Review: Blood Games by Chloe Neill

Title:  Blood Games
Author:  Chloe Neill
Series:  Chicagoland Vampires, #10
Publisher:  NAL
Release Date:  August 5, 2014
Pages:  352
Rating:  

 

While Merit didn’t choose to become a vampire or Sentinel of Cadogan House, she vowed to fight for her House and its Master, and she’s managed to forge strong alliances with powerful supernaturals across Chicago. But even though Merit has had wild adventures, this may be her deadliest yet...

A killer is stalking Chicago, preying on humans and leaving his victims with magical souvenirs. The CPD hasn’t been able to track the assailant, and as the body count rises, the city is running out of options. Vampires and humans aren’t on great terms, but murder makes for strange bedfellows. Can Merit find the killer before she becomes a target?

 

We are on the tenth book of the Chicagoland Vampire Series and we still have three more to go. And I still have no idea where Chloe Neill is going with these books. BLOOD GAMES was definitely better than the previous book with a couple of twists.

Ethan has decided to challenge Darius and become the head of the GP in the previous book and in BLOOD GAMES things don't really go according to plan. We have multiple vampires challenging Darius for GP head so it has turned into a challenge, or as you could say 'blood games', for all of the challengers.

And to top it all off Ethan is hiding something from Merit! Ugh! Again, Ethan? Really? Ethan is hiding something in his past he is ashamed of and doesn't want Merit to know about it, because he fears he will not see him the say way and may leave him. And Merit is being a little pushy with wanting to know as his lover and his protector.

On the Ethan and Merit front I thought they were being a little too ridiculous with each other. I think Ethan should be able to tell Merit anything and Merit should be a little more considerate on Ethan's feelings on not telling her shit. So through most of the book they are both in this mood where Merit is mad at Ethan and Ethan isn't spilling shit. So it is a little tense between them.

I must point this out, or I will go insane. I do not like that Ethan calls Merit Sentinel anymore. I can understand if it's work and he calls her that, but when they are being lovey dovey and intimate? No! Call her by her name in those situations. He will be saying the most swoon worthy things and ruin it for me by calling her Senegal.

BLOOD GAMES was pretty good, but I am at this point where I am ready for this series to end. I love Chicagoland Vampire but I feel like it has been dragging with unnecessary plotlines for the last few books. The ending will leave you breathless and I am excited to see how these last three books will go.

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Review: Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews

Title:  Magic Breaks
Author:  Ilona Andrews
Series:  Kate Daniels, #7
Publisher:  Ace
Release Date:  July 29, 2014
Pages:  302
Rating:  

 

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

"Your sword is made out of your grandmother’s bones?” “Okay, I see how it sounds weird when you say it in that tone of voice…”

I was so very excited and nervous to read MAGIC BREAKS. Excited, because finally I get my hands on another Kate Daniels book and nervous, because I've heard very scary things. You must be warned that some spoilers will be included because it's just not possible to review this book then, except saying how awesome it was, but I want to say so much more!

In the previous book Hugh D'Ambery finally makes his appearance and in this book Hugh still has his sick obsession with Kate and will do anything, kill anybody to get his hands on her and present her to Roland. And of all times Curran is away on business. MAGIC BREAKS is a little different from the previous books, but I still devoured and loved it. We have some minor characters we get to know more. We get to know more or see the rat Alpha, Robert and he is tired of being in the dark about Kate.

A character new from the previous book, Desandra is in the pack now and wants to challenge Jennifer for the role of Alpha. I seriously didn't remember much about the last book with the new characters, so I barely remember her. But, HOT DAMN! I like Desandra. She brought more life into the book in some parts and I loved it. And I loved her showing up Jennifer, because Jennifer is a total bitch, wants everyone to feel sorry for her, because her husband died and she isn't doing her duty as the Wolf Clan Alpha. Desandra deserves the role. So, the back and forth between the fate of Wolf Clan was awesome! Happy with the outcome!

Curran’s eyes went gold. His voice dropped into a rough growl. “If you’re going to shoot, make sure to empty the clip, because after you’re done, I’ll shove that gun up your ass sideways.” Blue Jacket blinked. “Can you even do that?” I asked. “Let’s find out.” Curran stared at the thug. “Well? Shoot, so we can start this experiment.”

My big thing that drove me insane was that Curran was absent for more than half of the book. That didn't sit well with me because I am a Curran Fanatic. You basically see him in the first chapter and won't see him again until you get through half of the book. That probably needed to happen though for storyline development. I freaking love Hugh and I welcome more of his craziness. I love Andrew's characters to death, every one of them!

And finally! We finally meet Roland! I know he's suppose to be the bad guy, but I like him! We get introduced to him, but we don't really know his agenda, because he was introduced close to the end of the book. And all we know right now is that he wants to get to know his daughter. But who knows? I need to get to know more about his character. I just freaking want more of this awesome series!

I don't know what to say about Kate and Curran! Curran was absent, but from what we did get he's still madly in love with Kate and he makes a big sacrifice for Kate and it will be interesting to see what the fallout of that decision will be. By the time I finished this book, I was in happy happy joy joy mode, because I believe there is so much more to come and I'm excited for it!

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Review: Banishing the Dark by Jenn Bennett

Title:  Banishing the Dark
Author:  Jenn Bennett
Series:  Arcadia Bell, #4
Publisher:  Pocket Books
Release Date:  May 27, 2014
Pages:  384
Rating:  

 

Complicated does not begin to describe Arcadia Bell's life right now: unnatural magical power, another brush with death, and a murderous mother who's not only overbearing but determined to take permanent possession of Cady's body. Forced to delve deep into the mystery surrounding her own birth, Cady must uncover which evil spell her parents cast during her conception…and how to reverse it. Fast.

As she and her lover Lon embark on a dangerous journey through her magical past, Lon's teenage son Jupe sneaks off for his own investigation. Each family secret they uncover is darker than the last, and Cady, who has worn many identities—Moonchild, mage, fugitive—is about to add one more to the list.

I cannot believe this was the last book! What a short series! I think I just wanted Arcadia Bell to go on forever, because it was such an awesome series! BANISHING THE DARK is where we wrap everything up. A bombshell cliffhanger happened in the previous book, Binding the Shadows. Cady was locked up by Dare, killed Dare and was sent to the hospital. Oh, and the last thing she heard before she passed out was that she was pregnant with Lon's baby.

In BANISHING THE DARK, Cady is on a mission to get her mother out of her head and keeping her from finding out about the baby by any means possible. And completely stopping her altogether. She has quite the task for her and Lon and Jupe, (decided by Jupe himself) decide to help her anyway that they can. And the best part. Jupe has his own chapters. We get to dive right into the mind of Jupe Butler!

I'm not going to give anything away, because I want you to read it for yourself and find out. I enjoyed the Arcadia Bell series immensely. Jenn Bennett really made some fun and unqiue here and I enjoyed every minute of this series. I'm looking forward to more books by Jenn Bennett.

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Review: Wild Things by Chloe Neill

Title:  Wild Things
Author:  Chloe Neill
Series:  Chicagoland Vampires, #9
Publisher:  NAL
Release Date:  February 4, 2013
Pages:  368
Rating:  

 

Since Merit was turned into a vampire, and the protector of Chicago’s Cadogan House, it’s been a wild ride. She and Master vampire Ethan Sullivan have helped make Cadogan’s vampires the strongest in North America, and forged ties with paranormal folk of all breeds and creeds, living or dead…or both.

But now those alliances are about to be tested. A strange and twisted magic has ripped through the North American Central Pack, and Merit’s closest friends are caught in the crosshairs. Gabriel Keene, the Pack Apex, looks to Merit and Ethan for help. But who—or what—could possibly be powerful enough to out-magic a shifter?

Merit is about to go toe to toe, and cold steel to cold heart, to find out.

 

You may not be successful. You have powerful enemies. And even if you were--I've already lost you once. I don't wan't to loose you again." His expression softened.

I have to admit the beginning of WILD THINGS didn't go too well for me, I was bored quickly and was waiting for it to pick up like these Chicagoland Vampire books always do. It did pick up, but I went back and forth between boredom and excitement. A very weird pattern. And by the end of this book, it seemed more like one of those filler books that needed to happen to explain what is in store for the future for Cadogan, Ethan, and Merit.

At the end of the previous book, Detective Jacobs comes to warn Ethan that the mayor wants his arrest for the death of that GP member he killed in self-defense and hints that he should stay with the Breckenridges, because he doubts the mayor will be able to touch him. And while they are there the shifters are attacked by harpies and begins another mystery the Merit gang have to solve.

Like I stated in my previous review for Biting Bad, I thought the arrest was ridiculous and in WILD THINGS I feel the same way, I felt like this storyline with the arrest and the harpies attack was just a filler for the book and it was a boring filler. The arrest claim was ridiculous because vampire laws do not pertain to humans. They have no reason to arrest him for killing a vampire in self-defense. Sorry, but I just didn't get that or buy into that, made no sense.

"You're certain?" "That you'll be the only man on my mind?" Especially with the image of him standing there seared into my memory. "Yes. I'm quite certain. Positive, you could say." He smiled a little.

I felt like the real plot was getting to the mysterious prophecy that Gabriel had. Gabe said that he saw someone who had eyes that were Ethan's, but were not Ethan's eyes. We finally get some answers to that prophecy in this book. And Oh.my.god. I don't know how I feel about it, it's pretty cool, but I'd like to hear all the deets from Gabe personally. And there is a big set up for what is in store Ethan and the future of Cadogan. And double Oh. my. freaking. god. I will only tell you it has something to do with Ethan and the GP. You'll just have to read it to find out the what.

But I really felt like this book was basically needed to be written to get to the above secrets I cannot tell you about right now. Gabe's prophecy and Ethan and the GP. And I am more than excited to find out more about both of them. I need the next book, Blood Games now, because I feel like shit is really about to go down in Chicagoland Vampires!

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Review: Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Title:  Mark of the Demon
Author:  Diana Rowland
Series:  Kara Gillian, #1
Publisher:  Bantam
Release Date:  June 23, 2009
Pages:  370
Rating:  

 

Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill....

Why me? Why now? That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives—and souls—of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he’s back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore.

Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head...

I hear about the Kara Gillian Series a lot for the Urban Fantasy Readers and I just had to jump into it. I was too damn curious not to. And I am glad I did because MARK OF THE DEMON was absolutely amazing!

Kara is a normal girl, who is a detective and oh, also she is a demon summoner, which seems pretty cool, right? Well until she summons one of the powerful demons into existence. Kara accidentally summons the demon lord, Rhyzkahl. He is ruthless and dangerous and you do not want to piss him off.

Kara is pretty cool and loves her work and what she does. She's not very confident in the relationship department. She's totally into Ryan Kristoff who is working on the case of the 'Symbol Man' with her. And Ryan is totally cool I will be enjoying more of their relationship and seeing where that goes

Now, let's move on to Rhyzkahl. Sometimes in Urban Fantasy I want a change. I absolutely love that Rhyzkahl is ruthless and dangerous. The don't mess with me type. Rhyzkahl does have a fascination with Kara and I would like to learn more about that as the story continues, but I do like him in general. This is seriously one hot demon lord.

I loved MARK OF THE DEMON. I will definitely be continuing on with it and hopefully each book in the series will get better and better. I can't wait for more Kara and her summoning adventures!

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