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lynseyisreading's reviews
1361 reviews
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
5.0
This is book two of the series. You should start with book one: [b:Magic Bites|38619|Magic Bites ( Kate Daniels, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331612872l/38619._SY75_.jpg|38381]
This second instalment in the Kate Daniels series was even better than the first (and I fricking loved book one!). Always the first in a series has that "setting up" feel to it to some extent, some worse than others. Magic Bites wasn't actually too bad but even so, it's nice to get to book two and move past it. Now, we know the characters, we know exactly who we want Kate to get together with (Hello, Curran), even if she doesn't yet know herself. And so we wait, patiently, for the penny to drop.
Aside from Kate and Curran slow-burn deliciousness, there is a lot going on in this one. There is a magical flare brewing in Atlanta. The waves from magic to tech have started going haywire and because of this, we meet some interesting creatures and characters that can only make an appearance during such times.
She also picks up a new sidekick in the form of a street kid named Julie. I've come to the conclusion that Kate, no matter how tough, mouthy and prickly she can seem, really can't say no to someone asking for help. It's just not possible for her to walk away from someone who needs her.
The ending of this book was particularly great and climatic and I find I am inhaling these books at breakneck speed and am already concerned about the withdrawal symptoms I will face when I run out!
Moving straight onto book 3...
This second instalment in the Kate Daniels series was even better than the first (and I fricking loved book one!). Always the first in a series has that "setting up" feel to it to some extent, some worse than others. Magic Bites wasn't actually too bad but even so, it's nice to get to book two and move past it. Now, we know the characters, we know exactly who we want Kate to get together with (Hello, Curran), even if she doesn't yet know herself. And so we wait, patiently, for the penny to drop.
Aside from Kate and Curran slow-burn deliciousness, there is a lot going on in this one. There is a magical flare brewing in Atlanta. The waves from magic to tech have started going haywire and because of this, we meet some interesting creatures and characters that can only make an appearance during such times.
She also picks up a new sidekick in the form of a street kid named Julie. I've come to the conclusion that Kate, no matter how tough, mouthy and prickly she can seem, really can't say no to someone asking for help. It's just not possible for her to walk away from someone who needs her.
The ending of this book was particularly great and climatic and I find I am inhaling these books at breakneck speed and am already concerned about the withdrawal symptoms I will face when I run out!
Moving straight onto book 3...
Dark Horse by Michelle Diener
3.0
I wanted to love this, I really did. I think what's happened is it's suffered very badly in comparison to a brilliant series in the Sci-Fi genre, the Firebird Chronicles by T. A. White beginning with [b:Rules of Redemption|43954881|Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles, #1)|T.A. White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549936025l/43954881._SY75_.jpg|68359033], that I started reading last month. In fact, I probably picked this up because it sounded similar and I was jonesing for more. But it just didn't quiiiiite match up to that one for me.
The story follows human earthling Rose as she escapes from the nasty aliens who abducted her and seeks refuge with some nicer aliens. She has a sidekick in the form of an artificial intelligence "thinking engine", Sazo, that she talks to via an earpiece. Sazo helped her escape the bad aliens so she feels grateful and loyal to him/it, but she's also a bit scared of his ability to kill without a qualm. There's also the small problem of thinking engines being outlawed 200 years ago.
This setup and worldbuilding I did like. Though I found Sazo quite creepy. He wasn't the type of sidekick that steals the show with how cute and lovable he is. He was more like the sinister voice in Rose's ear that keeps threatening to kill people. That did improve over the course of the book but it never got to the point where I didn't think everyone would be safer if someone just... accidentally switched him off. And I don't think I was supposed to think that.
I should say, I did listen to this on audiobook so it could be the narrator's voice for Sazo that added to the creepy. The narrator was brilliant, but she definitely affected a strange and unsettling voice for Sazo to convey his inhumanness.
What let this book down massively for me was the romance. It just didn't connect to my heartbox, ya know? And this book is actually, unbeknownst to me either before or during reading, a Sci-Fi romance... As in, a love story that's all wrapped up with a HEA and the next book in the series is about a different couple... Honestly, you could NOT tell this book was supposed to be a romance! I just assumed it was going to be a Sci-Fi adventure space opera series with a focus on the action and the war between alien races, with a romance subplot that was perhaps going to grow and get more convincing over time. But at the end of the book, they started romantic speeching at each other, you know how they do when they're wrapping things up, and I was like...what is happening? I headed over to GoodReads and sure enough, the next book is not about Rose and Dav.
I'm not 100% sure if I'll continue with this series. The books are included for "free" on the audible plus catalogue and the narrator was good, and I guess there's always a chance I'll connect more with the next pairing so I'm not ruling it out entirely. We'll see. Until then... Onto my next read!
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2
The story follows human earthling Rose as she escapes from the nasty aliens who abducted her and seeks refuge with some nicer aliens. She has a sidekick in the form of an artificial intelligence "thinking engine", Sazo, that she talks to via an earpiece. Sazo helped her escape the bad aliens so she feels grateful and loyal to him/it, but she's also a bit scared of his ability to kill without a qualm. There's also the small problem of thinking engines being outlawed 200 years ago.
This setup and worldbuilding I did like. Though I found Sazo quite creepy. He wasn't the type of sidekick that steals the show with how cute and lovable he is. He was more like the sinister voice in Rose's ear that keeps threatening to kill people. That did improve over the course of the book but it never got to the point where I didn't think everyone would be safer if someone just... accidentally switched him off. And I don't think I was supposed to think that.
I should say, I did listen to this on audiobook so it could be the narrator's voice for Sazo that added to the creepy. The narrator was brilliant, but she definitely affected a strange and unsettling voice for Sazo to convey his inhumanness.
What let this book down massively for me was the romance. It just didn't connect to my heartbox, ya know? And this book is actually, unbeknownst to me either before or during reading, a Sci-Fi romance... As in, a love story that's all wrapped up with a HEA and the next book in the series is about a different couple... Honestly, you could NOT tell this book was supposed to be a romance! I just assumed it was going to be a Sci-Fi adventure space opera series with a focus on the action and the war between alien races, with a romance subplot that was perhaps going to grow and get more convincing over time. But at the end of the book, they started romantic speeching at each other, you know how they do when they're wrapping things up, and I was like...what is happening? I headed over to GoodReads and sure enough, the next book is not about Rose and Dav.
I'm not 100% sure if I'll continue with this series. The books are included for "free" on the audible plus catalogue and the narrator was good, and I guess there's always a chance I'll connect more with the next pairing so I'm not ruling it out entirely. We'll see. Until then... Onto my next read!
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
5.0
I absolutely loved this book!
It's so good to find a new series to get excited about. I'm already planning to recommend it everyone I know. I can't believe I've had this little gem of a book on my shelf since last year, not knowing what a great story it held within. I think I might possibly have been put off by the cover art (don't really like it I'm afraid) but I'm so glad I finally got around to it.
It is an Urban Fantasy, so for anyone who needs a romance storyline all wrapped up neatly within the first book, you might not enjoy it for that reason alone. But I, for one, am quite happy to have a slow burning love story cast over several books. It's all in the anticipation, people! And there is clearly a potential love interest here. Just as soon as they both get over themselves and stop annoying the crap out of each other. I think it's great when they start off hating each other, actually. It just makes it all the sweeter when they finally admit defeat. In this case, I'm not sure who will break first. They both seem equally stubborn to me...
There are oodles of weird creatures in the series. It makes a refreshing change to have some new ideas in this area. There were Shapechangers, Necromancers and various other magic users. There were hints left here and there that Kate herself might have some big secret concerning her own genealogy, too. Although we know she has magic right from the offset, she, for some reason has to be really careful about her blood. Always making sure that if she bleeds anywhere, she cleans it up or burns it. Like as if someone were to smell or sample her blood, they would find out what bloodline she came from or something, and I'm guessing this would be bad... As I said, there were only clues so far, no actual answers, so I have no idea what the big deal is, but I am very intrigued at this point!
Another interesting twist was that, although this series features vampires, they are not the sexy, sparkly, gorgeous-looking beings that many authors portray these days. But rather disturbing, insect-like creatures that scuttle about on the ceiling. They're also mindless, and have to be controlled, or "navigated" by a necromancer or necro-navigator. They were completely gross.
I like the whole idea of the world being post-magical apocalypse, with crumbling buildings and other leftovers from the tech age, before magic took over. It was also something new that I haven't read before. And for me to find something new with the amount of books in this genre that I read, is always a bonus.
I really liked Kate. It's great to find a female protagonist you just love instantly. That's not to say she's not flawed, though. Her smart-ass retorts are hilarious, but she doesn't quite know when to switch it off, which is so going to get her in trouble one of these days, I'm sure.
I cannot wait for the next one but at the same time I almost want to put off reading them because I don't want to run out!
5 excited Stars ★★★★★
It's so good to find a new series to get excited about. I'm already planning to recommend it everyone I know. I can't believe I've had this little gem of a book on my shelf since last year, not knowing what a great story it held within. I think I might possibly have been put off by the cover art (don't really like it I'm afraid) but I'm so glad I finally got around to it.
It is an Urban Fantasy, so for anyone who needs a romance storyline all wrapped up neatly within the first book, you might not enjoy it for that reason alone. But I, for one, am quite happy to have a slow burning love story cast over several books. It's all in the anticipation, people! And there is clearly a potential love interest here. Just as soon as they both get over themselves and stop annoying the crap out of each other. I think it's great when they start off hating each other, actually. It just makes it all the sweeter when they finally admit defeat. In this case, I'm not sure who will break first. They both seem equally stubborn to me...
There are oodles of weird creatures in the series. It makes a refreshing change to have some new ideas in this area. There were Shapechangers, Necromancers and various other magic users. There were hints left here and there that Kate herself might have some big secret concerning her own genealogy, too. Although we know she has magic right from the offset, she, for some reason has to be really careful about her blood. Always making sure that if she bleeds anywhere, she cleans it up or burns it. Like as if someone were to smell or sample her blood, they would find out what bloodline she came from or something, and I'm guessing this would be bad... As I said, there were only clues so far, no actual answers, so I have no idea what the big deal is, but I am very intrigued at this point!
Another interesting twist was that, although this series features vampires, they are not the sexy, sparkly, gorgeous-looking beings that many authors portray these days. But rather disturbing, insect-like creatures that scuttle about on the ceiling. They're also mindless, and have to be controlled, or "navigated" by a necromancer or necro-navigator. They were completely gross.
I like the whole idea of the world being post-magical apocalypse, with crumbling buildings and other leftovers from the tech age, before magic took over. It was also something new that I haven't read before. And for me to find something new with the amount of books in this genre that I read, is always a bonus.
I really liked Kate. It's great to find a female protagonist you just love instantly. That's not to say she's not flawed, though. Her smart-ass retorts are hilarious, but she doesn't quite know when to switch it off, which is so going to get her in trouble one of these days, I'm sure.
I cannot wait for the next one but at the same time I almost want to put off reading them because I don't want to run out!
5 excited Stars ★★★★★
The Girl from the Sea by Shalini Boland
4.0
I have just spent a very pleasant Sunday devouring this audiobook while pottering around. It provided the perfect entertainment and I honestly can't remember the last time I listened to a full audiobook in all one sitting!
The narrator, Katie Villa, was delightful, which I'm sure helped. She sounds a bit like Emily from friends, though don't hold that against her. Her mix of voices and accents was impressive and I'll definitely look out for her name on audible again.
The story itself was a puzzle with one very important piece missing; the memories of the main character. She washes up on shore not even knowing her own name. We then watch as she tries to put the pieces of her life together. People seem to know her but who should she trust and how did she end up in the water in the first place?
Dive into this well-written mystery by Shalini Bond and while away a thoroughly enjoyable few hours unravelling a forgotten lifetime.
4 stars ★★★★
Audiobook received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Find this book on Goodreads and Audible.
The narrator, Katie Villa, was delightful, which I'm sure helped. She sounds a bit like Emily from friends, though don't hold that against her. Her mix of voices and accents was impressive and I'll definitely look out for her name on audible again.
The story itself was a puzzle with one very important piece missing; the memories of the main character. She washes up on shore not even knowing her own name. We then watch as she tries to put the pieces of her life together. People seem to know her but who should she trust and how did she end up in the water in the first place?
Dive into this well-written mystery by Shalini Bond and while away a thoroughly enjoyable few hours unravelling a forgotten lifetime.
4 stars ★★★★
Audiobook received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Find this book on Goodreads and Audible.