Having read the first two books in Weeke’s Rogues of the Republic series I was intrigued when I saw Feeder with it’s ‘sci fi’ feel.  I’m enjoying the fantasy series by this author (although I need to read No.3 and complete the series – I have completion issues!) and similarly to his fantasy works this book has a fun feel.  I enjoyed this.  I would say it’s probably aimed at a YA audience although to be honest it has a comic book type adventure feel that I’m sure will appeal to many.  It’s not a serious read but definitely something that I could see being adapted to screen really successfully.  A bunch of young adults with mutant powers plus a very diverse and inclusive cast of characters.  On top of that it’s virtually non-stop action with monsters of the tentacle-kind. As the story starts we meet Lori Fisher.  She’s received a message with details of her latest job and is sorting out real life issues in order to dash out the door – this gives you an immediate glimpse into Lori’s life.  You meet her brother Ben, who she adores, and get a feel for their close knit unit –…

In Impostor Syndrome, the excitement continues as a stark division is raised between both of the Fey courts as well as the London versus Los Angeles Arcadia Project offices. Millie is set to protect those she cares for, as well as the Arcadia Project as a whole, against all of the upheaval caused by the warring factions. I continue to really enjoy this series. I love Millie and her personality. She’s not perfect, she has some extra challenges in life, and I just love her attitude and sense of humor that she exhibits whenever she has struggles. It helps to keep things from getting too grim or dark. Another thing I like seeing is that the relationships just feel real. The Arcadia Project seems to be full of slightly dysfunctional characters, and as they each face their own challenges, they don’t always get along with one another. (which is completely natural and understandable), but despite this, when it comes down to it, they do all care for each other. So while Millie and her partner Tjuan may not always seem to mesh well personality wise, they have each others backs completely. So when Tjuan has been framed for murder, Millie…

Lake Silence is the first book of a new spin-off series set in world of The Others by Anne Bishop, therefore making a great place to jump on board if you’ve ever played with the idea of checking these novels out. While the story takes place in a different town following a group of new people, it still shares many traits with the original series such as Bishop’s incredible world-building as well as her flair for creating compelling and dynamic character relationships. This novel opens on the small village of Sproing (is that not just the cutest name ever?) where a rustic little property called the Jumble sits beside the calm shores of Lake Silence. Our protagonist Vicki DeVine is the proprietor, having turned it into a cozy resort after receiving it in a divorce settlement. There’s a catch though; the land it is built on actually belongs to the Others, also known as the terra indigene—powerful, paranormal creatures that have called Earth home long before humans came into the picture. Territory controlled by the Others are often governed by strict rules, but as long you are willing to abide by them, most of the terra indigene are content to…

The Hazel Wood is a book that is a combination of quest, redemption and dark fairy tale all rolled into one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The writing was really good but more than that the book actually spoke to me, and I realise that probably sounds a little bit sentimental but this was about change, coming of age, discovering who you are and having the courage to alter those things that seem set in stone.  It also gave me a serious case of the goosebumps that were bad enough to stop me reading late into the dark – I don’t know why, perhaps I’m just a bit of a wimp. As the book begins we learn about Alice.  Alice and her mother have been on the run for as long as she can remember.  A long time ago Alice’s grandmother wrote a book of dark fairy tales that became a cult classic. Very few copies of the book can be found and although it appeared to be adored, and indeed inspired a strong following, very few people now know much about the stories. It seems like the people who read the book become somewhat obsessive and one of Alice’s earliest…

Dogs of War is one of those books that turned into a very happy surprise for me.  I requested a copy of this because I’ve read this author before and liked his style of writing and so whilst the theme worried me a little, because I imagined it was going to maybe be a bit more military style than I would normally attempt, I had faith that Tchaikovsky would win me over.  I wasn’t wrong.  Dogs of War is so much more than I expected, in fact after the first few chapters of action and warfare it turns into a different style of drama completely.  This is a thought provoking story that really packs a punch. Rex is a bioform. I’m not going to try and describe all the mechanics of this but basically he’s a genetically modified dog, part human and with heavy duty warfare installed for good measure.  He’s the controlling unit for a Multi-form Assault Pack, an incredible fighting team that includes the characters Dragon, Honey and Bees.  Each of these have their own unique abilities that I won’t dwell on here but take it from me, this is a deadly team of bioforms that you don’t…

Magicians Impossible is a fun and exciting adventure that introduces magic to our world. I think this book should do well with readers that are fans of The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It features an older protagonist than a typical coming into powers or magic school book, and with just one or two exceptions, he has been a loner for most of his life. After the death of his estranged father, Jason’s world turns upside down and he finds himself part of something quite unexpected. I liked Jason’s character. He definitely has some flaws and has managed to create very few personal connections in his life, particularly for someone that seems likable. He is resentful of his absentee father (who just died), and through some flashbacks, we can see some of his disappointments as a child. He grew up believing magic was just simple slight of hand as opposed to actual magic. After the death of his father, he learns there is such a thing as real magic as well as about the communities that are a part of that previously invisible and unknown part of the world. The Invisible Hand is a training institute that turns those found to…

Hannah’s world is turned upside down when her parents split up. But when the Devil wakens from a long nap to discover someone is stealing the evil deeds of humanity, Hannah and her family will be central to putting this right. For various shades of right. He is the Devil, after all. I’ve been a big fan of Michael Marshall Smith for years, and his books are few and far enough between that a new one is always a celebration (yes, there are Michael Marshall books between times, but they’re not usually quite the same). I like his narrative tone of voice, and his way of twisting aspects of the real world; I like his ability to provoke melancholy and capture heartache. So Hannah Green and her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence had a burden of expectation to live up to – and sets its stall out from the start as being somewhat different to the rest of MMS’s body of (long-form) work. The prologue is mischievous and knowing, breaking the fourth wall and playing with expectations (if anything, it reminds me of the voice-over at the start of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). And for the first time, we get a heroine – and…

What do you get when you mix clairvoyance and psychokinesis with Cold War secret agents, the Chicago mob, shady con artists, and a dysfunctional family undergoing a crisis of zany proportions? You get Spoonbenders, a wildly original, humorous, and unexpectedly heartwarming tale of paranormal drama. This book had everything in it—and I do mean EVERYTHING—but I’ve seen Daryl Gregory pull off some pretty amazing things with an even stranger mishmash of ideas, so I never doubted for a second that he would be able to pull this off. Spoonbenders introduces us to the Telemachus family, whose members made brief waves in the 70s by dazzling late-night talk show audiences with their amazing psychic abilities. At the head of this act is Teddy Telemachus, who ironically is the only one with no real power of his own, though he does make up for it by being a smooth and charismatic master swindler. The true talent was his wife Maureen, who is said to be the most powerful psychic in the world. And in their individual ways, each of their children inherited a bit of their mother’s gifts: Irene is a human lie detector, able to fox out the smallest insincerities or…

Damnation is the third instalment in the Burned Man series and picks up about six months after the conclusion of events in Dominion where the main protagonist found himself employed by a Goddess with vengeance on her mind.  For the record this being the third in series the review below will undoubtedly contain spoilers so please bear this in mind before reading further. I will start out by saying that Damnation is not my favourite of the series so far, but, that being said I am invested in the story and will definitely continue.  For me, this book had two main issues that prevented me from loving it – firstly, it did nothing to endear me further to the main character, Drake, and secondly, it felt very much like a ‘filler’ or set up book for the next in series. As mentioned, we start 6 months after Dominion where we learn of Don’s rapid decline since he departed London to try and track his former girlfriend Debbie. Unfortunately the search goes very poorly and nobody is inclined to help Don.  Why would they after all?  Debbie is a very talented alchemist who doesn’t want to be found by her cheating former boyfriend s0 there’s no reason for…

I’m definitely partial to reading fantasy in all it’s glory and I particularly enjoy finding a new urban fantasy to sink my teeth into so obviously I was only too happy to grab a copy of Borrowed Souls.  I would say from the outset that this didn’t work as well for me as I’d hoped.  I’d like to think that’s just ‘first book in series’ syndrome but as this currently stands I had a few issues that stopped me falling in love.  In fairness, I think most new series struggle a little bit, they’re trying to introduce a new world, new characters and usually some form of new concept and Borrowed Souls is no different in that respect.  Anyway, to the review. The premise here is that, as the title clearly states, souls can be borrowed.  Why would people want to rent somebody else’s soul, put bluntly, to avoid staining their own when they partake in dodgy dealings or other such undertakings.  As you can imagine therefore the hiring out of souls has become a very lucrative business. As the book starts we meet Callie Delgado.  Callie works hard for a living and to stand on her own two feet, but…