#Review - Death Goddess Dance by Levi Black (Dark #Fantasy)

Series: The Mythos War (#3)
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: July 30, 2019
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Dark Fantasy

Intense Lovecraftian horror by the author of Red Right Hand and Black Goat Blues

In Red Right Hand, Charlie Tristan Moore became the unwilling acolyte of the Man In Black, a treacherous elder god also known as Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.
In Black Goat Blues, Charlie fought her way past bloodthirsty gods and demons to rescue her lover’s stolen soul, only to put all of Creation at risk.

Now she must stop the Man In Black from achieving his ultimate goal: freeing his dread father, Azathoth, from endless confinement to feast upon humanity for all eternity. But before she can confront her inhuman mentor for the final time, Charlie must make her way to the heart of a hellish, otherworldly prison—and call upon the darkest powers at her command.

 

Death Goddess Dance is the third installment in author Levi Black's The Mythos War series. DGD picks up where Black Goat Blues left off. Protagonist Charlotte (Charlie) Tristan Moore is hunting the Man in Black (Nyarlathotep, the God of Chaos and Destruction) who made her his acolyte only to have the student defeat the master. Nyarlathotep wants to release his father Azathoth from his prison where he, himself, put him. It is up to Charlie to stop him or allow the universe to be destroyed.

Charlie wears a black coat made from fallen angel skin that has hidden pockets of unbelievable useful tools, including a shotgun that shoots Balefire & Brimstone, Aqedah, Knife of Abraham, and a desire for payback for what he did to Daniel Langford, the man she has found herself loving. She also has a companion, a skin-hound named Winnie who once took off a huge chunk of her ear. Winnie has become a loyal friend and protector. 

Charlies acts like a badass, and tries to walk the walk as a badass, but it is her own powers that are truly impressive. Thanks to the Torc of Ashthoreth, Charlie's most impressive power is her interdimensional teleportation that she uses to track down Nyarlathotep and other Gods. Traveling via interdimensional teleportation, Charlie & Winnie end up in a place where nothing is real, and reality doesn't apply to her. This story sees Charlie tested on all sides. She meets the Sisters of Fates who has to survive in order to proceed further.

She also meets the Death Goddess who calls Charlie a Chaos Hunter, & Emissary of Death. This place Charlie ends up exists only because Death itself exists. It is filled with beings that will gladly test Charlie's last ounce of strength and desire for revenge. Charlie has been crafted into a weapon that strikes from the dark, a weapon shielded only by herself, and an assassin's blade that needs to flashy blade. But, once Charlie and her former teacher meet, will she have enough to defeat him, or will her road to payback end in blood, sweat, and tears?

The book actually has dual endings, which was curious. Even though Amazon claims this is the final book in the series, there is so much more the author can do with Charlie now that she has a new role. We shall see.

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#Review - Mind Games by Shana Silver #YALIT #SyFy

Series: Standalone
Format: E-Galley, 320 pages
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

A teen programmer at a school for geniuses must join forces with a boy she can't remember to stop a hacker from deleting their memories in this YA debut.

Arden sells memories. Whether it’s becoming homecoming queen or studying for that all important test, Arden can hack into a classmate’s memories and upload the experience for you just as if you’d lived it yourself. Business is great, right up until the day Arden whites out, losing fifteen minutes of her life and all her memories of the boy across the school yard. The boy her friends assure her she’s had a crush on for years.

Arden realizes that her own memories have been hacked, but they haven’t just been stolen and shared… they’ve been removed. And she’s not the only one: her mysterious crush, Sebastian, has lost ALL of his memories. But how can they find someone who has the power to make them forget everything they’ve learned?
 

 

Mind Games is author Shana Silver's debut novel. Mind Games is a science fiction and mystery novel, narrating the life of Arden Varga who is a computer genius and a skilled hacker. Arden's father developed a cloud-based memory uploading app. Every memory gets backed up and synced to the brain instantly. Arden attends an invitation only High School which is sponsored by her mothers company; Vargas Industries. Arden sells memories and experiences to her classmates for their benefit by using Hivemind.

She soon realizes that her a bunch of her memories have been deleted from her mind, including that of Sebastian Cuomo who she should know, but has no memories of and neither does he. Arden and Sebastian Cuomo eventually discover that this whole mind wipe centers around around their final project – something that was apparently life-changing, and something that the hacker doesn’t want to see completed. To make matters worse, those around her, including teachers, seem to be having the same issues with loss of memories.

Silver puts together a plot that is fast-paced and disturbing, containing plenty of suspense, and twists at the end, to keep readers invested. Arden's thoughts feel real and natural, which positively contributes to the story. I liked the portions where the author shows Arden's brilliance where she ends up retrieving and putting the trail together piece by piece as the memories played out in reverse. Arden is a curious character who wears high heels everywhere. I honestly thought that was unrealistic. How many 17-18-years old wear kitten heals to high school?

Sebastian was somewhat interesting, essentially building himself up from a blank slate due to his complete memory loss. The romance was subtle and not in your face. The plot itself was really well built. I wasn’t able to predict who Arden's antagonists were until the very end, even though there were hints of who they were, and even then I was so shell shocked that I started to doubt everything around me. 

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#Review - Old Bones by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child #Thrillers / #Suspense

Series: Nora Kelly #1
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense

#1 bestselling authors Preston & Child bring the true story of the ill-fated Donner Party to new life in a thrilling blend of archaeology, history, murder, and suspense.

Nora Kelly, a young curator at the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology, is approached by historian Clive Benton with a once-in-a-lifetime proposal: to lead a team in search of the so-called "Lost Camp" of the tragic Donner Party. This was a group of pioneers who earned a terrible place in American history when they became snow-bound in the California mountains in 1847, their fate unknown until the first skeletonized survivors stumbled out of the wilderness, raving about starvation, murder-and cannibalism.

Benton tells Kelly he has stumbled upon an amazing find: the long-sought diary of one of the victims, which has an enigmatic description of the Lost Camp. Nora agrees to lead an expedition to locate and excavate it-to reveal its long-buried secrets.

Once in the mountains, however, they learn that discovering the camp is only the first step in a mounting journey of fear. For as they uncover old bones, they expose the real truth of what happened, one that is far more shocking and bizarre than mere cannibalism. And when those ancient horrors lead to present-day violence on a grand scale, rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned the case...only to find that her first investigation might very well be her last

 

Old Bones marks the launch of a brand-new series from Preston & Child that will draw on the author's backgrounds in archaeology, American history, and Museum Studies like never before. While Old Bones will be the first official book of the Nora Kelly series, the first novel to actually feature Kelly as the main protagonist was 1999's Thunderhead. Dr. Nora Kelly is an archaeologist associate of Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. Her last appearance came in the novel called Cemetery Dance. Cemetery Dance was the ninth book in the Agent Pendergast series. 

Most recently a curator in the Anthropology Department of the New York Museum of Natural History, Nora now works for the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. Nora is approached by Dr. Clive Benton, a California historian from Stanford University who has a proposition for Nora and her employer.  Clive wishes for the institute to become involved in the search for The Lost Camp. The Lost Camp is part of Clive's determination to find one of the Donner Party's last known locations. 

To make things even more interesting for Nora's boss Dr. Jill Fugit, Clive claims that according to Tamsen Donner's journal, one of the men on the Donner expedition, Jacob Wolfinger, had been carrying quite the fortune in Liberty Head gold eagle coins which has never been found. The deal is done and the die is cast. For Nora, the lost money is a nice reward, but being the first to find the Lost Camp, can make her already impressive career a huge boost. 

Corrine "Corrie" Swanson is also an an associate of Special Agent Pendergast. She's a graduate of  John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is now a new agent of the FBI. Corrie first appeared in Still Life with Crows and was the featured protagonist in the Pendergast novel White Fire. While working for her new boss, Corrine uncovers a curious mystery in that those with the same name have either had their graves robbed, or have been kidnapped. But, what do they have in common? What are the perps searching for? Can Corrie put the pieces together before she has to hand off her case to someone more experienced? 

While Nora and her team are uncovering history, as well as dealing with murder, Corrie is trying to prove herself to small minded sheriff's who believe she is too young to be leading any investigation. She also has to deal with a supervisor who allows her just enough room to hang herself before believing that she is better off dealing with other less important cases. Corrie and Nora aren't much of friends in this book. Not until they are both sort of pushed into realizing this Lost Camp search was much more than either of them could have imagined. 

Overall, the story was just fine, but the ending was really off the rails. Obviously, the co-authors had to have a Pendergast sighting since this series is a spin-off from his own. As always with the Preston & Child’s books, there is a lot of history to be gleaned and history to be researched more fully. The Donner Party horror has been in the minds of historians and history lovers since 1847. There is an unresolved issue that I am hoping gets more explanation in the sequel. It would explain who the real villains are that are off screen causing so much pain and suffering.

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#Review - Into the Hourglass by Emily R. King #YALit #Fantasy

Series: The Evermore Chronicles (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 286 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

In the second book in The Evermore Chronicles by Emily R. King, Everley Donovan plunges into the roiling waves of a strange new world to hunt a wicked prince who cheated time.

Everley Donovan’s mission: retrieve the hallowed sword of Avelyn stolen by the wicked Prince Killian, who slayed her family and left her for dead. Should she fail, the seven worlds will come to an end, as could time itself. And no one treasures time more than Everley, whose lifesaving clock heart cannot beat forever. She has set sail with a rogue crew for the otherworlds, where the key to dethroning the prince lies deep within the Land Under the Wave.

But passage through these unknown seas—where horrors lurk and pirates rove—proves a treacherous gamble. The Land Under the Wave was not made for humans, particularly one with a fragile clock heart. Here, Everley’s tragic past resurfaces unsolved questions. Here, too, the prince has hidden secrets more precious than pearls, secrets that could fracture the future forevermore. Everley must take back her sword and break free from this watery world before her time runs out…or so will everyone else’s.

 

 

Into the Hourglass, by author Emily R. King, is the second installment in the authors The Evermore Chronicles. The story begins about 2 months after the ending of Before the Broken Star. Everley Donovan continues her revenge tour de force against Prince Killian. Killian was swallowed by the beast known as the Terrible Dorcha as well as the ancient sword of Avelyn which is supposed to be Everley's to protect. Without it, she has been told that the 7 other-worlds and the fate of the world hang in the balance.

She had hoped to convince her alleged allies that going to the Land Under the Water in order to track down Killian and the sword is a good thing, and not some horrible idea that will end up with everyone dead or lost. Yeah, about that! Everley, Jamison (who is the only other person who knows about her clock heart), Radella (pixie), Claret, Harlow, & Laverick find themselves in the Land under the Wave where Giants, Merrow, and Elves rule the world. Everley, however, seems to be having some issues with her heart in that it's not working as it should. Could her life literally be ticking away?

To make matters worse, the sword seems to have been taken to the mythical underwater city called Everblue and it will take some really interesting maneuvering to get there and beat Killian. Everything Everley has done up till now, has been thwarted by Killian. The same man who also killed her family and left her with a clock for a heart thanks to her Uncle and Father Time. I won't go into much detail, but while in the alternative otherworld, Everley's family's past comes to light which gives things a much more interesting perspective about who Everley is, as well as why she was chosen for the clock heart in the first place.

The author seems to be exploring new worlds in each of the books, so the third installment should be really interesting. Everley does pick up one ally in this story, Osric, an elf who has had an interesting past with Killian, and now feels as though he has the ability to help Everley in her goals. After everything that Everley goes through in this story, it might be the ending itself that really breaks my heart. No, not because she and Jamison end up on the wrong side. There is a surprising twist however. But, because she finds herself once again having to fight for her life after certain people discover her clock heart.

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#Review - Rebel Born by Amy A. Bartol #Dystopian

Series: Secondborn (#3)
Format: E-Galley, 336 pages
Release Date: August 13, 2019
Publisher: 47North
Source: Publisher
Genre: Dystopian

Roselle faces a mind-reeling showdown with the deep state agent controlling her psyche in the Wall Street Journal bestselling conclusion to the Secondborn series.

Roselle St. Sismode is many things: victim of a conspiracy, unwilling host of an ever-evolving mind algorithm, spy for a rebel army, and heir to the Fate of Swords. As a warrior, she’s also the anticipated main event at the Secondborn Trials. When the opening ceremonies erupt in chaos, Roselle is abducted by a sadistic agent with a diabolical plan: transform Roselle into a mind-controlled assassin to topple society. But a rogue scientist has implanted Roselle with a genius technology that is far more powerful. It renders her untouchable. Faster. Stronger. And maybe immortal.

With her enhanced abilities come the highest stakes yet, as Roselle confronts shifting realities at every turn as well as her own mother’s stunning betrayal. Racing against time with a determined resistance group, can Roselle overthrow the forces of destruction and reclaim the most valuable of commodities—her humanity?

 

Rebel Born, by author Amy Bartol, is the third and final installment in the authors Secondborn trilogy. This series cuts across several genre's; Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Dystopian. It also adds a bit of mythology. The series follows Roselle St. Sismode who is the second-born daughter of the Fate of Swords. Roselle has been under constant attack from Agent Crow of Census, as well as her own mother who has done everything she can to kill Roselle. But, Roselle isn't one to lay down and submit to anyone.

As the story picks up right where Traitor Born left off, readers should absolutely have read the first two books in this trilogy before proceeding. With her first-born brother dead, Roselle is now the heir to the Fate of Swords. But, after what happened during the Secondborn trials, especially the ending, Roselle finds herself being controlled by Crow and his new world order. A month goes by with Roselle having lost time but is now fully awake thanks to some much needed help. 

For part of the time, she's a mind-controlled assassin and does some things that will have lasting implications. When she does finally wake, it's to find out that she's upgrading into something different from Crow's mind controlled monsters thanks to a scientist named Ransom Winterstrom. Roselle has to find a way to escape from her nightmare existence, adapt to her newly enhanced abilities and discover a way to save her world. Roselle's allies, including Reykin Winterstrom and Clifton Salloway, are hopelessly outgunned and in need a miracle in order to survive Crow and Census's brutal new world.  

We are introduced to a pretty interesting and twisted character in this story; Cherno. Cherno ends up being assigned to Roselle as her body guard and stays with her throughout the story. He truly believes that Roselle is a direct descendant of a War Goddess by the same name. He also has a curious past with Clifton which gives the story some humor. If you've read the first two books, you know that Roselle has had romantic inclinations towards Hawthorne Trugrave, as well as Reykin Winterstorm who said the 3 words as the final chapter of the previous book was wrapping up.  

Hawthorne's relationship with Roselle hasn't been the same since becoming a Firstborn. With the author's introduction of a program called Spectrum, you could write your own ending as to who Roselle would end up with. I have nothing against either character, it's just strange the way the author chooses to wrap up this series.

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#Review - Midnight Beauties by Megan Shepherd #YALIT #Fantasy

Series: Grim Lovelies# 2
Format: E-Galley, 448 pages
Release Date: August 13, 2019
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Dark Fantasy

The witches, beasties, goblins, and Royals return in this spellbinding conclusion to New York Times best-selling author Megan Shepherd’s Grim Lovelies duology.

Ever since she discovered her affinity for magic, seventeen-year-old Anouk has been desperate to become a witch. It’s the only way to save her friends who, like Anouk, are beasties: animals enchanted into humans. But unlike Anouk, the other beasties didn’t make it out of the battle at Montélimar in one piece.

With her friends now trapped in their animal forms, Anouk is forced into a sinister deal involving a political marriage with her sworn enemy, a wicked plot to overthrow London’s fiercest coven of witches, and a deadly trial of fire to become a witch. The price for power has always been steep in the world of the Haute. Now, it will cost Anouk everything.

Wicked and delightful, this spellbinding sequel and conclusion to Grim Lovelies is perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Hazelwood Wood.

 

 

Megan Shepherd's Midnight Beauties is the final installment in the authors Grim Lovelies duology. 6 weeks have passed since Anouk learned she has access to magic. Pretty surprising from what she came from. She fought and survived the siege of Montélimar, while her friends (Beau, Cricket, Luc, Hunter Black) have all reverted back to their original forms before they were human. Now, Anouk has to find a way to become a witch so that she has the power to bring her family back.

Anouk is approached by Crown Prince Rennar of the Shadow Royals with a deal that she cannot refuse. Unfortunately, it results in her agreeing to a political marriage that will see her go from a beastie, to a maid, to a witch, and end up as a Princess. If that wasn't enough to tempt you, the Royals of London have disappeared, the Coven of Oxford have not only unleashed magic on the city, but technology is fighting against magic which isn't supposed to mix. But, before Anouk can save the world, she needs to survive the Cottage.

Anouk is joined at the Cottage/The Schwarewald by Petra, who wasn't exactly an ally the last time they met. Anouk isn't exactly welcomed with open arms by the man in charge, Duke Karolinge, who tells Anouk that the school is a graveyard for the soon to be departed. In fact, the woods are filled with the dead who never made it to the front doors. In order to become a witch, one has to find their own cruxes, while also surviving a final walk through fire which not many girls have survived in recent years.

With Anouk's marriage to Rennar, her friends are returned to their human form, and the Shadow Royals have to put their hatred of each other behind so that they can work together to defeat the chaos that is tearing London to pieces. The beasties pretty much have carte blanche in the ability to kill witches without any sort of penalties. Truth be told, the time Anouk spends at the school isn't all that long. The fight and battle for London was absolutely the best part of the book and readers will be in agreement that Anouk is definitely a star who has done some amazing things over the course of this series.

Midnight Beauties is a high-stake, action packed thrill ride with a bit of romance thrown in to keep even the most harden critics happy. I do, actually, believe there is more to tell in this world. There are characters who have found themselves in interesting situations, and there is a war on the horizon that Anouk and her family can join in, or walk away and let the chips fall where they might. Plus, the fact that she is a force to be reckoned with, makes for some interesting new storylines.

Chapter 1
There was blood everywhere, even in her hair.
Anouk tripped through fallen leaves in gold-studded Goblin boots two sizes too small, the laces undone, the novelty tread leaving bloodstained prints in the smeared shape of hearts. Her leather shorts were ripped. Her velvet jacket was punctured once in the sleeve and twice near her ribs. Blood oozed down her side.
The birds were right behind her.
One crow swept down from a lamppost in a flurry of black wings, going for her ear. Its beak sliced her cheek. She swatted at it, but its talons snagged in her hair or, rather, in the blue wig she wore. The wig slid forward over her eyes, blinding her. She pulled it off and threw it—?tangled crow and all—?into a sewer grate and raced ahead.
Toward 18 Rue des Amants.
The former residence of a witch, the townhouse was now hers. Her home. Her haven. Or, since Prince Rennar had set his winged spies on her, more like her prison. Her hair had become a sweaty mess beneath the wig, clinging to her neck and face. Another crow launched itself at her back. Talons ripped at her clothes. She grabbed the railing to the stairs. Just a few more steps. The Goblins were inside, faces pressed against the townhouse windows, motioning for her to hurry.
A crow landed on her shoulder, its talons piercing through the velvet jacket. Pain exploded in her arm. She faltered on the steps. She would have used a spell against it, except that her bag of ingredients was the first thing the crows had gone for, knowing that without it, she was no more powerful than the Pretty tourists strolling down the street, magically oblivious to Anouk’s distress.
Gasping, she grabbed the crow by its wing and yanked with all her strength.
“Let go!”
She hurled the crow against the steps and, before it could take wing again, yanked open the townhouse’s front door, threw herself inside, and slammed it closed behind her.
She collapsed against the door, breathing hard.
The townhouse was protected with a spell so ancient that it hadn’t been broken at Mada Vittora’s death, unlike most of her other enchantments. It was the only thing keeping Rennar and his crows out, which unfortunately meant that to be safe, Anouk had to stay in. Over the past six weeks, she and Viggo and the two dozen Goblins who had survived the siege of Montélimar might as well have been prisoners. The first time she’d tried to leave was two days after the siege; she’d needed baguettes to feed the hungry Goblins. The crows had been waiting in the trees. They attacked her as soon as she crossed the first step. She’d barely made it back inside in one piece.
The second time she’d tried to leave, she waited until night fell, when it was foggy and hard to see more than three feet on either side. That time she made it ten steps before they spotted her. They would have dug in their talons and dragged her all the way to Castle Ides if Viggo hadn’t hurled an empty gin bottle at them and pulled Anouk back inside.
The third time, she’d brought knives. Many, many knives, hidden in pockets and strapped to her belt. But the crows were fast enough to dodge them, their own talons just as sharp.
Today, she’d thought she stood a chance, that the Goblin disguise—?the blue wig, the punk boots, and the velvet jacket—?would be enough to conceal her identity from the birds. They were merely Rennar’s pawns, after all, just dull-witted spies.
But they’d still known.
She’d made it only five steps.
The sound of a tap-tap-tap came from the foyer. She opened her eyes. Viggo stood in the hallway. He leaned heavily on a cane. His face was pale. It was a wonder he’d survived at all after losing six pints of blood, but he was tougher than his black eyeliner and slouchy hat made him look. He’d nearly recovered in the six weeks since the siege.
“I take it the disguise didn’t fool them,” he said.
She slid him a frigid glare.
Blood rolled down her fishnet tights, over her studded boots, and onto the floor. Her tawny hair was knotted. A few blue strands from the ripped wig still clung to the buttons of her jacket. The wounds in her side throbbed. She straightened and took a lurching step forward. Her legs gave out and she started to collapse, but Viggo dropped his cane and grabbed her around the waist.
“Help me to the kitchen,” she said, grimacing.
Together they hobbled through the townhouse’s grand hallways. They passed the library and the salon, which were littered with signs of her guests—?spilled tea, threadbare hats. Goblins peered at her through doorways, their stomachs audibly growling, their faces full of false smiles as they tried to hide their disappointment that she’d failed once again. She narrowly avoided tripping over a butterfly net as Viggo helped her into the kitchen, where she’d spent so many early mornings baking bread and so many late nights scrubbing dishes. She grabbed a dish towel, turned on the hot water, and plunged her hands into the sink. Steam rose around her. She scrubbed the blood and feathers from her arms, revealing fresh wounds and old wounds—?now crude scars—?from her previous attempts to leave the townhouse.
“Shall I bandage those for you?” Viggo asked, pulling out a roll of gauze from a drawer.
“No, I’ll take care of it myself. Just hand me that mint.”
He held out the potted mint plant and she crushed a few leaves between her fingers, then swallowed them whole. She ripped off a strand of fake blue hair that was caught in her buttons, laid it over the wound on her left arm, and whispered, “Attash betit truk.”
Warm magic prickled over her skin in a way that was half pleasant, half unbearably itchy. The sides of the cut started to pull together as the strand of blue hair plunged in and out of her skin, stitching the wound closed. Attash betit truk was a spell for fixing loose buttons, not mending flesh, but true healing spells required stronger magic than Anouk was capable of. When she finished, the wound was ugly but it had stopped bleeding. She peeled off her shirt and performed the same spell with the puncture wound on her shoulder. Viggo hobbled upstairs and came back with one of Mada Vittora’s robes. It was made of charmeuse silk and worth a small fortune. But what use did a dead witch have for couture?
Anouk pulled on the robe.
She boiled water for a cup of tea to settle her nerves. Not that it would help. Her hands kept shaking. Her stomach growled. She caught her reflection in the curved copper kettle. Goodness, she looked a fright. December had painted full Goblin makeup on her: glittering gold eyeliner, pale pink hearts on her cheeks, black lipstick. Now the blush was smeared and there was glitter everywhere. She scrubbed her face in the sink, then pulled her tangled hair into a ponytail, and she felt a little more like herself.
Viggo stood awkwardly at her side. “We’ll try again tomorrow. It’s supposed to storm. If it rains hard enough, maybe the birds won’t come.”
“Rain’s never kept them away before.” She leaned on the counter and closed her eyes. It had been six weeks of trying to divide every last morsel of stale bread twenty-five ways. Six weeks of living with Goblins who blared The Clash at full volume at first light of dawn. Six weeks of hunger. Six weeks of crows.
Six weeks of a dog by her side instead of Beau.
There had been five of them—?five beasties. An owl, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and a wolf, all of whom had been enchanted into people with their own quirks: Anouk, Beau, Cricket, Luc, and Hunter Black. Now only Anouk remained human. The others were cursed to live in their animal forms, and all of them except for Beau were imprisoned in Castle Ides.
She’d tried everything to help them. After the siege of Montélimar, she decided to go to the academy in the Black Forest of Bavaria known as the Cottage where a girl could train in magic and, if she worked hard, possibly transform herself into a witch. She’d be powerful enough to turn Beau and Cricket and Luc and Hunter Black—?assuming he was even still alive—?human again. Even Prince Rennar would have no choice but to bow before her.
She’d studied maps of Bavaria. She’d learned a smattering of German. She’d squirreled away valuables to trade for money to buy passage. But her weeks of preparation meant nothing if she couldn’t get past the front steps.
She sank onto a wooden stool and buried her head in her hands. A cloud of dust rose around her. The kitchen, like everything else, was a disaster. Crumbs everywhere, pantry shelves bare, dirty dishes stacked in moldering piles, blue eye shadow streaked on the stove. (She hadn’t bothered to ask about that one.) She felt like the only adult in a houseful of children, never mind that she’d been human for only one year and the Goblins had lived centuries. It was no longer her job to clean, and yet she often found herself with a rag in her hand, brushing crumbs into the wastebasket. Frustrating as the Goblins could be, they had no other place to go. They’d been lucky to make it back to the townhouse at all. Not everyone had. The memory of Tenpenny transformed into stone, then exploded into dust, flashed darkly in her mind.
She heard a clicking on the tile, and then a wet snout pushed into her knee. She blinked at the big brown eyes studying her. The dog had tracked in mud and left dirty paw prints all over the kitchen floor. She sighed as she scratched him behind his ears. “You know, Little Beau, when you were a boy, you were much tidier. Well, not really, but let’s pretend.”
When Beau was human, his eyes had been blue. There was nothing of the dog to make her think of her friend, except perhaps the way he cocked his head as though he were trying to figure out her thoughts. What would he see now tumbling around in her brain?
The dog licked her nose.
She sighed and looked at Viggo. “We can’t go on like this, Viggo. Look at Beau! And Cricket and Luc and . . . and Hunter Black. They’re depending on me.” Viggo’s face paled at the mention of Hunter Black. Last they had seen of him, he’d been in wolf form, bleeding out and left for dead. Anouk looked toward the bare pantry. “Not to mention we’re going to starve if we stay here.”
Viggo gazed into the pantry wistfully. “I tried ordering a pizza. It never came. Rennar must have even gotten to the delivery boys.”
An odd-sounding thump suddenly came from the front door, startling Anouk. It was heavier than the usual crisp tap of the knocker. Little Beau growled and ran out of the kitchen, barking.
December, the closest thing the Goblins had to a leader since Tenpenny had died, called from the foyer, “Um, Anouk? You might want to see this.”
Viggo shifted his cane to his other hand. “Are we expecting visitors?”
“Of course not.” Anouk wiped at a smear of blood on the robe’s sash. “Everyone we know is either captured or dead.”
The dog barked louder. Viggo and Anouk exchanged a look, then Anouk pushed up from the stool and cautiously entered the foyer. A dozen Goblins were at the front window, faces pressed to the glass. The house seemed suddenly very quiet, and Anouk realized that whatever was happening outside was serious enough that the Goblins had shut off the music. And they never turned off The Clash.
December turned away from the window and bit her blue-tinted lips in worry. Anouk’s pulse raced. She swallowed her own trepidation and approached the door. The cane stopped thumping as Viggo reached the foyer and joined her.
Anouk pressed her eye to the peephole.
Behind her, Viggo said, “I’m guessing it isn’t the pizza.”

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#Review - Immunity by Erin Bowman #YALit #SyFy

Series: Contagion # 2
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: July 2, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

Survivors of a deadly planetary outbreak take on a new, sinister adversary in the white-knuckle sequel to Contagion, which New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman called “gripping, thrilling and terrifying in equal measures.” 

They thought their nightmare was over, but Thea, Coen, and Nova’s rescue was only the beginning. After being imprisoned on a ship they thought was their ticket to safety, it’s clear that the threat they left behind isn’t as distant as they’d hoped—and this time the entire galaxy is at risk.

Now that threat is about to be unleashed as an act of political warfare. To prevent an interstellar catastrophe, the survivors must harness the evil they faced on the planet Achlys and learn to wield the only weapon they have left: themselves.

The first installment in Erin Bowman’s duology earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who called the plot “intricate and action-packed,” and fans of Jonathan Maberry, Rick Yancey, and Madeline Roux will relish in Bowman’s tense, high-stakes conclusion to the events of Contagion.

 

Immunity is the second and final installment in author Erin Bowman's Contagion duology. Immunity picks up right where Contagion left off. Althea Sadik, Coen Rivli, and Nova Singh thought they had survived the evil they faced on the planet Achlys. They were wrong. Althea and Coen are forever altered by the Psychrobacter achli contagion and are now lab experiments and prisoners onboard the UBS Paramount. Thea and Coen find themselves evolving over the course of the first part of the book.

As the contagion takes hold, and makes them hosts (immune to the contagion), they learn they are stronger, faster, able to heal from most wounds, and can also use telepathy to speak to the other. While they are resolving personal issues stemming from the fact that Coen infected Thea when he saved her life, they also find themselves as pawns in a much larger game of life or death. Thea and Coen must try to work together, and align up others to help them if they are going to stop Radical Lieutenant Christoph Burke.

Burke believes he's finally found a way to fight back against the United Planetary Coalition and free Trios from its clutches. Burke's goal is simple: weaponized the contagion, recruit unwilling volunteers to become his pawns in a grander scale war against the Union which hasn't always done right for the people they are supposed to protect and ensure they get what they need. Burke also has some powerful people in power aiding and abetting him in his plans.  

Meanwhile, Nova, the pilot, is in a coma when the story opens. While Thea and Coen are being experimented on, Nova finds an unusual ally in Amber Farraday. Amber is a medic student on board the space station, her father is the head of the team of doctors that are experimenting on Thea and Coen. She ends up taking care of Nova who isn't immune to the contagion and has nightmares from what happened on the doomed planet. Amber finds herself involved in something darker, sinister, and much more dangerous than she bargained for. 

With their captors planning to target teens with a deadly scheme, Thea, Cohen, Nova, and Amber must band together to overpower not only their captors, but an entire political faction. While Contagion was a forward full throttle action packed story with the cast that struggled mightily to say alive from those who were infected with the contagion, Immunity is the perfect companion in that it is more of a race against time and an enemy that wants to use them for nefarious intents.

(Note: there is a 5th character in this story we see at different points. I shall name her programmer and not say who she is. I will say that there is a entire back story to this character. You can tell who this character is related to if you truly pay attention. This character plays a pretty important role in this story and ends up helping Nova, Coen, and Amber after they escape from Burke in hopes of finding a way to defeat him.)

The name Burke has been rolling around in my head from the very beginning of the book. If you've watched Aliens (1986) with Ripley, Newt, and the Marines on a colony that went dark thanks to the Xenomorph, you will have heard the name Burke before. In fact, Burke in Aliens, is really similar to the Burke in this series. They both are both illogical in their thinking, they don't want to be told not to go down a certain path, they think they can actually handle something far deadlier than they could imagine in an effort to use them for goals that end up in tragedy and horror. 

It is fair to say I really liked this story. I liked to see the addition of Amber who wasn't all in with the radicals and used her mind and skills to help Nova, Coen, and Amber against even her own father. I would have liked to see more of Nova, but she gets her chance in the pivotal final chapters and in escaping from Burke's ship. Nova also deals with her own issues in what she did in order to survive. Plus, hopefully she actually found some peace and happiness with (NO SPOILERS!!!!)

The romance between Coen and Thea evolves in a major way in this book, as does another surprising one that you've probably guessed already. This second book wasn't much in the way or horror like the first book was. This book was straight up science fiction with battleships, space stations, and visits to several new planets thus adding more characters.

Thank you to Abigail at Wunderkind PR for sending me a copy of this book and for your patience when the first book was lost in the aether and never found.   

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