Review: Broken Monsters

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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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Review: Angels' Blood

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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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Review: Dark Rising

Dark Rising by Monica McGurk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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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Review: Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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 by 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.

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.

Trust by Jodi Baker

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 questions.