy Clint, who happens to be a parallel of ClanFintan in her world, only human. This is where the book’s stock plummeted for me, since the novelty of a centaurian husband was what was holding my attention. Replacing him with a cookie-cutter version of him sans two legs made me very grumpy indeed.

Shannon explores the rift in the forest with Clint, at the location where Rhiannon was working her magic. The story then moves, snail slow, through the budding connection between Shannon and Clint (yawn) and their eventual copulation (double yawn).  Don’t get me wrong – Clint is fine and everything, and I’m sure the somewhat threesome spices up Shannon’s adventures of erotica – but honestly, now. People probably picked this up for a good mythological romance, not some run-of-the-mill modern day harlequin rubbish. Shannon eventually returns to Partholon, leaving Clint heartbroken in the real world. Naturally, ClanFintan welcomes her back with open arms, and all is well and highly disappointing.

The problem with Cast’s writing style is the way she manages her plot resolutions. All her characters get happy endings, with no casualties or events involving red hot pokers, KY jelly, and lifelong mental/physical trauma. Her sappy, perfect ending had me fervently fighting my upchuck reflex and wishing I’d found a better way to spend my two hours.

Shannon’s story continues in Divine by Blood, where it’s an epic battle of her daughter (human, alas! Not some three-legged, human-centaur mutant) versus Rhiannon’s daughter. Stay tuned.

See also: Divine by Mistake, Divine by Blood

Plot/originality: 2/5

Characters: 2/5

Writing style: 2/5

Total score: 6/15

Review: Once Dead, Twice Shy

Once Dead, Twice Shy is a continuation of Madison Avery’s story from the the novella “Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper” from the Prom Nights from Hell anthology. Kim Harrison spins a unique, compelling story about death reapers – about time we got some new material, considering how we’re being buried in piles and piles of crap-tastic vampire fiction. (What have you done, Stephenie?)

You don’t have to read “Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper” to read Once Dead, Twice Shy, though it will make some of the characters a tad more familiar. Madison Avery finds herself under the tutelage of light reaper Barnabas, a fallen angel of the light sent to remain by her side in training her skills as a newfound reaper. The problem, though? Madison’s dead – a soul without a body, existing without the need for food or sleep. The only thing keeping her tangible is a dark amulet which she wrested from evil pirate!reaper Kairos/Seth, who’s on the warpath for his amulet back.

Madison must fend off attacks from the black wings and Kairos while protecting Josh, who seems to have a target sign tattooed onto his back. Through the fast-paced action, Harrison manages to blend in some Madison/Josh romance (which I definitely did not see coming – I kind of expected some Madison/Barnabas, boo). Madison is a misfit at her high school and acts as such, though not in a stab-your-eyes-out-annoying kind of way. The characters were quirky, with some new additions to the story adding to the zest of things. I especially loved Grace, Madison’s spunky guardian angel (Guardian, Reaper-Augmented Cherub, Extinction Security, or G.R.A.C.E.S. Harrison is an acronym genius!) and Nakita, who turns out to have quite the personality.

Plot twists galore near the end, which was a pleasant surprise. Ron, Madison’s higher-in-command, turns out to have an agenda of his own, whereas Kairos meets a bitter and quick end when his plans to kill Madison backfire. Madison finds out that the lines between good and evil and blurred, and that nothing is quite as black and white as she initially imagined. The story ends on a happy note, with Madison, Barnabas, and Nakita starting the new school year together. Barnabas, shaken in his beliefs from Ron’s betrayal, decides to follow Madison in her new role as the dark time-keeper. While not explicitly mentioned, it’s hinted that Barnabas and Nakita have some cupid sparks going there, which will make for an interesting read in future books. Josh/Madison too, though that’s pretty much a given by now.

I absolutely loved this book. Harrison’s take on the idea of life, death, and paranormal beings involved in maintaining the delicate balance between the two will have you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommended!

See also: Prom Nights from Hell

Plot/originality: 4.5/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 4/5

Total score: 12.5/15

Review: Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy is the first book in Richelle’s Mead’s very promising Vampire Academy Series. While this is Richelle Mead’s debut Young Adult novel, it is definitely a blend of supernatural fantasy and high school intrigue. In the novel, there 3 kinds of supernatural beings, Moroi, mortal vampires with magical powers, Strigoi, evil immortal vampires, who feed and Moroi, turning them into Strigoi, and Dhampirs who are half-vampire and half-human and are tasked with the protection of the Moroi from the Strigoi.

In Vampire Academy, protagonist Rose Hathaway and her best friend Lissa Dragomir are caught and forced to return to St. Vladimir’s Academy from which they had run away from two years past, a school and training facility for both Moroi and Dhampirs. Lissa is a Moroi royal princess and is thus Very Very Important in both Moroi rank as well as the complex social circles generally found in high schools all over the world. Rose is a Dhampir and has dedicated her life to protecting Lissa, undergoing Dhampir training in St. Vladimir. Rose has to deal with protecting Lissa, even as Lissa begins to display a rare form of elemental power, and both girls have to deal with romance, intrigue, jealousy and forbidden temptation as Rose begins to fall for her handsome instructor Dimitri. Not to mention what had made them run away in the first place. Lissa is a prime target for the Strigoi, who want to turn her into one of them, while possible enemies hide behind friendly faces. The book culminates in the revelation of a baddie within the Moroi royals, while Lissa and her friends survive a near-death situation and Rose almost! scores with Dimitri.

While this book is definitely aimed at tweens, it is well written, with detailed action scenes and characters that are well fleshed out. Rose is likable as a smart-mouthed, rebellious student, and the witty conversation between their circle of friends is rather refreshing as is Rose’s absolute loyalty to Lissa, which can seem rather dog-like at times. The whole ‘bond’ and emotion-sharing between Lissa and Rose is a device that a tad overused in this genre, but it does seem rather relevant to the main plot in the whole series.  Revelation of Lissa’s specialisation in the ‘fifth’ element does make her seem rather Mary Sue-ish, and her character really irritates me, with the whole helpless, whiny, fragile and prone to crying sort of female character. And her Emo-ness! Although it does make the contrast between her and Rose, who only has her strength and training, stand out more, so it’s forgivable, while Dimitri is the usual guy with a hinted-at tragic past. The teacher-student relationship between him and Rose here is just juicy!

The Vampire Academy series looks to be promising and way more enjoyable than the House of Night series by PC and Kristin Cast. Good for fans who enjoy the supernatural high school genre.

See also: Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 10/15

Review: Prom Nights from Hell (anthology)

The Exterminator’s Daughter by Meg Cabot (14/15)

Prom Nights From Hell opens with one of Meg Cabot’s short works. If you’re unfamiliar with Meg Cabot, all you need to know is that she’s the creator of the Princess Diaries series, which was mostly targeted at a tween audience. The Exterminator’s Daughter is a light-hearted, enjoyable piece of urban fantasy fiction – Cabot transitions smoothly from humorous teenage girl angst to a sharper, wittier heroine effortlessly, whilst managing to keep the storyline engaging.

In The Exterminator’s Daughter, teenage protagonist Mary is intent on assassinating her best friend’s latest vampire beau with a crossbow (in a crowded Manhattan nightclub, no less!). What she doesn’t expect is help coming from Adam Blum, fellow schoolmate and resident jock/popular guy, who’s intrigued with the idea of things that go bump in the night. The story switches perspectives from Mary to Adam and back again, which was refreshing on Cabot’s part (characters from her previous works tend to ramble). While short, the piece is highly entertaining and shows real promise for a series adaptation – let’s keep our fingers crossed!

The Corsage by Lauren Myracle (12/15)

If you enjoyed reading The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs, you’ll enjoy this horror adaptation by Lauren Myracle (author of the controversial ttyl series). Frankie’s a gal who’s determined to have her longtime crush Will ask her to the prom, but he seems to be biding his time. Frustrated, she decides to employ the powers of a creepy corsage attained from an ever-so-cryptic fortune teller. I think we all know by this point that cryptic fortune tellers never bode well in any sort of story – death and disembowelment with a cackling “I told you so!” echoing in the background usually follows a few scenes later – but this one takes the cake. Madame Z keeps her uterus in a jar on the shelf.

Ahem. Shelf uterus aside, Frankie decides to put her three wishes to good use by – what else? – wishing for Will to take her to the prom. What she doesn’t know is that every wish comes with a terrible price. Will dies a grisly death by falling from the watertower (“I told you so!”) in the midst of spray painting a message asking Frankie to go to the prom with him. Overcome with grief, Frankie makes her second wish: for Will to come back to life. You’ve probably read enough urban fantasy to know that the resurrection of a rotting corpse 13 days gone is never a good idea.

The ending was hella disturbing, though I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Not for the faint of heart.

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison (14/15)

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper kicks off the story to the Madison Avery series. The story opens with Madison at the prom, playing uncooperative date to her geek friend, Josh. When she ends up getting snubbed by Josh, Madison ends up in the arms of sexy pirate Seth (it’s a themed dance, mind. Just in case you lot go off on some swashbuckling, Jack Sparrow tangent after reading that bit), who’s got an agenda of his own – killing her.

Madison wakes up soon after in the morgue, only to meet with Lucy and Barnabas, members of the Reconnaissance Error Acquisitions Personnel Evaulation and Recovery: REAPER. As it turns out, Madison was killed before a time, and her abrupt death isn’t something she’s all too happy about. She ends up running into evil pirate Seth once more, and things go downhill from there. Through an unexpected turn of events, Madison manages strike a deal and remain in the human world, but she’s officially dead – no more food and sleep for her. Her story continues in Once Dead, Twice Shy.

Kiss and Tell by Michele Jaffe (9/15)

Miranda Kiss (what’s with all the “M” protagonists in this anthology?) has unique superpowers – of which includes superhearing, which means that she can eavesdrop on conversations without even trying, detect changes in heartbeats, and overhear her longtime crush… well, crushing her hopes. Ouch.

Miranda’s job as a Luxury Transport chauffeur lands her in a pickle when she picks up troublesome 14 year old Sibby Cumean, who’s somehow determined to kiss any (and I do mean any) guy she can possibly get her hands on. Things do pick up after a bit: Sibby turns out to be some sort of prophet and there’s some prom crashing  and kidnapping excitement in it all, but it just wasn’t enough to keep me consistently interested. While Miranda was a likeable heroine, her interactions with Sibby were throughly painful to read (mostly because Sibby just annoyed the hell out of me) and the teenspeak acronyms casually thrown in every few pages gave me a headache. Who on earth talks like that, honestly?

Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer (13/15)

Finally, a story that unfolds in its entirety at the prom. Hell on Earth features half-angel Gabe Christensen, a guy at prom whose date seems to have abandoned him in pursuit of greener pastures. He finds himself inexplicably drawn to demoness Sheba (in her human disguise), who’s intent in wreaking havoc and bringing misery to everyone at the prom. Cue fisticuffs, arguing, cheating (in a non-academic sense), wardrobe malfunctions, and bad music – all the makings of prom hell.

Hell on Earth was an entertaining read – it’s nice to see Meyer branching out into other aspects of urban fantasy. The stark contrast between the goodness of Gabe’s angelic soul and Sheba’s vindictive, damned one certainly drew me in. The road to love between a demoness and an angel is rocky one, indeed.

See also: Once Dead, Twice Shy

Review: Black Dawn (Night World)

Black Dawn is the 8th book in the Night World series by L. J. Smith. The story starts when protagonist Maggie Neely is awakened at 2.11 am by her mother’s hysterics and finds out that her brother Miles was presumed dead in a  hiking trip. Maggie finds Sylvia’s (Mile’s girlfriend) story suspicious and decides to follow her, still in her pajamas and mismatched red and blue socks. Of course, her investigation  into her brother’s whereabouts lands her in trouble and she ends up in a slave wagon courtesy of Sylvia’s witchy incenses. The slave wagon, with a whole load of kidnapped girls,  is en route to a hidden kingdom in the Night World, where the young vampire prince Delos Redfern just so happens to be her soulmate and a Wild Power. Maggie has to deal with cold Delos who seems so different from the kind version in her dreams, help out her fellow slaves, where among her companions is the most valuable Aradia,  the Maiden of the Witches, and  look for her brother in the meantime. Not to mention baddie Hunter Redfern’s evil plans for his great grandson’s Wild Power.

Slave trade, shapeshifter, witch and vampire trouble, as well as a most cracktastic savior prophecy based on Maggie’s mismatched socks make this a most entertaining read. This one isn’t exactly urban fantasy, since besides the first chapter, everything else that happens once Maggie has been kidnapped by the slave traders is pretty much medieval. I mean, riding horses and falconing? Chamberpots! Most of the action happens in the hidden kingdom, hence the medievalness. Delos is the typcial vampire prince character, cold on outside and soft on the inside (he kind of sounds like ice cream). While the slave abuse and torture is a little clichéd, Maggie’s spunk and compassion comes clearly through and has readers rooting for her throughout the journey. The ending is L. J. Smith’s usual fluff and Maggie does find her brother eventually, with a nice twist at the end. Black Dawn is one of the better books in the Night World series and definitely recommended reading.

See also: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Enchantress/Spellbinder, Dark Angel, Soulmate, The Chosen, Huntress, Witchlight

Plot/originality: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 11.5/15

Review: On the Prowl (anthology)

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs (13/15)

Fans of Patricia Briggs will appreciate the Alpha and Omega novella, which takes place before events in Cry Wolf and Hunting Ground. The story centers on Anna Latham, an abused omega wolf in a Chicago pack. When she suspects that her Alpha, Leo, might be responsible for a death of young werewolf Alan McKenzie Frazier, she calls the Marrok. She then meets up with his investigator, Charles Cornick, whose wolf takes her as his mate.

Things go as smooth as sandpaper from there. Assassination attempts, nasty confrontations, and brutal fight scenes ensue. Charles’ and Anna’s tale is a pleasant change from the Mercy Thompson series – it’s nice to see the story told from a perspective other than Mercy’s. While I’m not a big fan of rape stories (what’s with all the rape in Briggs’ recent works, anyway?), Alpha and Omega manages to deal with the beginnings of the recovery process realistically. Not a fluff piece, but it’ll leave you wanting more.

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks (12.5/15)

Inhuman is based on Kai Michalski, a girl who’s Gifted with an ability to read minds and emotions. She’s not technically a mind-reader – she can see the colour of people’s auras. After digging a bullet out of her hot non-human neighbour’s flesh, things take a turn for the disturbing as the story delves into the Nathan’s investigations as a Hunter. And the truth finally comes to light: Nathan was born a hellhound, which accounts for his insanely long lifespan.

The characters in Inhuman were engaging and well-scripted, and the attraction-charged interactions between Nathan and Kai were absolutely electric. Kai is a likeable heroine, and her unique urban fantasy universe Eileen Wilks paints is a fascinating and action-packed one. Kai and Nathan’s story continues in Night Season, book 4 in Wilks’s World of the Lupi series.

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance (12/15)

I usually have an issue with fey stories, since I’ve yet to read one that’s left an impression. Buying Trouble takes off with protagonist Claire being auctioned off to a bunch of Otherworldly beings. Claire is a mage, and her special ability is that she nullifies magic around her within a certain radius. She gets whisked off from the auction grounds and straight into Faerie by mysterious fey Heidar, and the action kicks in from there.

It’s a mad chase in the gritty alleys of Faerie as Claire and her savior dodge kidnap attempts by several… persistent clans, each determined to capture her and use her powers for their own means. Somewhere in the midst of all this running, they have sex. And… she turns into a dragon after the deed. Yep, weird doesn’t even begin to cover it. It turns out that Claire’s Two-Natured, and her other form is one of a baby dragon. Fun times.

Buying Trouble was a fun, fast-paced read, and throughly enjoyable. It’s written as a one-shot, and the story ties up nicely in the end, where Claire and Heidar relocate to the human world so she can come to terms with her dragon half.

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny (6/15)

The story revolves around a Monère Queen (three quarters Monère, one quarter human), and the opening cahpter jumps right into the midst of the story. Mona Lisa is torn between Dontaine, her loyal follower and numerous other lovers in her bid to bear a child for the royal line. There’s loads of shapeshifting drama in this one – Mona Lisa’s other form is a tiger, and Dontaine’s is a wolf.

I can’t say I enjoyed this one as I did the others, mostly because the whole story seems very out of place with the other novellas that are clearly more urban fantasy-oriented. Mona Lisa Betwining is opens with more erotica than plot, and the protagonist’s promiscuity had me grimacing for most of it. If that’s your cup of tea, though, you can pick up other titles by Sunny that run in the same vein: Mona Lisa Awakening, Mona Lisa Blossoming, and Mona Lisa Craving.

See also: Cry Wolf, Hunting Ground, Night Season, Mona Lisa Awakening, Mona Lisa Blossoming, Mona Lisa Craving

Review: Walk on the Wild Side

Lion sex.

If that isn’t reason enough to get you to read this book, then it’s highly unlikely my review will sway you otherwise. :p

Walk on the Wild Side is the fifth in The Others books by Christine Warren. Like its predecessors, the story is independent to the rest of the books in the series.

I actually liked this one – mostly because of its originality. While the whole idea of shapeshifters isn’t a novel concept, the idea of a lion shapeshifter pride in the heart of Vegas is. The story focuses on Kitty Sugarman, a half-human, half-shapeshifter intent on travelling to Vegas to find her long-lost father, who happens to be the leader of the pride. Yep. Leader of the Pride. Except he’s dying, and his scheming family’s trying to push Kitty out of his inheritance.

Kitty ends up taking lessons on shifting into her lioness form from Max Stuart, the pride baas and next in line for the title of Felix (the pride leader). Naturally, things heat up between them – who else is surprised at this, really – and lots of sexxors takes place. There’s even an unforgettable scene in the forest where they do it. As lions.

The story isn’t half-bad, actually. There’s loads of action throughout, and the pride dynamic was well-established. The villains were a tad one-sided, though, and I’m pretty skeptical about people/lions being able to get pregnant in a day – doesn’t the sperm need more time to travel? Other than that, Walk on the Wild Side was an entertaining read.

See also: Wolf at the Door, She’s No Faerie Princess, The Demon You Know, Howl at the Moon, One Bite with a Stranger, You’re so Vein

Plot/originality: 4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 10.5/15

Review: The Demon You Know

The Demon You Know is the third in The Others series by Christine Warren. This is a standalone story from the rest, though numerous characters from her already existing books make cameos. And of course, the smut. Who can forget the smut?

The story revolves around human Abby Baker, who gets possessed by rogue demon Lou/Louamides in a turn of unfortunate events. She gets taken in by the others, who try to keep her under control while they figure out how to carry out an exorcism. Abby attracts the attention of Rule/Arunagal, some hot demon (seriously, all the male protagonists are hot in the series – I’m waiting for the day when Warren decides to put in a troll) and they end up shagging within the week. Thankfully, not all of the plot is about the smut, unlike Warren’s Fixed series, where it’s exceedingly uncommon if the main couple doesn’t jump straight into things in the first three chapters.

The thing I disliked about Abby was that she was more of a Mary Sue than any other protagonists in the series. The moment Warren mentioned “heterochromia” the thought that immediately popped into mind was, “Oh, it’s going to be one of those stories.” Bah.  I did like Lou, though. His snarky presence kept the story from being a total snore-fest. There should’ve been more Abby/Lou interaction, since building on that would’ve truly strengthened the plot.

The Demon You Know isn’t a bad read, though it certainly isn’t the strongest book in the series. I’d recommend it to adamant Christine Warren fans, but that’s about it.

See also: Wolf at the Door, She’s No Faerie Princess, Howl at the Moon, Walk on the Wild Side, One Bite with a Stranger, You’re so Vein

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 2.5/5

Total score: 8/15