Shark's Teeth - Quick Book Review

 

Shark's Teeth (Marla Mason #5.5)

by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:

Marla, bored in her forced exile in Hawaii, goes looking for trouble (and finds it).

What did I think of it:

A fun short story.

Marla doesn't handle having free time well, so goes looking for something to do. She gets into trouble of course, and handles it in her usual no nonsense way. 

This story brought me even further back into Marla's world and mindset, and introduced me to her new normal. I'll pick up the next book soon.

Why should you read it:

It's a very enjoyable short story

Broken Mirrors - Book Review

 

Broken Mirrors (Marla Mason #5)

by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:

Sorcerer Marla Mason has never been afraid of a fight, but she's about to face her greatest challenge: herself. Or, at least, an alternate-universe version of herself, a woman who succumbed to the evil power of a cursed artifact and become a monstrous villain. Now this dark doppelganger is loose in Marla's world... and she has an agenda even more terrible than Marla can imagine. 

What did I think of it:

It's been awhile since I read book 4, as from book 5 on out the books are self published, so more expensive in paperback. I didn't want to spend the money on book 5 back then and didn't want to read it online or as an ebook.

I recently came across the first four books when rearranging my bookshelves and decided to pick up the ebook of Broken Mirrors.

And what a cool read.

I soon was engrossed in the adventures of Marla and her sidekick Rondeau and was cheering them on.

Next to seeing the story through the eyes of Marla and Rondeau, you also get the viewpoint of their evil counterparts. It was cool to discover how Marla might have turned out if things had been different.

Lots of things happen, and even though Marla is a smart and stubborn heroine, she can't stop all of the mayhem that's unleashed. I was on the edge of my seat to see where things would lead.

The ending was quite the surprise, and you bet I am eager to read the next book. I even immediately picked up Shark's Teeth, a short story taking place not long after Broken Mirrors and before book 6 in the series.

Why should you read it:

It's a cool Urban Fantasy with lots of mayhem.

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Spell Games - Book Review

Spell Games (Marla Mason #4)
by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:
Brain-eating fungi, wannabe sorcerers, long-lost relations–does even a hard-core witch stand a chance?

Mad sorcerers, psychic vampires, an army of vengeful demons, Marla Mason would rather face them all than a flesh-and-blood ghost from her dysfunctional family past: her con artist brother, Jason. As Felport’s chief sorcerer, Marla would ordinarily consider it her duty to protect her town from such an unscrupulous ne’er-do-well. As his sister, things are a lot…trickier. Now, as Marla attempts to train an apprentice oracle whose magical wires have gotten crossed, Jason is setting up an elaborate sting and drawing her ever-so-corruptible partner Rondeau into the ruse.

Their patsy is a filthy-rich wannabe mage and their bait is something so valuable, so dangerous, so sought after, it probably doesn’t exist. But now word’s gotten out that the Borrichius spores do exist and instead of a sucker Jason and Rondeau have a much bigger–and much deadlier–fish on their line: a reclusive sorcerer whose devotion to the mushroom god and command of vegetal magic could bring a fungal apocalypse to Felport. It’ll be the mother of all bad trips unless Marla can pull off the ultimate magical switcheroo…and somehow live to tell about it.

What did I think of it:
It 's been a while since I read Dead Reign, but I remembered all too well how it ended, so it took me no time at all to get back in Marla's world.

And this book is yet another roller coaster of action. Marla has her hands full with trying to keep her beloved city from danger. A character from a previous book is back to help her, and he was just as cool as I remembered. And there's Rondeau of course, Marla's right hand man.

With each book there are new things added to this world, but in a way that makes you feel they've always been there. They just needed to be encountered. I liked the glimpse into the magic of the other sorcerers in the city, and of the mushroom god who sets eyes on Felport.

It was also good to see that with all her power Marla has her flaws and weaknesses. It makes it easy to root for her and her close friends.

The ending was gut wrenching and heart breaking. I need the next book!

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool UF read.


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Dead Reign - Book Review

Dead Reign (Marla Mason #3)
by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:
Death has come calling, and one woman
has what he wants most of all...

As chief sorcerer of Felport, Marla Mason thought she’d faced every kind of evil the magical world had to offer. But she’s never faced a killer like this. He’s dark, glib, handsome as the devil—and exactly who he says he is. Death—in the flesh. He’s arrived in Felport with a posse composed of a half-insane necromancer and the reanimated corpse of John Wilkes Booth, and he isn’t leaving until he gets what he came for. Only Marla is crazy enough to tell Death to go back to Hell.

With the Founders’ Ball just around the bend, drawing together the brightest, meanest, and most dangerous of Felport’s magical elite, the last thing Marla needs is all-out war with the King of the Underworld, but that’s exactly what she’s got. As the battle lines are drawn, she can count on her hedonistic, body-hopping partner Rondeau...but how many of her old allies will stand by her side when facing the ultimate adversary? To save her city, Marla will have to find a way to cheat Death…literally.

What did I think of it:
This is yet another great addition to a really cool series.

This book starts with Marla and Rondeau having a conversation about zombies while they're spying on a necromancer. So you can bet I was hooked from the start!

Soon Marla and Rondeau are split up by circumstances, but they both know how to get things done, even if they have different ways of doing so. I enjoyed seeing how each of them tried to make the best of the situation they were thrown into.

There are lots of cool and fun events in this book. I love the way Pratt mixes humor with a really suspenseful story.

Although I must say that I'm sure by now that Marla will find a way out of trouble. And some things that happen make me wonder if Marla isn't maybe getting too powerful. On the other hand: if the books keep being as cool as this one, I don't care if Marla is too powerful or not.

And this book does end with a very interesting cliffhanger, so you can be sure I'll read the next book soon.

Why should you read it:
Zombies! Lots of zombies.
Seriously: It's a cool and fun Urban Fantasy read.

Poison Sleep - Book Review

Poison Sleep (Marla Mason #2)
by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:
The bad girl of the magical underworld is back and badder than ever

Someone wants Marla Mason dead. Usually that’s not news. As chief sorcerer of Felport, someone always wants her dead. But this time she’s the target of a renegade assassin who specializes in killing his victims over days, months, or even years. Not to mention a mysterious knife-wielding killer in black who pops up in the most unexpected places. To make matters worse, an inmate has broken out of the Blackwing Institute for criminally insane sorcerers—a troubled psychic who can literally reweave the fabric of reality to match her own traumatic past.

With her wisecracking partner Rondeau reluctantly in tow, Marla teams up with a “love-talker” whose dangerous erotic spells not even she can resist. Together they’re searching the rapidly transforming streets of Felport for a woman who’s become the Typhoid Mary of nightmares, infecting everything—and everyone—she touches with a chaos worse than death itself.

What did I think of it:
Yup, it's official: I'm in love with this series.

Marla is such a deliciously practical, no nonsense character. She has very flexible morals, and doesn't shy away from taking extreme measures, but at the same time she's not above listening to advice. And the supporting characters are really interesting as well, although it's clear that I'll have to be careful in liking supporting characters. Pratt isn't a G.R.R. Martin yet, but doesn't shy away from killing off characters for the good of the story.

The magic system and the world building is really cool as well. I like how many of the sorcerers have their specialization and can do really intriguing stuff with it.

The story is very suspenseful, and even though I expected Marla to save the day, I was nervous about the outcome from time to time. All in all this is a great story, and you bet I'll be picking up book three in this series soon.

Why should you read it:
It's an awesome Urban Fantasy read.

Bone Shop - Book Review

Bone Shop (Marla Mason .1)
by T.A. Pratt

What is it about:
A prequel novel about sorcerer Marla Mason, heroine of a series of novels by T.A. Pratt published by Bantam Spectra from 2007-2009, including Blood Engines, Poison Sleep, Dead Reign, and Spell Games. Bone Shop explores Marla's early days in the city of Felport and her rise to power.

What did I think of it:
I loved Blood Engines, the first book in the Marla Mason series, and I have the next two books in my TBR pile. But when I received this prequel novel I had to read it first, if only so I could stare lovingly at the gorgeous cover from time to time.

And this is a great read.

Some of the things that happened in Bone Shop I knew about, because Marla mentioned them in Blood Engines. Other things were new to me, and gave me a better inside in the woman Marla is.

I loved seeing Marla grow into power. She has a difficult past, but she's resourceful and stubborn. I also liked reading how she and Rondeau met and how they came to work together. If I didn't already love Marla, I would have fallen in love with her in this book.

All in all this is a really cool prequel which could be read on its own, but as it's an 'origins' story it isn't one fluid story, but tends to hop and skip time wise.

I will most certainly pick up book two in the Marla Mason series soon.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool UF read.

Blood Engines - Book Review

Blood Engines (Marla Mason #1)
by T.A. Pratt, Tim Pratt

What is it about:
Meet Marla Mason–smart, saucy, slightly wicked witch of the East Coast...

Sorcerer Marla Mason, small-time guardian of the city of Felport, has a big problem. A rival is preparing a powerful spell that could end Marla’s life–and, even worse, wreck her city. Marla’s only chance of survival is to boost her powers with the Cornerstone, a magical artifact hidden somewhere in San Francisco. But when she arrives there, Marla finds that the quest isn’t going to be quite as cut-and-dried as she expected…and that some of the people she needs to talk to are dead. It seems that San Francisco’s top sorcerers are having troubles of their own–a mysterious assailant has the city’s magical community in a panic, and the local talent is being (gruesomely) picked off one by one.

With her partner-in-crime, Rondeau, Marla is soon racing against time through San Francisco’s alien streets, dodging poisonous frogs, murderous hummingbirds, cannibals, and a nasty vibe from the local witchery, who suspect that Marla herself may be behind the recent murders. And if Marla doesn’t figure out who is killing the city’s finest in time, she’ll be in danger of becoming a magical statistic herself...

What did I think of it:
I enjoyed Tim Pratt's Liar's Island, so I went in search for what other books he had written. I decided to give his Marla Mason series a try. This series is released under the name T.A. Pratt btw, because heaven forbid the readers find out that a guy wrote a book with a female lead character. (This happens a lot! J.K. Rowling, Rob Thurman, Jes Battis, (to name a few) all authors who's name has been obscured a bit so people don't immediately know if they're male or female, and that they write lead characters who are of the opposite sex.)

Anyway:

I very much enjoyed this book. Pratt's writing is very pleasant and I really liked Marla and Rondeau. I especially liked that Marla is not a rookie, but an established sorcerer, who knows her way around a spellbook, so to speak. She's ruthless, with questionable morals at times, and for me she managed to stay on the right side of likeable, she did skirt the line a few times though.

Marla and Rondeau encounter lots of other characters. some were really cool and intriguing, others less so. There's a high body count in this book, but I'm hoping that I'll see more of some of the survivors in the next book in this series.

The story was cool and had me hooked from the start. I did wonder if Marla wasn't thinking much too difficult. In my opinion she could have dealt with the threat much easier and more direct than she was doing. But as her way of doing things led to a action packed story, I didn't grumble too much about that.

All in all this is a great Urban Fantasy read and I'm glad I already have the next book in my TBR pile, because I want more.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool UF read with a ruthless heroine.