A Book Obsession..: August 2018

Review: Wild Hunger by Chloe Neill

, by Kt Clapsadl

Wild Hunger by Chloe Neill

Heirs of Chicagoland #1

In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill's spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.

As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she's a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he's prince of the Pack and its future king.

When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.

In many ways, returning to Chicagoland felt like coming home to visit old friends. There's that sense of familiarity, but things aren't exactly the same as you left them as lives move on. In WILD HUNGER time has fast forwarded twenty some years, so there's a lot of things different despite the vampires' immortality. Elisa is a smart and spunky heroine, but she's not just a clone of her mother. She's actually a good blend of Ethan's logical ways and Merit's strong will. She's determined to make her own path, with no nepotism, which is rather admirable. This winds up working to her benefit due to events that would have tied her hands in this book. I really enjoyed how she showed a strong determination to take the harder path in order to do what was right. Again she's just an admirable heroine.

Moving on to the romantic elements. Not to anyone's surprise, but Conner, the "prince" of the pack looks to be the love interest. At the start of the book, they can stand one another. But I'm a huge sucker for enemies to lovers stories, so this was like cat nip to me. I really enjoyed the natural feeling progression of their attraction as they danced around one another. Granted things felt just a little bit rushed towards the very end, but this reader isn't complaining about a little extra romance gratification. I can't wait to see what's in store for these two!

All in all, WILD HUNGER was an enjoyable kick off to the Heirs of Chicagoland series. I can't wait to get my hands on the next installment!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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Other Reviews:
Fangs, Wands, and Fairy Dust
a GREAT read
Gizmo's Reviews

Early Review: Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

, by Kt Clapsadl

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels #10

Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She's made friends and enemies. She's found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the power players of the world to let her be.

Kate and her father, Roland, currently have an uneasy truce, but when he starts testing her defenses again, she knows that sooner or later, a confrontation is inevitable. The Witch Oracle has begun seeing visions of blood, fire, and human bones. And when a mysterious box is delivered to Kate's doorstep, a threat of war from the ancient enemy who nearly destroyed her family, she knows their time is up.
Kate Daniels sees no other choice but to combine forces with the unlikeliest of allies. She knows betrayal is inevitable. She knows she may not survive the coming battle. But she has to try.

For her child.

For Atlanta.

For the world.

Let me just start by admitting how devastated I am that this is the last Kate and Curran book! Considering how much I love this series and these characters, MAGIC TRIUMPHS had mighty big shoes to fill in order to meet my expectations for a proper send off. After finishing, I realized I shouldn't have worried nor doubted this amazingly fantastic author duo. MAGIC TRIUMPHS was everything I could have hoped for and more to end their series. Everything and I do mean everything comes to a head in this book, including events from Hugh's book. The proverbial bleep hits the fan... And then splatters. It's just that intense and I truly loved every minute of it.

Kate and Curran are fantastic, as is the entire rest of the character cast. But honestly it's the newest edition that completely and utterly stole the show for me. Conlan has one heck of a personality packed into his little but mighty body. He'll be a force to be reckoned with that sure loves to give his mother a run for her money. I also really enjoyed the changes he brought in Kate as a mother where she's so loving but utterly and completely neurotic. And seeing her struggle and eventually come to terms with her beserker level protection when the little man is threatened rang a chord in this mamma's heart as well. Motherhood, no matter unconventional her circumstances are, suits her.

While I'm so sad to be saying goodbye to one of my all time favorite couples, I can't really complain in the end after being given this gift of a great read. MAGIC TRIUMPHS is utter magic from start to finish and fans of the series should run not walk to their nearest bookstore and snatch this one up immediately. Bravo!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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Other Reviews:
Book Twins Reviews
Gizmo's Reviews
Fantasy Book Review

Previous Books:
1. Magic Bites
2. Magic Burns
3. Magic Strikes
4. Magic Bleeds
5. Magic Slays
5.5. Gunmetal Magic

6. Magic Rises

6.5. Magic Steals

7. Magic Breaks

8. Magic Shifts

9. Magic Binds

Review: Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance

, by Kt Clapsadl

Shadow's Bane by Karen Chance

Dorina Basarab #4

Half-human, half-vampire Dorina Basarab is back—and facing her biggest challenge yet in the next urban fantasy in the New York Times bestselling series.

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. As one of the Vampire Senate’s newest members, Dory already has a lot on her plate. But then a relative of one of Dory’s fey friends goes missing. They fear he’s been sold to a slaver who arranges fights—sometimes to the death—between different types of fey.

As Dory investigates, she and her friends learn the slavers are into something much bigger than a fight club. With the Vampire Senate gearing up for war with Faerie, it’ll take everything she has to defeat the slavers—and deal with the entirely too attractive master vampire Louis-Cesare....

Wow was SHADOW'S BANE a long, but fully packed read. I'm impressed at the sheer length of this book and the fact that I was never once bored. It's been quite a long time since the last Dory novel released, but I had no problem jumping right into Dory's story again. I really appreciated the recapping in the beginning of the book. This of course contributed to this book's massive size, but it was well worth it to bring the reader right back into Dory's headspace.

The plotline of SHADOW'S BANE at first glance felt very arbitrary with many threads seeming to go in many different directions. This especially seemed to be the case when you added in the multiple perspectives with Dorina and Mircea in the past taking the helm at times. But as the book went on things started to intertwine more and more. I really appreciated how the author brought all these seemingly different threads together into one cohesive story. It definitely made for an interesting and engrossing read.

Even better than the plotlines in this book was the great amount of time spent on character growth. Dory makes major headway into accepting herself once and for all. And let me just say, after 500 years, it's about time! I also really enjoyed just how rich and in depth the other characters were. Every single one no matter how small of a role, were fully fleshed out. And let me just say, I need a Louise-Cesare for myself...

Simply put, SHADOW'S BANE was well worth every moment of the wait in between releases. Karen Chance has crafted yet another magical story that kept me turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. Bravo!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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