Book Review: Dying By The Hour (Jesse Sullivan #2) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying by the Hour by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book just did not let up!

I'm really enjoying this series; I didn't expect to like it as much as I do, but the writing just has such a good flow to it, you can't not get caught up in the story. There is so much going on in this book and yet it never feels overwhelming. It's paced well with things gradually being revealed, with the relationships between the characters being developed at the same time. I think that these two elements of the story are well balanced. There is the right amount of each, so it never feels like the relationship aspect is taking over from the plot, and equally, there is never too much plot development that the relationships feel forgotten. It all works really seamlessly together, and makes for some very believable characters.

I think that all the characters work well together, and I like their different personalities. I think that the dynamic between Jesse, Ally and Lane is an interesting one, and I am curious to see how the relationships between them develop. I also can't wait to find out more about Jeremiah, especially given what is revealed about him at the end of this book.

This is a fun series, that has plenty of substance as well as style, that I would highly recommend reading.

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Book Review: Dying For A Living (Jesse Sullivan #1) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I downloaded this the other day as a freebie and didn't really know what to expect from it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was actually a really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I was intrigued by the idea of being able to get someone to die for you. I think that the author has put a really unique spin on the raising the dead/zombie/necromancer concept. I liked the story line and plot of this book and the way that it developed. The writing style is great; it flows really well and is engaging. The characters are brilliant, also well written and have substance. They have a good chemistry and individual personalities that play off each other creating a good dialogue. I loved the wit and humour that is weaved in throughout; there are some real laugh out loud moments that just add the right amount of light-hearted-ness and stop things from getting to dark.

I can't wait to see what happens next for these characters. The ending was totally unexpected and provided a great set up for what can be an amazing series. I completely recommend reading this for something supernatural with a sense of humour.

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Book Review: Wings Of Hope and Beyond The Veil (The Veil #0.5 and #1) by Pippa DaCosta

Wings of Hope by Pippa DaCosta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm fairly certain that I got this from an Instafreebie Newsletter. I had never heard of this series before and so didn't really know what to expect. This novella seemed like a good place to start and get a taste for the authors writing style.

Having read this and just finished book #1 in the series, I actually feel that I may have bee better off reading this after book #1. It was definitely a good introduction to the main character Muse, and by the end I was drawn in enough to want to know more about the characters, and the world that this is set in. I think that there could have bee a little more explanation about the Hierarchy and ownership thing works, as it was a little confusing at times since I was reading this with no previous knowledge of this world. This is really just a minor thing.

I like this novella a lot, and found it intriguing enough to want to read more. I would recommend it.

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Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not sure if I got this from Instafreebie or the Author's newsletter.... Point is I got free from somewhere, and feel that it is only fair that I review it in return. So I also have the #0.5 novella Wings of Hope, and by the time I reach the end of that, I found myself wanting to know more about Muse. (So I guess it was a good thing that this was also in my Kindle library!)

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced with a lot of action, that really captured my attention and made it hard to put down. I liked the author's writing style. It was engaging and had a good flow to it, as well as having enough description seamlessly incorporated for you to be able to build up a really clear image in your head, of what is going on and what this world looks like. I also liked the characters. They were well written and believable, with individual personalities, and good chemistry.

I think the only slightly negative thing I have to say about this book is the way that Stefan's employment status seems to yo-yo. It just seemed a little too repetitive with the coming clean, no wait, he lied again. Once or twice would have worked well in the story, so for me there was a little over kill on this element of the book.

But that aside, I really did enjoy this book and would certainly get the next one. I recommend giving this a go.


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Book Review: Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger

Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really I would rate this book more 3.5 to 3.75 stars, but since I can't do partial stars I have rounded up. This was one of those time where I try to mix up what I'm reading. Sometimes it pays off and I find something that I like, and sometimes it doesn't. This was one of the times where it didn't pay off.

Now I wouldn't say that I disliked this book, but I wouldn't go as far to say that I liked it either. I was really intrigued by the books description, and I think I expected to get something different to what I actually got. I thought this book would play out more along the lines of a a crime novel, discovering the facts of the case/finding new facts, that would reveal more of the story as you went along, with the Psychological and supernatural element on top. I personally feel that there was very little progression throughout this book. It was as though I had gotten three quarters of the way through and yet didn't really know anymore about what was going on than I did at the start. In my opinion this book just kept adding to the list of questions without really answering them.

I think that the individual characters were quite well written, with there being subtle changes in the writing to reflect the personality of the different characters. The way that that the author incorporated the character's memories into the main body of writing was interesting, and 9 times out of 10 worked well and wasn't confusing. There were a couple of times were it wasn't immediately obvious that they were remembering something, but could quickly catch up. The overall writing style was good and had a good flow to it, and the characters were believable. There was plenty of description that made it easy to build a clear image in your mind of what the Hollows look like and to get a real feel for this fictional place.

I think that this book had a really interesting concept, but the way it was executed didn't work for me. I personally would have liked a bit more of a progressive plot and maybe even have the relationships between the characters build on a bit more as I feel this was an element that felt a little neglected. I think that this type of story line/plot would have worked better it there was more going on with the characters.

Overall this wasn't a bad book, I just don't think that it was the book for me.


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Book Review: White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2) by Ilona Andrews

White Hot by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I find it so hard to review Ilona Andrews's books and be constructive, because all I really want to do is gush, and tell you that you need to buy it, and read it, for no other reason than her name is on the cover, and it's therefore a given that it is going to be awesome.

This had a fantastic plot that I couldn't put down. I liked that even though it continued the story arc from the last book, it was still new and fresh with Nevada working a new case. I really like that we saw her character develop in this book, and see her powers develop. I also liked that we got to find out more about her family members and what it is that they can do. I'm looking forward to seeing Leon's character develop and for him to come into his powers, (something tells me that will be highly entertaining!). I think that we also got to see a different side to Rogan in this book, as well as find out a bit more about his past. I like how the relationship has developed between Nevada and Rogan, and am interested to see how this will continue to develop in the next book, especially with the revelations and the choices that had to be made at the end of this.

I loved the bit with the ferrets. That was hilarious. As was Leon's commentary of the fight out side.

I can't wait for the next in this series, and am glad that it's on pre-order at Amazon. You have to read this, your life will be incomplete if you don't.

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