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Showing posts with label Connor Grey Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Connor Grey Series. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Review: Undone Deeds
Undone Deeds
Author: Mark Del Franco
Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012
Publisher: Ace
Connor Grey Series Book 6
ISBN: #978-1937007256
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (336 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Connor Grey, a druid consultant for the Boston P.D., usually helps the cops solve their “strange” cases, but now he’s the suspect in the midst of one. Wrongly accused of a terrorist attack that rocked the city to its core, Connor evades arrest by going underground, where rumors of war are roiling. A final confrontation between the Celtic and Teutonic fey looks inevitable—with Boston as the battlefield.
Undercover agents are turning up dead in the Weird—their murders brushed aside and ignored—and Connor exposes a citywide conspiracy of silence that seems linked to the inexorable march to war. As he digs deeper into the mysterious deaths, Connor draws closer to the secrets of a past he has sought for so long. And as friends and allies abandon him one by one, Connor discovers that in the clash between light and dark, and in the face of a cataclysm of epic proportions, he might have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.
What B is talking about:
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While the city of Boston is still reeling from a terrorist attack, which he’s been accused of, Connor Grey is once again drawn into a case that no one else seems to want to touch. The deaths of fey in the Weird are being ignored by all parties, leading Connor on a trail that makes him question everything he’s come to believe about who he can trust, and who he can’t.
As well written as Undone Deeds is, it isn’t a book that’s easily absorbed as a standalone. Having only read the previous novel, Uncertain Allies, I was at a loss as to the role of various characters, as well as some of the rules of Del Franco’s world in which they interact with one another. Although many of the earlier chapters of the story devote a great deal of time to pertinent backstory happenings, I still had a lot of questions that went unanswered.
Having said that, I think Del Franco has created an incredibly intricate world with plenty of blind corners and suspense. It is an understatement to describe Connor as “complicated.” He is damaged, stubborn, fiercely loyal, uncertain, suspicious, loving…the contradictions seem limitless. But, I truly like Connor. I found myself firmly on his side, regardless of any questions I may have had. Nothing in his world is as it seems, including himself, yet he never rolls over to wallow in despair.
With all the dark happenings going on in the Weird, and the inevitable war brewing between the factions, Undone Deeds could have been a bleak, unrewarding read. However, Del Franco has imbued his characters with wit, intelligence, and heart, and even with the world on fire around them, they never give up hope. Amid the destruction, the mystery surrounding Connor steadily deepens, teasing with more unknowns than there seem to be answers for.
I feel an investment Connor’s story from the very beginning is necessary to fully appreciate what Del Franco has accomplished with this series. He’s packed an impressive amount of intricacies into Undone Deeds in order to answer questions that have been building throughout the story arc. Although I’m increasingly bothered that I missed out on the previous stories in this series (a fact I intend to rectify as soon as possible), I believe this is a series worth investing in for any fan of Urban Fantasy.
B’s Rating:
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Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
Purchase Information:
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Monday, May 2, 2011
Review & Giveaway: Hard Bitten
Dear Readers: Please help me welcome my friend Wendy, a big fan of the Chicagoland Vampire series. She brings you today’s review of...
Hard BittenAuthor: Chloe Neill
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: NAL Publishing
Chicagoland Vampire Series Book 4
ISBN: #978-0451233325
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): paperback (368 pgs), e-book
I received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.
Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem to ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands....
What Wendy is talking about:
I love it when I know there's a new Chloe Neill novel coming out. She writes excellent urban fantasy with plenty of action, humor and just enough romance to draw me in. Hard Bitten is the fourth novel in her Chicagoland Vampires series and I was ready for number five before I hit the last chapter!
As Sentinel of Cadogan House, Merit is a newly-made but completely bad-ass vampire who was very recently a “nerdy graduate student.” Neill has a real talent for writing very regular people into her supernatural world. Merit loves shoes and baseball, and like most girls (the girls that I know, at least) she over-indulges in chocolate when she's feeling sorry for herself. And she has a fair amount of things to be bummed about this time around. Her boss, Ethan, has changed his mind (again!) about their relationship and he's trying to win her back (after dumping her in the last novel right after they sex), but she's pretty sure she can't trust him. The head of the Greenwich Presidium, Darius, political head of the vampires, is in town and threatening to send someone to take over Cadogan House. The mayor is threatening to have Ethan arrested and there's a new vampire drug-ring in town that may have caused the deaths of three young women. Oh, and since the “weres” were outed, anti-supe sentiment is running rampant in Chicago with protestors outside the house and armed militia trying to run the vamps out of town.
Through all of this, I loved seeing “Independent” Merit. She finally seems to know how to handle herself without always having a boy tagging along on her adventures. Merit follows the leads, trusts her instincts and ta-da! the mystery is solved. Honestly, the mystery/drug ring and who is behind it is the least interesting part of the book. I read Neill for the snarky humor and the inter-personal drama.
For me, one of the keys to a series that has romance but isn't a “romance series” is how the author keeps the attraction and the sex coming, but makes it believable that everyone isn't living happily ever after. If everyone's happy and settled why do you need to read the next book? I think Neill handled her “Moonlighting” moment wonderfully. Somehow Ethan and Mercy had mind-blowing sex in the last book but they're still dancing around their relationship and their oh-so-tingly sexual attraction. According to Ethan: “You can run. You can keep running to the ends of the earth. But I won't be far behind you.” Like I said... tingly.
Without sharing any spoilers I have to tell you that the ending is shocking and a lot heavier that I'm used to in this series. In the short space of one page Merit is betrayed and left broken-hearted by her father and Ethan. The implications of this betrayal and the horrifying aftermath will reverberate in the Chicagoland world for a really long time. I hated seeing Merit almost broken but of course it left me itching for the next installment. I can't wait to sit down with Merit and next Chicagoland novel!
Wendy’s Rating:
Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
GIVEAWAY: NAL/Penguin Publishing has generously donated a copy (one winner) of Hard Bitten to giveaway here at That’s What I’m Talking About. Thank you to NAL/Penguin for sponsoring the giveaway of Chloe Neill’s latest book. To enter, please leave a comment and your email at the end of today’s review. Only one entry per person. Winner is restricted to US mailing addresses, only. Contest open from May 2, 2011 until Friday May 6, 2011 at 9:00 PM EDT. One (1) winner will be selected from the comment entries using random.org.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Review: Uncertain Allies
Uncertain AlliesAuthor: Mark Del Franco
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Connor Grey Series, Book 5
ISBN: #9780441020409
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (304 pgs), ebook
I received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
After a night of riots and fires, the Boston neighborhood known as the Weird lies in ruins. When a body is found drained of its essence, ex- Guild investigator Connor Grey fears one of the most dangerous fey is still loose in the city. But things are not what they seem. As he is drawn deeper into the case, shades of the past threaten the present as an explosive secret tears apart the city--and brings the world to the brink of war.
What B is talking about:
Connor Grey is a druid without his powers and a lot of enemies. When he’s asked to investigate a series of unexplained disappearances, he stumbles across a murdered dwarf and the beginning of a mystery he feels obligated to solve. Connor has a lot more questions than answers, and it seems that each success he achieves in the case only leads to even more questions. With rival factions on the brink of war, and an old enemy back and wreaking havoc, he’ll have to learn to place his trust in others if he wants to win and keep those he cares about alive.
Del Franco has created a vivid world filled with new takes on some familiar creatures, as well as a few original creatures I’d never seen before. Against the familiar landscape of Boston, the Weird is home to all manner of the unfamiliar, operating under its own laws and unwilling to change anytime soon. His characters are seldom flat and uninteresting, but tend to rely on healthy doses of snarky cynicism throughout their dialogues, which I always appreciate.
Uncertain Allies is an intriguing read with more than a few unexpected turns. As is usual when reading a later book in an unfamiliar series, there was a bit of a learning curve, but once I became familiar with the key players, the story itself drew me in handily. Del Franco is a talented and descriptive author, and I enjoyed feeling a part of the novel and seeing the pieces fall into place as the story progressed. I think Uncertain Allies is a good story on its own, and I am extremely curious to read the earlier novels in the Connor Grey Series now as well.
B’s Rating:
Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
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