Liv's Reads

And so this series comes to an end…

What I liked: Tatianna. She is good at being bad. In the last books she showed humanity that I didn’t think she was capable of. I didn’t like how she was so ready to give Mal another chance so quickly though. All of a sudden she became stupid. Lilith was such an intrigued monster!! It was awesome. Wish we would’ve had more time with her.

What I didn’t like: Everything else. Doc and Fi’s story was boring. Mal and Chrysabelle… gawds, another yawn. Creek, I could’ve cared less about. The Mayor, what an annoying character. I’m so sad we had to sit through another book with her in it.

It was nice that everyone got their HEA – well, except for Tatianna. All the stories were nice wrapped up and I should get a medal for sticking with this series.

Sorry Raphael and Elena but this was a snooze... I decided after [b:Archangel's Consort|7307503|Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter, #3)|Nalini Singh|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348400766s/7307503.jpg|8758998] that I was bored by these two and the only reason I continued the series is that it featured other much more interesting characters. Dmitri being my favorite.

This just dragged and became repetitive fast. I will give it to Ms. Singh in that she can write a steamy sex scene but even those got extremely repetitive. Plus the whole "Archangel, you're mine" "Hunter, you belong to me" exchange just gets old after a couple of chapters. The story itself didn't flow smoothly. There were a couple of times where it just jumped from one thing to another. Certain incidents that I thought for sure would get a couple of paragraphs were simply discussed in just an after thought. As in "prior to getting there she told him about... blah blah blah" - proceeded by sex. Really?

I would give this 2 stars but it wasn't horrible and I did enjoy seeing a less serious side of Raphael but all in all, not my favorite.

This was what happened when I picked up this book:


I had no expectations of this story. I didn't really know what it was about except that my GR friends insisted I read it soon. Glad I did. Flawed? Yes. There was more than one part that was too good to be true and just not real enough but I got lost in the fantasy and really enjoyed the ride.

Another great addition to an awesome series!!

Xandra has established herself as the Goblin Queen. I was happy to see that she's come to terms with her nature and all that it entails - i.e. eating humans. I love Xandra! She's a nice mixture of rough and tough, sarcastic but with a heart that loves her goblins, her siblings and Vex.

Vex...mmmmm....Vex.... I would love to read at least one chapter in his POV. So delicious!!

This is most definitely one of my favorite series and also one that is hard to review without spoiling.

Alright... better than the last book. Dageus was very sexy and hot! I liked Chloe. She wasn't as annoying as some other female characters and I specially liked that she wasn't pregnant at the end of the book! YAY!!!

This picks up right after Sanctum, Lela and Malachi are back on the realm of the living and charged with killing any Mazikin. What neither counted on was the number of Mazikin that had crossed to this realm. Regardless, Lela and Malachi adapt to their roles as guardians. For Lela, this is the first time she is given the charge of a leader and she understandably second guesses herself most of the journey. For Malachi, the challenge is not being blinded by his feelings for Lela.

This sequel did a great job of reintroducing us to the story, adding a bit more and leaving us wanting more. New characters were introduced and can't say I liked all of them. Or felt like they were necessary.  Lela felt different to me.  A bit less focused and unsure.  But I suppose that is to be expected if you're a teenager who has been entrusted with keeping the world safe. Somewhere along the middle my mind began to wander and I started skimming but them it picked right up again. Some nice plot twists had me sitting up straight.

Only pet peeve is, if you're going to use a foreign language, please make sure you're using it correctly. I did have an uncorrected version though so I hope that those mistakes were corrected.

HUGE cliffhanger! I will eagerly await book 3.          

It's official, I've developed a love/hate relationship with this series. This was needlessly long. As usual filled with nerd zingers. Enough already!!

In this one Harry makes his comeback as a live corporal man and the Winter Knight. There's always been darkness in Harry but it's now creeping up and becoming stronger.

Though I really want Harry to get a love life, I don't like the route this Molly/Harry relationship is going. It seriously icks me out. Not happy the route her story has taken. But the alternative is Murphy and she's... blah. Way too ready to jump down any man's throat but at the same time very willing to have Harry's back.

Well then… torn about this. Most of it has nothing to do with book but with me (it’s not you, it’s me) just being burned out with the romance trend out right now of fucked up people who are broken and looking to make their fucked up decisions right. It’s exhausting to read.

Javier, I won’t lie. I like Javier. He’s manipulative and knows just what Ellie buttons to push. He also gave the lamest reasons EVER for cheating. Which leads me to Ellie. I’m really trying to like Ellie. I just wish she’d think for once. Just stop and think and stop the pity party and use your brain.

Camden is by far the better man here. LOVE his new alliance. I actually feel bad for him because he does deserve someone better than Ellie. I almost wish he would flee to Canada and start a new life. BUT, the fact that he won’t do any of that endears him to me.

That ending was awesome and worth the slow flow of the book.

This picks up right after [b:Sanctum|13482750|Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands, #1)|Sarah Fine|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353166271s/13482750.jpg|19016498], Lela and Malachi are back on the realm of the living and charged with killing any Mazikin. What neither counted on was the number of Mazikin that had crossed to this realm. Regardless, Lela and Malachi adapt to their roles as guardians. For Lela, this is the first time she is given the charge of a leader and she understandably second guesses herself most of the journey. For Malachi, the challenge is not being blinded by his feelings for Lela.

This sequel did a great job of reintroducing us to the story, adding a bit more and leaving us wanting more. New characters were introduced and can't say I liked all of them. Or felt like they were necessary. Lela felt different to me. A bit less focused and unsure. But I suppose that is to be expected if you're a teenager who has been entrusted with keeping the world safe. Somewhere along the middle my mind began to wander and I started skimming but them it picked right up again. Some nice plot twists had me sitting up straight.

Only pet peeve is, if you're going to use a foreign language, please make sure you're using it correctly. I did have an uncorrected version though so I hope that those mistakes were corrected.

HUGE cliffhanger! I will eagerly await book 3.

review of ARC
also available on Booklikes

WOW!  Much, much better than the last 3 books.  A good portion of the story involved new characters and flashbacks which helped ease the monotony of the typical Dresden book.  Changes ended with a bang.  Literally.  Harry Dresden was shot dead.  Except in true Dresden style, he returns as a spirit and given the task of discovering who his killer is before his friends are harmed.

Although to Harry it’s only been a blink of an eye, in Chicago time it has been 6 months and the world is chaos.  The most heartbreaking storyline was that of Molly.  We find out two things; one, Molly is a strong wizard!  Amazingly talented and gifted in ways Harry isn’t.  Two, out of everyone she is probably the most affected by his death.  I like the twists that this storyline is taking.  Though not at all happy with the sexual innuendos and alleged attraction between the two.  It’s just creepy and gross in my opinion.

Loved that the whole gang has united to help Chicago.  Especially the partnership between Butters and Bob.  Really enjoyed that we saw another side of Bob.  Evil Bob who is out to kill Harry and gain power for himself was really evil and entertaining.
What I really didn’t enjoy was Murphy.  At the very beginning of this series, we meet a bitter, distrustful and angry Karen Murphy.  She was back.  I really didn’t understand why she kept second guessing everyone and not trusting that Harry’s spirit was really Harry’s spirit.  Despite the fact that “trusted” people kept verifying that it was.

The ending was a very nice twist.  When his killer was finally revealed it took me by surprise.  Didn’t see that coming at all!  All in all, a nice twist to the Dresden world.  I still do feel that the series needs to come to an end soon.

Side note about the audio: This was narrated by John Glover who did a remarkable job of stepping into James Marsters shoes.           

Enjoyable supernatural mystery.  Emma is the last of three Sirens.  She has fallen from grace and is paying for a crime she didn’t commit.  She hopes that by finding lost souls she will eventually earn redemption and her freedom back so she joins the FBI Missing Persons unit.  Zach is a werewolf and who is also hoping saving lives will redeem him of past sins and mistakes.  He is also very much in love with Emma.  Unfortunately, Emma’s other curse is to have anyone she loves killed.

I liked that these two already had a past before we meet them.  It allowed the romance/chemistry between them to flow better.  Despite of this, I had a hard time really connecting to either character.  I liked them enough to see where this series will go, but wasn’t touched by them.  I do hope they end up together and given their HEA, but I love happy endings.  Also intrigued about learning more about Zack’s pack and Liz’s witch powers.  Kallisto’s time was way too brief.  Intriguing character that hopefully will add some nice drama.

The world building could’ve used more development.  I like that the supernatural are not common knowledge and still very much hush-hush but would have liked a bit more explanation as to what type of vampires we were dealing with.  I think it was mentioned that they couldn’t go out in the daylight but then it was also mentioned that they got plastic surgery.  An interesting twist but one hard to grasp.  Don’t vampires heal easily?  So wouldn’t that type of change – or any change – be difficult to manage?  Also in Emma’s case, she’s lived for a very long time.  I found it hard to believe that in all that time she hadn’t forged more relationships with the supernatural.  She also didn't feel old.  She needed a bit more than just her powers to compel and lure the truth out of people.

All in all not a bad introduction to a new series.

"You’re my beating heart, and without you, I cannot live."
The Razorland series has been, in my opinion, about love.  Sure it takes place in a dystopian world full of zombies – aka Freaks or Muties – but at the core of it, I think it’s about love and how it affects the human spirit.  Back in book one; we met a young girl who had never seen light.  She was considered an adult at 15 and her life up to then had revolved around darkness, survival and Freaks.  Her world revolved around strict rules and above all, her desire to be the best Huntress in her Enclave.  Love was an alien emotion.  Something only weak people felt and an emotion that would lead to death.  In book two, Deuce learns to accept and to give love.  She learns that love gives strength and power and a reason to fight regardless of the consequences.  In this book, we meet a girl who is now a woman.  A Huntress who becomes a leader ready to go up against bad odds in order to provide a safe world for those she loves.

It’s been such a sweet journey to take with Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan.  These 4 kids are survivors who each evolved in their own ways and remained through it all fiercely loyal to each other.  They have adapted to the circumstances presented and willing to do whatever possible to rid the land of Muties.  Stalker was probably the other character who evolved so much throughout the books.  But he is also the most like Deuce.  All he has known is to be a fighter and a survivor.  He is so very different from the Wolf we met back in book one.

Then there is Fade.  Since the beginning it has been Deuce and Fade.  Fade is still dealing with the trauma that was inflicted on him.  Deuce is left to accept the Fade that is now and waits patiently, trusting that her love for him will bring him back. 
"No matter where souls go, mine will be looking for you, solnyshko moyo."

This is not to say the story didn’t have its flaws.  It did.  I’m still unsure about the explanation that was given as to the origin of the disease.  It had a couple of holes and I didn’t understand all the scientific mumbo jumbo but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the story itself.  This book focused on war.  Deuce is determined to kill and destroy all the Muties in the territory. Her determination is tested as never before as she tries to raise an army and is laughed at because of her age and gender.  Her determination and strength of spirit is tested time and again and she proves that the impossible can be done.

As with any war, there are casualties.  Some that tore my heart in half.  But I loved the conviction and strength of Deuce and her army.  Overall it did a great job of tying all the loose ends, not all in a way I liked especially where Tegan is concerned but it did give me a bit of hope that in the future things with her could change.  Overall, a great series!

"You’re my beating heart, and without you, I cannot live."
The Razorland series has been, in my opinion, about love. Sure it takes place in a dystopian world full of zombies – aka Freaks or Muties – but at the core of it, I think it’s about love and how it affects the human spirit. Back in book one; we met a young girl who had never seen light. She was considered an adult at 15 and her life up to then had revolved around darkness, survival and Freaks. Her world revolved around strict rules and above all, her desire to be the best Huntress in her Enclave. Love was an alien emotion. Something only weak people felt and an emotion that would lead to death. In book two, Deuce learns to accept and to give love. She learns that love gives strength and power and a reason to fight regardless of the consequences. In this book, we meet a girl who is now a woman. A Huntress who becomes a leader ready to go up against bad odds in order to provide a safe world for those she loves.

It’s been such a sweet journey to take with Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan. These 4 kids are survivors who each evolved in their own ways and remained through it all fiercely loyal to each other. They have adapted to the circumstances presented and willing to do whatever possible to rid the land of Muties. Stalker was probably the other character who evolved so much throughout the books. But he is also the most like Deuce. All he has known is to be a fighter and a survivor. He is so very different from the Wolf we met back in book one.

Then there is Fade. Since the beginning it has been Deuce and Fade. Fade is still dealing with the trauma that was inflicted on him. Deuce is left to accept the Fade that is now and waits patiently, trusting that her love for him will bring him back.
"No matter where souls go, mine will be looking for you, solnyshko moyo."

This is not to say the story didn’t have its flaws. It did. I’m still unsure about the explanation that was given as to the origin of the disease. It had a couple of holes and I didn’t understand all the scientific mumbo jumbo but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the story itself. This book focused on war. Deuce is determined to kill and destroy all the Muties in the territory. Her determination is tested as never before as she tries to raise an army and is laughed at because of her age and gender. Her determination and strength of spirit is tested time and again and she proves that the impossible can be done.

As with any war, there are casualties. Some that tore my heart in half. But I loved the conviction and strength of Deuce and her army. Overall it did a great job of tying all the loose ends, not all in a way I liked especially where Tegan is concerned but it did give me a bit of hope that in the future things with her could change. Overall, a great series!

Enjoyable, especially seeing Roarke lose control. Love his alpha side! Eve wasn't as brash as the last book but I still don't fully understand her need to be so abrasive all the time. I know she's passionate. I get that anger is an easier emotion to express than love, still - wish she'd soften up a bit and bring it down a notch.

The crime/mystery wasn't really a mystery. No idea if this is how all the books are but so far it's been very easy to figure out who the perpetrator has been. Still, Dallas and Peabody take us on a great ride while they try to solve a murder.

Enjoyable supernatural mystery. Emma is the last of three Sirens. She has fallen from grace and is paying for a crime she didn’t commit. She hopes that by finding lost souls she will eventually earn redemption and her freedom back so she joins the FBI Missing Persons unit. Zach is a werewolf and who is also hoping saving lives will redeem him of past sins and mistakes. He is also very much in love with Emma. Unfortunately, Emma’s other curse is to have anyone she loves killed.

I liked that these two already had a past before we meet them. It allowed the romance/chemistry between them to flow better. Despite of this, I had a hard time really connecting to either character. I liked them enough to see where this series will go, but wasn’t touched by them. I do hope they end up together and given their HEA, but I love happy endings. Also intrigued about learning more about Zack’s pack and Liz’s witch powers. Kallisto’s time was way too brief. Intriguing character that hopefully will add some nice drama.

The world building could’ve used more development. I like that the supernatural are not common knowledge and still very much hush-hush but would have liked a bit more explanation as to what type of vampires we were dealing with. I think it was mentioned that they couldn’t go out in the daylight but then it was also mentioned that they got plastic surgery. An interesting twist but one hard to grasp. Don’t vampires heal easily? So wouldn’t that type of change – or any change – be difficult to manage? Also in Emma’s case, she’s lived for a very long time. I found it hard to believe that in all that time she hadn’t forged more relationships with the supernatural. She also didn't feel old. She needed a bit more than just her powers to compel and lure the truth out of people.

All in all not a bad introduction to a new series. 3.5 stars

WOW! Much, much better than the last 3 books. A good portion of the story involved new characters and flashbacks which helped ease the monotony of the typical Dresden book. [b:Changes|6585201|Changes (The Dresden Files, #12)|Jim Butcher|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1304027244s/6585201.jpg|6778696] ended with a bang. Literally. Harry Dresden was shot dead. Except in true Dresden style, he returns as a spirit and given the task of discovering who his killer is before his friends are harmed.

Although to Harry it’s only been a blink of an eye, in Chicago time it has been 6 months and the world is chaos. The most heartbreaking storyline was that of Molly. We find out two things; one, Molly is a strong wizard! Amazingly talented and gifted in ways Harry isn’t. Two, out of everyone she is probably the most affected by his death. I like the twists that this storyline is taking. Though not at all happy with the sexual innuendos and alleged attraction between the two. It’s just creepy and gross in my opinion.

Loved that the whole gang has united to help Chicago. Especially the partnership between Butters and Bob. Really enjoyed that we saw another side of Bob. Evil Bob who is out to kill Harry and gain power for himself was really evil and entertaining.

What I really didn’t enjoy was Murphy. At the very beginning of this series, we meet a bitter, distrustful and angry Karen Murphy. She was back. I really didn’t understand why she kept second guessing everyone and not trusting that Harry’s spirit was really Harry’s spirit. Despite the fact that “trusted” people kept verifying that it was.

The ending was a very nice twist. When his killer was finally revealed it took me by surprise. Didn’t see that coming at all! All in all, a nice twist to the Dresden world. I still do feel that the series needs to come to an end soon.

Side note about the audio: This was narrated by John Glover who did a remarkable job of stepping into James Marsters shoes.