Review: Year One - Nora Roberts

As this world ends, a new one begins.

From number one New York Times bestseller Nora Roberts - an epic, apocalyptic tale of good and evil, love and loss.

With one drop of blood, the old world is gone for ever. And in its place, something extraordinary begins...

They call it The Doom - a deadly pandemic that starts on a cold New Year's Eve in the Scottish countryside. There's something mysterious about the virus and the way it spreads. As billions fall sick and die, some survivors find themselves invested with strange, unexpected abilities.

Lana, a New York chef, has the power to move things and people with her will. Fred can summon light in the darkness. Jonah, a paramedic, sees snatches of the future in those he touches. Katie gives birth to twins, and suspects that she has brought fresh magic into the world, along with new life.

But The Doom affects people differently. Along with the light, a dark and terrifying magic will also rise. As the remaining authorities round up the immune and the 'Uncannies' for testing, Lana, Katie and others flee New York in search of a safe haven. The old world is over, and Year One has begun.

Chronicles of the One:
Year One
Of Blood and Bone
The Rise of Magics (2019)

Visit Nora Roberts' website for more information.

Review:
In the wake of a pandemic that has wiped out over half the human population in a matter of days, the world has quickly become a very dark and dangerous place. Survivors fall into three camps, ones who have been gifted with light magic, ones with dark magic and normal humans. Light gifts can include telekinesis, psychic abilities, perhaps you're now a faerie or even have the ability to shapeshift while the dark gifts give you similar powers but a thirst for violence that's almost demonic. Normal humans are caught between the two factions and doing what humans do best the government decides it would be a good idea to round up all the uncanny to carry out experiments on them. Year One follows a ragtag group of survivors as they band together and try to find somewhere safe to start a new life.

I love the In Death series but I have to admit it's been a while since I read anything else Nora Roberts has published. I'm a huge urban fantasy fan though and my friend Ange raved about this book so much that I just had to give it a try. Year One is very different to anything else I've read by Nora, this is a dark and devastating world where things fall apart very quickly and civilisation as we know it is completely gone, the characters are all facing life or death situations daily and struggling to survive as they band together hunting for safety. But no matter how bad things get or how slim their chances of survival is looking there are also signs of hope that there could be a better future. There are people willing to work together, ones who go out of their way to help others and ones who share what little resources they have because someone else is in desperate need.

I think one of the things Nora Roberts always excels at is creating fantastic characters and she really shows that in this book. There is a large cast of characters and they're all following different paths but I found myself rooting for nearly all of them. You have to be prepared because in a world this dark there are going to be casualties along the way and some of the deaths really surprised me but because people know just how short life can be they live it to the fullest while they can. Friendships and love are more valuable than ever and people hold on to them fiercely.

Much of this book is about the fallout from The Doom, the way society collapses and how survivors have to learn how to survive in a more basic world without the technology we've come to rely on now. A lot of time is spent gathering likeminded survivors and searching for a place they can call home but towards the end there are some huge changes that take the story in a direction I really wasn't expecting. I can't wait to see what happens next & will be diving into Of Blood and Bone as soon as I get the chance.

Source: Purchased

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Review: In An Absent Dream - Seanan McGuire

A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire's Alex award-winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

The Wayward Children Series:
Every Heart a Doorway
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Beneath the Sugar Sky
In an Absent Dream
Come Tumbling Down

Visit Seanan McGuire's website for more information

Review:
In An Absent Dream is the fourth story in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series and although each book can be read as a standalone I think you're best to at least start with Every Heart a Doorway as all the other books feature characters we first met there. This is Lundy's story and if you read the first book you'll probably remember her as the old woman stuck in a body that has been ageing backwards since something went wrong with a deal she made at the Goblin Market. Seriously she's in her 80's but she only looks about 7 so you can imagine how weird her life is!

Anyway, this is Lundy's story from when she actually was a child - in age not just physically. Like all of the children in Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children Lundy never quite fitted into the world she was born into, she was always a little too bookish and too prone to daydreams to have any interest in the people around her and when she stumbled upon a strange door in a tree she'd never seen before she suddenly finds herself in a place that feels much more like home. The Goblin Market isn't like any of the other worlds we've seen in this series, it's magical and full of weird and wonderful creatures but at the same time it can be incredibly dangerous.

In the Goblin Market there are rules that have to be followed:
Rule 1: Ask for nothing
Rule 2: Names have power
Rule 3: Always give fair value
Rule 4: Take what is offered and be grateful
Rule 5: Remember the Curfew

If you treat people fairly and are willing to contribute an equal share of the work you'll be fine as long as you're careful but anyone who cheats, steals or doesn't pull their weight will pay a high price.

Lundy is very young in this story, she's intelligent and well read for her age but sometimes she thinks she knows more than she actually does so she doesn't always comprehend the consequences of her actions. She tries hard to deal with the Goblin Market fairly but she doesn't always get things right and that has a huge impact on her. If you've already read Every Heart a Doorway then you'll know the direction Lundy's story takes but I found it really interesting to see how she ended up in that situation in the first place. I found the whole Market fascinating and enjoyed the characters we meet along the way.

This series is so much fun to read, I love how each book is completely different to the last and that there are still so many worlds we've not had a chance to explore yet. I'm happily going to continue to devour these stories as fast as Seanan McGuire can write them & hope we have a lot more to come.

Source: Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: And Thrice Again - Seanan McGuire

December 2018 Patreon story "And Thrice Again"

This month we follow Simon Torquill, friend and family man, as he attempts to make things better for his beloved Patrick. But things are not always as easy as they seem, and sometimes the best of intentions can lead us down very dark paths...

October Daye Series:
In Little Stars (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Rosemary and Rue
A Local Habitation
An Artificial Night
Late Eclipses
Through This House (Short story in the Home Improvement: Undead Edition anthology)
One Salt Sea
In Sea-Salt Tears (Free short story available on Seanan's website)
Ashes of Honor
Rat-Catcher (Free short story available on the Lightspeed Magazine website)
No Sooner Met (Free short story available on Seanan's website)
Chimes at Midnight
Never Shines the Sun (Short story included in the print version of Chimes at Midnight)
Forbid the Sea (Free short story available on Seanan's website)
Stage of Fools (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
The Voice of Lions (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
The Act of Hares (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Instruments of Darkness (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
With Honest Trifles (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
In Deepest Consequence (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Jealous in Honor (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Quick in Quarrel (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
The Winter Long
Heaps of Pearl (Free short story available on Seanan's website)
Shore to Shore (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Write in Water (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Live in Brass (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
The Ambitious Ocean (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
And Thrice Again (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
The Fixed Stars (Free short story available on the Baen website)
A Red-Rose Chain
Full of Briars (Short story)
Once Broken Faith
Dreams and Slumbers (Short story included in Once Broken Faith)
The Brightest Fell
These Antique Fables (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Of Things Unknown (Short story included in The Brightest Fell)
These Antique Fables (Short story available to purchase through Patreon)
Night and Silence
Suffer a Sea-Change (Short story included in Night and Silence)
The Unkindest Tide
Hope is Swift (Short story included in The Unkindest Tide)

Visit Seanan McGuire's website for more information

Review:
And Thrice Again is a short story from Simon's point of view that can be purchased from Seanan McGuire's Patreon Page. She posts a short story there every month, some standalone but a lot linked to her October Daye series, and you can receive them for as little as $1 each (there are other perks available for higher amounts but $1 is the minimum). We've had quite a few October Daye world stories now from Patrick, Dianda and Tybalt's points of view, these stories aren't essential reading but they all give us background information into some of our favourite characters and I'd highly recommend them to fans of the series.

I found it really interesting to read a story from Simon's point of view, we have very good reasons to hate his character from the main books but we've been seeing a different side to him in some of these short stories. I enjoyed seeing him with Amandine and August (way back before the main series starts) and I have to admit I've started to almost feel sorry for him. He pays a high price here for his loyalty to Patrick and Dianda and that definitely starts to show some of his actions in a different light. I'm really curious to see where Seanan McGuire is going with this, I have a feeling we're going to see a lot more of Simon in the future.

Source: Purchased

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Review: Vengeful - V.E. Schwab

A Super-powered collision of extraordinary minds and vengeful intentions - V.E. Schwab returns with the thrilling follow-up to Vicious.

Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Victor Vale and Eli Ever. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Great partnerships, now soured on the vine.

But Marcella Riggins needs no one. Flush from her brush with death, she's finally gained the control she's always sought - and will use her newfound power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She'll do whatever it takes, collecting her own sidekicks, and leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, against each other once more.

With Marcella's rise, new enmities create opportunity - and the stage of Merit City will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.

Villains Series:
Warm Up (free prequel short story can be read online here)
Vicious
Vengeful

Visit V.E. Schwab's website for more information

Review:
I absolutely loved Vicious so although the story worked well as a stand alone I was really excited when Victoria Schwab decided to revisit these characters in Vengeful. This really has been a series unlike anything else I've ever read and I still stand by my comment in my previous review that rather than being a series about anti-heroes it's more a series about characters who are varying levels of evil. There aren't really any good guys here, well apart from Sydney and Mitch that is, but since they follow everything Victor plans they aren't really innocent bystanders either.

The main events in Vengeful are set about 5 years on from the end of the previous book but it's not told in a standard linear way so the timeline jumps about from one chapter to the next, we see parts of Eli's childhood, events from Vicious from different points of view and things that have happened to all of the main players in the years we've missed. I was worried I might find it confusing, especially since we have multiple narrators too, but it was actually so cleverly written that I had no problem following the story and I was about to really appreciate how the story gradually comes together as you start linking more and more of the different threads together.

Eli has spent the last few years in prison, most of it being tortured but now in isolation helping the police with their enquiries while Victor, Sydney and Mitch have been hunting down EOs looking for answers to a problem that Victor is experiencing. New character Marcella has gone from mob wife trying to guide her husband's criminal career to vengeful woman looking for revenge and determined to take power for herself. We're introduced to a few other new characters, most of whom are looking out for themselves and never quite seem trustworthy, but you'll have to read the book for yourself to find out about all of them.

Sydney and Mitch have long been my favourite characters in this, they're the only two who are somewhat innocent, they've crossed lines at times but they would rather not choose the path of violence. Victor has pretty much gone off the deep end though, he's dealing with some major issues but that doesn't really excuse his behaviour in this book even though you can kind of understand why he's making the choices he does. I still find Eli despicable but Victoria Schwab actually managed to make me feel a little bit sorry for him, not just for his childhood but also for the treatment he was receiving in prison.

This world is just so complex and I love that all of the characters are shades of grey, nothing is simple and they've all done bad things, sometimes for good reasons but not always. I was totally rooting for Marcella when she started her bid for revenge against the person who tried to kill her but she ended up taking things far too far which made her much harder to like. It was pretty hard to root for anyone really but that's what makes it fun to read.

I have to finish this review by mentioning how gorgeous the UK hardback of Vengeful is, it matches the collectors edition of Vicious perfectly & is a great addition to my overloaded bookcase.

The foil on the naked hardback is silver this time not gold

and the end papers are just as pretty

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

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Review: All Systems Red - Martha Wells

A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

The Murderbot Diaries:
The Future of Work: Compulsory (Short Story)
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy

Visit Martha Wells' website for more information

Review:
All Systems Red is the first book in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series and it was a brilliant introduction. Set in a universe where space travel is a regular occurrence and scientific expeditions to far flung planets are sold to the lowest bidder its fairly common for things to go wrong but on their latest mission things are about to get very difficult for our narrator, the part organic / part robot Muderbot.

All intergalactic expeditions must take along a company supplied security unit, ostensibly to protect the humans but equally used to report back any interesting scientific findings. Murderbot is the SecUnit for a team of scientists, one of two groups currently working on a previously unexplored planet. Well aware of their previous failures Murderbot can't afford to make any mistakes on this latest mission, they just need to keep their head down, get the job done and then they'll be free to spend all their time watching the entertainment feed. After a series of strange equipment malfunctions they end up completely losing contact with the other group on planet, a sure sign that something isn't right. Murderbot has to do whatever it takes to keep the humans alive but that may be easier said than done considering they have no idea who the enemy is.

This was a really fun novella to read, Murderbot is such an interesting character with a snarky sense of humour and a definite dislike of having to interact with the people they're supposed to protect. All Systems Red may be a novella but Martha Wells packs a lot in, the combination of humour and action makes this a very quick and easy read and it definitely left me wanting to see more of Murderbot and the rest of the crew.

Source: Purchased

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Review: Sinful - Katherine Hawthorne

Xander was a dream that would never be.

One catastrophic night left me orphaned at the age of seventeen. Hunted by a murderer, Xander saved me from the pits of hell, braving a fire that would have ended my life. Hiding me from a killer, he became my protector, my best friend, but never anything more.

Sin was a nightmare waiting to happen.

Six years later, a friend is murdered at the hottest nightclub in Manhattan, again thrusting me into a killer’s crosshairs. Now a detective with the NYPD, I refuse to hide, unyielding in my pursuit of justice, which has eluded me for so long. Determined to keep me safe, Sin forces me from the case. Defying him at every turn, our contentious relationship finally explodes in the most scandalous way conceivable, leaving me devastated.

I wanted them both.

Xander, sophisticated and elegant. My hero, the man who owns my heart. Sin, dominating alpha-male. My lieutenant, forbidden in so many ways. One dangerous kiss changes everything, catapulting me into a war between the two, neither of them willing to let me go. I become a pawn in their game until they join forces in a way I never saw coming. But lies and deception threaten to destroy us, leading to a betrayal that cuts so deep, I wonder if I’ll ever survive.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This book is intended for mature audiences due to explicit language and sexual content. Sinful is a menage romance that's all about the girl. There are NO M/M scenes.

Sinful Surrender Quartet:
Sinful
Sensuous

Visit Katherine Hawthorne's website for more information.

Review:
I'm torn when it comes to this book, yes that cliffhanger ending did make me really want to know what happens next but at the same time I don't really care much about any of the main characters and I had a lot of issues about the way their relationships are being handled so far.

Belle went through a traumatic experience as a teenager when her father brutally murdered her mother and then killed himself, she found their bodies and is still dealing with that emotionally. She never believed her father was the killer and she's now become a detective, assumably in the hope of investigating her parent's deaths. The two love interests are Xander, who has been a friend and protector since her parents died and Sin (aka Alex), the police lieutenant who trained her and who is still her boss.

The two men are best friends, are both aware of the other's interest in Belle and seem to have come to some arrangement between them years ago that neither will take that any further. Yet now they're both making moves at the same time, are aware the other is making moves too and don't seem to have any issue with that (this attitude and the cover lead me to believe there are threesome potentials from this series) until right near the end when they get all alpha male and possessive and pretty much want to fight each other for her. It all just seemed so stupid, especially when you realise they've both been perving over her since she was only 17 (they're both at least 10 years older) and just waiting for her to be old enough to be ready for them.

Belle herself is full of contradictions, she's ridiculously naive in some ways yet we're supposed to believe she's a fully fledged detective at just 26. It's hard to believe she could find her way out of a paper bag, let alone make detective at such a young age. There were plot holes and contradictions in the storyline which didn't help but my biggest issue was a spanking scene that was completely lacking in consent. I will NEVER understand why author's think it is sexy for a hero to spank a girl for "breaking the rules" when she isn't in a relationship with him and never agreed to any rules in the first place! I'm more than happy to read a spanking scene in a BDSM story where everyone has agreed the rules and knows exactly what they're getting into but that couldn't be further from what happened in this book.

I already have a copy of the second book in the series so I'll probably give it a try just to see how things turn out after that cliffhanger but the author is going to have some serious work to do to get me on board with Belle ending up with either of these men, let alone both of them!

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich

Not every witness protection programme is fool proof...

Stephanie Plum finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time in Ten Big Ones, the tenth gripping adventure in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. The perfect read for fans of Harlan Coben and Lee Child.

As the only witness able to ID a gang member who has been firebombing local deli-marts, Stephanie is working overtime avoiding death threats and attempts on her life. New Jersey's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, would be more than happy to keep her safe in his house. So would her irresistible mentor, Ranger.

Stephanie doesn't know which is worse: the death threats, the overprotective men in her life, or her sister's nightmare wedding. But she does know that she's never been one to hide...

Stephanie Plum Series:
One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Three to get Deadly
Four to Score
High Five
Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
Visions of Sugar Plums (Between the Numbers book 1)
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones
Eleven on Top
Twelve Sharp
Plum Lovin' (Between the Numbers book 2)
Lean Mean Thirteen
Plum Lucky (Between the Numbers book 3)
Fearless Fourteen
Plum Spooky (Between the Numbers book 4)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Sizzling Sixteen
Smokin' Seventeen
Explosive Eighteen
Notorious Nineteen
Takedown Twenty
Top Secret Twnty-One
Tricky Twenty-Two
Turbo Twenty-Three
Hardcore Twenty-Four

Visit Janet Evanovich's website for more information

Review:
Stephanie has done it again - she's managed to get caught in the crosshairs of a gang and has a target on her back. This time she's the only witness who can identify gang members who have been carrying out a series of bombings and they will do whatever it takes to stop her from being able to testify. When it becomes clear that they know she's been living with Morelli she decides its time to find a new home base and ends up taking residence in Ranger's bat cave, what could possibly go wrong with that?

It's weird because there are a lot of things about the Stephanie Plum series that should irritate me, the whole triangle with her, Morelli and Ranger being the biggest, but these stories are just so light hearted and entertaining that things that would bug me from other authors just make me laugh here. Stephanie desperately needs to start learning some skills for her job but watching her and Lulu stumble from one disaster to the next is hilarious, especially when Grandma Mazur decides to tag along for the ride. I also really like the dynamics in the Plum family and found the wedding planning going on in this book hilarious.

I honesty don't know how Morelli puts up with Stephanie though, she seems determined to walk away from him whenever they have even a tiny argument and then kissing Ranger behind his back is just a step too far. I totally understand the attraction to Ranger, he's a mystery man who we still know very little about (although we do see more of him in this instalment which was fantastic) but it's pretty obvious that he's not a long term prospect whereas Morelli is looking for marriage and a family. I've read the first 16 books before so I know this triangle doesn't end any time soon but I really hope things are resolved eventually.

The series is definitely doing something right though, these books are often one sitting reads because they're just so light hearted and easy to devour. Really they're perfect holiday books, something to read on the beach or by the pool when you just want something that is going to make you giggle but that you won't have to concentrate too hard on and theres absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Source: Purchased

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