Tag: Urban Fantasy

Eye Candy Friday: Mercy Thompson from Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Posted July 5, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is all about the heroes and heroines that I’m loving and wanting to spotlight right now. Sometimes I’ll do full-on gush fest posts on why I love these guys, sometimes I’ll post pictures of what I think they look like and that’s it but if they’re featured here, the one thing that will be constant is I loved the hell out of them and want everyone to know. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Eye Candy Friday: Mercy Thompson from Night Broken by Patricia BriggsNight Broken
by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson #8
Also in this series: Silver Borne
Published by Penguin, Ace on March 11, 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 353
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
four-stars

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from a stalker. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s stalker is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

Today’s eye candy is Mercy Thompson from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Mercy is the mate to the Alpha for the Columbia Basin Pack in Washington but she’s also so much more than just a regular VW mechanic. She’s unique in that she’s a walker so she can shift into a coyote but more than that, she was raised by the Marrok himself (the King of all of the Werewolves) and she is the lone Coyote in a werewolf pack. Things have never been easy for Mercy but one of the things that I admire the hell out of where she’s concerned is that she doesn’t shy away from what’s right. She never takes the easy way out of things, she’s smart and she’s strong. She would make a great Polynesian person because aiga (aiga means family in Samoan) is important to her and Mercy’s aiga isn’t just her pack. She’s got friends everywhere and those friends are part of her family. Nobody gets left behind with Mercy and it’s hard not to love and cheer for someone as awesome as she is.

“If she tried anything, she would be sorry. Adam was mine. She had thrown him away, thrown Jesse away—and I had snatched them up. Finders keepers.”

In Night Broken, my love and admiration for Mercy grew by heaps and bounds. She just kept right on being hurt by the people that are supposed to have her back but she pushed through and didn’t let her hurt get in the way of doing what was right for everyone involved…even the main person who was hurting her. My limits and my patience were tried in this book but my love for all things Mercy Thompson Hauptman grew and grew until I was damn near bursting with pride and love for her. She is honestly my favorite character of the year so far and I don’t see any other character coming close.

“Just be careful, Mary Jo. Be very careful. You’ve made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. One you should not make is to imagine that Christy will ever be Adam’s mate. He is mine, and unlike her, I don’t throw away people who are mine.”

Mercy is everything. She is the best. She is caring but more than anything, like my friend Holly said, she’s just a regular person trying to do her best. She’s small but she’s fierce and I completely get why everyone will protect her with all that they are because she would and probably already has done the same for them. Is it any wonder that she’s this week’s Eye Candy Friday?

Character Casting

Another thing that Mercy is…is gorgeous. This is how Mercy looks in my head when I’m reading these books. Isn’t she gorgeous?

Mercy Thompson Series

Have you read Night Broken by Patricia Briggs? Did you love Mercy as much as I did? Who is your favorite character this week?

four-stars

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Buddy Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Posted March 14, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Buddy Review: Burn for Me by Ilona AndrewsBurn for Me
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Hidden Legacy #1
Published by Harper Collins, Avon on October 28th 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire…

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.

Burn for Me is the first book in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews and it really sets up this series nicely.

Nevada Baylor is a private investigator who takes her job very seriously. She’s the head of her family PI firm but when her employees are all in school, she’s the only full time employee that can actually do the work. Her latest case was forced on her and she hasn’t a prayer of surviving it but she has to try to figure things out anyway because her family is at stake. Nevada will do anything for her family.

When the case brings Mad Rogan into her life and he kidnaps her, Nevada finds herself partnered up with the head of House Rogan, who also happens to be Hurucan, the guy that can break cities. They’re partnered up and going after Adam Pierce, a Prime Pyrokinetic, who is trying to burn down Houston. Something bigger than Adam Pierce is going on and they’re determined to figure it out and stop the bad guys from harming anymore people.

Rowena: Alright, Ames….spill. How much did you freaking love this book and Mad Rogan?

Ames:: OMG I loved this book so much I jumped right into the second one…and as I’m writing this I’ve already started the third! haha

I love the Kate Daniels series and Ilona Andrews has definitely created another heroine I can get behind! For Nevada Baylor, family is everything. And that remains true for her character. She’s so strong and kick-ass and awesome. And every great heroine needs an awesome partner and Rogan definitely has the makings of a great hero. He’s a Prime…meaning super powerful and he’s definitely an alpha hero. But he’s in no way an alpha-hole. I heart Rogan. So bad. LOL Seriously, he gives me heart eyes.

But the book isn’t just about Nevada and Rogan. Nevada’s whole family plays a big part in the story and I loved all of them. Her 70 year old mechanic grandma, her sniper mother, her gifted cousins and younger sisters. They’re all awesome.

What about you Wena? I’m so glad you got me to read this book!

Rowena: Oh man, did I love this book. I’m super thrilled that Holly has been on me to get this book read because wasn’t it just the best book you’ve read this month? Gah, I loved the heck out of this book. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about it.

I loved Nevada, Rogan, Nevada’s family and the way that they functioned as a unit. When we start to get to know Rogan better and better, I thought he was such an asshole but I still loved him to pieces. I wasn’t expecting how funny this book was going to be. I prefer my paranormal books to be on the more serious side and even though this isn’t a paranormal book, I thought that it would be a little more serious but holy cow, the humor had me up late into the night giggliing like a little school girl. Brenna came into my room and told me to knock it off because I was giggling so much that it was creeping her out. She was right. I was giggling a lot but I don’t care that I was creeping her out because I had a good ol’ time with this one.

When Rogan called Augustine Pancakes? I about died laughing. When he couldn’t get over her circle work? I couldn’t stop laughing. When they were flirting back and forth and she told him she wasn’t going to handle his snake? I laughed and laughed and laughed. Gah. I can’t say that I loved this book enough. It gets all of my heart eyes.

Ames: Oh yes, the humour was excellent! I liked that for sure. Even Rogan’s attitude about killing people – I know this is awful to say but it is fiction – it was somewhat funny, especially when he uses a building to get the job done. Like he just doesn’t give a shit. And that’s why this book works. Yes Rogan is all super-powerful but Nevada brings him back down to earth. She’s reminds me of his humanity and keeps it real for him. She’s equal in that way. The other thing is she keeps him on his toes. She’s full of surprises.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything about this book I didn’t like. Even the mystery surrounding Adam Pierce was engaging. The world-building was excellent and the way Andrews describes settings and scenes, I could picture everything so clearly in my head.

Rowena: I agree. It’s very easy for me to read quickly through scenes where there’s a lot of description, scenes that kind of set something up and I’ll gloss over scenes but I read every single word and enjoyed every single word that was written in this book. Ilona Andrews has the magic writing stick because I was wrapped up in everything from beginning to end.

Adam Pierce was an interesting antagonist and his whole story was interesting as well. I was really curious to read more about this shady business he was a part of because with the ending, you just know that there’s gonna be more drama to come. This stuff isn’t over and I’m so.here.for.it.

Overall, the book was wonderful. The world was magical and the characters were the best. I give this book a 5 out of 5. You?

Ames: Oh I liked that Adam’s story was wrapped up extremely satisfyingly but that there was a whole bigger arc to the story that joins all three books. I’m looking forward to finding out more in book 3!

I’m stingy with my 5s so I’m giving this one a 4.5 out of 5. Still a high recommendation from me!​

Final Grades

Ames: 4.5 out of 5
Rowena: 5 out of 5

four-half-stars

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Book Boyfriend of the Week: Sean Evans

Posted March 2, 2018 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

This week’s book boyfriend is one that I met a few months ago (after being late to the Innkeeper Chronicles party). He was such a memorable character that I wanted more of him in the next books and boy was I not prepared for the more that we got.

Sean Evans is a fierce super soldier werewolf that meets and protects Dina Demille, the innkeeper for Gertrude Hunt, his next door neighbor. When we first meet him in Clean Sweep, he was such a smart ass, care free but super protective werewolf that peed on Dina’s apple trees and pissed her the hell off. They come a long way from that first meeting and man was I here for all of their shenanigans.

Book Boyfriend of the Week: Sean EvansOne Fell Sweep
by Ilona Andrews
Published by Ilona Andrews on December 20th 2016
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 340
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Add It: Goodreads

Dina DeMille may run the nicest Bed and Breakfast in Red Deer, Texas, but she caters to a very particular kind of guest… the kind that no one on Earth is supposed to know about. Guests like a former intergalactic tyrant with an impressive bounty on her head, the Lord Marshal of a powerful vampire clan, and a displaced-and-superhot werewolf; so don’t stand too close, or you may be collateral damage.

But what passes for Dina’s normal life is about to be thrown into chaos. First, she must rescue her long-distant older sister, Maud, who’s been exiled with her family to a planet that functions as the most lawless penal colony since Botany Bay. Then she agrees to help a guest whose last chance at saving his civilization could bring death and disaster to all Dina holds dear. Now Gertrude Hunt is under siege by a clan of assassins. To keep her guests safe and to find her missing parents, Dina will risk everything, even if she has to pay the ultimate price. Though Sean may have something to say about that!!

Here are some of the reasons that I love Sean Evans. He was such a great love interest for Dina and seeing them both in action was so much fun.

When Dina tells that she can’t decommit from being an innkeeper and that if that isn’t what he wants, she can’t be with him…his response completely melted me.

“But would I get you, if I were an innkeeper?”

Gah. I love him.

Then when he tells his Mom about his girlfriend? So stinkin’ cute!

“Mom”, Sean said gently. “You’re not making a good first impression.”

“Sean William, let go of me this instant!”

“I can’t do that.”

She strained against him. The muscles on Sean’s arms stood out.

“That girl over there,” Sean said quietly. “That’s my girl. If she’s forced to bury you in the floor to hold you still, it will be awkward.”

And then….this. Just all of this. *swoon*

“About that sonnet,” he said.

“Yes?” It felt like my whole life depended on what he would say next.

“I love you.”

That was all I wanted to hear. I didn’t even know until now how much I wanted him to say these words to me. He’d said it before, when I was under, but it was different then. Now it was everything.

“I’ll never leave you,” Sean said. “If you want to stay an innkeeper, I will be one with you. If you want to do something else, I will do that with you. Whatever comes next, I’ll be there, because I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.”

For most of this book, I looked like this because I just could not get enough of Mr. Sean Evans. The devotion he had for Dina is the stuff girls dream about and the lengths he went to protect Dina at every turn was just out of this world great. I absolutely love him.

In Clean Sweep, there’s an illustration of Sean and he looks a lot like Robbie Amell from The Flash and The DUFF. So here’s what Sean looks like in my head…

*happy sigh* He’s such a good looking guy and I really think he’s perfectly cast as Sean. Sean freaking rocks.

Buy the Book

One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews
December 20, 2016
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Series Order

Until next week…enjoy!

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