Reviews | Wicked Lil Pixie Reviews

Spaz Reviews: Black Night – Christina Henry

February 4, 2012 in Reviews

Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
List Price: $7.99
Publisher: Ace; Original edition (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937007065
ISBN-13: 978-1937007065
Christina Henry’s website

Purchase Black Night (Madeline Black #2) at:

Madeline Black is an Agent of death, meaning she escorts the souls of people who have died to the afterlife. Of course, not everyone is happy to see her…

If obstinate dead people were all that Maddy had to worry about, life would be much easier. But the best-laid plans of Agents and fallen angels often go awry. Deaths are occurring contrary to the natural order, Maddy’s being stalked by foes inside and outside of her family, and her two loves-her bodyguard, Gabriel, and her doughnut-loving gargoyle, Beezle-have disappeared. But because Maddy is Lucifer’s granddaughter, things are expected of her, things like delicate diplomatic missions to other realms.

Half-angel Madeline Black has recently discovered she is the daughter of a fallen angel Azazel who is the right-hand man to Lucifer. Turns out, she’s also a descendent of Lucifer from her mother’s side. When she is not Azazel’s daughter and her gargoyle Beezle’s doughnut enabler, she is an Agent of Death. She picks up souls and brings them to the Door, and the soul chooses whether to pass on or to stay and haunt the earth. We pick up with Madeline about a month after the events from the first book, Black Wings. I was eager to start this book because I enjoyed the first book overall. But as soon as Black Night started, I grew concerned with the direction the book was taking and then I just grew frustrated.

First of all, there is a love triangle. Actually, it’s more of a love square. There’s the guy she’s in love with, Gabriel. Since Gabriel is half-nephilim, it is against Lucifer’s law for them to ever “be together”. They are trying to hide their affections but their obvious mooning over each other ensures every other being around them knows what’s going on by just watching them together. To further add tension to the scenario, he is to be her assigned bodyguard. Their love for each other is held over their heads as a way to get them to do Lucifer’s bidding, or else Gabriel will be executed.

The other guy who is courting her, J.B. used to be her boss as an Agent, and now we discover that his mother is the Queen of the Faerie court. Of course she is. Madeline mentions how aesthetically pleasing he is from the start of the first book, so the fact that he is attracted to her right back is no shock. He asks her out on a date, which she declines, but he still enjoys making Gabriel jealous, knowing Gabriel cannot act on his affections. Well, at least until Gabriel goes missing. But then J.B. moves on with a fearie named Violet, and Maddy experiences twinges of what most-definitely-are-not-feelings-of-jealousy. Are they? /headdesk.

Enter yet another romance contender, fallen angel Nathaniel who is a total assclown. She has been promised to him by her father Azazel, and they are to begin courting immediately and be married in a year. But wait! Turns out Nathaniel might not be such a jerky jerk after all, as she gets to spend time with him in the Faerie land and court because -of COURSE- he is accompanying her there. But then! Nathaniel does something that makes him douchecanoe extraordinaire and I just about threw my e-reader. And then they kinda sorta find Gabriel, but what is being planned for him is really just… ugh. I’m emotionally exhausted just recapping all of this. And the truth is, it all felt so forced.

I wanted to like this book. I get the humor and love the all the gore, but there are parts that just leave me feeling meh. And sadly for me, the world building I enjoyed in the first book greatly lacked in this one. The flashbacks we got of Evangeline in the first book Black Wings were missing, and that was one of my favorite elements of the series initially. I understand that character met her end, but I enjoyed getting more origin stories of Lucifer and his children. The world building of the fallen angels was lacking and the introduction of werewolves and faeries were just … boring. And the love square I mentioned above? From a romance perspective, it totally failed. I am still going to read the third book in the series, Black Howl, and am praying it’s not such a hot mess.

Tags: Black Night, Christina Henry, Madeline Black
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CdnMrs Reviews: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead by Christiana Miller

February 3, 2012 in Reviews

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 532 KB
Print Length: 332 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1461168236
Publisher: HekaRose Publishing; 1 edition (April 23, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004XTS58I

Buy at:

Amazon

A little magic can go a long way — to really screwing up a girl’s life!

Mara is having the worst month of her life. At least, that’s what her cards tell her and they’ve never been wrong. She’s evicted from her apartment, loses her job and is banned from Beverly Hills. So when the tarot cards predict her imminent demise, she uses a little magic to make her world right.

Suddenly, an aunt she’s never met dies, leaving Mara as her sole heir. But when Mara moves into her inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She’s still one pissed-off old lady, even post-mortem, and she blames Mara’s magical meddling for her death.

When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie’s ready to kill her — literally. It’s the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself.

The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara’s body!

Poor, poor Mara. She’s having a hard time. Her intolerant building manager is evicting her, she’s having freaky dreams and she’s unemployed. At the insistence of her best friend Gus she uses her power, she’s a witch, for personal gain and ends up inadvertently killing her aunt and setting into motion events that will do more than leave her on the street, they’re going to leave her dead.

I had more than a few issues with Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead. It wasn’t horrible, in fact a lot of the last quarter was pretty interesting but I had a really hard time not DNF’ing this book.

What I liked:

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead has an interesting storyline and was overall, a light read. Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead has the same kind of vibe as Vicki Lewis Thompsons’ 2 series, Babes on Brooms and the Hex series, which I generally enjoyed

What I didn’t like:

The Characters

I really had a hard time liking any of the characters in Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead. The heroine, Mara, ignores repeated warnings that are meant to keep her safe. She’s visted by not one, but two ghosts who give her advice, ignores her tarot cards, something she otherwise places a lot of faith in, and is given warnings by more than a handful of townspeople, but she doesn’t listen to any of it. Mara repeatedly ignores, second guesses and does the exact opposite of the advice she’s given and it’s why she ends up in the huge trouble. I found it really hard to root for a character I found too stupid too live.

The other characters aren’t a lot better. First off, they’re written as stereotypes, Gus, Mara’s gay friend, is written as a fabulously promiscuous playboy, her Latina building manager is an intolerant, uber-Catholic who goes to mass everyday and is too short sighted to see that her priest is gay and the people of Devil’s Point, Wisconsin are all homey relics fresh off the Andy Griffith Show. It was almost embarrassing reading the characters’ descriptions and I wondered if at some points they boredered on offensive.

Second, the characters who are supposedly trying to help Mara aren’t actually very helpful. Gus pulls through at the book’s end, but until that point pressures and cajoles Mara until, against her better judgement, she uses her magic, which puts her in harms way, he makes her a cocktail of hallucinogenic supplements because he thinks it’d be fun and even after she’s made it through a harrowing ordeal he can’t help but rub her nose in it. Aunt Tillie, who knows she’s dead and is furious with Mara, instead of helping or explaining to Mara about the dangers of her new home goes on a cryptic rampage, which does nothing but steel Mara’s will to do exactly the opposite of what Aunt Tillie wants. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

The Plot and Pacing

The plot and pacing of Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead almost killed me. The author apparently needed over half the book to create back-story and in that time info dumped a ton of facts unimportant to the story about Wicca/Paganism, while introducing extraneous characters and scenes that don’t end up having anything to do with the overall story. Why? Was this a novella that ended up being expanded to a book? Is there a sequel coming out in which this information will be important? I don’t know. All I know is that if I had held my breath until the plot picked up and something actually happened in Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead I’d be dead along with aunt Tillie.

I didn’t absolutely hate this book. In fact, I think it had a lot of potential, but it was held back by a heroine too stupid too live, stereotypical characters who lacked depth or any concern for the heroine and a story-line that I had to struggle through before getting to anything exciting.

Tags: Christiana Miller, Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead
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Spaz Reviews: The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee

January 28, 2012 in Reviews

Format: Kindle Edition
List Price: $5.99
File Size: 612 KB
Publisher: Carina Press (December 26, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005Z1CG3S
Nadia Lee’s Website

Buy The Last Slayer at:

Amazon

Ashera del Cid is a talented demon hunter, but when she kills a demigod’s pet dragon, the hunter becomes the hunted. Her only potential ally is Ramiel, a sexy-as-hell demon. Now the two must work together to battle dragons and demigods…and the chemistry crackling between them.Ramiel has his own reasons for offering Ashera his protection. He knows her true identity and the real reason the demigods want her dead. What he can’t predict is how she’ll react when she discovers he knew who she was all along…

Ashera is shocked to discover that she is the only daughter of the last slayer. To claim her destiny, she and Ramiel must join forces to face down danger and outwit their enemies. Only then will she be able to truly accept her legacy…

The Last Slayer is the first book in Nadia Lee’s The Heartstone Trilogy. Ashera del Cid is a hunter, and is the best you can find in the universe when it comes to hunting demons and incubi. After she is forced to defend herself from a dragon in a case keeping some executives safe from Dragon Lords, she sets in motion a series of events that reveal her to be “The Last Slayer”. The prophecy tells of her existence marking the downfall of the Dragon Lords and they of course want her dead. Enter Ramiel… the mysterious male who has made a habit of invading her dreams.

The best aspect of this book is the origin stories and lore. I love dragons so much and the world building is spectacularly vivid. Going back in to Ashera’s past and learning about her birth parents was very interesting. Ms. Lee developed a great hierarchy of demon classes and it was well done without being overly complicated.

It is made very clear in the beginning the heroine is not attractive in appearance. Her lack of beauty has strengthened her will to be better in what she does than anyone else. Ashera was a great protagonist. She is tough, and doesn’t take shit from anyone. I enjoyed this aspect of the story a lot. The hero Ramiel is very compelling. His appearance and demeanor make him hot and I kept looking forward to him entering the scenes

I did have some issues with the pacing. It felt really slow initially, then it sped up and then it slowed again. Also there was an element to the story that squiked me out and I couldn’t overcome it. Demon hunters must refuel on something called “Sex” that acted as an energy drink for them. When it would be mentioned, or smelled (cinnamon flavored?) and tasted, it just really was bizarre, and disconnected me from the story. This disconnect knocked my rating down a bit, but overall, I feel it is a good start to a new Urban Fantasy series that definitely has potential. The Last Slayer all in all was a fun and entertaining read and I am looking forward to what happens next!

Tags: Nadia Lee, The Last Slayer
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ARC Review: So Damn Lucky – Deborah Coonts

January 27, 2012 in Reviews

Hardcover: 384 pages
List Price: $24.99
Publisher: Forge Books; (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765330067
ISBN-13: 978-0765330062
Deborah Coonts Website

Preorder So Damn Lucky at:

Lucky O’Toole—Head of Customer Relations at The Babylon, premier mega-resort on the Vegas Strip—thinks it’s just another night in Las Vegas.

But then a magician pulls a disappearing act, right under Lucky’s nose. Is it a stunt? Or something worse?

While Lucky chases leads, someone is trying to put her off the scent. As if this wasn’t enough to ruin her day, Lucky’s relationship with The Big Boss is coming to a head—past hurts can no longer be denied. Of course, she is already on shaky emotional ground: Teddie, her live-in, has been touring with a young and lovely pop star. Paxton Dane, former coworker and would-be suitor, is still circling, hoping to find a chink in the armor of Lucky’s resolve.

And then, there’s this French chef, who is proving to be too hot to handle….

Lucky is the head of customer relations at a hotel in Vegas, Babylon. It’s almost Halloween when a magician’s trick goes wrong; no one is sure if it’s a stunt or if it’s something more sinister. Lucky is all over the place trying to figure out what happens, all the while her personal life is imploding around her.

Teddie, her boyfriend, has been touring the world as a musician. With a hot pop star. Dane, is still circling round Lucky and then there is Chef Hot TastyCakes, the new French chef. What is Lucky to do? Keep fighting!

So Damn Lucky is the first full length Lucky O’Toole book I’ve read, though it is the third in the series. Lucky enough (HA) being new to the series you won’t get lost, it stands alone though there are a few back stories you’ll miss and want to go back to read. Trust me, I’m starting book one soon enough!

I love this series already; it’s witty, snarky and has some interesting back stories. Lucky is one kick ass heroine and does more for the hotel then I think even The Big Boss does. Lucky is a “fixer” she’s gotta fix everything, but sometimes the fixer needs help to be fixed.

Never mind there are THREE love interests in this book and you will have no idea who to root for, they are all awesome. Dane is the perfect gentleman, Jean-Charles is the sexy European and Teddie is the good guy turned rock star. It was hard I tell you, hard to chose!

Lucky also owns or is owned by a parrot named Newton, who I am in love with:

“Where you been, bitch?”

Who wouldn’t want a parrot that greeted you that way everyday?

“As you can tell, Newton had a very sketchy upbringing. I’m trying to teach him better manners, but parrots are like old dogs and elephants.”

I loved the action and suspense in So Damn Lucky, it was a one day read. I couldn’t put it down; I ate with my e-reader. I really tried to slow down but I couldn’t help myself, I had to keep reading! Be prepared to forget how to function and do anything but read when you get your hands on this book.

Now hurry, you have time to read books one, two and the novella before So Damn Lucky is released. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.