Kurenai Reviews

This is for book reviews, and possible game reviews. Side blog of Yami's Grand Opening Reading Galley

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Mr. Thorne and the witch by Diana Green

First off I love the way Diana Green writes. It's full of energy and the characters seem real, like you could actually see some things happening. It's wonderful to see a writer who can bring so many characters to life that you love or hate.  The flow of the book is good it doesn't feel out of place

Malcom is a sweet heart of a man, he has a heart of gold, he also is a strong individual. Which mixes well with Karene's personality. Karene is a kind, but she's also suspicious of people, and has a good judge of character. She knows Malcom is a kind person and wants to repay his kindness in some way. So when Malcom hires Karene to make fireworks she agrees. You can tell the two have feelings for each other even if it's just slowly happening. Karene has some things which she doesn't want to tell Malcom in order to keep him safe since she's running from a feud, can use magic and gets into a bit of trouble as well. She makes do with what she can and together they both work on overcoming everything.

For me personally it was hard to get through some of the book. I like fantasy but it felt a little too much romance for my taste. But, in that I think the book is great over all, everything flows together  and with miss Green's description you can definitely see how things come together and imagine it in your head. It is a good book, with enough to keep an audience captive till the end.

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Doctor Who: The American Adventures by Justine Richards

I received a copy of this from net Galley for an honest review.

I was excited to receive a chance to read a Doctor Who book as it's been a dry spell for anything of Doctor who for a while. The thought of being able to read the doctor's adventures in America? Through out our history was something I was definitely looking forward too. Justin Richards isn't a stranger to Doctor who as he captures the twelve doctor's character and explores certain times through out history as the Tardis get's a little cranky and flings the doctor about. There were times I could actually hear Capaldi's voice as the doctor talked! That was the most exciting thing for me because it sounded very much what the 12th would say verses one of the other doctors.

They are all different short stories and not all of them move at a good pace through. If you're expecting it to move fast pace or to be a little lengthy you're going to be disappointed. It's a small series of short stories, but it does show Capaldi's doctor in different light with the same characteristics that he has in the show. There are a few stories that to me took a bit to move through but once they got moving it was like watching it on TV. It was really fun to be reading it and seeing it and watching the doctor as your reading it.

Over all the book is great and does well to hold you over for a little bit. While waiting for the Christmas special.

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Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris,  Royal McGraw, Ilias Kyriazis (Comic)

I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.

I've enjoyed reading the books involving Harper Connelly so when I got a chance to read the comic I was ecstatic!   Having read the book it was based on didn't really influence my dislike or like for the story. I like that it is all in one book instead of broken up into parts, that way you can continue to read the story. This explains harper's gift of being able to sense the dead. It's pretty spot on to the original book which I loved.

With that being said you don't have to read the first book (comic book set) in the Harper Connelly series to know about Harper. It's explained in the story and gives enough background like your reading the first book of the series. The drawing's are crisp and lined well, it's not messy or blurry on the pages. The art work feels like it suits the character's instead of feeling out of place with it. Sometimes the art doesn't feel like it fits the characters but in this case it does. I love the visual aspect of Harper and Tolliver and how everything else is drawn.

The story still draws me in like I was reading it the first time. Harper Connelly can see how people were murdered, not who killed them but how they were killed and tries to bring some console to those who are willing to pay her for it. She's hired by this professor as he tries to prove she's a fraud and not the real thing. She proves him wrong but in doing that she ends up finding a body of one of her past cases that she never could find.

The mystery of how did the young girl end up from the two cities, and who really did kill her? Why did it happen? Harper digs deeper to find out the reasoning behind the madness. There's some bumps along the way, an FBI agent who never got over the case, a phsycic who needs to talk to Harper because it's important, the angry one time lover of Tolliver; Harper's own feelings, and more people dead.

Once she figures it all out everything becomes clear, and she has to get to her brother before he ends up on the not living list too.

With the mystery solved and the Police taking the murder into custody it seems to have helped everybody heal. Harper and Toliver are seen leaving the city heading to their next job.

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Fae, a raven and dreams

Miss Ridley & the Warlock

Diana Green 4 Stars

I received this copy from the Author for a honest book review.

Set in 19th century London Miss Gemma Ridley (our heroine) is trying to escape a scandal surrounding what her father wrote in his personal journals. She's lost her job and is now going to try and be a governess for a squire Kenrick. Her first meeting with the squire puts her at unease but she decides to try and stick it out. Over a few days Gemma falls in love with the children and even encourages their behavior in exploring things and getting to know different animals. Edwina is the oldest child and likes to play pranks. She's seems to have the ability to talk/understand animals. Though Gemma has problems believing in magic due to how she was raised. Kenrick encourages his children as he is a warlock that works for a fae of the blue court even though it is not the most ideal situation.

Our Hero Kenrick loves his children very much, and enjoys Gemma's quirky humor and her company. Though he's been discourage from having relationship with her by his mother, and sister. They didn't want a scandal but Kenrick isn't a normal type of squire nor does he care for politics. As he wants someone who will love him and take care of his children as their own. He decides that he can finally move on from his wife and let's himself love Gemma. <spoiler> Our bad guy Lord Deven is a warlock using black magic that killed Kenrick's wife and cursed his children. The fae of the red court contacts Deven and convinces him to strike at Kenrick and the fae of the blue court. To do this he is sent back from the colonies to London and meets Gemma. She looks a lot like Caroline and he decides that Gemma will be used as his sacrifice to bring back Caroline. Kenrick and Deven end up fighting it out with Gemma slowly dying and Edwina comes saving the day with her magical abilities. </spoiler>

The writing is well put together and flows wonderfully. It's never a bore just wanting to get to something else exciting. It's got the action and romance that keeps you reading to make sure everything turns out alright. I love most of the characters for the most part, except for the one lady trying to win Kenrick's heart. Even Lord Deven is written in such a way he's likable as a bad guy, his ways are twisted but it's written in such a way you can't help but to enjoy all of it. For this being a first book in the series I'm quite pleased over how well it is written and enjoyable all the characters are.  This book get's 4 stars for the well developed characters and how smooth everything flowed.

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A Wounded Realm by K.M. Ashman      My rating: 4 of 5 stars            I received this book from net galley for an honest review. This book was a different type of read for me as it's historical mediaval fiction. Even with all the characters the plot was thought out well and different twists and turns. The writing is well done and everything flows smoothly. The characters each have their own story, and it's not a dull moment with the group that you get to read about. Mr. Ashman did a great job in keeping everything straight and not having things confusing or making you feel things were out of place. I didn't read the first one and was still able to understand what was going on. This book is one that I'll pick up again to read.      

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     Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers      My rating: 4 of 5 stars            I received this book from net galley for an honest review. Dark Triumph is the second book in his fair Assassin. I have to say this is my favorite book thus-fair. I didn't like Ismae's book, I had trouble finishing as it was just boring and making me dislike the character. But Sybella was a character that I was interested in the first book and her book didn't fail me. The first couple of chapters are slow but it does pick up as we get into her past and learn why she was such a wild child when we first met her. There is romance between Sybella and the Beast, but we've learned that the beast isn't as horrible as his name sounds or as people think of him. He isn't the normal handsome guy but he is a kind person and tries to protect Sybella in many ways, yet lets her protect herself as well. He doesn't try to control her and he accepts Sybella for who and what she is. The book flows rather well as long as you get past the couple of chapters. The character's have a great dynamic, and mesh well compared to what I felt for the first one.      

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Dragon Soul - Diana Green

Amazon

I received a copy from Reading Alley for an honest review.

This takes place several years after Dragon Warrior and features Hathos (Nyssa's and Hathir son) and Valla. While at first we meet Hathos and this adventure begins with him and goes on his journey with his powers it also shows Valla a warroir she-dragon, who doesn't seem to have any skills as special as Hathos.  You're getting Hatho's story and Valla combinded into one book and it's done very well. We also get to know more about the sorcerer Vadin. Who froze the dragons and put them into deep sleep, and why he has such a hatred for them. Taking the adventure further Valla has to work with Vadin who hates dragons, and Valla has to try and trust the man who hurt her friend. Valla shows how she's more than just a warrior, she's gentle, kind, and loyal to her word. While Vadin has valid reasons to hate the dragons he knew he decided to harden his heat till he meets Valla and has to work with her. He finds himself wanting to seek redemption and have a second chance with Valla even though he's human.

The pace of the story is steady, you're simply reading wanting more with each page you turn. Ms Green's writing  keeps you entertained, and flows easily between Valla and Hathos as their journey separated and was able to keep going without it feeling disjointed.

I enjoyed this one more than I dragon warrior. Valla is someone I can relate to and made the book enjoyable for me. I love how she's quirky and trying to figure out her feelings and denying them at the same time. I loved this book, and knowing the history of Hathos' life made things a little easier knowing where Valla came from.

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Broken Monsters -

Copy of book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller sort of threw me for a loop. I'm use to movie thrillers and psychological twists so this was a different experience in reading one. I'm still not too sure of how I enjoyed the book but the writing was well put together and flowed nicely. It does give you that creepy thrill of reading a Serial Killer novel.  The story is written in different POV's from the Killer to the Detective, to the detective's daughter, and a blogger/journalist wanna-be and a homeless man. While switching to the POV's is done well it is also a bit annoying with some of the characters. There are character's you'll be annoyed with and some you'll love.

With the start you've got the typical Creepy serial killer who believes he's being controlled by evil. His mental stability isn't there and he believe's he's creating art with glueing a boy's top half with a deer's bottom half. You get some detective work and there are some sub-side stories along with the main case. I wasn't thrilled with the Pedophile side story, it seems like it was just put in there to add more pages to the book. The plot requires full attention and not half of it, and is not rushed. Part of me feels  that it was a bit drawn out with all the POVS as your going around but I possibly didn't give the full attention to this book as I should of. The ending has an intense climax but it leaves you feeling unfulfilled. It gives you the ending of "think of it as you want" type of thing whether it is supernatural or not. It keeps you thinking and though I love movies they usually give you some sort of coverage for your psyche and this didn't.

As I said, the writing is well done, and flows wonderfully. It just wasn't what I expected with a thriller and perhaps I'll have to take a second look at it when I have more time to give it a bit more extensive look.

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Angels Blood by Nalini Singh

I was recommended to try this series out to see if it would help me get back into reading. I have to say I loved this book, and the characters. The main character Elena reacts to things as any human would, and she grows so much and has the emotions that move you. Nalini gives you characters that are brought to life and it's not that their just words on a page, you can see the characters alive. The emotions are real that come off the pages and you're right there with Eli as she's trying to solve this mess and the pull she feels for the Archangel Raphael.

Raphael the Archangel of Manhattan, he's known for being kind but also very strict and doesn't deal with betrayal.  He's beautiful in very way as if he was sculptured and there was no imperfection but at the same time his power waves off him that makes him a deadly force.

Elena is a hunterborn, who is able to track vampires easier than others and has heighten scenes. She's very strong and doesn't like being told what to do in her hunts. She takes things seriously and likes to push Raphael to the limit at times. This usually leads her to having confrontations and getting on the bad side of Raphael as he isn't use to someone not listening to him. Their relationship grows as we go deeper into the things of the Angels and learn about them. They have a secret that they need to keep and will do whatever it's

Elena likes pushing Raphael's buttons and Raphael is trying to figure out the guild hunter and his emotions with her. While yes, this is a love story it's also adventures and tracking and it grips them closer to  one another. While they are cleaning up messes of an Angel, Elena battles her own past that seems to try and catch up to her. There are a lot of twists and we get to meet some of Raphael's seven and just how loyal they are to Raphael. The end turns tables as it has a big twist and opening for the second book and I don't want to spoil it but it's a real game changer. I love how everything ties together and it's not left leaving you clueless or having more questions than answers.

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Dark Rising by Monica McGurk

Copy of book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Rising is the second book to Monica’s Archangel Prophecies Trilogy. I have to say my opinion about how angels are have been set in a certain way and may affect how I view this book’s angels. The book was a fairly fast read for a young adult romance it was alright. The way the Archangel Michael acted seemed to bother me, he was like a teenage boy trying to figure out if he loved someone or didn’t. Instead of an angel who had a duty to do and to try and figure it out.

The main character Hope is different and tied with emotions that make her very contradictory. She just wants this trip over searching for her ‘quest’ she loves Michael but wants him to suffer for him burning her skin. She doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings about Michael. It’s in between love, fear, and anger and they all come and go sometimes with a flip of a page. While her development seems a bit stunted by her obsession with her teenage love of the Archangel.

The plot brings you up to speed of what happened in the previous book, and takes you on the journey to Istanbul to France and back and forth. You meet Enoch and Raphael who doesn’t care for hope and Enoch treats her like a child he use to have. The story leads to the growth and fighting between angels and the dark ones and the humans.

While you see the pain that Hope’s family deals with as Hope has vanished and no one knows what happened. They think she’s been taken by a sex slave ring instead of on a mission from ‘God’. Her parents are divorced and both are suspects in her kidnapping at first then it seems she may have been taken by a sex traffic ring. It sends her parents into more worry about how to live and the father starts to reflect more on the bible relating it to his daughter. By the end of it the dark ones think they have won the battle when it seems to be a reflection of Christs death but with Michael taking Christs place and allowing those ‘Dark’ angels to be forgiven. With the world in chaos Hope makes it to authorities and is traumatized and  gets home. Her mother saddened by her ex-husband’s loss has trouble getting back into a normal life.

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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Copy of book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Only giving this 3 stars because I wasn't able to be dragged into it. This is the story about 17 year old Ismae. We see her father who has no love for her sell her to her future husband. Before he has time to bed with her she escapes and is taken to St. Mortain's convent. St. Mortain is the god of death and is taught in how to become an assassin. Her first job is done without much of a hitch and she doesn't fear it like she thought. All of the girls are considered the daughter of Mortain and each have a special gift. Ismae after her first kill is tossed into protecting the duchess of Brittany and in doing that has to live in the noble court one where she doesn't like being in. She also finds herself falling for the man she is suppose to be watching yet she has a distinct hate for all men due to her father and husband. It was very hard to get through this book, the first couple of chapters were boring and some things left out. You were wondering if you had missed something or not when a character had things on or not. The Heroine wasn't all that great as certain things seemed to make sense and she didn't seem to catch on till later. I think the development of the main character wasn't as developed as it should of been or some things she should of known by her training for three years. It felt as if she wasn't ready to go out and do her job with how she acted. It does go into political and historical statues yet it wasn't as gripping as I had hoped it was. I'm all for historical aspects of things but this was not one of those times I enjoyed it.

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Dragon Warrior Diana Green

Copy of book provided by Reading Alley in exchange for an honest review.

The story surrounds Harith and Nyssa, both are dragons but Nyssa is hiding from her clan. Harith is the son of the leader of his dragon clan and is to wed a human girl. You can see the differences in the Princess and Harith and how they don't have that click that you wonder with Harith if this is the right choice. The story moves quiet well, it isn't sluggish or to the point where you wonder when the story is going to pick up. When we meet Nyssa for the second time you find out more about her and how she's hiding from her clan and the escape (that isn't clear in the first part of the book).

The Hero and Heroine develop rather well together and compliment each other on their development as you see the strong pull of what Green's dragons have when they find their life mate. They go through hardships and the loss of someone important to one of the main characters.

It's an interesting Romance with how Green ties everything together and doesn't let it stray from the path and leave loose ends. At first you get confused with a bit of information on Nyssa and her clan but then it becomes clear as you continue reading the story and things become clear. Everything is smoothly transitioned unlike some other Romance that I have read before.  Over all I enjoyed Dragon Warrior and it can be read alone without reading the first book. The third one sounds like it will be interesting as it ties into the beginning of Dragon Warrior.  I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a good romance with an interest in dragons.

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The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

Reading the small description of the book sounded like it was going to be interesting. On top of that I remember enjoying Jeaniene Frost Night Huntress series from what I have read. The book was written well and was smooth and flowing rather nicely. There was a bit where things felt they dragged on a bit too much in some instances but after those few nagging things it went along fine. 

The book starts out with Ivy a college student who is looking for her sister who had vanished. Her parents recently killed and the only clue she has was the last place her sister was at a bed and breakfast. She wasn’t able to find her sister but meets up with the detective and get’s saved by this stranger who seems to be one of the sexiest things she’s seen on earth. This stranger Adrian kidnaps her and they both find out about Ivy’s real heritage and Adrian’s.

Ivy does talk to herself and about the logical things she should be doing, though she doesn’t seem to listen to the logical things she says. She’s dragged into this supernatural world that she didn’t want to be in all she wanted was to get her sister and live normal.  Now she has to work for an angel, with a guy who’s destiny is intertwined with her and fighting demons. There’s trails that she has to face and it get’s complicated with her feelings getting in the way about Adrian.

This book has a mixture of mythology, history and some hints of Christianity. The points it makes Jeaniene keeps it close enough to where it doesn’t clash badly with christianity and some of history. There is a lot of humor as most of Jeaniene’s books bring to the table. I found myself laughing with the interactions of Ivy and Adrian even the friends Adrian has.

Over all the book is funny and rather enjoyable, there is some sexual content but it’s not something that overload’s you to where you are wondering about the content of the book. I’ve enjoyed it and can’t wait till the second book comes out. 4 Stars out of 5 at the moment.

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Divided by Elsie Chapman

Divided is the second book to Dualed by Elsie Chapman. Where we follow West Grayer from the last book. She killed her alt, and left from being a striker. Now she's trying to build her life but the Board isn't done with her yet.  They bring her back with something, but the board doesn't always tell the truth.  Now she has to find out the truth and to expose the secrets but the board isn't willing to let her do that. Elsie does an awesome job in telling the story and it's never a dull moment. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat while you're trying to figure out what's all going on. The build up is nice and still leaves you craving for more. This book is really interesting and if you haven't read the first novel this book gives you a bit of insight to the past so you aren't completely confused about what is going on. All in all this book is a must read for those that enjoy the action and yes, the bit of romance as your trying to figure out what can you do in a twisted world.

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The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

First of all, this is a time travel story, it's not going to be like the sisterhood which many people anticipated. For those that like Scifi, or anything about the future, then you'll probably like this book. It's a well written book about what one set of future could of been like, and what could happen in one persons mind. While the first part of the book keeps your attention when you get to the ending it seems a bit drawn out which makes it a bit harder to get to the end. It's inbetween a love story and an action story. [ Our heroine is Prenna, who is from the future with her mom. There are 4 rules you must absolutely not break, and Prenna has a problem with those in power over the 'community'. We get to see the letters Prenna writes to her brother, giving us glimpses of how mystified she was when she got to our time; because the future she's from is rather bleak. They've already been through a plague,the earth has changed drastically than what we know. We get to watch Prenna grow from a suspicious girl to knowing what she suspected and more. Then there's Ethan, who's kind, honest and patient with our time traveler who is socially awkward. The interaction between the two is like a first crush or love

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Copy of book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Trust is the first book in the Between the Lions trilogy. This Paranormal with Egyptian and Greek mythology twist takes you into our current times. Where you meet Anna our heroine and how she lives her life always in the middle. The first few pages of the book make no sense when you start reading the book, it almost makes you question as to "Why" it is there. You don't find out till later where it all comes in at and to where it makes sense. Besides the first few pages the beginning of the book is slow, you watch Anna go through daily routine and what happens when it gets interrupted and how she copes with it. After about halfway does it start to pick up with the death of her step-dad and her mother's disappearance. Anna gets a voice in her head who is called "Inanna" which you can tell when she talks as it is in all caps. You get introduced the mythology that Anna's life has been wrapped around by her mother. Though Anna seems to toss everything out the window about being in the middle, even arguing with the voice in her head which gives her sound advice. As you get to the end it leaves you with more questions than answers and a romance that starts to bloom? The romance is iffy as she didn't trust him then feels like she can and starts falling for him hard. I understand teenage love but it's all at once while her life is danger and she has lost the only guardian she had. I enjoy the twist with the Egyptian lore as it isn't used much in books. While your left with answers, Anna does grow a bit and uses her smarts to help her. What also bothers me is how her mother seemed to change like a child throwing a temper tantrum against the way she was raised and her own people. The book was good and I can't wait till the next one comes out to hopefully get more answers than question