Right Hand Magic - Book Review

Right Hand Magic (Golgotham #1) by Nancy A. Collins

What is it about:
Like most Manhattanites, aspiring artist Tate can't resist a good rental deal-even if it's in the city's strangest neighborhood, Golgotham, where for centuries werewolves, centaurs, and countless other creatures have roamed the streets.
Her new landlord is a sorcerer name Hexe, who is determined to build his reputation without using dark, left-hand magic. As Tate is drawn into Hexe's fascinating world, they both find that the right hand does not always know what the left hand is doing-and avoiding darkness is no easy trick...

What did I think of it:
Being a lefty myself I've grumbled a bit over the concept of left handed magic being dark, evil magic, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. The writing is easy going and bubbly at times and took me some getting used to, but it worked for this story. I really liked the world building and setting which is very imaginative and the characters were fun and quirky. The story itself could have used a bit more bite in my opinion though. It all felt a bit too easy (which in part might have been caused by the writing style) and I didn't even fret for one moment about the outcome of this book. All in all I might consider reading more by Collins in the future.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun, fluffy Urban Fantasy.

Zoo City - Book Review

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

What is it about:
Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.

Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.

Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own.

What did I think of it:
This looked like it would be a great read at first. Intriguing, original setting, feisty, but likeable heroine, well written (even while it's written in present tense), but in the end this story fell flat for me.

I'm willing to go a long way in taking things at face value when it comes to paranormal/supernatural occurences, but Beukes managed to stretch things a bit too far for my tastes. When something supernatural happens to such a select and well defined group of people as in Zoo City I'm not going to take 'it just happened' as an answer, I want an explanation besides all the wild speculations from the characters to keep believing in the story. And while I already was impatient for not having things explained, the story hit me with occurences that were just too out of there to make sense to me. So in the end this book left me with a feeling of bewilderment and disappointment.

Why should you read it:
It's well written and has a very original setting.

Teaser Tuesdays - Zoo City

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

As the car pulls away into the night, D'Nice separates from the group across the road and saunters over, swinging an empty lengolongola. His Vervet Monkey hugs his neck for balance.
(page 167, Zoo City by Lauren Beukes)

The Red Gate - Book Review

The Red Gate (The O'Deirg Family Saga #1) by Richard Sutton

What is it about:
An unexplained drowning...
A muddy fall...

... for a small, tradional Irish family, a chain of unexpected events leads them to uncover ancient secrets about theirselves and their place in the greater world. As the greed and ambition of an unfolding plan begins to threaten their very lives, what will become of their home and it's hidden legacy? What will become of their sheep?

The saga of the Red Gate begins...

What did I think of it:

A beautifully written historical fantasy set in the early years of the 20th century.

I think I love the writing in this book even more than the story. It's lyrical and descriptive and that alone made this book a joy to read. That being said: I also loved the story. It's intriguing and suspenseful with very likeable as well as despicable characters. The viewpoint switches from time to time to give you an overall picture of events and I felt myself fuming when seeing things from the viewpoint of one of the characters I didn't like. All in all Sutton managed to get me totally engrossed in the life of the O'Deirg family (especially Finn, my favourite character) and although the book luckily doesn't have a cliffhanger ending, I'm curious what's next for the O'Deirg family and their sheep.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautifully written, intriguing family saga

Dragon Bound - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Dragon Bound (Elder Races #1) by Thea Harrison

What is it about:
Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful - and passionate - of the Elder races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they've ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave - although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul ...

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
A more than enjoyable Paranormal Romance. The world building is interesting, the story enticing, the men hot, the romance even hotter. Harrison manages to create a more than decent action storyline entwining with the romance storyline that kept me just as engrossed as the romance. I loved Dragos to bits and really like how Harrison manages to make his personally slightly alien, so that him being a dragon doesn't only show in his ability to shapeshift into a dragon, but also in how he acts. The one thing that I could say against this book is that I had some trouble with Pia's voice at first. It took me a couple of chapters before I felt comfortable with her, but from there on I was hooked and couldn't put the book down before finishing it.

Why should you read it:
It's an awesome story with a smoking hot dragon

Black Swan Rising - Book Review

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

What is it about:
With her fair share of problems - money (lack of), an elderly father, a struggling business - Garet should be just like any other young, single New Yorker. If only it was that simple...

It began with the old silver box that had been soldered shut. All Garet had to do was open it. A favour for the frail owner of the antiques shop. Who wouldn't help?

Only then things start to change. Garet doesn't notice at first, the shifts are barely perceptible. But the city is beginning to reveal a darker, long-hidden side. Figures, shadows, flit in and out of her vision. She finds herself drawn to the mysterious Will Hughes. He's a stranger and yet Garet feels she has known him for an eternity.

And whatever escaped from the box has no intention of going back in...

What did I think of it:
I'll be honest and confess I picked this book up because of the beautiful cover, but I'm very glad I did as this is a great read. Lee Carroll (a writing duo btw) creates a beautiful and intriguing story, set in a magical New York. The book is filled with a colourful cast of characters, picked from several different mythologies, stories and legends, but they all fit together perfectly. The story is intense and even with the use of elements from other stories it has a unique voice of its own. It's very well written, although the writing did give the story the feel as if it was meant to be a Young Adult read even though Garet is 26. All in all a more than enjoyable read and after finishing this book I immediately put the second book in this series (The Watchtower) on my wishlist.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful fairytale set in New York.

Dragons Galore

I'm not having the best of weeks at the moment and a trip I was to take this Friday even got cancelled, but today there was one fun thing:

I got mail!

It was a signed copy of Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison that I won in a giveaway Thea had last week.

But it gets even better:

No you're not seeing double!
Our good friend Katie knew we wanted to read this book and she send us Dragon Bound as well! Now I have a signed copy I can treasure while Voodoo Bride has her own copy to drool over.

Thanks Thea and Katie!