2 Bloggers 1 Series - Hidden Legacy Series

 

So Stormi twisted my arm (well, it didn't take much twisting) and convinced me to start another new series.  I LOVED the Kate Daniels series and was excited to give something else a try by this author combo.  I'm so glad I did and we've already added the next book to our February TBR.  So read on to see my thoughts and then  hop over to Stormi's at  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see what she thought as well.

TITLE: Burn For Me (Hidden Legacy #1)

AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews

PUBLISHER: Avon

PUBLISHING DATE: October , 2014

PAGES: 408

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn't sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she's kidnapped by Connor "Mad" Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan's after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she's getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world. 

MY THOUGHTS:  So this book opens up introducing us the the current world system and a few of the players.  The world now consists of "houses" who have various controls over different magical systems and who are the main power players in the world.  The higher your magic and abilities, the more power you hold in society.  Nevada and her family operate an investigative agency and stay afloat looking into small-time things - cheating husbands, locating people, that sort of things.  Once day she is contacted by the people who came into control of her family business and basically given an ultimatum to find Pierce, a rich spoiled adult child with his own agenda who doesn't care who he hurts or what he takes out in the process.  She knows accepted the job is basically a death decision but she has no choice.  Along they way she meets Rogan.  And let's just say, anyone who has read the Kate Daniels series and fell in love with Curren, Rogan is similar in demeanor and personality.

I devoured this book.  I love Nevada and her family.  She is headstrong and independent but everything she does, she does for her family.  She and Rogan don't exactly start out on the right foot and I have a feeling she will never let him forget it.  The dynamics between them is so much fun and so tense with frustration that I can't wait to see what happens in book two.  This book also contains plenty of action and snarky banter - two of my favorite things.  In addition, the ending wasn't necessarily a cliffhanger, but does open things up for future installments and makes me glad there are five other books in this series already written.

I you love this author duo, then you really need to give this book a try.  I will admit I consider the cover pretty cheesy and it might have turned me off from picking it up in the past but it's very misleading of what you will find in the pages in between.

RATING: 5 PAWS

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Veronica Speedwell

 

So Stormi and I are at it again with one of our favorite series. This one has pretty steadily released a new book each year and it's one we always make a point of reading together.  I know Stormi and I looked forward to this one so much so read on to see my thoughts and then  hop over to Stormi's at  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see what she thought as well.

TITLE: An Impossible Imposter (Veronica Speedwell #7)

AUTHOR: Deanna Raybourn

PUBLISHER: Berkley Books

PUBLISHING DATE: February 15, 2022

PAGES: 336

SOURCE: D-ARC

FROM GOODREADS: London, 1889. Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau Stoker are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother, Jonathan, heir to Hathaway Hall, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before.

But now a man matching Jonathan's description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership over the family's most valuable possessions--a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels? It's a delicate situation, and Veronica is Sir Hugo's only hope.

Veronica and Stoker agree to go to Hathaway Hall to covertly investigate the mysterious amnesiac. Veronica is soon shocked to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past. To help Sir Hugo discover the truth, she must open doors to her own history that she long believed to be shut for good.

MY THOUGHTS:  This is the 7th book in the series so let's be honest, it's hard to review without giving a lot away.  So I'm really not going to go into much plot detail.  However, let's just say this book frustrated the hell out of me.  

I have been in love with these characters since day one and come on, Stoker is the closest I'd ever come to saying I had a "book boyfriend" because that concept always makes me shake my head.  But in the book, I really wanted to shake Stoker.  This book is filled with technical and scientific stuff around eery turn and my use of the work stuff should tell you I quickly grew tired of it.  If I had to see Stoker lust after his elusive taxidermied thylacine one more time, I might have screamed!  For reference, THIS is a thylacine, aka a Tasmanian Tiger.

And we also learn more about Veronica's past which made me shake my head.  I know there has to be more character development as time the series progresses and it did add some extra substance to the plot, I just wished it hadn't gone in that direction.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this book to give it 4 stars.  We get to see some of our favorite side characters and get to meet a few more whom I would not be surprised to see pop up again in the future.  And the ending does give us a hint at the direction of the next book which I appreciated.  I also must admit the book probably earned an extra star just because there are some cute dogs in it - surprise surprise.  

I am sure people who love this series will love this book.  I was just a tad disappointed and reading it was a much slower process than the previous installments. Still, a disappointing read with a 4 star rating is still pretty impressive right?

RATING: 4 Paws

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Blindsighted

So Stormi convinced me to give another series a try in 2022 (well, she didn't have to work too hard because I've enjoyed the author in the past).  So this month we started with the first book in the Grant County series and boy was it just what I needed!  Read on to see what I thought about it and then hop over to Stormi's at  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see what she thought as well.

TITLE: Blindsighted (Grant County #1)

AUTHOR: Karin Slaughter

PUBLISHER: William Morrow

PUBLISHING DATE: May 1, 2001

SOURCE: Library

PAGES: 440

FROM GOODREADS: A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it's only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer's twisted work becomes clear.

Sara's ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, leads the investigation—a trail of terror that grows increasingly macabre when another local woman is found crucified a few days later. But he's got more than a sadistic serial killer on his hands, for the county's sole female detective, Lena Adams—the first victim's sister—want to serve her own justice.

But it is Sara who holds the key to finding the killer. A secret from her past could unmask the brilliantly malevolent psychopath .. or mean her death.

MY THOUGHTS:  As I mentioned, I've read a couple of books by Slaughter in the past and really enjoyed them so I had no hesitancy in picking this one up.  I'm actually wanting to focus on some backlist books this year as I dip my toes back into the blogging world and this series seems like a great addition to my lineup.  

Sara Linton does double duty in her small Georgia town.  She's the local pediatrician as well as the county coroner.  One day she is having lunch with her sister in the local diner when she discovers a woman dying in the bathroom stall.  The scene she stumbles upon is graphic and very traumatic and the whole incident brings back memories of Sara's past.  The deaths start piling up and Sara begins working with her ex-husband and police chief, Jeffrey Tolliver.

Having read Slaughter before I know her books can be pretty graphic and contain all kinds of trigger warnings which really doesn't bother me but at least I was prepared.  The book was fast-paced and the mystery suspenseful and intriguing.  I basically read it in 24 hours on a vegetative New Year's Day.  Sara is a very complex and interesting person and I enjoy seeing some of her family dynamics as well as her relationship with her ex.  It's full of tension and annoyance but also love and respect and I'm interesting to see what happens in the future.

I'm so glad I picked this one up and don't know if we have the next one slated for February but I'm definitely hoping so.  If you love thrillers give this one a go and if you've already read it, let me know what you thought and if the rest of the books are as good as this one.

RATING: 5 PAWS