Review: 'Til The World Ends

'TIL THE WORLD ENDS
Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, and Karen Duvall
Dystopian Anthology
368 pages
Harlequin Luna
Available January 29th
Received via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Before The Immortal Rules, there was Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden—as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What’s worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she’s beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems….

THISTLE & THORNE by Ann Aguirre
After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside—in the Red Zone—is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they’ll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside…for good.

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms—in the cosmos and beyond. And she’s not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She’ll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

MY THOUGHTS
DAWN OF EDEN by Julie Kagawa
Typically with novellas there’s not a great deal of backstory for the characters or world, the short page length requiring the action to take place and the relationships to form more quickly, but to our utter delight, Ms. Kagawa’s contribution to this collection is the backstory itself. In it we get to experience the terrifying beginning of what will become the world of The Immortal Rules, the dark and bloody reality of the Red Lung virus depicted for us in gut-wrenching detail as humanity falls and the Rabids rise.

Though The Immortal Rules is a young adult series, albeit a gritty one, this prequel is perhaps more brutal and violent, and certainly more detailed on the romantic front, than The Immortal Rules, sliding it more firmly into the New Adult or adult category given its level of description. The relationship between Ben and Kylie is rich and layered despite the briefness of our time with them, their intimacy seeming to build slowly even though only days pass between their first meeting and a declaration of love, but even with such a short timeline Ms. Kagawa beautifully manages to give us a meaningful and genuine relationship – the birth of a love amidst the death of the world as we know it.

Rating: 4/5

THISTLE AND THORNE by Ann Aguirre
Ms. Aguirre adds a truly magnificent story to this anthology with "Thistle and Thorne", her uncanny ability to craft gorgeously complex characters used to its fullest with this all-too brief tale. Mari is a young woman who shows remarkable growth over the course of the story, her strength and desire to protect her brother and sister obvious from the beginning, but her time with Thorne molds her slowly but surely, adding layer after layer of steel to her already-existing armor coating. She’s a young woman who’s capable and deadly when necessary, yet she possesses none of the cockiness or swagger that typically accompanies abilities such as hers, instead recognizing her weaknesses and working around them to ensure she’s as effective a fighter, protector, and survivor as she can be.

Her relationship with Thorne is a fascinating contrast to what we saw expressed between Kylie and Ben in Ms. Kagawa’s story, the physical intimacy of the latter drastically different from the slightly strange (in the best way possible) and hesitant intimacy of the former. There’s hardly a touch exchanged between Mari and Thorne, but the air between them is thick with possibility and there’s a sense of unspoken understanding that gradually forms, building and strengthening until it becomes an almost physical caress we can feel down to our bones. The beauty of the promise between Mari and Thorne lingers in our hearts and minds long after reading, and it's my deepest wish and most sincere hope that Ms. Aguirre will see fit to return to this world at some point and explore their relationship further.

Rating: 5/5

SUN STORM by Karen Duvall
Though the bleak world depicted in the final novella of this anthology is as fascinating as the two that preceded it, inspiring in us the same thankfulness that our reality is–as of yet–still a far cry from the desperation and devastation portrayed page to page, the characters themselves pale a bit in comparison to our previous two couples. Sarah is a bit of an emotional cyclone, forming an opinion and passing judgment one minute only to spin 180 degrees the next, trusting Ian and then condemning him for his actions before quickly apologizing when her accusations prove false. Additionally, their feelings for one another form quickly and easily, which would be fine as Kylie and Ben’s did as well, but Sarah and Ian’s relationship lacks the poignancy we experienced just pages before with Ms. Kagawa’s and Ms. Aguirre’s contributions.

Overall "Sun Storm" is a quick and entertaining read, but it has the misfortune of following two stories where the characters shine brightly from the pages, illuminating their dark worlds with the beauty and strength of their radiance.

Rating: 3/5

Mini Reviews: This Case is Gonna Kill Me, Trucker Ghost Stories + The Book of the Night

It's family week on my blog this week, so today my fabulous mother-in-law Cathy is taking over the reviewing duties with quite the varied assortment of books courtesy of the wonderful team at Tor Books. A huge thank you to both Cathy and my mom for helping me tackle my to-be-read pile!

THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME
Phillipa Bornikova
Urban Fantasy
320 pages
Tor Books
Available now
Received from publisher for review

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Though Ms. Bornikova's book is set in a time when vampires, werewolves, and elves are the ones in power and humans are subordinates, this story has all the intrigue of a good old fashioned "who dunnit" mystery, and she does a great job weaving a tale full of twists and turns.

Linnet is a human attorney who was raised in a vampire home and now works in a vampire law firm as their newest attorney. As with lots of new hires, she is not immediately accepted because the staff feels as though she received her job as a favor. As a result, her first case – an inheritance dispute over a security company run by werewolves – is one in which she's stuck working with a lesser attorney, Chip, and it's a case that has been dragging on for 17 years.

Linnet is likable immediately. She is strong, gutsy, snarky, and outspoken. She is also an experienced horsewoman, and we get several detailed riding adventures throughout the book. For those who love horses – Jenny – you will love these scenes. Ms. Bornikova knows her stuff and you can tell she loves it, but it's unclear as to whether these scenes are foreshadowing something or just a red herring.

The mystery begins when Chip is murdered and Linnet is almost killed in a werewolf attack. Since they are only working the werewolf case, Linnet begins to play Nancy Drew (her words). The book becomes increasingly entertaining as Linnet stumbles her way through the clues, and we just know there is something special about Linnet even if we can't quite put our finger on what it is. She is attacked several more times by werewolves manages to not only escape, but also kill her attackers. She is always saved by some odd set of circumstances such as pictures falling from walls, buckles on purses, and even a jar of marbles. This is all done cleverly and with lots of humor.

Along the way, Linnet receives help from John, a PI and and very handsome elf. Enter the romance – we see it develop into something more with each attack on Linnet's life. Ms. Bornikova gives us a slow burn on their romance and it leaves us wanting more with this couple.

My only disappointment with the book was that as the mystery was coming to a close, a new element of intrigue involving John's past started to come into play, and I knew there were not enough pages left in the book to finish his story or get all the answers I was looking for. On the plus side, I had come to care about the characters and wanted a resolution so I will be looking forward to the next book. I want to know what happened to John and where their relationship is headed. And knowing Linnet, I am sure she will have another case to solve. This book is well written, smart and clever, it was an engaging and fun read.

Rating: 4.5/5

TRUCKER GHOST STORIES
Edited by Annie Wilder
Anthology of personal paranormal experiences
256 pages
Tor Books
Available now
Received from publisher for review

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Trucker Ghost Stories is a collection of short stories about what truckers say they have experienced on those long dark stretches of highway. We hear their spooky tales in their own words, but the book itself is edited by Annie Wilder. I have often wondered about the people who drive the big rigs. We pass them every day on the highway, and no matter what time of day or night it is, these trucks are roaming the roads.

How do they spend all those hours alone, passing the same scenery, usually in the middle of the night? I go crazy on the 2 hour drive to Cleveland!!! 

There are stories of unknown lights following them, strange noises trying to get into the trucks and maybe a Bigfoot or two. My best advice is not to travel the deserted and dark roads out West. You need to BEWARE – there are lots of UFO sightings in this book and most of them are on long expanses of pavement in the desert.

There are some ghost stories that seem to be a variation of the urban legends we have all heard while we were growing up, and one ghost story in particular about an unusual coincidence is sure to raise the hair on your arm. One woman even claims a ghost kissed her.

The mind can play tricks when you are tired an alone in the dark, and this is definitely the case in each story. So do the sightings happening because these truckers are tired or is it something supernatural?

If you know anyone going to camp – these stories would be great to tell around the campfire.

Rating: 3/5

THE BOOK OF THE NIGHT
(Libyrinth #3)
Pearl North
Young Adult/Fantasy
Tor Teen
Available now
Received from publisher for review

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
I have to preface this review by saying that The Book of the Night is the conclusion of a trilogy of which I have not read the first two books.

This book is a sci-fi fantasy and takes place in the future. Ms. North does an excellent job with her descriptions and character development, but it took me several chapters to figure out some of what I missed in the previous two books. The main premise involves finding a pen that rewrites reality. I found the basis of the story fascinating in that it involved books – books, words, and literature are all vital to this world she has built. I have not seen this before and it was very clever. I appreciate the work she had to do, quoting from so many books and fitting each one into the storyline.

This passage from the book I think communicates the flavor of the story perfectly:

"Strings of words, thoughts, intentions, and wishes all wound together to form sinuous vines which in turn formed everything." 

I haven't read a book where words and books play such a key role.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Enthralled

ENTHRALLED: PARANORMAL DIVERSIONS
Various authors
Paranormal Young Adult
443 Pages
HarperCollins
Available Now
Received at BEA

THE STORY (from Amazon)
A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new landscapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.

MY THOUGHTS
Enthralled is a truly beautiful collection of short stories, a veritable buffet of paranormal entities with varying mythologies and gloriously crafted worlds that keeps us flipping the pages with unnatural speed and groaning outwardly upon reaching concluding pages of each individual tale. Some stories are snippets set in the world of an already existing series–granting us quick glimpses through the eyes of a secondary character and gifting us a few extra blissful minutes with some familiar favorites. Other tales are completely new, many of them feeling complex and nuanced despite the short page length, leaving us lingering on the last page wishing and hoping the author might decide to make the short we’ve just read a prequel to a new full-length supernatural series.

PERSONAL FAVORITES
Red Run by Kami Garcia
At a depressingly short 20 pages, Red Run gives us a quick, dark ghost story that proves with potentially disastrous consequences how things are not always as they seem. Ms Garcia manages to craft characters who come to life for those brief moments we spend with them, creating a complete story that more than satisfies our need for characters who elicit an emotional response as well as a world we can see clearly in our minds despite not having chapters upon chapters establishing and describing every detail for us.

Bridge by Jeri Smith-Ready
Perhaps my favorite of them all, Bridge is written in verse and returns us to the world of Shade and Shift, allowing us all-too briefly into the mind of Logan after he’s been a ghost for 233 days. While those who aren’t familiar with the series may not find this contribution to the anthology as poignant and moving as those who are familiar every detail of Logan’s history and his time with Aura, Ms. Smith-Ready still does a fantastic job of summarizing events to create a context for Logan’s need to speak with older brother Michael. Logan is his typical self, managing to be incredibly self-centered and frankly a bit of an asshole (his own words), but, as with the novels themselves, there are moments where he becomes serious and genuine, and he plays the strings of our hearts with the same consummate skill he did his guitar in life.

Skin Contact by Kimberly Derting
One of the darkest stories in the anthology, Skin Contact details the tragic past of Rafe, a character we meet in the second installment of her Body Finder series but about whom we know very little. In this tale she provides us an unobstructed view of the event that shaped the man he's become, shining a rather brutal light on someone we’ve seen previously only in shadow, and illuminating the infliction of emotional scars and irreversible damage on a young man we won’t be able to keep from seeing differently from this point onward.

The Third Kind by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Ms. Barnes’s story is one of the ones that exists outside an already created world, giving us something fresh and new and altogether intriguing. Due to the short length, characters and events are introduced quickly and we literally hit the ground running from the very first page, however, at no point do things seem rushed, and somehow Ms. Barnes manages to make us feel as though we know both Jess and Kissy on a far deeper level than we might have believed possible given our initial meeting just pages before. The end of this tale is actually a beginning–though not in a frustrating way–and we can’t help but hope she might add Jess and Kissy to her list of works in progress so that we may continue on in a world with characters who left an impression almost instantaneously.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Review: Chicks Kick Butt

CHICKS KICK BUTT
Edited by Rachel Caine and Kerrie L. Hughes
Urban Fantasy Anthology
343 pages
Tor
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY
This anthology includes 13 short stories from some renowned urban fantasy authors including Rachel Caine, Karen Chance, Rachel Vincent, Lilith Saintcrow, P.N. Elrod, Jenna Black, Cheyenne McCray, Elizabeth A. Vaughn, Jeanne C. Stein, Carole Nelson Douglas, L.A. Banks, Susan Krinard, and Nancy Holder.

MY THOUGHTS
As indicated by the title, Chicks Kick Butt is an anthology featuring heroines who might not mind being referred to as damsels but who would certainly take offense to the name if paired with the words "in distress" and the implications that accompany such a label. Though these women often find themselves in no small amount of trouble, they prefer to fight their own battles with sharp minds, sharp weapons, and sharp figurative and literal claws. Majority of the stories in this action-packed collection are highly entertaining, our heroines for the most part reaching through the pages, curling their fists in the collar of our shirts and yanking us into their world where they may temporarily go down fighting but always emerge on top - possibly bruised, most likely bloody, but also irrefutably kick-ass.

PERSONAL FAVORITES
Hunt by Rachel Vincent
In Ms. Vincent's addition to this anthology we are thrust in the brutal and gritty world of her Shifters series, accompanying main heroine Faythe's cousin Abby on a camping trip gone horrifically awry. Even those unfamiliar with the six-book series will be able to connect to this story, one of Ms. Vincent's many gifts being her ability to deny us the opportunity to remain detached, instead forcing us to shore up our courage and join the fight alongside characters who we instantly let into our hearts whether we've met them before or are introduced to them here for the first time. Abby's tale is dark and violent, but as always, Ms. Vincent gives us a young woman with unfathomable strength and resilience, and we draw on her many positive attributes to lead us through the pain and death of her world.

In Vino Veritas by Karen Chance
Ms. Chance has a wonderful sense of humor, giving us a lighter snippet from her Midnight Daughter series featuring a dhampir named Dory who has an uncanny knack for getting caught in the middle of other people's problematic business dealings. This short has her attempting to drink a full vampire under the table in order to help an acquaintance, eliciting many an amused snort from us that beautifully balances some of the seriousness of the other contributions.

Nine Tenths of the Law by Jenna Black
Morgan Kingsley is a demon-possessed exorcist who's just been tasked with exorcising a teenage girl at the request of her of her morally questionable parents. Though some of us might not be acquainted with Ms. Kingsley and how she came to be possessed by the king of the demons, Ms. Black does a fabulous job of making the need for that information irrelevant as we hit the ground running with Morgan and her demonic resident. We know enough to clearly understand and enjoy, but also remain curious enough about Kingsley's history to want to go back and start at the beginning.

There are several more standout stories in this anthology, and as usual, some where we clearly would have benefited from having read the series from which the heroine is pulled. Overall however, this is a solid collection that gives both longtime fans of particular characters a little more time in a world they love, while also providing newcomers the opportunity to find women for whom they can easily root and then walk away knowing where to find more should they color themselves impressed.

Rating: 4/5