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Craven Street by E.J. Stevens
In this spellbinding novella, E.J. Stevens weaves a tale of murder, necromancy, and demonic possession.
Title: Craven Street
Author: E.J. Stevens
Series: The Whitechapel Paranormal Society #.5
Publish Date:
Source: Purchased by reviewer
Publisher’s Description: In this spellbinding novella, E.J. Stevens weaves a tale of murder, necromancy, and demonic possession that brings together characters from her Whitechapel Paranormal Society Victorian horror series and award-winning Ivy Granger Psychic Detective urban fantasy series on the fog-shrouded cobblestones of Craven Street.
The discovery of bricked up skeletal remains at 36 Craven Street point to something more diabolical than an illegal anatomy school. The tool marks on the bones, arcane sigils of great power, indicate more than mere butchery, more than enlightened experimentation. The signs, omens, and portents support the crown’s greatest fears. A great evil is being unleashed upon the gaslit streets of London, a blood-drenched shadow reaching skeletal fingers beyond the slums of Whitechapel.
Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*
Nervous Nellie says…
This story takes place in Victorian London. The “Society” as they affectionately call themselves, are women that investigate the paranormal happenings of the city. They have male counterparts, but those counterparts make light of their contribution to the point of butts of jokes. The concept of this book is awesome, the story itself, was just a teaser.
This book is a novella that introduces the horrifying elements that are terrorizing London. Each woman has a special gift to bring to the table, and while Cora (who can see the dead) and Flan (is a wiz with a knife) are starting their own romance, they have to figure out who is killing all the women they are dragging from the river. Then there is a demon that is involved. It is first and foremost a Demon Lord, but a Demon Lord with a conscience. It doesn’t like how the bad guy is treating the demon “puppies” of the realm, so it helps Cora, Flan, Edith, and Anna find and lock up the human power seeker. But that is just the beginning.
While this book doesn’t have a cliffhanger, it is definitely a lead into the series. There is no sex, but there is a F/F hot kiss. The story isn’t graphic in it’s description of the deceased and lets your mind do the work there. The one thing that detracted from the story (for me) was the use of $500,000 words that I had to look up in the dictionary to find the meaning. However, to be fair, that’s how those that lived in the Victorian era spoke, so it was my fault for not having the knowledge, not the book.
I’m not positive I will keep on with this series, but who knows? The first book releases in October 2022.
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Betrayals by Lili St. Crow
Dru is back, and now that the first battle for her life is over, worse is yet to come.
Title: Betrayals
Author: Lili St. Crow
Series: Strange Angels, Book 2
Publish Date: October 29, 2009
Genre: young adult paranormal
Source: Purchased
Publisher’s Description: She’s no angel…
Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?)
Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England Schola for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem—she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide…
Can Dru survive long enough to find out who has betrayed her trust—and maybe even her heart?
Possible spoilers beyond this point.
Kat Mandu says…
Betrayals takes place mere minutes after the events of Strange Angels. Dru, Graves, and Christophe have been relocated to a boys school for teenage werewolves and vamps. Then Christophe leaves, and Dru is left reeling, feeling out and place and fearful for her life. Graves, however, seems to find his place immediately, becoming an Alpha and respected on campus for being the rare breed of lou garou.
There’s a lot of reflection for Dru as she thinks about hunts with her dad, how he died, and her long-buried genetics that reveal she’s more than human. There’s even a scene I really enjoyed where her svetocha comes out to play. I am certain I’ll see more of that power later when she comes into it.
The descriptions of the action scenes sadly didn’t get any better, bouncing from one to the next without fluidity. I’m still not sure what really happened during the attack at the school, or the boss battle with Sergej at the end…everything just seemed so chaotic. Sometimes I wonder if the author intended for it to be that way, describing everything so awkwardly that you’re just as lost as the character and therefore are unable to predict the outcome. Then I wonder if it’s just me. I’m not sure, but I still don’t really follow the action scenes well.
Overall, a good read. The characters are great, I’m excited to see what happens next, I’m just hoping I’ll get a clearer view for future books. 3 stars.
Our reviews in this series…
- Strange Angels, Book 1
Those Which Remain by Angela V. Cook
WOW. Angela V Cook does it again! If you read Into a Million Pieces, you have GOT to read this book
Title: Those Which Remain
Author: Angela V. Cook
Series: Pieces Duology #2
Publish Date: January 28, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal
Publisher’s Description: In Into a Million Pieces, seventeen-year-old Allison solved her sister’s murder, barely escaping an attempt on her own life. Now, with the past behind her, Allison is finally getting a taste of teenage normalcy—going to school, hanging out with her best friend, and sharing it all with her loving boyfriend, Ren. Life is good.
But it doesn’t stay that way. It never does for a succubus.
When Allison’s nature draws in a predator, shattering her sense of trust and safety, she realizes the succubus curse is behind all the darkness and heartache in her life. Determined to end it, she tracks down a distant relative with knowledge about the curse. But more questions are raised than answered when Allison meets the mysterious and wealthy Leona Doriano. Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of money, power, and deadly secrets, Allison must find a way to break the curse—a curse not everyone wants broken—before she’s drawn in too deep.
Fickle Fiona says…
WOW. Angela V Cook does it again! If you read Into a Million Pieces, you have GOT to read this book. If you haven’t read it, go do that now, then come back for this one…..
If you still have unanswered questions from the first book, you’ll get your answers here! Ms. Cook does such a great job of pulling you in to such a seemingly simple story and then blowing your mind with twists and turns galore. And once again, she does a fantastic job with the sexual nature of the book – not going so far as to make it inappropriate for older teens to read (the vernacular sounds just like them), but keeping true to the succubus legends, as well.
One of the things I enjoyed, given that this is a book in a series, is that there isn’t much recap of the first book. I’m not ever thrilled when I get into the next book in a series just to reread the description of all the characters and the relationships, etc. So, I appreciated that. Anyway, in this book we find out a LOT more background on the curse over Allison and the females in her family. Can the curse be broken? Are there other advantages/disadvantages to the curse? We also find out Allison has more family – like, a lot more family – that she never knew about….on both sides of her family. And more family isn’t always a good thing. The new characters, the ups and downs that Allison experiences…..it’s just like a real teenager’s life! Except we aren’t typically succubi. And as you read, you get sucked in for the ride. I couldn’t put it down.
Our reviews in this series…
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The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Title: The Gilded King
Author: Josie Jaffrey
Series: Book 01 of the Sovereign Series
Publish Date: Expected Publication June25, 2018
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Provided by Author
Publisher’s Description: In the Blue, the world’s last city, all is not well.
Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, a boy who believes in fairytales that Julia’s world can’t accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she’d escape into the trees if she didn’t know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.
But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.
Beyond the city’s boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.
One way or another, the walls of the Blue are coming down. The only question is what side you’ll be on when they do.
Luna Lovebooks says… 
‘Of course. You want to hear the fairytale, don’t you?’
Ms. Jaffrey quickly became one of my favorite authors when I read her Solis Invicti Series. I, of course, jumped at the chance when she asked me if I would be interested in reading the first book in a new series set in the same world, where the events of the Solis Invicti are mere legends and fairy tales. Hey, all fairy tales have a seed of truth right?
Two stories are brilliantly melded into one without shortchanging the other. We read of Julia in the Blue. A world of humans ruled by Nobility in the last city on Earth. Julia is well written in her struggle to keep with the status quo but also her wonder at what really lies beyond the walls of the Blue. This internal battle continues even after she is assigned to be an Attendant for a young Silver named Lucas, who also questions their world.
But we also get to catch up with an old acquaintance, Cam, in the Red – a wasteland filled with death (or so the humans of the Blue believe). Cam searches for Emmy and it is through this search that we learn about the events that happened in between the two series. We also learn that the Red really is a dangerous place as the monsters of the previous series have grown in numbers – but for a horrifying reason.
This tale is told through Julia and Cam’s alternating point of views and when the Red starts to bleed into the Blue and world collide, it is explosive. We get both Cam and Julia’s emotions and insecurities and hopes and maybe even budding romances.
Characters and world are both well written. The only issue I had is that while these are two separate stories, I feel like you really should read the Solis Invicti series before this one. It is not necessary, but I feel like you will get more out of the secondary characters if you have their background and the history behind the fairy tale. Overall I enjoyed this promising new start but I didn’t devour it the way I did the prequel series. I give it 4 silver studs.
Other recommendations…
Solis Invicti Series by Josie Jaffrey, The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Secret Keepers Series by Jaymin Eve
I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.
Black Spark by Al K. Line
Black Spark introduces us to Faz Pound—called “Spark” since he is the Black Spark—an enforcer for the Dark Council, an interspecies group that ensures practitioners and magic beings follow the rules, particularly the one about not letting the Regulars know that magic exists. Faz has just broken that rule, killing a Regular in public. Bystanders filmed it, and YouTubers are eating it up. But Faz wasn’t exactly himself when he murdered the Regular with magic. Now he has twenty-four hours to erase the incident from the collective memory and figure out why he made such a horrible, horrible mistake.
Title: Black Spark
Author: Al K. Line
Series: Dark Magic Enforcer, Book 01
Publish Date: February 7, 2017 by Tantor Media
Genre: Urban fantasy
Narrator: Gildart Jackson
Source: Purchased
Publisher’s Description: I watched in horror as dark magic sprang from my hand faster than an imp after your socks. I didn’t know my name, let alone that I had such power. The man was dead. I panicked. I ran.
How was I to know I was a dark magic enforcer, tasked with keeping magic hidden from the world? Yeah, total noob move, I know.
But my memory is returning, and the Hidden have given me twenty-four hours to make amends. Cover it up. Finish the job I was given, or else. Failure isn’t an option. Well, it is, but I like me, and I like being alive.
Time is running out as I battle to make things right and exact revenge on those that took so much from me. Easier said than done as I deal with angry mages, bitey zombies, oversexed imps, creepy necromancers, and grumpy trolls—and those are just my friends!—all while trying to stop myself falling in love with my best friend, Kate, who just so happens to be a hot vampire.
I’m Faz Pound, a.k.a. Black Spark, Dark Magic Enforcer, and time is running out.
At least I have my looks. For now.
Possible spoilers beyond this point.
Invested Ivana says…
“The rain had stopped, making the new paving gleam like a polished crystal ball as the sun made a risky move. It dared to shine for a few brief moments, before a concerted attack by the Welsh cloud gang took back their territory. The victorious clouds celebrated with a downpour so sudden and fierce the street emptied in seconds.”
Black Spark delivers a fun urban fantasy adventure, interesting world-building that turns some of the normal tropes on their heads, a thoughtful system of magic, and some fun and lovable characters. Kate, Grandma, and the imp Intus, are probably my favorites. There are some jewels of writing, such as the “Welsh cloud gang” quote above, that really tickled my fancy. And I love that Gildart Jackson is the narrator. Jackson is also the narrator of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka, of which I am very fond. He does an excellent job.
The book is written as if Faz is talking directly to the reader. So the fourth wall gets broken a lot; the narrative switches between past and present tense, depending on whether Faz is describing something that Is (in his imaginary present state) or Was part of the story he’s telling; and the character’s voice is much closer to the informal way someone would talk rather than the more formal way someone would write. These appear to be deliberate choices by the author that make the book feel very chatty and fun, appropriate for an urban fantasy.
However, there are some less-polished aspects of the writing that I noticed, being a fiction editor myself. It often feels as if Faz is rambling. His sentences can get very long and go off in a multitude of directions. At times, the narrative tense changes from past to present when it probably shouldn’t. There are also parts of the narrative that feel a bit repetitive. None of these things really impacted my enjoyment of the story; I just happened to notice them.
I do have to say, though, that I’m very glad I chose to listen to the audio version. I happened to open the Kindle version, thinking I could get some reading done at a time when I couldn’t listen to the audio. Attempting to actually read the book was a very different experience because of a noticeable lack of editing or proofreading. I’m sure I’m more sensitive to issues of grammar and punctuation because of my job as a line editor, so not all readers may be as affected as I was by this lack. But I’m not sure I could have finished the book had I tried to read it. I have to give Gildart Jackson triple kudos for translating that raw text into a great performance.
That being said, I am not reviewing the text version of this book, but the audio. I give the audiobook four stars. I liked the characters and world-building, and I enjoyed the story. I’m sure I will pick up more audios in the series and check out Line’s other series as well. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that, since Black Spark was published in 2016, Line has discovered the benefits of a good editor.
Other recommendations…
Gildart Jackson also narrates the Alex Verus series, which I adore. You might also check out James Hunter’s Yancy Lazarus series and anything by J.A. Cipriano.
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