Review: KISS ME DEADLY

Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
Book 2 of the Bewitch The Dark series
Genre: urban fantasy romance
Format: ebook

About Kiss Me Deadly:

Death cocktail is what the vampires call a witch's blood. It's poisonous--a drop will destroy a vampire within minutes. Nikolaus Drake is the rare vampire who has survived his first taste. Now he's on the hunt for the witch who almost brought him to his demise--Ravin Crosse.

A witch who spends her nights hunting vampire tribes, Ravin has three obligations to fulfill to set her soul free. One of those obligations--crafting a love spell--twists her world upside down when Nikolaus draws the spell from her veins. Natural enemies rarely make the best bedfellows--but is it possible their intentions are really, truly the same? Can Nikolaus's tribal loyalty survive if he surrenders to desires far darker than his own?

Source: Info in the About Kiss Me Deadly was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/672843.Kiss_Me_Deadly_Bewitch_the_Dark_2_ on 15/01/2012.

Review:

Okey, I'll be honest, I read this book just because it was downloadable for free at that time. And secondly, I wanted to try out this author's work. And thirdly, it's in my genre. This author's voice is likeable enough. Although I needed breaks in between so this book could never be described as a "one-sitting read".

What I didn't like about it though is it's ridiculous plot... I mean a phoenix vampire rushes out to get help for his dying friend who is in excruciating pain. Goes to someplace which I thought that he thinks might have something to offer said dying friend, but intead waste precious minutes to have drama talk with another team of bad guys and then storms out to look for help for the dying friend someplace else. WTF!! That scene is not just weak plot, it's downright ridiculous! And that example is not the only non-sensical plot in the story. Sinks the suspension of disbelief down to the bottom of the ocean!

The male protagonist was described as a good leader yet behaved totally opposite to that description to the point of him being unrecognizable from the character he is suppose to be. Inconsistent character development is yet another annoying element in this book.

I really like the premise of enemies falling in love. I also like the journey to maturity of both the male and the female protagonists. Seeing them grow and change before my eyes is wonderful! And of course I like that the story is in my favourite genre and the fact that it got vampires, werewolves and witches in it, but I don't think I would be buying any book by this author at all.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 1.5
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = 1.5
Plot = 1

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries


FTC Disclosure:
This ebook was downloaded for free at amazon.co.uk last year or so. No money received for this review.

WW28: FATED

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering: Fated by Benedict Jacka

"Luna was curled up on one corner of the sofa, while I was sprawled in my favourite chair."

As a teaser, that line is not very inspiring... but seeing that I haven't read this book yet, I could not show you a better one... however, this book must have more in it if Jim Butcher endorsed it...

About Fated:

Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex's own powers aren't as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future--allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success.

But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever's inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none...

Source: Info in the About Fated was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11737387-fated on 03/05/2012.

Gueat Post: DEAN CRAWFORD

“APOCALYPSE”

Mankind has feared, and been fascinated by, the end of the world ever since he achieved self-awareness. Our mortality is a constant, and even the farthest reaches of our technological achievements have been unable to shield us entirely from the spectre of annihilation. Of all the species that have lived on planet Earth, 99% are extinct. Of all the dozens of species of hominin to have walked the Earth only ourselves, Homo sapiens, remains. Giant asteroid collisions, super-volcanoes and continental magma fields, dramatic climate change: all have routinely scoured the surface of our planet of all but the hardiest forms of life. Everything changes, and does so with alarming regularity.

Yet despite all of these cataclysmic extinction-level events, our demise, should it occur, will most likely be by our own hand. In “Apocalypse”, the threat to mankind is the wielding of time itself through a futuristic but genuinely feasible technology that would, if it became unstable, consume our entire planet in a fearsome blaze of gravitational fury. Our species is the only one in the history of our planet that is able to change our environment to suit ourselves: we are no longer slaves to natural selection. But that power comes with tremendous responsibility and although so far we have avoided a civilisation-wrecking thermonuclear exchange or a lethal planet-wide pandemic, humanity teeters constantly on the knife-edge of brinkmanship. Our future is in the hands of science, and that science is often wielded by powerful men who have no right to it, but possess the funds to acquire it.

It would be wonderful to be able to see into the future, to find out what will become of our race in a hundred or even a thousand years. The temptation to do so would be almost overwhelming, both in terms of curiosity and also philanthropically – if the future is a disaster for humankind, could we change something in the here and now to prevent that...

Apocalypse by Dean Crawford
Genre: urban fantasy | thriller

About Apocalypse:

A private Learjet filled with scientists travels across the ocean toward Miami. As it passes through the Bermuda Triangle, strange effects disturb the instruments and violent weather envelops the aircraft until it plummets out of control and vanishes without trace.

In Miami, Sheriff Kyle Sears arrives at a murder scene. A woman and her daughter have both been shot through the head. But while Sears is still on the scene he receives a phone call from the woman's husband. With uncanny accuracy, he predicts the immediate future just as it unfolds around Sears, before revealing that he, too, will be murdered within 24 hours. The man gives him the name of someone he must contact. Ethan Warner.

As Ethan Warner and his partner Nicola Lopez race to investigate, they are thrown into the centre of a mind-boggling plot to blow a hole in the space-time continuum.

Source: Info in the About Apocalypse was from http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Apocalypse/Dean-Crawford/9780857204752 on 29/10/2012.

Buy Link(s):

About Dean Crawford:

Dean Crawford began writing after his dream of becoming a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force was curtailed when he failed their stringent sight tests. Fusing his interest in science with a love of fast-paced revelatory thrillers, he soon found a career that he could pursue with as much passion as flying a fighter jet. Now a full-time author, he lives with his partner and daughter in Surrey.

Dean's Link(s):
www.deancrawfordbooks.com
S&S author page
@DCrawfordBooks

Book Link(s):
Book page
@WarnerandLopez

Publisher Link(s):


@simonschusterUK

Review: CLICK CLACK THE RATTLEBAG

Click Clack The Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman
Read by Neil Gaiman
Genre: middlegrade short story freebie for charity
Format: audiobook

About Click Clack The Rattlebag:

"Click-Clack the Rattlebag" is your Halloween treat from Neil Gaiman and Audible, FREE through October 31. It's not available anywhere else, and for a limited time, each download from Audible benefits educational charities at BookTrust.org.

A few words from Neil: "Why tell ghost stories? Why read them or listen to them? Why take such pleasure in tales that have no purpose but, comfortably, to scare?

"I don't know. Not really. It goes way back. We have ghost stories from ancient Egypt, after all, ghost stories in the Bible, classical ghost stories from Rome (along with werewolves, cases of demonic possession, and of course, over and over, witches). We have been telling each other tales of otherness, of life beyond the grave, for a long time; stories that prickle the flesh and make the shadows deeper and, most important, remind us that we live, and that there is something special, something unique and remarkable, about the state of being alive. Happy Halloween!"

"'What kind of story would you like me to tell you?' 'Well,' he said, thoughtfully, 'I don't think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn't just a little bit scary, then I won't be interested. And you make up scary stories, don't you?'"

So begins this subtle, witty, deceptive little tale from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Lock the doors, turn off the lights, and enjoy!

©2012 Neil Gaiman (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Source: Info in the About Click Clack The Rattlebag was taken from http://www.audible.co.uk/pd?asin=B009VHO11W on 02/11/2012.

My Thoughts:

First I would like to thank Tales Of Whimsy for giving me the heads-up about this freebie short story for charity! Next I would also like to thank Neil Gaiman for giving away his talent for free for a good cause! And for that alone I would have listened and downloaded this audiobook. And for a freebie it wasn't bad at all! However the biggest merit of this book is the fact that it is for charity! The next bestest thing about it is Neil Gaiman's narration. Heck! If he ever wants to moonlight as a narrator I think he would be raking in the money. He's good! And so I enjoyed listening to this little audiobook and would recommend to everybody to download it too!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Review: PLEASURE UNBOUND

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione
Read by Cassandra Campbell
Book 1 of Demonica series
Genre: urban fantasy erotica
Format: paperback, audiobook

About Pleasure Unbound:

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life...

Tayla Mancuso is a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure-but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his quest to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable-and let Tayla possess him, body and soul...

Source: Info in the About Pleasure Unbound was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2679633-pleasure-unbound on 24/02/2012.

Review:

As first impressions go, Cassandra Campbell's voice is real professional even if I don't agree with all of her interpretations of the book. And that impression lasted all the way through the ending. But despite the wonderful narration, this book started out slow for me even with the easiness and convenience of an audiobook, that I abandoned it twice to pick-up another book to read/listen to. The opening volley just isn't very catchy. Or maybe it is just my interest that couldn't be reeled in by doctors trying to save lives they really want to kill. No, that medical drama is overrated. However I like their modified caduceus though. Now that, is inventive! Which speaks of an interesting world building.... Interesting, but got a big whole in it.

The premise of this world is that there is a supernatural community hiding in plain sight among ordinary humans and that there is a guerrilla war going on between the demonkind and the humankind. The way this world is presented, is that the supernatural beings are very prolific, they are everywhere. And nobody slipped up after all these centuries? These millions of supernaturals and humans-in-the-know never slipped up all these time? No traitors on both sides whatsoever? No money-grabbing, self-serving among their ranks who sees an opportunity to better themselves by betraying supernatural secrets to the rest of the world? Somehow that is not believable. Unless there is a great big spell that prevents everybody from doing so, which there isn't. So that is one great big gaping hole in the world building that could swallow the grand canyon whole. That sank the suspension of disbelief to the bottom of the ocean! And that is not the only hole, just the biggest one. However, if you get past that and ignore the grand canyon hole, the world building is wonderful! It is full of vampires, demons, werewolves and every interesting fantasy elements living in our everyday world! Fantastic!!

Another downer for this book is that Tayla, our heroine, is too stupid to live (TSTL). Not only once, but repeatedly stupid with stunted sense of self-preservation! Yet described as a kick-ass demon hunter who survived a tough childhood and tougher work as a hunter for years on end. Which is really difficult to believe because if she acts as stupidly as she does in the story she ought to be dead a long time ago... That knocks the suspension of disbelief two more rungs lower. And there is just too many contradictory elements for the character development to rate any higher than 2, not to mention annoying!

Now I know that first books in a series are not usually the best so I will give this series another try and hopefully the next book would be better.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2
Character development = 1
Story itself = 1.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 2.5
Cover art = 1
Pace = 1
Plot = 3
Narrator = 3

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 cherries

WW28: CHEMICKAL MARRIAGE

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering: Chemickal Marriage by G.W. Dahlquist

Miss Temple sniffed. "He went to Parchfeldt."

God, that must be the blandest of sentences in the written history of mankind! But, since I haven't read this book yet, I couldn't really offer you better....

About Chemickal Marriage:

The thrilling first instalment of Dahlquit's fantastical adventure series, following on from The Glass Book Of The Fream Eaters and The Dark Volume.


Miss Temple, young, wealthy and far away from home, never wanted to be a heroine. Yet her fiancé is dead (admittedly, by her own hand), her companions slain and her nemesis, the terrifyingly wicked Contessa Lacquer-Sforza, escaped. It falls on her tiny shoulders to destroy a deadly cabal whose alchemy threatens to enslave the world. Miss Temple plots her revenge.

But Dr Svenson and Cardinal Chang are alive, barely - their bodies corrupted by the poisonous blue glass. Wounded and outnumbered, Miss Temple, Dr Svenson and Cardinal Chang pursue their enemies through city slums and glittering palaces as they fight to prevent the cabal's crushing dominion and unholy marriage between man and machine.

An assassin, an heiress and a surgeon against the world's most unholy evil - the stage is set for a final battle. . .in an adventure like no other.

Source: Info in the About Kiss The Dead was taken from Penguin's website at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670921638,00.html?strSrchSql=The+Chemickal+Marriage*/The_Chemickal_Marriage_G._W._Dahlquist on 26/06/2012.

Review: THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME

This Case Is Gonna Kill Me by Phillipa Bornikova
Read by Therese Plummer
Book 1 of Linnet Ellery series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback, audiobook

About This Case Is Gonna Kill Me:

What happens when The Firm meets Anita Blake? You get the Halls of Power—our modern world, but twisted. Law, finance, the military, and politics are under the sway of long-lived vampires, werewolves, and the elven Alfar. Humans make the best of rule by “the Spooks,” and contend among themselves to affiliate with the powers-that-be, in order to avoid becoming their prey. Very loyal humans are rewarded with power over other women and men. Very lucky humans are selected to join the vampires, werewolves, and elves—or, on occasion, to live at the Seelie Court.

Linnet Ellery is the offspring of an affluent Connecticut family dating back to Colonial times. Fresh out of law school, she’s beginning her career in a powerful New York “white fang” law firm. She has high hopes of eventually making partner.

But strange things keep happening to her. In a workplace where some humans will eventually achieve immense power and centuries of extra lifespan, office politics can be vicious beyond belief. After some initial missteps, she finds herself sidelined and assigned to unpromising cases. Then, for no reason she can see, she becomes the target of repeated, apparently random violent attacks, escaping injury each time through increasingly improbable circumstances. However, there’s apparently more to Linnet Ellery than a little old-money human privilege. More than even she knows. And as she comes to understand this, she’s going to shake up the system like you wouldn’t believe….

Source: Info in the About This Case Is Gonna Kill Me was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9736493-this-case-is-gonna-kill-me on 18/10/2012.

My Thoughts:

The Narration:
I am not fond of books with too long a title. If this book didn't have Therese Plummer's name attached to it, I would never have bought it. I am obviously an old Therese Plummer fan, that usually means that the narrator would rate a 5 out of 5 even before I started listening to the audiobook. But I have learned that nice though her voice is, she is the kind of reader who is not for all genres. I don't think her personality fits this book at all. I find Therese Plummer's too soft-hearted-seeming voice to fit a bespectacled librarian more, than a kick-ass lawyer. Or it could also be that I've listened to her as Aurora "Roe" Teagarden too long and my brain associates her voice with Roe already, that it is having a hard time switching from Roe to Linnet. Or more likely, I do not agree with her interpretation of this book. Nevertheless, her voice is still as nice as it ever was so although I cannot give her a 5 out of 5 anymore with this book, I cannot give her a less than 4 either.

The Book:
The world building is fantastic! I would love to read more of Linnet's world! It got all my favourite fantasy elements in it. Vampires, werewolves and elves with ipads and smartphones! Hah! Can't beat that combined with fantastic story telling quality!! Though I admit it kinda started slow for me that I abandoned it after chapter one and picked up another book.

[Image Credit: Lintufriikk]

But it did pick up and it was smashing fights and impossible odds and running for their lives until the end. Fab! I have one complaint though, the fight scenes are not very realistic.

So an elf and a werewolf were duking it out mano-mano and the werewolf does not use his sharp claws on his enemy to draw blood?

That scene is not very likely. And that is not the only close-combat fight scene that needed polishing up. But I choose to ignore those little nitpicking issues given the wonderful listening time I got out of the book. And at the end of it, I enjoyed this book and wondering when the second Linnet Ellery book is gonna come out...?

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = N/A (9 hrs and 22 mins listening time)
Plot = 4.5
Narrator = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries