Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifacts, Book 2)
by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Lord of the Shadows is the second book in the Dark Artifices series.
To kinda set up the storylines, The Infernal Devices series is the beginning of the whole set of series, then in time, you move to The Mortal Instruments series, and finally the Dark Artifices series comes last, or at least at this point. So in reality, all the different series that Cassandra Clare has written all build off each other.
Lord of the Shadows takes up were Lady Midnight ended, and it does a wonderful job continuing the story. It was such a good story and we really got to know more about the people and moved everything forward!
This story was very much time and culturally appropriate. There is a movement in the Shadowhunter world against mixed alliances, and people marrying or dating and being in relationships with people that are not Shadowhunters, such as the Shadowhunter Alex and Wizard Magnus or other such relationships. There are people who are vocal against these mixed alliances and are talking about making changes in the hierarchy of the Shadowhunter world.
This was a good book, but as someone who has watched friends become victims of racial profiling and treated differently because of race, I have issues with that type of thing, and to read in happening in a book makes me mad, because there is nothing I can do about it. That racial treatment was difficult to read, and to get past, so that made parts of the book very hard for me to read, and I am not really sure that I will be able to read the next book because of the huge uprising in this book.
Book One: Lady Midnight Review Link
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Nailgun Messiah (Micah Reed, Book 1)
by Jim Heskett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for Readers Favorite
For most of his life Micah Reed has been a screw up, drinking his way through life, but the trouble he finds himself in this night has nothing to do with him, really, unfortunately the big bad drug dealer isn't willing to believe him. Micah is able to escape and finds himself needing to get out of town for awhile, and although visiting his sister is forbidden, that's exactly what he does, which turns out to be a good thing. His little sister has gotten herself into, what she thinks is a religious group, but is really just a front for other illegal activities. Micah knows he has to get his sister out, but she is not really inclined to trust him based on his past record of screwing up. Nailgun Messiah is complex and multilayered story of all the people living in the house and the complex relationships and controls extorted over them. Author Jim Heskett has developed so many levels that you don't know who is really a friend or a foe until the very end.
Nailgun Messiah is titled as the first book in the Micah Reed series, so it would seem that the author Jim Heskett is planning to follow the main character through a few more books, which could be exciting. This book was full of adventure and intrigue, trying to figure how who was on what side, who you could trust and who you couldn't. Even after all that, I still found a few questions that I never got fully answered, which is the mark of a good book, it leaves you still wondering about certain small parts and then there is the possibility that they show up again later in another book. This was a really good book, although there were themes of violence and mind control, in case any readers have issues with that. Definitely worth the read.
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Curse Breaker
by J. T. Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Grayson Steele is slowly drinking himself into an early grave, followed all his life by what he believes to be a curse, everyone he loves dies three days after they are intimate with him. His best friend and business partner Cooper, doesn't believe in the curse and is always trying to pull Gray back into the real world, but it usually backfires. This time Gillian Fletcher finds Gray, she knows his story and she wants to help, in fact she devises a plan to prove to Gray that someone he knows is killing people just to drive him insane and that there is in fact no curse. Gray doesn't believe her, but it willing to give her a chance to prove her point.
When it's all said and done and Gillian's secrets are revealed, are they going to be too much for Grey to handle? Will he be able to come to terms with her and the future that she can offer him or is he going to sink back into a shell of a life, not with a curse hanging over his head this time but knowing that he can't have the the woman he has fallen in love with, truly in love with, this time.
This is a romance book, with a bit of a suspense and mystery, then there is the person who hates Grey enough to kill people he loves to make him think he is cursed. Which is almost one story all on it's own, then there is Gillian whis is another story altogether. She has her own secrets as to why she knows he needs her, how she can help and how she has helped others before.
Definitely a book worth reading!
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Witchy Woman (Book 2, The Necromancer): Psychic Suspense
by Pamela M. Richter
My rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
This is the second book in a series, and to be honest I did not read the first book, but it did not hamper me from being able to enjoy and understand this book. Most of the highlights of the first book, or the things that I really needed to know to understand this book were retold in memories or nightmares, or some other form that allowed you to know what had happened yet it still fit into the book wonderfully.
Michelle, may or maybe not be a bit of a witch, and that has nothing to do with here personality. She's still not sure she believes it, but Omar believed it enough to have her attacked, raped, kidnapped and almost killed twice now. Thankfully he is in jail, well at least his was until this morning. Michelle can't believe he got released on bail already, but she also doesn't think he is stupid enough to do anything to her while he is being watched. Of course, Michelle has no idea how desperate Omar really is.
Her first day back to work is hectic, and she has plans with her best friend Heather to go to the grocery, since both of them are out of food. She calls to let her know she is running late, then calls when she is heading to the parking garage, but when Michelle isn't home an hour later, Heather knows something is wrong. Good thing for Michelle, Heather is on top of everything, and bad for Omar.
Within hours, Omar has kidnapped Michelle and moved her car back to her apartment, left a message at work that she is sick and thinks that no one will be looking for her and that he has a couple days if not a week before anyone notices that she really is gone. He has a wicked plan and unfortunately it involves drugging Michelle to get her to cooperate or at least not resist.
Back in Hawaii, within those same hours, Michelle has alerted her new boyfriend Mike, Michelle's boyfriend Rod, who has dealt with Omar before, and Professor Vincent MIddleton, who was involved the first time around, and they are already searching for Michelle. They may be about twelve hours behind Omar, but they are determined not to let him win, they all want Michelle back now.
This was a good book. It is well written and the characters are well developed. Omar is someone that you will hate immediately, he has no redeeming qualities, he is just pure evil and it comes across in everything he does to try to force Michelle to come to him. Michelle is strong and a fighter, and she has learned to stand up for herself and she is not about to let some slimey guy take control of her life. She has amazing friends that will do anything for her and that is what is probably the best part of the story.
One note - anyone who has dealt with fertility issues might find a trigger in this book. You might do fine reading it or it might bring on memories and thoughts, depending on your personal experiences. I know how touchy the subject can be so I wanted to give a warning.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received an ARC of this book. This is my honest and truthful review.
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The Black
by Neil Mosspark
My rating: 4.1 of 5 stars
Without warning one morning ten years ago, a black dome appeared over what was then Toronto. No one knew were it came from or why, but thousands of people died, and a huge area around it was off limits. Governments began working together, sorta, to try to figure out what it was and what to do about it, and that lead to Dave's current job. He trainers miners to try to tunnel far enough under the edge of the black dome to see if they can get inside.
Nothing ever goes as planned, and when they finally start getting a tunnel far enough in, strange things start happening that threaten to derail the whole project. A last ditch effort with Dave leading the charge and his best friend, Tony, who has been in the higher ups of this project all along, with him, leads to something completely unexpected!
This is a science fiction novel, and tells an engaging story that has you reading from page one. You want to understand where this black dome came from and what it is doing and you are completely interested in what is going on, and then everything gets completely flipped on its head!
I can't, and won't say why it gets flipped because that would ruin it for future readers, but just know that things are not as they seem, and once Dave has the chance to get inside the Black, all bets are off!
I really enjoyed this book and read it quickly because I couldn't put it down.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received and ARC copy of this book. This is my honest and truthful review, it was not influenced in any way by receiving a copy of the book.
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The Rebel
by Alice Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sean is an amazing motorcycle mechanic, barely making a living, but doing the best he can on his own, and for the most part feeling pretty good about himself. He's got some demons from his past, some owning to his family and some to his brief time in a motorcycle club.
Paisley is Sean's eight year old daughter, and on that he hasn't had contact with since his ex-wife took her away. Of course Sean hasn't always felt he deserved to be in Paisley's life given his entanglement with the motorcycle club, but he is determined to give his daughter everything he can from a distance. That is until the day that his ex-wife is killed in a car accident and he becomes a single parent overnight.
Enter Taylor, a marketing exec in his father's company, that has no idea his history, knows nothing about him, but knows that Sean is what the company needs to turn around its recent major downturn, and she is just determined enough to know that she may have to fight father, son and brother to get it, but she is sure this is the best thing.
This was a well written book and the characters had depth and development and I think it is a good book to read. For me personally, I had trouble with the way Sean seemed to hold onto his mistakes like a badge and push people away and think that no one would ever give him a decent chance at a real life or think that he could change. I just wanted to smack him a few times in the book and knock the chip off his shoulders. That is the only reason I lowered the stars on the book. Another reader may not have those kinds of issues with the characters.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received an ARC copy of this book and asked if I would be willing to honestly review the book. I am always honest in my reviews, and while I think this was a good book, it wasn't one that I personally would be into reading because of my issues with the personalities.
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Taliesin - Choice/Destiny by Suzanne Redfearn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For Tally, living around and being one with horses is just part of her life in the last few years, since her mothers death. When she endures an attempted attack by a drunken son of a horse owner, which ends with the horse defending her and injuring her father in the process, everything in her world is turned upside down.
Tally is asked to return to her hometown and live with her aunt, her mother's twin sister while her father is in the hospital, and when she starts heading back to the town, Tally experiences a huge since of deja vue. As she tries to settle in and be there for her father, Tally must come to terms with her own memories, the reality of what really happened, and what is really going on in the town for her birth.
Throw in two teenage guys, Cord and Walter, and things just get even more complicated.
This was a good book, well written and well developed. I found myself getting caught up in the story and wanting to know more about the characters and what is happening. This is titled to be the first book in a series, so that leads me to have great expectations for the next book.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received an ARC copy of the book in return for my honest review. I always give my honest opinion, and while I like this book and think it is a good book, it is really clean reading and good for all age readers.
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