Review - Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Series: The Sixth World #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy 

Age Group: Adult

Paperbook - 304 pgs

Source: Purchased 

Published- June 2018

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Rating: 4.5/5

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

This was such an excellent surprise I wasn't sure what to do with it. Overall this was an original and interesting urban fantasy. I was really excited to read it and it did not disappoint me. The world building is fascinating. Maggie's heritage and personal history is as important as the world's history and they are revealed in equal measure throughout the book. While Maggie hunts monsters, we see humans can be just as monstrous in this post-apocalyptic world.    

Maggie and Kai were the highlight of the novel for me. All the characters are interesting and felt fully developed no matter how little time they spent on the page. Kai was charming and amusing which really helped Maggie come out of her shell both for him and the reader. Their interactions helped lighten the novel in-between monster hunts and violent interactions. Maggie is dealing with some serious personal problems and traumatic events. Throughout the novel I could see her struggle with her self confidence and how to trust others. I liked that these feelings didn't magically disappear as the novel went on, instead she struggles more as she is required to interact with more people.

The only issue I think this book had was pacing. The beginning is a bit slow even though we are thrown right into the fire as Maggie takes on a violent and gruesome job. Then towards the end a lot comes together at once. It is very compressed and very fast. Personally, I think parts of the plot could have been stretched into two books so they were more developed and there was more time to build the world.

My Last Review---> Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles

Review: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs #AllHallowsWeek

Series: Mercy Thompson #5

Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Age Group: Adult
Hardcover - 342pgs
Source: Purchased (used)
Published - March 2010
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Rating: 3.5/5

TW: Mentions of past rape, mentions of child abuse, mentions of torture, attempted suicide, discussion of suicide. 

Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, never knows what the day - or night - may bring in a world where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live beside ordinary people" (Booklist). But she is about to learn that while some secrets are dangerous whose who seek them are just plain deadly...

Mercy is smart enough to realize that when it comes to the magical fae, the less you know, the better. But you can't always get what you want. When she attempts to return a powerful fae she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.


It seems the book contains secrets - 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 Samuel's life forfeit.

Another Mercy Thompson book, another time Mercy gets herself in a heap of trouble. Even though I know this book in the series was important, I've forgotten most of the details. What I do remember is appreciating Mercy's strength as a character. Already in this series she's been through a lot and even though the trauma is over, it is never forgotten. Briggs continues to show how Mercy's assault impacts her life and relationships.  She helps people constantly throughout the series and this is one more time it gets her in over her head.

In this volume there is even more world building and details about the mysterious fae. We learn even more about Mercy's werewolf family and Mercy herself. Adam is, as always, supportive and protective of Mercy which I continue to appreciate. I missed Stephan in this installment though. Even so, there's nothing to quibble about in this book and I remember enjoying it. This book just didn't stick with me as much as some of the others have.

My Last Review: The Strange Case of the Alchemist Daughter

Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Series I Want to Read #AllHallowsWeek

Recently, two events collided. On the same day I finished Magic Triumphs, the last book in the Kate Daniels Series, I saw a tweet from Penguin Random house about #AskALibrarian. Since I was finishing one urban fantasy series, I tweeted requesting suggests for other urban fantasy books.

I'm finishing up a paranormal series and would love recommendations for a new one to start! Any suggestions for a underrated series? #AskALibrarian https://t.co/GwpuHTsw2m

— Julie 📚⚾️🍁🌻 (@KCWB_C) October 4, 2018

I received more than I was expecting! There were so many suggestions that came from that one tweet that I made a list that covered the front and back of a notebook page. I added nearly all of them to my Goodreads "Want to Read" list. Today I thought I would share the ones that made it to the top of that list and I want to read the most.

 

 

 

Do you have any suggestions for which series I should check out first? Are there any I missed that you would recommend? I can't get enough of urban fantasy and paranormal stories! 

Review - The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger

Series: San Andreas Shifters Series #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Age Group: Adult
Ebook - 314 pgs
Source: Overdrive
Published: 2017
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Rating: 4/5

Max fails at magic, relationships, and life. So he works as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something irresistible about the sexy muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date.

Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.


This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The San Andreas Shifter stories include blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart/mouth/tongue…

During the course of the past few years I have devoured a majority of Gail Carriger's books. Her blend of historical fiction, paranormal, and romance work very well for me and make the novels fly by. I love the characters and the witty banter that many of them have. She represents racial and gender diversity in the historical setting and overall I just adore her books. 

                   

Today though, I wanted to talk about her contemporary M/M adult romance.  I loved this book. It was finished in just one sitting. The story is fast paced, the plot is addictive, and the characters are fantastic. Even though it is different than Carriger's other books (obviously since it is an adult  contemporary romance) it has a lot of the elements about her other YA books that I love so much like funny snarky banter and loveable side characters.

My only problem with this book was the world building. I was very confused by the magic system Max was a part of. Overall, the focus was on the romance, but I needed more information about Max's magic. This was also a problem because understanding the magic is essential to understand the climax of the book. So I feel like I missed something at the end of this book.

While I had an issue understanding the magic, the romance was built up very nicely. The conflict between Max and Bryan felt real and a deeper issue. The problem needed to be addressed for both characters and it didn't feel like something that was made up for drama or to keep them apart. Their relationship didn't feel forced and their chemistry was great. I loved them and I could gush about them.

I'm hoping to reread this before the next book comes out. If that doesn't resolve my confusion, I really hope the second book will clear up the world building issues and give a more detailed explanation of the magic.  

My Last Review - An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors

Review - American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Series: Standalone

Genre: Urban Fantasy 

Age Group - Adult

William Morrow (first published July 2001)

Audiobook - (635pgs)

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Rating: 5/5

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday's bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined. It is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own.

Along the way, Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life, a storm is brewing - an epic war for the very soul of America - and that he is standing squarely in its path.

The full cast edition of this audiobook completely captured me. This book follows a lot of small threads that all come together to make an epic story, much like America is made of many people who make up the whole. It is really hard to pinpoint what this book is about. On one hand we are following Shadow as he works for Wednesday and on the other we are following a larger story about American lore and what America IS. The pace is quite slow especially at the beginning and the end. The audiobook really helped keep me invested and focused on this book. It would've been a lot harder to get through a physical copy of this story.

This book is jammed packed with mythology and history. I really enjoyed how Gaiman broke up Shadow's story with smaller chapters about how different gods arrived in America. It was a nice way to build up the narrative of the gods without someone explaining it exactly how it happened. These chapters were some of the most emotional parts of the book and the one that hit me the hardest was the story of Wututu and her brother Agasu. I listened to this section twice and cried though the whole thing.

Throughout the book I felt like I was reading this book at the right time. Even though the book was originally published in 2001, many of the struggles and storms in this book are still raging within America. There were a few moments I found predictable during, but overall I really enjoyed this book and I was blown away by the audiobook. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did at all.

Hopefully, I'll be watching the TV series at some point in the near future. I'd really like to see how certain sections are interpreted. 

My Last Review --> Magic Dreams and Magic Steals Review