The Darkest Fire (Lords of the Underworld Prequel)

Available at Amazon.com

The Darkest Fire
Gena Showalter
Lords of the Underworld, prequel
ebook, 66 pages
Published 2008 by HQN Books
ISBN 9781426817540

He is the guardian of hell, more monster than man. She is the goddess of oppression, more angel than woman. Together they will enter the flames to battle a dangerous horde of demon lords -- and discover a passion unlike any other....

Don't miss this sizzling prequel to Gena Showalter's breathtaking new paranormal series, The Lords of the Underworld! Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful..

How better to celebrate today's release of The Darkest Touch, book eleven of the Lords of the Underworld, than to start at the beginning. Because, until now, I've somehow managed to steer clear of the Gena Showalter bandwagon.

While this prequel doesn't necessarily set the stage for the world, the story of Kadence, the goddess of Oppression, and Geryon is one not to be missed if you're a fan of the series.

Geryon was once a typical, mortal man who chose to sell his soul in order to save the life of his sick wife. A wife that came to him in an arranged marriage and ultimately left him once she was cured. After, Geryon was transformed into a half man/half beast and was charged with guarding the gates of hell so that no demon could escape.

He's done so, faithfully, for centuries. Having lost care for himself long ago, Geryon is left confused by Kadence's kindness toward him but nonetheless agrees to aid her as she hunts the few demons that are so close to breaking through.

For Kadence is bonded to the wall in a way that means her death should it be destroyed. She feels every blow it takes. Every tear at its structure. As Geryon learns of her purchase of his soul, and therefore freeing him from his prison, he offers himself to take the place of the wall. To form with her a new bond.

This story takes a path that you will not expect. One that leads to an ending you will never have imagined on your own. I don't know what it was Ms Showalter's muse was smoking the day this story came to light, but it must have been something good.

3 out of 5 stars.

Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3)

Real or not real?

Available at Amazon.com

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
Hunger Games, book three
ebook, 390 pages
Published August 24th 2010 by Scholastic Press
ISBN 9780439023511

My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

So I watched the first two movies. Might as well read the third book, right?

Although, to be honest, I had a lot of problems with the first movie. Lesson learned: Read the book. Movies are trash. Too many questions arise from watching movies, watching actors on a screen. That problem doesn't exist when reading books. You know what the characters are doing, what they're thinking. Because you're in their heads.

Things I learned while reading this book... that escaped me while watching the movies:

1. Peeta was an artist.

I so missed that memo! Although, yes, when I rewatched Catching Fire to prepare myself for this book, I did notice the artwork Peeta did of Rue when he had to perform for the Capitol folk. First time around, that went right over my head. Did not realize he actually drew that.

2. How Peeta and Katniss met.

When I watched the scene in the first move where Peeta was throwing burnt bread into the pig pen... Well, for one, that was not how that was recounted here. Secondly, while I realized Katniss was very much going to take that bread, it wasn't entirely clear that Peeta was doing it on purpose. Again, books clear up so much confusion.

3. Peeta and Katniss had never spoken, until the Hunger Games.

Suspected it, but the book cemented it.

4. Gale isn't really competition for Peeta.

In the movie, Katniss comes across as being very manipulative. In truth, the girl's just lost. Ok, and yes, manipulative.

As far as Mockingjay is concerned... I liked the path that was taken with Peeta. Drugged and "hijacked" by the Capitol, Peeta is forced to see Katniss without the blinders of love and nearly takes her life more than once. Strangely enough, he and Katniss do end up together. By default, that is. Everyone else either abandoned her, died, or was Haymitch.

I was okay with this book for the most part. Until the epilogue. That first paragraph just went and pissed me off and ruined everything.

It took five, ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly.

What a bitch.

Act of Defiance

Victors write the history books.

And in their eyes, even Saints can look like Devils.

Available at Amazon.com

Act of Defiance
Adrianne Brooks
ebook, 158 pages
Published June 3rd 2014
Free Read at Amazon.com

Defiance Gray has never had to worry about the Apocalypse. Mainly because it came and went years before she was born. Under the puritan rule of the Church everyone has their place and those unwilling to conform find out all too quickly just how swift punishment can be.

But nothing, not even Priests, frightens Defiance more than the thought of being caught outside after dark. Because when night falls and the bells start to ring, the stone Gargoyles scattered throughout the city come to life and begin their hunt for human souls.

When she starts seeing the Marks, symbols predicting the death of all who wear them, Defiance realizes that the Gargoyles aren’t the only things she has to fear. Which proves to be especially true after she meets Uriel, a winged demon classifying himself as an ‘archangel’.

Defiance Gray has never had to worry about the Apocalypse.
Demons lost the Great War.
The battle was over.

She’d known these things her whole life…but what if she’d been wrong?

I am the devil. But I'm not the only one.

From the very first page, and I'm referencing the Prologue here, I was hooked.

In a post-apocalyptic world where Satan is Lord God and the Four Horsemen are Saints, where women are either nuns or breeders, and the night is haunted by gargoyles seeking those to punish... Defiance Grey lives without a clue as to what the world once was, and what it has become.

A week shy of her eighteenth birthday, Defiance begins to have visions of death depicted through marks upon the heads of its victims just as the Church, the only source of protection, names a new head priest in Father Judas. As his reign begins with the deaths of innocents, including the blacksmith who was her long time friend and mentor, Defiance finds herself volunteering to survive outside the walls after being warned by the ghost of her friend/enemy whom they claim killed herself during the night.

Outside, among the tombstones, Defiance awakens an archangel, long imprisoned as a statue of marble. To her, in this world, he is a demon. One who suffers blindness because of all the iniquity and corruption in the world. His name is Uriel. And he becomes her Savior.

His quest is simple-to kill the Four Horsemen.

Her refusal is firm. To her, they are the long dead Saints of her people. So she seeks out to prove their demise to Uriel so that he may return to... wherever he was while being held captive by stone.

Little does Defiance know that three of the Four Horsemen are living and well, possessing Father Judas and two of the nuns that head her former church. The fourth seeks a new host. And Defiance has become their target.

There's something about demons that allow me to be pulled into this trending world of YA literature. I need a good villain. I need a freaking unbelievable world. Because, frankly, the characters just don't have it in them to hold my interest.

While there's not much accomplished in this first book of the series, the stage is well set. And Defiance is beginning to wonder what exactly it is she's believing in.

3 out of 5 stars.

Captured (Warriors of Hir #1)

Available at Amazon.com

Captured
Willow Danes
Warriors of Hir, book one
ebook, 218 pages
Published August 5th 2014 by Here Be Dragons
ISBN 9780692271810
Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Jenna McNally is tending to the heartrending task of clearing out her grandfather’s cabin when she’s knocked off her feet by the impact of a nearby plane crash. She races into the snowy North Carolina woods to help and discovers that this is no plane that’s crashed.

Ra’kur’s people have been brought to the brink of extinction by war. After years spent searching for a compatible mate to bond with, an enemy attack lands him on a backward, primitive planet and right to the very female he has been seeking. And a Hir warrior’s first task in claiming a mate is to capture her.

Well, I've done it. I've officially read more books this year than I did in 2012 and 2013 combined. 73. How freaking sad is that?

Jenna is busy packing up her late grandfather's possessions when a sudden blast knocks her off her feet. Suspecting a plane crash, she grabs up her phone, dials 911, and proceeds to investigate. What she finds, however, is an alien being with a mighty roar.

Passing out, Jenna is left in Ra'kur's care as he brings her back to her cabin and proceeds to chain her to her bed. When she wakes, it's like being confronted by an animal. No communication. Just a lot of grunting, sniffing, and growling as he stalks her around the room after freeing her from the confinement of her cuffs.

Jenna's reaction was right in the middle of "WTF. Aliens exist?!" and "Take me, baby. Take me now!" And I'm honestly not sure how I felt about it.

Once Jenna is able to receive the language translation implant from Ra'kur's ship, she is able to learn more of him and his past. A past which includes a six year hunt for a mate after a deadly virus nearly decimated his race, killing off all but a few of their females. Although Jenna takes great pains to keep Ra'kur hidden, he is ultimately discovered by the local sheriff, a late friend of her grandfather's. He pulls his gun. Jenna takes the bullet.

All of which forces Ra'kur's hand to take her from Earth and back to Hir where she survives, only to be exposed to the deadly virus herself. Once she survives that battle, and discovers she's pregnant, Jenna becomes a symbol of hope to the rest of Ra'kur's people, those of which that aren't Purists that is, and Earth becomes the target for a mate hunting ground. Some rules do apply. ;)

The story does set a great foundation for the series and opens up an honest curiosity to see how other's stories will play out. All in all, it's a freebie worthy of your time.

3 out of 5 stars.