Blood Prophecy

*****

5 Stars/5

Blood Prophecy starts straight after Blood Moon, Solange has been possessed by Viola, the first born daughter in the Drake family, and now Solange is stuck inside Viola Psyche and must find a way to get rid of her and getting her own body back. At the same time Lucy and the Drake’s must convince everyone that Solange is possessed and it is not her who is acting this way. Also, this mysterious Dawn is still at large trying to course conflict between the vampires and the hunters.

This is the final book of the Drake chronicles and unlike the last two books in this series, this is a brilliant book, I love how it ties up the loose ends but still but also leaves the option for more stories in Violet Hill. This book is action packed but also has humour and romance as well.

I can’t say much more about the characters which I have not said before apart from Solange is much less annoying in this book than in the last. Also I do love Lucy and Nicholas they are one of my favourite couples in paranormal books. I really like how we get to see the other couples as well from previous books as it really links the books together. Harvey did a brilliant job with Dawn as I could not predict who it was and was really shocked when I did find out.

One tiny complaint with this book is that it felt like two books reduced into one but as Harvey did say that she was planning on writing 7 instead of six it is understandable. I cannot wait to see what she writes next and hopefully someday soon a spin-off with Lucy or some short stories about the Drake brothers that have been missed. I would recommend Blood Prophecy to people who liked the first 5 books in the Drake Chronicles.

Sora's Quest

**

2 Stars/5

Sora is not happy that her father is marrying her to a stranger, so she plans to run away. However before she can, her father is murdered and she is kidnaped by the assassin and a thief of a thought long extinct magical race called wolfies. However Sora is wearing a Cat’s Eye, a necklace that can protect her, which might help her complete her quest.

This is a YA fantasy book which is usually my favourite type of book but Sora’s Quest was just ok, because of the plot holes you just could not connect to much in this story.

Sora is a very sheltered character who does know much about the outside world, but my main problem with her is that her thoughts make no sense, one second she hates Crash and next she is worrying about his safety. Also after a few days she seems to act like part of the group not a prisoner, which must be one of the quickest cases of Stockholm syndrome, which did not seem realistic.

SPOILER

The main problem with this book is there are no motives for some of their actions. Firstly why does Sora want to go find her mother when she abandoned her, and yet did not care that her father was murdered just because he was distant even though he still looked after her. Secondly she never asks Crash why he killed her father and we never find out, also we don’t know why Crash killed Etienne, Volcrian’s brother. Also there was no reason why they kidnaped Sora as they did not know she had the Cat’s Eye.

SPOILER END

The one positive thing about this book is that it is very vivid and imaginative. Also it was nice to see some different races in fantasy books apart from elves, dwarfs etc. Overall Sora’s Quest is an average story that is let down by motives which do not make sense. 

Mercenary

****

4 Stars/5

Marin is the adopted daughter of the King and Queen of the Elves and while her mother wants her to be a Lady, all she wants to do is be the first girls to graduate from the Macon Academy to become a mercenary. When Marin and her best friend Favian are ambushed on their way back to school, they realise that someone wants to kidnap Marin. With the threat of being kidnaped she has to also deal with her growing feeling for Favian.

Mercenary is a good fantasy book which has action, romance and humour.  The pace of this book has nonstop action and no dull moments.

Marin is an interesting and strong person as she always knows what she wants to be, which while I don’t think ever want to be a mercenary, it is nice to see a character who is not afraid to do a job which people don’t think she can do. I also like the hints of romance in this book as it is subtle and will hopefully grow in the following books.

Mercenary is an enjoyable YA fantasy novel and I can’t wait to see what happens next in Marin’s world I would recommend this to people who like Tamora Pierce’s books. 

Bitter Blood

***

3 Stars/5

It has been a few months since the Draug have been eradicated and everything on the surface seems to be getting back to normal in Morganville. However, with their enemies gone, the vampires are not willing to compromise and are back to hunting and holding humans in contempt. This is causing the humans to take up arms and defend their rights against vampires or anyone who has been allied to them. This causes a problem for the Glass House as Claire has always been connected to both sides and Michael and Eve are married causing hate on both sides. To make matters worse a TV ghost hunting show has decided to film in Morganville which could mean the fighting between the humans and vampires could end up on the national news.

Bitter Blood is the 13^th book in the Morganville but it is also one of my least favourite. Not much happens during the first two thirds and then everything is rushed through the last third.

I did not like the group in this book they seemed very selfish and self-involved in this book compared to the others in this series.

SPOILER

One example is that the group caused Miranda to try to kill herself and they thought she did die and they only grieved for an evening and then did not think about it or feel guilty at all

SPOILER END

Even though this was not my favourite Morganville novel I did still enjoy it, but was just a bit disappointed as I know that Caine can do better. I will definitely be reading the next book but I just hope it is more like the other books. I would recommend this to people who have read the other Morganville books.

Slumber

*****

5 Stars/5

Rogan’s childhood is cut short when a man called Stovia kills her family and takes her and others who have magical talents to secure Princezna Haydyn power after her father’s death. Now having growing up together Haydyn and Rogan have become as close sisters but when Haydyn starts dying, only Rogan’s powers can find the flower that will save her. However, the man who is meant to look after her is Wolfe, the son of the man who ruined her life, can she trust him or will she fall for the man who she should hate.

Slumber is a unique retelling of sleeping beauty because it is told from the point of view of her best friend. This book is a great mix of romance and fantasy with nonstop action.

Rogan is a really likable character who has not had an easy life but has come out stronger for it and I could empathise with her and understand her decisions. I also like Haydyn who is sweet and does not really believe in herself. However my favourite character is Wolfe as he has a clear sense of right and wrong and is the perfect fantasy hero.

Young has also put a lot of detail into the secondary characters especially L who is brave yet sweet at the same time. Also the world building is interesting with the different types of magic especially Haydyn’s Dyvatzi power which I have not heard of similar before.

I love Slumber and cannot wait to read L’s story in Sneak Thievery when it comes out. I would recommend Slumber to people who like fantasy romance and fairytales. 

Scent of Magic

*****

5 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for giving me this book to review.

                                      

Everyone apart from Kerrick thinks that Avry has died from the plague that killed millions of people; however she was saved by the peace lilies. Now Avry and Kerrick have to separate as Avry is going to use her “death” to reconcile with her sister, help the army against King Tohon’s walking dead and discover the secrets of the death lilies and peace lilies. Whilst she is doing this Kerrick is returning to Alga to help his country against Tohon’s army and the invading northern tribes.

Scent of Magic is the second book in the Healers series and while a bit different from Touch of Power it is just as good. There are just as many twists in this book as there are in most of Snyder’s books and the pacing is action packed but not too full on.

Avry is selfless and kind and is a strong heroine who is able to fight for what she believes in despite the odds. We learn much more about Kerrick in this book as half the book is told from his point of view and his personality has not changed from Touch of Power with his protectiveness and love of outdoors.

There are new characters in this book and while they are good, they are not as interesting as the characters we meet again from the first book. If I have one problem with the book is that with Avry and Kerrick separated, the group dynamic which was brilliant in the first book, is disrupted in this one.

The ending is very action packed and exciting which will leave you longing to read Taste of Death. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Maria V Snyder books, especially Touch of Power. 

Pantomime

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for giving me this book to review.

In Ellada, R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic wishes to create the wonder of the mysterious civilization which disappeared leaving only the glowing blue Penglass. Micah Grey is a runaway who wishes to join the circus as an aerialist and he wants to be accepted by the rest of the people in the circus. Gene Laurus is nobleman’s daughter who much prefers climbing trees and playing with her brother’s friends than going to dances and shopping for dresses. But both Micah and Gene have a secret which means they feel they don’t belong anywhere.

Laura Lam has written a very unique book, with a twist that I did not see coming. However the blurb does not describe Pantomime as it really is and they could describe more without giving much away. The pacing of the book is slow and while I was bored at some points during the book it held my attention enough.

The story Lam has written is very descriptive and you can easily imagine you are actually there in the circus. Where this this story falls story for me is the characters as I felt I could not connect with any of them. Also I could have done with more fantasy as there were little bits but mostly it was hinted at.

However, I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens next and to understand more about the magic in Ellada. I would recommend this to people who like unique YA fantasy.