Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

3 Stars

Well, this wasn't for me, I guess.  It got lots of good press and I can understand why, but for my own taste, it didn't satisfy.  (And this is where I remind folks that I rate on my reading experience.)  It was too.... I felt like I was missing something, something that would give me the deeper understanding that the book was trying to give me. And that annoyed me at times.

The premise was interesting, but I felt overwhelmed by all the social stuff I was supposed to be getting riled up about.  There are a lot of interesting concepts in the book having to do with the Earth's future, computer programs taking over so many things, nanosomething or others that sort of enable a melding with animals... just so so much.

The world-building is to be lauded, however.  And the characters were interesting and intriguing. I just... I wish I liked it more.  It felt like I SHOULD like it more.  It's up for a Nebula award this year for best novel and I can see why.  The nomination is deserved, I think.  The book just isn't really for me.  I will say though, it does leave me wondering what happens to the main characters left at the end.  Whether or not their story continues and how it does. 

Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts

4 Stars

Chronicles of the One - Book Two

The last of my six Christmas books.  It was a good year! 

This is the second of Nora's post-apocalyptic trilogy and it carries on the story of Year One, beginning thirteen years after those events.  We find out what has happened with many of our favourites from the first book and we get to meet The One - Fallon Swift - 13 year old daughter of Lana and Max, as well as catch up with Duncan and Tonia (Katie's twins and grandchildren of  the man who was basically 'patient zero' in the first book) who were just babies the last time we saw them. 

It's very much a book about the training of Fallon to take her place as the leader of her people.  We watch as she leaves her home and family to train with Mallick (a Merlin type character who I wish we'd seen more in depth) for two years.  She gains her powers and her mystical companions, the owl, the wolf and the alicorn.  We follow as she returns home and spends time with her parents and younger brothers on the family farm, readying them for the Big Battle to come.  We see her meet Duncan and Tonia and watch as they discover that they're meant to be this series' trio - Nora loves her trios of power.  And we journey with Fallon's family as they join up with the bunch from New Hope, the folks we followed and watched come together in the first book.

Along the way, there are some looks in on the New Hope settlement and a couple of quick meetings between Fallon and some of the folk.  There are a few battles and rescues.  And there are more than a few moments of discovering her powers. 

It's very much setting everything in place for the Big Battle to come in the third book and were it not for the engaging way Nora writes about her characters and the heart-touching moments of found family and shared histories that pepper the story, it would be a very boring book, I think.  It's very much a middle book. 

I enjoyed my read. As always with Nora books, I zipped merrily along, her writing style so easy to read.  There were moments of humour, moments of action and danger, moments of love and deep emotion and I will admit to being engrossed.  :)   I am very much looking forward to the culmination of the trilogy, due out at the end of the year. 

Year One by Nora Roberts

4.5 Stars

Chronicles of the One - Book 1

I absolutely loved it!  I'd been dying to read it and was thrilled when it finally went on sale last week - for a day.  I cannot justify $15.99 for a book.  Not really.  So I waited. 

This book had everything I love about post-apocalyptic type stories.  It had characters that make you want to root for them because while they're good, they're also flawed in some way.  There's magical stuff - fairies and elves and magiks returning to this world.  The main characters are of assorted ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, (Nora still needs to work on her sexualities though).  There's evil that really gives you a chill.  There are friendships, there is some romance, but this is a book about The Doom and what immediately follows.  How life goes on even in the harshest and scariest of times.  And there are dogs.  Damn, I love Nora's dogs.  :)

It was a quick read for me.  I kept picking it up whenever I had a few spare minutes, anxious to see what was going on with my peeps.  And it would make a terrific TV series, I think.  A cross between Colony and The Walking Dead and Into the Badlands. 

So, while there is a satisfying ending to this book, it's not the end of the story by a long shot and you expect that.  This is a series of I don't know how many books - Nora's usual trilogy?  I don't know.  I just know I'm anxious to read the next one and if we don't revisit some of what have become my favourite characters, I'm gonna be pissed!  *LOL* 

Trail Of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

4.5 Stars

The Sixth World - Book 1

Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. Way more than I expected to, if I'm honest. :) Why? Because I'm not such a huge fan of contemporary, urban-ish (I say ish because it doesn't really take place in an urban environment) fantasy. But this book kept popping up in some of the oddest places on my Twitter timeline and recommended by a few folks whose taste I trust and since the price was right (I did a price-matching thing on Kobo - it was $2+ cheaper at Amazon) I went ahead and picked it up.

So what we've got is a post-apocalyptic (after the Big Water) world where a reformed Navajo nation, Dinétah, is the setting for a Mad Max Fury Road - esque tale. The Diné mythology is thick and fascinating. And is a nice change from all the fairy and elf urban fantasy. I admit to only knowing wee bits and pieces of this mythology and I think some of I know is coloured by what I know about our Canadian First Nations, so I found myself doing a few google searches to clarify things for me. And that's good! I was learning stuff! Never too old for that.

The main character is a young woman, Maggie Hoskie, with a well-earned but not well-respected reputation as a Monsterslayer. Life's not been easy for her when we first meet her and it's about to get even tougher as she deals with monsters, gods, clan magics, secrets and betrayals. I liked her. And I liked the characters around her too.

I liked the pacing of book too. It read well, kept me turning pages (virtually, 'cause I was using my Kobo) and I did the just one more chapter thing more than once.

So all in all, this was, for me, a really fabulous read! I highly recommend it.

Mad Lizard Mambo by Rhys Ford

4.5 STARS

Kai Gracen Series - Book 2

I think that Kai has just become my favourite of all of Rhys' heroes.  :)

I loved the first of the series, Black Dog Blues, and I think I loved this one even more.  :)  We learn a lot more about Kai (and that twist near the end took me RIGHT by surprise) and thank heaven he's still the snarky smart-ass I enjoyed so much in book one.

I really like how the relationship between Kai and Ryder (the elvin lord) is growing and taking its own sweet time.  This series is about the adventure and the action and the mission and about Kai growing as a person - or do I say being? - not sure.  :)  The 'romance' of Kai and Ryder is there, the attraction is very obvious and acknowledged, but it's not the main thrust of the series.  The banter between the two is some of the most amusing and enjoyable of any book in any genre I can remember reading.

I feel like we've barely scratched the surface of this post-apocalyptic fantasy world and I searched Rhys' website to see when the next one is coming... there HAS to be a next one!  Especially after the revelations at the end of this one.  But, I couldn't find anything!!

So yes, I loved this book and I love this series and Rhys Ford remains one of my favourite go-to authors.  :)

Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford

4.5 STARS

Kai Gracen - Book 1

Ah, Rhys Ford has steadily become one of my go-to authors. She never disappoints and often even totally delights. Like this time. :)

Black Dog Blues is the first of the Kai Gracen series - a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy type series. What's happened, you see, is that the lands of the Sidhe, the elvin (as Rhys calls them) have merged with the lands of mankind. This premise hits a lot of my sweet spots, I have to say.

Whereas Rhys usually writes a lot of steamy sexytimes and intense romance, this series is different. It's really fantasy, pure and simple, with elves and magic and dark creatures and adventure and while there is a romantic element and Kai is definitely a sexy, sexy creature... it's just a small part of the story so far. This is, after all, Book One. Quite honestly, the few steamyish elements almost felt... out of place, maybe? I did like how the relationship between Kai and Ryder ( the elvin lord) grew and made it from a bad place to a good one. And their banter... Rhys is really good with banter and I love that!

I really enjoyed the world building that went into this ,even though there were times I felt something must be missing, but I think we'll find out more and more as time goes on.

So I really loved this in the end. One of my faves stepping a bit outside of her norm and making it work. And you know... there wasn't a jarring or manipulative cliffhanger - so I gave it an extra half star because Rhys... .well, she loves those damned cliffhangers that I hate. *LOL*

I'm glad I have book 2 (which just came out) already in my Kobo!

Signal Boost by Alyssa Cole

3 STARS

Off the Grid - Book 2

I have been sorely slacking at updating My Thoughts on the books I've read recently. No good reason. *LOL*

Anyway... Signal Boost. This is the second of the Off The Grid trilogy and it stars the younger brother of the first book's hero. He comes across another young man in the family garden who he's immediately attracted to and in a couple of days they're heading off to the university to offer their help to whoever, they assume, is doing something about the flare that knocked everything... well... off the grid. *g*

So, this one is definitely more like a New Adult novel and as a result I was not as enamoured of it as I was hoping. I have a very hard time relating to the characters, most of them, because they are young and, well, need a bit of a shake. *LOL*

While not my speed, I'm pretty sure that many will enjoy this book as much as if not more than the previous one. :)

Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole

4 STARS

Off the Grid - Book 1

Do you enjoy post-apocalyptic romances with a goodly amount of steamy chemistry between the main characters? I do and if you feel the same, then Radio Silence is for you.

The plot is simple. Something has happened and the power has gone out. Set in northern New York state, our heroine, Arden and her best friend/roommate John, set out from Rochester to further upstate and John's family's home, in a somewhat remote area near the Canadian border. There we meet John's brother, Gabriel and sister, Maggie. Sparks smolder and fly between Arden and Gabriel as the four try to come to terms with their new reality.

The plot is fast-paced and the dialogue is quick and bantery, both which kept me turning the pages (so to speak - I was reading on the Kobo) to see what was going to happen next.

Oh, BTW, if you`re into this whole MUST READ DIVERSE BOOKS AT ALL COSTS! This will easily fill that need. I had no idea when I started the book which probably allowed me to enjoy it as much as I did because I didn't feel browbeaten into being a good person by reading it.

It was a really good and enjoyable and I totally recommend it! I'll be hunting down book 2 very soon. :)

Beyond Temptation by Kit Rocha

3 STARS

Beyond - Book 3.5

I love the Beyond series. I find the world-building fascinating, the characters full and diverse and the plots are usually integral to the development of the main characters. I didn't find it so in this novella.

Beyond Temptation felt like filler to me. This is #3.5 in the Beyond series and I honestly didn't feel the urgency or the 'this love is destined for me' in it. It fell sorta flat. :/ I didn't feel that I got to know Emma at all, other than that she's a tattoo apprentice, likes to strip and has found her family with the O'Kanes. And as for Noah, he's supposed to be the token beta-male, I guess, but he's still built like a brick shithouse and while we got his backstory nicely laid out for us, I didn't feel like I really got to know him the way I've gotten to know other Beyond heroes. (Thank GOD this didn't carry over to Book 4 which features my favourite of all the Beyond characters, male or female, Ace.) The think is, I think that computer whiz Noah could have become one of the best-beloved of the gang with a little more attention.

I was disappointed, but it was still a good erotic read - I just wish the non-sex scenes had carried the weight the sex scenes did.

Beyond Solitude by Kit Rocha

3.5. STARS

Beyond - Book 4.5

I hadn't been planning to read this novella just yet, but when I ended up in the hospital ER with my son (kidney stone), it was the perfect read to take my mind off my worries.

First off, let me say that the reason I gave it 3.5 stars instead of 4 is because it was too damned short and the consequence of that was that I didn't learn nearly as much about Ford as I wanted to. Mia was a little more fleshed out, I thought, but I could have gotten deeper into what makes her tick too.

I think Ford may just be my second favourite male character in the Beyond books, after Ace. The read I get from what we're given in the book is that he's a little older than most of the other O'Kanes. And he thinks before he acts for the most part. And I like both of those things.

I liked Mia a lot too. I liked how she pretty much understood what Ford was dealing with after his accident from pretty much the beginning and acted accordingly. She read as a lot younger than Ford, but I thought they fit together right well from the very beginning. It felt to me that their chemistry was instant and it was shown through the simple parts of their interaction. I didn't need the gutpunches and the flushes etc... to get it, you know? But when those did come, it was perfectly right - and good. :)

As always, the intimate scenes - be they filled with lots of steamy, hot sex or just a random touch and a look - were excellently done. And they were the characters' own scenes. They weren't a rewrite of any of the others that have come before in the Beyond series and that's not always the case in these romantic series.

I just wanted MORE! I wanted more scenes like the one where Ford and Mia went on their motorcycle ride outside of the sector. I wanted to see more of how Mia was settling in with the core community of the O'Kanes, making friends etc... and see more of how Ford was healing and how the two of them were creating their life together. And more Ford period. :)

I love this series and can't wait until the next one comes out!

Beyond Jealousy by Kit Rocha

4 STARS

Beyond Series - Book 4

At last! A book with my favourite O'Kane, Ace, as the main character! Okay, so one of the THREE main characters, but I have to admit to a huge bias where the tattoo artist is concerned. He's my Number One.

Beyond Jealousy is as hot, sexy, steamy, messy and wonderfully flithy as expected (and I'd have been disappointed otherwise). And while that is all good fun, I found the dynamics of Ace, Cruz and Rachel's relationship the most interesting. The barriers each had erected inside themselves to stop them from fully being able to commit to this great love they had found. It's a difficult line to walk for an author, I think, writing a threesome where the dynamics and the emotional power ebb and flow and at no point does the reader sense that someone is on the short end of the stick is extremely difficult, and the writing duo that makes up Kit Rocha (Bree Bridges and Donna Herren) make it work for most of the book.

The non-romantic plot of the bootlegging of the bootlegger was interesting and I will admit I wanted more of it. I could have done without some of the length in one or two of the sex scenes for more fleshing out of this part of the novel. Yes, yes, I know it's erotica, but sometimes, when there is a lot, you become numb to it and search for the other stuff, no matter how great the sex scenes are.

I did find that the last 'chapter' of the book, labelled Trix, was out of place. I didn't think it was needed at all. I thought it was a bit of a cheap ploy to get me to have to have the next book and honestly, it's not needed. The Beyond series is so good, as is Beyond Jealousy, that the next book will be even more eagerly awaited than this one, I think. I would have preferred that Beyond Jealousy end with our MC Trio, seeing as the book was mainly about their relationship.

One regret I have is that we never got to see Rachel's fantasy play out, of being able to watch Ace and Cruz fucking. And I would really love to see more m/m play out in this series, seeing as Sector Four is all about all sex being good and amazing and pleasure rules, no holds barred.

And in closing, yes I cried. After the big street battle (not to give anything too much away) I cried like a baby. And I am indeed apprehensive about what's to come as a result of what was done. I also have a feeling that we might be seeing that doctor lady again before all is finished in this dystopian world.

Wild Card by Moira Rogers

3 STARS

Down & Dirty - Book 1

Well that was quick. :)

Wolf shifters in a post-plague world. Sexy, sexy MCs, both Ginny and Jack. Their connection is electric, their bedroom romps sexy, heated and fun, their every-day conversations laden with tension. The pairing worked really, really well.

Oh yeah, there was a bit of a plot. :) Something about rogue members of the pack, of which Jack is the alpha, out for Ginny's ... something. Land? Cattle? Herself? And then another bit where the young female of the bunch, Hazel, is coming into her first wolf shifter heat. It seems like there aren't as many female werewolves as there are male. And I post myself the question... in Romancelandia, are wolf shifters the same as werewolves?

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. It wasn't great, but damn, it was hot, sexy and fun. I would have liked to know the reasons behind Ginny staying away from Jack for so long and I would have liked to know more about this post-apocalyptic world and how the pack functioned etc... which is why it lost a start in my rating. :/

But I'll tell ya.. I do love Moira Roger's sexytimes scenes. :)