Book Description: Down in Atlanta, tempers---and temperatures---are about to flare... As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels knows how waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta's paramilitary clan of shape shifters, she quickly realizes much more is at stake. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug of war between two gods hoping for rebirth, and if Kate can't stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive.

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Review:   In the follow up to Magic Strikes, mercenary Kate Daniels is once again thrown into the path of The Pack (shapeshifters) and asked to retrieve some vital maps that were stolen by a mischievous man who has a tendency to vanish into mist (and steal a kiss or two).  Professionally, Kate is saddled with protecting  a lovesick teenage girl whose missing mother is involved with a Coven intent on ushering in a malevolent Celtic god  to rain destruction on first Atlanta and then the world.  Her personal life is no less harrowing as Kate must watch her ex almost-could-have-been boyfriend move on in a big way, and face the possibilities of a suitor that both terrifies and confuses her.

In addition to stellar storytelling, the world building in this series in phenomenal, and, no offense to Kim Harrison, quite possibly the best out there in urban fantasy. Every aspect of life in alternate Atlanta is colored with breathable –sometimes uncomfortably so--paranormal details. The concept of the magic/tech pendulum is a key feature of the Kate Daniels world:

The world has suffered a magic apocalypse. We pushed the technological progress too far, and now magic returned with a vengeance.  It comes in waves, without warning,  and vanishes as suddenly as it appears.  When magic is up, planes drop out of the sky, cars stall, electricity dies.  When magic is down, guns work and spells fail. It’s a volatile, screwed-up world. Magic feeds on technology, gnawing down on skyscrapers until most of them topple and fall, leaving only skeletal husks behind.-Ilona-Andrews.com

All the usual otherworldly creatures are present: weres, vamps, witches etc. but each is given fresh life and rules. Vampires, for example, are mindless starving fiends.  Forever caught in a limbo between vitality and decay, they are monsters in every sense of the word.  Lacking even a shred of humanity, those injected with the Immortuus pathogen are 'piloted' by The People, necromancers of extraordinary magical power. These are not your usual romantic heroes, in Kate’s world, they are the stuff of nightmares.

Shapshifters, on the other hand, are slightly more familiar but no less interesting. There is your standard pack hierarchy, dominants, and alphas. Fans of Laurel K. Hamilton will recognize some of the were dynamics between the wererats, werebears, werehyienas, etc.  One pleasant distinction is the Beast Lord, Curren, the uncontested king of the shapshifterrs who is, what else, a werelion. He and Kate have somewhat of a tenuous relationship. Translation: Kate doesn't take kindly to orders and tends to speak first and think later; Curren, not being accustomed to anything but instant and total obedience, sometimes lets his temper get the better of him. Mutual respect is hard won with these two, and of course it is all the more valuable for it.

I’m left with one overriding thought as I finish this review: Kate Daniels is second only to Mercy Thompson in my opinion, and, as Magic Burns can attest, she is rapidly closing that gap.

Sexual Content: A woman explains sex to a teenage girl

Author Comments:

“Kate's world is an interesting place…Magic comes and goes as it pleases, as if somewhere a child is playing with a switch.  It's a very unpredictable, volatile world, full of dangerous people: shape shifters, necromancers, mages, knights...  Everyone has an agenda and everyone is ready to rip the competition to shreds.  In this world lives Kate.  She was raised from birth by a man of extraordinary martial skill, who employed all of his expertise to make her into a lethal fighter.  To this end, he took her all over the continent to let her train with different experts and he subjected her to grueling training.  He made her into a living weapon and gave her a mission.   And then he died. Now Kate is alone.  She has her mission, but she is smart enough to recognize that she will need a lot more experience and power before she can embark on it.  She didn't have much of a childhood.  If you really think about it, she doesn't even know how to be a girl - her mother died when she was very young.  For now she just tries to make sense of who she is and what she is doing.  She is learning how to make friends.  And she might be falling in love.” –Ilona Andrews (courtesy of AAR After Hours interview).

Read Chapter One of Magic Burns here

(additional covers)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ace; First Edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441015832
• ISBN-13: 978-0441015832

 

My 50+ Followers Giveaway: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs, Dark Times by Dakota Banks, and Red-headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells.  Enter by November 4th

 

Be sure to comment on at least one other post besides the giveaway post otherwise your entry will not count.

 

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES

1. Open US residents only
2. Must be a follower or subscribe via email (right sidebar)
3. You must include your email - [at] [dot] is fine
4. Leave a comment on any one of my earlier posts (extra entry if you comment on a post that previously had no comments), then comment on this post with the name of the post you commented on.
5. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on Wednesday November 4th

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+1 If you are a new  follower or new subscriber via email

+2 Comment on a previous post with no comments

+3 If you already were a follower or subscriber

+4 Post this contest on your blog (provide link)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

 

You’re probably thinking, what?  Christmas already?  Didn’t we just celebrate Halloween?  Well, yes.  It’s a bit early for a Christmas post, but I have a good reason.  Fang-tastic Books had a great idea about specifically showcasing Christmas themed books during the month of December.   I read too much to only focus on holiday books for a month, but I’m all for showcasing as many as possible.

If you are an author/publisher etc. and would like me to review your Christmas/holiday urban fantasy (or paranormal romance, dark fantasy, paranormal YA…) book, or host an interview, giveaway, or guest blog, please contact me at AllThingsUrbanFantasy[at]gmail[dot]com

Titles I’d specifically love to showcase:

• Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris et al

The editors of Many Bloody Returns deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.
New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays

 

• Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison et al

There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard... or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish!

• A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse: The Complete Stories) by Charlaine Harris

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her "spunky" (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written-together in one volume. Stories include "Fairy Dust," "One Word Answer," "Dracula Night," "Lucky," and the Christmas themed "Giftwrap."

 

If you know of a Christmas themed urban fantasy, or one that takes place during the holidays, leave it in the comments and I’ll try and get it too!

 

Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Jaz Parks, Book 1)
by Jennifer Rardin

Book Description: I'm Jaz Parks. My boss is Vayl, born in Romania in 1744. Died there too, at the hand of his vampire wife, Liliana. But that's ancient history. For the moment Vayl works for the C.I.A. doing what he does best--assassination. And I help. You could say I'm an Assistant Assassin. But then I'd have to kick your ass. Vayl and I have to take out a Miami plastic surgeon with ties to terrorism. But the assignment gets complicated when it turns out he's in cahoots with a supernatural nasty powerful enough to bring America to her knees.

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Review: I’ve been bitten, and I’m ready for more.  Author Jennifer Rardin does a nice job of combing the fun of a spy novel (think Jennifer Garner from Alias) with the paranormal elements that define the urban fantasy genre.

Jasmine (Jaz) Parks, a military brat turned vampire hunter (aka Helsinger as in Van Helsing),  has spent most of her life honing her skills as an elite hunter of  the undead--for the government no less.  After surviving a devastating personal trauma that only intensified her foolhardy reckless streak (and gave her some unique abilities in the process), Jaz is given a new assignment as bodyguard/partner to a 300 year old vampire hitman named Vayl, who personally requested Jaz for reasons she can’t begin to fathom.

Together, the pair track down a terrorist cell whose leader has Nazi-like aspirations, the uber nasty head vampire Raptor, and  the demon goddess someone's trying to unleash on the world, all the while fighting the growing attraction they have for each other. The plot gets a little confusing at times and certain scenes feel like filler.  The big action at the end also seemed too long, but it was the character dynamics that make those minor complaints.

Jaz was a surprisingly likable character for me.  She is self-deprecating without wallowing in self-pity; she is sarcastic and snarky without being in permanent PMS mode; and she is able to own up to her mistakes and actually apologize for them.  I did wonder about Jaz’s lack of animosity towards vampires in general.  Given her past, I would have expected—and enjoyed—reading about her struggle to work for, trust, and, maybe even love, a vampire.  She has spend the majority of her life killing them after all, but she is oddly un-conflicted.

As far as real criticism goes, the world building was a bit scant and there isn’t any new territory explored in terms of  vampire mythology.  My biggest beef is about where the story begins: six months after Jaz and Vayl start working together.  I hope Jennifer Rardin writes a prequel about when they first meet.  There is already a level of comfort and intimacy when we meet them that I would have loved to watch develop.

I tend to respond more to the gritty, darker urban fantasy’s.  And while Once Bitten, Twice Shy throws in a healthy does of humor and chic-lit like emotional examination, it worked for me.  Next time I want a fun quick read, I’ll be picking up book 2 in the Jaz Parks series: Another One Bites The Dusk

Sexual Content: None

Click here to read chapter one of Once Bitten, Twice Shy

                     

Other covers

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; Reprint edition (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316043540
• ISBN-13: 978-0316043540

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Book 1)
by Cassandra Clare

Book Description:

When 15-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother?And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

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Review:
If Harry Potter and Wicked Lovely had a book baby it would be City of Bones. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a long time, and I really have no good reason for waiting as long as I did.

Good world building is paramount in urban fantasy, and City of Bones, if a little small feeling at times, doesn’t disappoint.  In the Bible, Nephilim are the children of humans and fallen angles, but in City of Bones (COB), they are the result of the Angel Raziel mixing his own blood with human blood together in a magical Mortal Cup. Nephilim, known as Shadowhunters, are demon hunters that exist (along with angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, faeries etc.) in an alternate New York. 

15 going on 16 year old Clary Fray accidentally stumbles into this world when she witnesses  three teenage Shadowhunters kill a demon in human guise.  Clary and her mundane (basically muggle, or human) best friend Simon are soon swept up into a race to find the Mortal Cup before it falls into the hands of the villainous  former Shadowhunter Valentine. 

Packed with lots of action, and young romantic angst, COB is not groundbreaking in any way, but it is a fun read for lovers of paranormal YA. There are some lengthy explanatory passages that feel out of place given the urgency of the situation in which they appear. Some of the glib/pithy dialogue falls flat, especially when uttered when other characters were near death etc.  Pulled me out of the story a bit.

I’ll also admit, without revealing any spoilers, that the ending revelation made me extremely uncomfortable. I’m still kind of mad about it.  I haven’t read the rest of the series yet, but I hope the author addresses the implications of that revelation, or better yet reveals something that negates that revelation.  I’m not holding my breath on that one though.  On her website, Cassandra Clare offers these words:

“At the risk of spoiling anyone, all I can say is that it's more than just a twist; if you're really invested in Jace and Clary, you shouldn't give up on them yet -- there's still a lot to come in their future, a lot of surprises about their history, and plenty more developments in the Jace/Clary/Simon love triangle.”

Jace was easily the most interesting character.  I found his behavior, given his upbringing, to be very authentic.  I also enjoyed how his character and motivations were revealed slowly throughout the story.  I’ll be reading  the rest of this series just to find out more about him.

Sexual Content: Some talk about about sex from minors.  Kissing.

Author Comments:

“When I sat down to sketch out the book, I wanted to write something that would combine elements of traditional high fantasy -- an epic battle between good and evil, terrible monsters, brave heroes, enchanted swords -- and recast it through a modern, urban lens. So you have the Shadowhunters, who are these very classic warriors following their millennia-old traditions, but in these urban, modern spaces: skyscrapers, warehouses, abandoned hotels, rock concerts. In fairy tales, it was the dark and mysterious forest outside the town that held the magic and danger. I wanted to create a world where the city has become the forest -- where these urban spaces hold their own enchantments, danger, mysteries and strange beauty. It's just that only the Shadowhunters can see them as they really are.” –Cassandra Clare

Click here to read Chapter 1 of City of Bones

 

Foreign covers

 

Product Details

 

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416914285