Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, Book 4) by Faith Hunter

 

I've been looking forward to Raven Cursed since I finished Mercy Blade, and Faith Hunter did not disappoint.

There is a lot going on, and Jane is pulled in a zillion directions. It was a bit of a gamble, because it could easily have been too much, too frantic, too confusing. But it wasn't. Jane deals with the things thrown at her, mostly by choosing whatever her next step is going to be and then just blanking out everything else until she manages that task. 

I love that so much happens in and around the Asheville area. I've been to Hot Springs, to Paint Rock, to almost all of the places she talks about. I've driven the horrible scary road that Jane refused to do at night on a bike. Faith Hunter does a great job of bringing the landscape, the mountains, the forests, the rivers and streams... of bringing it all to life.

Here is the blurb:

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: skinwalker Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Is it a rogue-vampire, shapechanger, or witch? Or something else magical? Unless she wants to face a very angry master vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer.  It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

As for the writing elements:

• There are several plots, and they all get tied up by the end. Well, a few have some loose ends, but they are part of the ongoing plot arc and that's fine.
• Pacing was intriguing. There is a lot of action, but it's not frantic. And there is down time, though not a lot.
• Prose and dialogue were beautifully woven together.
• Character development continues to be an active part of the series. Jane is a work in progress, and there are a lot of secondary characters that we are also getting to know.
• World-building was consistent with previous books, and also added a lot of interesting bits about Jane's world. 

Raven cursed easily gets a 10 of 10 from me. The series will remain a 10 of 10.

• Book Rating: Raven Cursed: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (Jan 2011)
4. Raven Cursed (Jan 2012)
5. Death's Rival (Fall 2012)

Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 3) by Faith Hunter

 

Mercy Blade is the third book in the Jane Yellowrock series. I gave the first two books in this series a 10 of 10, but Ms. Hunter has outdone herself and I find myself wishing I could award an 11 of 10.  There are no spoilers here for the third book, but if you haven't read the first two books then you may want to just read the review for them (Skinwalker and Blood Cross), as there will be a few things here that will be spoilers for the first two books.

Mercy Blade starts off with Jane and Rick getting some downtime. It was nice to see the two of them relaxed and spending time together -- lounging around, comfortable in each others' personal space. Unfortunately, that only lasts a couple of pages. Unfortunately for them, anyway. For us it is fortunate, because the story quickly jumps into the action, and then the action just keeps going and going and going. The Energizer Bunny has nothing on the Jane/Beast duo. The action does slow down every once in a while - long enough to look through security footage, to take a shower with someone, and to take a few naps here and there.

There isn't an official blurb yet, so I made one up:

Jane Yellowrock, Rogue Vampire Hunter, is working for the vampires. That means delivering unwelcome messages to snarly supernaturals, and overseeing security for parties and balls, amongst other things. And it means she's got to work closely with Bruiser, which makes Jane uncomfortable and Beast very happy.

When the werewolves and werecats come out of the closet on international television Jane begins to learn that there is still a lot of Vampire and Supernatural history she hasn't learned. Unfortunately, not knowing what happened 100 years ago can mean the difference in understanding current events and being totally out of the loop. Jane doesn't deal well with being out of the loop, but between an absent boyfriend and pieces of history she doesn't understand -- she has to survive as best she can.

I made the attempt but could not successfully fit something short and to the point in there that points out that the vampires can smell that Jane is more than human, even though they don't know what she is. So the question that comes to mind is what a large werecat, like a were-leopard, for instance... how are they going to react to Jane? And for that matter, how will a werewolf react to her? And possibly more importantly in the short term -- will she be a better fighter than them? She can't shift on the fly like a regular shapeshifter, will that immediately put her at a disadvantage? Some of these questions are answered in the book, for others we'll have to wait for later books to get an in-depth answer.

As for the writing elements:

• There are multiple plots running through the book that mostly weave into a single plot by the end of the book. I enjoyed every plot, as well as every plot twist, and I marveled at the way everything came together in the end.
• I've already mentioned the action - there is nothing wrong with the pacing.
• Prose and dialogue are exceptionally well done. I love the way Ms. Hunter brings her world and characters alive in such vivid detail and with such wonderful descriptors. All five senses are brought into play, as well as ways she brings our own experience in - for instance, the way she brings something as simple as being in the woods at night alive and into play - reminding us of how it feels, how we've felt when in that situation, and not just of what it looks and smells and sounds like.
• Character development continues to be three dimensional and well done. Not just character development for Jane and Beast, but other characters as well.
• The attention to world-building is still there, with more details about Jane and Beast's world given to us as we learn about the were-animals and a few other critters we meet in Mercy Blade. I also appreciate the detail given to history, helping us to understand what brought this world to the current state of affairs.

I can easily give Mercy Blade and the Jane Yellowrock series a 10 of 10.

• Book Rating: Mercy Blade: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: Jane Yellowrock series: 10 of 10

We know that the next book in the series will be called Raven Cursed, and I can guess at what that might mean, but I'm sure that my imagination is no match for what will actually happen. 




1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (Jan 2011)
4. Raven Cursed (Jan 2012)

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Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2) by Faith Hunter

 

(No spoilers for Book Two here, but if you haven't read Book One yet then you may not want to read this review yet. Click here for the review of Skinwalker.)


Blood Cross, the second Jane Yellowrock book, was just as good as the first in this series, Skinwalker.

The characters are intense, the plot is even more intense, the worldbuilding is imaginative with a firm anchor in history and myth and metaphysics, and the heroine kicks ass with the perfect mix of caring for her friends and smarting off to those who aren't her friends. And swiftly neutralizing those who would cause harm to her or her friends.

Blood Cross picks up not long after the events of Skinwalker, continuing the story flawlessly. I would not recommend reading this series out of order.

I love that the few loose ends from book one were appropriately handled in book two. We know that Jane and Leo aren't getting along so well as the story opens, and I figured that would be a pretty big part of the story. It was. There was also the question of how Jane and Rick might interact now that Rick is not going to be undercover anymore. That little bit of fun got handled well, also.

If I had anything to complain about, it would be that at times I felt like I needed to take notes to remember which vamps were with which clans, which servants with which vampires, etc. Most of the time we're given enough reminders in the prose, but occasionally there weren't enough reminders. Most books and series keep a smaller cast of characters for that reason, but this book needs the large cast of characters in order to show the complexity of what is going on.  The Anita Blake books also have a huge cast of characters, but most of those characters were added slowly, over a dozen or more books. Having that many thrust at you in the first and second books? It had to be done in order to tell the story, and it's a good story. So I'm not going to call it bad, necessarily, just saying that if I was going to have a complaint, that would be it.

The Jane Yellowrock series has the possibility of being another world as complex and as well written as the worlds of Anita Blake, Rachel Morgan, and Sookie Stackhouse. Front and center are the personal relationships, the plots, the magic - and in the background are the vampire politics, the human politics, and the sights and smells that are different for a supernatural being.

Speaking of which, I love the descriptions of The Change, I love the way Beast thinks, and sees, and smells. A gifted author can bring sights and smells and even things like humidity to life... but to bring it to life in the way a supernatural might experience it? That requires a very gifted author.

I am easily giving Blood Cross a 10 of 10, and I'll give the series the same. I can't wait for the third book in this series, Mercy Blade.




 1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (Jan 2011)

Review: Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, Book 1) by Faith Hunter

 

I seem to be on a roll with new Urban Fantasy series. And Skinwalker, the first Jane Yellowrock book, is a home run. A seriously good book.

Great worldbuilding, a kick ass main character with a history that is, well, unique, to put it mildly. And a whole lot of really good secondary characters.

And the plot? It had enough twists and turns to make me dizzy at times. It's one of those books you're tempted to start over again from page one as you finish the last page.

There is humor, with several laugh out loud moments. The dialogue is well done, and the author is skilled at bringing the sights, sounds, and smells of the setting and the action to life for the reader. The pacing had a few problems, but it was mostly well done. As the first book in the series, Skinwalker requires a lot of explanations needed about Jane, her history, and the world she is living in. But the explanations are woven into the story in an engaging manner.

I don't want to give spoilers, so perhaps I'll just give the blurb at this point:

A year ago Jane nearly lost her life taking down an entire blood family of deadly rogue vampires that preyed on the helpless local populace of an Appalachian town. Now, after months of recuperation, she’s back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she’s hired by those she’s trained to kill—vampires…

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. Back from hiatus, she’s hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.

Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission—or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…

Skinwalker gets a 10 of 10 from me. I don't rate series after only one book, but I have high hopes for the second book in the series. I'm a bit disappointed that I'll have to wait until January for book three, though.

Book Rating: Skinwalker: 10 of 10

If you enjoy the Mercy Thompson series or the original (first half dozen or so) Anita Blake books, you'll enjoy Jane Yellowrock.






1. Skinwalker
2. Blood Cross
3. Mercy Blade (Jan 2011)