Julia Reviews Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Title/Author: Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook

Publisher/Year Published: 2011 by Penguin

How I got this book: I bought it from Powells in Portland!

Why I read this book: Second book in the Iron Seas series

Rating: 4.5 stars

When I picked up this book, I was a bit hesitant to start reading it since I had read (and enjoyed) the first years ago. Would I enjoy the second as much as the first? Would I have forgotten too much to be able to get sucked into the world? Well, I should not have worried. Heart of Iron sucked me right back into the world and explained away all the things I had forgotten.

Heart of Steel is the second book in Meljean Brooks really popular Iron Seas series. It's a steampunk romance which is utterly ridiculous to try and explain out loud. Trust me I tried. I got a lot of, "Wait you are reading a book with a half naked warrior on the cover who is trying to go reclaim lost items from a war ravaged Europe for his bounty?" "Well Europe wasn't really ravaged by war as much decimated by it. It's now infested by zombies" It is truly the best. 

The plot is sort of amazing all spelled out. We have our hero, Archimedes Fox, who is on the run from some hit-men trying to earn enough adventuring and artifact reclaiming to pay off the price on his head. This had taken him in the last book across the path of Yasmeen, the pirate captain of the airship Lady Corsair, and well it didn't end well. Circumstances being what they are Yasmeen is off to find Archimedes' sister to tell him of his death when things start to get weird. And then who pops back up but Archimedes, alive and well, and looking for something of his that she has. Well things lead to other things (that I don't really want to get too much into) and they end up having to work together to achieve their goals and get their lives back on track. 

Oh man is this book fun. I love the leads! They play off each other so well! And neither of them loses the essence of what makes them good characters once they fall in love. That is so. rare. in a romance. Neither of them are apologetic for who they are and they just sort of learn to fit together. It's just a wonderful romance and a really fun adventure story involving zombies, mechanical steampunk fun, assassins, and all that jazz. 

The plot clips right along and I enjoyed every minute of it! This book is only loosely tied to the first so you can start here if you feel so inclined. You will miss one scene they reference but it's not too big of a thing. Honestly though this world is so fun, I would start with Iron Duke just because you get more time there. 

If you are new to steampunk and want something adventurous with a little bit of steamy romance, this is a great series to read, and book two did not disappoint! 

Julia Reviews Soulbound by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Soulbound by Kristen Callihan

Publisher/Year Published: February 2015 by Forever/Grand Central Publishing

How I got this book: I was provided an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Why I read this book: I absolutely adore The Darkest London series!

Rating: 4.5 stars

(warning, very minor spoilers for the earlier books in the series)

Summary:

When Adam's soul mate rejected him, there was more at stake than his heart. After seven hundred years of searching, his true match would have ended the curse that keeps his spirit in chains. But beautiful, stubborn Eliza May fled-and now Adam is doomed to an eternity of anguish, his only hope for salvation gone . . . 

No matter how devilishly irresistible Adam was, Eliza couldn't stand the thought of relinquishing her freedom forever. So she escaped. But she soon discovers she is being hunted-by someone far more dangerous. The only man who can help is the one man she vowed never to see again. Now Adam's kindness is an unexpected refuge, and Eliza finds that some vows are made to be broken . . .

If I had to choose one romance series out there now to declare my favorite this series would be it. Soulbound is the sixth book in The Darkest London series and it lives up to the expectations I have formed for this series. 

The thing with this series, unlike a lot of other paranormal romance series, is that each book is completely unique. I have yet to read in the six books the same storyline at all. Each character isn't just a slightly different writing of the same trope. It's wonderful and refreshing. 

Soulbound is the story of Adam and Eliza. We met them in the fifth book (I think... it actually may have even been the fourth), where Eliza is killed but her soul not ready to leave this world. Adam is summoned to turn her into a Ghost in the Machine (GIM), in which the just killed person declares themselves to serve Adam and in return he gives them a clockwork heart and life again, unaging and with some cool powers (like being able to leave their body and like flit around like ghosts).

Well, when Adam sees Eliza, he does not make her a GIM but chains him to her and disappears. In the fifth book she is freed but this is the book where their story takes off. Eliza is living with the Fae queen and struggling to figure out life in London. She is faced with some horrid prospects and what she was running from in Boston has followed and found her in London.

She stumbles on a captured Adam and comes up with an idea to run involving him. But how do they break him free without any of the powerful Fae knowing? Seriously the story is the secondary part in my opinion; the romance between the two takes the lead.

Adam has a lot to atone for from the previous books, but he needs to if he is ever going to have his curse lifted and find true love. Eliza has to learn to forgive for past transgressions and see Adam for who he really is. I loved how much the story focused on the two of them. And the ending is seriously not what I expected! 

I love these books. They are some of the best, most unique paranormal romances out there. I will say if you haven't read the other five, that book six isn't the best place to start. Can you read it as a stand alone? I guess... but I wouldn't recommend it. You would miss a lot of the background of the secondary storylines as well as the beginnings of the relationship between Adam and Eliza. But I would recommend this entire series. Callihan continually surprising me with engaging stories and character and is truly one of the best out there in paranormal romance today.

If you are looking for a great paranormal romance set in lovely Victorian London, this series is the best. Other reviews of the first five books in the series can be found at these links -  Firelight, Moonglow, Winterblaze, Shadowdance, and Evernight.

I thoroughly enjoyed Soulbound and can't wait to see what is next in The Darkest London. 

Julia Reviews The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

Title/Author: The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost
Publisher/Year Published: August 2014 by Harlequin 
How I got this book: I was provided with an ARC in return for an honest review
Why I read this book: I was in the mood for paranormal in October... I wonder why?
Rating: 3.5 stars

This book leaves me a bit torn which is why I think it's taken me a few weeks to start this review. On one hand it has a very interesting paranormal plot line that I haven't read anything similar too. On the other hand the characters aren't very well written. Adrian is as cliche as they come - smoldering demon thing who can melt the pants off women with one look. Ivy is the inexperienced woman who finds herself in a situation she was destined for and somehow gets good at mastering things instantly. Then there is their romance which was very instant attraction that moves into the "I can fix him our love will save the world" cliche mix. But the plot was really interesting! 

Let's back up and talk about that plot. Ivy is a college age woman who's parents just died in a car accident and only other living relative, her sister, has gone missing. She is in New York looking for her when she is sort of kidnapped/rescued by Adrian, a humanish hunk who was sent to take her to this angel guy to start down the path of her destiny and save her from the clutches of demons. She is from some special bloodline and the last of the line and only she can do... something. I don't even really think that was clear... it of course is a series. 

Adrian didn't know who she was initially and was all trying to get in her pants, but once he realized she is the last of that line things change. You see, he is the last of another line whose paths were destined to cross with the first line but in like a betrayer way. 

It's sort of convoluted, but it is introduced easily enough. Things get answered along the way as the plot clips along. It's very much angels vs demons, heaven vs hell sort of book that pulls a lot of stuff from Christianity's history and lore. I really enjoyed that part and the vivid imagery of the demon world. 

But the characters were not as gripping. They were along the ride for the story, but just seemed like plot points or cardboard cutout cliches. I keep using that word, but it very much fits. Think of your normal leading hero in a paranormal book. That's Adrian. Think of your normal heroine in a YA paranormal. That's Ivy. 

That's another thing that bothered me. I thought this was paranormal romance, but it is more like new adultish paranormal romance sort of. When I start a romance novel, I go into it knowing a few things are going to happen. 1) The main characters fall in love (check) 2) They get a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now (it's a HFN because I think these characters are going to run through the series) 3) They have the sexytimes. (no check) I was a little saddened when I got to the end and pants remained on. This is published by Harlequin, right? Well, I don't know if it will be a plot point later or something, but I was missing the romance part of this book. Not just the sex, but like the tension. It wasn't there for me in the subtext. She told me they were falling in love, but I sure as hell didn't see it.

So in summary, it wasn't horrid. I liked the creativity of the world where it was set. I liked the descriptions of some of the demon based characters. But I didn't like the lackluster leads and their lack of realistic chemistry. Apparently it is marketed as New Adult and not paranormal romance, so if you are looking to try a paranormal story with a dash of romance, I'd say give this a try. At least read the sample and see if it grips you. 

Daisy's Mini-Review of Hexed by Michelle Krys

Title/Author: Hexed (The Witch Hunter #1) by Michelle Krys
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte Press, June 10th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

So, to be honest, I kinda had to skim through the book again before writing this review, because it's been about 3 months since I read it and aside from knowing that I was kinda bored by it, I was drawing a bit of a blank. Which is not a good sign on itself.
Which is why this review will be short and maybe not really sweet, but oh well.

Basically, I really didn't connect to Indigo, she's shallow and kind of a pushover and just not my kind of girl at all. Also, she has this weird frenemy thing going on with her 'best friend' Bianca, who is most definitely not a nice girl. Indigo seemed more interested in climbing the social ladder and her date than anything and it was a bit annoying. And ugh, here boyfriend is a douche and the new love interest isn't much better, he's got this snobby doucheness going on that really rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, this is what he says to her:
“Just don’t do that anymore,” he says, gesturing to my tear-tracked face. “It’s terribly unattractive, and I do hate to be seen with unattractive girls. Bad for the reputation, you know?"

Just ugh.

It was pretty fast-paced and a lot seemed to happen, but for a book about witches, there's not a lot of witchcraft going on and I like my witchcraft in your face over the top there, but that's just a personal preference. The main problem I had with Hexed is that I wasn't invested in the story, I didn't really care about what happened to Indigo and the only character I liked was Paige, cause she seemed to be the only one who possessed a bit of common sense. I was hoping for it to get better, but I was just a bit bored and it didn't get past the 'meh' point for me.

My rating: 2 stars

Julia Reviews Evernight by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Evernight by Kristen Callihan
Publisher/Year Published: August 2014 by Forever
How I got this book: I was provided with a Netgalley book in return for an honest review
Why I read this book: I really love this series. 
Rating: 5 stars

The Darkest London series is one of my favorite series out there. It’s got everything: steampunk, romance, paranormal, an overarching plot, and characters that practically leap off the page and into my imagination. The latest book in this series, Evernight, is no exception.

Evernight picks up a year after the events of Shadowdance. Our lead characters, Holly Evernight and William Thorne, both had things happen to them in Shadowdance that effect their actions in the book greatly. So that said, I wouldn’t recommend jumping into this series with this book. And since I love this series so much and want people to read it without being spoiled, I am going to be vague about the particulars. So let's just take a peek at the characters.

First we have Holly, the intelligent inventor working with the supernatural agency in London. She creates some wickedly awesome inventions. We've seen her pop up in the series before, notably in the last book where she was forced to use her mechanical brain for evil. That whole ordeal has affected her and it carries over into this book in what I think is a realistic portal of how someone could react to traumatic events. She is very literal and speaks her mind without a second thought, a good a bad thing. She meets up with William Thorne when he tries to kill her.

Thorne is a demon known for their savoring of lust and life (and blood). He is the complete opposite of Holly: very devil-may-care, sarcastic and has worked for the enemy. They are stuck together because his heart is metal and causing an adverse reaction with the rest of his body. Holly can control metal and thus can help him keep things under control. She reluctantly pairs up with him so he can help figure out who is trying to kill her. It's a mutual trade that turns into something more.

They mix just as well as oil and water, and it is entirely believable and awesome. I love opposites attract stories. The plot is super interesting and expands on the story that is currently unfolding with this series. But like I said I don’t want to talk too much about that. Take it from me. If you are reading this series, the story just sucks you in and picks you up right where you left off with it.

One thing that I think Ms. Callihan does well is keeping her characters consistent. Frequently in series that I read, secondary characters become the heroes in their own stories. I've seen it happen so many times where a lovable secondary character that you are super excited is getting their own book, completely changes characterization when becoming the hero or heroine. It annoys the hell out of me. This series does not do this at all. Everything is consistent and I love it! The character's are still the ones you know and love (or hate) but you just get to see more of them and more of why they are the way they are. You don't backtrack on their characterization either. Things build. In my mind, this is what marks this as a great series. The characters just blossom in my mind.

One downside though is keeping track of the overall plot across books as well as of the supernaturals, their powers, who runs them, etc. It gets a little frustrating at times when I can’t remember something that I know I've read somewhere. It’d be nice if there was an online reference or something to just boost my memory.

Overall though, I really like this series, and Evernight is a wonderful continuation. It doesn't stand alone though so I would recommend starting at the beginning instead (or maybe at least reading Winterblaze and Shadowdance). The characters are wonderful, their chemistry is amazing and hot, and it’s a book that is easy to lose yourself in.

I've reviewed this whole series: Firelight, Moonglow, Winterblaze, and Shadowdance

Julia Reviews Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan
Publisher/Year Published: December 2013 by Forever
How I got this book: I bought the eBook when it was on sale a while ago
Why I read this book: This series is really fun and unique. Also Mary Chase and Jack Talent were awesome side characters in the last three books.
Rating: 4.5 stars

Here is the funny thing about series like this. The books come out so far apart that it is impossible for me to remember all of the details. So far, this hasn't been too much of a problem for me, but when I started reading this book, I knew I was forgetting some crucial facts. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Shadowdance is the fourth book in Callihan's Darkest London series. I actually have reviewed all three of the previous books Firelight, Moonglow and Winterblaze. This fourth book is the first that moves from the three main sisters on to some of the awesome secondary characters: Jack Talent, a boy turned man during the series who always had an air of mystery about him, and Mary Chase, and awesomely badass and strong woman who is a Ghost in the Machine or someone who has died but shortly their after blessed with life again with a golden mechanical heart. 

The first few books brought the supernatural elements in this steampunk series on slowly. There were always some, but we didn't get into the deep stuff until book three, Winterblaze. Those details were what I was forgetting when I started this. I was mixing this series up with Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series (also really good), and it was frustrating the hell out of me. 

You see, in the preface, I was wracking my brain trying to remember if I should know what was going on. Unfortunately I couldn't find a spoilery enough review of Winterblaze to kick-start my memory of what happened with Winston (I still can't remember to be honest). Eventually I just said screw it and kept reading. If I hadn't have been so impatient, I would have realized that Callihan did a good job of reminding the reader of details you needed to know when you needed to know them, but not to go into too much detail and recap the other books. 

The main plot deals with Jack and Mary, two people who have outward animosity but inward attraction, being forced to work together to solve a series of murders. They need to find the supernatural killer and bring him to justice. There is of course a twist to all this that happens pretty early on that makes the interactions have an interesting edge to them. 

Jack and Mary have some awesome heat and tension between the two of them, but once they finally admit their feelings it gets gooey lovey-dovey quickly. I have to admit that I missed the biting wit and sarcasm from when they were fighting all the time. Tey are still a cute couple and I am happy for them and all, it's just a personal preference to like the stories with passionate sparks flying between them.

In addition to the plot above we get the introduction of angel supernaturals, which is pretty cool. This world has all the supernaturals you can think of apparently. The rules are endless, which I guess is what frustrates me. It's hard keeping track of everything (especially when you are reading two similar series). Seriously. I need to start taking notes on what happens in books that I know are going to turn into long series. That is one great thing about Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series... she has like a character guide and important tidbits on her website, a godsend for forgetful me. I'd love that for this series!

You don't see too much of the characters from the other books, which I was fine with, but we get a great setup for the next couple that I am excited to read about. 

Overall I was entertained. The story was enough to hold my interest in the series. It may not be my favorite as the couple lost a little of the bite I loved toward the end. But the series is still one of my favorites and one that I would highly recommend to steampunk paranormal romance lovers.

Julia Reviews My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster

Title/Author: My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster

Publisher/Year Published:  Oct 2013 by Sourcebooks Casablanca 

How I got this book: The Library! Ebook form!

Why I read this book: This series is my favorite steampunk romance series of the moment!
Rating: 4.5 stars

I am a sucker for a hero/villain romance. I didn't realize it til this book, but something about it just turns my engines in the right way. My Lady Quicksilver is a great example of a opposites attract story. 

My Lady Qucksilver is the third book in McMaster's London Steampunk series. Taking place near after the events from book two, Sir Jasper Lynch, leader of the Nighthawks (a policeish type force of blue bloods.. erm vampire like men) is searching the slums of London for Mercury, the leader of the humanist rebellion. After the events of the last book forced the humanists into the ruling party, the Echelon (made up of aforementioned blue bloods), into action the pressure is on for Lynch to find him... or actually her.

Mercury is Rosalind, a die-hard humanist in charge of raising an army to fight for the rights of humans in a world run by vampires. But unfortunately, after the events of the last book again, her brother is missing so all of that must take a sideline. Even more unfortunately (fortunately?) she has Lynch on her tail.

The first scene where they meet is each other is quite hot and awesome. It leads to a sort of misunderstood enemy thing that goes on for the rest of the book. The book has a lot of plot threads going on but they overlap each other nicely. I loved being in with the Nighthawks! I was getting a little bored of the slums after the first three books were told. This book really gave the series a fresh breath.

The leads play off each other well. Jasper with his dark side that he is always trying to control plays well off of Rosa's go get it nature. For her, the normality of a life out of the shadows is something that draws her to Jasper as well as the eye opening realities of what happens when we judge people without knowing them.

One negative thing that I will say through me out of the story for a moment was a trope that I've seen used a hell of a lot: the magic hooha. Sleeping with the heroine cures all ills. I literally rolled my eyes at that. If that sort of thing is your off button, then be forewarned. It wouldn't have bothered me as much if it were explained a little more what happened instead of just the power of the vajayjay, but as it was I had to extrapolate for myself what happened so as to apply it to a later scene.

Still, this one is probably my favorite of the four books. It's just a gripping story, interesting and unique to the world leads, sexy sexytimes and only one or two eye rolling tropes. I love this steampunk world and I can't wait to read more in it. If you as a lover of steampunk have not read this series yet, yeah get on that. If you just want to read this one, I'd say it's doable but some of the terms may only be sparsely explained and there are other plot threads from the past book referenced. Nothing that would spoil the other two if you read them out of order though. But yeah, I heart this one.

Note: I trimmed this down from a full SCORE review that I did over on my Booklikes blog. If you want to read a lot more details on the leads and their romance, check it out there.

Julia Reviews Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

Title/Author: Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster
Publisher/Year Published: 2012 by Sourcebooks
How I got this book: I bought it for me Nook a while back when it was on sale
Why I read this book: I like Steampunk; I like romance. I like it more when they combine :)
Rating: 4.5 stars

Yay! A great read that I got for a great deal! 

Sorry I just had to get that out of the way.

I have a soft spot for Steampunk ever since I accidentally started reading it my senior year of college, so I was a bit predisposed to liking Kiss of Steel. But honestly, even if I was only a teensy bit interested in Steampunk, Kiss of Steel would have been a wow read.

Let's back up. Our heroine is Honoria, a displaced member of the middle class who had to go on the run with her two siblings into the slums of London after her father shows up dead. They live in a world where the Echelon rules. They are this worlds answer to the ton, or the elite upper class. This class also has a special nickname, blue bloods, for the blood rite select males take at 15 which turns them into not quite a vampire, but someone on it's way. 

Our hero, Blade, is a member of the lower class gutter who was taken by one of those blue bloods and "gifted" this rite. By rights he should have been killed as a rogue but lives as sort of like the king of the slums, protecting those whom ask for it as long as he gets something in return.

That is how he meets Honoria. He brings her into his home and is instantly taken with her. She offers to pay for his protection with speech lessons to make him sound more aristocratic and less cockney. But there is a vampire (a blue blood who has lost control and thus gone over the edge) on the loose and somehow keeps throwing Honoria and Blade together and intertwines them in a ton of unexpected ways.

Seriously what I just described is probably about the first chapter. This plot was gripping! The problem in the beginning though was trying to organically introduce us to this worlds and it's rules. She did an okay job, but I was scratching my head for a while. But once I got the hang of it, the story took over.

The characters I really enjoyed. Not only are the main couple three dimensional, they have intense chemistry between them. The heat level in this gets intense at times, though I am sure if that is not your cup of tea, skimming over them would be possible without missing major plots.

The secondary characters are also pretty amazing. I look forward to reading more about them in future novels.

The problem and why this book didn't rate 5 stars on Goodreads for me was the ending. It was rather abrupt and a bit too convenient. It almost entered a completely different story for a bit, but it was still engaging and it didn't dampen my overall enjoyment. I think toward the end the "power of love" started to change the essence of the characters a bit (especially in regards to Honoria). But like I said, it didn't dampen my enjoyment.

I would definitely recommend this to people who like Steampunk and/or paranormal romance. It's a great mix of both!

Julia Reviews Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher

Title/Author: Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher
Publisher/Year Published: 2012 by Tor Science FIction
How I got this book: I won it in a contest from Dear Author (and if I didn't win, the author offered to send me a free review copy)
Why I read this book: The concept that I read sounded interesting  It was brought to my attention because it was nominated for a Best First Book RITA award
Rating: 4 stars

Normally, this is where I would put the summary right? It's usually a nice way to start a review. But I don't like the summary that's on Goodreads because it spoils you for a fun little plot twist that takes place in the first chapter, and I think it would be more fun going in NOT knowing that plot twist so I am going to make my own summary up this time.

Summary by me:
Earth is a crumbling wasteland of extinction, destruction, diseases and sadness; science has been trying to find a way to fix that during which they discovered a new planet that they could use to host life and regenerate long lost species. The only problem is that once the first settlers started to colonize a dead loved one from their past appears in an alien form soon called 'ghosts' and can't leave very far from the human. The psychological ramifications of this lead to "fun" times... Elizabeth is a psychologist ready for a change in her life and signs up to take on this burden at a new job post on the planet. Secretly though she also wants to study the phenomenon of these ghosts to better understand why they are there and how they exists. When she gets there she finds herself stationed under Murphy and finds herself in the best position to study these ghost and to crack the code about them. This leads to a ton of shenanigans. 

Clearly that summary would never fly on the back of the book, but I like it. I get my own stamp of approval.

This book was a page turner. It kept me up well into the night to find out what happened next. It's a first person POV from Elizabeth which normally I don't really like but I didn't mind it here too much. Trying to figure out the rules of this new world along with Elizabeth was interesting. The first half of the book was nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately that amazing tapers off a bit and the science takes over a bit too much so that it falls into sketchy science territory, but it still kept pages turning.

The characterization was a little flat for me. Elizabeth was pretty good at everything and verges on a too perfect heroine for me, but I came across that only on retrospection not during the reading. Murphy, our hero, however starts off strong when we know little about him but slides into two-dimensional for me pretty quickly. Maybe that's due to the first person? The many secondary characters are interesting, but again a little one-sided. 

I can totally see why this was nominated for a best first book, and if you want to read some catch science fictionish romanceish space book with aliens, I recommend picking this up. I am not sure if it is the first in a series or not, but the ending does make it stand alone okay, though there are questions I really want to find out. I will most likely be checking out the subsequent books, whether in this series or not, by Ms. Fisher.

Julia Reviews Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan
Publisher/Year Published: February 26th 2013 by Forever Romance
How I got this book: NetGalley in exchange for a fair review
Why I read this book: The third book in a super refreshing paranormal steampunk romance.
Rating: 5 stars

Winterblaze in the third book in The Darkest London series, and I would say is the one takes us the most into the paranormal. Firelight (review) started by gradually introducing us to this mix of paranormal and steampunk Victorian London and introducing us to the Ellis sisters. Moonglow (review) ramped up the paranormal showing us werewolves and GIMs (Ghosts in the Machine… my favorite phrase ever). With Winterblaze we get introduced to even darker sides of this dark London.

Before I even continue, if you have not read the first two books, I don’t think Winterblaze is the place to start. For instance, the conflict that sets up the feelings for the main couple in this book happened in Moonglow. Callihan does a decent job of recapping without seeming to recap, but obviously reading the book would be the best reminder. Besides it is an excellent book.

Let’s look at Winterblaze. 

The Story
Winterblaze follows the eldest Ellis sister, Poppy. Poppy has been married to Winston Lane for the series thus far, but being attacked by a werewolf and realizing Poppy has been lying to him about her involvement in the supernatural world causes Winston to leave her, his trust shattered. 

The story jumps in right there and just starts off running. Poppy receives a postcard from an old nemesis threatening Winston’s life. So she runs to his side, which happens to be on a ship that I kept picturing as the Titanic for some reason. There we meet Mr. Jones, the demon threatening both Poppy and Winston. There is a revelation that I really don’t want to give away that happens rather soon on that forces Poppy and Winston to get over themselves and join together to solve a mystery.

The story focuses on that mystery as well as Poppy and Winston. Both have to heal from the betrayal of trust they felt. They need to try to learn to be a couple again, each knowing the complete truth. The mystery I thought was pretty good. I figured out one of the twists rather early, but was blindsided by a few others, as seems to be the pattern in Callihan’s books.

The Characters
Winston and Poppy were awesome characters. I think my favorite thing about them is that they did not change from what we already knew and had seen about them in previous books. One of my biggest pet peeves is when secondary characters I have come to adore get their own book and their personality or conflict completely changes from the way I had already built them in my mind. This book is the farthest from that.

Both of our leads are hurt and trying to heal themselves as well as their relationship, all while trying to deal with the mystery that needs to solved. They did not let me down, though sometimes I felt that we spent too much time in their heads, but I didn’t think that enough to have it really affect my enjoyment.

We get to see our past couples for a bit in this, but the main secondary characters are Mary the GIM and Jack Talent the shifter. They are quite a pair of characters and any time they interact you can just feel the sparks! Speaking of sparks…

The Romance
The romance was my favorite part of this. It is completely different than most romance novels because we are not seeing their beginning but somewhere in the middle of their relationship. There are a few flashbacks that show us how they met and all that, but the majority of time is spent with them here in the now and trying to overcome their trust issues. I love the interactions between Poppy and Win. It felt so realistic, like they were old friends going through a problem. I just want to reach in and give them both a big hug. 

The sex scenes were pretty awesome and fit well with how our characters were acting. And yay! Loved the sexual tension build up! It just makes the payoff so much better!

The Execution
As I mentioned, this book could not be a standalone nor would I recommend anyone to read it as one. It is written for the series and meant to be read that way. At first the beginning was really overwhelming. There wasn’t a lot of time to reacclimate me to the ways of this world. It had been a while since I read Moonglow, and my initial enjoyment was lessened because of it. 

I was jarred by the first flashback as well and thought initially that they would get really distracting, but I actually ended up thinking Callihan did an excellent job of fitting them into the story not only when they made sense but when they mirrored some sort of theme that was happening in the present. And I liked that near the end there is a call back to the flashbacks that was very smart. 

The Overview 
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and devoured in a few sittings. Callihan is one of my new favorite authors. A definite autobuy. Poppy and Win’s story was heartbreaking and romantic. The novel does not deal in the same time in a relationship that most romance novels do and I think this fact makes it all the stronger. The beginning was a bit confusing, but as soon as I found my footing I was immersed in the world. If you are even the least bit interested in paranormal steampunk, pick this series up. Callihan has created a super inventive world full of amazing new things to explore and discover. I can’t wait to see where she leads us next!

This book was provided for me free for an honest review from NetGalley.

Julia's Romance Roundup - Summer/Fall 2012

As you all are probably aware, I am an avid reader of romance. I usually get into a nice groove and read a ton in a row. Sometimes I feel like I inundate you guys with romance reviews, so occasionally I try to review a ton of them at a time in mini-paragraph format. This is one of those times.

What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long
Published: February 2011 by Avon
Series: Pennyroyal Green #5
Rating: 5 stars

I have to say, this series has been rather hit, miss, blah for me. Luckily this one was a hit. I highly enjoyed the main characters, and the secondary characters too actually. The plot was one that I have yet to have read in the 168 historical romance novels I have read since I started keeping track of such numbers. Alex, the hero, catches Ian, the heroine's brother, in bed with his fiance. He forces him to leave through the window, naked as a jay bird, and all of this happens in the prologue! Alex decides the best revenge would be to seduce his sister, Genevieve our heroine.

The book went nowhere I expected. It was an awesome surprise at every turn. I love the chemistry between the couple too. So steamy!

Do you need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one? No, not really, though they do make a lot of references to the other happy couples.

Moonglow by Kristen Callihan
Published: July 2012 by Forever
Series: Darkest London #2
Rating: 5 stars

The second book in her series, Moonglow definitely met any criticisms I had had with Firelight (review) and did one better. I loved the romance between our leads! It felt very believable. The plot was alright, but really the strong improvement was in the more developed secondary characters and more interesting world building, since this book is a paranormal historical romance.

Here we have the story of the sister of the heroine from Firelight, Daisy. Newly widowed from a horrible man, she is ready to "live it up." You may sat that she is even living it up too much when she is making out with a dude in an alley and a werewolf attacks. This unwittingly throws her under the protection of Ian. Both Ian and Daisy have secrets of their own but I love how they came together to not only overcome past pain, but to solve the mystery of the rogue werewolf.

This is in a series, and I would probably recommend for full understanding amazingness to start with the first book before this.


The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James
Published: August 2012 by Avon
Series: Fairy Tales #4
Rating: 4 stars

Oh, The Ugly Duchess. Why did you cause me so much angst? This book had a completely new plot for me that was executed well, but I couldn't help myself from wanting to die for the first third of the book. It just made my tummy hurt. I guess I should back up.

Theodora and James grew up together, so much so that they never saw each other as romantic interests. Until James has to marry her to save his father, and thus convince her that he actually loves her. And then while convincing her finds out he actually does. It sounds so convoluted when I tell it, but suffice it to say I was sick.

My biggest problem, despite needing stock in Tums, was for a romance novel it seemed like they spent so much time apart! I did like the pirates though. And it was well executed technically.

Eloisa James's Fairy Tale retellings are only connected by the fact that they are fairy tales, so you can read this stand alone of the moment moves you.

Julia Reviews Firelight by Kristen Callihan

Title/Author: Firelight by Kristen Callihan
Publisher/Year Published: January 2012 by Forever
How I got this book: The Book Soulmates RAK (from a while back). I had it sent to me in the mail :)
Why I read this book: The author wrote a promotional blog around around the release date. It was as interview of the hero, Archer. The interview was written so well and sounded so appealing that I knew I had to get my hands on it.
Rating: 4.5 stars
One sentence Review: It's Phantom of the Opera meets Beauty and the Beast with a dash of paranormal a pinch of suspense and a sequel that's already in my hands.

Summary via Goodreads

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

For the romance novels I read, I like to take each part of what makes a romance novel and analyze it. I do this because sometimes a trope or a story line that worked for me may really not work for someone else. Or I happen to be a person who highly enjoys a well technically written novel. Others read it for the story no matter how horrifying the grammar rules are broken. So I came up with the SCORE: Story, Characters, Overview, Romance and Execution. For the purposes of flow, I flip the O and the E. Hope you enjoy.

Story:
This book takes us to a fun time towards the end of Victorian England. Most of the plot takes place in between balls and manor homes and the occasional seedy side of London. Miranda is a lovely lady whose father is horrid with money. Consequently, she ends up married to the mysterious Lord Archer who walks around wearing a mask within a mask hiding something that the reader nor Miranda knows. But she has a secret of her own, the ability to control and make fire.

There is a mystery afoot, and people keep dying in gruesome ways. It seemingly all points back to Archer. Miranda and Archer independently (and sometimes together to both of their consternation) try to find out how to stop it and prove Archer is not responsible.

The story is really interesting and unique, taking well loved tropes (like the masked man) and combining them into something new. That said, sometimes the story building was a little clunky, info dumpy or just confusing. As the reader, I sometimes felt that I wasn't given enough clear information to understand the rules of this world. Despite all of this, what is there is extremely addictive and quite enjoyable.

Characters:
The two leads I really liked. I thought they stood on their own and interacted together rather well. Sometimes they were a bit frustrating in their stubbornness, but it was part of who they were. I think the main leads were super well rounded, but some of the secondaries (and the mysterious murder) could have had a little more life in them. I felt very little at the big reveal with the villain because I didn't know them enough I guess. Again, this isn't something that I felt was too detrimental because what was there interacted with the story really well. Which leads me to my favorite part.

Romance:
Holy hell, was the tension palpable!! One of my favorite things in romance novels is when the author lets the sexual tension between the leads build and build. It just makes the eventual coupling that much more enjoyable. Miranda and Archer worked well together, and I thought they were a great leading team. The sexy times were definitely used well to build the tension, but not overused. Very good romance!

Execution:
Going back to what I said in the story section, I think that the execution has room for improvement, but to be honest, for a debut novel, this was great. I've read so many new authors who just lose it in the details or retell a story that has been told so many times it holds no interest. This is not the case with Firelight. It was a well known story mixed in with some super unique elements. I think how things were revealed to the reader could have been improved to make things a little clearer, but in general, it was not detrimental to my enjoyment. (Note from the future: I am reading the second book, Moonglow, now and the world-building improved drastically!)

Overview:
Before I was even finished with the book, I was at B&N getting the sequel for a plane ride. If you like masked men tropes, damaged hero, “fiery” heroines and mild suspense, this is for you. It was a refreshing change for me and I would give it a big recommend.

As an added bonus, this eBook is on sale right now for $1.99 ( AZ | BN ). So if it sounds remotely interesting to you, give it a peek!