Monday, January 27, 2014

Dirty Deeds by SE Jakes

4.5 STARS

Dirty Deeds - Book 1

Oh my, this was one steamy novella! The mysterious Cillian and fascinating Mal of the Hell or High Water series are here, starting their own adventures.

I unabashedly loved it. I loved finding out some of the back stories of these characters. I loved the IM back and forths. And the steamy face-to-face sex scenes.... OMG! The HEAT! New Orleans in the summertime hot, babe!

And the ending! Everyone's calling it a cliffhanger. That ain't no cliffhanger, baby... that's one helluva REVEAL.

I think that basically what this work does is set up this corner of the universe, introduces us to the main characters, lets us begin to fall in love with them and gives us one helluva conflict for them to overcome. And yes, the whole thing might be Over The Top, but it's FUN OTT.

And I do not know if SE was giving one of my favourite TV shows (and one I know she enjoys as well) a nod or not... but man, Cillian working for SB-20? The action/adventure show, Strike Back is about the totally deniable Section 20 of British Intelligence. Love it!

In the end, this is a super addition to the HOHW universe and I recommend it and indeed all the books in this universe.

*waits barely patiently for the next book*

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

4.5 STARS

Mistborn - Book 1

Books like this are why I love fantasy. World-building and magic-building that works, characters that are real and have pasts and reasons for being who and what they are, action and adventure that you can sink into. And that's just the first book of the trilogy!!

I really enjoy Brandon Sanderson's writing. The man can write a fight/battle scene to stand with the best. He creates wonderful characters, I just hope that in future novels there will be more fantastic women to root for as well as young Vin. His dialogue is also terrific. The banter between the 'crew' members is fun and real as are the more serious conversations of planning and WTF just happened.

There are deaths, yes, but not as many as I had feared. Brandon isn't exactly on a par with George R.R. Martin in the killing off of major characters club - but he's not afraid to do what needs to be done.

I mentioned in an earlier post this morning about how I could see see a Judas/Jesus parallel with the story of Kell/Vin and I still see it... only the outcome was different. I still stand by it. :)

All in all, this was a terrific book and I have absolutely no qualms in recommending it to anyone looking for a juicy fantasy read.