Review: Starsight - Brandon Sanderson

All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she's a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing. The rumours of his cowardice are true - he deserted his flight during battle against the Krell. Worse, though, he turned against his team and attacked them.

Spensa is sure there's more to the story. And she's sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars - and it was terrifying. What she learned turned her world upside down. Everything Spensa's been taught is a lie.

But Spensa also learned a few things about herself - and she'll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.

Cytonic Series:
Defending Elysium (Free short story)
Skyward
Starsight

Visit the Brandon Sanderson's website for more information

Review:
Starsight is the second book in Brandon Sanderson's Cytonic series and a brilliant follow up to the first book. It took everything I loved in Skyward but then ramped it up a gear and took us in a totally unexpected direction with Spensa taking on an additional role as spy as well as fighter pilot. It's hard because there is so much I want to talk about but I don't want to give even a hint of a spoiler and ruin the story for anyone so I'm deliberately going to keep this review as vague as possible but trust me, if you enjoyed Skyward you're going to love Starsight!

Spensa is such a fun character to spend time with, she's fierce and sometimes a little over-confident but events in this book push her beyond her wildest nightmares. She is so far out of her comfort zone and doesn't have the rest of her flight squad on hand to back her up so she's forced to make some new allies. I'll admit I missed a few of the old faces but M-Bot and Doomslug were on fine form and I loved some of the new characters she meets along the way too (watch out for the Kitsun who happen to be my favourites).

So much is revealed in this instalment about the Krell, about human history and about the entire universe that Spensa lives in. We find out more about her abilities which she ends up testing to the limits, and we spend time with some of the other alien species too. New allies, shock betrayals and so much action really made Starsight impossible to put down. This series is going from strength to strength and I can't wait to get my hands on the next instalment. Please don't make us wait too long Brandon Sanderson, I'm willing to beg or send bribes!

Source: Received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Kindle:

Review: Defending Elysium - Brandon Sanderson

This story originally appeared in the October/November 2008 Asimov’s Science Fiction (in the US) and the UPC Science Fiction collection (in Europe).

"An image came to him. An image of humankind escaping into space. An image of human merchants trading and cheating, of human tyrants capturing the Varvax, Tenasi, and Hommar. Images of wars, of fighting, of a paradise destroyed."

Oddly enough, the ones who made first contact were an outdated, nearly bankrupt phone company. Second contact was made by the United Governments Military when they accidentally shot down a Tenasi ambassadorial vessel. The Phone Company negotiated Earth out of danger following the Tenasi incident. The Phone Company had brought FTL communication to humankind.

And Phone Company operative Jason Write has sworn to keep the galaxy safe from the barbaric humans who would ruin the Elysium that the galactic races currently enjoy.

Cytonic Series:
Defending Elysium (Free short story)
Skyward
Starsight

Visit the Brandon Sanderson's website for more information

Review:
This short story is set in the same universe as the Skyward series and can be read for free on Brandon Sanderson's website here or you can even listen to it via the StarShipSofa podcast (episode 339) here.

Although this story is set decades or centuries before the start of Skyward I would recommend reading it after that novel as it does contain answers to questions that are only raised in that book. I don't want to go into too much detail because it's far too easy to accidentally spoil a 40 page short story but I will say it gives more information about humanity's first interaction with alien species and it definitely explains certain things that we find out towards the end of Skyward.

Having really enjoyed this short I'm now even more excited to start the second book in the series, Starsight, I can't wait to see what happens next for Spensa and her friends.

Source: Read for free on Brandon Sanderson's website

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: Imperfect Match - Corinne Michaels & Melanie Harlow

From NYT Bestseller Corinne Michaels & USA Today Bestseller Melanie Harlow, comes a sexy friends to lovers standalone romance.

Rule number one for a professional matchmaker?
Don’t fall in love with your client.

I screwed that up when I fell for my best friend, Reid Fortino. He’s gorgeous, successful, and sexy as hell. I figured it would be easy to find him a match—and save the family business at the same time.

But the more time I spend attempting to find the perfect girl, the more I realize how much I want him for my own. What’s the harm if we give in for just one night?

I should have known that would never be enough.

Now I’m on the verge of losing my job and my heart.

We were an imperfect match from the start, but I don’t know how to let him go.

Imperfect Match Series:
Imperfect Match
Baby it's Cold Outside (novella in the Christmas in the City anthology)

Visit Corinne Michaels' website or Melanie Harlow's website for more information

Review:
Willow and Reid have been best friends for years, they spend pretty much all of their time together outside of work. They eat together, go out together, chill at home watching TV together, but there is absolutely no romance involved - they're just friends. Honest! Willow works for her mother's matchmaking business but so far she's not been very good at picking matches so in order to prove herself she decides she's going to find Reid his perfect girlfriend.

Reid isn't too sure he actually wants a girlfriend but he agrees to go along with Willow's plan just to stop her nagging him. Then something strange starts to happen between them when she starts sending him on dates. Suddenly Willow finds herself jealous that he's spending time with other women. And Reid realises that none of the women she's setting him up with have anything on Willow. The last thing a matchmaker should do is fall in love with her own client, but would it be so bad if he's starting to fall in love with her too?

After really enjoying Corinne Michaels & Melanie Harlow's novella in the Christmas in the City anthology (which is currently free to download from amazon so if you haven't already got your copy grab it now!) I was really looking forward to reading Imperfect Match. This was a really fun and light hearted contemporary romance that definitely left me with a smile on my face.

I really enjoyed the friendship between Willow and Reid, friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes because I love the fact that the couple know each other inside out before they even start dating. They know all of each other's good points but also don't mind their bad habits either. This kind of story can be so much more satisfying because there is a real sense of history between them and it doesn't feel like insta-love even when the relationship goes from friendship to something serious really quickly.

Willow and Reid were both realistic characters, they had flaws and hang ups from previous relationships that made them both wary about diving into something serious. They also both wanted different things from life so although they're perfect for each other in a lot of ways and have fantastic chemistry to boot there were a lot of things going against them too so they needed to do a lot of soul searching before committing to a full term relationship. It was fun spending time with them both, the banter kept me smiling and I was rooting for them to figure things out. This was my first full length novel written by these two authors but it definitely won't be the last and I'm looking forward to checking out more of their books in the future.

Source: Received as part of a free ebook promotion from the authors

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in this fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life—she has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It's a great life and she doesn't wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach.

Visit Sarah Gailey's website for more information



Review:
I've heard such fantastic things about Sarah Gailey's American Hippo that I jumped at the chance to read their latest novel Magic for Liars. This is the story of PI Ivy Gamble who is hired to investigate a murder at an exclusive school for magic users. One slight problem is that her estranged sister twin Tabitha is one of the teachers there. Ivy and Tabitha haven't been on speaking terms for years ever since it was discovered that Tabitha had magic and she was whisked away to a special school leaving un-magical Ivy home on her own. There's a lot of jealousy and resentment built up between them with them both blaming each other for their rift.

While it's going to be hard working a job and having to deal with her sister Ivy needs the money and she's also desperately curious about the school and magic in general so she accepts the job but it isn't going to be easy when she has to try and keep her identity, and her lack of magic, a secret.

I had such high hopes for this story so it pains me to say this but I ended up finding it a little on the boring side. For a story set in a school for magic users there is surprisingly little magic and more of the focus of the story is on Ivy and her resentment towards her sister. Ivy is a borderline alcoholic who spends most of her time feeling sorry for herself and complaining about her life which made it very difficult to enjoy spending time with her. The magic we did see was really well done and I was kept on hook by the mystery surrounding the murder but some clues were so obvious I couldn't understand why none of the teachers suspected anything until Ivy came along. I did enjoy some of the side characters and I still really want to try reading American Hippo but if this turns into a series I think it's very unlikely that I'd be interested in reading any more of Ivy's adventures.

Source: Received from Tor Books in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback (preorder) / Kindle:

Review: Thankless in Death - J.D. Robb

He looked at his hands, covered with her blood, at the wild spatters of it on the walls. An artist, he mused. Maybe he should be an artist.

Murder doesn't stop for Thanksgiving.

As NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke prepare for family and friends to descend, an ungrateful son, Jerald Reinhold, decides to shut up his nagging parents - for good.

Soon Jerald is working his way through anyone who has ever thwarted him in his path to an easy life. While a frustrated Eve struggles to consider all the potential victims, Jerald stays one terrifying step ahead.

As the holiday begins, Eve is desperately focussed on identifying which victim will be next on Jerald's list . . .

In Death Series:
Naked in Death
Glory in Death
Immortal in Death
Rapture in Death
Ceremony in Death
Vengeance in Death
Holiday in Death
Midnight in Death (Novella)
Conspiracy in Death
Loyalty in Death
Witness in Death
Judgement in Death
Betrayal in Death
Interlude in Death (Novella)
Seduction in Death
Reunion in Death
Purity in Death
Portrait in Death
Imitation in Death
Big Jack (Available in the Remember When Anthology or separately)
Divided in Death
Visions in Death
Survivor in Death
Origin in Death
Memory in Death
Haunted in Death (Novella)
Born in Death
Innocent in Death
Creation in Death
Eternity in Death (Novella)
Strangers in Death
Salvation in Death
Ritual in Death (Novella)
Promises in Death
Kindred in Death
Missing in Death (Novella)
Fantasy in Death
Indulgence in Death
Possession in Death (Novella)
Treachery in Death
New York to Dallas
Chaos in Death (Novella)
Celebrity in Death
Delusion in Death
Calculated in Death
Thankless in Death
Taken in Death (Novella available in the Mirror, Mirror anthology or separately)
Concealed in Death
Festive in Death
Obsession in Death
Devoted in Death
Wonderment in Death (Novella)
Brotherhood in Death
Apprentice in Death
Echoes in Death
Secrets in Death
Dark in Death
Leverage in Death
Connections in Death
Vendetta in Death
Golden in Death

Visit J.D. Robb's website for more information.

Review:
It isn't often that Eve Dallas knows almost instantly who her murderer is but this one has done very little to hide his tracks. Jerald Reinhold brutally murdered both of his parents, stole their money and is now hiding from the police. At the same time he is working through a very long list of people who have ever wronged him, from the teacher who didn't give him a passing grade because he failed to put the work in, through to the girlfriend who dumped him after she caught him stealing from her, Jerald has a list and everyone on it needs to die. Eve knows who the killer is but he's already changed his appearance and got hold of a fake identity so finding him isn't going to be quite as straightforward as it should be but she needs to work fast before he can kill anyone else.

I love the way each of Eve's cases are so different, sometimes the reader knows who the killer is before Eve does, sometimes it's a surprise right until the big reveal and other times we all know from the beginning just who the bad guy is and we're just waiting for Eve and her team to bring him down. If I have one complaint about this instalment to the series it was that I really didn't enjoy spending so much time in the killer's head. We usually see the results of the murders but it's not so often that we have to suffer through the torture and death alongside the victims and that made for quite difficult reading.

I know we're not supposed to like any murderer but I really couldn't stand Jerald, he's such a whiny little man-baby who refuses to take responsibility for a single thing that has happened in his life. He fails at school and it's obviously because the teacher hated him, his girlfriend dumps him and she's a bitch, it's got nothing to do with the fact he stole all her money and punched her after she confronted him about it. There really was nothing redeemable about his character which made it all the sweeter when Eve and the others FINALLY brought him down. I was definitely cheering at the thought of him in an off-planet prison for the rest of his miserable life.

Skipping all the scenes from the killer's point of view this was just as fantastic as any other instalment of the series. We have all the humour and team banter that I've come to love, Roarke's family is in town for Thanksgiving and they're always a hoot and we even had a medal ceremony that was both really funny and very touching. Eve and Roarke continue to be my favourite power couple and I'm getting nervous that I'm going to run out of books soon.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: Wicked Hour - Chloe Neill

The second pulse-pounding novel in the bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series sees vampire Elisa Sullivan get drawn into the shifting sands of Pack politics.

As the only vampire child in existence, Elisa Sullivan grew up with a heavy legacy. Alongside shifter Connor Keene - the only son of Pack Apex Gabriel Keene - she faced down a supernatural evil that threatened to destroy Chicago forever.

After the dust has settled, Elisa is surprised when Connor invites her to a Pack event in the north woods of Minnesota, and by the warm welcome she receives from some of Connor's family, even though she's a vampire.

But the peace doesn't last. The shifters tell tales of a monster in the woods, and when the celebration is marred by death, Elisa and Connor find themselves in the middle of a struggle for control that forces Elisa to face her true self - fangs and all.

Chicagoland Vampires Series:
Some Girls Bite
Friday Night Bites
Twice Bitten
Hard Bitten
Drink Deep
Biting Cold
House Rules
Biting Bad
High Stakes (Novella in the Kicking It anthology)
Howling for You (Novella)
Wild Things
Blood Games
Lucky Break (Novella)
Dark Debt
Midnight Marked
Phantom Kiss (Novella)
Blade Bound
Slaying It (Novella)

Heirs of Chicagoland Series:
(Spin off set approximately 20 years on from the end of the Chicagoland Vampires series)
Wild Hunger
Wicked Hour

Visit Chloe Neill's website for more information

Review:
Wicked Hour is the second book in Chloe Neill's Heirs of Chicagoland series which focuses on Merit and Ethan's daughter Elisa. As the only born vampire in existence there is a lot that Elisa doesn't know about herself and her abilities and she has nobody else to ask either so she's forging her own path. Her biggest struggle is controlling the darkness inside and it's a battle she's been fighting alone because she doesn't want to worry her parents.

The only person who knows the full extent of her trouble is Connor, her childhood frenemy and the future Pack Apex. Her relationship with Connor has changed a lot in recent months so she is surprised but pleased when he invites her to accompany him to a secret pack ceremony in Minnesota. It's a perfect opportunity for them to spend time together and decide what kind of future they might have but Elisa knows that members of the pack are unlikely to be pleased with the appearance of a vampire at a sacred werewolf ritual.

I'm always impressed with how easy Chloe Neill makes it for readers to step back into this world, I've loved the original series for such a long time now and it looks like I'm going to enjoy the spin off just as much. Elisa is a great character, she's had a pretty privileged upbringing as the pampered princess of Cadogan House but she's worked hard to gain her own independence and spent years living away from her parents. She's worked hard to train as a warrior just like her mother did but she has no plans on working for her parents as she'd rather make her own way. I find the idea of her inner monster really interesting and I'm enjoying watching her fight for control as she tries to figure out how to stop the darkness from taking over.

I really love the banter between Elisa and Connor, they've known each other for their entire lives and spent most of their childhood teasing and fighting each other. They have no secrets and often bicker like the children they once were but at the same time they're building a strong friendship now where they always have each other's backs. The slowly building romance between them has been spot on so far and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the pair of them.

This story was interesting because we got to spend more time outside of Chicago and learn more about life in a werewolf pack. The Minnesota wolves live a fairly simple life but there are definitely different factions building as the older and younger members have very different ideas about how they want the Pack's future to look. Add in the mystery of a killer monster on the loose and things get very interesting for Elisa and Connor.

This series has definitely been added to my auto-buy list and I'm already looking forward to reading more about these characters in the future.

Source: Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Review: War of Hearts - S. Young

Thea Quinn has no idea what she is. All she knows is that her abilities have been a plague upon her life since she was a child. After years of suffering at the hands of a megalomaniac, Thea escaped and has been on the run ever since.

The leadership and protection of his pack are of the utmost importance to Conall MacLennan, Alpha and Chief of Clan MacLennan, the last werewolf pack in Scotland. Which is why watching his sister slowly die of a lycanthropic disease is emotional torture. When Conall is approached by a businessman who offers a cure for his sister in exchange for the use of Conall’s rare tracking ability, Conall forges an unbreakable contract with him. He has to find and retrieve the key to the cure: dangerous murderer, Thea Quinn.

Thea’s attempts to evade the ruthless werewolf are not only thwarted by the Alpha, but by outside dangers. With no choice but to rely on one another for survival, truths are revealed, intensifying a passionate connection they both fight to resist. At war with themselves and each other, Conall and Thea’s journey to Scotland forces them to face a heartrending choice between love and betrayal.

True Immortality Series:
(These stories are all stand alone and can be read in any order but they're in the same universe)
War of Hearts
Kiss of Vengeance

Visit Samantha Young's website for more information

Review:
Conall is the alpha werewolf and chief of a pack in Scotland, his family and his pack are his priorities and it's killing him having to watch his sister waste away from a disease with no known cure. When he's approached by a businessman who offering him a cure in exchange for Conall tracking down a murderer and bringing them to justice he jumps at the chance to save Callie's life.

Thea has always known she is different she just doesn't know why, despite being born to human parents she is faster and stronger than any human should be and her healing abilities are exceptional even compared to supernaturals. After her parents died she was taken in by a family friend but once he discovered her powers she spent years locked up and suffering through experiment after experiment. Escaping cost her everything and she's been on the run ever since trying to stay one step ahead of her enemies. Now Conall is on her trail and he always finds his target, he thinks he's hunting a murderer but Thea knows capture will lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering and she will do anything to escape that fate.

I love Samantha Young's contemporary romances but paranormal is where my heart lies so when I found out she was writing her first adult PNR story I knew I had to read it. War of Hearts was a brilliant slow build romance between two characters who both have everything to lose. They're both great characters and although I was a bit irritated by how easily Conall let himself be duped in the beginning I could understand his desperation to believe anything if it meant saving his sister. Thea has suffered so much but in spite of that she has a kind of charming innocence about her and she believes the best in the people she meets. She could so easily use her abilities to get whatever she wants but she prefers to work hard and make her own way in life, something that Conall quickly comes to respect too. I thought these two made a really well matched pair and I enjoyed watching them finally start to realise how deeply their feelings ran for each other.

The story is full of action as the chase takes them all across Europe as Thea tries to keep out of Conall's reach. Then when someone else starts targeting the pair they realise that they're going to have to work together if they both want to survive. Samantha Young has created an interesting world and while this story works perfectly as a stand alone I'm really excited that she plans to write more stories set in this universe. Kiss of Vengeance is definitely at the top of my wish list for when it publishes next year!

Source: Received from the author in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle: