Blood Singers By Tamara Rose Blodgett

Blood Singers (Blood #1)

by Tamara Rose Blodgett

A sub-species of human beings...

Twenty-year old Julia Wade, a young woman tragically widowed, is in the middle of a bizarre bid between two mythical species who are vying for the unique properties she offers; her blood. The vampires need her to balance the food load of the human species and give them their coveted “Lightwalkers.” The Were wish to be moonless changers; a Rare One can make that a reality. 

Julia wants to belong to herself. 

Can she free herself and begin a new life?

My Review

When I read the synopsis for Blood singers I was immediately intrigued. It seemed like a different spin on your typical vampire, werewolf fare. Plus, I am an admirer of Ms. Blodgett’s writing. Thus, I was pretty stoked to sink my teeth into a different series written by her.

Julia and Jason were high school sweethearts. After graduation they sneak off to Vegas and elope. They return to their home town in Alaska when Julia is immediatly met with the terrible tragedy of Jason’s violent death. Dang!... Talk about ruining the honeymoon.

The main protagonist Julia, is a blood singer and her blood calls out too every vampire, werewolf as well as other blood singers out there. Her blood is “extra special”, Rare, as it contains something magical that can be used by each of the varying species in order for them to gain something they lack. An example, for vampires, its the ability to walk in the daylight. 

We soon find out Julia is wanted by every creature that goes bump in the night. She is kidnapped, held captive and always on the verge of completing some crazy ritual that would bind her to that particular breed of creature. And right when that's about to go down some other faction swoops in to takes her away. It did get kind of funny that everybody wanted Julia. But, I quickly picked up on the tongue and cheek humor from Ms. Blodgett when she wrote, “ Was it vampire? Were? What the hell...trolls? Could there be more mythological creatures  springing to life to kidnap her....” Yeah, after I read that,  I was assured of the author’s awareness that this was getting a little ridiculous-even for our heroine.

I will admit, I had a difficult time getting into the groove of this book for the first couple of chapters. There are many POV’s and quick scene changes within a given chapter, making it a little hard to follow...at first. However, once I found the tempo and rhythm the author had set forth I was immediately captivated and found that I enjoyed this style of writing. 

With all that said, the book ended with a gnarly cliffhanger leaving me frantically swiping my finger over my phone in desperate hopes of there being another chapter. Heck, even another page! But, sadly no, and Ms. Blodgett just left me hangin’.

Overall, I give Blood Singers a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I have the second book Blood Song all queued up and ready to read. I am curious to see who will end up with the coveted Julia and her Rare blood.

Twist by Dannika Dark

Twist (Mageri #2)

by Dannika Dark

Months after moving to the mysterious city of Cognito, Silver is developing her gifts as a Mage, and learning how to live under new laws. Forced to give up her old life, she must now live in secret among the humans. She finally has hope of leading an ordinary life . . . until Logan Cross walks into it.

Their chance meeting leads her close to discovering the identity of the nameless Mage who once stole her light and discovered the unique power she possesses. That knowledge poses an unimaginable threat to Silver, fueling her search to find out who he is, before he finds her first.

Lives are at stake. Truths are revealed. And an unexpected passion ignites.

My Review

I started 3 books this past week and sadly I could not finish a one. That almost sucks as much as giving a bad review. So, instead of plodding along and torturing myself with another possible fail, I decided I would cleanse the proverbial palette and read Twist for the second time.

I must confess, it is a rare book or series that comes along, that I love so much I want to re-read it. Well, Ms. Dark, you have won my heart and I have re-read your work. And I do, whole heartily declare, I loved it as much the second time around!

Twist by Dannika Dark is the second book in the Mageri Series. It starts right were Sterling left off. But, with the added bonus of a few new characters, and a couple of chapters from different POV’s. Fear not fans, Silver, Justus, Simon and Adam are still in the mix and as awesome as ever.  

The major new addition is Logan Cross, a Chitah, and he is superb! He is not the typical guy Silver would fall for and that just makes it feel so perfect. In fact, the majority of the romantic sub-plot seems to be centered around the theme of mismatched couples. I really liked this element. It keeps the humanistic, real world vibe nicely intertwined throughout . Because hey, this happens in life a lot. Sometimes we end up with a man or woman whom we least expected. And they are perfectly designed to meet our needs. However, It usually takes some time for us to realize that. Analyzing our hearts and figuring out the damage, and what is needed to repair it, is never fun, and usually ends up being a very painful process.  Anyway, that’s exactly what Silver comes to realize with Logan. He seems to be exactly what Silver needs. Making it a wonderfully realistic and romantic journey. 

Twist doesn’t skimp on the action scenes either. They are packed full of nail biting tension, great descriptive writing that allows the reader to practically be a part of the fight scenes themselves.

We do learn a little more about the Benefactor and his devious plans. This is the major conflict in the story and main vehicle that is pushing the series further along. I am curious to see what is going to happen here. I feel like Ms. Dark is just beginning to scratch the surface on something big. I feel like a major bomb is gonna drop!

Dannika Dark is a very talented, witty, funny and entertaining writer. You can guarantee a few laugh out loud moments, a couple of teary eyed moments and some nice, well rounded, thought provoking plot lines.

I can barely contain my excitement about the very soon to be released third book in this series, Impulse! 

If you are a fan of PNR and UF then you MUST, MUST, MUST, read Dannika Dark’s Mageri series. You won’t regret it.

Master Of Crows by Grace Draven

Master of Crows 

 by Grace Draven

 What would you do to win your freedom? This is the question that sets bondwoman, Martise of Asher, on a dangerous path. In exchange for her freedom, she bargains with her masters, the mage-priests of Conclave, to spy on the renegade sorcerer, Silhara of Neith. The priests want Martise to expose the sorcerer's treachery and turn him over to Conclave justice. A risky endeavor, but one she accepts without hesitation--until she falls in love with her intended target. Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, is a desperate man. The god called Corruption invades his mind, seducing him with promises of limitless power if he will help it gain dominion over the world. Silhara struggles against Corruption's influence and searches for ways to destroy the god. When Conclave sends Martise as an apprentice to help him, he knows she's a spy. Now he fights a war on two fronts--against the god who would possess him and the apprentice who would betray him. Mage and spy search together for a ritual that will annihilate Corruption, but in doing so, they discover secrets about each other that may damn them both. Silhara must decide if his fate, and the fate of nations, is worth the soul of the woman he has come to love, and Martise must choose continued enslavement or freedom at the cost of a man's life. And love...

My Review

First order of business;  I have to gush about the cover art! Best cover art ever! This beautiful piece of work was created by the talented Louisa Gallie. She is a Concept Artist, Illustrator and she also designs e-book covers. And after reading this book, I have to agree with what Ms. Draven wrote in her dedication.

”... an enthusiastic thank you to Louisa Gallie who found the heart of this book and brought it to vivid life...” 

                                                   

That she did! This artist really captured the essence of this book. It’s exactly the way I pictured it. Amazing! 

Okay, well, I could ramble on and on about the importance of fantastic cover art. How crucial and sometimes overlooked it can be. But, I won’t bore you with my musings and statistics. Instead,  I’ll get right to reviewing the content.

Master Of Crows is a Fantasy/Romance that is threaded with darkness, arcane magic and has an antediluvian/medieval vibe

This book seemed more like a romance then fantasy to me. The romance is a slow progression, but once it’s out there it’s all about the lovin’ and the fantasy aspect takes a back seat. For some reason that disappointed me.  I was really getting into the fantasy world that Ms. Draven so beautifully created that I sort of forgot this book was categorized as a Romance as well. I would have liked the romance toned down just a little in order to evenly balance with the fantasy. 

However, I was not disappointed in the characters. I thought the consistency was there. I know some reviewers scoff at the servant/master role between Martise and Silhara but I have to disagree.

 Martise, was raised  a slave. Taught to serve in the house of Asher. This is all she knows. That is who she is and we do see her progress slowly out of that role as she discovers her powers. Later on, we see she is treated like a mate and equal. 

Silhara, is a brooding loner type who has pushed people away his whole life. Other Mages have feared him and treated him as an outcast. He assumes that role. However, Martise is able to break through that protective wall he has so stubbornly created and thus, drops his guard long enough that we as readers get a chance to see the man Martise has fallen in love with.

Silhara and Martise are the main protagonists  is this tale but my heart goes  to the supporting character Gurn.  Gurn is the man-servant of Silhara, and is mute. I was so impressed with how skillfully Ms. Draven wrote his character. Obviously he has no dialog but his personality shines through the pages with the way she has so artfully scripted his actions and expressions. From a writing stand point, that is truly an impressive feat. I smiled when he smiled and felt frustrated and angry when his character did as well. Gurn’s character was an unexpected surprise and he stole the show for me.

Grace Draven is a wonderful descriptive writer. She sucked me into the land of Neith and I had no trouble at all visualizing all of the layers and subtile details. A talented and promising author that I expect will produce nothing but superior work in the future.

I recommend this book for those of you who love a romance first and a fantasy second. I give Master of Crows 4 stars. A great book for the antiquated romantic at heart.