#Tuesday Review - The Winter Long by Seanan McGuirre (Urban Fantasy) @seananmcguire @dawbooks

Series: October Daye # 8
Format: Paperback, 358 pages
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: DAW
Source: Purchased
Genre: Urban Fantasy

For once, it seems like the Kingdom of the Mists has reached a point of, if not perfection, at least relative peace. Queen Arden Windermere is getting settled on her family's throne; no one's going to war with anyone else; it's almost like everything is going to be okay. Even October "Toby" Daye is starting to relax her constant vigilance, allowing herself to think about the future, and what it might entail.

And then Simon Torquill comes back, and everything begins to fall apart. In Faerie, nothing stays buried forever. No matter how much you might want it to. 

The Winter Long is the EIGHTH installment in author Seanan McGuirre's October Daye series. The Winter Long actually picks up several months after the ending of Chimes at Midnight. If you think McGuirre has any intention of letting up on what she puts Toby through, you obviously haven't read the entire series yet. Get to it! Sir October "Toby" Daye is a Knight of Lost Words, in service to Shadow Hills, who is named Hero in the Mists by the new Queen. She's also one of a kind and not just because she's a changeling. 

Toby and her mother Amandine are Dóchas Sidhe. A Fey race of blood workers who have the ability to garner memories from a person, or change the balance of someone's blood. Toby has already affected several individuals, including her own daughter, and has fought to keep herself from being fully fae, or fully human. As the story picks up, Queen Arden is throwing a party. For the first time in years, think the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the realm of the Mists is has a Queen who isn't a maniac. She also kind of likes Toby.

“I don’t like parties. Someone always tries to assassinate someone I actually like, and there are never enough of those little stuffed mushroom caps.”  Toby

To Toby's personal nightmare, her one time nemesis, Simon Torquill, who turned her into a fish, returns claiming he did what he did to her in order to save her life. And, he's not alone in his reappearance from the dead. Most readers will remember that Toby spent 14 years as a fish. When she finally did escape the spell she was under, life had moved on quickly without her. With Simon's arrival, and his claim that he was paid handsomely by his boss to hurt Toby badly, things get intense. Who was Simon's boss? What makes this situation a whole lot worse is Sylvester Torquill has too many secrets, and isn't willing to tell Toby anything to help her.

Most readers will end up enjoying this book, and gritting their teeth at the same time over all the revelations that come out. Especially with regards to her mother. I, needless to say, have no further use for anyone in the Torquill family after what they've done to Toby, and how she's been treated after everything she's done for this family. Thankfully, Toby has some friends that she can rely on. None more so than King Tybalt of the Dreaming Cats, Quentin, Toby's squire who we learned a bit more about in the previous installment, and May, Toby's Fetch who is hard to kill.

I like repeating my self, so, let me say again that Luidaeg has to be one of the more interesting characters in this series. Even though we know she's a powerful being and a First Born, I think she's found a way to let Toby squeak into her heart. She's got so much hope and plans for Toby, and is a huge fan of her relationship with Tybalt. 

“Love is love. It’s rarer in Faerie than it used to be—rarer than it should be, if you ask me. If you can find it, you should cling to it, and never let anything interfere. Besides, he has a nice ass.” 

I just picked up the next book in the series called A Red-Rose Chain from my library, and unless I decide to drive to NY in the coming weeks, that will be reviewed on this blog as well shortly!

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#Monday Review - Chasing Embers by James Bennett (Urban Fantasy) @orbitbooks

Series: Ben Garston # 1
Format: E-Galley, 464 pages
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Behind every myth, there's a spark of truth...

There's nothing special about Ben Garston. He's just a guy with an attitude in a beat-up leather jacket, drowning his sorrows in a downtown bar. Or so he'd have you believe.

What Ben Garston can't let you know is that he was once known as Red Ben. That the world of myth and legend isn't just a fantasy, as we've been led to believe. And he certainly can't let you know the secret of what's hiding just beneath his skin...

But not even Ben knows what kind of hell is about to break loose. A centuries-old rivalry has just resurfaced, and the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered.

Chasing Embers is the first installment in author James Bennett's Ben Garston series. Chasing Embers is told in the third person narrative with a male lead character. Bennett takes his character from New York City, to London, to Berlin, and onward to Cairo for the crushing finale. Ben Garston, aka Red Ben is one of the last dragons left in existence thanks an agreement that was signed between the Remnants, and King John who also signed the Magna Carta, 800 years ago. Ben looks like a normal human being, but that's just because he can't tell anyone what he really is without incurring a major wrath against him.

"Progress always means decline for others."

Pact was supposed to protect all Remnants leaving them protected by the Guild of the Broken Lance, but ended up luring them into a long sleep instead. As the last Remnant and Dragon, Ben has an obligation to the Lure and Pact that becomes tiresome at times, especially after trouble hits him where it counts right out of the gate, and keeps hitting him until he realizes that he might be over matched. It takes Ben a rather long time in understanding why he has been targeted since the breaking of the pact takes place away from his purview. As Ben scurries for a way to stay alive from those who mean to see his end, he must try to the one person who has his heart; Rose McBriar.  

Clearly this is a book that weighs heavily on understanding things that happened 800 years ago, and why Ben and Rose have such a dysfunctional relationship that ends up leaving a whole lot of questions by the time you get to the ending. By the end, I liked Rose's attitude while wanting punch Ben in the throat from being a complete and utter asshat. I held back a bit on my review because the author through Ben does a whole lot of info dumping that probably wasn't necessary. Bennett didn't shy away from action. Nope. From a sword fighting scene in a bar, to Ben being chased by Witches through NYC, to facing an entity even more powerful and older than he is across Europe, while ending in a curious shove everything into the washer, and hope it comes out in a cohesive way ending in Egypt.

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#Stacking the Shelves / Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged # 32

Bought Borrowed and Bagged is all about the latest additions to your library – virtual or actual, with books that are  bought, borrowed, won or ARCs  you will be reading soon. Bought Borrowed and Bagged is a homage to to Barron’s Books and Baubles from Karen Marie Moning’s amazing Fever series, and is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe. 

Thanks for Shopping by!

Enjoy Your Weekend!

~Shelley~

This Weeks Reviews: 

Monday - A Deadly Affection by Cuyler Overholt (Historical Fiction)

Tuesday -  Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews (Urban Fantasy)

Wednesday - The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker (Science Fiction)

Thursday - Theta by Lizzy Ford (Post-Apocalyptic/Mythology

The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima (YA, Fantasy)

Friday - Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuirre (Urban Fantasy)

Saturday - Oppression by Jessica Theirren (YA, Fantasy)

Scheduled for Next Week: 

Monday - Chasing Embers by James Bennett (Fantasy)

Tuesday -  The Winter Long by Seanan McGuirre (Urban Fantasy)

Wednesday - Wicked and Wilde by Jenn Stark (Urban Fantasy)

Thursday - Uprising by Jessica Theirren (YA, Fantasy)

Friday -  Redemption by Jessica Theirren (YA, Fantasy)

Saturday - Aces Wilde by Jenn Stark (Urban Fantasy)

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima (YA, Fantasy)

*Received from Publishers, Edelweiss, NetGalley, & Library*

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#Saturday Review - Oppression by Jessica Therrien (YA, Fantasy, Mythology) @JessicaTherrien @XpressoTours

Series: Children of the Gods # 1
Format: E-Galley, 346 pages
Release Date: September 2, 2015
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: YA, Fantasy>Mythology

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty.

Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets.

There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules. 

Oppression, by author Jessica Therrien, is the first installment the Children of Gods trilogy. This series features Elyse Adler, a girl who appears to be Eighteen, but is much older than that. The story kicks off when Elyse loses her parents to an accident. Because of the fact that she ages slower than normal humans, she has been forced to move every Five years or so to keep the looky loos from asking too may questions. After her "second" mother passes away, Elyse meets William, who knows a whole lot about her, including the fact that she is the last healer in her line, and that she is the descendant of Asclepius, the God of healing. 

Elyse's blood is not like other healers. Her blood can heal anybody, and anybody can heal her. But, one needs to becareful of which side of Elyse's body they draw blood. The left side of her body contains poison, which comes in handy when you are forced into fighting back against the villainous Christoph and his Council minions. The Council members are all first generation descendants of Olympians. If Elyse didn't have enough problems with an instant connection to William, and Christoph chasing after her, apparently there is a prophecy that she will bring peace between the descendants and mortals. But, no pressure!

Elyse has been told that it is against Council law to heal any human. Hard to ignore that particular rule when her best friend Anna, and her daughter Chloe are both human. I think it's rather interesting how the author gets around the classic instant-romance shenanigans. Apparently this too is too big for anyone to ignore, especially Christoph. This series is big on mythology. It is also a series that you should take care not to ignore secondary characters like Kara, Nics, Rachel, Paul, and Sam who become staples of the story and Elyse's enlightenment of the world she was kept hidden from. 

One of the things that most readers will take from this story is the naivete of Elyse. Then again, can you blame her? Her parents kept her a secret. She wasn't allowed to have any friends, or attend regular school for fear of being discovered. Her parents deaths made it even more important for Elyse to remain in hiding with those like Christoph eager to get his hands on her. One can even give her a break when it comes to her insta-romance connection with William, besides the whole "other" prophecy thing.

I was provided copies of all three books in this series by Xpresso Book Tours. I will be reviewing them over the course of the next 2 weeks having already read them back to back. 

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#Friday Review - Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuirre (Urban Fantasy)

Series: October Daye # 7
Format: Paperback, 346 pages
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: DAW
Source: Purchased
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....

To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death. October Daye is about to find out what they are. 

Chimes at Midnight is the Seventh installment in author Seanan McGuire's October Daye series. This is a series that has been on my favorites list ever since the first book, Rosemary and Rue, was released in 2009. This story begins what the author considers to be the next step in Toby's journey. It is a journey that has seen her attempt to make up for the Fourteen years she spent as a fish thanks to a curse placed on her by Simon Torquill. Now, she has a relationship with Tybalt, the King of the Cat's. She has her own squire in Quentin. Plus, she has her "sister" May the former Fetch, and her girlfriend Jasmine to help her get through tough and challenging situations. 

But, nothing could prepare Toby for what happens in this installment. With Toby being a Knight of Lost Words, and a Hero to the realm, she is known to charge ahead often recklessly without thinking. Yet, she's never been banished from her home before. She's been imprisoned, and faced charges before, but nothing like this. Her relationship with the Queen of the Mist has never been a favorable one. The Queen loathes Toby mostly because of the fact that she is a lowly changeling who has done more good than harm. Even though Toby has earned her Knighthood from her actions in saving the realm, it only goes so far.

I know that sounds crazy, but so is the Queen. After Toby requests that the Queen help rid the kingdom of goblin fruit which is killing changelings for awhile now, the Queen gives her 3 days to get her things and get out. When the cloud settles, and Toby realizes that she has to make decisions quickly and do things she never thought possible. Her resources and friends become even more important to solving the issue of keeping Toby where she belongs. From reconnecting with her Aunt Luidaeg. To calling in favors from Li Qin. To visiting the secretive Library of Stars where she hopes to find any descendants of the lost King Gilad. Then, after finding the King's descendant, she needs to be able to convince that person to put their lives on hold and take up the title of Queen in the Mist.

It's really good to be back in Toby's world where Faerie intermixes with the Human world in San Francisco.  I missed Toby, Tybalt, May, Quentin and Luidaeg. If you are curious about the relationship between Luidaeg and Toby's mother, there is a short story at the end of this book that answers a few questions about Toby's heritage and what her mother tried to keep her away from. I love Toby's attitude, and yes, sarcasm in the face of trouble. I love the way she tries to protect those close to her, but maybe she should be a little more less controlled and let them do what they do. I love Toby and Tybalt together. It's been a rough road, but they definitely love each other. I loved Magdalena of the Library of Stars. I love that Toby has become more comfortable with who she is. She's more fae now than ever, but has no intention of removing her humanity for the sake of fitting in. 

I desire to continue catching up on this series quickly so don't be shocked when you see the next 3 books in this series being reviewed in the coming weeks. That means The Winter Long, A Red-Rose Chain, & Once Broken Faith. 

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#Thursday Review - Theta by Lizzy Ford (Fantasy, Mythology) @LizzyFord2010

Series: Omega # 2
Format: E-Galley, 302 pages
Release Date: August 29, 2016
Publisher: Captured Press
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology

Alessandra, the Oracle of Delphi, is under the control of the Supreme Magistrate, a madman determined to use her goddess-like powers to conquer deities and humans alike. Unable to confront him as she would like to, she bides her time and learns the political ropes while trying to save as many lives as possible. The implant linking her telepathically to the Supreme Magistrate begins to pull her into his madness, until she can no longer tell reality from the fictitious world he has created. With her allies exiled beyond the walls, Alessandra turns to Lantos, the Supreme Priest, a demigod as likely to betray her as help her. Lantos promises to help her on one condition – a condition she’s initially unwilling to accept.

Outside of Washington DC, Phoibe, the Silent Queen, struggles to control her rebellion. The army is fractured and unwilling to follow a teenage queen against the military might the Supreme Magistrate has spent years building. Just when she’s about to give up, she finds support where she least expects to: in the very gods she swore to expel from Earth. They’ll help her, if she calls off her war against them.

The Grotesque Prince, Adonis, has spent his life not knowing who he is. On a journey of self-discovery mandated by the goddess Artemis, he returns to the lands he once ruled. Amidst the rubble and destruction caused by the gods, he uncovers the plaque the goddess tasked him to find. Once he reads it, he understands too well the danger he’s placed everyone around him in, especially Alessandra, who woke him from slumber without understanding the consequences of such an action.

Theta is the second installment in author Lizzy Ford's Omega series. Theta picks up several months after the brutal ending to Omega. 18-year old protagonist Alessandra aka Lyssa, is the fated Oracle of Delphi. She's found herself in a precarious situation after being ensnared by Cleon, the Supreme Megalomaniac who she is bound to thanks an unbreakable implant placed on her spine. After the horrific ending to Oracle, Lyssa has few options left and few allies she can trust. She's basically a weapon that can be pointed at anyone that Cleon doesn't like, and she doesn't have a whole lot of room to say no.

With her her one source of happiness, Adonis, the Grotesque Prince away on a mission to find answers about his own past and her servant/spy Leandra being continually watched, Lyssa has to find a way to hold out as long as she can to avoid having all of her powers. This novel actually is a bit different from the first one. This novel is not only from Lyssa's perspective, but also Phoibe, the Silent Queens. It is from this perspective that we see the real meaning of the war that the Gods brought to the planet 5 years ago. 

It is from her perspective that we get the real meaning of loss, and suffering, and tragedy, and a real desire to rid the world of the Gods who she despises once and for all. With Lyssa being compromised by Cleon, Phoibe and her allies must confront the real possibility of having to move forward against Cleon and Lantos, the Supreme Priest alone. There is yet another perspective as well, and that is of Niko, the mercenary, turned Army Commander who has thrown all in with Cleon. We also can't forget Adonis even though he isn't in the story that much. What parts he is in, explain a whole lot about his bloodline that also affects Phoibe. 

If there were a way for readers to actually travel into a story for just a moment in time so that we could can punch a character in the throat, Niko would definitely be my choice. There's someone else as well, but I won't spoil who else becomes a villain. Ford has definitely turned this series into a curiosity with a damn startling revelation and betrayal that left me itching for the next installment. Before I finish, I should explain that Ford also has a series called Theta Beginnings that actually takes place BEFORE this series. It features characters like Lyssa, Phoibe, Mismatch, Lantos, Theodocia, & Herakles just to name a handful. 

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#Wednesday Review - The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker (Young Adult, Science Fiction) @The_Ones_byDSB @ImprintReads

Series: The Ones # 1
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Imprint
Source: Publisher
Genre:Young Adult, Science Fiction

Cody has always been proud of being a One. She and her boyfriend James were two of the lucky babies from the 1% of the U.S. population that were randomly selected to benefit from genetic engineering. Now, she and the rest of The Ones are excelling. They are healthy, beautiful, and talented. They aren't otherworldly, just perfect. And to some, that's not fair. The Equality Movement, capitalizing on the growing fear and jealousy, gains political traction and actually outlaws their existence. Society shows its darker side as The Ones are marginalized. The line between right and wrong blurs in the face of injustice and Cody becomes closer to a group of radical Ones intent on fighting back. James begins to fear just how far she is willing to go for the cause. 

The Ones is the first installment in debut novelist Daniel Sweren-Beckers' new series. 16-year old Cody Bell, and her boyfriend 17-year old James Livingston are considered to be modern day miracles. They are among the first group babies to have been born perfect thanks to Genetic Engineering. Sanctioned by the National Institute of Health, one percent of the population, or 1/100 newborn babies were chosen to be genetically modified via lottery. In every way, Cody, James, and the One percenters are healthy, talented, beautiful, and have tremendous advantages over the so called normal population. 

Because of this fact alone, there are those who consider it unfair to the rest of the population. The Equality Movement is so hateful and spiteful towards the one percenters who were given no voice in how they were born, that their case ends up in the Supreme Court which hands down a stunning decision to make genetic engineering illegal. 
The decision sends shock waves throughout the rest of the country and sets off a series of events that will lead to unimaginable heart breaking choices being made by Cody and James in order to fight back against bigotry, racism, and intentional incarceration of innocent people. 

For Cody, she finds a group called The New Weatherman who are at their very core, terrorists just like the original group from the 1960's. They are not willing to go quite into the night without making some major noise first. You can argue with me over semantics, but when you pick up arms and make threats against others, you are in fact a terrorist. For Cody, this is a personal choice after learning a shocking secret that upsets everything that she's learned. Even though this book alternates narratives, Cody is the most appealing in my opinion. Her world has been laid at the foundation of one thing, only to be shattered by the hopes of a mother looking for the best for her only child.

One can definitely say that Sweren-Becker tries hard to be the voice of reason, but lays heavily into social justice themes of discrimination based on one's birth, rather than one's skin color, religion, or sexual orientation. This is a hard road to travel and yet Sweren-Becker did a good job in keeping things moving quickly, and in a fashion that leaves questions about what would happen in this country if genetic engineering was found to be illegal. After all, the rich in this country have a huge monetary benefit at their disposal and can pick and choose what characteristics their babies are born with. Just ask Kim Kardashian.

One last point. Sweren-Becker dives into a hard topic. That topic is being forced into camps just because one is different, or are now enemies of the state. In the US, we've gone down this road under two different Democratic Presidents. Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. German, Japanese, and Italian Americans, like my descendants, found themselves in these camps even though they were innocent. So much for the 4th Amendment. Wilson even signed the Sedition Act which made it a crime to criticize the government and took away civil liberties of anyone who criticized his administration. Can you imagine all the people who would be sent to camps in today's society? 

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