Category Archives: Romance

Giacomo, Jasmine: The Wicked Heroine (Legend of the Shanallar) (2010)

2013-05-14 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

It seems Jasmine Giacomo deems her Immortality Archives/Legend of the Shanallar novels adult fantasy. I don’t see it. There is no explicit sex nor explicit violence. Neither are the novels overly dark.

I chose to read The Wicked Heroine exclusively because of the title. I wouldn’t say that our main character (the Shanallar/Meena/Jacasta) is exactly wicked. In my opinion strong, experienced and unwilling to take a whole lot of BS is more descriptive. She makes her choices and faces the consequences of those. Sometimes those consequences are other people being hurt while at other times she is the one getting hurt. Sometimes everyone benefits. As I kept on reading about Meena, I found I liked her more and more.

Another favorite character was Geret Branbrey Valan. Geret is highly intelligent, naive and bored – all poured into one of the nobility. He has the best pranks but understands very little about other people. Maybe he is the one who goes through the most personal changes. I guess you could say that by the end of the duology he has been forced to grow up.

Sanych is another appealing character. Her main flaw is that she is extremely single-minded. Single-mindedness is a great quality if you are willing to learn from your mistakes. It takes her some time but Sanych figures out that despite all her bookish knowledge she too has plenty of real life learning to do.

Off the three of them go to find The Dire Tome, each of them with different motives for joining the journey. Like all heroic journeys there is plenty of action, a lot of death and wicked opponents. The three meet interesting people on their journey. We get to observe a love-triangle or two and the various feelings that go along with love/lust. The various love-triangles were what made surprised that Giacomo has classified her novels as adult. They were more of the kind found in YA novels in my opinion.

This is not a series. The books are not stand-alone but of the serial type. You will have to begin reading The Wicked Heroine for book no. 2 (Oathen) to make sense.

The Wicked Heroine was a fun read.

You can find at and .

Reviews: Julie Ann Dawson,

My review of Oathen

Adventure, Fantasy, Reading together, Romance, Young Adult

Britain, Kristen: Blackveil (Green Rider) (2011)

2013-05-07 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Both my son and I agree that Kristen is a cruel, cruel woman. Telling why would be a major spoiler, but keep in mind that Kristen Britain likes to torture her readers. Aaaaargh.

I love the cover that Donato Giancola has painted. Maybe it is a little cheerful for Blackveil, but it is still pretty bleak.

Usually Kristen writes in a manner that makes reading aloud a delight. This time there was one exception. The name “Gerlrand Fiori” was a tongue twister, but that was it. The rest of the words were fun to read.

Our adventure into the world of Blackveil begins with Grandmother and her crew. Blackveil is not a place one would normally venture into as it is filled with messed up magic as a remnant of Mornhavon’s attempt to establish Arcosian rule on the shores of Sacoridia. I consider the Second Empire followers to be nuts, but who knows who of us is?

My 18-year old was disappointed when we began our journey with some one other than Karigan G’ladheon. He likes her character, all of it. She tends to see the world in black and white although she has mellowed a bit after all this time as a Green Rider. One thing that has been difficult for her to mellow out about is her father’s acquaintance with prostitutes and his previous life as a pirate. She intends to challenge him about these two issues.

Children, no matter how adult they think themselves, have a scewed picture of what their parents are supposed to be like. If they have seen you in a certain manner losing that fantasy can be difficult. Let’s just say that Karigan’s confrontation with Stevic was an eye-opening one.

One thing that is certain in Karigan’s life is that her abilities bring trouble her way, trouble she tends to barely survive. Supernatural powers aren’t necessarily a gift.

Captain Mapstone meets up with the Eletians after a visit to an ex-Green Rider. This meeting is fortuitous for Laren Mapstone and perhaps so for the Eletians. Together they travel back to the Castle and King Zachary. The Eletians intend to enter Blackveil at the spring Equinox and King Zachary intends to send some of his people along. We all know who one of Zachary’s people is going to be. They agree to meet at the gap in the wall on the day of the Equinox.

One thing I find problematic with the Green Rider series is this ongoing desperate love between Karigan and Zachary. I guess that would be part of the attraction. In this insane world we live in forbidden fruit is always supposed to be soooo much tastier than the permitted. What I do like is that Karigan and Zachary at least have the good sense to not do anything about their feelings. Poor Lady Estora who is doomed to marry a man that loves another. On the other hand she is realistic enough to know that these are the risks of arranged marriages. I like her. Estora is kind, strong and gutsy. She tries to make the best of a difficult situation in spite of her own pain, and she will have plenty of that in Blackveil.

I’m wondering why Britain added the Amberhill story. To me it seems completely irrelevant and as if Britain has just added him to make her series longer?????

While the Green Rider books are a series, there is also a serial bit to them. You do not have to read the previous three novels to understand the story (I think) but it might help. I have enjoyed them all and enjoyed Blackveil as well. My son and I agree on the excellence of Britain’s ability to write novels that can be read as audio.

My reviews of books 1 (Green Rider), 2 (First Rider’s Call), 3 (The High King’s Tomb) and 4 (Blackveil)

Other blogs:

Fantasy Book Critic: “Blackveil” by Kristen Britain (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)
Fanfiction (full of spoilers): “Blackveil For those who have read the entire book!!”

2012: Finalist for the David Gemmell Legend Award: Best book

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Britain, Kristen: The High King’s Tomb (Green Rider) (2007)

2013-05-01 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Once again my son and I enjoyed reading Kristen’s work together. As I have said before, Kristen Britain’s writing makes reading aloud a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Her prose flows through my eyes and out of my mouth with no effort on my side.

We are both fans of Karigan G’ladheon’s adventures however unlikely they might be. In The High King’s Tomb you will find plenty of action and political scheming. It is always interesting to see how two sides can be equally certain of how right their points of view are. Following along with Grandmother’s fight for the Second Empire is an excellent lesson in just that. Both the followers of the Second Empire and Sacoridia are certain that their way is the right way. I am on Karigan’s side, of course, as she is the one I have followed all along. But it is easy to see how it could have been the other way around if Grandmother/the Second Empire had been the ones whose story had been told as a fight for the right side.

Another new player is the Raven Mask. Noble-women swoon and wish for a visit by him in their budoirs or bedchambers. But he is a thief, a thief who is going to have his values challenged.

I love Karigan’s teaching experience with Fergal. Two stubborn people travelling together makes for funny situations and lessons in patience for them both.

Alton is another person who has had his patience tested. Getting into the Tower just isn’t working for him and he is getting more and more frustrated. All of the effects of the poisons of Blackveil have not worn off yet. Thankfully he gets Dale Littlepage (another Rider) up by the wall. She gets him out of his self-pitying funk.

It is strange how some writers manage to give so much to their readers. Kristen Britain has a talent that has given my adult son and me the opportunity to spend some fun time together.

My reviews of books 1 (Green Rider), 2 (First Rider’s Call), 3 (The High King’s Tomb) and 4 (Blackveil)

Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

Elsa, Sandra: Through The Waterfall (Guardian of the Realm) (2012)

2013-04-30 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

When I first started reading Through the Waterfall I thought it would be a regular Young Adult novel. It is, because it is about young Tess – 17 years old. If you have problems with sexually explicit scenes then consider yourself warned.

Young Tess lives with her grandmother. She has since both parents were killed in a car-accident. Grandmother is a witch and Tess seems to have strong witchy powers herself. One day she is sent to hunt for toadstool from a fairy ring and to her surprise she finds not only that but also fairies.

In fantasy fairies can be so many things. Anything from being cute and cuddly to being not so cute and cruel goes. The ones in Through the Waterfall fall in the category lovely, self-centered and willing to do a lot to get their own way. The fairies in Through the Waterfall want Tess as a guardian of their realm. Protection against predators wanting the fairies as fingerfood will be the job of the guardian.

Tess does not like “Others” (elven world). The car accident that her parents died in was caused by an “Other”. That makes Tess less cooperative than the fairy king wishes. She has demands that need to be met before she will consider taking on the position of Guardian.

I liked Tess’ first meeting with the fairies. Because she has power she is attractive to the fairies, but that power also makes it possible for her to both see and catch them. She wasn’t all oooh, la, la about them. The relationship between Tess and Trey was kind of predictable. He was a hottie, so it had to be he who Tess ended up with. I wonder if any of our heroes/heroines ever end up with average looking partners? Probably not.

Other than that Through the Waterfall was an above average fantasy novel that I enjoyed reading.

Link to Facebook page

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Gay, Kelly: Shadows Before the Sun (Charlie Madigan) (2012)

2013-04-29 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Shadows Before the Sun is the 4th installment of the Charlie Madigan series. Whether it is the final one remains to be seen but it did represent an ending to me.

Charlie needs to go to Elysia to find Hank. She did promise him that at the end of The Hour of Dust and Ashes. Their friendship is too important to leave anything to chance and the words of ambassadors. Right now Hank needs a friend who is willing to break the rules to get to him. Charlie and Allessandra, the Oracle, end up as travelling companions. They both consider the other a severe test of patience.

The world of Elysia turns out to be as bad as the Earth Charlie is from. There is plenty of political maneuvering, power-plays and mayhem. But there is also help from unexpected quarters.

Charlie’s character has grown during her trip through these four novels. With her growth has come a better understanding of other people and perhaps even an ability to see them as individuals and not just part of some great mass that she has to keep safe.

We get action with plenty of fighting and some sex. I guess both could be considered somewhat adult in content.

My journey with the Charlie Madigan series has been a pleasant one. Shadows Before the Sun is easy to read, difficult to put down and fits the other three novels well.

Announcement from Kelly Gay: “8/1/12 — There’s been some talk about SHADOWS BEFORE THE SUN being the final book in the series. Guys, nothing like this has been decided or announced. Official news will come straight from me. I’m usually contracted 2 books at a time. Shadows completed my second two-book contract. This does not mean I’m done writing the series or that I won’t go back to contract.”

My reviews on books 1 (The Better Part of Darkness), 2 (The Darkest Edge of Dawn), 3 (The Hour of Dust and Ashes), and 4 (Shadows Before the Sun)

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Gay, Kelly: The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan) (2011)

2013-04-29 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Does Kelly Gay keep up her good work in The Hour of Dust and Ashes? Yes, she most definitely does. She has that rare ability of being able to keep her writing tight, very tight. That and her spelling and grammar helps the reader keep from being distracted. Add to that a pretty good plot, fun characters and talent and you have the flow.

Charlie Madigan is an interesting character. She is a believable woman in a fantastic yet believable world. Yes, this is all science fiction and fantasy, but the plot is about recognisable problems and her characters are flawed and gifted like the rest of us. Fanatics are fanatics and greed is greed.

Charlie suffers from a save-the-world-all-on-her-own syndrome. That makes it easy for her to take the blame for her sister’s ash addiction. It is true that Bryn got addicted to ash while helping Charlie out, but Charlie tends to forget that Bryn has her own will and this is creating trouble between the sisters.

When ash addicts begin taking their own lives, Charlie becomes desperate to make certain Bryn stays alive. Thus far the hunt for a cure has led nowhere. When Charlie goes to the oracle, Allessandra for help, she is told that she will need sylphs. On to Charbydon she must go and Hank and Rex get to go along with her.

Rex (the ex-jinn now revenant), Brimstone (the hellhound) and Hank (the Adonai) make themselves better known to us. We also get to see Charbydon at its best and worst. No wonder the people there think of Earth as a vacation spot.

We get tons of action and some of the fighting is explicit. If you don’t like that, consider yourself warned.

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My reviews on books 1 (The Better Part of Darkness), 2 (The Darkest Edge of Dawn), 3 (The Hour of Dust and Ashes), and 4 (Shadows Before the Sun)

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Gay, Kelly: The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan) (2010)

2013-04-28 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Christian McGrath’s portrayal of Charlie Madigan is gritty and strong complementing the writing of Kelly Gay. Gay’s writing continues to engage me as a reader. She maintains the balance between too much and too little keeping her novel tight and well-written.

The Darkest Edge of Dawn begins where The Better Part of Darkness left off. Atlanta became more in tune with the Charbydons living there. Charlie feels responsible for the “accidental darkening” and in a sense that is true. So, being the kind of person she is, Charlie sets a goal of saving Atlanta.

As we all know, the world is full of nutters. Being from Charbydon or Elysia makes no difference. Crazy people are found among all races. Sadly, some of the crazies go serial. In The Darkest Edge of Dawn Charlie and Hank investigate a warehouse where a dead body was found. Both find the place creepy and for good reason. In this lovely warehouse a pile of dead bodies and a pregnant hellhound is discovered. Something is off about the mound of bodies.

That was the second problem Charlie feels the need to save the world from. On a more personal level, the changes in her DNA are worrisome. What is she turning into and how is she supposed to control the powers she seems to have gained?

Trying to deceive your own daughter works like a charm unless she is psychic. And guess what, Emma is psychic. When Will died and his body was taken over by Rex, Charlie decided that they had to wait until Emma was ready before she could be told. Talk about messed up life. But Charlie also has the pleasure of having a hellhound living at her home, a hellhound that Emma has a mysterious link to.

That’s not all that is going on in Charlie’s life. Her sister Bryn was affected by the drug Ash while trying to help Charlie. Now she has to take regular doses of the drug in order to stay alive.

Charlie’s partner, Hank, still has his voice modifier fused to his neck – joy of joy – hindering his ability to be a proper Elysian.

One of the things Charlie has trouble with is accepting help from others. She is going to need help in The Darkest Edge of Dawn just as she did in The Better Part of Darkness. I get that. Asking for help is difficult even when it is obvious assistance is needed. Just because you are adult age, does not necessarily mean that you are able to act maturely. I guess that is part of the reason why I like Charlie so much. She is vulnerable and strong, prejudiced and willing to look beyond those prejudices.

I think Charlie Madigan could a be a good role model for young women out there.

2011 ARRA Finalist
2010 GoodReads Choice Award Finalist

My reviews on books 1 (The Better Part of Darkness), 2 (The Darkest Edge of Dawn), 3 (The Hour of Dust and Ashes), and 4 (Shadows Before the Sun)

Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Short story/novella

Cheney, Kathleen J.: Snow Comes to Hawk’s Folly (Tales From Hawk’s Folly Farm) (2010)

2013-04-23 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Imogen married her Guaire O’Donnell from Iron Shoes. Their puca heritage has made their son Patrick (2yrs) adept at unbinding. Unbinding is a good way to keep your parents and the staff on their toes. Soon he will have a playmate in the child Mary Stewart is close to giving birth to. Then a mysterious man turns up in their parlor.

Snow Comes to Hawk’s Folly is fantasy but mostly about family (blood or otherwise). Love, worry, fear, anger and pride were all part of their family cocktail.

Sometimes the past comes and bites us on our behinds. Do we let what has happened control our reactions today?

As with Iron Shoes, Snow Comes to Hawk’s Folly was written in minor key. Everything takes on a different texture when words are played on the black tangents.

My review of Iron Shoes

Originally published in Panverse (2010)

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult

Angell, Lorena (co-authored by Joshua Angell): The Diamond of Freedom (The Unaltered III) (2013)

2013-04-21 humanitysdarkerside 4 Comments

Great cover. You will find each item in the novel.

Thanks again to Lorena Angell for providing me with a reviewer’s copy. Does receiving a copy influence the review I write? I would hope not, but knowing human nature it probably does to some extent. I try to be aware of this possibility. Hopefully that does not make me harder on the author than I need to be.

A Diamond in my Heart is my favorite of the three novels. Brand is probably part of the reason. I like him a lot more than Chris.

Chris is difficult to get a handle on. I’m sure that is Angell’s intention. Is he for Mathea’s work or is he against? How does he tackle the whole situation with Calli? It is obvious he at least lusts for her and he has previously seemed to love her (according to surface thoughts). But loving a person does not necessarily mean that we look out for their best interests.

Calli is even more confounded by Chris’ behavior than I am. It must be weird having a person change their behavior toward you almost from day to day. Realising the seriousness of having a shard of diamond lodged in her heart is a process. Coming to accept that protecting her heart also means keeping a distance between herself and Chris would also be difficult.

Freedom craves having Calli’s shard in his possession. He will go to any length to get it. Killing her is only part of it.

Brand’s ability to repeat comes in quite handy in The Diamond of Freedom. Life would be a whole lot more difficult without him.

There was plenty of action in The Diamond of Freedom. At the beginning of the novel Chris and Calli are on the run after Brand saved their lives. They are trying to stay off-radar but are finding that a challenge. From there on we go from one adventure to the other. Some of it is kind of funny (like the biker gang) and Chris’ uncle was adorable (yes I mean that). Kind of cute in his own way.

We are told a bit more about the world of Mathea and meet some of the other Diamond-bearers. I’m left wondering what sort of person I would be after 5000 years. How would it be possible to keep up her motivation for keeping the world in balance for all that time? Is it even possible to retain all of the flighty emotions we short-lived people have? Thankfully I will never find out.

How do I know Lorena Angell (and her son Joshua) have created a well-written fantasy novel? I am left wondering and pondering the characters and their future. That really is the sign of a good series/serial. The author has to keep her readers interested in the story-line and characters that live in it. Good job Lorena. I certainly want to read the next addition to The Unaltered series.

My reviews of books no. 1 (A Diamond in my Pocket) and 2 (A Diamond in my Heart).

Adventure, Fantasy, History, Romance

Harkness, Deborah: Shadow of Night (All Souls) (2012)

2013-04-20 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

NPG 5994; Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke by Nicholas Hilliard — *Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke by Nicholas Hilliard*
watercolour on vellum, circa 1590: NPG 5994
Only for non-commercial use

A Discovery of Witches was one of the many books that my librarian, Ragnhild, recommended to me. I loved it and was highly motivated to read Shadow of Night. Now I have, and am left with a feeling of a book well-written. Deborah Harkness manages the difficult art that putting music to text is. Shadow of Night was one of those books that leaves my husband and children frustrated. I had trouble putting it down and being there for them. Sometimes I wonder if there ought to be a Books Anonymous.

One of my favorite things about Shadow of Night was the knowledge that Deborah showed in her telling of the tale of Diana and Matthew in 1590 Europe (especially England). There was a sense of reverence in the treatment of the milieu. Another excellent thing was my learning a new word. I don’t often have to use a dictionary while reading, but this time I got to. I love that. Her word was so perfect in its context as well (termagant). Thank you for that gift.

Being a 21st century Western woman in Elizabethan England was not easy for Diana. The world for women was so different back then. Being property cannot have made life pleasant for most. Diana left the modern world to seek help in mastering her magic and peace from persecution. What she ended up with was a world where humans were hunting witches.

While Matthew belonged to the richer part of society, Harkness also showed us the poorer side of these times. This was a time of changes in England. Farmers were losing their livelihood, people were moving to the cities seeking employment and poverty was rising. In fact, we are looking at the perfect recipe for a time where scapegoats were looked for. By now, wise women were equated with witch/devil/plagues/curses. Being different was dangerous and no-one was as different as a vampire and a witch together.

Looking for traces of Ashmole 782 turns out to be an extremely difficult task, hindered in part by Diana’s own challenges. Fortunately for Matthew and Diana they have Matthew’s friends (George Chapman, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Harriot, Sir Walter Raleigh and Lord Northumberland – Henry Percy) from the School of Night to help them.

Diana becomes acquainted with Mary Sidney (Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke). Together they work on Sidney’s alchemical projects.

Along with their own challenges in finding peace and education, Matthew’s role as spy for Queen Elizabeth and son of Phillipe de Claremont will bring them face to face with their own demons.

Fantasy, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult

Angell, Lorena: A Diamond in my Heart (The Unaltered II) (2012)

2013-04-19 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

First of all, I would like to thank Lorena Angell for sending me a review copy of A Diamond in my Heart.

While each novel is a stand-alone, they are part of a series and as such are best read in order.

Now we’re talking. A Diamond in my Heart is a much tighter book than A Diamond in my Pocket. Angell has cracked the code to the flow. Flowing demands a lot of an author and is probably not always a fun process. As with A Diamond in my Pocket I like the cover of A Diamond in my Heart. I don’t know if it was intentional, but the print in my copy was a little strange at times. It would change type and parts of it was highlighted.

Calli still has the shard of diamond lodged in her heart. That shard enables her to do things like read minds when she concentrates, read emotions, heal, run fast and hunt. For her abilities to blossom completely Calli will need to have the whole diamond lodged in her heart. I found that Callie had grown as a person. There is less angst and more acceptance of life as it is.

Calli’s side-kick is Brand. Brand is a horny senior whose main goal in life seems to be to have sex with every girl on the planet – at least every girl he encounters. He is the quarterback so that should help. But you would think not all girls would fall for whatever lines he uses. Strangely enough they do and the other guys at school are not happy with. Calli doesn’t get it and when she doesn’t fall for Brand’s lines they end up becoming friends. For some bizarre reason I loved him. I hope he turns up in the next novel as well.

Calli’s mentor is Mathea (from A Diamond in my Pocket). Mathea helps Calli understand the responsibilities that come with being a diamond bearer. Turns out they are supposed to keep the world in balance. We get some background information on Mathea. She sure is one strange cookie.

Calli’s enemy is Freedom. Freedom is a previous follower of Mathea who is now out to get Calli’s diamond for himself. He is a diamond bearer but no longer a follower of Mathea’s circle of diamond bearers. This is one seriously messed up dude. His sociopathic traits are fairly strong.

This time I thought the novel was too short. Angell kept me reading and her twists and take on her world was interesting. I like the fact that she has little or no previous experience with fantasy before writing these two novels. It doesn’t show, but then fantasy is about so much more than the flashy stuff. For those of you who worry about anything explicit be it violence or sex you can safely read these two novels.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Alexander, Cassie: Moonshifted (Edie Spence) (2012)

2013-04-17 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Moonshifted is as delightful as Nightshifted. Moonshifted remains as dark and gory as Nightshifted and keeps on being just as fun to read.

Edie’s life has changed after all of the happenings in Nightshifted. Her perspective has widened and her prejudices have been challenged.

Due to an accident Edie witnessed during her lunch-break, she becomes involved in a battle between two were-wolf clans. Little does she know where her instincts will lead her.

Her vampire connections keep on popping up, and not in a pleasant manner. In a sense Edie seems rather self-destructive. However, once we get to know her, we find that it isn’t so. Yes, she is attracted to rather “interesting” men. Yes, she tends to run towards danger. But her motives are anything but self-destructive.

Like I said about Nightshifted: Edie is a wonderful character and someone I would have liked to have met.

Good job Cassie Alexander. You have done it once again!

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Monk, Devon: Magic Without Mercy (Allie Beckstrom) (2012)

2013-04-17 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

I think this is my favorite Allie Beckstrom cover thus far. There is something about the atmosphere in it.

Devon Monk keeps on writing well. As a reader, following Allie’s journey from lonerhood to a leadership position among her friends has been a fun ride. Monk has managed to keep her characters alive without slowing down the pace of the novels.

Things are really moving along now. The Authority has officially decided to go for Allie. All of her friends and near-friends have to make a choice as to who to follow. Because they are rebels, we know what the choice will be. But their fight to overcome the opposition while at the same time figuring out how to battle the magic plague is going to challenge all of their abilities.

Allie is affected by the magic plague. Whenever she pulls it in she gets sick and ghosts turn up. Ghost magnet is what she is. She and her father have come to an arrangement – that sounds really weird considering their co-habitation. Anyways. Zayvion still loves her and Shame is her best friend. Shame and Terric still haven’t come to terms with what they are, or rather Shame hasn’t quite. He would go down fighting.

Jingo-Jingo is his same old creepy self. Mwah, hah, hah. A regular old Dracula is what he is. Eli is/was a bad guy – or maybe we could say a guy with very special interests. But he is important to the game, so Shame and Zayvion are stuck with him.

I look forward to reading the conclusion. As long as Devon Monk keeps the quality of her work at the level that it has been, then I have something to look forward to.

My reviews for books 1 (Magic to the Bone), 2 (Magic in the Blood), 3 (Magic in the Shadows), 4 (Magic on the Storm), 5 (Magic at the Gate), 6 (Magic on the Hunt) and 7 (Magic on the Line)

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Monk, Devon: Magic on the Line (Allie Beckstrom) (2011)

2013-04-17 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

I wonder if they used the same method for Devon Monk’s covers as they have for Jean Johnson. Jean Johnson was kind enough to explain that her publishers had gotten the photographer and model together for a session and taken tons of pictures. Pictures from this session are what the publisher uses to design the covers. I know Devon Monk has some say in the design of her covers. You will usually find some kind of reference to Portland on the cover.

It really is too bad, but we are getting closer to an ending. Two more books to go and there we will be. I’ve grown to care about our Allie. She knows that what she does has consequences, yet she goes ahead anyway. I guess paying the price for magic for so long has made her willing to pay the price for other choices as well.

There are two other characters that I have enjoyed thoroughly. These are Shame and strangely enough Stone. Stone the gargoyle.

The new leader of the Authority, Bartholemew Wray, is not a fan of Allie and her gang of followers. If he could get away with closing the lot of them, he would. Allie certainly does not trust Bartholemew. This makes for a conflict-filled situation for Allie, and some of her choices will affect those she cares most for.

Her Hounds are loyal to Allie to an extent that she had not expected of such loners. They are doing their best to protect her because they see a good thing they simply cannot lose in Allie.

I think this is part of what I’ve really enjoyed about the Beckstrom series. These characters are a gang of rebels (with the exception of Zayvion). In the end, he, too, will have to make some incredibly difficult choices. These rebels seem to be more in touch with reality than the Authority and as such they reflect the way I see the world in general. But the Authority had better watch out, because choosing a fight with this gang might not go as they wish.

My reviews for books 1 (Magic to the Bone), 2 (Magic in the Blood), 3 (Magic in the Shadows), 4 (Magic on the Storm), 5 (Magic at the Gate) and 6 (Magic on the Hunt).

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Monk, Devon: Magic on the Hunt (Allie Beckstrom) (2011)

2013-04-16 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

I think these covers by Larry Rostant are beginning to grow on me. Part of it is the swirling lights of magic. The other part probably has to do with how Allie is portrayed. She is all about business and I like that in a cover.

As the series about Allie Beckstrom has continued so to has Devon Monk’s writing grown. I expect that in a writer but do not always see it. Kudos to you Devon for growing as an author.

Zayvion and Allie’s relationship has changed. Their strength, closeness and abilities is making the Authority wary of them. Fortunately, the couple does have friends within the Authority. Two of their closest are Shame and Terric (who are also soul complements).

Given her unique relationship with her father, Allie is doing an excellent job of coming to terms with the situation. Monk has given the term father/daughter relationship a new dimension.

The division within the Authority is widening. Allie and her friends are discovering unpleasant truths about the regulation of magic and the leadership of the regulators. We begin to see the contours of decision-making that might not have the well-being of everyone as its goal after all.

As the Allie series grows in complexity, so do the characters. They are filling out quite well and the world we get a look at is both strange and familiar in the art that is Devon’s writing.

My reviews for books 1 (Magic to the Bone), 2 (Magic in the Blood), 3 (Magic in the Shadows), 4 (Magic on the Storm) and 5 (Magic at the Gate).