Wednesday 31 January 2018

The Iron Court

****
4/5


Thanks to Helena Rookwood for giving me this book to review.

The Iron Court is a really good post-apocalyptic fantasy sequel which is full of action, adventure and mystery. This book was a bit slower paced than The River Witch but I didn’t mind too much as I just wanted more of this world. I would love to know where in Britain some of the locations are, such as the Iron City and Tabitha’s village.

Tabitha is still naïve but after a certain point in the story she starts becoming more decisive if a bit ill-tempered. Lysander is protective of Tabitha while being nervous about his past catching up to him, but he is also very talented and confident.


There is a lot of unanswered questions and I can’t wait to discover what happens next in The Queen’s Court. I would recommend The Iron Court to fans of the first book The River Witch or those who like fantasy novels which have Fae in them. 

Monday 29 January 2018

Dark in Death

****
4/5


Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for giving me this book to review.

In the middle of a cold New York February, forty years or so in the future, Lt Eve Dallas, Homicide, catches a case that doesn’t make any sense, however, when a well-known writer of crime fiction comes forward and claims that the murder follows the plot of one of her novel, it all begins to fall into place.  But who is committing the murder or murders, and why?

I enjoyed this book, which is the 46th in the series because it follows the tried and trusted format of finding out who the killer is and eventually catching them  As usual, the Eve Dallas and Rourke books have fast paced action, interspersed with logic, and some quite spicy bits.  While it is set in the future, it is in a world which you can imagine progressing from ours, which is not too dissimilar to the present, but with some very cool gadgets.

Eve Dallas is, as usual, focussed and intense, her husband, Rourke, is too good to be true, but I always enjoy reading about her NYPSD partner, Delia Peabody. She is such a grounded character, who, whilst dedicated to her job, also has everyday gripes and worries, such as the size of her butt, or whether she can afford those shoes!  The rest of Eve’s colleagues at Cop Central are very relatable too, from the rather naïve Trueheart, to the cynical Baxter and the self-contained Dr Mira.


As usual, I enjoyed Dark in Death.  I would recommend Dark in Death to any readers of other J D Robb novels, people who enjoy reading Nora Roberts (same author, different pen-name), or people who enjoy good crime novels.

Saturday 27 January 2018

Hardcore 24


***
3/5


Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for giving me this book to review.

More adventures in the crazy life of Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plumb.  Her latest misadventure involves trying to apprehend strange and unlikely FTA’s (failure to attend’s) and becoming involved with people who have taken a new street drug that turns them into, well, almost zombies.  She is aided in this by her friend and colleague, Lula, and her dysfunctional family, including Grandma Mazur.  She worries about her commitment to her boyfriend, Joe, has a fling with Ranger, and is almost led astray by a character who crops up occasionally in Stephanie Plum books, called Diesel.

The plot is slightly more complex than usual, however, the whole book is very light and easy to read, and provides many a smile, so long as you don’t take it too seriously.  The humour is quite slapstick in nature, and there is always the opportunity to smile and marvel at the chaos that is Stephanie’s life.  The characters in this book are, as usual, larger than life, and not always based in reality, but it’s fun!  If you wanted realism, you would not choose to read this series of books.

Grandma Mazur was a little bit over the top this time, maybe a bit too silly. However, I did enjoy how Lula was in this book, still a bit silly, still full of attitude, but less of the crazy.  I’m afraid I didn’t quite see the point of Diesel, he didn’t seem to add much to the plot, and came across less mysterious, more irritating.


I enjoyed Hardcore Twenty-four and would recommend it to people who have enjoyed other Janet Evanovitch novels, or those who like light comedy/crime novels.

Tuesday 23 January 2018

Lord of Shadows

*****
5/5


Lord of Shadows is the brilliant sequel to Lady Midnight as it really does not suffer from the problems middle books often do. It is well written, has a fast paced plot, lots of action and full of romance. In this novel, we have gotten to know many of the secondary characters better especially Kit, the twins, and Diana and I feel that all of the characters have developed significantly in this book. The one little problem I had with this book was where was Cameron? I got the impression from the first book he lived nearby and I could not understand why we did not see him in this book.

Emma made a few mistakes in this book but they were all made with the best intentions but she is still loyal and determined. Julian is very protective of his family but we got to see his darker side in this book as his is more cunning and calculating and we can see his jealousy with Emma and Mark’s relationship. There was an awful lot of romance in this book, including lots of love triangles but my favourite had to be Kit, Ty and Livvy as I grew to love them and their relationships with each other.


This book ends on a massive cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the final book in the Dark Artifices series Queen of Air and Darkness. I would recommend Lord of Shadows to fans of Lady Midnight and this series to those who enjoyed Clare’s other Shadowhunter books. 

Sunday 14 January 2018

Lady Midnight

*****
5/5


Cassandra Clare is back on top form with Lady Midnight after the disappointing last 3 Mortal Instruments and Clockwork Princess, as I loved this book and it is the best one she has written so far. This book is full of action and mystery with fantastic characters and a heartbreaking romance. I was not expecting the villain to be who they were but thinking back it was obvious and I love when authors are able to do this.

Julian has been unable to have a childhood as he has had to give up everything to be a parent to his siblings, this means that he has grown up being cunning and ruthless when it comes to protecting his family but also that he is responsible, mature, and caring. Emma did not interest me as much as Julian as she felt similar to other characters in the Shadowhunter world, as she is daring, reckless, determined and tough. The rest of the Blackthorn family are interesting and engaging characters who are unique and have their own voices and personalities.


I am a little worried that there may be a love triangle with Julian, Emma and Mark in the next book Lord of Shadows and I really hope this doesn’t happen as I am getting bored of them in Clare’s work and I really like the forbidden love angle of Julian and Emma’s romance. I would recommend Lady Midnight to fans of Cassandra Clare’s other books.