Tag Archives: Urban Fantasy

Book Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

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aliceAlice in Zombieland
by Gena Showalter
404 pages
Published 2012
Urban Fantasy

This was an interesting re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. In Alice in Zombieland, Alice Bell’s life has always been curtailed by her father’s insistence that monsters exist. The family cannot leave the house after dark, she’s been taught how to fight hand-to-hand and with a couple of weapons, and they never – NEVER – drive past the graveyard. All of this changes in one night – when Alice “falls down the rabbit hole” as it were – and discovers her father wasn’t insane after all.

Now, living with her grandparents, haunted by visions of her little sister and glimpses of monsters in the dark, Alice – or Ali, as she insists on being called – finds herself being called on to fight the monsters alongside the roughest crowd in her high school. Falling in love with the leader of the bad boys doesn’t help her social life, but might help her stay alive.

I enjoyed this book and will probably pick up the sequel, Through the Zombie Glass, if I can find it at the library. The writing flowed well most of the time, and while Alice began a little whiny, by the end of the book she was pretty bad ass. It felt…. a little more “young adult” than some young adult books I’ve read; the emotions seemed detached or damped down a bit. While she was dealing with grief over the loss of her family, and possible death at the hands of zombies, it just didn’t feel as raw as I think those emotions should have felt. And the notion of a bunch of high school kids fighting zombies – with the support of adults, including the high school principal – was a little weird. Still an interesting book, and not a waste of time, but it felt a lot like “teenagers are special snowflakes!”

From the back of Alice in Zombieland:

SHE WON’T REST UNTIL SHE’S SENT EVERY WALKING CORPSE BACK TO ITS GRAVE. FOREVER.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. Her father was right. The monsters are real. To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

Book Review: Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander

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nightshiftedNightshifted
by Cassie Alexander
341 pages
Published 2012
Urban Fantasy

Nightshifted in most ways is your typical urban fantasy book. It’s got the hidden supernatural world that most mortals don’t know about, with one mortal drawn in who must flounder her way around among vampires, shapeshifters, weres, zombies, and more. This one has a bit of an interesting twist to it, however. In most urban fantasy books, there’s some sort of hidden hospital, usually with a supernatural that was a doctor before they were turned to whatever flavor of supernatural they now are. In Nightshifted, that hidden hospital is Y4. Y4 is the bottom, hidden level of County Hospital. Here regular, mortal nurses take care of supernatural patients. One of those nurses is Edie Spence. She was offered the job by a mysterious, shadowy man, that told her if she took it, they’d make sure her junkie brother got clean, and stayed clean. Now she has a name badge that glows when something funky is going on, patients that sometimes require a tranq rifle, and a whole heap of troubles.

In Nightshifted, the first in the series, Edie accidentally leaves one arm of a patient unrestrained. In his delirium, he yanks out a vital tube and dies. The last thing he’d told her was “Save Anna.” Not knowing whether she’s under a Compulsion or doing it of her own free will, Edie sets out to find the mysterious Anna. She does eventually find her and kills one of the vampires holding her before they escape. The vampires decide she’s going to pay for that, and haul her in to a trial to decide her guilt and sentence. But Anna is more than she seems, and bringing Edie to trial may be more trouble than it’s worth…

The next book in the series is Moonshifted, followed by Shapeshifted, and, in December, Deadshifted. Due to the unique viewpoint of these books, I’ll definitely be looking for them.

There’s a tiny romance sub-plot, but it’s very much a SUB-plot and is secondary to the action in every way. Why don’t we get kick-ass, self-sufficient heroines in romance novels?

From the back of Nightshifted:

Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine – from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond…

Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she’s haunted by the man’s dying word – Save Anna – and before she knows it, she’s on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. Grey’s Anatomy was never like this….

Book Review: The Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles by Hannah Jayne

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underwrapsUnder Wraps
by Hannah Jayne
343 pages
Published 2011

Under Attack
by Hannah Jayne
342 pages
Published 2011

Under Suspicion
by Hannah Jayne
347 pages
Published 2012
Urban Fantasy

So this is a series review, rather than a single book review. The Underworld Detection Agency Chronicles by Hannah Jayne revolves around Sophie Lawson, a human immune to magic, and her vampire roommate, Nina. They both work for the Underworld Detection Agency, an organization that licenses and keeps track of demons and supernatural creatures, providing things like health insurance and legal services that the mundane world simply wouldn’t be able to handle. (Who’s going to survive serving court-ordered papers to a dragon?)

The action was good in all three books; my main gripe is that for a book with a female lead who spends a lot of time fantasizing about men – there were no sex scenes until 40 pages from the end of the third book, and THAT was a fade to black after the kissing. I kinda feel like these books just teased me along for three books and then didn’t even bother to deliver! I mean, when in the FIRST CHAPTER of the FIRST BOOK you get this:

Hayes and I settled into identical plush leather cigar chairs opposite Mr. Sampson. I stifled a delighted Carrie Bradshaw grin and made a mental note to tell Nina about the hot-male sandwich I found myself in: Pete Sampson with his miles-deep, chocolate brown eyes, close-cropped ash blond hair, and GQ model build; and Detective Parker Hayes, rich blue eyes, chiseled jawline sprinkled with stubble, Roman god nose – I’d leave out the part about him being smug. 

One kind of expects that to GO somewhere! (Especially since the ogling goes on for several paragraphs…) Also, that’s not how you use a semi-colon.

underattack

The other complaint I have is that the covers show her looking badass – redhead in a bustier, holding a pair of guns or a sword or a dagger – when in reality she’s anything but. Her only power is being immune to magic and having friends. She pukes when she sees her first corpse, is taught to shoot in the first book but when confronted with a home invader, rather than shoot him, she THROWS THE GUN AT HIM. This chick is ANYTHING but badass. She’s not even terribly smart. She is likable though, and I did enjoy the books. I was just disappointed they didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

From the back of Under Wraps:

As a human immune to magic, Sophie Lawson can help everyone from banshee to zombie transition into normal, everyday San Francisco life. With a handsome werewolf as her UDA boss and a fashionista vampire for a roommate, Sophie knows everything there is to know about the undead, the unseen, and the uncanny.

Until a rash of gruesome murders has demons and mortals running for cover, and Sophie finds herself playing sidekick to detective Parker Hayes. Dodging raging bloodsuckers, bad-tempered fairies, and love-struck trolls is one thing. But when Sophie discovers Parker isn’t what he seems, she’s got only one chance to figure out whom to trust. Because an evil hiding in plain sight is closing in… and about to make one wisecracking human its means to ultimate power.

From the back of Under Attack:

Sophie Lawson is a human immune to magic, which comes in handy for helping paranormal beings transition into everyday life. But fallen angel Alex Grace and his search for the Vessel of Souls is one curse she never saw coming. Suddenly an unexplainable string of killings and destruction has even San Francisco’s demons fearing for their immortal lives. And Sophie isn’t about to trust Alex’s all-too-vulnerable charm or his secret agenda. Now their hunt is revealing dangerous secrets about Sophie’s past, and a malevolent power hellishly close to turning one irreverent human into the ultimate supernatural weapon.

undersuspicion

From the back of Under Suspicion:

Being a human immune to magic helped Sophie Lawson get promoted. It’s also made her a major, very reluctant player in a game that stretches beyond even the Underworld. having handsome buttoned-down Englishman Will as her new guardian is one tempting blessing, especially since sexy fallen angel Alex is mysteriously MIA lately. But as a frightening number of demons start disappearing around the city, Sophie suspects that an Armageddon-level prophecy is about to become everyone’ nightmare. And her investigation is testing her bravery – and Will’s unexpected vulnerability – in ways neither could predict. Now Sophie and Will are fast running out of time as an unstoppable evil prepares to lay waste to demons and humans alike.

Having typed out the backs of these three books, I have a few more things to say. Specifically about the last one because it’s misleading as hell. There was no prophecy. Anywhere. Unless I COMPLETELY missed something. Final call: these books are decent fluff. I’m not going to bother with the rest of the series though.

Book Review: Hellbent by Cherie Priest

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hellbentHellbent
by Cherie Priest
338 pages
Urban Fantasy

I picked up Hellbent for one sentence on the back cover. “Her Seattle home is already overrun by a band of misfits, including Ian Stott, a blind vampire, and Adrian deJesus, an ex-Navy SEAL/drag queen.” I mean, doesn’t that sound like fun to you? Hellbent is actually the second book in a series about Raylene Pendle, a vampire thief; Bloodshot being the first. I’ve not read Bloodshot, but I didn’t need to to follow the action in Hellbent.

Raylene is contracted to recover a box of bacula – penis bones. (Snicker.) Not just any penis bones, but penis bones of various supernatural species. Lycanthropes, Basilisk, Sasquatch, to name a few. Supernatural bacula have a lot of magical punch, and will sell for a few million dollars apiece in Raylene’s world. Along the way to recovering the bacula, Raylene also has to keep her blind vampire friend from getting dusted by his old House, and solve the mystery of his sire’s murder.

It’s a fun read, and Raylene is a sarcastic, intelligent protagonist. There’s an undercurrent of romance between Raylene and Ian, AND Raylene and Adrian, but it’s never overt or a main part of the plot. From a drag show to penis jokes to outrunning a tornado, Raylene the vampire thief sails through her problems, collecting stray people to her as she does so. I admit I would have liked to see more ass-kicking; there was only one real action scene in the book, and it was very short. I was also a little surprised at how quickly an enemy turned into a friend, that seemed a little sudden. Overall, a fun, light-hearted vampire romp that doesn’t get bogged down by too much romance or politicking.

From the back of Hellbent:

Vampire thief Raylene Pendle doesn’t need more complications in her life. Her Seattle home is already overrun by a band of misfits, including Ian Stott, a blind vampire, and Adrian deJesus, an ex-Navy SEAL/drag queen. But Raylene still can’t resist an old pal’s request: seek out and steal a bizarre set of artifacts. Also on the hunt is a brilliant but certifiably crazy sorceress determined to stomp anyone who gets in her way. But Raylene’s biggest problem is that the death of Ian’s vaunted patriarch appears to have made him the next target of some blood-sucking sociopaths.  Now Raylene must snatch up the potent relics, solve a murder, and keep Ian safe—all while fending off a psychotic sorceress. But at least she won’t be alone. A girl could do a lot worse for a partner than an ass-kicking drag queen—right?

Fated/Cursed by Benedict Jacka

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fatedFated
by Benedict Jacka
278 pages
Published 2012

Cursed
by Benedict Jacka
277 pages
Published 2012

Fated and Cursed are the first two novels in Benedict Jacka’s Alex Verus series. Taken and Chosen are the next two, and I will DEFINITELY be getting my hands on those! I’m a big fan of the urban fantasy genre when done right, and Jacka does not disappoint. The books are very reminiscient of Jim Butcher‘s Harry Dresden novels, and even include a shout out within the first few pages that made me giggle. Unlike Dresden’s wizardry, Alex Verus is not a flashy mage. He can’t throw fireballs, he can’t shield himself, he can’t teleport. What he CAN do is see the future. All possible futures. He can flip through them in a matter of moments to find the one that ends with the result he wants. (Usually, his survival.) Constantly underestimated by the elemental mages, battle-mages, and other flashier mages around him, Alex continues to prove that, with proper ingenuity, his power can do a great number of unexpected things.

cursedAccompanied by his cursed Apprentice, Luna, and a friendly air elemental named Starbreeze, Alex gets into, and out of, some pretty hairy situations. Since he hasn’t sworn allegiance to either the light mages or the dark mages, he’s considered a rogue. In the first book, Fated, both sides use him to get to a powerful, ancient artifact locked behind multiple wards and booby traps. In the second, Cursed, Alex has to save a dear friend from being killed by a ritual used to drain magical beings of their magic.

These are both quick reads – I read them in one day while riding the bus to and from a job interview, and afterwards curled up in bed fighting off a migraine. The adventure is fast-paced and a lot of fun. If you’ve read and enjoyed The Dresden Files or Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series, I’d highly recommend you read these.

From the back of Fated:

Alex is part of a world hidden in plain sight. He runs a magic shop in London that caters to a clientele that can do much more than pull rabbits out of hats. 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 seeking his skills 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…

From the back of Cursed:

Alex WAS a little-known magic-shop proprietor in London. But thanks to his second sight, he’s suddenly infamous for defeating powerful Dark mages. Now he’s keeping his head down, training his apprentice, and trying to prevent cursed artifacts from falling into the hands of novices – until he unearths the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life force of magical creatures – destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on their agenda.

Hired to investigate, Alex discovers that not everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power. Alex still has the advantage of seeing the future – but he might not have a future for much longer.