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Showing posts with label Kasey MacKenzie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kasey MacKenzie. Show all posts
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Sunday Snippet #121
Author: Kasey Mackenzie
Shades of Fury #3
Publisher: Ace
Released: June 26, 2012
REVIEW HERE
Just then one of the last voices I wanted to hear at that moment drawled from the top of the stairs. "Gee, how nice of you to call an emergency meeting without me. And here I thought we were partners."
My heart sank, but I forced myself not to show it. "Hey, Trin, thought you'd be home by now."
She seemed slightly out of breath, as if she hurried there from somewhere else. Knowing her, that probably wasn't far off the truth. "I was, but Kale and Mahina called me back fro an abduction case. Some idiot pedophile snatched a half-Sidhe girl who looked about fourteen years old."
I winced. "Mortal, of course."
"Of course. An arcane perv would have known better. The fourteen-year-old turned out to be closer to fifty; some vigilante who'd caught the creep snooping in her neighborhood and decided to make an example out of him. Dude's still alive - barely -but his family's making noises about charging the girl with attempted murder."
I snickered. "They're welcome to have his attorney explain to a jury exactly why he snatched and tried to molest an apparent fourteen-year-old."
"Yeah, exactly."
We'd reached the top of the stairs by then. Her glance slid past me to Sahana, paused briefly upon Charlie, before turning back to me. "Nice new threads."
I shifted uncomfortably, bracing for the knock-down, drag-out to come. "Hey, Sahi, Charlie, mind waiting for us in my office? Mac should be there."
Trinity nodded, expression excruciatingly blank. "He is."
They gave us measuring looks but didn't argue, clearing the stairwell landing and disappearing down the hall and leaving me to face someone who could be every bit as scary as my mother, mortal or not. She didn't mince words, either. "What the hell, Riss? I've got to find out you called an emergency meeting behind my back by catching your little brother sneaking into your office? I thought we were past your trying to protect me."
"I'm not -"
"Bullshit!" She smacked the fire door so hard that the sound echoed up and down the stairwell. "It always comes back to you thinking mortals can't pull their weight against arcanes. Here I thought you trusted me enough to hold down the fort while you did your Fury thing, and you're back here checking up on me already - and in secret -"
"Jeez, Trin, would you shut up for a minute and lsiten?" My exasperated tone and none-too-polite words had her doing just that. The way her lips trembled in rage signaled it wouldn't last for long. "I do trust you to look after things. I'm not here to check up on you. This has nothing to do with police business and everything to do with my Fury thing, as you so charmingly put it. We're just meeting here because the fewer arcanes who see me in my new threads right now, the better."
"Oh." Her voice grew really small, and her cheeks flushed. "Um, sorry for jumping to conclusions. It's just -"
I waved that off. "I've given you reason to doubt in the past; I know that."
"So then, what's up with all the black? Not that it isn't hot, but I thought - unlike your tats - Fury leather only came in one color."
"Usually. With one exception. I - right now I'm serving as a Nemesis."
She frowned. "What, like your snake?"
"Same name, whole 'nother ballgame. A Nemesis is like... kind of like a U.S. Marshal drafted by the gods to investigate and hunt down one of their number who has broken immortal law." Trinity twitched at that. How she could still claim to be an atheist after everything she'd seen and heard was beyond me. "Just focus on the Marshal bit. I'm tracking down a badass for my arcane superiors. The new threads are temporary, and I'm on a deadline."
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Review: Blackhearted Betrayal by Kasey MacKenzie
Blackhearted Betrayal
Author: Kasey MacKenzie
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Ace
Shades of Fury #3
ISBN: #987-81937007625
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (294 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an arcane race that has meted out justice since time immemorial. As Boston’s Chief Magical Investigator, she’s responsible for solving any crimes committed by or against supernaturals. But now that she’s going home, Riss has no idea just how dangerous – and personal – the crimes have become.
Riss has taken a leave of absence from her mortal job for the Boston PD. Right now she’s determined to focus on her Fury duties, like assisting her mother with an unsettling friction brewing in the Sisterhood – a faction of Furies sworn to serve all the deities equally. Until now.
Someone is playing favorites. As a result, Riss is ushered into a tumultuous civil war – one that’s not just tearing apart the Sisterhood but embroiling every god and goddess in the chaos as well. For millennia, the Furies have policed arcanekind as a united whole, but now they have been divided by something Riss never imagined – and choosing sides could be the most dangerous move she’s ever made.
What G & U are talking about:
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Gikany and Una are thoroughly enjoying the Shades of Fury series. The latest release, Blackhearted Betrayal continues to be enthralling, full of twists and surprises that keep you guessing up until the end.
In Blackhearted Betrayal, questions as to what has happened to Riss’s grandmother and the rifts in the fury sisterhood are answered. Other questions raised in the previous novels are as well. Gikany has read all three books while Una jumped in on the second one, Green-Eyed Fury. There is a substantial amount of carry-over from the plot of the first book. Several things are finally understood or come to light. We recommend that you read this series from the beginning as it will have a greater significance and make much more sense.
There is quite a lot of not only Fury politics in this novel but arcane politics as well. The connections between different minor characters and various deities are interesting. Especially considering that power among these deities is partially related to the number of worshipers. Not only the subject of gods but also the hierarchy of the arcanes and gods are fully explained, which was incredibly fascinating. What we find so pleasurable is that all of what could be very dry material (not to offend, but Una’s not a big fan of researching politics or history in general) was woven into the fabric of the novel seamlessly. Ms. MacKenzie did it in such a way that made it not only enriching but also fascinating.
Although it appears that the mystery is cut and dry, appearances are often deceiving -- something that is illustrated perfectly in Blackhearted Betrayal. There are clear clues that the evidence points to a particular character, but we enjoy that Riss never accepts things until she has concrete proof. This contributes to the nail-biting suspense until the end when the shroud is lifted and everything is revealed.
At the end, even though the overall conflict is resolved, we are left with ripples that hold so much potential for the next novel. Gikany and Una were drooling over the possible repercussions. In fact, it was difficult to pick up our next book because we didn’t want to let go of the ruminations running though our minds. Shades of Fury is poising itself as a contender on our must reads list. Anyone that loves urban fantasy done well with a detective twist should really enjoy this series. Blackhearted Betrayal is a more than a transitional book, allowing for such possibilities in the future, but also wraps up questions from the previous novels while also giving us another quarry.
Their Rating:
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Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday Snippet #68
Green-Eyed Envy
Ace PublishingJune 28, 2011
“There you are, child, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”
Apparently not very hard, since I’d been here setting up things for tomorrow’s ceremony and reception most of the day. I nearly opened my mouth to say that out loud but fought back my inner perversity just in time. “Mrs. Banoub, what a pleasure. How can I help you?” Very good, Riss, you actually sound like you care about her latest disaster that isn’t! By the end of tomorrow – assuming the worse happened and we failed to flush Meritton into the open – I’d deserve an Oscar for playing this role all the way through. That or I’d be ready to voluntarily commit myself.
“You can start by telling me why that – that man is still involved in my grandson’s wedding.”
Her dirty glare at Mac’s – Victor’s – retreating back clued me in to who that man had to be, though I was a little confused by her sudden venom. She’d never seemed to care one way or another about Victor before now. I watched as my brother ambushed Harper, and then I caught sight of Penn and the groomsmen entering to take their places at the front of the room. All except Scott, who’d been intercepted by Trinity and was now heading back past Harper and Mac towards the hallway. That’s when I saw Neema Banoub’s eyes following their exit with eagle eyes and got another jolt. She wasn’t bitching (ha) about Victor but Scott.
“I – uh—I’m not sure what you mean.”
She sniffed and curled her lip as she glanced back at me. “Why am I not surprised to hear that? You have not lived up to your sterling credentials throughout this farce, so why would you end your obtuseness now?” Her arm waved in Scott’s direction. “That Murphy mongrel, child. The one my grandson decided to involve in this affair for some insane reason – only to discover the mongrel had just such a thing his" – another lip curl – “Harpy of a bride.”
Oh bloody hell. My worst fear confirmed – word had gotten out that Scott and Harper had a thing in the past. Chances were that, if Neema Banoub had found out, the killer would have by now. Which meant that Scott could be in as much danger here as Victor or Penn. Maybe more, considering he had just ducked out of the bustling room with Trinity as his only companion. My spider sense went crazy – and my tact went flying out the window.
“Mrs. Banoub, I hope you take this with the exact amount of respect that’s intended, but perhaps it would be best if you pulled your supercilious nose out of your blue-blooded ass long enough to notice a few things. One: that ‘Murphy mongrel’ is here to protect the wedding guests. Even bitchy ones like you.”
Her face went red and she started sputtering, but I continued on ruthlessly.
“Two: Harper is a beautiful woman, inside and out, and your grandson is a lucky SOB to have convinced her to marry into his tight-assed, self-absorbed family.”
Her face changed from red to a most interesting shade of purple, and her mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Which I was willing to bet, had to be a first.
“And three: this obtuse child has more important things to do than stand around listening to you blow hot air. So if you’ll be so kind as to excuse me… "
Friday, July 8, 2011
Review: Green-Eyed Envy
Green-Eyed Envy
Author: Kasey MacKenzie Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Ace
Shades of Fury #2
ISBN: #978-0441020492
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (304 pages), e-book
We received a copy of this book from the PUBLISHER for the purposes of an honest review.
From the author’s website:
Jealousy can be a killer…
As a Fury, Marissa Holloway belongs to an Arcane race that has meted out justice since time immemorial. As Boston’s chief magical investigator, it’s her duty to solve any crimes committed by or against supernaturals.
Months have gone by since Riss discovered some unwelcome truths about her past—and managed to stop a supernatural war. Since then things have been quiet. Too quiet. But that all changes when the bodies of Bastai, shapeshifters also known as Cats, begin piling up in Boston’s magical underbelly—even though the legendary shifters are supposed to have ninety-nine lives.
One common thread ties the victims together: all were old flames of FBI Agent Harper Cruz. And since Harper and Riss’s lover Scott Murphy enjoyed a one-night stand before he and Riss reunited, the Fury has twice the incentive to crack the case wide open, before the killer’s green-eyed gaze turns in Scott’s direction…
What Gikany & Una are talking about:
Green-Eyed Envy is the second book in the Shades of Fury series. Gikany has read the previous novel, Red-Hot Fury while Una jumped into the series with this novel. That being said, we strongly recommend that you read the first book in the series. Quite a lot of world-building takes place in the first novel and there is quite a bit you should have under your belt before you start Green-Eyed Envy. As Una was reading, she could tell that Green-Eyed Envy deals with some important ramifications of what occurred in the previous novel and there is quite a bit of fury politics (and arcane politics) that are very confusing if you haven’t read the first book. Luckily, Una had Gikany to fill her in (after the fact, sadly, but still) on what she missed in the first book, however, Una looks forward to going back and reading the first book.
The Shades of Fury series follows the fury, Marissa Holloway, who is Boston’s Chief Magical Investigator. She is a fascinating and complex character. This alternate world that Ms. MacKenzie has created is enthralling and her writing style is fairly exciting. In this world, a fury is a powder keg of emotion ready to blow when her Rage is ignited. A member of the Sisterhood of the Furies uses this Rage to fuel her magic. Another tool in a fury’s arsenal are her amphisbaena, which are the serpent tattoos that come to life, similar to a witch’s familiar, to do her bidding. They help to attack, defend, and/or enhance the fury’s senses. This world is very interesting with the different types of arcanes or magical creatures that exist, including shapeshifters, giants, etc.
Green-Eyed Envy is a witty and exciting urban fantasy. The story flows smoothly, however, there are moments when it seems our main character is a tad…not dense but lacking some observational skills. However, we need to cut her a little slack, she does have quite a bit of stress on her plate, which, combined with the jealousy she hasn’t quite gotten over, could make her a little less than on top of her game. Our criminal in this novel was very clever and that truly strengthened the novel. However, the resolution of the main conflict seemed strangely swift and straightforward compared to getting to the true identity of our criminal mastermind. That being said, it is not a large negative to the story. The banter between the characters, the world in general and the overlying plot lines keep the story fresh and engaging.
There are plot lines that begin in this Green-Eyed Envy we assume will be resolved in the next novel. Due to that fact, we highly recommend that you read the series from the beginning. Una is still a little confused as to the politics and groups of Furies. There is available for download on the author’s website is a pdf that gives a very good summary for the groups or you can click HERE. As for Gikany and Una, they look forward to the next novel in this series.
Their Rating:
Really enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
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