After a childhood of growing up in the slums, Marion Shaw is drawn to an advertisement in the paper for a blood maiden position. Within the confines of her southern city Prane, all she knows is blood maidens work in the north and make elite levels of money after their bleeding tenure. Days after her blood is tested, she finds herself in service to the infamous Countess Lisavet who rules the House of Hunger. This was my first by Alexis Henderson. This was the epitome of a gothic tale set with a dark foreboding atmosphere, lies, betrayal, and murder. I loved Marion in her quest for truth that forces her to become Lisavet’s direct target. The ending was a twisted mess. It would appear I need to give Henderson’s, Year of the Witching a try sometime soon. (3/5 rating)
Tag: Vampires
Book Review – Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft (Grimm Cove 1) by Mandy M. Roth
This has been on my TBR for about 2 years and my first book by Mandy M. Roth. Poppy is recently divorced and moving home to her grandparent’s old house within the town of Grimm Cove. Brett is her old flame and the towns chief of police. Poppy’s world is tipped upside down when she discovers she’s from a local witch line hand Brett is her faded mate and a wolf shifter. The trail of death between murders created a nice murder mystery atmosphere. I loved Grimm Cove as a town, and I would absolutely live there. It was nice to see Poppy choose herself and Brett finally find his destiny. I liked the supporting characters. I need to read book 2 soon so I can learn more about the rest of them. (3.5/5 rating)
Book Review – A Touch of Brimstone (Magic of the Damned 1) by McKenzie Hunter
Checked out with Kindle Unlimited in February 2022. This is my first book by McKenzie Hunter. This story follows an unsuspecting human who is used to release the deadliest monsters within underworld’s dungeons. The prince of the underworld forces her to work with him to undo the damage and return the prisoners. They must also track down the real dark caster behind the spell that has thrown the underworld into chaos. There were aspects of this that I liked like the urban fantasy atmosphere Hunter created, the monsters of the underworld, and the way we find out about the magic systems. Unfortunately, there were many aspects of this that just didn’t work for me. Luna was the human of this story and she fell flat for me. Dominic was our prince of hell, but he also missed the mark with his dialogue in many scenes. The plot was slow and the romance even slower. I feel like this needed more work. (2/5 rating)
Book Review – Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert
I checked this out with my kindle unlimited subscription as my first book by Katee Robert. Half human, and half vampire, Mina lives a sheltered life under her father’s rule. After her father promises her to another powerful vampire, Malachi Zion, she vows to bide her time until she can escape this new monster with power over her. What Malachi shows is a whole new world, and she begins to understand her true heritage as her father’s daughter. This lacked in the plot side of the story so if you need a strong plot with your romance, this likely won’t be for you. I enjoyed Mina and the fact that she remained open minded with her destiny. Her three vampire mates were also fun to watch as they found their rhythm together. I liked the world Robert created. I was pleasantly surprised to find there’s a sequel following events near the end that doesn’t include these main characters. (3/5 rating)
Book Review – Don’t Rush Me (Nora Jacobs 1) by Jackie May
Checked out with my KU first to try Jackie May as an author. This urban fantasy romance is set in Detroit. Nora is an orphan who has survived this violent city, though not without her vivid scars. Nora is a special human with abilities of the psychic sense. After Underworlders start to go missing, she’s embroiled within a dangerous magical world as the only one who can bring the missing home. I loved this story and Nora as the female main character. She was strong after overcoming some truly despicable actions of others. I know other people were upset with how slow burn the romance angle was, but after getting to understand Nora as a person I think it’s the only scenario that really made sense. This broke my latest reading slump and gave me a new series to obsess over. I just recommend an open mind if you give this a try. (5/5 rating)
Book Review – Dark Prince (Dark 1) by Christine Feehan
This was my first novel by Christine Feehan. This urban fantasy, vampire romance set in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. Mikhail Dubrinsky is a Prince of the Carpathian race. He discovers his life mate, Raven Whitney from the US, when she travels to Romania to escape her recent work tracking serial killers. The premise of this was promising and I really wanted to love it, but there were way too many issues with this mess. I found it hard to connect with Raven since she seemed to make the worst possible decisions. I also wanted to love Mikhail, and there were some good parts, but his treatment of Raven in their first few interactions were out of line. I’m surprised I made it to the end and pissed at myself more than the first book before reading this. I’m glad other people enjoyed this, but this wasn’t for me. (2/5 rating)
Book Review – NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
This will be my first by Joe Hill and the spirit up Halloween seemed like the best time to dust this off my TBR. Now that I’ve read it, it appears I should have saved this for Christmas time. Charles Manx is our resident bad boy and spends his time luring children into his version of Christmasland. Within Christmasland, Charles transforms the children into his terrifying version of the perfect child. The only child to ever escape his clutches is Victoria McQueen. After she is grown, Charles comes looking for Vic, one final time. Even though this was almost 1000 pages, the pace of the plot moved at a gruesome pace. The plot covered decades between characters and places but that didn’t detract from the story either. It was great to watch Vic and Charles battle to the end. I didn’t expect the sad and clever ending, but it did fit. (3/5 rating)
Book Review – Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress 1) by Jeaniene Frost
As my first book by Jeaniene Frost, this vampire urban fantasy set in Ohio was immensely readable. The story covers half vampire, half human Catherine Crawfield as she spends her days hunting vampires in payback for traumatizing her mother the night she was conceived. Vampire Bounty hunter, Bones, catches her and they agree to work together to bring down higher tiered vampires that are committing atrocities against both their species. I loved Cat but she was her own worst enemy at times. I enjoyed Bones’s personality and their interactions together, but I shared his frustration too. We are embroiled within a nasty web of kidnappings, murder, rape, and those in power taking advantage of the city’s inhabitants. The plot and pacing were perfect for my liking and of course I must run along to book 2 after that ending. I do have another author to add to my favorites list. (4/5 rating)
Book Review – The Rowan (The Killian Blade 1) by Stella Brie
This was my first novel by Stella Brie. The first novel of a series surrounds a powerful witch, Arden, who has hidden herself for 300 years. After an assassination attempt on her life, she is forced to flee her isolated location and finds sanctuary within the property of The Abbey. This sanctuary happens to come with an Imperium Cadre of protection with elven, fae, vampire, dragon, and warlock touches. Arden is a witch warrior and I enjoyed watching her punish those who underestimated her. I loved this urban fantasy world with intricate magic and compelling support characters. This was an original and well executed premise with excellent world building skills. I’m anxious to read the next hook and I have another author to add to my favorites list. (4/5 rating)
Book Review – How to Save an Undead Life (The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy 1) by Hailey Edwards
This was my first series by Hailey Edwards, and I was pleasantly surprised by this introductory novel. Our female MC, Grier, is an excommunicated necromancer forced to survive in the human world to fend for herself and her only inheritance, a Haunted Mansion. Located within downtown Savannah, she finds a job working as a tour guide for a ghost tour company. I’m so glad I met Grier in this urban fantasy world set with vampires, necromancers, and ghosts, among other things. I will always and enjoy watching heroines out to better themselves and grow. I loved that dynamic between Grier and her next-door high school crush. I know I will be continuing with this series. (4/5 rating)
