Tuesday 19 January 2016

Review: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead (Georgina Kincaid, #1)

This Book is intended for Adults only. 

Title: Succubus Blues
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Georgina Kincaid, Book 1
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: Feb 27th 2007
Source: Christmas Present
Format: Paperback (Mass Market version)
Description: When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny. . .

My Rating:  5*s
My Review: I am a sucker (pun not intended) for paranormal/urban fantasy. While it is a category I only discovered in recent year I just can't seem to get enough of it. I love almost every PNF/UF book I have read so far, and this one had an extra thing to make me love it. Richelle Mead.
I have devoured both the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series and I just needed more. I didn't regret it.

Georgina Kincaid is a pretty down to earth character, considering she's a succubus and all. She leads a fairly normal life, she works, she reads, she dances. There isn't much about her that screams creature of seduction. Except for when she shape shifts, which, yeah, I'm totally jealous of. I like how at times she seems to struggle with her immortality, at least that's how it felt to me. She's very cautious about things because of that I think. Georgina is a good character, and I love her friends too.

The writing style was very easy to get along with and if I didn't spend so much time online I would have read this book in one sitting. It's also not a book too heavily steeped in emotional stuff (which is something I needed in a book this week.)

I will say that I had no trouble figuring out who the bad "guy" was going to be. I worked it out a fair few chapter before Georgina did, but I didn't mind that. Plus, I still questioned it.

Overall a good and easy read, quick without distraction. Something I would recommend, but not gush about. I would recommend Richelle's other books first, but still one to be added to my 5 star shelf.

(As a side note this book can be found pretty cheap online secondhand too. I picked up the second book in the series from AbeBooks for £2.80...)

Wednesday 6 January 2016

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

A/N: Sorry I've been so MIA. The last few months of the year are always busy for me and last year...I went through a MAJOR reading slump, but I'm (hopefully) back and (hopefully) better than ever!

Title: The Diviners
Author; Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners (#1) (Currently an incomplete series)
Source: Christmas Present
Format: Hardback
Description: Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

My Rating: 5*s
My Review: In my opinion Libba Bray is a great world builder. I was there, in the 1920's with Evie and Memphis, and Theta. When they were scared, I was scared. When they laughed, I laughed.

I was introduced to the works of Libba Bray through random booktube hopping. Everybody was raving for Beauty Queens, so I took the dive, and I too fell in love. I knew from then I had to see what else she could offer me, and thus far she has not disappointed.

The Diviners shows me a different side of Libba Bray, one with monsters and several intricate lives woven into one story. With plotlines that keep you guessing and wanting more. I can't wait to get the next book in the series, I have so many unanswered question. And (kind of a spoiler here, but nothing to do with the storyline itself) it didn't even end in a cliffhanger, which is what usually keeps me coming back to a series.

If I was disappointed with anything...it would have the be the ending... It felt so anticlimactic. I mean, I know there are more books in the series, but the ending was just a little dull for me. It could have probably done without the last chapter, but then that's just my opinion.

This one is a definite recommendation.