Cecy Robson: Unearthed

In the first in a new series, Cecy Robson introduces a whole new take on not only the Grim Reaper but the fight between the dark and the light:

The Fae have been hiding among the humans since their own realm was destroyed by Death. Olivia Finn is just another pixie trying to blend in among humans and hide from the Death Hounds who devoured her family and seem to be actively hunting her. She clings to her talisman that keeps her veiled from the hounds until Death finds her and discovers she’s immune to its grip and Olivia's powers finally emerge. Now the Fae believe that Olivia is their savior and the only one who can teach her to use her powers properly is the King of the Dead but her instincts warn her to stay away. Can Olivia masters enough of her powers to not only save herself but other Fae as well. One thing is certain Death is coming.

This is the first book that I have read by Robson as I believe she tends to publish into the paranormal romance genres which is not something I read often but I found the premise here interesting and I do not think there are not enough Death books out there. This book was a lot better than I expected and had me reading expectantly to the end. Robson was able to weave an interesting origin story for Olivia with her coming into her powers and what she is supposed to do with them, aka kick Death’s butt. This book was also darker than I expected for a paranormal romance novel which I am happy for as anything involving Death I think needs to be on the darker sides of things at times.

Robson creates not only some interesting Fae, with some quirky powers at time (I mean Jane the old Druid with her wand comes up with some very interesting ideas of how to solve problems or antagonize people, it is especially fun when she is trying to piss people off). in this book but also the different forms of Death. There is the King of Deaths (aka Ryker), Death for the Fae, Death for the Human and they each seem to have different forms and powers. Also how Deaths are chosen seems to vary as well and the whole concept of Death and what they do with the souls differs too. Death is such an interesting character that I love reading different incarnations of it and seeing different interpretations of the same being. I hope that Robson is able to keep up the creativity in future books. It was also interesting to see the interaction between what one would see as dark and light and life and death especially how it relates to Olivia and Ryker. 

Alright I know that Robson's wheel house is in the romance genre so it was no surprise to me that when we meet the two main characters you know right away there was going to be something between the two of them. I mean it is even the classic or cliché that they do not like each other for so and so reason ort one is scary or mean ect, you get my point. However, I do appreciate that Robson does a good job of not having them instantly fall in love or bed with each other and has this slow burn that the two go about experiencing. So maybe that will be a disappointment to romance fans but I liked it.


This was a great start to a new series, A fun read, with a interesting premise with Death and it was not too too romance for me, so I personally appreciate that. I look forward to continuing on in the series.

Enjoy!!!

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Angela Marsons: Dead Memories

You will NEED to read this first NINE (Silent Scream, Evil Games, Lost Girls, Play Dead, Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Dying Truth & Fatal Promise) books in this series before reading this book or even review as it will spoil some things. Honestly this is one of the best Detective series out there and if you have not picked it up yet you should.


In this installment of the D. I. Kim Stone series, we get to see some of the most traumatic events in Kim's Life recreated:
D.I. Kim Stone has arrested quite a few people in career and many of them believe that she ruined their lives, prevented them from living the life they want, doing the things they wanted to and for that she needs to pay, not pay but suffer too. Kim's traumatic past is about to be laid out for her but she wants to keep her team at arms length as this is personal, her thinking is the less they know the better. Woody knows the most about Kim's past and he wants to make sure that she is okay, so he has assigned Alison Lowe back to the team for some insight not only into the perpetrator but Kim as well. With each new event and victim, Kim cannot help but blame herself for what is happening, and the pool of suspects seems to be getting larger not smaller. The Killer has an endgame and it is all about Kim and how the killer chooses to end it.


Honestly, I cannot believe that we are already on Book 10 in this series and Marsons is still publishing books that are interesting, different and engrossing. As this is book 10 you can think of the number of people that Kim has put away in this series so far and it was trip down memory lane from all the previous books and some of your "favourite", most cunning and violent criminals are back (no not Alex again, Marsons is too clever to recycle that premise). I guess what I really liked about this book is Marsons' acknowledging that even though these people are charged and have a trial gone to prison they could and most of them will eventually get out of prison and still have hatred to the person who put them away.
We do not get to know more about Kim's past as we as the readers have heard of the Kim's past before and the majority of these event that are presented we have read before, maybe there is a bit more detail but we have been aware of them. Where we see growth in this book is her team fully understanding what Kim has gone through to get where she is now, and I think a growing respect and trust between Kim and her team develops.


I enjoyed that Alison Lowe was back and I hope that she stays part of the team as I think she adds a dynamic that was missing before. Manly, Alison questioning Kim a lot and just bringing a whole new perspective to how they treat their case and narrow down who the suspect is. And yes questioning Kim is a good things, I know Bryant does at times but Kim just pushes him off when he say something that she does not agree with. Additionally, Alison is the individual who has a side case running in this book and it showed more of her personality and what she was willing to go through to make sure the right person is arrested. I know I said it before but I hope that Marsons keeps her around.


In a way I feel like this book closed a chapter in Kim's life and story here, the cat is out of the bag so to speak. Everything that Kim has been hiding protecting is out there and in a way she has lost one of her walls. If this were the last book in this series I would be okay with it as I feel like Kim has grown as much as she can and has shared as much as she can. This book also summarized the successes and failures that Kim and her team have had over the 9 previous books and it was a tribute to the good work that everyone on the team had done. I know there is another book after this one and I will be reading it but I do wonder where Marsons will go from here.


Enjoy!!!

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Stacia Kane: City of Ghosts

You will want to read the first two books, Unholy Ghosts and Unholy Magic, in the series in order to understand the world that Chess lives in as well as Chess as a character.

Stacia Kane is back with the third book in her Downside Ghost series and mangled human corpses are just the beginning of Chess' problems:

Downside is known to be a touch part of the city, but when mangled corpses start to show up, that is something that the Church need to investigate. Chess is signed up to help the Black Squad but in order to do so she has to undergo a binding spell that will kill her if she breaks the terms of the spell. This makes investigating a little bit harder in downside when she cannot tell Bump and Terrible about the information that she needs. Plus Chess has to work with Black Squad Member (Elder's Daughter) Lauren, who is not too friendly with Chess and who thinks having Chess with her is a waste of time. But Chess is determined to do the best job that she can and everything is pointing to the City of Eternity and Chess needs to figure everything out before it is too late.

Sometimes by the third book the author has run out of ideas or is repeating something that has occurred before (think of how many trilogies are out there?). However, this series is amazing, each book is just as good as or better than the one before it. This book is non-stop action and even Chess' drug use takes a back seat to the story that Kane is presenting here. I mean Chess is still pill popping constantly but she does not have a withdrawal scene like she does in the previous book. Honestly, I am so impressed with her ability to hold it together most of the time it is crazy.

We get to see much more of Chess in action with her job than before, with the return of the Black Squad, where Chess tries to play nice but working with people is not really her thing. I don't know if it was the drugs and such that Chess takes but at times I found it hard to follow her thought process of how she gets from point A to point B but she gets there. There was a lot of twists and turns along the way and with the reintroduction to the luminary things go south pretty quick. I was glad that Kane decided to bring the Luminary back as they were an interesting society that was not fully explored in the first book.

And working with Terrible is not going to happen anytime soon as he is not only not talking to her but also ignoring her. It was hard to Chess try to reach out to Terrible and try to explain or say she is sorry and get nothing back, I realized just how invested I am in Chess.

I really enjoy the world that Kane has created and she is not afraid to push the boundaries of the readers imagination. Additionally, she is not afraid to add some darker elements and descriptions into her writing which I really enjoy, I mean why sugar coat things that should not be sugar coated. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Enjoy!!!

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