ARC Review: The Unyielding by Shelly Laurenston

Series:	Call of Crows #3
Pub. Date:	March 28, 2017
Publisher:	Kensington
Length:	400 pages
Source:	NetGalley

The Crows are back for the third installment of the series, and I think this is my favorite thus far. This series is action-packed and full of Norse Gods and their minions that kind of protect humans, but not really. These crazy warriors are all about the glory of battle, and are somewhat single-minded in that focus. They are mostly violent vikings who like to fight, fly, screw and eat. The minions are split into clans based on the god they serve... the Crows serving Skuld and the Ravens serving Odin. The Norse Gods don't feature overmuch in the series, but seem to pop in and cause trouble from time to time.

Indie Wednesday Review: Greed by Gemma Brocato

Series:	Goddesses of Delphi #3
Pub. Date:	Dec. 6, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	207 pages
Source:	Kindle Unlimited

The Goddesses of Delphi series by Gemma Brocato has a wonderfully unique storyline featuring the nine Muses, the daughters of Zeus and Gaia. The Muses are facing off against Pierus and his daughters in their bid to overthrow Olympus. Pierus was a jealous lower God, who also had nine daughters known as the Pierides. Pierus and his daughters were always trying to subvert Zeus and, as a result, Zeus turned the Pierides into magpies. It is this story that Gemma has taken and given a unique modern twist. The Muses now have mortal life spans, to be reborn again throughout eternity with all their prior memories in tact. Olympus is being run by Zeus as if it were an international corporation, and all of this is taking place in modern day Delphi. 

Series Saturday Review: Mayhem by Gemma Brocato

Series:	Goddesses of Delphi #2
Pub. Date:	Nov. 8, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	196 pages
Source:	Kindle Unlimited

So I was scrolling my Facebook feed one day a week or so ago, and I came across this article: Ancient mosaics unearthed in Zeugma, Turkey. How cool is that? And it fits right in with Gemma Brocato's new series, the Goddesses of Delphi. (I know the article is a couple years old, but it was new to me.) So it made me even more excited for this series because you don't see many stories of the Muses in mythological fiction. 

You may remember from the first book, Tyranny, this series is about The 9 Muses, who are Zeus' daughters with Gaia, and they inspire mankind in all kinds of areas like sacred song, written word, the Heavens, history, etc. Pierus was a jealous lower God, who also had 9 daughters known as the Pierides. Pierus and his daughters were always trying to subvert Zeus and, as a result, Zeus turned the Pierides into magpies. It is this story that Gemma has taken and given a unique modern twist. The Muses now have mortal life spans, to be reborn again throughout eternity with all their prior memories in tact. Olympus is being run by Zeus as if it were an international corporation, and all of this is taking place in modern day Delphi. 

Audiobook Review: Hidden Blade by P. DaCosta

Series:	Soul Eater #1
Pub. Date:	Oct 11, 2016
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Paul Woodson
Length:	4 hrs 49 min
Source:	Publisher

I am a huge urban fantasy fan, and have run through the majority of urban fantasy authors on my TBR. So I have been trying to branch out and find a new one. Pippa DaCosta writes several different urban fantasies so I have tried a couple of hers... but so far none have grabbed me.  

This story had good potential as I don't feel the mythology aspect with the Egyptian deities has been overdone as a trope/subject. Unfortunately, this story didn't work for me either. I didn't feel like there was any world building. Everyone is just somewhat plopped down into New York with occasional trips to the Underworld. Why are the Egyptian deities in NYC? I wanted an explanation of the world, how they came to be in New York, descriptions of the setting (particularly the Underworld), an explanation of the relationship dynamics between characters, etc. Instead, there was a lot of telling and not enough showing.

ARC Review: Tyranny by Gemma Brocato

Series:	Goddesses of Delphi #1
Pub. Date:	Oct. 4, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	189 pages
Source:	Kindle Unlimited

This is my long overdue first read from Gemma Brocato, who I met at the RT Convention this year. Gemma is one of the Kickass Chicks, a super fun group of authors that let me tag along with them to dinner one night. So I'm happy I'm finally getting one of Gemma's books on the blog.

Audiobook Review: Highland Raven by Melanie Karsak

Series:	Celtic Blood #1
Pub. Date:	Aug. 4, 2016
Publisher:	Clockpunk Press
Narrator:	Lesley Parkin
Length:	8 hrs 6 min
Source:	Author/Audible

[The End] 

Bambi:  Nooooooooooo! It can't be over! 

[Frantically checking Audible to see if the next book is out] 

No! Gah! ::flails::

It's been a while since I had that reaction to the end of a book, but I was utterly captivated by Highland Raven. It was just so... so... magical, for lack of a better word.  And I can't say enough good things about the narrator, Lesley Parkin. She really did a fabulous job with the accents and tenor of the story - she brought all the characters and the setting to life with a lyrical cadence.

ARC Review: The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston

The Undoing 
by Shelly Laurenston
Series:  Call of Crows #2
Pub. Date:  March 29, 2016
Publisher:  Kensington
Pages:  400
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

A risk worth taking… 

No one would ever accuse Jace Berisha of having an easy life—considering her husband…you know…killed her. But that was then! Now she fights for mighty Viking gods with the spectacular and vicious Crows.

But things are turning very bad, very quickly because a vengeful, ancient goddess has come into the world with just one thing on her mind—ending it. And the only way they can hope to stop her is if the Crows join forces with their one-time enemies, the Protectors. A Viking Clan created to do nothing but kill every Crow they see. 

Thankfully, Protector Ski Eriksen is a peace loving kind of guy. Because the woman he is desperately trying to get close to is the beautiful and not-very-chatty Jace. Battling Nordic clans? Unkillable goddesses? Jace’s mean-spirited dog? None of these things would ever get in the way of a true Viking! 

I don't want to say that this book was much better than The Unleashing, but I will say that it was much less confusing. I enjoyed both books, but I listened to The Unleashing in audio, and there were so many POVs that it was hard to tell who was who, and who was doing what. This installment had less POVs and it was much easier to figure out who was who when I was reading instead of listening. I also felt like there was a bit more world building in this story, particularly with regard to the explanation of who each clan was and how they came to be.

Review: Viking Warrior Rising by Asa Maria Bradley

Viking Warrior Rising 
by Asa Maria Bradley
Series:  Viking Warriors #1
Pub. Date:  Nov. 3, 2015
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages:  352
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Immortal Vikings are among us.

Leif Skarsganger and his elite band of immortal warriors have been charged to protect humanity from the evil Norse god Loki.

Under attack from Loki’s minions, Leif is shocked to encounter a dark-haired beauty who fights like a warrior herself. Wounded and feverish, the Viking kisses her, inadvertently triggering an ancient Norse bond. But when Naya Brisbane breaks away and disappears before the bond is completed, Leif’s warrior spirit goes berserk. If Leif doesn’t find her fast, he’s going to lose himself to permanent battle fury.

But Naya doesn’t want to be found...and he’ll do anything to find her. Because they’re both running out of time.

I would not have guessed this was Asa Maria Bradley's debut novel... so I was surprised when I discovered that after I finished the book. Her writing was on point and the story paced very well. So kudos to this new talent who will be contributing to my TBR list in the future.

It's been a while since I have read a book based on Norse mythology, and I forgot how much I like vikings! These are not vikings in the traditional sense, but viking warriors sent to modern times from Valhalla to prevent Loki from starting Ragnarok. I loved every aspect of the mythology, particularly that Odin and Freya selected these warriors from Valhalla to go protect humans on Midgard from Loki's shenanigans. The story also had a bit of a sci-fi feel to me along with the mythology, so that kept things interesting as well.

Our H/h in this first installment of Viking Warriors are Leif and Naya. Leif is king of the band of warriors and he is having problems keeping his berserker in check. Leif was a good leader for the warriors, he cared about his people and honoring his gods' faith that he would prevent Ragnorak even if he didn't understand how. While I liked Leif, I really wanted more from him. As an immortal warrior who died, then went to Valhalla, and has come back to Midgard to live for a century... that provides a good opportunity to really delve into the history and life of Leif that I felt was missed. We know that he had a wife and kids in his first life, but I didn't feel an emotional connection there. And it would have been really cool to have some information about his time in Valhalla or things he has done for the last century on Midgard. What info we did have for Leif was good, I just wanted more.

Turning to Naya, this mysterious girl was held captive and experimented on in a lab for most of her life. We meet this kickass heroine as she is rescuing her brother from the same facility that experimented on her, so we know that family is very important to Naya. She also intervenes in a fight that Leif is losing, thereby saving his life. I like kickass heroines, particularly when they are loyal and independent. Unfortunately, I did not connect with Naya. Why - because she is a runner. And I have just had my fill of running heroines this year. So this has nothing to do with the writing (which was good), it's just that I am worn out with the running. Right now I want a heroine that will stick around and have faith and fight for her relationship.

In short, this was a entertaining and unique debut novel from Ms. Bradley. I loved the plot, but wanted a little more from my main characters. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Review: Fate Undone by Linsey Hall

Fate Undone 

by Linsey Hall

Series:  Mythean Arcana #5

Pub Date:  May 28, 2015

Publisher:  Bonnie Doon Press

Pages:  270

Format:  eARC

Source:  Netgalley

   

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

A god in disguise

No one in the Prison for Magical Deviants knows that prisoner Logan Laufeyson has secret identity. He is the ancient trickster god Loki, in magical disguise on a mission of his own. A mission that will come to a sudden and disastrous end… 

The woman he's never forgotten  

Demi-goddess Sylvi has spent eight hundred years trying to forget her long-ago affair with Loki, which destroyed her dreams and got her banished from her home. When Loki escapes from prison and stumbles through her door with a problem that threatens both their lives, she must set aside her anger while trying to resist a passion she’s never forgotten. The fact that her magic can be enhanced by sex makes ignoring Loki even harder—especially when they must utilize her rare talent.  

A threat of ultimate evil 

Thrown together, Loki and Sylvi must foil a masterful plot that threatens not only their lives, but every god in existence. It will take all of their power, and all of their long-buried love, to face the ultimate danger - or vanish and be forgotten forever… 

This is the fifth installment of the Mythean Arcana series, yet I didn't realize this when I requested to review this book through Netgalley. My OCD will usually not let me start a series in the middle, I have to read all the preceding installments. I tried to do that here, but I didn't have time to add 4 books to my schedule this month. So to compromise, I read Braving Fate so I would get an introduction to the world and characters. It seems to have worked out okay. I was not lost, and had met at least some of the characters before.

This is the story of Trickster God Loki (now Logan) and demi-goddess Sygin (now Sylvi). Sylvi is the daughter of Freya and magic, and starts her life as a slave to the gods hoping to win their favor so she can be promoted to full godhood. Sylvi hates groveling to the arrogant gods and admires Loki for the way he stands up to them. As both outsiders, Sylvi and Loki are kindred spirits and fall in love. Then fate happens and they are torn apart after they have been banished from Asgard to Midgard (Earth). The majority of the story takes place 800 years later (with flashbacks to their time in Asgard). Loki and Sygin have been separated this whole time and have not seen one another, and Sygin has never forgiven Loki for the hurt he caused her 800 years ago. Loki must get Sygin to trust him again so they can work together to stop a plot to imprison all gods, themselves included.

I didn't know much about Loki, other than what I have watched in the Thor movies where Loki is Thor's nemesis and bad guy. Ms. Hall's Loki is nothing like that Loki - he represents the oppressed, stands up for the little guy, and acts as a balance to the gods. He is also very caring and does what he thinks is best for other people, even when his view of what's right doesn't line up with theirs. Sygin is a bit of a lost soul, she has always felt like an outsider and she was devastated by Loki's rejection and her banishment from Asgard. Unfortunately, she does not know how to forgive and nurtures those hurts like a best friend. So while I liked Slyvi, she did get on my nerves quite a bit by pushing Loki away when he was trying to win her back, even after she learned the real reason he pushed her away 800 years ago.

Other than that, this story moved along at a nice pace, had a good storyline and some steamy sex. Having just read Braving Fate, Ms. Hall's debut novel, I can tell that she has improved along with the series. The writing was much more smooth and I connected with the characters better in this fifth installment. Now I shall have to go back and catch up on the series before the next book comes out! 

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