Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace #1) – Book Review

Published Date: May9, 2017

Publishing Co.: ebook, no publisher listed

Pages: 330

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I was having a werewolf itch, so I perused some books that I already own and this was one of the options. It also had witches, another favorite of mine, so I sat down, ready for some good paranormal fun.

Lizzie and her witch familiar, Belle, moved and opened up shop on a werewolf reservation. Things are pretty quiet for a couple of months until Lizzie is asked to use some of her psychic ability to find a missing teenager. The quest leads to murder and the discovery of an extremely powerful villain. Lizzie helps the local werewolf Ranger (werewolf police) investigate and attempt to stop the bad guy before more people die.

Extreme lack of werewolf. Sure, the love interest is a werewolf, but the wolfiest he gets is sniffing the air and one howl, maybe two.

And Judas Priest, the amount of showers I had to read about Lizzie taking. I get it, you’re cleanly, let’s move on. Twice a day showers is a bit obnoxious and took up entirely too much of the story. If the showers were axed, there would have been more room for character development or world building.

I’ve read the first books to a couple of Keri Arthur series now and honestly, the main characters are all very similar. I feel mostly in appearance but in personality too. I have yet to be impressed with any of the series and this one is the same. It’s not bad but not something I’m likely to continue reading unless I’m bored and my options are limited.

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The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) – Book Review

Published Date: June 18, 2019

Publishing Co.: 47North

Pages: 340

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The King of Bones and Ashes review.

The Book of the Unwinding review.

I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

The Final Days of Magic was the most solid installment in the trilogy, which is a good way to end a story. In my reviews of the previous books, I complained that the author appeared to skip important parts or explanations and it left the feeling of an incomplete story. I’m happy to report that seems to have been cleared up in this addition.

Our three witches, Alice, Evangeline and Lisette have for the most part, gone their separate ways again. Each trying to both heal but prepare for whatever the world throws at them next. They don’t have to wait long until they’re tested by the dark force that wants back into their realm.

This time the action felt much more fleshed out and kept me entertained. There were definitely some dark moments for some of the characters that provided a more emotional connection. However, the deaths of a couple of characters felt a little rushed and we were not given proper time to mourn them.

Overall, this series was entertaining and provided a great atmosphere with interesting characters. It’s hard not to love a story set in New Orleans with witches, but I’ve seen it fail before. The author clearly spent a lot of time researching history, the occult and magic and it really paid off.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol.1: The Crucible – Comic Review

Published Date: August 16, 2016

Publishing Co.: Archie Comics

Pages: 160

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It seems pointless to even try to NOT compare the comic to the Netflix series because it’s the hot new thing. But honestly, you should just read the comic AND watch the show. They are both different but obviously have enough in common for one to come from the other. Both are enjoyable in their own ways as well.

I actually thought the comic was a little darker than the show. I have zero issues with that because I love dark things. But, I did not feel the connection to the characters like I do in the show. (Granted, the show has a lot more time to develop and explore such things.) I did like that Salem had a bigger part in this, the show should take note of that for it’s next season.

So all in all……Praise the Dark Lord and read this fucking comic.

The Book of the Unwinding – Book Review

Publishing Date: June 26, 2018

Publishing Co.: 47North

Pages: 300

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Witches of New Orleans #2

My review of the first book The King of Bones and Ashes.

I received this copy via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Suffers from second book syndrome. It just doesn’t live up to the first but it’s not a bad read either. In fact, I’m certain I’ll still read book #3 when it comes out.

Four months after the events of book one, we’re given a view of how life has changed for our witches. Some for the better, others not so much and yet others still trying to find themselves in the aftermath.

The focus of the first half of the book is trying to free Alice from the Dreaming Road before she disappears forever. This was an incredibly slow build up with some things that really needed to be explained further. There’s some talk about a certain kind of destiny that isn’t fully examined. Perhaps it’s supposed to be self explanatory, but for someone not into ‘destiny’ talk, it leaves a decent size gap in the world building.

The second half of the book was kind of a cluster fuck of events. How did our new villain become a major player? One minute they were sterile and unable to do anything, the next they’re clearly here to fuck everyone’s shit up. How did this come to be? I’m still not sure. In some instances, the characters go into detailed flashbacks of past events, but current happenings are skipped over completely and almost left to the reader’s imagination of how they transpired.

Despite these complaints, I still love the characters. I’m still interested in what is going to happen to them and where all this drama will lead. Just please J.D. Horn, fill in some gaps for us.

 

The King of Bones and Ashes – Book Review

 

Published Date: January 23, 2018

Publishing Co.: 47North

Pages: 320

Synopsis link to Goodreads Here.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I would really like to thank the author and publishing company for accepting my ARC request despite having zero street cred on Netgalley. I tip my invisible top hat to thee.

The story surrounds three witches from different walks of life, watching as witches disappear and the elders fight to hang onto power. Alice has been locked away in an asylum for a number of years after witnessing her brother commit suicide. Evangeline runs a strip club and Lisette carries on her mother’s voodoo shop despite no longer carrying the faith herself. The witches in present day New Orleans are scrambling to retain their power, or any power really. Magic is slowly diminishing from the world and sometimes the only way to hang on to any power is to cut off parts of dead witches. Sometimes, witches don’t die quick enough and someone is getting creative.

The three protagonists bring together the various aspects of the story and together they may have to face the evil to save themselves and their families with power they didn’t realize they had.

This is mostly a family drama with some magic thrown in. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed myself. J.D. Horn writes very good characters, whether you love them or love to hate them. He also seems to have done an extensive amount of historical and occult research and that really added to the depth of the world building. It was an urban fantasy with a limited amount of the pop culture references that usually plague the genre.

The King of Bones and Ashes could almost stand on it’s own as the drama is wrapped up fairly well and there are only a couple unanswered questions remaining. However, I look forward to finding out where the next book takes our three magical ladies.

The Witchfinder’s Sister – Book Review

3 out of 5 stars

A slow, smoldering fire that just kind of burns out.

Most accurate description I can think of.

It’s a very interesting premise but unfortunately, the author spends a very long time trying to get you to connect to the main character, Alice. However, I never really made that connection. I think Alice was just too timid for my taste, though I understand fully that women only had so many options in those days. Your life was tied to the men related to you and to not be homeless or in this case, drowned as a witch, you had to keep their favor. Alice does small rebellions but nothing to make much of a difference in the lives of the people suffering her brother’s wrath.

The drama was slow paced as well, I think in attempt to build anticipation, which it did. The repercussions for her brother were pretty mellow dramatic in the end. (Which is where my small fire comparison comes in.) The story leaves off with a clever little twist that I enjoyed.

Overall, a worthwhile read if you’re looking for some entertaining (only mildy so) historical fiction.

Autumn Rain, Goddamn Squirrels

I’ve kind of ghosted all social media this last week, sorry. Guess I just had the anti-social bug. I’ve got the day off of work, it’s lightly raining while feeling exactly like autumn, so I’m catching up on all the things on my patio with my animals. Cursing loudly every time a goddamn squirrel shows up and Ozzy does his best to bust out a screen and take down his arch nemesis.

This past weekend we attending Sweet Endings at the Michigan Renaissance Festival in honor of our 11 year dating anniversary. (I know a lot of people stop counting that anniversary after they get married but, we put in a lot of damn years before getting married. I’m not about to stop counting that!) It was crazy packed, hard to walk and had to stand in line FOREVER for food or beer/mead. They also decided to make some GoT inspired pubs, Throne of Swords (where they had a fake iron throne you could sit on) and The Three Eyed Raven. It’s not like they need to make more money, but damn did adding those in rake in even MORE money.

October has arrived since my last post. Even though I started early in my celebrations, it’s time to hit that celebrating even harder! We’ve been doing a lot of Pokemon Go in the cemetery behind our house so look forward to a post with super cool tombstones sometime in the near future.

I’m currently reading a witch inspired book, I think witches are going to be my Halloween inspiration this year. There are several tombstones in the cemetery that are said to belong to witches and really, they’re just the epitome of Halloween.

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. I win.

This is Halloween!

I took the day off to enjoy our wedding anniversary, that’s right, we are THAT awesome. The last few weeks have been hard and we deserve some fun damnit! So tonight, we’re going out to a nice dinner and then a nerd rap concert.

But before all that jazz, I thought in spirit of the holiday, I would post some interesting facts about Halloween. You may or may not know them, but they’re fun and this is happening people.

1. Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means that Halloween has been around for over 6000 years.
2. According to Irish legend, Jack-O-Lanterns are named after a stringy man named Jack  who, because he tricked the Devil several times, was forbidden entrance to both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.
3. During the pre-Halloween celebration of Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter. Often Druid priest would throw the bones of cattle into the flames and, hence, “bone fire” became “bonfire.”
4. Scottish girls believed they could see the images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween. (See? Halloween IS romantic!)
5. The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.” In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats, on Halloween night.

So light some bonfires and dance with the dead in the streets kids, it is Halloween everyone make a scene!

Daughter of the Blood – Book Review

I won’t sugar coat this for you, this book is dark.

So if you’re not a grim-dark fan, I suggest you don’t even attempt this one.
I love grim-darks and I’m telling you again, this shit is DARK.

I think that I have officially warned you enough at this point that if you do decide to go ahead, you have no one to blame but yourself.