The Asylum where obsession for music and books lives.
Blight Marked sets the bar one step higher yet and though the story concludes nicely, it also sets up the next installment to be something we can look forward to. Blight Marked is a fast, witty and emotional roller-coaster ride and I can't wait to see what the next stop will bring.
Overall I did enjoy Rivers of London. It had some really good ideas and the mystery kept me guessing until the endgame, but the characters fell a bit flat for me. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the series, but Rivers of London being the first book, it definitely set the base for a great series. I can see why many people seem to love it, and though we need to work on each other a bit more, I believe we'll get there in the end.
Please keep in mind these are personal thoughts only. This book has already been eliminated from the competition, but at least one of us liked it enough to write a full review.
Despite my complaints, I still enjoyed Angel's Ink. Books with snarky protagonists are my weaknesses and besides I really dug the idea of a magical tattoo shop. Especially one in which there is at least one person with a great music taste - fun fact, when I almost got my first tattoo, I bonded with my artist over my favourite Hungarian band, so that was cool and set the mood early on. The Asylum Tales (I swear this wasn't an inspiration for my feature) has the potential to be a good series if it gets a bit cleared up and the world itself gets a bit more attention.
The Ghost Hunter's Daughter is a solid and entertaining read. Being the debut of Caroline Flarity, I think it has good potential. All in all, it mostly delivered what I expected: a fast paced, sometimes spooky read with a bit of teen drama. If you like ghost hunter stories, evil spirits wreaking havoc in a little town playing mindgames on people, with teen angst and love drama on the side, then I'm sure you will enjoy The Ghost Hunter's Daughter.
Overall, Out of Nowhere is an enjoyable urban fantasy, which brings nothing new to the genre, but has some interesting ideas and a potential to build on as the series continues.
Detonation Boulevard is a fast paced, action packed middle book, which shows you just enough to make you want more, but holds off all the best parts to give an even bigger punch in the end. Highly imaginative, excellent world building and a story well worth your time.
From start to finish this book was full of action, some gore (it is a vampire book after all) witty dialogue, every bit of vampire lore and pop culture you can think of and some really fun characters.
A wonderfully intriguing and delightfully brutal story after which you won't be able to resist grabbing the sequel. Schaefer brings urban fantasy to a whole new level mixing it with mystery, classical fantasy elements - witches and knights - and wrapping it into a brilliant, although totally crazy read.
This has a closed room horror feel at times, like Aliens or the Thing meets the old west. And there’s a nice nod to King’s Dark Tower series. With it’s old west feel and campy horror movie vibe, The Demons Within is a hugely fun entry into this series.
Phipps obviously has fun writing this series and these characters, and if I put aside my misjudges, it's quite entertaining. But I can't decide if I should take this book seriously (does it takes itself seriously?) or should I just look at it as some popcorn fun. Even so, An American Weredeer in Michigan improved compared to I Was a Teenage Weredeer. I could lean back, read, and just enjoy myself while giggling at some of Jane's or the Merlin Gun's comments.
Hero Forged is a fast paced, unique, entertaining urban fantasy. It has everything from a villain with blood lust, to an information dealer giant locust, some monsters from your nightmares, gods, a succubus, and a snarky main character being thrown in the middle of it all. If you are bored with the usual UF tropes, you might find this book quite refreshing. A warning: there might be quite a few dead bodies scattered along Gabe's path.
Megan is lovely and friendly, so I'm happy to host her on my blog today. Read about her below and take a look at the excerpt from her first novel, The Finder of the Lucky Devil in her urban fantasy series, titled Lucky Devil. Those who follow SPFBO might have seen her around since she is participating in the contest this year 🙂
In Wrath of Gods the stakes are getting higher, and if you thought it's impossible to dig up even more mythological creatures, then think again. Dyrk Ashton has some more of them up in his sleeves and not afraid to use them. And play with your emotions too while he is at it.
I Was A Teenage Weredeer is a rather light, fun read with pop cultural references from Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Buffy and many others fan probably will deerly love and enjoy. Those who like YA will find this an enjoyable read with a snarky heroine, several supernatural species and a mystery that holds a few twists.
Then There Were Crows is a fast paced, enjoyable read - if you have a certain kind of humor and don't mind some violence here and there. This is a rather dark, horroresque urban fantasy with unique characterisation and promising ideas. With some improvements here and there (editing, writing - see my complaints above) this series can grow into something good and worthy of attention all fans of horror, dark fantasy, urban fantasy and everyone in between who like their story with a good measure of snark and violence.
You'd think occultism, chinese culture and their 'secret' societies and Jack the Ripper makes a unusual mix. They do. And still, it works and that's what makes Broken Meats such an enjoyable read.
It's action packed, funny, bloody, intense and highly entertaining.
An anthology which is hard to put down and a must read for grimdark lovers. But be warned: it will leave you with a feeling of uncleannes and questions you don't want to answer.
