Jan 16, 2018
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#witchesofinstagram #makingsacredspaces #thelittlehousewiththewillowtree #favoriteviews #spiritofthewillowtree #loveisourguidinglight #loveahousetolife #witchandwolf #yayas (at Tulsa, Oklahoma)
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Karma by R.J. Blain
Link to book here.
Link to full plot summary here.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Serious Score: 73/100 - Itās got some issues, but the main character really sells it for me, I just wish that Blain wasnāt so hamfisted when it came to sexism in law-enforcement. Also that ending needs fixing.
Story - Much like Pack Justice, this bookās story is a bit free form, with three sub-stories that are contiguous but donāt feel like they can be called one full story when put together.
āPlotā - Apparently the main characters like to use handcuffs. But in all seriousness itās pretty good when it comes to traversing between scenes and events, it was enjoyable but probably not what I would call well coordinated. But the ending felt suuuuuper rushed.
Characters - I like the leading lady, sheās funny, smart, and has most of her shit together. She takes real offense to people ignoring her agency and will absolutely crush people that deserve it. That said at some points she feels inconsistent, and while the other characters feel like they have a lot of stuff going on in their heads, there is very little delivery when it comes to accomplishing anything without the protagonist there as a facilitator. The love interest is second only to the main character, and like several of its predecessors there is not a real villain in this book.
Consistency - Man does this book feel weird in the context of the Witch and Wolf universe, like I mean really weird. Some characters donāt feel right, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where this fits into the wider cannon.
Personal Enjoyment (Trash) Score: - Ā I had a good time with this book, the characters have nice interactions and feel alive for the most part, the plot is not very focused but it reads well, I just wish that it was either more settled in itās universe or officially declared separate from the other Witch and Wolf titles. And fix that damn ending, Blain. 78 handcuffed sex jokes /100.
Teaser Summary:
Senior Special Agent Karma Johnson has worked hard for her dream job of joining CARD, the FBIās division for finding missing children. In fact, itās just as sheās preparing to leave for her new CARD position in New York that sheās mistaken for a teenager and caught up in a child abduction herself. Hopefully her training will pay off, or she may not make it out alive.
My thoughts:
This book is really enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun reading it, but damn is it flawed. Blain does a pretty good job of detailing the main character, Karmaās, inner thoughts and she really sells the story. However, there is a lot of conflicts in the story that come from really hamfisted sexism against the main character that I just donāt fucking see as realistic and detracts from the plot (thatās not to say that sexism is not a thing in law enforcement, just that itās done really poorly). I also have reservations about the romance in the book, itās pretty good towards the end, but the book starts late in the leading charactersā relationship, and there is not much hints about how the love part really happened; I can still chalk it up to an unreliable narrator, but it still doesnāt feel quite right to me. Overall though itās a solid read if you want some urban fantasy with quirky characters but a mostly serious tone. Also, just so you know the supernatural stuff is barely touched on until you get to the last 25% of the book, so if you are looking for something that stresses the āfantasyā in āurban fantasyā you might feel a bit underwhelmed.
Pack Justice by R.J. Blain
Link to book here.
Link to full plot summary here.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Serious Score: 55 /100 - The book is certainly serviceable, but itās lack of content matched with a mediocre delivery leaves much to be desired.
Story - What was she thinking?! I enjoyed it but there wasnāt so much a story as a string of events presented in sequence; no climax, or discernible central conflict, or anything you expect from a bookās story. It is a weird experience.
āPlotā - The main character gets laid. That is all.
Characters - The main character is okay, nothing special. Iām not sure I can really describe any other character in more that one or two words, which means they are disappointingly empty. Love interest wasnāt bad, but only in the context of dialogue with the protagonist, no other interaction she had was any good.
Consistency - Violating your own cannon when you so specifically claim itās set in the same universe as a bunch of other books is bad form yāknow?
Personal Enjoyment (Trash) Score: - Ā I liked the book. Itās only notable trait within the context of the other books in itās universe is that itās way shorter. 60 sassy cheetahs /100.
Teaser Summary:
Prosecuting Attorney Sean Scott has two big secrets in his life. One: the bruises and scars his wife Idette regularly gives him hidden beneath his suit. Two: Sean has a spirit of a cheetah sharing his body, and it loves Defense Attorney Andrea Morgan better than it does him. Sean has a plan to deal with his secrets; he plans to give his marriage one last shot on a short vacation before serving the divorce papers, and then he can be free to follow his cheetahās wishes. His plan does not go over well.
My thoughts:
Itās a nice read. But it is nothing special, and the length and lack of focus as a story does not do it any favors. If you like Blain, give it a look, otherwise you should probably find something better.
Beneath a Blood Moon by R.J. Blain
Link to book here.
Link to full plot summary here.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Serious Score: 70/100 - Purely in the technical department, this book is about the same quality as Blood Diamond, but due to more personal preferences I canāt score it as high.
Story - There is so much that happens in this book, itās hard to properly evaluate the story as a whole, itās well done but... I justā¦ have strong opinions.
āPlotā - Why must you stress me out like this, man? It reads well from scene to scene, but man do I not like the contents.
Characters - Main character is okay, the love interest is okay, the supporting cast is pretty good except for one character who is excellent. The villain isā¦ fineā¦?
Consistency - If it werenāt for a lot of the supporting cast being the same as in previous books, the world of this book feelsā¦ wrongā¦ for the witch and wolf universe, it should be treated as a standalone in all but the basic terminology.
Personal Enjoyment (Trash) Score: - Ā This book stressed me the fuck out. I canāt say I enjoyed the first 60% of the book, but it was certainly compelling. That said, it wasnāt a page turner for me and I often had to put it down and do something else so I wouldnāt snap my phone in half. 68 ruined stress balls /100.
Teaser Summary:
Sara Madison is struggling to get by. Stripping and working as a showgirl just doesnāt pay enough to get the education to move up in the world, and her refusal to sell her body doesnāt help much either. But when worrying gifts left on her doorstep take a turn for the deadly, Sara might just have to make a choice she never thought possible.
My thoughts:
UGHā¦ I have many feelings about this book. I really appreciate how willing Blain was to explore some of the less ideal aspects of her world, but ho-OLY FUCK I was not enjoying myself for the first 60% of the book. If you get attached to characters, and get easily stressed, or are not okay with reading about abuse and torture and shit, maybe give this book a pass. Because the majority of the novel is watching the main character grasp at straws for something good in her life only to be ruthlessly beat down and stomped on. I really ā REALLY ā mean it when I say that this book was stressful for me. I kept having to put the damn thing down to take a deep breath and do something else, and it would be better if all the characters were awesome and they had complex and engrossing interactions, but most of the time they donāt. If I were to rank the best characters, the main character and the love interest would maybe tie for third, and the best character in my opinion is so far above the others itās absurd. If you are invested in the world, or want some slightly darker urban fantasy that still has a good ending, then give this book a look, otherwise itās hard for me to recommend.
Shadowed Flame by R.J. Blain
Link to book here.
Link to full plot summary here.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Note: Iām changing the score section, instead of individual scores for each category, I will do only the serious and personal score, hopefully my scoring will be less inflated. I will still comment on each aspect.
Serious Score: 65/100 - An above average, if flawed, book. If you are invested in Witch and Wolf or have access to it for free, give it a go, otherwise you can take it or leave it.
Story - Itās not bad, itās just not great. The story overall makes sense and is cohesive, I just wasnāt terribly impressed.
āPlotā - Good pacing, good scenes, and a well connected narrative, could still be better when it comes to the some plot threads.
Characters - Ugh, the main character is good, but I feel like she is just too good, at everything. The side characters are interesting and the villain is good, however, the leading man is kinda meh and most of what he is as a character was defined by what others said about him instead of stuff he did or said himself.
Consistency - As a standalone novel, it feels good, but in the context of the series I feel like some of the continuity is played too fast and loose, at points feeling like it should be in an alternate version of the universe itās supposed to be set in.
Personal Enjoyment (Trash) Score: - Coming from Blood Diamond, this kinda felt like a step back for Blain. Iām not sure which of the two came out first, but Shadowed Flame is definitely the inferior book. Still, better than a lot of what I read and fits Blainās general quality level. 70 exploding airports /100.
Teaser Summary:
Matia Evans is pretty satisfied with her lot in life- rich, beautiful, and intelligent- aside from her colorblindness she lacks for little as the young second-in-command of Pallodia Industries, a multi-billion dollar corporation. Unfortunately, she soon finds that the world is a bit less mundane than she had thought, and if Matia wants to keep her perfect life intact, sheāll need to become something more than human.
My thoughts:
Iām pretty conflicted when it comes to reviewing this book, it was the first I read from Blain, and it has a special status because of it. However, upon rereading all of the books, it just doesnāt hold up to my expectations. Itās not bad, I certainly enjoy it, itās well above the average schlock you pull of the shelves, but I just canāt recommend it if you are not totally okay with some of itās downsides. For one, the protagonist ā the book asks a lot of your suspension of disbelief in her establishment. Matia Evans is, from what I can tell, in the age range of 18 to 20 years old; she is also second only to her father as one of the largest shareholders and employees of a multi-billion dollar corporation. So to book asks you to believe that a maybe 20 year-old woman without a college education was somehow allowed to become one of the most important executives of a huge company, and that she has been involved in doing so since she was 15; not likely, especially when the book is upfront with the fact that nobody in the office has heard her say more than a few sentences in the years sheās worked there ā it even says that a lot of people think that sheās mute. Itās a ridiculous setup. Second on the list of problems is that the love interest is super boring, he has a well developed voice and you can recognize when itās him thatās speaking but if you asked me to describe who he is as a character I could not for the life of me answer. Next, you need to be ready for some terribly convenient coincidences, and a villain who, despite being interesting, is just plain evil, also the book takes great pains to let you know he smells bad. Also, this may be a nitpick since weāre pretty far into her work, but where are all my multi-ethnic and queer characters at? Itās been this long I still havenāt seen one gay wolf, or witch, or anyone. The best weāve gotten is some half-native American wolves in Blood Diamond and we only got them for one scene. I am disappointed. Overall it is enjoyable if you like Blainās writing, but if youāre not sold on her work then maybe pick it up as cheap as you can find it.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ā¢ No registration required ā¢ HD streaming
Blood Diamond by R.J. Blain
Link to book here.
Link to full plot summary here.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Serious Score: 86/100 - All the good things of previous installments with the bad parts minimized.
Story - Itās good, I have no big complaints, its just not excellent. 23/25
āPlotā - Everything is in order, transitions between scenes and plot points are solid. 22/25
Characters - Holy shit, characterās beyond the protagonist, itās astonishing for Blain, there isnāt a defined villain for the most part, but the final antagonistic figure is pretty okay. 20/25
Consistency - No errors that Iāve really noticed, and there arenāt any contradictions in the world either, A+ world building there. 21/25
Personal Enjoyment (Trash) Score: - Best of the series so far, I really enjoyed myself reading this. I found no big flaws, its just not perfect; if you like urban fantasy, give it a try. 86 faked deaths /100
Teaser Summary:
Jackson Anderson has an odd relationship with dead people. While the Inquisition as a whole believes their favorite arms dealer and smuggler is just a two-bit earth witch who can only sense precious stones, Jackson powers are far less savory, he knows all the names of the dead. Unfortunately, he also had the misfortune of being the older twin of the head of the Inquisition, the Shadow Pope Elliot Anderson, and that means he gets roped into using his ātalentsā more often than heād like. But when a simple mission turns into massacre, Jackson thinks it might just be time to cut and run while he can.
My thoughts:
This book is by far the best of the Witch and Wolf series. The characters are interesting and complete, and they interact really well together. Itās also important to note that this is the first one that has a definitive romance in it, and itās pretty great, though the leading ladyās immediate interest felt a little weird to me. The story is well paced for the most part, but I found myself wondering if I was reaching the end only to find that I was in fact 28% into the book. The different sections of the story transition logically and well, and I found the escalation to be believable (save for that false end feeling I got around a third of the way in). Overall itās a really solid read. I feel like Iāve messed up with what Iāve been reviewing, itās distinctly not trash so far.
Thank you, guys, for answering my last question (the one about The Graveyard Book).Ā I'll definitely read it! :)