Flora's Musings...

Tuesday, 31 May 2016

Flora Reviews... The Veil Series Complete Box Set (Books 1-5) by Pippa DaCosta

The Veil Series Complete Box Set (Books 1 - 5)

by Pippa DaCosta

Read: 5^th – 31^st May 2016

Format: Kindle

My Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is an urban fantasy series featuring humans, demons and half-demons and is the complete 5 book series called The Veil (there are also a couple of novellas including a prequel “Wings Of Hope” which you get for free by signing up to Pippa DaCosta’s Newsletter). I read the first book in this series back in January 2014 and decided to download this box set from Amazon UK.

The blurb says:

All five Veil Series novels now in one place! Beyond The Veil, #1, Devil May Care, #2, Darkest Before Dawn, #3, Drowning In The Dark, #4 and Ties That Bind, #5

Beyond The Veil

Charlie Henderson is living a lie. Her real name is Muse and her attempt at a normal life is about to go up in smoke.

When a half-demon assassin walks into her life, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, Muse must return to the one man she hoped never to see again and ask for help. The Prince of Greed isn’t known for his charity. The price is high, and the cost could tear her apart.

Trapped between the malevolent intentions of a Prince of Hell and an assassin with ulterior motives, Muse must embrace the lure of chaos at her core; the demon inside her, in order to survive.

Devil May Care

Three dead Enforcers in three weeks, their bodies butchered. Muse has seen it before, and when she reads the metal memories in the murder weapon, she sees it all again. Her owner, Damien, is back, and he wants what is rightfully his.

Darkest Before Dawn

When Akil leaves a nine year old half-blood girl on Muse’s doorstep, it’s not long before the demons come hunting, but this time Muse isn’t the target. The Institute, Muse’s immortal brother, and the Princes of Hell, all want a piece of the little half-blood. What’s so special about Dawn, and why has Akil conveniently disappeared just as Muse needs answers?

Drowning In The Dark

As the veil begins to fall and the demons bleed through onto the streets of Boston, Muse knows the battle is lost before it’s even begun.

To make matters worse, Adam and the Institute have captured Akil at a time when the city has never needed him more. Muse believes Akil’s incarceration is a ruse, because if he truly is at the mercy of the Institute, she must choose which side she’ll fight for. Human or demon?

Ties That Bind

Demons are here. Muse knows she can stop the slaughter, but to do so, she must return to the battle-scarred streets of Boston and face the cold, hard, truth. Her old life is ashes. Her love, turned to dust. But all is not lost; a spark of hope remains. A spark from which an inferno can blaze.

“They say I’m half demon, but I like to think of myself as half human, especially as the demons want me dead.”

Charlie Henderson is living a lie. Her real name is Muse and her attempt at a normal life is about to go up in smoke.

When a half-demon assassin walks into her life, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, Muse must return to the one man she hoped never to see again and ask for help. The Prince of Greed isn’t known for his charity. The price is high, and the cost could tear her apart.

Trapped between the malevolent intentions of a Prince of Hell and an assassin with ulterior motives, Muse must embrace the lure of chaos at her core; the demon inside her, in order to survive.

When your ex is the Prince of Greed, you'd better be ready to raise hell.

(Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2014 Quarter-Finalist Top 100 in Genre.)

...So, what did I like about it?

I found Ms DaCosta’s writing style very easy to read and I never felt lost in the plot. I liked the premise for her world; humans know about the existence of demons (but we don’t know the full truth of their power) some of which have chosen to live in our world (in a human look-a-like shell) while the rest live in their realm the “Netherworld”, half-demons are considered abominations/scum by the full demons and usually killed at birth. I appreciated the way that Ms DaCosta revealed the complexities and practises of the demon world without upsetting the pace of the tale and the seed of doubt she planted in what we knew or thought we knew about circumstances, characters and fate.

I loved that our main male characters were not your typical “good” or “evil”, yes it made it hard to tell who was on Muse’s side but then people are a myriad of greys with the potential of great kindness and great evil in us all which is what added a very believable dimension to Ms DaCosta’s characters for me; both higher demon and human.

The plot kept me guessing right to the end; it made me laugh, cry, blush from naughty thoughts and had me, literally, on the edge of my seat at times.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

In a word – no not really.

That’s not to say that I didn’t find the actions, reasoning and behaviour of some of our main characters frustrating at times but (in my opinion), that’s deliberate; it’s all part of the journey and character/story development that Ms DaCosta makes us, the reader, experience to make the whole tale so involving.

This is a series, so don’t expect answers to be easily discovered, yes there are cliffhangers at the end of a couple of books but that’s the advantage of buying a set, you don’t have to wait…

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I really loved this series!

I found it well written with a huge amount of twists & turns that kept me guessing throughout this action packed, emotional rollercoaster of an urban fantasy tale! I loved the development of our main characters and the direction of the story that we were taken on. In my mind it had it all!

So, have I sparked an interested for THE VEIL COMPLETE BOX SET (Books 1-5) in you? Just click on the links below and check out the set yourself.

See THE VEIL COMPLETE BOX SET ( Books 1-5) on Goodreads.com

Buy BEYOND THE VEIL (THE VEIL #1) on Amazon.co.uk

Or visit Pippa DaCosta’s website for more information about the author herself.

Friday, 1 January 2016

Flora Reviews... Grave Attraction (Grave #4) by Lori Sjoberg

Grave Attraction (Grave #4)
by Lori Sjoberg

Read: 24^th – 29^th December 2015

Format: Kindle

My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is a paranormal romance with more than one storyline running throughout but with a HEA (Happily Ever After) conclusion for our romantic couple. It is the fourth book in Ms Sjoberg’s Grave series but I read it without reading the previous books, confirming that it also works as a standalone novel too.

The official blurb says:

He’s a reaper who works by the book. But a sexy shifter will have him changing the course of fate just to be with her—if a killer doesn’t get to her first...

After four years as a reaper, helping souls cross into the afterlife is a job Adam Javorski has finally gotten used to. But when he arrives at the site of a serial killer’s latest victim, finding a living—not to mention gorgeous—hostage is the last thing he expects. The young woman captivates him in a way no one ever has—so much so, he breaks rule number one by helping her escape…

Marlena Walther doesn’t remember the man who rescued her. But when she sees Adam again, she recognizes him instantly as her soul mate. While the two work together to track down a killer determined to finish what he started, their undeniable attraction draws them even closer. Now Adam is the only one who can protect Marlena from a vengeful murderer—if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for her.

Although this book is not being published until 5^th January 2016, I was lucky enough to be given a digital version early from the publisher (Kensington Books) via Netgally.com for free in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you.

...So, what did I like about it?

I haven’t read any of Ms Sjoberg’s books before but found her writing style very easy to read, I appreciated the way the story was told from both Adam and Marlena’s perspectives and I enjoyed the way her tale unfolded. Her world is set here in our time (so it was easy to picture the places where her scenes took place) and is sprinkled with various characters/species with paranormal abilities; reapers, witches, demons, shifters who secretly live among us humans.

I liked the fact that our main male character, Adam, wasn’t a typical alpha male. It was a breath of fresh air; yes he’s had his fair share of romantic liaisons *wink*wink* but he is a decent, good guy; he cares, he’s loyal to his friends, he keeps his head down and just gets on with his job of collecting the souls of the recently departed to move them on to the next phase.

I really enjoy it (begrudgingly) when an author can add depth of character to a story’s bad guy, making me feel sympathy for them and, for me, Ms Sjoberg did it twice in this book, Jeremiah and Adam’s boss, Samuel (ok so Samuel isn’t one of the bad guys per se but it’s made clear in this book that he isn’t liked – by anybody).

My intellect relished the triple storyline running throughout this book; Adam & Marlena’s romance, the threat of a serial killer on the loose, targeting Marlena and Samuel’s predicament. I love puzzles that add pace and depth to a tale and these separate but interwoven threads all added together to keep me absorbed, eagerly turning the pages, keen to find out what would happen next.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

Ok, so it didn’t get 5 stars from me, my regular followers will know that it’s the little niggles that take the edge off for me, so what were they here?

As I said above, when an author adds mysteries to their tales of romance, I feel that it adds a further depth and pace. I liked that this book had two such storylines running through it; the serial killer and Samuel’s predicament.

I felt that the serial killer story arc is billed as the main threat to our romantic couple when reading the blurb but, unfortunately, it didn’t live up to all of my expectations. I loved the build up, his relationship with his accomplice and the fact that our killer was so careful, meticulous and patient, I just felt let down with was how it was concluded. I felt it was rushed to make sure that it was finished by the end of the book and I think that it was due to the development/escalation of the “Samuel’s predicament” storyline that the serial killer thread ran out of time.

I understand from a number of authors that word counts and page numbers is a very high priority and tightly restrictive when publishing a book so I accept (begrudgingly) the compromise made here i.e. no romantic or serial killer cliffhanger ending. ;-)

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I really enjoyed this paranormal romance novel. It has action, romance, twists & turns and some *blushing* smexy scenes, so if that’s the sort of story you like to get lost in then give this one a try – it’s quite a ride.

Just click on any of the links below and read about the book yourself.

Thursday, 24 December 2015

Flora Reviews... Shadow Touched (#1-4) by Erin Kellison

Shadow Touched (#1-4)
by Erin Kellison

Read: 20^th – 24^th December 2015

Format: Kindle

My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is a paranormal romance story (with an urban fantasy feel) about human scientist, Dr Cam Kalamos and human Eleanor Russo, who has unique qualities all of her own. Ms Kellison has combined her Shadow series spin-off novellas, Shadow Touch, Shadow Play, Shadow Hunt and the previously unreleased Shadow Burn to bring us Cam and Ellie’s complete romance story here in this novel.

I haven’t read any of Ms Kellison’s other novels and although I’m sure it would have added a further depth of understanding and knowledge of the cast of characters to this book, I don’t think it’s imperative to have read the other books in the Shadow series to enjoy this one.

The blurb says:

*Shadow Touched is Ellie and Cam's complete story, previously released as Shadow Touch, Shadow Play and Shadow Hunt, ending in the thrilling conclusion, the previously unreleased Shadow Burn.

A darkness looms over humankind, lurks in mirrors, blurs boundaries—a twilight world ruled by powerful mage Houses...

It is bleeding into our world, bringing with it banshees, wraiths, fae from the twisting forests of Twilight. But Eleanor Russo’s problem is a very different kind of phenomenon. Her dark mirror image is a wild thing, willfully seducing the very man Ellie hoped could help her.

Dr. Cam Kalamos has devoted his career to exploring the boundaries between this world and Twilight. But nothing could prepare him for the mischief and mayhem of a soul split in two.

As Ellie and Cam explore their deepest desires and barely escape with their lives, there is only one certainty: Trusting in shadows is a dangerous game.

Although this book isn’t being released until 5^th January 2016, I was lucky enough to be given a digital version for free from the publisher (Kensington Books) via Netgally.com in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you.

...So, what did I like about it?

I found Ms Kellison’s writing style very easy to read and although the cast of characters were aplenty and the world was new to me, I didn’t get lost in the plot. I enjoyed getting to know her take of the world of Fae, Shadow (magic), Mages (magicians who forfeit their soul for magical power), Wraiths (immortal beings who eat souls) and the humans who live and work in this changing world.

I devoured the 1st part/book "Shadow Touch" what an opening! The life that Ellie had lead *sniff* made me quite emotional but I love that she's not a whiny, helpless female! In fact, Ellie and Cam both grew and developed through the four novellas, both in their romantic relationship and in their personal evolution.

I liked the fact that I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going to take us, it doesn’t read like the usual PNR (Paranormal Romance) story arc; it kept me guessing and I found it a real page turner.

I chuckled, I held my breath in horror/tension, I blushed and yes I shed the odd tear – I was engrossed in this book from start to finish.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

Not disliked but my main niggle is that this book did not read like a novel, as implied by the blurb but more of a box set of the novellas (the story arc stretches over a 14month or so time frame). That’s not a bad thing; I just feel that a slight change to the wording of the blurb would correct the potential misunderstanding.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I really enjoyed this collection of novellas and I will be adding Ms Kellison’s Shadow series to my Amazon wish list – there’s so much more to discover about this world and the cast of characters!

If you’re a fan of tales of the paranormal or fantasy world with a real to life romance story (no insta-romance here) cleverly weaved between the action, mystery and weirdness (or is that wyrdness) all finished off with a satisfactory HEA (Happily Ever After) ending for our romantic couple then I’d recommend this book for you.