Review: SHADOW TOUCH

Shadow Touch by Erin Kellison
Book 2.5 of the Shadow series
Genre: paranormal romance
Format: ebook kindle

About Shadow Touch:

MAGIC
It is bleeding into our world, bringing with it banshees, wraiths, fae from the twisting forests of Twilight. But Elllie’s problem is a very different kind of phenomenon...

SHADOW
It ought to be attached to her; instead it has a life of its own. And her dark mirror image is a wild thing, willfully seducing the very man Ellie hoped could help.

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

SURRENDER
Who will give in first: the man struggling to unite two halves of one fascinating female; the shadow fighting for freedom to experience the thrill of every emotion; or the woman who is about to discover her own deepest desires?

Source: Info in the About Shadow Touch was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10664074-shadow-touch on 12/01/12.

Review:

I like this author's voice. It reads smoothly. It also makes the reading pace quite quick. And since this is a short story, it makes this book a one-sitting read. So if you are looking for a quick good read, this book is perfect for you. Even though this is just a short story, it managed to be well structured, with well-developed world and really good plot building. This is not something most short stories achieve, so kudos to Ms. Kellison!!

This ebook is also part of a series. But you do not have to read the previous books to be able to follow the story. There are two books before this one, yet despite that there is brilliant world building to be readable on its own. If you are looking to sample this author's work, this ebook is a good place to start. If you didn't like it, you won't loose much since the kindle price is cheap for this one. But I doubt you will regret buying it. In fact I think the price is a bit too cheap for an excellent work such as this one.

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

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Review: FROM DEAD TO WORSE

From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris
Read by Johanna Parker
Book 8 of the Sookie Stackhouse series
Format: audiobook
Genre: adult urban fantasy

About From Dead To Worse:

New in the “addicting” New York Times bestselling series featuring Sookie Stackhouse.

After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone, human and otherwise— is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing.

It’s clear that things are changing— whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie —Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community —is caught up in the changes.

In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered.

Source: Info in the About From Dead To Worse was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2233407.From_Dead_to_Worse on 17/09/2011.

My Thoughts:

From the last book, I thought that Sookie has improved a little bit in her (TSTL) "too stupid to live" act. In this book, it seems she has gotten worse! Not only is she a TSTL protagonist, she is developing to be a right selfish bitch as well! WTF!! Safe to say that this is my least favouritest book in the series! However, I did like the interest generated by the additional complication of the Weres war... that was a nice touch. And one thing remains the same with this series is that the world building remains fascinating!!

This being book 8 in the series, I really recommend that a reader do not read this book before reading the previous books in the series because I think it will confuse a reader. I do not think that this book is meant to be read as a stand alone at all.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 3.5
World Building = 5
Character Development = 2
Plot = 3.5
Pace = N/A
Story Itself = 3.5
Ending = 3
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Sookie Stackhouse series:

Review: PLAY OF PASSION

Play Of Passion by Nalini Singh

Book 9 of the PsyChangeling series

Genre: adult urban fantasy

About Play Of Passion:

In his position as Tracker for the SnowDancer pack, Drew Kincaid must rein in rogue changelings who've lost control of their animal halves- even if it means killing those who've gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage-to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite...and who threatens to enslave his wolf.

Source: Info in the About Play Of Passion was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7831145-play-of-passion on 13/08/2011.

My Thoughts:

I read this book right after reading Bonds Of Justice, so I was looking forward to this one after having just read the wonderful ending from the last book! Another thing which made me happy to dive into this book is that we go back inside the SnowDancer's den! After reading two books outside the main changeling group which was the main cast in the first several books in this series, I was eager to go back. Especially, into the SnowDancer. Besides, this is the first book which centers inside wolves' den. It used to be the cat's, now we have an up-close-and-personal look at the wolves! Love it! Of course we have the usual compelling story telling quality that Ms. Singh is known for. Wonderful world building, but, I am a long-time Psy-Changeling fan so that is not an unbiased opinion. Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everybody. However, this being book 9 in the series, I suggest you read the books sequentially. Although, you would probably understand this book if you would read it on it's own. It got enough intel in there to keep a reader in the loop, however, it also mentions characters and events from previous books therefore reading it sequentially would probably give a reader a better understanding as opposed to starting the series with this book.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4.5
World Building = 5
Character Development = 5
Writing Style = 5
Plot = 3
Pace = 4
Story Itself = 3.5
Ending = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
Click on the cover image for more info.

Wishlist: ROYAL STREET

Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Series: Sentinels of New Orleans #1
Publication Date: 10 April 2012

Description:
As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerald St. Simon has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and the killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.
Source of Description info was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/series/65253-sentinels-of-new-orleans on 07/09/2011.