Review: Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews from Must Love Hellhounds Anthology

Must Love Hellhounds Anthology by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook
Pub: Berkley Publishing Group
361pages
Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews
90pages
4 stars

Find out why the giant, three headed dog that guards the gates of Hades has left the underworld for the real world--and whose scent he’s following…

My thoughts…Magic Mourns takes place in the Kate Daniels world just after the events that take place in Magic Strikes. Andrea is Kate’s best friend and is filling in at the order while Kate recovers. For those of you who follow the Kate Daniel’s series you already know how much Andrea loves her guns so when a call comes in for a shape shifter being chased by a dog as big as a house Andrea is on it big guns in tow.
The shifter in trouble turns out to be Raphael the yummy Bouda that has been after Andrea for the last six months. Andrea ends up helping Raphael do more than just evade a large Hellhound.

Andrea has a lot of issues from her past that have never been brought out until now and as she gets to know Raphael better she has the chance to unload some of the baggage of her old pack and her well deserved mistrust of all shape shifters. Andeas character thaws in Magic Mourns not a whole lot but enough that we get a glimpse of her vulnerable side. Raphael for all his Casanova ways really surprised me he makes some good points relationship wise and shows that his feelings for Andrea are genuine having seen her at her worse and that he’s not the needy male I thought he was.
I really liked seeing these two characters more developed, I’ve always liked Andrea because there are so many in Kate’s life who have their own agenda and Andrea always struck me as a honest got your back friend. As always Ilona Andrews delivers a tight action packed story thats a real treat to read.

Ilona Andrews website

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by the Printed Page.

Here are two that I received in the mail this past week, the first is the last book in the Warland Trilogy and the second is Some Girls Bite the first in the Chicago Vampire series!!!

Lara of Xy and her Warlord, Keir of the Cat, have been through much together. Lara abandoned her lands and people for love of him. She adopted his ways and learned of his tribe. Together they have faced plague and insurgency -- and despite these struggles, they have known happiness and joy.

Now they face their most arduous task: Keir must take Lara into the Heart of the Plains, and introduce her as the Warprize to the warrior-priests. She must be tested--questioned, examined, watched--and must find favor with the warrior-priests and the tribe’s elders before they will confirm her as a true Warprize.

But in Lara's heart there are doubts--for what if she is found wanting? Will Keir give up everything he knows to be with his Warprize?

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker—and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude— and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war—and there will be blood.

Review: Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon

Blood Magic
Jennifer Lyon
Pub: Ballantine Books
364 pp
4 stars

In the days when powerful witches used their magic to shield humanity from demons, their allies and guardians were a group of men gifted with preternatural abilities of their own–the witch guardians. But when a band of witches traded their humanity for demonic power, the ancient bond was broken,and the guardians became the hunters.Darcy MacAlister knows nothing of demons or magic. But this beautiful young woman is about to discover the truth about her past . . . and her future. For she is a witch–not just any witch, but the key tobreaking the curse that has plagued witches and the men who hunt them. For if a hunter kills an innocent witch by mistake, the price is no less than a piece of his soul.Axel Locke, gorgeous leader of the Wing Slayer Hunters, has sworn never to shed the blood of the earth witches who have resisted the temptation of demonic power. But when his sister is cursed by a demon witch, he discovers that Darcy MacAlister may hold the cure–if she can master her newfound powers in time. When the chase begins and Axel and Darcy come face-to-face, this hunter must weigh his soul against his honor–and against his heart.

My thoughts…Darcy MacAlister has made something of herself despite her adoptive father’s constant verbal and mental abuse. She has single handedly turned the family business around and has learned to ignore the whispers and stares. It’s at her mother’s funeral that the stare of a strange man ignites an all consuming fear. When Darcy receives emails warning her that someone is after her all addressed from herself and then a phone call telling her to run she doesn’t hesitate. Luckily for Darcy Axel Locke leader of the Wing Slayers is in time to save her from two rogue witch hunters. Axel saves Darcy’s life but he has his own agenda a demon witch has placed a death mark on his little sister Hannah and he needs Darcy an earth witch to break the curse but first he has to convince her that she is a witch.

As leader of the wing slayers Axel has been fighting the blood lust the curse torments all witch hunters with since he was fourteen but he will risk succumbing to the lust if he can save his little sister from a horrible death. It’s Darcy’s blood that calls to him promising power but its her touch that calms the blood lust and Axel realizes he’ll do anything to protect her from the rogue witch hunters. Running short on time Darcy and Axel must learn to trust one another in order to find a cure for Hannah.

Darcy and Axel are two tormented souls that find solace in each other but also suffer some serious trust issues. Axel is a dark sensual alpha male who has a hard time with the feelings Darcy stirs inside him. He has always been a casual sex no strings type guy to help slack the lust the curse causes but the pull Darcy’s blood and power ignites in him is far different than anything he has ever felt and leaves him utterly confused. Darcy has overcome the verbal abuse from her father, but she isn’t bitter or hardened she is big hearted and optimistic. Darcy has spent most of her life unknowingly suppressing her magic but when things start to logically add up she doesn’t continue to deny who and what she is and the role Axel will fill. The secondary characters are Carla a fellow earth witch and true friend who stays by Darcy’s side no matter what, Morgan who knows first hand what the rogue witch hunters are capable of, Darcy’s cousin Joe MacAlister who is more like an adorable protective brother, and of course the Wing Slayers Sutton, Phoenix, Key, and Ram. Jennifer Lyon has created wonderful new world filled with unique characters that left me wanting more. Thankfully, I don't have to wait for Soul Magic!!
Author's site
www.jenniferlyonbooks.com

Contest Winner

Okay I'm still looking for a second winner for the signed copy of Deep Kiss of Winter!! So I put the names back into randomizer and.....

Roxanne Rhoads

Congrats!!! If you'll email your info by Friday, to myreadingaddiction(at)yahoo(dot)com I'll get it out in the mail to you!!!

Review: Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

Warprize
Elizabeth Vaughan
Pub: Tom Doherty
336pp
Fantasy Romance
5 stars

Xylara is the Daughter of the Warrior King, Xyron. With her father dead and her incompetent half-brother on the throne, the kingdom is in danger of falling to the warring Firelanders.
Before she was old enough for a marriage-of-alliance, Xylara was trained as a healer. She can't usurp her brother or negotiate a peace--but she can heal the brave ones injured in battle.
But not only her countrymen are wounded, and Xylara's conscience won't let Firelander warriors die when she can do something to save them. She learns their language and their customs and tries to make them as comfortable as possible, despite their prisoner-of-war status.
She never expects that these deeds, done in good faith, would lead to the handsome and mysterious Firelander Warlord demanding her in exchange for a cease-fire. Xylara knows must trade the life she has always known for the well-being of her people, and so she becomes...

My thoughts…On several occasions I read reviews for Warprize that said things like “amazing”, ”spellbinding”, “couldn’t put down” so when I was able to get my hands on a rather worn copy I dug in and I’m thrilled to say I loved it!!

Warprize is the first of a trilogy set in the Kingdom of Xy. The kingdom is under attack by the ruthless Warlord Kier. As in any battle there are many wounded and Xylara Princess of Xy and master healer has her hands full tending to the wounded but her oath as a healer will not allow her to leave even the Firelanders her enemy for death. Xylara begins to learn their language out of necessity in treating them but she also strikes a friendship with the men and its because of her compassion that she catches the eye of Kier. The kingdom is forced to surrender and Xylara must serve as a war prize in order to protect her people but nothing is as it appears.

Xylara is intelligent, practical, and naïve. She has a kind heart and is ready to sacrifice herself for her people, but her passion is healing and it shows in her actions. Kier for all his dark rough ways is a ruler that leads by example and although he is a hardened warrior he isn’t a hardhead he listens to Xylara and really is big hearted despite his apparent indifference. I loved the interaction between Kier and Xylara, they have language barriers and cultural differences to overcome, but they are both so much alike in ways too full of compassion and loyalty.
The main story is Kier and Xylara but the secondary characters are just as wonderful with the sensitive Joden, the humorous Simus, and the cranky but devoted Marcus all make this an awesome read. The trilogy continues with Warsworn and Warlord.

Author sites www.warprize.com
www.eavwrites.com

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by the Printed Page.

Thank You Cecile!!!

When an ancient pact is broken, powerful witches who once used their magic to help humanity become the twisted playthings of demons, and the mortal men who once protected the sorceresses become witch hunters, cursed with the longing to spill the witches’ blood: an irresistible craving that will cost witches their lives and witch hunters their souls.The Wing Slayer Hunters fight this curse, guarding innocent witches until the urge to harm them grows too strong–then they must kill their own. Wing Slayer Sutton West has always honored that vow. His own father killed himself rather than go rogue. But now Sutton is tempted as never before by Carla Fisk, a brilliant psychologist and dynamic witch whose twin sister, Keri, was murdered by rogues.
Bound by blood and passion, Carla and Sutton dare not succumb to their deadly attraction. Yet when a mysterious rogue named Styx joins forces with the demon Asmodeus, witch and hunter have no choice but to work together. For Keri’s immortal soul is at stake–and with it, balanced on a knife-edge, is the fate of humanity itself.

Friends since childhood, Anais Darnby and Lindsay Markham have long harbored a secret passion for one another. When they finally confess their love, their future together seems assured, sealed with their searing embrace.
But when a debauched Lindsay is seduced by a scheming socialite, a devastated Anais seeks refuge in another man's bed while Lindsay retreats to the exotic East. There, he is seduced again--this time by the alluring red smoke and sinister beauty of opium.
Back home, Lindsay's addiction is fed by the vogue for all things Oriental--especially its sensual pleasures--in fashionable London society. In his lucid moments, Lindsay still lusts after Anais, who can neither allow him near nor forget his smoldering touch. Tortured by two obsessions--opium and Anais--Lindsay must ultimately decide which is the one he truly cannot live without.

Stranded in a blizzard, Maggie MacDonald is rescued by Highland warrior Logan Douglas. But a tempest of another kind brews when Logan discovers Maggie has been promised to a cruel suitor.

Isobel MacDonald is spending Christmas at her ancestral Highland estate when she loses her treasured clan pin in the woods. The enigmatic Prince Daegan offers his help in finding it, but the stranger's charms are more powerful than she imagines.

Paige MacDonald's Highland tour takes a surprising turn when a storm forces her to seek refuge in a forbidding castle already inhabited by the dead sexy spirit of Gabriel Munro.

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

On the Edge
Ilona Andrews
Pub: Penguin Group
336pp
Urban Fantasy
5 stars


From Publisher:The Broken is a place where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is nothing more than a fairy tale.
The Weird is a realm where blueblood aristocrats rule and the
strength of your magic can change your destiny.
Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, the place between both worlds. A perilous existence indeed, made even more so by a flood of magic-hungry creatures bent on absolute destruction.

My Thoughts… I didn’t know what to expect from On the Edge, I love Andrews’ Kate Daniels series but this one is set in a slightly different world than Kate’s but once I started reading I was blown away by the complex world building and how easy it was to follow. The Edge is a place that lies between the Weird with it’s magic users and the Broken with it’s non magic folk. Those who live in the Edge have some magic and the luxury of being able to cross the lines into the other worlds for work and such, but people from the broken can’t see the Edge and those from the weird suffer great pain and death from crossing the lines.
Rose and her two younger brothers Georgie and Jack live in the Edge as outcasts among outcasts. Rose is a very strong magic user by Edge standards which makes her life complicated to say the least, from being attacked by an ex-boyfriend to being almost tricked into slavery by a blueblood, everyone wants Rose and her power. So when two new mysterious men William and Declan enter her life Rose is to say the least wary. William a normal man from the broken or so he appears is instantly attracted to Rose and she handles him in a brutally honest way but that’s just Rose she is very honest and straightforward because she has had so little of either in her life. Then there is Declan the blueblood from the weird whose words and actions portray him as a knight in shining armor but he is a blueblood far more powerful than Rose which makes him a danger to her and the boys. Declan likes a challenge and Rose is the ultimate she’s been let down so much that she’s built a wall around herself and the boys and Declan struggles to build her trust in him and the monsters attacking Edgers is one of many obstacles.
Rose is a character I immediately liked the way she looks out for her family and deals with problems, she doesn’t allow her ego to stand in the way and she doesn’t play games. Declan has his secrets but he does try to do the right thing just sometimes doesn’t turn out so well. Rose and Declan’s relationship develops slowly with each learning about the other along the way as they form a shaky truce to protect the Edge. I’m looking forward to more of the Edge and hopefully more of William.

Author's site www.ilona-andrews.com