Review: City of Ghosts

CITY OF GHOSTS (Downside Ghosts #3)
Stacia Kane
Urban Fantasy
408 pages
Random House
Available Now

THE STORY
Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed; in that sense at least, this day was no different from any others.

That about sums up Chess Putnam's life at the moment. Her relationship with perhaps the only person she's ever truly cared about is broken; a deep fissure of betrayal running through it that she fears is beyond repair. Add that to her persistent drug habit, a forced partnership with a member of the elite Black Squad, and dismembered body parts showing up all over Downside, and you have a little glimpse of a day in the life of Chess.

While struggling with an emotional upheaval, Chess must soldier on and work with Lauren, a fiery redhead whose status in the Church is augmented through a blatant case of nepotism, in order to find those responsible for Downside's latest gruesome deaths. Lauren and Chess's partnership is strained at best, with Lauren pulling rank and disregarding Chess's valid observations in favor staying on task. Lauren's refusal to acknowledge that coincidences aren't particularly common in Downside forces Chess to seek out reluctant assistance from Terrible.

Now, with their respective hearts in tatters, Chess and Terrible must stalk a killer more powerful than anyone the Church has faced before, and one with magic of unimaginable darkness and a vendetta that can only be appeased through total destruction and anarchy.

MY THOUGHTS
Ms. Kane has an uncanny ability to write a novel laced with such tangible tension that the very pages seem almost thicker with it. The vestiges of Chess's relationship with Terrible haunt her every waking moment, and even her sleeping ones, causing her search for oblivion to increase exponentially. Every snippet of dialogue between them has a venomous edge, his hurt and pain at her actions in the previous novel leaking into their every interaction. Each verbal lash he dispenses, though valid, seems to reverberate down the spine of the book, creating an echoing tension that coils in my gut as I hang on every word. It's absolutely captivating.

In the previous two novels, the cases Chess is working have been at the forefront, with Chess's personal life being only a gratifying yet secondary storyline. In this newest installment however, her relationship with Terrible is thrust into prominence in all it's gut-wrenching glory, giving us a closer look at both character's pain and vulnerability, and making our connection to them that much deeper and more potent.

And though the relationship becomes a greater focus, the newest set of Downside villains does not disappoint. They are perhaps more horrifying, more deserving of our utter shock and awe, and more clever than their predecessors. New types of magic are introduced, darker, blacker and more sinister, rattling the very foundation of Chess's entire belief system. Now not only can Chess not trust in herself, but she's faced with the prospect of not being able to trust in the Church, which just might be enough to ruin her entirely and leaves readers reeling from the latest set of revelations.

Downside is an unbelievable place in which to get absorbed. The characters are in ruin, yet have such strength. The supernatural beings are terrifying and seemingly unbeatable, yet we are given hope that light might prevail. And the story is wrought with anxiety and extreme hostility, yet poignant just when the tension threatens to overwhelm.

Perhaps most satisfying is an ending that leaves us with a sliver of faith that Chess and Terrible's road to redemption, though certainly assured to be difficult still, may be paved with smoother stones than those of the one leading up to this point. This series is addicting, and I'm as sure to enter withdrawal waiting for the next book as Chess would be without her drug of choice.

Rating: 5/5

Cover Critique: Incarceron and Hunger

Let me preface this post by saying that my design critiques of these covers are in no way, shape or form a reflection on the author, the content or the publisher. I know the authors have very little, if any, control over the design. These are strictly my thoughts stemming from my design experience.

Hmmmm. Anyone else seeing double? Both covers are gorgeous, I just find it interesting how similar they are despite the different publishers and therefore presumably different design teams. As it is, I've concocted a fictional conversation between the respective designers during the design process:

Incarceron Designer (to be abbreviated ID): Hey

Hunger Designer (to be abbreviated HD): 'Sup (we designers are very hip and cool)

ID: How's your cover design going?

HD: Good. It's almost done, I'm liking what I have so far. I've gone with an eerie blue-gray and black color scheme that I think represents Famine well. I've also played around with a heavily textured background and vignetted the corners so there is a gradient effect from the image to solid black. You're jealous of my design skills right?

ID: Um. I've done a blue-gray and black color scheme, textured my background and vignetted my corners to black as well. So I'm apparently not jealous, but of the same mind.

HD: What! Send me your file.

ID: Send me your file!

They email each other the files.

HD: Maybe no one will notice?

ID: ...

HD: Right. We'll just tell everyone great minds think alike.

ID: At least my type treatment is better than yours. I've got an interesting, eye catching font. See how my serifs extend above and below some of the letters? And how my size and height alternate letter to letter? It's ingenious. Visually engaging. You have a boring, linear serif font.

HD: Real mature. My author's name is more readable because it pops off the black. And I have a quote. What say you to that?

ID: I say you pilfered my design that's what.

HD: I pilfered? You were clearly influenced by me. You even took my nature theme. I put branches in my background and then you try to one-up me with your leaves.

ID: I added gears and clock faces, so that's something. But you know what?

HD: What?

ID: My book releases before yours. I win.

HD: Crap.

It's Hopping Time!

Question of the week: Do you listen to music when you read? If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

I actually don't listen to music when I read, I have trouble concentrating if I do and reread the same sentence over and over again. Oddly enough though, I can read and watch tv at the same time and that doesn't bother me. I have no idea why!

A big thanks to Parajunkee and Crazy for Books for hosting the hop!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway for The Hunger Games trilogy before you leave!

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness

ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS
Jeaniene Frost
Paranormal Romance
361 pages
Avon/Harper Collins
Available Now

THE STORY
Mencheres is a vampire who redefines the word "ancient". Over 4,000 years old, he has reached the point where life no longer holds any appeal. He's experienced everything. Seen everything. Felt everything. And with an enemy as old as he is intensifying a millennia old feud, Mencheres seeks the only out that will preserve his legacy and protect his line of vampires: final death.

He didn't anticipate, having lost his ability to see the future, that his death would be thwarted by a human. And a female one at that. Kira unwittingly stumbles into the vampire world seeking to follow her private investigator and personal creed of "save one life", not knowing the life she seeks to save wants the exact opposite. Her hero complex places her in further danger when Mencheres's enemy sees that Kira might mean more to him than a mere piece of property.

Mencheres must find a way keep Kira from enemy hands while ensuring that his greatest rival is deterred from launching his war. In addition to safeguarding his family of vampires, Mencheres is also forced to fumble with emotions he thought dissipated long ago, making him vulnerable and laying him bare as his enemy closes in.

MY THOUGHTS
This is an enjoyable story. The first in this spinoff series, First Drop of Crimson, was a little disappointing. Ms. Frost set the bar for paranormal romance so high with her Cat and Bones novels that the expectations I had for the spinoff series were almost guaranteed not to be met. The relationship between Spade and Denise in the first book lacked a romantic connection for me. I didn't feel they truly cared for one another as much as they proclaimed, and their passion was several significant notches below that of Cat and Bones.

The relationship between Kira and Mencheres is much more believable. Mencheres is often a side character in the Night Huntress novels, and in that role he's always been rather aloof. He exists with a veil of detachment, appearing emotionally vacant while being genetically superior. I was curious to see if that emotive disconnect would persist when he became a leading protagonist. I profess to being pleasantly surprised.

We get a peek into life as a Master vampire, a little slice of the loneliness that permeates his existence despite being surrounded by servants, friends, and humans serving as his property. His power and status among vampires naturally draws the power-hungry and aggressively ambitious, and he must deal with those who only seek out his company in the hopes of bettering themselves. Because of all the endless, monotonous enterprising, his detachment begins to make sense and we are able to empathize with his circumstances on a deeper and more thorough level.

Kira is as strong willed as they come. So strong in fact that she is immune to Mencheres's mind control, a capability he finds both exasperating and attractive. She isn't your typical damsel in distress who comes across a monster in the night and adamantly refuses to believe in its existence despite the obvious evidence to the contrary. She doesn't continually question what she sees, doesn't get swept up in a wave of denial, but rather accepts what she faces with a calm resignation. She can be a little too self-assured at times, her insistence that she's always correct a little grating, but overall she is a good match for Mencheres mentally and emotionally.

Though the plot isn't anything groundbreaking or astounding in it's creativity, it does move quickly in typical Frost fashion, leaving readers at the bottom of the last page wondering how they got there so fast. Her style of writing is as appealing as ever, and I always look forward to whatever she has in store for her fans. Here's hoping we get to see a little more of side characters Vlad and Ian in future installments.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Night Myst

NIGHT MYST (Indigo Court #1)
Yasmine Galenorn
Urban Fantasy
317 pages
Berkley
Available Now

THE STORY
Cicely Waters has been traveling town to town with her junkie of a mother for years. Born a witch and taught to control wind at a young age by a member of fae royalty, she has struggled to continue learning and utilizing her magic while waiting for her mother to get her next fix. Suddenly, Cicely gets a call from her family home in New Forest, Washington with news that all is not well. A new and frightening force has settled over the town, people are disappearing, and the nights are no longer safe.

Cicely returns home since she no longer is responsible for her mother, who overdosed and passed away, and finds what remains of her family in shambles. Members of her coven of witches are systematically vanishing, with her aunt being the latest victim. The search for the missing is overwhelming on its own, but Cicely is also faced with a reunion with Grieve, a man she has not seen or spoken to in nine long years. Much like the town though, Grieve has changed, emanating a new and terrifying darkness.

In addition to fighting to save her family, Cicely, her cousin Rhiannon, and a couple of allies must uncover the driving force behind New Forest's supernatural threat if they have any hope of surviving. Uncomfortable alliances must be made, and Cicely must call on all the elemental and emotional strength she possesses to wrench those she loves from clutches of a paranormal powerhouse.

MY THOUGHTS
I will be honest and say I had a hard time connecting to this story. As is common with the Urban Fantasy genre, there is quite a bit of world-building to introduce readers to the characteristics that define this new preternatural environment. World-building means a plethora of descriptive language. Character descriptions. Landscape descriptions. Histories of the powers and abilities of the protagonists. And while the story is well written, the sheer volume of information imparted slows the plot down.

The story itself is interesting and the world Galenorn's built has a lot of potential. The focus is not on a single group of supernatural beings, but rather is an amalgamation of the most well known of those: vampires, fae and shifters. Cicely herself is a strong protagonist, forced by circumstance into a leadership position in the rescue effort. She's strong mentally, physically, and as the story progresses we are shown that her strengths truly know no bounds.

The relationship between Cicely and Grieve has some nice moments. Though their history together is a bit murky in the beginning, we are given a few select pieces of information toward the end that lead me to believe the complications are just beginning for them. Their future is clearly going to be wrought with innumerable obstacles and potentially insurmountable odds, providing enticement to continue with the next book to see just what might be in store for them.

This novel is the first in a series, and it truly seems to be more of a set-up for future events than a stand-alone story. There's a lot of developing and a lot of creating as Galenorn lays the foundation for the next installments, resulting in a plot that moves forward slowly, piece by piece, letting us discover little snippets of information as we go along. It's a lulling pace, one that doesn't inspire frenzied reading, but still one that weaves a satisfying tale. I will most likely continue the series in the hopes that future books will bring the action and character development into the light, and leave some of the description behind.

Rating: 3/5

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren and is a great way to see what other bloggers are reading and reviewing. Can't wait to see what everyone else picked up this week!




Bought:
Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane

For Review:
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

BEFORE YOU VISIT ANOTHER MAILBOX: check out my giveaway for the Hunger Games Trilogy.