Notes of Life

Author: Lee Carroll
Publisher: Bantam Press
ISBN: 978-0-593-06597-6

Having submitted my review of Black Swan Rising for the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge, the wonderful people at Transworld kindly sent me a copy of the second book in this wonderful urban fantasy trilogy to review.

The Watchtower follows on from where Black Swan Rising left off. Garet James is struggling to come to terms with who, or what, she really is. Having believed she’s received a sign from Will Hughes, the 400 year old vampire who has disappeared along with her ancestor’s silver box, she heads to Paris in search of Will and the path to Summer Country, the legendary land of the Fey. Garet’s trip takes her on a dangerous journey on which she encounters more strange and mythic creatures. Will she succeed in her search?

Was The Watchtower as good a read as Black Swan Rising? It certainly was! Being mainly set in France and England and partially in the past, this book had a slightly different feel to Black Swan Rising’s New York. I felt the story’s pace quickened as the story went on and, once again, Lee Carroll provides us with an urban fantasy mystery and adventurous page-turner.

The chapters alternate from Garet’s first-person perspective to following Will in third-person narrative. Will’s chapters follow his life from before he became a vampire and we’re treated to historic settings from England and France in 1602, while Garet’s chapters are mainly set in present day France. This alternation in chapters doesn’t work very well in some books I’ve read, but I felt the author team of Lee Carroll (Carol Goodman and her husband Lee Slonimsky) made it come together suitably in The Watchtower. I had no problem in the narrative switching and even found it easy to follow with the story flowing well.

Once again, we’re treated to all manner of characters in The Watchtower… There’s the vampire, of course, as well as a dryad living in the Luxembourg Gardens, a gnome who lives beneath the Jardin des Plantes Labyrinth and an ancient botanist metamorphosed into Paris’ oldest tree, to name just a few. The legendary, real-life character of John Dee also makes a return appearance in The Watchtower. Unlike many other urban fantasy stories, this is a trilogy that treats us to all kinds of beings, rather than just focusing on one or two.

Having read Black Swan Rising and The Watchtower in quick succession and really enjoyed them both, I now can’t wait for the third book in this trilogy (though with The Watchtower having only just been released this month, I may have a while to wait!). This is definitely a trilogy you should read in order, but it’s also one I wouldn’t hesitate in ecommending to any urban fantasy reader.

Buy The Watchtower by Lee Carroll at the Book Depository.

Read my review of Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll.

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Please note: I received this book free from Transworld Publishers in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Author: Lee Carroll
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-82557-2

I have had Black Swan Rising on my wish-list since Transworld mentioned its release. So when it was listed as one of the books to choose from in Transworld’s Book Group Reading Challenge, I picked it as my first book for the challenge.

So, was my first choice a good one? Definitely! Did it live up to my expectations? It did! I can safely say that I really enjoyed reading Black Swan Rising.

The setting of New York and the creepy fog that drifts in is the perfect setting and atmosphere for this story. We follow Garet James as her life goes from bad to worse.

For a young woman, Gary has her fair share of problems… money-issues, a struggling business and an elderly father to look after. On her way home after receiving bad news from her lawyer, Garet is forced to duck into an antiques shop by unexpected weather. The store owner recognises Garet and asks for her help in opening an old silver box which has been sealed shut. She agrees, but upon opening it things start to change… Garet’s world, once normal like yours or mine, is now a world in which magic, fairies, vampires, dragons and the like exist.

Black Swan Rising takes Garet and the reader on a journey of discovery, hope, love, possibilities and more. The story makes use of real-life historical events (including more recent ones) and characters throughout, which I found added an interesting aspect to the book. Black Swan Rising doesn’t just rely on one type of fantasy creature either, there’s a whole array of them.

This book encompasses a number of my favourite fiction genres… urban fantasy, crime, adventure and a little bit of love thrown in (OK, maybe more than a bit)! But it’s not just my favourite genres all rolled into one that made me love this book, it’s the atmospheric story and the ease with which I could read it.

Black Swan Rising is the first book in a trilogy, and, conveniently, the second book The Watchtower has just been released. My paperback copy of Black Swan Rising contains a sneak preview of The Watchtower’s first chapter and I’ve no doubt it’s a book I’ll be reading in the near future!

Buy Black Swan Rising by Lee Caroll from the Book Depository.

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Please note: I received this book free from Transworld Publishers as part of the Transworld Book Group Challenge. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Author: Tessa Gratton
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0-857-53020-2

Blood Magic brings us the story of Silla, a girl damaged and lost after finding her parents dead, covered in blood. Everyone believes her Dad lost it and killed her Mom and himself in a murder-suicide, but Silla could never think that of her own Dad. When a spell book mysteriously arrives in the mail, Silla becomes immersed in it, hoping it will help uncover the truth. Then there’s Nick, the new boy in town with his own chilling past. Little does Silla know that he has more in common with her than she thinks.

Blood Magic is one of those books you don’t want to put down. I loved it from the one and only line of the first chapter, right until the very end. There’s one thing though… If blood grosses you out, then this book isn’t for you! As the title may suggest, blood features fairly heavily in this book. I can deal with blood fairly well, but even I felt a little queasy a couple of times while reading this young adult urban fantasy book.

The chapters alternate between first-person narratives of Silla and Nicholas, and diary entries primarily written by Josephine. I’ve read books before that have used this first-person narrative alternation and some of them haven’t worked, so I am often dubious of books that use this style of writing. However, Tessa Gratton has used it very well in this book; story flows perfectly from character to character. What’s more is that this is Tessa’s debut novel. She’s pulled off this tricky style that I’ve seen seasoned authors fail at.

Something else Tessa has excelled at… An urban fantasy novel without angels, vampires or werewolves! The heart of this story is magic that uses blood. Blood magic that has ripped apart more than one family, but can also bring people together.

This book had me teary eyed one minute and happy the next. It’s gripping, dark, chilling and emotional, with a vein of love running through it.

Blood Magic is a fantastic debut book by author Tessa Gratton and one I’d definitely recommend! Even Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) recommends it! I can’t wait to see what comes next from Tessa Gratton.

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton is released on 7th July 2011. Pre-order your copy here.

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Please note: I received this book from Random House in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

I’m a big fan of Jim Butcher‘s Dresden Files series of books. If I had to name a favourite author and a favourite book series then I would name Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files. Forget Harry Potter. Harry Dresden is THE wizard and he’s far more interesting!

I’m also a fan of James Marsters and it’s through him that I came across the Dresden Files books in the first place. James is the narrator for the Dresden Files audiobooks and he does a wonderful job. He IS the voice of Harry Dresden (and even does quirky voices for the other characters).

However, my heart sank when I came across the latest status on James Marsters’ Official page on Facebook last night. Due to a last minute scheduling conflict, James was unable to record the next installment of the Dresden Files, Ghost Story, in time to meet the publication deadline and another actor, John Glover (Lionel Luther in Smallville), has recorded the narration instead.

WHAT?!

I wasn’t pleased and neither were the fans. It isn’t just about being a James Marsters fan either. In terms of audiobooks, changing the narrator on book #13 is like changing the actor playing the main character in a well-established TV series. It doesn’t go down well. In fact, it may well have an affect on the audiobook sales. A number of commenters on Facebook (not just on the James Marsters page, but also on the Dresden Files (Novels) page), have stated that they’ve cancelled their pre-orders for the audiobook. It might have been a better idea to have rescheduled the audiobook release in order to have had James Marsters narrate it (despite other potential issues that might have arrisen due to a further pushed back release date – the publication of the hardback has been pushed back from it’s original April release date to July). Don’t they say “Good things come to those who wait”? I would certainly like to see how much, if any, of a difference there is between first week sales figures for Ghost Story and the previous audiobook, Changes.

Of course, we should give John Glover a chance. I can’t imagine that Jim would agree to him doing the job if he weren’t up to scratch. But the fact of the matter remains that James Marsters is the voice of the Dresden Files and it’s a shame he’s not doing Ghost Story.

Still, I can’t wait to get my hands on the Ghost Story hardback. The Dresden Files books always, without fail, jump to the top of my reading pile when released, and are devoured quite quickly. Yes, they’re that good! If you’re a fan of urban fantasy books, but haven’t yet read The Dresden Files books, then grab a copy of Storm Front, book #1 of The Dresden Files (paperback/audiobook), and work your way through the series. You won’t be disappointed! (Unless you’re going through the audiobooks and get to book #13 and discover a new narrator).

What are your thoughts on changing the narrator in the middle of a series?

Pre-order Ghost Story (book #13 of The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher (Hardback/Audiobook).

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway in celebration of the upcoming release of Deceived By The Others by Jess Haines (another great urban fantasy!). You have until midnight 25th June 2011.

Author: Jess Haines
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp
ISBN: 978-1-4201-1189-7

Shiarra Waynest is back in Deceived By The Others, the third book in the exciting H&W Investigations series. Shia is off on a well-deserved break with her werewolf boyfriend, Chaz. She’s finally ready to get serious and Chaz wants her to meet the rest of the family… in other words, the rest of the pack. Maybe a full-moon weekend in the Catskills is just what she needs after what she’s been through lately… or maybe it isn’t.

Shia and Chaz have barely settled into their cabin when threatening notes start to appear, warning them to go home. With their cabin ransacked, Shia can’t help but investigate. Are the teenage werewolves of the pack pulling pranks or are they really in danger?

Having loved the first two books in the H&W Investigations series, I was eagerly looking forward to Deceived By The Others and Jess Haines certainly didn’t disappoint. If anything, the series is getting better and better and I’m looking forward to what comes next. (There’s a sneak-peek into the fourth H&W book at the end of Deceived By The Others, though that just makes me want to read the fourth book even more, and I know I’ve got to wait).

This time around the story is centred around the Shia, Chaz and the Sunstrikers werewolf pack. We (along with Shia) get to know Chaz a lot better in this book. Though, of course, Royce (the sleek, sophisticated and handsome vampire) shows up in the story too, as a H&W Investigations book just wouldn’t be the same without him!

This is a roller-coaster read of a story with a few unexpected shocks thrown in. It’s thrilling, edge-of-your-seat stuff, with the ability of making you really feel for some characters, whilst making you loath others.

Without giving anything away, the ending isn’t a cliffhanger, but its one that will leave you eagerly awaiting to find out what will happen next as it leads us into the fourth book of the series.

Deceived By The Others is a thrilling addition to the H&W Investigations novels. It had me racing through the pages, as well as having moments of being shocked and emotional.

If you like urban fantasy books, then this is definitely a series I’d recommend. To get the most out of the series, I would definitely recommend reading from the start and going from there. You won’t be disappointed!

Other books in the H&W Investigations series:

1. Hunted By The Others (Read my review)
2. Taken By The Others (Read my review)

Pre-order your copy of Deceived By The Others now!

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Please note: I received this book free from the author. However, this in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

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GIVEAWAY! (Ended – Midnight 25th June 2011 – UK time)

So, how would you like a chance to win a copy of one of the H&W Investigation books?! You’ve got a choice of either Hunted By The Others, Taken By The Others or Deceived By The Others. Take your pick!

This giveaway is international, so you’re eligable as long as the Book Depository deliver to your country (they deliver to most, but check here). All you have to do is leave a comment saying you’re in (along with which book you’d like) before midnight 25th June 2011 BST (UK) time. You don’t have to be a follower (though it is appreciated) or anything like that. Everyone’s welcome!

Once picked, I will email the winner and post their name on the blog. The appropriate book will be ordered as soon as I have the winner’s details. However, please note that Deceived By The Others will be pre-ordered and mailed when released.