Tuesday, June 30

Blodeuedd Reviews: Path of Gods by Snorru Krist Jansson

Blurb:
Reunited, Audun and Ulfar have a new sense of purpose: to ensure that the North remains in the hands of those who hold with the old gods. To do this, they must defeat the people who seek to destroy all they have ever known with the new White Christ. But these are powerful enemies and if they have any chance of victory, they must find equally powerful allies.
In Trondheim, King Olav, self-appointed champion of the White Christ, finds that keeping the peace is a much harder test of his faith than winning the war. With his garrison halved and local chieftains at his table who wish him nothing but ill, the king must decide how and where to spread the word of his god.
And in the North, touched by the trickster god, something old, malevolent and very, very angry stirs…


My thoughts:
I think this one was the best of the series. I read it in a day, it felt so light. Just like it should. Many historical books put in useless facts that drags down the book. Here he balanced it well, I felt like I was there, and then he mixed it with mythology and made it believable.
Audun and Ulfar are back together. They are still immortal, and they know that things are happening. A big showdown is coming.
First we have King Olav, arghh he made me so mad! So raping women who do not believe in Christ is ok. You are going down Olav, you and your religion! I kept waiting for ships to sail...if you catch my meaning... *whistles*
But then we have the dark evil parts. Loki has a willing pawn who wants to start Ragnarrök. And that is not really ok. There is a lot of darkness going on there. You are going down Loki!
As you can see our two heroes who are not really heroes, just men, have their job cut out for them. Armies are marching. Trolls are coming. Loki is laughing and the Gods are watching.
I used to read a lot of his fic set around this time, but ever since I started reading in English not so much. A shame really, it's always interesting. It's fun, and this book is a mix of fiction and mythology. A great mix that works.

Hardcover
Expected publication: July 2nd 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books
The Valhalla Saga #3
Historical fiction /fantasy

For review

Sunday, June 28

Book Review: Brailling for Wile by James Zerndt


Author: James Zerndt
Title: Brailling for Wile
Genre: Fiction
Pages: ebook
First Published: April 2015
Where I Got It: My shelf (given to me by the publisher/author for my unbiased opinion)

BRAILLING: Feeling the surface of a tile while your hand is in the bag in order to draw a blank or other specific letter. This is strictly forbidden. -from SCRABBLE’s Official Glossary

Brailling was something twelve-year-old Mattias Long learned to master during the games of Scrabble he used to play with his mother while they waited for his father, Wile, to close up the family restaurant. But now, one year after his father’s suicide, it’s Mattias who feels cheated. He hates his father. He hates him for leaving Mattias and his sister, Georgie, alone. He hates him for turning his mother into a young widow who hasn’t left the house in months. And he hates his father for leaving behind his stupid tree. Four of them are planted outside the restaurant, one for each family member, his father’s now casting the biggest shadow. That is until Mattias’s mother, no longer able to stand the sight of the tree, hires a local landscaper to remove it in the middle of the night. This seemingly unremarkable act soon sets in motion of series of events in the small Colorado ski town that leaves more than just young Mattias groping in the dark for answers.


Brailling For Wile is a unique novel told from multiple points of view about loss and the lengths some will go to heal the human heart. Ultimately, it is a story about lives being uprooted and what it takes to go on living even when everything in the world might be telling us it isn’t possible to. 


I adore the writing style of James Zerndt. This is my second novel by this author. I really must read the others, because he has a certain way with words and telling a story. He is the King of POVs. There are multiple POVs in this story, but it is done in a way where it doesn't take away from the story, but enhances it. Also, I do not get confused about who is talking. 

Sadly, I didn't connect with any of the characters. That is my only complaint, because I just couldn't relate or connect. However, that didn't really take away from the novel entirely. I did feel bad for Mattia and especially for Mattia's mom. The dad was a jerk and I resent him for killing himself....

Anyways....

This was a good, quick book about how the acts one person can impact many people even after the person is gone. WHICH I loved the whole symbolism behind the trees and scrabble. Beautifully done. At first I rolled my eyes about the connection of scrabble, but after a while it all connected with me and I actually grew to like it. 

There is not much else I can without spoiling the book for everyone, but yes, the ending was good and it fit. 


In the end, I highly recommend this for people who like people stories. This is a people book with a serious and horrible act of one person. I wish I could have connected the with characters, but I don't think it took away from the story even though i didn't connect with it. Out of five stars, I shall stamp this with 3 stars.

























Wednesday, June 24

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman


Author: Gayle Forman
Title: If I Stay (If I Stay #1)
Genre: Fiction, YA, & fantasy
Pages: ebook
First Published: 2009
Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.




THE FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS! Ugh! Meh! 

Yes, this book made me feel....A LOT. I really felt bad for boyfriend, because he was just trying to play his video game and I kept spewing out emotions. Crying, anger, confusion, anguish, "awwwe" moments. and so forth. Once I was finished - yes, I finished in one sitting - I had to explain to him what was happening and why I felt the way I did. It was simply written, but man did it pack a punch.

I really connected with the story, because I had a stay in the hospital where no one could tell if I was going to make it, so yes, I kept putting myself in her shoes and I kept visualizing her friends and family as my friends and family. Gah, so the feels hurt even more when I was doing that. 

Especially with the grandpa's speech. He reminded me so much of my Grandpa Carol it hurt; we had a similar relationship, so it hurt even more. His speech made me sob like a baby, while I only had a tear for Adam's speech at the end. It was young love after all and I have my doubts about this couple. I think they could go the distance, if she stays, but they have a lot issues to work out. 

Speaking of which, I love the ending. The whole book you think Mia has the final decision. NOPE. She really doesn't and I am glad she didn't get to make the decision, because she was going to choose wrong and I was going to slap her. >__> However, the author made me happy. Ultimately, you do not get the choice to live or die; that is made FOR you. It was perfect and I loved it. Plus it was left open-ended in a way and that oddly pleased me. Normally these type of endings bug me, but I applaud of it was done and I felt it was appropriate for this story. 

I was not a fan of Adam. Nope. Can't tell you why, but nope.

I loved her family though! Why did they have to die? They were kickass parents and UGH!!!! I do love how they got to have their spotlight and it wasn't all about the love between Mia and Adam. Thank goodness. They were awesome characters. Sad they had to go though. :/

In the end, I really adored this book. It has been the first book in a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time to actually make me physically cry and feel such emotions and I finished it in one sitting. Good book. I am excited to see the movie even though I worry they are mainly going to focus on Adam and Mia, which will bum me out. This had a nice balance of flashbacks and current moments. They better have the grandpa's speech in that movie darnit! I highly recommend this for those that want a quick read that will tear your heart out, but make you think. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 5 stars. 





















Monday, June 22

Blodeuedd Reviews: The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

Blurb:
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.
Struggling to make their way in 1899 New York, the Golem and the Jinni try to fit in with their immigrant neighbors while masking their true selves. Meeting by chance, they become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful menace will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.
Marvelous and compulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of folk mythology, historical fiction, and magical fable into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.


My thoughts:
For me it felt like one of those more quiet books. It was a sort of folktale told, it was sweet, sad and made you wonder....
A man goes to a rabbi and tells him to make him a wife. And the rabbi makes a Golem, the best one ever made. Then Chava is brought to New York.
"Ahmad" is a djinni, free and curious. Until the day a wizard captures him and he awakes a thousand years later in New York.
They are both lost, not human, and trying to find their way. Trying to act as human as they can. To figure out what life really is. They will eventually meet and for a moment feel like they are not alone in the world.
I liked how the book was real, but at the same time, maybe there used to be Djinni, maybe there still are, but they have learned to be hidden. Maybe a rabbi of the old really could create a golem. So it works.
I already said it felt quiet, and it did. The pace was, ok not slow, but not fast. Stuff did not need to happen, we could just go with the flow, experience thing. It was the way this story had to be told and it worked splendidly that way.
Interesting and beautifully told.


Paperback, 484 pages
Published April 2013 by Blue Door
Fiction

Own

Sunday, June 21

Joint Review: In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant





This month Blodeuedd and I will be reading 'In the Company of the Courtesan' by Sarah Dunant! :D 


Author: Sarah Dunant
Title: In the Company of the Courtesan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 368
First Published: 2006
Where I Got It: My shelf (Used book store a long time ago)

Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid. 
With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. 
Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan's court. But Fiammetta and Bucino's greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all. 





-What did you think of Bucino as the narrator?
B: I was not a fan. I guess I expected more from this book, more courtesan stuff, not just him going shopping and being boring. So I would rather have had no narrator in that sense. Hers and his pov would have been better.

C: It was certainly an interesting POV. I didn't mind seeing the world from his eyes, but honestly, I wish that the author would have done half and half. Half Fiammetta's and half of Bucino's.


-And him as a person?
B: He can't have been very memorable. I read the book yesterday and I am already forgetting him. He was not very nice, well he was nice, but then not so much.

C: Meh. He was okay. An interesting character, but he was not very nice. He pretty much caused the death of another character and it was not nice. However, he is a courtesan's “pimp”, so I guess he has to be mean sometimes.


-I did not really get the feeling of Fiammeta as an awesome courtesan, did you?
B: Well I already answered my own question. I never got that feeling like she is the best. We were told she was super pretty, but any whore can be pretty. Since she was not the narrator I never really saw if she was any good.
C: She was certainly a beauty, but I think she let her emotions get the best of her sometimes which took away from her “power”. However, I do wish some of the story through her eyes, because maybe she is different when she is actually doing the deed.


-I felt that a few changes could have made the book better, or did you like it as it was?
B: Why are all my questions like this? Anyway, her POV would have been a great start so we could see her life too. As it was now it was good, but sometimes I felt it was only ok.


C: It was alright. I would have had the POV divided between the two main characters. I also wished more action and drama took place throughout the book, because there was a lot of dry spots and it bored me. Simply bored me. However, when the drama and action did come I was hooked! Too many dry spots though....
   

-What did you feel about what happened to La Drarga the healer?
B: Of course it was wrong, but at the same time, those were the days, people were idiots. It was kind of obvious it would happen to her.
C: Ugh I felt so bad and it was sooooooooooooooo unnecessary! :/ It really made me mad.

-What did you think of the ending?
B: I felt meh.
C: It was a decent ending, but....it felt too easy. 

-How did you feel about the writing style of the author?
B: I did think that she was a good writer, I just felt she went about it all wrong. It could have been so much better.
C: Beautifully written! She certainly brought the characters to life and the setting. I just wished she would have given more spotlight to the courtesan. 

-Courtesan, healer/witch, nun, or arrange marriage? Why?
B: Ohh tricky! A courtesan still has choice. A witch may be free, but is also doomed. A nun, god NO! Arranged marriage, eh, could work, I would do my thing, he would visit his courtesan so I go with arranged marriage.
C: Heck no to the nun; worse then death for me. Honestly, I am torn between a courtesan or an arranged woman. It probably depends on how pretty I was. If I was meh, an arranged marriage, but if I was super pretty, I would be a courtesan and save up a whole bunch of money and never need a man. 

**Carole's Conclusion:
In the end, this was meh for me. It had lots of dry spots and few really juicey, drama-filled parts. I wish that the other would have alternated the POV. I think it would have made it far more interesting! The ending was okay, but I felt like it was too easy. I shall stamp this with 2 stars.

-THE END-








Saturday, June 20

FitReaders #23 & #CCRutBusterrrr



This challenge is organized by Geeky Blogger's Book Blog & That’s What I’m Talking About
Sunday: Rest day. We went to an animal tattoo fundraiser. :3
Monday: 1 mile walk & 50 crunches
Tuesday: .50 mile walk
Wednesday: .25 mile walk & .75 jog/run & 5 mins weights
Thursday: 1 mile walk & 15 mins yoga
Friday: 30 mins Zumba & 60 crunches
Saturday: 1 hour Tennis!
Conclusion: Pretty good week. This little challenge with my friend is helping a lot! #CCRutBusterrrr is our hashtag. :3





Darn Boyfriend's computer. For some dumb reason he had it a day ahead. >___<










Wednesday, June 17

Book Review: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk


Author: Chuck Palaniuk 
Title: Choke
Genre: Fiction & drama
Pages: 293
First Published: 2001
Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, go on to send checks to support him. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. 

Oooooh boy. This certainly was a different book for me. It was a book my friend, Reece, recommended to me. It’s one of her favorites. I’ve had my eye on it for years, but never was I motivated to read it. However, Reece let me borrow her copy and so I dived in.

The first couple of chapters were meh. Especially chapter one. I was not a fan of how he opened the story and I hated the language he used. It was over-the-top and it didn’t meet the rest of the story. It was a flashback and the language used was very unnecessarily vulgar. So many swear words (which I normally don’t mind), but I felt like it took away from the moment. Granted…I learned many new terms in this chapter! Once this chapter was over, I think the author realized he needed to calm himself. Yes, there are still swear words and so forth, but not to the extreme. I was actually able to read without rolling my eyes.


The rest of the story had me hooked! I needed to know more about the mom. Yes, I was more interested in crazy ol’ mom then I was Victor. Victor was “crazy” too, but I was more fascinated by the mom. Victor was okay and it was interested to see through the eyes of a sex-aholic and someone who wants to save the world (in his own twisted way). He made a lot of good points on his methods about “saving people”. It makes sense…oddly to me….people want to be seen as heroes, so might as well give them that shining moment.

There are so many references and many memorable quotes that I can highly appreciate. It reminded me of a dark, dark version of ‘Gilmore Girls’. Imagine Rory as a guy, who dropped out of college, her mom is crazy (even crazier than the show), is addicted to sex, and pretends every night to choke on food to give people that shining moment of being a “hero”. THAT is this book. I am certainly a sucker for references and memorable quotes that I can maul over for a while.

Then there is end….I am so unsure on what I think of it. Sadly, I had to look up on the internet what exactly happened. Yes, I was not quite sure. But now I am on the fence….I can’t decide if I like it or not. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe I’ll give the ending another read through, but yes…I am unsure.


Overall, this was an interesting book. It gave me eyes in a world I’ve never known. The story had me hooked after the first chapter (which nearly made me stop – but thank goodness I am one who pushes through). The ending has left me thinking and contemplating if I liked it or not. I am still unsure. Maybe that is what the author wanted you think/feel? I will have to re-read the ending after a while…maybe I’ll have an answer there. I recommend this for fellow book lovers. This is a must-read if you like odd books that make you think.



Oh boy….the rating….gah….I am unsure….I think I shall stamp this with….ummmm….3 stars. Nearly 4, but that first chapter. xI


















Monday, June 15

Blodeuedd Reviews: Tucker by Juliana Stone

Blurb:
Tucker Simon has given up on love. After a tragedy, it’s just not in the cards for him, and he wishes his family would get off his back. He’s fine—or at least he thought he was--until a family wedding forces him to address a few things, namely his date, Abby Mathews. She's been put in the ‘friend’ category, mostly because she deserves so much more than what he can give. But the more time that he spends with her, Tucker begins to think that maybe there is a chance for love after all...
Abby Mathews has been in love with Tucker Simon since he walked into her family’s bar nearly a year ago. But he’s got baggage and heartache a plenty. His one-night-stands aren't going to lessen that no matter what he thinks. Tucker needs a friend, but Abby wants to give him more, and as they navigate their way through a weekend in Florida, their attraction can’t be ignored. Abby has to make a choice. Does she cherish their friendship and take what she can get? Or does she go after what she really wants, which is Tucker’s heart…


My thoughts:
I have no idea how the Simons's are rich, I guess that was in the Barker books? Eh, who knows. Seems they have money.
Tucker has issues. His wife went missing. He loves them and leaves them now.
Abby has issues. She has been in love with Tucker for months now. They are just friends, which is good, but she loves him.
He needs a date to get his mum off his back. Abby says yes.
We meet a bunch of Simons at a wedding. Sparks fly between Abby and Tucker. But can they get over the whole, my wife is missing!? Can I love again?! Duh, it's a romance, of course he can love again. And so they lived happily ever after. The end.
Cute.


Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Published February 5th 2014 by Juliana Stone
The Family Simon #1
Contemporary romance

Own

Sunday, June 14

Book Review: Return to the Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme


Author: Diann Ducharme
Title: Return to the Outer Banks House (Outer Banks House #2)
Genre: Historical Fiction & Romance
Pages: ebook
First Published: December 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon)

She was the spirited daughter of a North Carolina plantation owner, and he was a poor fisherman who she tutored on the porch of her family's Nags Head cottage. When we last saw Abigail Sinclair and Ben Whimble at the close of "The Outer Banks House," they'd overcome their differences in life stations and defied convention to begin their new life together.

But now it's seven years later, and "Return to the Outer Banks House" finds the couple married and in hard times-riddled by poverty, miscarriages, and weakened family ties. The strong bonds that once held them together have eroded over time, and their marriage threatens to unravel, particularly when relationships from the past and ambitions for the future find their way into the mismatched couple's present predicament.

Can their love survive? Or are the challenges they face insurmountable? "Return to the Outer Banks House" carries readers back to 1875 to answer these questions and explore the ebb and flow of a rocky marriage set against the enchanting North Carolina shoreline. Replete with history, intrigue, and plenty of maritime drama, it's an evocative tale of struggle in the Reconstruction-era South.



This is the sequel to "Outer Banks House" that I had begged for in the last review. I must repent and take back what I said. I wish I could have stayed oblivious and allowed them to have an HEA and just imagined there life afterwards!

There is no HEA. This is real life people! They were an impossible couple that made it. Yes, they married, BUT real life comes in like a tidal wave. So many issues arise, can they really make it? I will not tell, but you must read the book to find out. I am glad that the author stuck with reality, that yes, this will be a hard marriage to keep, because they are both so different. He is an uneducated fisherman and she is a plantation owner's daughter who loves to read. They fell in love, but sometimes that love needs a lot of hard work.

All at the same time the South is recovering slowly from the Civil War. It's the reconstruction-era and its a brutal time in history. So much has changed and the people are having issues changing along with it. Hardtimes are everywhere, because the slaves are gone and the economy is slipping. It just adds to the intensity of the book with the main couple.

Oooooh Ben...you silly boy. He made me mad again, but again...he kinda sorta fixes it.

I did like Eliza more in this, which surprised me.

WHY IS THERE NEVER ANY COMMUNICATION!!!!! UGH! It drives me crazy, because in my relationship we do talk, so why can't other couples? Why just assume. You have no idea what the other person is thinking or feeling. GAH!

Anyways....

This was written brilliantly like the other one. However, I am just bummed, because I didn't except this couple to have SO many issues. Yes, some, but I felt like things just kept building and building and building to the point I had no hope for this couple.

In the end, the setting and the writing was lovely. Not as good as the first one, but still good! Again, the other did a wonderful job with the intensity. I had little hope for this couple. The ending was good and that is how I would have ended it. I totally recommend this to those that like historical fiction mixed with some romance and drama. However, you need to read the first one first. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 3 stars.

















Saturday, June 13

FitReaders #22



This challenge is organized by Geeky Blogger's Book Blog & That’s What I’m Talking About
Thursday: 1 mile walk/jog, 1.50 bike ride, & 5 mins weights
Friday: .50 mile jog/run, 1.50 bike ride, & 10 mins weights
Saturday: .50 mile jog/run, 1 mile bike, 5 mins weights, & 20 crunches
Conclusion: Getting back into working out! I was working a lot and doing school, so I was bad and skipped out on working out for a week. However, my friend Court and I doing a challenge to get out of our rut. Its a 30 day work out challenge. Every day we go we get one dollar to spend at our planned girls day out! :3 To make it even more fun we are doing a quote a day! ^.^












Friday, June 12

Movie Review: Django Unchained (2012)



Length: 2 hr & 45 mins
Released: 2012
Genre: Action/Adventure, Western, & drama
Rating: R
Where I Got It: Watched on Netflix

SUMMARY:

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda, the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz's search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie, the proprietor of "Candyland," an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen.....



TRAILER: 





REVIEW:
A classic Taranteno movie. Not a bad storyline with some kick-ass over-the-top fight scenes. Oh yes. This movie screams Taranteno. Which isn't a bad thing, but he can sometimes be too over-the-top, which sometimes can ruin the fight scenes and take away from the story.

Yes, there were so many good fight scenes, but some seemed cheesy and totally unrealistic. The scene that comes to mind is the very last scene. Django shoots someone and they fly in the opposite direction then what would happen in reality. And with the type of gun he uses...they wouldn't have flown that far. Silly. 

Besides for the cheesy and over-the-top scenes, this wasn't bad. The story was good. I loved that Django gets to have his revenge and find his poor wife that was torn away from him. It's actually a really tragic story, but the writing was done in a light way. You don't have time to be sad...to much action and kick-assing to go around. Which I liked, because I don't want too much feelings in my action movies sometimes.

I must applaud DiCapro, because I had high doubts of him being a villain. He did good though. He def pulled off that Southern charm. Yes, he was a bad guy, but damn...you couldn't help but like him when he wasn't being all racist. Kuddos to him. Also, kuddos to the rest of the cast. Without them the movie would have been utter crap. 

Meh. The ending was okay, but just....meh. It...gah....I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't how I would have ended it. It seemed predictable and just bleh compared to the rest of the movie.

In the end, I highly suggest this for those looking for a Western with a touch of drama and much ass-kicking. The acting was good, the storyline interesting, and some fighting scenes fantastic. There were some waaay over-the-top scenes and the ending was not up-to-par, but I enjoyed myself. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 3 stars. 


Re-watch?: Sure, if it was on TV or on on someone else's TV




















Monday, June 8

Blodeuedd Reviews: Tainted Blood by ML Brennan

Blurb:
In the third Generation V novel, Fortitude Scott proves that working with family can be deadly…
Former film student Fortitude Scott is finally gainfully employed. Unfortunately, said employment happens to be with a group of sociopathic vampires—his family. And as much as Fort is loath to get too deep into the family business, when his brother, Chivalry, is temporarily unable to run the territory, it’s up to Fort to keep things under control.
So when the leader of a powerful faction of shifters turns up murdered, Fort finds himself tracking down a killer while navigating dangerous rivalries, longtime grudges, and hidden agendas. Even with the help of his foxy kitsune sidekick, Suzume, he’ll need to pull out all the stops to hunt for the paranormal assassin.
But as he calls on fairies, witches, and ghouls for help, he discovers that the problem is much bigger than a single dead werebear. The supernatural community is preparing for a massive shift in power within the Scott family leadership—and Fort has landed right in the middle of the gathering storm.…


My thoughts:
It was good...and that is the problem. It was good, while previous books were awesome. I enjoyed it, but it did not grab me as book 1 and 2 did. So while I liked it, it did make me fear for book 4. If book 4 is also good, well sometimes that is a dealbreaker for me. I need an awesome thrown in here and there. Sometimes good is all I need, while other times not. Do not ask me how. I have no idea. I can read an entire series where all the books are "only" good, but not awesome. And then I can read a series and go all eh after one is just good...
Moving on.
So beta Fort grew in book 2. But here, hello! You are a vampire. You know that shit already. And now he was all, I will have to kill peeps? Well not really. I have to drink blood? Get over it you vegetarian idiot. I did feel that weakness that I liked in book 1 and 2 was a bit too much here. Being kind is good, just, being too kind can be too much.
I read the book fast, it was one of those, read in a day kind of books. I liked that there were Finnish bears. I liked this quote about Finns holding grudges (have held one for 15 years, not forgiving that ahole). Suze was fun and weird. His family was bloodthirsty, I really like Prudence now, she is a sociopath.

Conclusion:
And now some will think I did not like the book. It was GOOD! I just expected awesome and exceptions sucks ass. I will read the next and hope for more, I will read the one after that but hopefully it will be back on track by then. When you expect awesome you can not settle for less.

Mass Market Paperback, 306 pages
Published November 4th 2014 by Roc
Generation V #3
Urban fantasy

Own