*This title will be released on June 5, 2012*

Title: Hex Appeal Author: Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Carole Nelson Douglas, P. N. Elrod, Simon R. Green, Lori Handeland, Erica Hayes, Carrier Vaughn Series: See below Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: LibraryThing ER Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 5, 2012) ISBN-10: 0312590725 ISBN-13: 978-0312590727   Sexual Content: See each title below Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Happy Mother’s Day!  While it’s true that most urban fantasy heroines tend to fly solo, there are a handful that manage to balance supernatural smack downs and motherhood. 

Top 5 Urban Fantasy moms

 

This week Abigail and I have the opposite of a “perfect game” going on.  There are many titles that received unanimous approval, but we also have a perfect record of asynchronous thumbs down going on.  Not one title got two thumbs down this week. In a few instances, we mentioned the exact same detail and then went our separate ways (my favorite is the battle axe rock star).  Feel free to chime in an help us break all these ties.

 

I don’t know about you guys, but my newsfeed has been filled with ever more entertaining items being added to Pinterest.  This week has reached a new high, as Abigail created a board for All Things Urban Fantasy.  If you’re ever in the mood for new cover art before Cover Art Coverage hits newstands, feel free to stop by our Pinterest and browse.  Global covers will appear there, too, be sure to check it out!

 

 There are some really gorgeous covers this week (both with and without gorgeous people on them).  There are many covers that deserve to be discussed, above and beyond Best/Worst.  Lara Avery’s ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY is a gorgeous use of light and perspective, and Meljean Brook’s Iron Seas series gets a new style.  Keri Arthur’s Dark Angel books got my favorite cover of the series and I’m seeing hints of Supernatural boys in cover models again (thank you, ANGEL IN CHAINS).  Enjoy!   Feedback by Robinson Wells

(Click to enlarge)

Description: N/A No Author Comment Available.

Series: Variant #2  Artist: N/A Goodreads: Link	Publisher: HarperTeen Release Date: October 2, 2012 Submitted By: Truly Bookish
Julia’s Thoughts	Abigail’s Thoughts
These covers say “Thriller” and “Summer Blockbuster”, and I think the cinematic style matches the series tone.	I like the perspective here. It feels like we're trapped behind the fence.  But otherwise, I don't really think this is a memorable cover.

Previous Covers in This Series

*This title will be released on November 29, 2011*

Title: Fate’s Edge Author: Ilona Andrews Series: Edge #3 Cover Art: Victoria Vebell Genre: Paranormal Romance Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Ace; Original edition (November 29, 2011) ISBN-10: 0441020860 ISBN-13: 978-0441020867 Sexual Content: References to rape and molestation. A semi graphic sex scene Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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*This title will be released on October 4, 2011*

Title: Angels of Darkness Author: Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh,Meljean Brook, Sharon Shinn Series: Anthology – Alphas, Guild Hunter #4.5, The Guardians #7.5, Samaria Cover Art: N/A Genre: Paranormal Romance Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 4, 2011) ISBN-10: 0425243125 ISBN-13: 978-0425243121 Sexual Content: See each story Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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*This title will be released on June 7th*

Title: Hexed Author: Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James, Jeanne C. Stein Series: Kate Daniels #4.5, Sisters of the Moon #9.5, Stormwalker #3.5, Anna Strong Chronicles #6.5 Cover Art: Tony Mauro Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (June 7, 2011) ISBN-10: 0425241769 ISBN-13: 978-0425241769 Sexual Content: See each story Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Description

Four of the bestselling names in romance and fantasy come together in this collection of thrilling novellas featuring powerful women who know how to handle a hex or two.

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews
Old legends and frightening nightmares came to life in Magic Dreams. The shapeshifting Tigress Dali Harimau finds herself in deep water when she must challenge a dark being to a battle of wits, or risk losing the man she secretly longs for.

Ice Shards by Yasmine Galenorn
Iris Kuusi, a Finnish house sprite who lives with the D’Artigo sisters, must journey to the frozen Northlands to confront the crazed shadow of her former lover she’s accused of murdering, so she can break the curse keeping her from marrying the man she loves.

Double Hexed by Allyson James
It starts, innocently enough, with a leaky faucet. Janet calls her plumber, Fremont, to help fix a faucet in a guest room, when all hell breaks loose—literally. Blood sprays from the faucets and a message appears on the mirror in blood: “You are doomed.” Janet and her friends find themselves locked in her hotel, victims of a hex cast by a very powerful sorcerer. Cassandra, Janet’s Wiccan hotel manager, believes the sorcerer is one she’s come to Magellan to hide from, and he’s one of the most powerful entities in the world. As Janet and her friends frantically work to release the spell before the sorcerer kills them all, they realize that their worst enemies might just be themselves.

Blood Debt by Jeanne C. Stein
Bounty-hunter-turned vampire Anna Strong is visited by three witches who ask her to right an old magical wrong. Anna will have to live up to her name to make it through alive…

Review

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels #4.5)

A minor character in the Kate Daniels series, Dali proves more than ready for her own series in Magic Dreams.  She couldn’t be more dissimilar from Kate, yet she displays the same strength of character and bravery that I’ve come to expect from the women in this series.  She’s a tiny, visually impaired, Indonesian woman who shifts into a white Tiger.  As a human, she’s about a physically imposing as a kitten and shifting to her tiger form isn’t easy for her.  But she does know how to use magic, sometimes.  And in Magic Dreams when her Alpha Jim, the man she secretly loves, shows up asking for help, she doesn’t hesitative even when she learns that she may have to sacrifice her life for Jim’s. 
Kate fans won’t want to miss this story and it’s a perfect introduction for new readers as it has one of the best and most concise explanations for the world building in this series.  The dialogue is as sharp and clever as ever, the Japanese mythology borrowed for this story is integrated very well, and the romance between Dali and Jim subtly beautiful.  By far the best story in HEXED.

Sexual Content: Kissing Rating: 4/5

Ice Shards by Yasmine Galenorn (Sisters of the Moon #9.5)

My only exposure to Galenorn’s Sister’s of the Moon (SotM) series was in the anthology INKED, so I’ll admit near total ignorance when it comes to this world and these characters going in, and I feel pretty much the same way having read Ice Shards. The chronology jumps all over the place and the writing struck me as lazy and uninteresting.  Lots and lots of characters and yet not one grabbed me.  Iris travels with her friends (including SotM main character Camille and one of her husbands) to find out if she committed a crime she can’t remember.  They travel, talk to people, travel, have flashbacks, travel etc. until the last 3 pages when Iris finally gets answers.  I suppose fans of this series may enjoy all the cameos, but as a newbie, this story just turned me off the whole series.

Sexual Content: References to sex Rating: 2/5

Double Hexed by Allyson James (Stormwalker #3.5)

Double Hexed is the longest story in HEXED (and I believe that’s Janet on the cover) and makes full use of its extra pages. Like the previous story, there are lots of characters (some stronger than others), but unlike the previous story, they each justify their inclusion in this specific story.  Stormwalker Janet and her dragon shifter Mick are the leads and we learn about each character as they interact with them while trying to break a hex that has trapped them all in Janet’s hotel.  This actually would be a great introduction for new readers who want to try this series featuring Native American mysticism mixed with more conventional paranormal tropes and a uniquely imagined world Beneath our own where demons and evil have been trapped.  Janet and Mick have a heated romance and this story is the steamiest in the anthology.

Sexual Content: References to homosexuality. A brief sex scene Rating: 3/5

Blood Debt by Jeanne C. Stein (Anna Strong Chronicles #6.5)

This is another series I’m largely unfamiliar with (I’ve only read the first book), but I didn’t have any trouble jumping in to this story.  Anna and her bounty hunter partners are tracking a Skip when a series of events lead her to stand trail for her life. This setup provides Stein with an opportunity to highlight certain key events from Anna’s life (how she was turned into a vampire, how she ended up as a bounty hunter, and how she finally killed her nemesis etc).  It works well has an intro for new readers, but doesn’t dominate the story so that fans become bored.  There is a romantic relationship that gets set up in Blood Debt that I imagine will get woven into future books, so series devotees won’t want to miss seeing how it began.

Sexual Content: A couple brief sex scenes Rating: 3/5

 

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
N/A	Alternative Worlds Errant Dreams Reviews

*This title will be released on May 31, 2011*

Title: Magic Slays Author: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #5 Cover Art: Chad Michael Ward Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Ace (May 31, 2011) ISBN-10: 0441020429 ISBN-13: 978-0441020423 Sexual Content: Kissing. A brief sex scene. Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Description

Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.

Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.

So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price . . .

Review

In a lot of ways, MAGIC SLAYS is like a new beginning for Kate.  It feels almost like a fresh start for her (and potentially a starting point for new readers).  She’s cut ties with the Order of Merciful Aid (good riddance) and started Cutting Edge Investigations with her best friend and fellow former Knight Andrea Nash.   The showdown with her father is still looming, but in the background.  This time we learn several vital things about Kate’s mother.  Things that rattle Kate to her bones and force her to question the love of the two most important men in her life. 

The action is intense and relentless from the first page.  From a savage vampire attack, shifters gone Loupe (wild), assassins, you name it and they probably tried to kill Kate in MAGIC SLAYS.  Seriously I don’t think she stopped bleeding the entire book.  But the scenes are handled each time with a fresh energy so that they never feel stale. 

When not kicking some serious butt, Kate’s personal life never slows down.  She and Curran are still adjusting to being mated.  It’s always a gamble when two characters finally get together.  Will they loose their romantic tension? Will they become boring?  Not possible for Kate and Curran.  They fight and make up with the same raw intensity as always, still verbally spare with the same flirtatious wit, still clash and argue with the same finesse.  But there is a new understanding, a new vulnerability that we see in Kate.  Intimacy and giving oneself completely to another person is still so alien to her that she has real moments of panic.  I loved that there were still new sides of Kate for me to see.

I did notice one annoying thing throughout MAGIC SLAYS, the word ‘Aha.’  Everyone said it. A lot.  Maybe that’s something they fixed in the final version, but in my ARC, it was everywhere.  I’ve never noticed it in the previous books either.  It did become very distracting and unfortunately it caused me to drop a rating in this otherwise outstanding book.

The Kate Daniels series has always defined what urban fantasy should be.  And with every new book, it becomes that much harder for all the other urban fantasy series to keep up. No one is cooler than Kate, no one is fiercer than Curran, and no world more magically mucked up than Atlanta.  If I could only read one urban fantasy series for the rest of my life, it would be the Kate Daniels series. No contest.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
1. Magic Bites 2. Magic Burns 3. Magic Strikes 3.5 Magic Mourns (novella in MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS) 4. Magic Bleeds 4.5 Magic Dreams (novella in HEXED)	Genre Go Round Reviews My Bookish Ways