Review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

All-new action in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series

When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

Silver Borne is the fifth book in the Mercy Thompson series and it continues the story of Mercy and her friends very well. This is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series out there right now.

This installment focuses more on Adam and Mercy's relationship and how Mercy can integrate her life with Adam's and how she has to deal with the pack and all it's politics.

Silver Borne has a few issues, one being that the storyline of Sam was very good but felt rushed at the end. Some of the pack story line irritated me and I wish some people would have been dealt with more aggressively, but it all worked out and in the end the pack was stronger for it.

I loved seeing Mercy and Adam together in this one. They've gone through so much to be together and it's still not totally smooth sailing but I so enjoyed the moments that they got to have together in the midst of all the chaos and drama around them. As always, I loved Mercy's relationship with Jesse, Adam's daughter and some of the pack members that Mercy is close to like Ben and Warren. I love how Ben and Mercy's relationship has evolved from the first book.

Something that is hinted at and I really hope is expanded on in the next books, is Mercy's connection to Bran, The Marrock and basically king of the Werewolves. He treats her like a daughter and she seems to see him more and more as a father figure and they had such a great connection in this one that I'd like to see more of it.

I was very disappointed by the notable absence of one character in this book and I felt like that was a bit of a cop out but I also admit that there really wasn't a need for him in this story.

Overall I really enjoyed Silver Borne. It had some flaws but Ms. Briggs is a consistently good writer and the characters are so enjoyable that you can't help but enjoy the story. This series is very well written and full of wonderful characters and lots of action and I highly recommend it to fans of Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance.

Final grade: A-

P.S. I went to a signing for Patricia Briggs on the 7th in San Diego and I have to say that she is a lovely and warm person with a great sense of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her. :D

ETA: Link to buy Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, Book 5)

Review: Blonde With a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson

From the Wild & Hexy imagination of a New York Times bestselling author

Sexy witch Anica Revere has one rule: never under any circumstances get involved with a man before telling him she's a witch. Still, what's one silly rule? Especially when the guy in question is as cute as Jasper Danes. But when Anica and Jasper have a spat, she breaks an ever bigger rule of witchcraft and turns him into a cat. Bad news for him. Worse for her...

Blonde With a Wand is a quick and fun read. I haven't read any of the other books in the Babes on Brooms series that Vicki Lewis Thompson has written and I wondered if that would be a problem going into this book, but I quickly found that this book very much stands on its own.

I have to admit that for almost the first half of the book I didn't care much for Anica and Jasper. Jasper was funny but he'd been a jerk and Anica was trying really hard to fix things and he was utterly unmoved. He kept contemplating revenge and was just kinda not overly likable for me. I did enjoy how he adapted to being a cat while he struggled to hold on to his humanity. He was also smart and resourceful which is always sexy in a guy.

Anica, on the other hand, was so goody two shoes that it kinda drove me nuts. She had a broomstick up her butt for about half the book, but fortunately by the end she had loosened up a lot and was a much more likable character.

The chemistry between the two of them was great. They were undeniably attracted to each other even when they were furious at one another and it was fun to watch them try to deal with that. They learned a lot about each other and themselves through this whole experience and I really liked that we got to see that.

One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Anica and her younger and wilder sister Lily. They hadn't been very close because Anica was a stuck up goody two shoes that just thought they were too different to get along. Thanks to the events in the story though, she has to lean heavily on her sister and admit her own faults and the two of them grow very close. I loved watching them turn from strangers that were related to true sisters. Anica learned to let her hair down and Lily learned to grow up a bit.

Lily's book, Chick With A Charm is out and I want to get that one next. I can't wait to see Anica and Jasper again and I want to see what happens with Lily and her love interest, Griffin.

By the end of Blonde With A Wand, Jasper and Anica had become two very likable characters whose love was easily seen and believed. The ending was touching and well handled and I was very satisfied with it.

I give it a B. It's fun and enjoyable and sexy. ;)

Review: To Tempt A Saint by Kate Moore

No romance lover can resist the novels of Kate Moore...

First in the Sons of Sin trilogy Introducing the three sons of an infamous London courtesan-and the strong-willed women who love them...

Despite being knighted for saving the Prince Regent's life, Sir Alexander Jones will never truly be accepted by the nobility. But if he's to find his long lost brother, Xander must win the first willing heiress he can find.

Only by marrying can Cleo Spencer access her funds. Making a bargain with Xander is her chance to provide for her younger brother. But when her uncle accuses them of fraud, they discover that love is the best part of their bargain.

I picked up this book because the premise sounded sexy and fun and I was in the mood for a historical romance that would fit that bill.

I fell in love with Xander in the prologue. He was such a mature and capable man. You could tell he could handle himself in a fight but you also saw his softer side as he pretty much acted like Brother of the Year with his youngest brother Kit. He's also smart and forward thinking. I loved all of that about him.

I liked Cleo from the first time we meet her. She's in a bad spot in life but she has grit and a devilish sense of humor. She's feisty but not in a stupid way and you just want to see her situation in life improve and you want to conk the men who have neglected her and her brother over the head with a blunt object.

The issue I had with this story was the perceived obstacles that kept Xander and Cleo from truly committing to each other and kept Xander from wanting to consummate their marriage. They were so flimsy to me that it was rather irritating.

Another problem for me was a seeming lack of description in the book. So often I find that romance books especially are so over descriptive that I start rolling my eyes at "his aquiline nose, broody brow, stormy blue eyes, severe yet sensual mouth and aggressive cheekbones.....etc., etc." but in this one I felt like very little time was given to describe the characters and surroundings very well which left me sometimes a bit disconnected from them.

This is a fast and easy read that is entertaining, but not overly exciting or memorable. The characters are likable but at times their actions are a little ridiculous or annoying, i.e., when Cleo tries to force Xander to bed her by constantly threatening him with a knife. I rolled my eyes at that.

My grade for To Tempt A Saint is a C+. Fans of historical romance will most likely enjoy this book but it's not anything new or surprising.

Cover Love

Torment by Lauren Kate is the sequel to Fallen. I had some issues with Fallen as you may recall from my review of it, but I'm still looking forward to this next installment which will be out in September of this year.

Issues aside, these books have some fabulous covers. I just love the angst and stark beauty that these covers embody. They also feel very appropriate for the story which is rather rare in covers lately, imho.

Who is reading this series? Do you like the covers?

Smooches!

Pritkin!!!!!!!! And a Clash with Clash (see what I did there?)

So, the first four chapters of the Pritkin short story are up at Karen Chance's website. I was left hanging and in need for the rest. *gasp* I'm gonna expire from wanting...more...Pritkin!
If you aren't familiar with the Cassie Palmer series or you need a refresher course, cuz let's be honest- we all do, then let me break it down for you.

Cassie = What the eff is going on half the effing time?! Good thing I'm cute and have a sense of humor....

Mircea = smarmy meh

Pritkin = Damaged goods, but them goods be rawr! All sorts of grrr, baby *sigh*

Why yes, I want to see Cassie and Pritkin get it on in an explosive bout of furniture destroying, time melding, wall banging sex, how did you guess?

Anywho, the link for the short is here.

All I can say is: WRITE MORE FASTER!!!!!!! *deep breath*

Ok, on a different note, I'm disappointed by the trailers and clips and reviews and just general apparent WTFery of the new Clash of the Titans movie. Hollywood, why must you destroy all you lay your grubby paws on? Why?
I'm still going to see it, though I think Bam from It's Not Chick Porn, and also known as @bamgalace on twitter, probably summed it up best with these lovely sentences after having seen the movie the other night. I give you the world's shortest and best review:

"Sam Worthington's skirt was so short he could have accidentally released his Kraken... and Liam Neeson acted with his beard.

in other words, terribly awesome and awesomely terrible."

If you like a longer and perhaps more detailed review, check out the one that Carrie Vaughn did on her blog, here.

Also, as Cleolinda from Occupation: Girl said, Sam Worthington is oatmeal. Muscular oatmeal.

I have to agree.

I'm still going to see the movie. But I'm going to curse Hollywood all the way to the theater.......

I'm a sucker for Angelina Jolie......

Especially when she's kicking ass and rockin bangs. I also love that this role was originally written for a man and was going to be played by Tom Cruise. Go get 'em girl! Show those boys how it's done (and you're way hotter than Tom lately, too).



So, what do you think? Are you going to see it? It comes out in July in the US and I think August in the UK.

April Fools: Not Always Fun and Games

So, I was having a lil Twitter convo with Ilona Andrews reminiscing about some of her April Fools LJ posts in years past. Last year she posted that Curran would die in the next book in the series as a an April Fools but was quickly inundated with panicked e-mails from horrified fans begging for the life of our favorite Alpha Cat. This year, she elected not to do and April Fools post. :P That got me to thinking about some of my more memorable April Fools Day jokes that maybe didn't go over so well.

About four years ago the hubster and I moved across country from California to North Carolina. All our family was still out in Cali and we decided that for our first April Fools Day in our new house we would do it big. We called our parents and siblings and informed them that we were preggers! Hahaha, right? WRONG. My mom went into crying hysterics because her only child was way across the country and she wouldn't even get to see this grandkid be born and she missed her lil grandsons so much and so on and so forth. Yeah, it was kinda awful. Then we had to say, no see APRIL FOOLS, Y'ALL! *sigh*

When I tweeted briefly about my lil April Fools Preggers Mishap, the lovely KC from Smokinhotbooks said that she, too, had tried the, "honey I'm preggers!" April Fools trope and that it, too didn't go so well.

So, I ask you guys, what was the worst April Fools joke that you pulled or had pulled on you? What was the best? Let's hear it folks. Make me feel better by proving that I'm not the only dork with a sick sense of humor that often bites me in the ass.

Muah! And Happy April ;)