Killing Rocks (Bloodhound Files book 3) by DD Barant

 

Killing Rocks came out last year, and once I began reading it I realized I had already read it, but I couldn't remember what happened until I read it. So, I suppose it's a good thing I read it again. I have no idea why I didn't review it when I originally read it, either. It's a mystery.

The premise of this series is intriguing, but I worry that as we begin exploring alternate universes, realities happening on a different timeline, swords that can go back and forth in time, and multiple instances of the same person from different realities, that at some point the books will get too bogged down in complications.

Here's the blurb:

FBI profiler Jace Valchek's ticket home from the twisted parallel universe where she's been called to duty hinges on the capture of serial killer Aristotle Stoker--and an alliance with a sorcerer known as Asher. The problem: Asher has joined forces with some of the most dangerous creatures Jace has ever encountered. The solution: There is none, without Asher's help... Jace's goal seems simple enough--to get her man, like always. But just hours after she arrives in Vegas, she's abducted...and she isn't even sure who the real enemy is. Now Jace has to wonder if she's the predator or the prey in a very dangerous game that could change not only her fate, but the world's...Meanwhile, a serial killer is still on the loose. And time has already run out...

As for the writing elements:

• The plot is twisted and intriguing, though it's the characters that lead the story, I think.
• Pacing had some issues but was mostly fine.
• Prose and dialogue were fine. 
• Character development is gradually getting there, the problem is that so many people apparently don't appear to be as they are. Too many characters are too much of a mystery, so there is no way to know who to trust. And in this book, those we are sure she can trust, end up not being trustworthy.
• World-building continues to be detailed and imaginative and pure genius.

I'm going to give Killing Rocks a 9 of 10, though I started out thinking it should be an 8 of 10. In the end, the characters, the dialogue, the world building, the metaphysics, and the entertainment factor make it a 9.  I will keep the series at an 8 of 10 for now. I'm about to delve into the fourth book, so we'll see how the series rating looks when I've finished it.  Considering that the titles would have us believing that Jace will be turned into a Pire in book four, and then in book five she somehow becomes becomes human again, I have serious concerns that the author may be using the whole time travel thing as too much of a plotting mechanism, and that will most likely send my ratings downhill. I hope I'm wrong about what those titles are telling us.

• Book Rating: Killing Rocks: 9 of 10
• Series Rating:  8 of 10

1. Dying Bites
2. Death Blows
3. Killing Rocks
4. Better Off Undead
5. Back from the Undead


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Vision Impossible (Psychic Eye Mysteries, Book 9) by Victoria Laurie

 

Vision Impossible is a play on words, we're supposed to think of Mission Impossible... and the analogy is apt, in this case.

Here is the blurb:

Abby Cooper's next mission may truly be impossible...

Abby Cooper, the FBI's newest Civilian Profiler, is adding Spy to her resume. The military's digital photography software that captures one's aura- just like Abby can - sits in a drone aircraft that's been stolen. It's a major breach in security as every country's leader can be identified by their aura...

Abby springs into action to stop the criminals before they set their diabolical plan into motion, while making herself a prime target.

The plot was pretty good, though there were several things that were terribly implausible. Not saying the psychic stuff wasn't believable, I'm good with that... it was the procedures and CIA conversations and the way a few people reacted that just didn't ring true to me.

The continuing plot arcs were mostly okay, Abby and Dutch are still doing good together, their relationship still strong. Though honestly there was so much action in Vision Impossible that there wasn't much time for them to interact very much. Still, there were a few things that would have had less secure couples fighting, and both Abby and Dutch handled them like grown ups. That's a good thing.

The voice this time seemed a bit off to me. Nothing I can put my finger on, it's just that at times I was paying attention to the writing more than the story. In a few pieces it was repeated words, or the same exact sentence structure over and over and the cadence pulled me out. Once or twice it was the use of adverbs or adjectives in an odd way, something that made me stop and look at the writing instead of being immersed in the story.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was good with lots of twists and turns. I figured out one of the bad guys fairly early on, but then another plot twist came up out of nowhere and surprised me.
• Pacing had some issues. Too much action in places and then too much talking and debating in places.
• Prose and dialogue could have used some help. Not terrible, but as I said, the writing pulled me out of the story more than just a few times.
• Character development was fairly consistent for Abby and Dutch, and was acceptable for the new people we meet. Not great, but not terrible.

This series was raised to an 8 of 10 from a 7 of 10 at some point, and I'm going to keep it at an 8 of 10. I'll give Vision Impossible an 8 of 10 as well. It's an enjoyable story with a nice series of plots that keep you guessing right up to the reveal.

• Book Rating: Vision Impossible: 8 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

1. Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye
2. Better Read Than Dead
3. A Vision of Murder
4. Killer Insight
5. Crime Seen
6. Death Perception
7. Doom with a View (Sept 2009)
8. A Glimpse of Evil (July 2010)
9. Vision Impossible 

Hit List (Anita Blake, Book 20) by Laurell K. Hamilton

 

I liked it. Mostly. Sure, there were a few aggravations. There has to be a policeman of some sort in every book who is out to get her, some male in a position of authority over her who hates Anita just because she's a woman and she's killed more vampires than he has. It's well beyond old. And there were a few paragraphs all in a row where various men's hairstyles were discussed. It was just too much.

But mostly, it was a good book. Not great, but not bad, either.

Anita is away from home solving crimes with Edward. Olaf and Bernardo show up at some point, and the action is pretty good. I like that Anita fights some people by being a bad ass and some people by making friends with them. I like the camaraderie she has with Edward, and I enjoy watching them work together.

If LKH's books show us what she happens to be working through in her life at the time, then Hit List shows us that family is important to her right now, that she's discovered the value of family and friends and that day to day life is currently more of a focus than the sex and whatever power exchange they have going on in her apparently poly house. Not that the power exchange is gone, just that it's happening in the background now while life takes the reigns at the moment. Her vampires and werewolves are all about the power exchange, but when everything is working like it's supposed to then everyone has their place and no one has to remind anyone who is in control and who is not. I think the same can be said of a long term power exchange relationship, things ebb and flow and there are periods of time that no one has to do any reminding of who makes the decisions and who follows those decisions... it's just the way it is. It would feel odd speculating about her private life if she weren't as open about it as she is, but I've watched things since somewhere around Burnt Offerings or Blue Moon, and I've come to the conclusion that she writes relationships for Anita that mirror whatever is going on in her life at the time. She has to go away and figure things out on a spiritual level... so does Anita. She discovers BDSM in a big way and we start seeing storylines that explore power exchange, and how pleasure and pain are interlinked.

Here is the blurb for Hit List:

A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect “monsters” are involved, and have called in Anita Blake and Edward, US Marshals who really know their monsters, to catch the killer.

But some monsters are very real. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a thousand years; they are a secret so dark that even to speak their name can earn you a death sentence. Now they are here in America, hunting weretigers…and human police.

The Harlequin serve the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire. She was supposed to be dead, but only her body was destroyed. Now she needs a new one, and she’s decided that Anita Blake’s is the body she wants. Edward thinks the serial killings are a trap to lure Anita closer to the most dangerous vampire they’ve ever hunted. The vampires call Edward “Death,” and Anita the “Executioner,” but Mommy Darkest is coming to kill one and possess the other, and she doesn’t care how many others have to die along the way.

At twenty or so pages to go I was sure we were going to end on a cliffhanger. But I was wrong, the plot was wrapped up and we were given a few plot possibilities for future books. I was a bit disappointed in the resolution at first, but then there was a single line that just made it work for me. Without giving a spoiler, it's the idea that God made the darkness and the light, the darkness isn't bad while the light is good... both are creations of God and thus both are good. So yeah, while I'd have liked a little more oomph to the resolution, when I look at it metaphysically -- it was very nicely done.

I do have one question that kept nagging at the back of my mind: Publishers are insistent that underage sex not be allowed. Even the erotica book publishers won't allow even a hint of it. And yet we had Anita and Cynric, and we have it discussed back and forth a whole lot in Hit List. What made Berkley decide to allow it? It's not that I want the epublishers to do down that road, because I absolutely do not want to read about underage sex. I'm just wondering what made this exception okay in the book publishing world.

But back to Hit List: It was an enjoyable book, a nice change of pace, and I look forward to seeing Anita back in St Louis again for the next book.  I think time away from her men every once in a while is good for her, to help her settle back in her own skin for a little while. I'm also glad she isn't as ruled by the ardeur as she once was, though of course she does still have to keep an eye on all of her various appetites. Hit List lets us see Anita as mostly human for the majority of the book, and it was a nice change.

Anita has a lot of men in her life, and I like most of them and am glad that she's happy with all of them... but it is my hope that she'll go back to having her own life again now, having time every day away from them, in her own skin, without all of their dramas ruling her life. I want her to go home, but I don't want that to mean the whiny little dramas have to start back.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot with Mommy Darkness is getting old and personally I think LKH has hung onto her too long. She's a great villain, someone worthy of Anita and her men, so I understand why she keeps being brought back, but I'm beyond ready to move on. She isn't a constant source of annoyance in Hit List, so the plot was mostly a good one even though, as you can tell from the blurb... she's back.
• Pacing was well done.
• Prose and dialogue were excellent in places and royally sucked in places. I have no idea why that might be, but some of the writing was beautifully done and some of it felt forced.
• Character development was excellent.
• World-building continues to be nicely done, though I don't believe we get anything new as far as world building goes in Hit List, it was consistent with previous world building and that's enough for a series this developed. 

I'm going to give Hit List an 8 of 10, and I am moving the series to an 8 of 10 as well.

• Book Rating: Hit List: 8 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

1. Guilty Pleasures
2. The Laughing Corpse
3. Circus of the Damned
4. The Lunatic Cafe
5. Bloody Bones
6. The Killing Dance
7. Burnt Offerings
8. Blue Moon
9. Obsidian Butterfly
10. Narcissus in Chains
11. Cerulean Sins
12. Incubus Dreams
13. Micah
14. Danse Macabre
15. The Harlequin
16. Blood Noir (2008)
17. Skin Trade (2009)
18. Flirt (Feb 2010)
19. Bullet (June 2010)
20.  Hit List (June 2011)

 

Blackout (Cal Leandros, Book 6) by Rob Thurman

 

Blackout is the 6th book in the Cal Leandros series, and one that fixes a problem I wasn't sure the author was going to be able to fix.

Rob Thurman created a monster who happens to also be sort of human, but the monster bits have been winning out over the human bits, and I wasn't sure how Ms. Thurman was going to deal with that long term. I wasn't happy with where the series looked to be headed. Blackout goes a long ways towards reorienting things. It's not a "fix", but it certainly gives Cal some perspective. The blurb doesn't tell us much, but here it is:

I was alone, and I was lost. I didn’t know where I was; I didn’t know who I was. It doesn’t get more lost than that. Knowing what I knew and not knowing anything else at all, why would I want to be in the darkness where monsters hide?

Because killers hide there, too…
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Half-human Cal Leandros has always walked a bloody line between keeping his mortal soul free and clear (sort of) and unleashing the horror of his otherworldly heritage. The one thing that’s always saved him is the memory of his brother, Niko, his friends, and those he loves.

Until now.

Cal wakes up on a beach littered with the recently slaughtered remains of a variety of hideous creatures that were obviously looking for trouble. The fact that he was the one doing the slaughtering doesn’t bother him. The fact that he feels like a natural-born killer doesn’t either. What bothers him is that Cal doesn’t remember Cal anymore…
 
And he’s not sure he cares.

So we know Cal is going to have amnesia. I wasn't thrilled about that, to be honest. But it works. It's a good plot, and it goes a long ways towards fixing the direction the series had been going.

That's not to say there aren't any issues. Towards the end there are major pacing issues. Big time. When you can easily put a book down at 75% of the way through and go to sleep an hour earlier than you'd planned, the pacing is off.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was a good one, and was a nice change of pace for the series.
• Pacing had issues, as I've already mentioned.
• Prose was good, dialogue was fantastic.
• Character development took some interesting twists in Blackout, but that's okay. It was well done.
• World-building continues to be nicely done in this series.

The snark in this series is top notch, and Cal's amnesia didn't make him lose his general all around smart-assed-ness.

The series has been at an 8 of 10 in the past, and I'll be keeping it there. I'm going to give Blackout a 9 of 10. It was a good plot and a nice story but the pacing issues took away some of the enjoyment factor.

• Book Rating: Blackout: 9 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

The Books in the Cal Leandros series are:

1. Nightlife

2. Moonshine

3. Madhouse

4. Deathwish

5. Roadkill

6. Blackout

No Mercy (Dark-Hunters, Book 19) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

No Mercy is the nineteenth book in the Dark-Hunter series, and there are now three series that are placed in this world - Dark Hunters, Dream Hunters, and the Chronicles of Nick. Three I'm aware of, there could be more.

What I'm trying to say is that this is a complex world, and I think I've lost too many details from too many books. I have only read some of the Dream-Hunter stories, and I tried to read the first Chronicle of Nick book but I just couldn't handle it... too much teenage angst and attitude (I generally try to stay away from young adult for just that reason). But, I've read every
Dark-Hunter book, so it's not that I haven't read them, it's that I can't remember enough details from books I read years ago to tell me why this person has these powers, or why this couple is indebted to that person. I remember the gist of it, but not the specifics. And that was a problem for me when reading No Mercy.

I'm not really sure what to do about that - the options are to re-read the series (which I do not want to do), to give up and stop reading the series (don't really want to do that just yet, either), or to just keep plugging along and hope the author keeps giving enough hints in the prose to help us try to remember who these people are and why they are acting in the manner they are acting. For now I guess it's the third option.

As for the specifics of No Mercy -- we've met Dev before, he's one of the Bears at Sanctuary. If we've met Samia I don't remember it.  I liked both characters, and the various plots running along side the romance are all a continuation of the general overall story arcs that are happening. There is this huge tangled weave of love and hate and revenge and drama and... I have no idea how the author is ever going to straighten all of the tangles out.

The good parts - we get enough of Acheron to let us see how he's doing, and we get to see Aimee and Fang together some as well. We see a little of Savitar, and a little more of Thorn.

The bad parts... while it's not completely "same thing different book", it is just a little bit. How many ways can you have a Dark Hunter fall in love and take the risk of getting their soul back so they can be with their one true love? Ms. Kenyon has done a good job of keeping things fresh for the most part, but this is the 19th book in the series, after all.

Here is the blurb:

Live fast, fight hard and if you have to die then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there’s a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she’s ever faced before.



Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he’s seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power- one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date.



The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn’t unravel the universe as we know it.

I finished reading No Mercy about ten or fifteen minutes ago, so this one is fresh on my mind. I have no idea what the last paragraph means.... the most "cardinal of rules"? I don't recall them doing anything that could unravel the universe as we know it. I remember Sam finding out that something couldn't be undone without unraveling the Universe, but there was never any chance of either Sam or Dev doing it. The most cardinal rule they broke was in falling in love with each other, as Sam isn't supposed to do that since she's a Dark Hunter - but that won't unravel the universe. Does anyone else know what that sentence means?

As for the writing elements: the romance portion of the plot was okay, nothing spectacular. The continuing plots are still headed towards some sort of resolution but at this point if it takes another dozen books to get there I'm not sure I'll last that long. It's time to wrap some of the long term stuff up, I think. The pacing had some serious issues for me, the prose and dialogue were fine, and character development was sufficient.

I'm going to give No Mercy a 7 of 10, and I'll leave the series at an 8 of 10.

• Book Rating: No Mercy: 7 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

1. Fantasy Lover (Julian & Grace)
1.5 Dragonswan
2. Night Pleasures (Talon & Sunshine)
3. Night Embrace
4. Dance with the Devil (Zarek & Astrid)
5. Kiss of the Night (Wulf & Cassandra)
6. Night Play (Vane & Bride)
7. Seize the Night (Valerius & Tabitha)
8. Sins of the Night (Alexion & Danger)
9. Unleash the Night (Wren & Maggie)
10. Dark Side of the Moon (Ravyn & Susan)
11. The Dream-Hunter (Arik & Geary)
12. Upon the Midnight Clear (Aidan & Leta)
13. Devil May Cry (Sin & Kat)
14. Dream Chaser (Xypher & Simone)
15. Acheron (Ash & Tory)
16. One Silent Night (Stryker & Zephyra)
17. Dream Warrior (Jericho & Delphine)
18. Bad Moon Rising (Fang & Aimee)
19. No Mercy (Dev & Sam)
20. Redemption (Sundown and Abigail)

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