Touch of the Angel by Rosalie Lario

Touch of the Angel by Rosalie Lario

Book 3 in the Blood of the Demon series

www.rosalielario.com

All Amara is trying to do is stay alive and save her mother from harm.Unfortunately, since she's succubi, that's much easier said than done. When her accidental and unsuspecting prey one night is a sweet, if a little rough-around-the-edges, angel named Ronin, Amara has trouble forgiving herself for killing him through their one-night-stand (let me interject here for all of you non-paranormal people: succubi kill any non-sex-demon they have sex with). She can't seem to get his face out of her mind. Ronin wakes up drowsy and weakened from his one-night-stand with a beautiful girl - and it doesn't take long before he realizes she's succubi. Can he find her and take her off the streets before she kills anyone else? And what will he think when he discovers her real motivation for her dirty deeds?

This book started out disappointing – especially since the first two books in the series were so incredible. This book began slow, a bit confusing, and not terribly attention-grabbing. I wasn’t sure quite what I was reading and I wasn’t all that interested in reading about it. Luckily, that didn’t last too long! About 1/5 of the way through, it finally started to pick up the pace and turn into the magnificent book I was looking for. Still, that first 1/5 of the book was agonizing to get through and I’m still not certain I understand exactly why it was written the way it was – where the reader is plopped in the middle of a scene as if they should understand it. One other thing I noted that I didn’t like about the story was that the dialogue was a little unnatural and wooden at times. However that also disappeared as the book went on. Really, only the beginning didn’t live up to my very high expectations (well, the ending was a little cliché, but I was still able to enjoy it and put that aside).

I liked the book but there were a few things I absolutely adored: Ronin, Amara, and the unique nature of their romance. How many romances start with the heroine almost killing the hero… with sex? That was amusing, to me. I also really enjoyed how both the romance and the plot became increasingly unusual - and not in a bad way. There were some twists I wasn't expecting, and the focus of the story was far different than what I expected, which was still enjoyable. I also loved the romantic focus on the vulnerability of Amara due to her incredible sexuality. I really liked how Ronin protects her – recognizes that she needs protecting – and looks beyond his own anger at her, to the larger problem (the main villain). Many heroes can be short-sighted, but Ronin was looking far ahead.

Amara, for her part, is a savvy heroine. She's funny, sarcastic, smart and kind-hearted. She's going through a rough time, trying to keep her mom healthy and herself healthy in a deadly game where she's a near-useless pawn. She's struggling but she's keeping her head up. She was generally optimistic and I loved how she was able to keep her self-preservation instincts throughout the entire story instead of turning into a wimp that needed rescuing. Her determination to survive is unmatched. She has to make hard choices throughout the book but she doesn't let her bottom lip quiver - she does the best she can to make the best decision she can. She's definitely a strong woman, in need of an equally caring and equally strong man.

Ronin was really an incredible angst-y hero. Suffering through a nauseatingly awful childhood, he is strong, caring, protective, and smart. He looks past his own suffering to the suffering of others and does his best to ignore his own pain and rescue them from their demons (past and present). He’s a very giving hero, and inspiring. He’s also funny and your ‘typical man’ sometimes, which brings him down from being an obnoxious paragon to simply a caring human being (or rather angel-demon hybrid) capable of mistakes but not prone to them. The way he cares for Amara is beautiful and touching and makes for a great romance. The book's terrible start coupled with its beautiful prose and tender romance throughout the middle and end had this book averaging out to a B- in my mind – still good, but not as good as I’ve come to expect from Lario. Especially since this book became so unusual and interesting throughout the middle, I was extra disappointed by the still adequate but cliche ending.

Still, I would definitely recommend the entire series. Books one and two are phenomenal, and I can't wait for book four. Thank you so much, Ms. Lario, for sending me your book for review!

Favorite Quotes:

Getting captured sounded like the best thing ever.

Ronin’s chest expanded. “I like it. How’s Brynn?”

“Fine. Pissed at me. She says next time I have to be the one to give birth.” (Keegan)

“Sexy”ness rating: Hot! What else could you expect from a sex demon?

Overall Rating: B-

Bottom Line: This book started off slow but quickly picked up its pace to become the enthralling read I expect from Lario. Ronin is a loveable hero and Amara an admirable heroine. The book focuses on their struggles and provokes major amounts of empathy from the reader for both the hero and heroine. I also adored the struggle they faced as lovers – my only wish is that it wasn’t resolved so neatly. Overall, another touching addition to the series!

Pages: 286

Published: December 6, 2011

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Courting Darkness by Yasmine Galenorn

Book 10 in the Sisters of the Moon series

http://www.galenorn.com

Many thanks to The Season ForRomance for providing me with this arc copy to review! 

The D’Artigo sisters are operatives working for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Each of the sisters has her own special talents and gifts. Camille (our protagonist) has three husbands – Trillian, Smoky, and Morio. One of them, dragon Smoky, has a father who’s none-too-pleased with Camille and kidnaps her to his Dragon Reaches. The question is – can Camille survive long enough to escape before the father breaks her, body and spirit? Well, I never got the chance to find out because this book was way too hard for me to struggle through, and I set it down less than half way through.

This book is the tenth in the Sisters of the Moon series, and it was very clear from the first page that if you hadn’t read the first nine books you wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. And so it went – terminology I didn’t know, people and places that were unfamiliar to me, customs, cultures, and events referenced that I knew nothing about. Every other word was something different and crazy and alien. This book is definitely not a stand-alone. It was very confusing and difficult to read – although with the sheer amount of characters, worlds, and species, I think it could have been difficult to read even if you did follow the series. The world was far too complex while being poorly crafted to make a good story.

Now, even if I had been following this series from the beginning there would are several things that would have lowered this book in my esteem. The story read like a series of disjointed vignettes, stapled together. There was no flow, no underlying connection between the scenes – instead each scene was like opening a new box of confusing ideas and relationships that had nothing to do with the last. Furthermore, the way the author writes was distracting. The syntax was strange and awkward, and I found the sentences jarring. The book was unnatural, and instead of flowing smoothly it limped along like a zombie from a low-budget horror flick.

Finally, the characters were unlikeable. I found it hard to understand their motives, thoughts, and ideals. I didn’t understand them, found them lacking in any real depth, and therefore was unable to connect with them – adding to my frustration. They were so cliché. And the sex scenes… lets just say they hit my ‘squick’ button, multiple times. One of the husbands has HAIR that lifts itself up and strokes her. What is that? Not my cup of tea, that's what.

“Sexy”ness rating: Explicit and squicky

Overall Rating: DNF

Bottom Line: All in all, I didn’t enjoy the characters, the plot, or the prose enough to keep reading. While long-time fans of the series may enjoy this book, I would recommend others to skip this one and read something else.

Pages: 336

Published: Nov 1, 2011

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Darkness Descending by Devyn Quinn

Book 1 in the Vampire Armageddon series

http://www.devynquinn.com/

First, I’d like to thank the wonderful ladies at Romance Reviews Today for sending me this book for review – check out their website here: www.romrevtoday.com.  Thanks again, ladies!!!

Alright, down to business. This book was one of them puzzlers. The book started out and I wanted to cry. The book was all tell. The characters were wimpy, not at all kick-ass, their actions were awkward and all over the place and there was absolutely NO build-up of sexual tension so the ‘smoldering heat’ and lust kinda smacks you in the face when it first comes up. I was terribly disappointed because, well, I hate not liking books. And the first third of this book was headed toward a low D grade. But then…

But then the book totally changed pace. I don’t know if the author wrote the first 130 pages, set the book down for a while, and then picked it back up again when she had developed some actual writing and character development skills, but after that 130 page mark the book actually became… decent. Enjoyable. Kinda cool. Not kick-ass awesome… but not bad. And I was overjoyed – really, really excited that I wasn’t going to have to read another 240 pages in the style of the first 130 because I might have taken Maddox’s gun and shot the book to pieces. The book, after page 130, showed that this author had potential – and since the plot was really interesting, I’m hoping that Quinn develops her talent very quickly for the next book in the series – which I will be reading.

So, here’s a quick re-cap of the plot for ya’ll before I dissect the book a little more closely. Jesse Burke is a human infected with a demon – it crawls under her skin and whispers dreams of immortality in her ear at night. However unlike every other human being who has been infected, Jesse refuses to give in to the demon’s demands – and thus hovers between a state of humanity and undead-ness (which is what one turns into when yielding to the demon's demands). Angry and feeling the hopelessness of her situation, Jesse decides to kill as many of the vampire/demons that infected her as she can. After doing some research into vampire slaying, Jesse sets out for a cemetery in the middle of the night and attempts to kill her first undead. Only it doesn’t go so well. And Jesse almost dies. Until some guy named Maddox shows up with his gun and blows the thing to pieces. Maddox then invites Jesse to his home sweet home for some training and sleep – after all, if she wants to be a slayer she has to learn from the best, right? But what happens when Maddox learns that Jesse has a demon inside her – and is on the verge of becoming something he’s determined to destroy?

So, let’s start off with what sucked (vampire pun – get it?). The first 130 pages, as we already established, sucked in very frustrating ways. The characters don’t act believably make really weird decisions, talk like they’re best friends when they’ve really just met, sleep in the same bed even though they’ve known each other for mere hours… it’s all very odd and unrealistic and awkward for the reader. The romance is terrible, with no build-up of sexual tension or even hints at it. The world building is confusing and doesn’t make much sense – there are a lot of holes in the story. People are dying all over the place from strange bites to their body and the police all think it’s because of some rabid animals? I don’t think so. Humans are way too suspicious for that, and we love conspiracy theories. Surely someone has decided on vampires by now. Also, hasn’t anyone seen the attacks or the feedings? No one is that careful. If there are truly that many vampire/demons (that also isn’t explained very well – are they demons that look like vampires, or are they pretty much what we would call vampires except they have demons inside them… it’s bad when you can’t tell what species something is) someone would’ve caught them at something by now and in such a viral world, it would’ve been all over the place. The book makes humans out to be a very non-assuming, kind of stupid race which is pretty dumb. Just sayin’.

But after a while I got used to the shaky grasp I had on Quinn’s world and I got comfortable enough with it to enjoy the story. And the plot was AWESOME. And Jesse was pretty cool, too. I liked how strong she was and how enigmatic her role in the epic battle between heaven and hell’s warriors (on earth, of course) is. I really wanted to know more, and that kept me hooked for a lot of the story. I loved the legends and the action – that was my kind of story. The plot was well-developed, moved at a good pace, and always had a hook to keep you reading. The plot was this book’s saving grace, along with the admiration I felt for the heroine. She’s stuck between two worlds, hurt and hunted by everyone, lied to and very confused yet she’s strong, determined, and ready for action. Boo. Yah. Baby.

Oh, but ladies. One more thing that made this book sink low, low, low. The hero. Was. Pathetic. He does NOT deserve a capital 'h'. He was addicted to a demon’s kiss (otherwise known as a vampire bite) really weird and kinky-odd, he was awkward, out-of-place and pretty depressing. I sincerely hope he gets better because I did not like him. He was the antithesis of Jesse and instead of helping her I feel like he drags her down. That’s a no-no in a romance, so Mr. Hero Maddox better get his broad backside in gear and fast. He’s also inconsistent and a bit of a Debbie-downer. Like I said. Pathetic.

That’s all there is to this considerably long review! Stay tuned to my blog for updates on the series and if it’s worth your while!

Favorite Quote:

No one came near them. In fact, everyone seemed intent on maintaining a respectful distance. It could be that the shotgun Maddox carried jacked his street cred up considerably.

“Sexy”ness rating: is rated hot, however it’s not terribly sexy due to its rather unpredictable nature. No build-up of sexual tension… it was really weird. Just a sex scene plopped randomly into the middle of the book because the author thought she needed one.

Overall Rating: C-

Bottom Line: I can’t give this book any higher than a C-, but the second half of the book shows the author has some real potential. I’ll be keeping up with this series to let you know how it develops and if you should struggle through this one to get to the rest. While the romance isn’t very well developed the plot is pretty cool.

Pages: 353

Published: August 2, 2011

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Mark of the Sylph by Rosalie Lario

Book 2 in the Demons of the Infernum series

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4843915.Rosalie_Lario

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy!

This book pretty much blew my mind and there was so much awesome-sauce to talk about that I don’t think I could even cover it all. Lario isn’t from one of the big publishers and while I hate to stereotype usually the best books come from the big names. Lario, however, writes one of the most compelling, engrossing, deeply romantic and totally sexy paranormal romances I’ve read to date. With great action, touching sacrifice and sweet seduction combined with wonderful writing, voice, style, and character development this book literally has it all. I was in love with this book, its characters, and the world Lario built that from start to finish and I literally couldn’t put it down, even to eat. I have no doubt Lario is going to do great things with her amazing talent, and I am literally on the edge of my seat waiting for book three. The only thing I would caution: before reading Mark of the Sylph you really have to read book one, Blood of the Demon. It’s not a good standalone but Blood of the Demon is almost as good as this book, so it really isn’t a hardship to have to read the series in order. Which you should do. STAT.

Maya is a kick-ass librarian who lends books by day and, occasionally, kills demons by night. Taeg, a half-demon half-faerie Otherworld being, comes to her library while researching some old legends about a mythical sword and wonders at Maya’s absolute distaste for him when most women are attracted to his charm and good looks. Taeg soon discovers the truth – Maya can see through his glamour to his true demon form (fear not, ladies, his demon form is also sexy and attractive!), and she carries a deep grudge against all demons. However once Taeg discovers Maya's ability, he realizes that he needs Maya to use her rare ability to see through glamour to help him locate the sword which is purportedly able to destroy a book that keeps his sister-in-law in danger. But while Maya isn’t inclined to help a member of the race she so despises, Taeg just might be able to convince her to surrender to his will…

The characters in this book are phenomenally developed. I immediately felt connected and in sync with all of them and I liked them very, very much. In fact, I was in love with Taeg for all his flirty, bad boy charm. I liked Maya, because she really was an excellent fighter, admirable and strong, and sarcastically witty. Taeg was fantastic and a great hero - he let Maya fight and wrestle when she needed it (whew, that was sexy!) and held her close when she needed that instead. He was in tune with her, and his journey to falling in love with her was absolutely adorable and yet really super-hot. And I mean, wow. The sexual tension in this book was beyond smoldering. It was a frickin’ inferno. My Kindle was overheating.

As I believe I stated in my review of Blood of the Demon, Lario has created a fabulous world that is fascinating because it is extremely unique. I especially appreciated how well Lario knew her characters – like she’d sat down and had coffee with all of them and took notes to figure out who they were, deep down and on the surface. It was obvious Lario was closely connected to her characters thus making them so well-developed and all show, no tell. Lario also really seemed to come into her voice in this novel, more so than the previous one which was a little shaky. I really can’t begin to describe to you how wonderful this book was, in all ways - dialogue, plot, romance, the whole she-bang. Lario literally has made me a fan for life with her Demons of the Infernum series. I am overjoyed with her creativity, her imagination, and her ability to paint the world and characters in my mind with vivid detail and color.

In conclusion: all I can say to my fellow readers: Go out and get this book. It’s a wonderful, necessary addition to your bookshelf. The story is touching and hot, poignant and sexy, sweet and bad-ass. Mark of the Sylph is a book I will continually revisit; and I will cry and laugh out loud every time I do.

Favorite Quotes:

The woman had more moves than a horny teenager on prom night.

When he spoke, his voice came out a sexy rumble. “I like what you’re wearing.”

“I’m not wearing anything.”

“Exactly.”

“You’re the one who wanted to turn our conversation into a Bruce Lee flick,” he said to her, “I just wanted to talk.”

For one long moment she lay there, too caught off guard to answer. She pushed against his chest. “Get off, demon.”

Taeg lifted his head and curved his lips into a wicked smile. “Is that an invitation, sweetheart? Cause I’d sure as hell love to.”

“Sexy”ness rating: Oh. My. Holy. Deity. *faints* I need a Taeg. Stat.

Overall Rating: A

Bottom Line: If you like unique and flirty paranormals with fun, intriguing plots and fast-paced, touching romances (and, of course, a to-die-for demon hero with mad sexy skills) then hot damn does Rosalie Lario have a book for you.

Pages: 268

Published: September 4, 2011

Genre: Paranormal

Dangerous Highlander by Donna Grant

Book 1 in the Dark Sword series

www.donnagrant.com

The McLeod brothers captured my heart with their desperate, sad situation. My heart broke for Quinn and Fallon especially (the brothers of our hero, Lucan) seeing as they had such a hard time adjusting. But they all lost their family, their lives, their sense of self and their happiness. Unfortunately, empathy was one of the few emotions this book made me feel. I couldn’t feel the love blossoming between Cara and Lucan, nor could I understand some of the feelings of our protagonists. There was some silliness in this book that I just didn’t appreciate, as well.

Cara meets the McLeod brothers when, as she gathers mushrooms nearby, she starts to fall off a cliff. Lucan saves her from death and brings her to the castle, where the brothers argue about what to do with her, then end up protecting her from an attack. The book revolves around Cara learning about and understanding the gods inside each of the McLeod brothers, and helping them. She also learns about her own magical powers (she’s found to be a druid) and Lucan teaches her how to defend herself in case of another attack. While I felt the suspense, the attacks were too long and drawn out, clearly to give Cara time to learn to fight. I would have thought that Diedre (our villian) would’ve been smarter in her attack strategy, if she was as all-powerful as we were told. It made the plot slow, and a bit boring, on top of being unrealistic.

There was a lot of silliness in this book that I didn’t understand. For instance, the McLeod brothers have been in hiding, from everyone, in their castle for the last three centuries. Apparently, neither Deirdre nor the other Warriors thought to look for them in the castle. That would be the first logical place to look! Of course they returned home! They’re highlanders! And if you had 300 years to look for them, wouldn't you circle back to the castle on occasion just to see? Also, Cara discovers she has powers when she accidentally almost kills a plant (when she was angry and touching one). She then gets all freaked out about her powers. Why? It’s a plant! If I discovered I had powers that could potentially save me from being taken captive by an evil drough I would be hoping about trying to learn everything I could and explore. Her reasoning and fears, in that regard, didn’t make much sense. One of the things I hate the most in books is when things don’t make sense. It simply ruins the world-building and character-building. I mean, come on. Who WOULDN’T look at the castle? Seriously?

Finally, the characters were not consistent, nor well developed. With the exception of Quinn, I didn’t form a real bond with any of the characters and couldn’t see any real depth. There were also several inconsistencies in regards to Cara. At one point she pulls the typical heroine move - the ‘I must run away because my presence puts the hero in danger’. Then later in the book, with no significant thought-process to indicate why there would be this sudden change in though, Grant writes something like this: ‘he was just trying to protect her - the least she could do is cooperate.’ from Cara’s view. Huh. Where, Ms. Grant, did this new attitude come from? There were also occasional grammatical errors - talking in third person for a sentence, using the name of the person when speaking when they’re standing right next to you (not to gain their attention or anything), etc. It was enough to make me take note, but not so bad as to make me rant about it. Still, the silliness and stupidity, the inconsistency and lack of depth, and the inability to make me feel much beyond empathy leaves this book solidly at a C.

“Sexy”ness rating: Hot

Overall Rating: C

Bottom Line: The book was good, but I was feeling the lust more than the love. I had a hard time feeling the characters connect with one another. I felt plenty of empathy for both Cara and the McLeods, and felt fairly connected to them. The plot was interesting, but too slow and occasionally unrealistic. An average read.

Pages: 339

Published: December 29, 2009

Genre: Historical

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Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione

Book 1 in the Demonica series

www.larissaione.com

Eidolon is a demon doctor, and a succubus about to reach his Change. If he doesn’t find a mate soon (and one that won’t kill him twenty years down the road) he’ll go ‘crazy’ and try to impregnate every female in sight. When a human female is brought to his clinic, he has reservations about helping her – especially when he discovers she’s Aegis or a ‘Guardian’ who slays demons to protect the human race. Following his own moral code, Eidolon saves her anyway – but as he does he detects unusual demon energies in her body. The woman is none-to-happy to wake up in a demon hospital, but Eidolon piques her interest and her libido. However, Tayla (our lady-patient) knows she can’t let Eidolon live – after all, he’s evil and a danger to society. But when the lines between good and evil blur, her own side tries to kill her, and her own body betrays her to the demon side will her priorities change?

This book reminds me of how ridiculously, outrageously fun paranormal can be. The hero literally has a magic cock. Yes, out of all 400 pages of this book, that was the thing that jumped out (jumped out?) at me to start this review. Reviewers and readers love to joke about the ‘magic cocks’ we discover in the romance genre, simply because it’s so ridiculous, but usually the magi-cocks are just incredibly large or responsible for boinking the heroine to blissdom with its goodliness. This, my friends, was a truly magic wang because, and I kid you not, the sperm it ejaculates is a super-powerful, fuck-me-now aphrodisiac. Yes. Can you order up men like that? - because if so I’ll take one. Seriously, though, one has to give Ione credit for writing a real magic cock. That takes guts.

Holy hell, this book was sexy. And hilarious. And fun. It reminded me a lot of Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow (love, love, love) in style and voice. There was some sarcasm, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The book was pretty serious in its tone. I liked the premise of Ione’s book, with Eidolon working as a doctor in a hospital yet being an 'evil' demon. Her world-building was very well-done and I really enjoyed reading about different kinds of demons, the Aegis, and the mating/bonding habits of succubus demons once they hit their Change. Eidolon was a great hero, patient, strong, understanding, and supremely loyal. He was endearing in that tortured-hero I-need-help-but-I’m-too-damned-stubborn-to-ask way.  What he suffers for his brother, Wraith, is incredible, but part of me wonders why he doesn’t confront Wraith instead of simply martyring himself. I mean, I can appreciate a good martyr, don’t get me wrong. But I appreciate a good, necessary martyr – when the martyring is unnecessary it just makes said martyr seem stupid even as I was endeared to him for his loyalty.

Tayla was your usual strong, kick-ass heroine but she had some vulnerabilities that made her special. I enjoyed how naturally she came around to the idea that demons, just like humans, weren’t all black or white, good or evil. She was a surprisingly sensitive for a kick-ass demon-slayer and I enjoyed that she didn’t lose her kick-ass-ishness even after she fell in love. Secondary characters, including the Aegis, Gem, Shade, and Wraith were all really well done with depth, humor, and intrigue. The action was smooth, the prose well written, and the dialogue flowed. The only problem I had with the book was the length – I skimmed/skipped about fifty pages in the middle of the book because, honestly, I really wanted to know what happened (the suspense was excellently written) and Ione was taking WAY too long to get there. I was definitely hooked, but Ione might’ve lost me with all those extra pages. Unnecessary.

All in all, it was a great book, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading Shade and Wraith’s books, then take it from there.

Favorite Quotes:

“I'll bet you could make a woman throw out all her toys.” (Tayla)

"You're at Underworld General Hospital. As you can probably guess, we specialize in nonhuman medical care. Our location is secret, so don't ask." (Eidolon)
"UGH ? Your hospital is called 'ugh' ? Oh, that's precious." (Tayla)

“Sexy”ness rating: Wowza – Zing!

Overall Rating: B+

Bottom Line: A fabulous, compassionate hero, a kick-ass, sexy heroine, and all the world to keep them apart. A great book, I would definitely recommend it to any super-natural paranormal lover or anyone who was just trying on the genre. The world building was great and easy to understand even if you’re not a regular wanderer into the paranormal genre.

Pages: 389

Published: June 20, 2010

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Warrior's Rise by L.J. DeLeon

Book 1 in the Warriors For Light series

http://www.goodreads.com/ljdeleon

Throughout the course of this book I was annoyed, confused, stunned, offended, and I floated. Throughout the course of this review, you will figure out why. I even gave this review a special format so you could skip to the section you wanted to read most! Aren’t I kind? A real quick summary of the book: Deva Morgan was a simple bartender until Padraig comes into her bar, slaughters the demons hunting her, and tells her he’s her protector. She learns she is the Caidh Arm, sent by the Goddess and given lots of powers in order to save Earth from the Demon Lord in the upcoming war. Deva then goes on to fight many battles as she tries to get organized and learn how to control her powers, so she can be an effective leader.

The annoying:

I don’t know if it was just my copy, but there were a lot of errors – content-wise and grammatical – in this book. Those always hamper my reading, and it really annoys me. The author also does more telling than showing. There several instances where DeLeon would tell me something I’d already gleaned from the conversation and I would just stare at my computer screen thinking, No shit. DeLeon also contradicts herself several times. The story was very drawn out. I would have been much happier if this book had been condensed and scenes/conversations hadn’t been repeated over and over without any resolution. Which was annoying. Hence why it’s under ‘the annoying’ subtitle.

The confusing:

There were so many small characters, so many different species, so many plots that I had a really hard time following what was occurring, to whom, by what. So many characters came into the plot only to be inconsequential or die that DeLeon confused me with all the extra names. There were also tons of different names for all the different demons and other non-human creatures. I had a hard time determining what Deva and Padraig were facing and what abilities the creatures had because each creature had different abilities, but I saw it only once or twice. Finally, there were so many plots to follow. DeLeon lets some of the mini-conflicts float about unresolved from the beginning of the book to the end which really didn’t work for me. I like my mini-conflicts to either build upon each other in an obvious fashion that leads up to the main conflict or be immediately resolved. Not so in Warrior’s Rise.

The stunning:

There were some really decent parts to this book. First, the humor. I had seven highlights for this book, which is more than most books get. There were many humorous lines that you just stumbled upon, blinked once or twice, and then had to burst out laughing. I liked that. Humor Stun Guns are approved weapons on my blog, and DeLeon wielded hers with finesse. Also, DeLeon uses her extensive military background to write some great action scenes in which I could almost, almost lose myself in the story again. I appreciated that her research and knowledge of the subject matter significantly improved my reading experience.

The offending:

Authors that stereotype the general population of Earth assume I’m too stupid to notice they’re taking it easy. The reality is, if Earth were informed tomorrow that half our neighbors were werewolves, there would not be mass lynching, mob, and murder activities occurring. Most of the world is civilized and sane, and would not react in such a fashion. That was what offended me the most about this book. The characters didn’t act true to themselves or their human nature - they acted in a way that made writing easier for DeLeon. They acted to further the plot – to push it in the direction DeLeon wanted it to go. It was all very cliché. Also, I'm pretty sure our main characters – Deva and Padraig – have multiple personality disorder. They act like completely different people on several occasions in this book, and there was no consistency to their character (other than Deva’s relationship with the goddess – that was pretty solid). Does the author think I’m too stupid to notice that the character is unpredictable in the worst way possible, and has no substance?

The floating:

The worst part about this book was that I was never grounded in it. The author has difficulty establishing time and place clearly, so we’re constantly floating around in this vast space of randomness. I really had a hard time understanding the team’s movements. It seemed they were in random places for random amounts of time for really random reasons. I had a really hard time with that – the author’s inability to ground me in her story with a realistic, clear time/place plan. Of course, with the rest of the plot being so confusing, I’m not surprised.

Oh. Right. You want to know about the romance. Well. Here it is:

There is no building of tension. Honestly, I don’t recall one good kissing/steamy scene before Padraig and Deva… mate. It’s like romance is put on the back burner until, BAM, they have sex and then it’s back to the back burner for the most part. Like, woah. As far as their marriage, we discover their getting married about three days before they do. No prior warning. Deva’s best friend/older brother figure, Steve, mentions it once to Padraig before Deva and Padraig announce to everyone they’re getting married. Totally hit me over the head. There was never any mention of it, neither Deva nor Padraig entertained thoughts of marriage. It was all this war, war, war stuff and then BAM marriage. Kinda like the sex. Here’s the basic romantic plot line: War war war SEX war war war MARRIAGE war war… end.

Favorite quotes:

This siren would be a nightmare to train, much less protect. Protect? He was the one who needed protection. (Padraig)

The Fomorii were once considered sea gods.” Padraig nodded. “During the Great War against the Dark Lord, we D’ Danaan sealed them beneath the deepest part of the sea.”

“Must not have done a very good job.” Deva stared at him. “They got loose.”

“To the WAR room.” Moira giggled. “It stands for ‘Wedding Apparel Readiness.’ I thought of that.”

“Sexy”ness rating: No tension. Sex included.

Overall Rating: F

Bottom Line: This book had so much potential, but it’s really not worth your time. With so many great Fantasy books out there, this one simply isn’t worth it. From a really rocky beginning, the book plummeted.

Pages: 335

Published: March 20, 2011

Genre: Fantasy