Cherry Mischievous

Tuesday, 5 November 2019

DRAGON BITES

Dragon Bites by Allyson James
Book 6 of the Stormwalker series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: kindle ebook

About Dragon Bites:

While Janet and friends try to relax in Vegas, Janet discovers that one of Mick's old nemeses has called in a debt, which is bound to result in Mick's death. This is a problem for dragons, and Janet and Gabrielle have to convince Drake and Colby to assist them before it's too late.

Source: Info in the About Dragon Bites was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28645451-dragon-bites on 24/03/2018.

My Thoughts:

The cover is not the best, but don't get discouraged by it because the inside is totally kick-ass! Even though the cover is apropos to the story.

The good news is, this is a good book. The bad news is, you have to get through several books to get here. Reading this series in order may not be a must, but, it gives you a better appreciation of the people and events that happens in this book.

I don't know if Colby is red in his dragon form but this image of a red dragon is sure impressive!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 2.5
Pace = 4
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

About Allyson James
	Allyson James writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and erotic romance (paranormal and futuristic). She is a nationally bestselling author, a multiple RITA nominee, an RT Award winner, and a Prism winner. She also writes romance (paranormal and historical) as Jennifer Ashley. See Allyson's website for current and upcoming books. See also Allyson's GoodReads bookshelves for all books under all pseudonyms.
www.allysonjames.com \| twitter \| facebook \| google+ \| pinterest \| amazon \| goodreads

Books In The Stormwalker Series:

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Saturday, 26 October 2019

DOUBLE-SIDED MAGIC

Double-Sided Magic by McKenzie Hunter
Book 1 of the Legacy series
Narrated by Stacey Glemboski
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Double-Sided Magic:

I am Levy Michaels. Once my kind were the hunters — now we are the hunted

Supernaturals are out of the closet but I have to stay hidden because of the type of magic I possess. I’m a Legacy. It sounds like the title should come with reverence, a trust fund, or at the very least a cool backstory — instead it comes with a death sentence.

I have to hide in plain sight and pretend to be just human. I’m pretty good at it. I live a simple and somewhat normal life, and I work in antique acquisitions. Everything’s going fine until a dangerous and enchanted dagger that was once in my possession is stolen. I didn’t think things could get any worse until I woke up next to a dead shifter, fae, and mage, without any memory of the past twenty-four hours.

Considered guilty of murder by most of the magical community and humans, I must work with Gareth, the sexy and dangerous leader of the Supernatural Guild. If he’s as good as rumored, it’s only a matter of time until he discovers the truth about me — then being found guilty of murder is the least of my worries.

Source: Info in the About Double-Sided Magic was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35444973-double-sided-magic on 11/09/2019.

Buy Link(s):

My Thoughts:

This book reminds me awfully of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Same hidden bloodline heroine. Uber alpha cat hero. Solving murder and mysteries together. There are differences of course, like Kate prefers her sword. While Levy likes her twin daggers. Subtle things like that. But the mojo is the same. Originality-wise, this book does not rate very high, indeed! However, I still like the way the story is told and enjoyed this book very much! Therefore, the book still rated good for me even though it doesn't have the most original of themes.

Plot... what plot?!... Yeah, there isn't much of one. This book is mainly an introduction to Levy, our main protagonist. The murder cases they were suppose to be solving in this book was not even completely closed. And yes, it was a cliffhanger ending. And I guess we will know more in the subsequent books... Although I understand why some authors opt to write in this kind of style specially with serieses, I still don't like it when the book ends in a gaping big hole of a cliffhanger. Its a way to induce readers to buy some more into the series. However, really good authors do not have to resort to this kind of technique to sell their books because their book is just such a good read that the readers will buy them anyway. So, not a high point for this author.

This is my first Stacey Glemboski listen and I like the way she reads. The words are distinct and I agree mostly to her interpretation of the book.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4.5
Originality = 2
Pace = (7 hrs and 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Legacy Series:

Meet The Author

About McKenzie Hunter:

McKenzie, in her childhood, discovered that her life could be a whirlwind of adventures by simply opening a book. To this day, reading is still her favorite activity. She has a fondness for fantasy and mystery, which is probably why she writes urban fantasy.

When McKenzie isn’t working on her next book she is usually binge-watching paranormal and comedy shows, maintaining her title as “favorite auntie”, or trying to create a tasty low-calorie pizza.

The Narrator

About Stacey Glemboski:

Stacey is an accomplished audiobook narrator and voice actor who has recorded books for many best selling authors. Though her favorite books have been for kids and teens, many other genres of narration appeal to her.

Her acting experience has been largely experiential and has been honed through singing, plays, life, choir solos, Barbies, and eventually teaching middle school. For Stacey, narration is about having fun breathing life into characters and getting as lost as possible in the story she’s telling. Outside the studio, Stacey is compulsively addicted to tennis but is not seeking any treatment for this condition.

An experienced copy editor, proofreader, and English teacher, Stacey is adept at understanding complex texts and subtleties of plot and character.

Her home studio is a WhisperRoom sound-resistant booth, and she uses a Neumann TLM103, MBox Mini 2, and a MacBook Air.

FTC Disclosure:
The different formats of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Saturday, 5 October 2019

BURN BRIGHT

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs
Narrated by Holter Graham
Book 5 of the Alpha & Omega series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audio

About Burn Bright:

They are the wild and the broken. The werewolves too damaged to live safely among their own kind. For their own good, they have been exiled to the outskirts of Aspen Creek, Montana. Close enough to the Marrok’s pack to have its support; far enough away to not cause any harm.

With their Alpha out of the country, Charles and Anna are on call when an SOS comes in from the fae mate of one such wildling. Heading into the mountainous wilderness, they interrupt the abduction of the wolf — but can’t stop blood from being shed. Now Charles and Anna must use their skills — his as enforcer, hers as peacemaker — to track down the attackers, reopening a painful chapter in the past that springs from the darkest magic of the witchborn…

Source: Info in the About Burn Bright was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35294265-burn-bright on 03/02/2018.

BURN BRIGHT by Patricia Briggs (UK over)

My Thoughts:

I find Holter Graham's words are not very clear and distinct so I am so very glad of kindle's whisper sync feature where you can read the ebook and listen to the narration at the same time. Otherwise I would not have bought just the audiobook by this narrator. Having said that, I find Holter Graham's reading of this book is not as slurred as the previous book.

Patricia Briggs surprised me with the plotting with this book. I'm not really used to twists in urban fantasy. Most of the time they're formulaic. so kudos to the author for the story building!! Not to mention the masterful story telling quality and wonderful world building, as usual! Now its post-great-read-depression!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5 (US)
Pace = (9 hrs and 47 mins listening time)
Plot = 5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Alpha & Omega Series:

About Patricia Briggs
	Patricia Briggs was born in Butte, Montana to a children’s librarian who passed on to her kids a love of reading and books. Patricia grew up reading fairy tales and books about horses, and later developed an interest in folklore and history. When she decided to write a book of her own, a fantasy book seemed a natural choice. Patricia graduated from Montana State University with degrees in history and German and she worked for a while as a substitute teacher. Currently, she lives in Montana with her husband, children and six horses and writes full-time, much to the delight of her fans.
www.patriciabriggs.com \| facebook \| twitter \| goodreads \| Amazon