#Review - Urban Enemies by Joseph Nassise (Editor) #Urban #Fantasy

Series: Collections & Anthologies
Format: Paperback, 448 pages
Release Date: August 1, 2017
Publisher: Gallery Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Collections & Anthologies

Villains have all the fun—everyone knows that—and this anthology takes you on a wild ride through the dark side! The top villains from seventeen urban fantasy series get their own stories—including the baddies of New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, and Jonathan Maberry.

For every hero trying to save the world, there’s a villain trying to tear it all down.

In this can’t-miss anthology edited by Joseph Nassise (The Templar Chronicles), you get to plot world domination with the best of the evildoers we love to hate! This outstanding collection brings you stories told from the villains' point of view, imparting a fresh and unique take on the evil masterminds, wicked witches, and infernal personalities that skulk in the pages of today’s most popular series.

The full anthology features stories by Jim Butcher (the Dresden Files), Kelley Armstrong (Cainsville), Seanan McGuire (October Daye), Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger), Lilith Saintcrow (Jill Kismet), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville), Caitlin Kittredge (Hellhound Chronicles), Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock), and Diana Pharaoh Francis (Horngate Witches). 

Jim Butcher's "Even Hand" (The Dresden Files #11.6 ) was previously part of Dark and Stormy Nights collection. Harry Dresden, professional wizard, has face more than his fair share of villains amid the supernatural underbelly of Chicago's dark streets, but none has proven more vexing than Gentleman John Marcone. In this story, Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry to go head to head with a more pressing, extremely dangerous situation.

Kelley Armstrong's "Hounded" (Cainsville #4.5) takes place in the Cainsville Universe featuring the Huntsman. The Cainsville series takes place in a town settled by refuge fae. Welsh fae (Tylwyth Teg) and the Cŵn Annwn, the Welsh version of the Wild Hunt, who are tasked with hunting killers and sending their souls to the afterlife. Huntsman appeared in the story Betrayals when he lost his hound to the protagonist. He's out to replace his missing canine companion in a very twisted way.

 

Lilith Saintcrow's "Kiss" (Jill Kismet #6.5) takes readers back to the Jill Kismet series. Readers of the Jill Kismet series will recognize Perry, a character of who the author has often said makes her ant to scrub herself with a wire brush every time he shows up. Santa Luz's resident hellbreed leader has a long history, and a long entanglement with Jill's line going back to 1945. The hunters battle the things that go bump in the night, and Jill herself made a bargain with her own person devil to gain the strength to bump back. What she didn't know, of course, was just how far that bargain would take her.

Kevin Hearne's "The Naughtiest Cherub" (The Iron Druid Chronicles #8.7) is a story, narrated by Loki, that takes place after Staked, book 8 in The Iron Druid Chronicles. The road to hell is not, as they say, paved with good intentions. Loki visits Lucifer to ask for help with his rebellion and ends up fighting for his life against some dangerous creatures. Nobody, however, is as dangerous as Loki. This is a series I've been wanting to read, but haven't had time to get caught up. Maybe one day.

 

Caitlin Kittredge's "The Resurrectionist" (Hellhound Chronicles #1.5) is set in the continuity of Hellhound Chronicles during the early 1920s. Lee Grey is a monster hunter, a man who would probably be considered a hero for protecting humanity. But Ava and other characters populating Hellhound Chronicles are monsters, and to them, a man like Lee, with special abilities designed to kill their kind, would be the ultimate enemy. This is the first meeting between Lee and Ava, but not the last.

 

Carrie Vaughan's "Bellum Romanum" (Kitty Norville #13.5) is set in the Kitty Norville universe. Kitty started out as a werewolf who had a radio talk show. The more Kitty delves into the supernatural world, meeting powerful vampires, and sinister magicians, the more she realizes the world isn't what it seems and a deep, dangerous conspiracy is afoot of this conspiracy is a mystery vampire named Roman. Before he because Kitty's nemesis, Roman was Gaius Albinus, a centurion of Rome, and two thousand years ago, he was dragged into the supernatural world against his will. He's been seeking revenge every since. 

 

Jonathan Maberry's Altar Boy" (Joe Ledger #9.1) is set in the world of the Joe Ledger weird science thrillers. This story, however, does not feature Ledger, but instead focuses on Toys, a character introduced in the first volume as a villain and who continues in the series as a "recovering bad guy," fighting for his soul every step along the rocky path to redemption. Toys is no one's idea of a hero, but he isn't quite the villain he used to be. Maybe.

Faith Hunter's "Make It Snappy" is set in the Jane Yellowrock world. Leo Pellissier is the vampire Master of the City of New Orleans. He's attacked from a direction and by an enemy he never expected. One that nearly sends him to the land of the true dead. This story introduces Katie (Leo's vampire heir), George (his human primo), the outclan priestess, Bethany, and Leo before Jane and her Beast began to tame the MOC.  It is a time when Leo's hubris runs free and his humans are little more than cattle.

Diana Pharaoh Francis's "Unexpected Choices" (Horngate Witches #4.5) takes place in the Horngate Witches series world. In the Horngate Witches series, the magical apocalypse has struck. A vast amount of destructive wild magic has washed over the earth, unleashed by the Guardians, a group of elemental beings with extraordinary power, in order to restore the balance of magic and magical creatures in the world. Giselle is a witch who established the Horngate convenstead. Shoftiel is an angel of Justice. After making his second mistake, seeking vengeance on Max, one of Giselle's supernatural warriors, he was imprisoned in the Mistlands. Both Giselle and Shoftiel are villains. Both are seeking redemption. Can either of them overcome their hatred and suspicion of each other? 

Seanan McGuire's "Balance" is set in the world of the authors InCryptid universe. Most of the cryptids in the universe are perfectly lovely people. But then there are the cuckoos. Telepathic ambush predators who will steal everything you are, and laugh while your world falls apart around you. They live for math. They live for malice. We got a real glimpse into the way the creature thinks. This is truly the most evil villain in the entire story. 

Skipped: Joseph Nassise (Templar Chronicles), Domino Finn (Black Magic Outlaw), Steven Savile (Glasstown), Jeffrey Somers (The Ustari Cycle), Sam Witt (Pitchfork County), Craig Schaefer (Daniel Faust), Jon F. Merz (Lawson Vampire).

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#Review - Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge #YALit #Thrillers #Suspense

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Thrillers & Suspense

This teen Gothic mystery novel takes readers to the cold, creepy island of Darkhaven, where a girl with unexplained blackouts grapples with secrets from her dead mother’s past and a legacy of murders that have been committed by her family. Perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux and Lisa Maxwell.

Ivy Bloodgood’s mother is dead, and she should probably be sad about it.

But she isn’t. Myra Bloodgood was a confusing mix of protective and abusive, a manipulative personality who never told the truth—about where she came from, who Ivy’s father was, or why they were living their lives on the run.

Now that Ivy has been sent to Darkhaven, an island off the New England coast, to live with a rich uncle she didn’t know existed, she is forced to reckon with her mother’s past. Ivy can tell right away there are long-held family secrets buried within these walls, but when she wakes up from one of her nightmares covered in someone else’s blood, Ivy fears that whatever demons her mother battled while she was alive have come to roost in her own mind. Scared that she can no longer trust what she sees, Ivy seeks the help of a boy who thinks her episodes are connected to the sordid history of Darkhaven—but what they don’t know might kill them both.

A moody and twisty Gothic mystery with an impossible romance, Dreaming Darkly is an atmospheric, fast-paced page-turner written by comics veteran Caitlin Kittredge.

 

  

Dreaming Darkly is a story about cursed families, dead bodies, feuding neighbors, and scary mansions that hold all sorts of mysteries. 16-year old Ivy Bloodgood (will be 17 during the story) has just lost her mother, and now finds herself on a creepy island called Darkhaven along with an uncle she's never known, a house keeper who is straight out of a creepy horror novel, a mansion that is crumbling into the ocean, and a neighbor who is eager for Ivy to run as fast as she can away from the Darkhaven and its bizarre history before it's too late. 

Ivy suffers from blackouts that might be linked to a hereditary illness—or an evil curse placed on her family. Ivy’s instability makes her the perfect anchor in this mystery, but she’s no wilting flower. She’s got tons of attitude, and she's not going to let something as silly as a family curse prevent her from getting answers about her mother, her family, and whether or not she is two steps away from being sent to an asylum for the rest of her life.

Thanks to a rough childhood which has seen her and her mother move any time her mother gets into trouble, Ivy is older than her 17 years. Her mother's suicide has done nothing to bring her any real sadness just anger. After all, her mother didn't really have that loving feeling nor did she act as though she was a mother who cared about her daughter. As Ivy takes in her new surroundings, things go from strange to the bizarre. In fact, her mother's past is ripe with mystery that is key to unlocking her own future.

Starting with the Ramsey family which has lived on Darkhaven as long as the Bloodgoods and takes up have of the island. There is a serious feud that has gone back generations. Of course, Ivy immediately wanders the island without considering its property lines and runs into Doyle Ramsey, the resident cocky high school guy and sworn enemy of her family. The same guy who spends more time telling her to run, than explaining what is really happening.

If you like the idea behind an unreliable narrator, then Dreaming Darkly will proved you plenty of entertainment. The ending of this book was a bit on the cliché side and ruined the creepy vibe that was built over the course of the story.Also, the who Romeo and Juliet vibe the author may or may not have been attempting, didn't work for me. Otherwise, the mystery is pretty good with the final revelation coming at the right moment in the book.

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#Thursday Review - Grim Tidings by Caitlin Kittredge (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Hellhound Chronicles # 2
Format: E-Galley, 368
Release Date: April 19, 2016
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy

In this thrilling sequel to Black Dog—award-winning Caitlin Kittredge’s dark urban fantasy series, Hellhound Chronicles—a soul catcher must stop demonic monsters from her past from infecting the world

After winning her freedom from a reaper and facing off against a fearsome demon boss, Ava is now a masterless hellhound. Her friend, Leo, has found a new life after death himself: He’s returned as the Grim Reaper—the first in centuries. As both try to adjust to their new circumstances, Ava’s dark past comes back to wreak havoc on her . . . and the entire world.

A breed of monsters as smart as vampires—but who behave like zombies—have been sighted in Kansas. Ava can’t believe these “zompires” are back. She thought she’d kicked their asses for good when she first battled them in a Nazi death camp. Now, they’re spreading their infection across America’s heartland thanks to a nasty piece of business named Cain.

Free at last after being locked up in Hell for millennia, Cain has some scores to settle. To stop him, Ava must form an unholy alliance with some old foes . . . a bargain that will lead her to uncover deeply buried truths about her past—and Leo’s future.

Grim Tidings is the second installment in author Caitlin Kittredge's Hellhound Chronicles. Picking up where Black Dog left off, Ava has an interesting journey ahead of her. She has survived her former master Gary who she agreed to work with after dying in 1919. She spent almost 100 years working for Gary as an indentured servant collecting souls of those who made a deal with the devil. 

Now that Gary has been disposed of, and her boyfriend Leo has become the new Grim Reaper after dying by Lilith's hands, the duo finds themselves traveling to Minneapolis where Leo's Scythe is supposed to be kept. But, they have no idea that Ava's past is about ready to jump out and bite her in the ass once again, or that they will be pushed to the limits by other reapers and hounds. 

Ava has also agreed to work with Uriel and the Kingdom hunting down and eliminating Fallen. Something that doesn't quite sit right with Leo. But, for now, let's get to the real meat and potatoes of the story and skip over the angst, anger, and curiosities that happen in this story. With flashbacks going back to 1944, Ava faces her darkest challenge of her hellhound life. 

Calling himself The Walking Man, and apparently skipping out on Tartarus thanks to Lilith's actions, Cain has managed to darken Ava's doorstep since she escaped a Nazi concentration camp with a brilliant doctor named Jacob Gottlieb. The camp was the place where crazy scientists, most likely with Cain's assistance, created a cross between vampires and zombies. As the author is calling them zompires, I shall do the same.

From Nazi Germany, to Kansas where she meets an officer named Don Tanner who has been on the hunt for a man called The Walking Man. Ava and Tanner's story weaves its way thru the middle of the 20th century as they catch up to and eliminate Cain's zompire's. But, Cain isn't quite done with Ava who he calls his little bird. In the present, Cain has been pushed into calling down the apocalypse by using his zompires to destroy the world. Only Ava, Leo, and Uriel stand in the way.

Characters often make some pretty stupid and silly mistakes. Ava has made more than her fair share for you, me, and about 100 other people. She's a hard-ass most of the times, but she is also under a whole lot of pressure from Uriel and Leo who continues to nag and bitch and act like a puppet master instead of Ava's protector and boyfriend. Sometimes she talks the talk and walks the walk, but other times she's a sniveling dribbling mess.

There are more than a few instances where Ava choose wrong. But, that's what's nice about this being a series. It gives her time to make up for the mistakes, and take out her enemies. I dare say that there are a whole lot of unanswered questions waiting to be revealed in all their glory. Let's hope volume three kicks up the action and adventure full throttle.

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