April Reviews

Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione is the the first in her Lords of Deliverance series about the four horsemen of the apocalypse (or, to be more exact, three horsemen and one horsewoman). This one focuses on War/Ares and his attempts to keep his seal from breaking to prevent Armageddon. Good writing and an action-packed story kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book. This series is a spin-off from her Demonica series. You don't have to read Demonica first, but there are character crossovers from that series and a plot spoiler in this one for the end of the Demonica series. I definitely recommend both series to fans of the urban fantasy genre.

City of Fallen Angels, the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments YA series, doesn't disappoint. Fan's of the first three books will definitely enjoy this one. Simon takes more of a lead role in this one, but Clary, Jace, Isabelle and the rest are all featured. Readers of young adult literature will want to check out this series.

Unbreakable by Sydney Sommers was a surprise hit with me. I downloaded it several months ago as a Kindle freebie and decided to pick it up only to reduce my freebie TBR pile. Usually these freebies end up being somewhat of a disappointment, but this one was a fun, action-packed read.

I also read the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister. Aisling discovers that she's a guardian in charge of protecting the world from demons. She ends up falling in love with a dragon (in human form, of course) and gets dragged into dragon sept and other underworld politics. It's a fun, funny, entertaining four book series. If you're looking for lighter urban fantasy, you may want to try these.

Spring Round-Up

I've seen several movies and read many books since my last post. I'll just give a quick one line review and a rating for each.

BOOKS

River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) ★★★★★

I missed the pack in this one, but it was a nice departure from the usual story line.

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

These books are just as good the second time around!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis ★★★

A decent dystopian YA sci-fi novel, but I'd recommend The Hunger Games over this.

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain (Archie/Gretchen series) ★★★

Decent murder mystery, but Gretchen is very noticeably absent.

Battle of the Network Zombies by Mark Henry ★★

Too much humor and not enough story.

Iron Crowned by Richelle Meade (Dark Swan series) ★★★★

A great installment to the series. I can't wait to see how it all ends!

One of Our Thursday's is Missing by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next series) ★★★★★

Another brilliant book by one of my favorite authors.

A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce series) ★★★★

I will never grow tired of seeing the world through Flavia's eyes!

The Passion by Donna Boyd ★★★

Well written, but it ends up being a tragedy and I really need my HEA.

The Gift of Fury by Richard Jackson ★★★

It kept me reading even though I wasn't in the mood for it, which probably means it's better than how I rated it.

Primal Calling by Jillian Burns ★★

Boring and predictable.

Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick series) ★★★★

Great story with lots of humor - I might end up liking this YA spin-off better than the main Dark Hunter series.

The Sacrifice by Samantha Sommersby ★★★

Not as bad as I was expecting it to be since it was a Kindle freebie.

Fang Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground series) ★★★★

I'm enjoying this YA series, but I don't think Ms. Blue is planning to write many more of these books.

Lover Unleashed by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series) ★★★★★

Another home run for Ward. I don't think she's capable of striking out.

The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

I'm glad to be all caught up with this series. It was a challenge to keep reading.

Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey ★★

Another book that was too jokey and light on plot.

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

It was great re-reading these. Just as good the second time around.

MOVIES

Hannah starring Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana ★★★★

Great acting, great music, great scenery.

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhall and Vera Farmiga ★★★

A decent movie for your rental queue.

Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro ★★★★

Good movie. Definitely watch it.

Insidious ★★★

A decent attempt for a scary movie, though several key scenes were pretty hokey.

Rango ★★

Somewhat boring and predictable, though not the worst movie I've ever seen.

TV SHOWS

Nurse Jackie ★★★★

I'm glad this one started up again. I love all the goofy people who work in the hospital.

Gods of the Arena (Spartacus prequel) ★★★

It's not going to win any awards, but it's a fun show with lots skin and blood.

The Borgias ★★

This should be a lot more interesting than it is.