Archive for the ‘Dark Fantasy’ Category

SKIN TIGHT
Ava Gray
ISBN: 978-0425235164
Kindle ASIN: B003NX7OGE
June 2010
Berkley Sensation
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Mia Sauter was hired for a job at Micor Technologies to uncover who is stealing the company’s funds… she didn’t expect to see Addison Foster again. This time he is using the name Thomas Strong. What secrets is he hiding? Even worse, what secrets does Micor Technologies harbor?

SKIN TIGHT is the second book in the series. While it stands alone, I would strongly suggest first reading SKIN GAME to see Mia’s prior involvement with Addison Foster. The prologue gives a glimpse of it but the first book puts the full perspective into play and helps the reader understand Mia’s reaction to the man now called Thomas.

SKIN TIGHT goes deeper into understanding the powers and how they came into being. Quite honestly, I enjoyed the scenes with the lab and Dr. Rowan more than I did the romance. Dr. Rowan is as creepy as you would expect and I love the unexpected twists as that plotline progresses. The romance itself is a darker one, as both Mia and Thomas have a somewhat criminal bent.  The conclusion is uplifting, however, and I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the third book

MORTAL PATH BOOK 3: DELIVERANCE
Dakota Banks
ISBN: 978-0062049988 (Mass Market Paperback)
B005UD1E1G (Kindle eBook)
March 27, 2012 (Mass Market Paperback)
March 27, 2012 (Kindle eBook)
HarperCollins Publishers/Harper Voyager
Urban Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Maliha Crayne is been on The Mortal Path, seeking redemption for centuries of slavery to the Sumerian demon Rabishu as his personal assassin. If she can save as many lives as she has taken before she dies, she is free. If not… she will be brutally tortured for eternity. She has gathered a small group of trusted individuals she has saved, who have dedicated their lives to helping her find a way to defeat the demons forever. However, one person she’s not entirely sure about is her lover, the Immortal Jake, who is still slave to his demon.

Now Maliha has a new problem. Her friends are vanishing without a trace. She doesn’t even know where to start to find them, until someone, another Immortal, starts leaving her little surprises to find. This mystery person has a plan, bring Maliha under her thumb to use Maliha and her remaining supernatural abilities for her skill as an assassin. If this woman gets her way, the Immortals will be in a position to rule the country, and maybe the world, to create their own hell on earth. Maliha must make a choice, cave in to the demands of the Immortal and save her friends, while risking her own soul to forever torment, or refuse and watch her friends die. In Maliha’s life, there is no black or white, good or evil, only the gray line in between, if she ever hopes to find Deliverance for her friends… and herself.

I just have to say I love love LOVE The Mortal Path series! Each successive book gets better and better. Be forewarned, Deliverance is probably the darkest book yet in the series. Maliha has her own strict moral code, however shady it may be, that wavers from time to time, but never falls. When those she cares about are in danger, it’s watch out world, Maliha will do whatever it takes to protect them as best she can.

Our villain in this book is one of the cruelest, deadliest, most evil, but oh so captivating characters I have ever come across. This woman is black to the core, and wait until you find out who she is! I suspected early on who this monster was, but still when her identity is revealed I shuddered at the nature of this woman, at the same time I thrilled that I was correct.

The mythology Dakota Banks has invented for this series is absolutely fascinating. I read these books as much for Maliha and company’s adventures as I do the world Dakota has developed. We take a slight detour from one the overarching plots in the series, but that was perfectly OK. There is just so much going on here, with page after page of action, that I didn’t really miss seeing much advancement in that one story line. Deliverance is a thrill ride that will keep you turning the pages long into the night, and when you reach the end, you will be eager for the next installment. Also… you gotta love those cars of Maliha’s!

Dakota, keep to The Mortal Path, and I will keep buying!

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2012. All rights reserved.

Welcome to our latest guest blogger… Dakota Banks!

 

Read the review of Mortal Path Book 1: Dark Time

Read the review of Mortal Path Book 2: Sacrifice

Read the review of Mortal Path Book 3: Deliverance

To enter Dakota’s Swag Bag Giveaway, leave a comment below! Winner will be chosen May 1st.

I’d like to thank the staff for the opportunity to visit CK2S Kwips and Kritiques. It’s a pleasure to be here!

The Mortal Path series of urban fantasies/supernatural thrillers is based on Sumerian mythology. Sumerians lived from 5,000-8,000 years ago in what is now the land of Iraq. They had a wonderfully rich assortment of gods, goddesses, and demons that they were certain not only came from outer space but created the modern human race by mixing their “essence” (DNA) with that of primitive man. Sounds like I’m making it up, but it was all part of the Sumerian belief system. Their deities had strong personalities, romances, marriages, jealousies, rages, and grudges against each other, just like the Sumerians themselves. The Sumerians explained many actions of the natural world that they didn’t understand as having been caused by demons, such as disease, poor crops, or lightning strikes. In the Mortal Path, the Sumerian gods have left Earth, but seven of the most vile demons remained behind and have been plaguing (sometimes literally) humans for millennia.

A wife and healer unjustly accused in 17th century Colonial America is burned at the stake for witchcraft and other false crimes. One of the Sumerian demons pulls her from the flames, but he’s not doing a good deed. He offers her immortality if she will serve him, and with her body on fire, the deal sounds fair. She becomes the Black Ghost, an Ageless assassin gifted with otherworldly skills and superbly trained in martial arts. She obeys Rabishu’s orders and remains a beautiful young woman. Then she’s given an assignment she can’t bear to carry out. She gives up her immortality, turns rogue, and emerges from three centuries of reluctant service as the demon’s slave as a woman who has to relearn what it means to be human.

Maliha Crayne discovers that if she balances lives she’s taken with lives saved, she can reclaim her soul. If she fails, she faces eternal torment at the demon’s hands. The ticking clock? Every time she saves lives, she ages an unpredictable amount, sometimes days, sometimes months—or years. The deck is stacked against her. She’s got her own agenda, too—collecting artifacts that will allow her to wipe out all of the Sumerian demons, freeing humanity from their savage influence.

In Deliverance, the third book of the series, one of Maliha’s closest friends is kidnapped to force her to cooperate. Someone knows about Maliha’s skills and wants to put her to use as an unwilling assassin to further their own goals. She faces one moral dilemma after another in this book, stripping away all of the defenses she’s built around her heart and forcing her to make choices she doesn’t even want to think about.

The excerpt below shows one of the problems she faces. To save her friend, Maliha is supposed to assassinate a journalist named Camila. In this scene, Maliha visits Camila’s apartment and finds that the stakes have suddenly gotten higher. The section between the # marks is a short flashback to the time when she was in jail in 1692, facing charges as a witch. At the beginning of the scene, she’s looking for a way into the secure apartment building where Camila lives.

—————————-

Camila Reyes lived in a small apartment in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. During the day, there was a doorman, but at night there was controlled access with a video cam to each apartment so the occupant could see who was buzzing them.

A little research was all it took to locate a single man in his thirties living in an efficiency on the eighth floor. At midnight, Maliha went into the lobby and stepped in front of the video cam. She was wearing a blond wig, heavy makeup, and a top and skirt that barely covered her body’s erogenous zones. A skimpy jacket, not warm enough for the weather, hung around her shoulders. She pressed the buzzer.

A sleepy voice came on. “Yeah?”

“Mr. Hernandez, I’m here for you.”

“Uh … What?”

“You will have the best night of your life, Mr. Hernandez. Ring me up.”

“Just a minute.” She pictured him shuffling to the door to get a look at the video screen. She smiled into the camera and waved, making sure that plenty of cleavage showed.

“I … I’m not Mr. Hernandez,” he stammered.

“You are not?” She pouted and read him the address from a slip of paper. “Room 821?”

“No, you’re at least ten miles away.”

“I’m new in town. I guess Mr. Hernandez will be disappointed tonight.” Her face brightened. “Who are you?”

“I’m Gil Ceja.”

“Hi Gil, I’m … Trixy. I’m here already. Would you like some company, Gil? I’ll give you a special deal. I promise you’ll have fun.”

There was a brief hesitation, and then the iron-barred doorway blocking access to the elevators clicked open.

“Oh, Gil,” she said. “Get naked and wait for me by the door. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Maliha headed for room 408, where the journalist lived. Using a torque and pick set, she opened the standard lock on the door. Easing into the room, she slipped off her heels and left them by the entrance. After letting her eyes adjust to the dark, she could see that there was a desk with a computer on it in the combination kitchen-living room. Checking it out, she could see that the computer was on, with a bouncing ball screen saver.

            Later.

She moved on to the bedroom, drawing a knife from a sheath that rested on her back, attached to the skirt’s low-rise waistband. Maliha moved like the Black Ghost she once was. Soundless, a shadow, something glimpsed from the corner of the eye followed by a rush of darkness and death.

She turned the doorknob and cracked open the bedroom door. In this room there was a night light, a yellow starfish shape with a smile. Camila was asleep, her blanket slipped to one side and one leg exposed from the knee down. Maliha had an urge to cover the woman’s leg. The heat was turned down for the night, and it was cold in the apartment.

She pushed the door open a little wider, revealing a dresser and mirror, a brush, makeup kit, and a tottering stack of books—the ordinary things of this woman’s life that were about to become mute witnesses to her death. Camila was snoring softly. The double bed she slept in was shared with no lover, just a cat. The cat’s eyes opened and looked at Maliha through narrow slits. Satisfied, it adjusted its position and went back to sleep.

Maliha could go in, slash Camila’s throat, and be out in a few seconds without causing any noise.

            Then what? Another target? I’m trapped. Give up on my friend or go against what I believe in and deal with the fallout afterward?

Maliha pushed the door open further and stepped into the room.

She froze.

There was a crib against the wall that had been blocked from her view by the door. Maliha was drawn to it. She walked over, her knife still at the ready. In the crib was a baby boy, about six months old, wearing pajamas with feet. As she watched in the pale yellow light of the starfish, a bubble formed between his lips and gently popped. She put her hand on the baby’s chest, feeling the rise and fall of his small rib cage as he breathed.

#

Maliha couldn’t control the urge to push. With her back against the cold stone wall and her legs drawn up, she bore down. Her screams echoed in the room, again and again, as she strained and rested. One last mighty push and the infant slipped out onto the earthen floor.

She lay down next to the small body. In darkness as deep as a cave’s, she could see nothing, but she could feel that her baby was flaccid, unmoving. Hope dying in her heart, she did what a midwife would do for a baby who appeared dead—try to share her own life with it. She placed her mouth over the baby’s mouth and nose and breathed out in small puffs. Each time she lifted her head, she willed the baby to draw breath and begin crying.

After a while she stopped trying. The heat left the small body and the soft, perfect arms and legs locked into the stiffness of death.

#

Maliha closed her eyes at the painful memory. Constanta, my daughter.

She put away her knife. There has to be another way.

———————-

What do you think of having intense moral dilemmas in a book? Is it important to have the main character’s morality tested by putting him or her in the position of making hard choices, the damned if you do, damned if you don’t kind?

Website: http://dakota-banks.com
Blog: http://dbanks.me/mortalblog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DakotaBanksPage
Twitter: @dakotabanks or http://dbanks.me/DBtwit
Goodreads: http://dbanks.me/DBgood

 

MORTAL PATH BOOK 1: DARK TIME
Dakota Banks
ISBN: 978-0-06-168730-3 (Mass Market Paperback)
B002HPRBWG (Kindle eBook)
July 28, 2009
Harper Collins Publishers/Eos Books
Urban Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Courtesy of Amazon

Wow! I loved Dark Time and am very impatient for book two is this fascinating and refreshingly original series.

Over three hundred years ago, Susannah Layhem was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Just as she is facing her last moments of life before giving in to the flames, she is whisked to safety and offered a trade. If she agrees to sell her soul to the demon Rabishu, he will save her life. But is it worth it?

Now, Susannah is Maliha Crayne, assassin for Rabishu to advance his malevolent plans. However, after a few hundred years, Maliha has grown weary of the life of a killer and longs to be free. She has one chance… Returned to mortal life, if she can save as many lives as she has taken over the years, before dying, her soul will be free. If not? She is subject to an eternity of the most horrendous of tortured that can be inflicted by Rabishu.

Dark Time is a complex novel bound to grab you by the throat and not let go until the final page is turned. We find passion, danger, intrigue, seemingly impossible quests, even a slight touch of romance between the covers of Dark Time. While Maliha’s story may seem superficial at times, there is depth to her plight that mesmerizes. We also have a complicated subplot that is introduced here and guaranteed to unfold over future books in the series. Rabishu is vicious, cruel, and out for himself, determined to stop Maliha from finishing her personal mission. The world presented here is brilliantly portrayed and Dakota Banks does a masterful job with her descriptive imagery. It’s hard to believe this is her first novel.

Maliha is a fascinating woman who seems to have everything her heart can desire, yet she is lacking one thing, ownership of her soul. After centuries of living free of the restraints of her conscience, she finally realizes she is miserable. Guilt consumes her for the wicked deeds in her past and her only goal now is to make amends for all the destruction she wrought and finally be free. She can come across as selfish at times, but then we are reminded that she really does have a big heart, as evidenced by her relationships to the men and women dedicated to helping her with her quest. Those bonds go deep and I enjoyed seeing these people through Maliha’s eyes.

I could not put Dark Time down and eagerly anticipate book two, Sacrifice, due out in June 2010.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, November 2009. All rights reserved.

THE EDGE SERIES BOOK 3: FATE’S EDGE
Ilona Andrews
ISBN: 978-0441020867
Kindle ASIN: B0052RDIC8
December 2011
Penguin Putnam/Ace Books
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Paranormal Romance/Shape Shifter
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

It was going to be her last job- and the last time she’d have contact with her family….

Audrey Callahan has worked hard to escape her family’s history of running cons in the Edge. Despite her misgivings, however, she is unable to refuse her father’s request for one last con. Unfortunately, it goes horribly awry and now she’s caught between two factions, the Mirror and the Hand. She’s forced to align herself with Kaldar Mar, a con man working for the Mirror. Will Kaldar and Audrey succeed in stopping the Hand?

FATE’S EDGE is the third book in the Edge series. While it can be read as a stand alone tale, the subplot involving George and Jack is best appreciated in the context of the series as a whole. Readers familiar with the series will already know how the Edge, the Broken, and the Weird work, but new readers will have missed the world building that has occurred over the course of the series.

The ongoing battle between the Hand and the Mirror escalates in the prior book, BAYOU MOON, where Kaldar’s desire for vengeance emerges. Kaldar isn’t going to let anyone get in his way, even as he finds himself falling for Audrey. Audrey has her own issues to contend with. She’s been repeatedly burned by the con men in her family, most especially her brother, and she’s unwilling to trust Kaldar as a result.

However, it is not the romance between Kaldar and Audrey that makes FATE’S EDGE so appealing. Quite honestly, they are my least favorite couple of the series. Instead, it is the prominent role Jack and George play that make FATE’S EDGE truly work as they steal the show. Their adjustment to their new lives has not been an easy one but the spirit with which they attack their problems is enjoyable to see. I only hope we will continue to see more and more of them in future books!

http://store.samhainpublishing.com/demon-bait-p-6552.html?osCsid=37c40a9a40c6205ff622189fb10254a0

CHILDREN OF THE UNDYING SERIES BOOK 1: DEMON BAIT
Moira Rogers
ISBN: 978-1-60928-554-8
Kindle ASIN: B005F0WRAQ
November 29, 2011
Samhain Publishing
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Paranormal Romance/Futuristic
eBook

The anti-demon signal (ADS) is all that stands between the humans and the demons, but the system has been failing more and more lately. Marci has been working as one of the technicians but she has to keep her genetics a secret or she will lose everything. However, the latest ADS failure leaves her trapped with mysterious stranger, Gabe. Gabe has his own secret too… will it destroy them even as the attraction between them grows?

DEMON BAIT is the first book in a series that is quite fascinating. The world alternates between the post-apocalyptic demon-infested world and the virtual plane. Moira Rogers does an excellent job at integrating the two. There are some lingering questions that will hopefully be addressed in later books as the potential is here for a superb post-apocalyptic tale.

The romance between Gabe and Marci happens quickly but fits the context of the world Moira Rogers has created. I really like how the author took a hero with some very serious flaws in how he handles the relationship and made him likable. Marci is a tough, intelligent heroine and I hope we see more of both of these characters in future books.

DEMON BAIT is an excellent start to the Children of the Undying series. I look forward to seeing just where Moira Rogers takes us in future books.

L.O.S.T. SERIES BOOK 2: ENEMY MINE
Karin Harlow
ISBN: 978-1439177877
Kindle ASIN: B004INH9UY
September 2011
Pocket Star Books
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Paranormal Romance/Vampire
Mass Market Paperback

Nikko thought his past was behind him, as he focuses on his new identity as a L.O.S.T. (Last Option Special Team) operative. His latest mission is giving him a bad feeling- but not as bad as when he sees a ghost from the past. Selena Guererro was the love of his life… until he killed her and gave up his life as Johnny. How is Selena still alive? Who is she working for? And how will he react when he discovers she is half-daemon?

ENEMY MINE is the second book in the L.O.S.T. series but it is a stand alone story. While characters from the first book, ENEMY LOVER, reappear, it is not necessary to know the history from the first book to understand the events of ENEMY MINE. The only caution I would have for readers new to the series is the plethora of characters can be a bit overwhelming at first.

Karin Harlow crafts an intense paranormal romance, one that addresses some sensitive issues. Nikko’s anger at Selena is more than understandable, but his past actions have destroyed him emotionally. Karin Harlow does an excellent job at taking a flawed hero and a flawed heroine, both of whom have done the unthinkable, and making a romance between them work.  Quite honestly, I didn’t think I could learn to like Nikko because of the violent way the earlier relationship with Selena ended- but Karin Harlow makes it work.

ENEMY MINE packs a powerful punch. The action is nonstop, the emotional intensity is high, and the paranormal storyline takes some interesting twists that leave the reader on the edge of their seat. Highly recommended!

NIGHTSHADE SERIES BOOK 1: NIGHTSHADE
Andrea Cremer
ISBN: 978-0142419809
Kindle ASIN: B003YL4ABM
June 2011
Speak/Penguin
Young Adult Fiction
Paranormal Romance/Shape Shifter
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Trade Paperback

Everything changed the day she saved the human’s life….

Calla Tor is the alpha wolf of the NIGHTSHADE pack, intended for alpha Ren Laroche of the Bane pack. The day of their joining is drawing near but something has changed, something- or someone- who is making her question all that the Keepers have taught Calla about her role as a Guardian. Who will Calla choose, to follow her destiny with Ren or to follow her heart with Shay Doran, a human? And just why have the Keepers brought Shay to the Mountain School anyway?

I have mixed feelings about NIGHTSHADE. Honestly, I hated the first half of the book, as it reads more like two gangs clashing as their gang leaders direct their every movement. Worse yet, it isn’t until about halfway through the book that I even began to care at all about whether the characters lived or died. Frankly, until then I was ready for the Keepers to find out they were disobeying orders and demote or eliminate them all!

However, about halfway through, NIGHTSHADE suddenly becomes interesting. Just what are the Keepers hiding? As the secrets begin to unveil, NIGHTSHADE becomes a far more intriguing story. Be prepared, though… the ending is a cliffhanger and we are left with more questions than answers. I’m still not sure I actually LIKE any of the characters but I’m curious enough that I’ll probably pick up the second book, if only to see how the cliffhanger ending is resolved.

Courtesy of Amazon Vine

GUILD HUNTER SERIES BOOK 3: ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT
Nalini Singh
ISBN: 978-0425240137 (Mass Market Paperback)
Kindle ASIN: B004FPYZNO
February 2011
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Sensation
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Paranormal Romance/Vampire
Mass Market Paperback

Weather catastrophes are beginning to occur worldwide. Vampires are supposed to answer to angels but suddenly vampires are running amok, giving into bloodlust and inflicting savage attacks. Worse yet, consort and vampire hunter, Elena Devereraux, is beginning to worry about her own archangel’s sanity as Raphael is starting to distance himself from her. Is one of the ancient ones who sleep beginning to awaken? Will Raphael have to face his own mother?

ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT is the third book in the Guild Hunter series, not including a short novella. The storyline picks up right after the events in ARCHANGEL’S KISS as Nalini Singh jumps right into the heart of the tale. Readers will want to read the first two books prior to ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT as the characters and events intertwine too closely for this to be a stand alone book.

I have a love/hate relationship with Raphael. He is dark and brooding, almost too much so at times. Elena truly provides some light on him and it is only his love and willingness at the darkest of moments to forsake all others for her that shows a more emotional side to him. In fact, it’s hard not to love Raphael’s Seven and Illium in particular just a tad more than Raphael. However, it is this very knife edge sense of danger that makes the storyline interesting as there is just no telling what Raphael will do or become at any moment.

ARCHANGEL’S CONSORT is yet another solid and interesting tale in the Guild Hunter series. Fans of Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series will find this series much darker as the characters, particularly Elena and Raphael, are always on the edge of disaster. I can’t wait to see what Nalini Singh has in store for them next!

THE DARK FORGOTTEN SERIES BOOK 4: FROSTBOUND
Sharon Ashwood
ISBN: 978-0451231956 (Mass Market Paperback)
Kindle ASIN: B004R1R1UA
June 2011
Penguin Putnam/Signet Eclipse
Paranormal Romance/Vampire
Paranormal Romance/Shape Shifter
Paranormal Romance/Dark Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

 

Lore has his hands full. As the hellhound Alpha, he is assisting the police with keeping order while vampire sheriff Alessandro Caravelli is on vacation. Unfortunately, some sort of dark presence is wreaking havoc, and now Lore has both a mysterious fire and a murder to resolve. Vampire Talia Rostova is in hiding, using her cousin’s apartment to stay under the radar. However, the murder has brought her to Lore’s attention… but will he believe in her innocence?

Sharon Ashwood continues to expand the phenomenal world first seen in RAVENOUS, creating more characters and more intrigue with each installment. FROSTBOUND is the fourth book in The Dark Forgotten series but can easily be read as a stand alone although quite honestly I can’t imagine why any urban fantasy or paranormal romance fan wouldn’t want to read all the books in this series!

In FROSTBOUND, we delve into the political side of the supernatural… and things are just as dirty and messy there as they are in our human world!  I like that we see the inner workings of the vampires and the hellhounds, even as the action heats up. There are no lulls in the story in FROSTBOUND!

The tension between Talia and Lore sizzles from the very first meeting between them. Sharon Ashwood is a master at crafting strong characters and Talia and Lore are perfect examples of this skill.  Even better, she keeps the reader on their toes throughout the tale, as you are wondering just how on earth she will ever resolve the species conflict as Lore is bound by pack law as to whom he can choose for a mate. But oh, never doubt Sharon Ashwood as she manages to create an ending that makes the romance of FROSTBOUND touchingly beautiful.

FROSTBOUND is just a flat out awesome story! From the superb world building to the phenomenal characters, FROSTBOUND has all the elements necessary to keep the reader engaged. Sharon Ashwood has become one of my favorite authors in the genre and FROSTBOUND demonstrates that she hasn’t lost her mojo. I just can’t rave enough about this series and FROSTBOUND in particular. Highly recommended!