Lenni Reviews: "Bones and Bourbon" by Dorian Graves

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Retz is tasked with bringing some escaped exhibits for Lady Delight, a lamia who runs a menagerie of captured supernatural creatures. Lady Delight is a former acquaintance of Nalem, an entity who shares Retz's body and mind so he agrees to the mission not knowing his Retz's brother, Jarrod, has been hired by the escaped funaribi to protect them from Lady Delight. Retz and Jarrod have been estranged for 10 years and their reunion occurs under the pall of their conflicting missions as well as a horde of homicidal unicorns.

With all the stuff going on, this book is difficult to pin down. I get some Supernatural vibes (I haven't watched more than a couple episodes of that but even I could see the similarities) but it is a superficial connection that didn't take away from the story as a whole.

The characters are lively, well written, and have some great chemistry; particularly Retz and Nalem. The dynamics of having to share a body with some ageless entity of dubious morals is conveyed very well. Jarrod and his boyfriend Ferris have a great relationship and Jarrod is a great character who happens to be transgender instead of being transgender being the entire focus of this existence; as it should be. And with a relentless army of killer unicorns in the mix, this is a cool dark urban fantasy. I really enjoyed it. 3.9 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Fire" (The Ninth Circle #1) by C.A. Harland

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the adventures of Tala and Aiva Morgenstern as they search for their missing sister, Hartley, in a world filled with magic and demons.

The way this flows is just like episodes of a TV show; absolutely riffing off Buffy, Angel, or Supernatural. If you like those shows and want some fastpaced urban fantasy, this isn't half bad. I don't wanna give away too much since there's a lot going on. Sometimes the writing felt forced; trying too hard to be badass but overall, it's a fun read. A bit gory but hey, there's demon killing happening so that's to be expected. 3.4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Witch Creek" by Laura Bickle

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*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

Petra's husband, Gabriel, has gone missing and despite her body being currently ravaged by chemotherapy and cancer, she devotes her remaining days to finding him by any means necessary, even going so far as to adventure into the underworld.

There is a lot going on in this book. Aside for Petra, there's a coverup about Gabriel's disappearance, wolf clans, a mermaid seeking revenge for her imprisonment, a long lost son, a whole bunch of stuff. But it is cool stuff. We have a diverse cast of characters who meet up by chance, fun action, and interesting magic. I had a good time reading this but it didn't leave much of an impact after it was done. 3.8 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Queen of Dark Things" by C. Robert Cargill

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If you recall my review of the first book, I kinda fangirled all over the place. I'll try to control myself this time.

That being said? Holy CRAP, I love this book! I haven't fallen this deep in love with a morally ambiguous character of unknown potential since Cal Leandros! Queen of Dark Things has everything I love about dark urban fantasy; sorcerers, spirits, demons, magic, and STRATEGY! The character having a stratagem that, while not bringing a Lord of the Rings-esque conquering of evil, shows cunning and forethought by both the character and the author.

This book picks up where the first book left off, with Colby Stevens still dealing with the loss of his friend, Ewan. He's a drunken mess, bouncing from drink to drink til his fame comes around to kick him square in the ass. An old friend from the past shows up with world ending trouble in tow leaving Colby no choice but to face down his mistakes and deal with creatures of such darkness, they're even scared of one another.

Colby is shaping up to be one heck of a character. His growth (or lack there of) from the first to the second book is believable and holds frightening implications within the world of this series. As with the first book, the narrative is broken up with excerpts from Dr. Thaddeus Ray and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum which kept me leaping from chapter to chapter wondering how the heck Colby was going to deal with the entities being described.

While the whole book feels more rushed than the first outing, Dark Things is a completely satisfying continuation. I look forward to seeing Colby reach even further heights. My only complaint is having to wait for the next one.

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