Weekend Reads: Hall of Blood and Mercy series by K.M. Shea (Kimberly)

Hi everyone! If you're anything like me, you are digging into books for some relief from our currently crazy real world circumstances. And I am so excited to share about a brand new series by one of my favorite authors, K.M. Shea!

This series is a new Urban Fantasy take inspired by a fairytale, Donkeyskin to be exact. Donkeyskin is not a fairytale for the faint of heart nor does it lend itself easily to non-horror retellings. That said, Shea shows why she is one of the queens of fairytale retellings because she found the perfect venue for tackling Donkeyskin while taking the cringe inducing parts of the story out. And I love it.

Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy Book 1)

My rating: 4.5 stars

Let me preface this by saying Urban Fantasy is one of my top favorite genres and I have read a TON of it over the years, both traditionally and indie published. However, Magic Forged is officially one of my top all time favorites ever and I do not see that changing any time soon. I was up all night reading this one even though I knew I had commitments the next day. I regret nothing. This book is so worth the lost sleep!

Hazel Medeis is a wizard, a severely vertically challenged one with a bit of a power problem. Being the Heir of a small pacifist wizarding house isn't made any easier with the death of her parents and then a coup by an unscrupulous jerk of a cousin. Forced out on her own, Hazel only escapes her cousin's schemes by pledging herself to the service of Killian Drake the supreme vampire in the region. Who may or may not be trustworthy.

This book is not a doom and gloom approach to Urban Fantasy nor is it overly gritty. Even though heartstrings are pulled and wrenched by the opening circumstances driving Hazel into House Drake. One of Shea's strong points in all her books is the wit/humor and the sheer character of the people and animals and even, in this case especially, houses. I love the humor and banter in this book and I absolutely adore the characters, especially Killian and his top two vampires, Celestina and Josh. They are not what you expect from UF vampires really. Killian tries, he tries to be the intimidating looming dark and mysterious vampire but his devilish sense of humor and Hazel's ability to bait him into snarky banter ruins it all. And Celestina is one of my favorites because she's Killian's First Knight (second in command) but she loves girl talk and shopping and self-pampering at the salon complete with mani pedis. Josh is . . . I'm laughing just trying to write about him. I never thought that a poetically morose vampire would be so much fun but he's so unexpected (without being truly over the top) that he just works. Also he's essentially a walking armory as the Second Knight. Hazel's reactions to everyone makes for so many laugh out loud moments. That's not even touching on the rest of the cast including a fae with a bald cat called Aphrodite.

This book is so much fun and there's a lot of humor and snark and banter. But Hazel also has a discernible growth arc because she has the "annoyingly virtuous moral compass" as Killian likes to describe it. Which I love. She doesn't compromise the true core of who she is even as she grows although she learns that what she's been taught all her life and what is truly right don't necessarily match up.

Magic Redeemed (Hall of Blood and Mercy Book 2)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Can I just take a moment to scream because this book has so many FEEEELS! I adore book two as much as I loved book one. Hazel is coming into her own and we get more Killian POV scenes (YESSSS!!!) with even more of the vampires and their snarky existence with the vertically challenged wizard. However, there's still the problem of the House and Hazel's continued weight of responsibility as the Heir.

Once again the characters and the banter are my favorite parts. I also love that we get even more of the House and its personality in this book. And Hazel has to come to terms with her power, the sealing of her power, and the way it was unlocked in book one. She does have more angst going on toward her parents but it never gets TOO heavy for the overall lighter tone of the series. It's nicely broken up by antics and snark. I do love it when Josh spouts something about death and another vampire has to tell him "That's not comforting."

Killian and Hazel. Oh my good gracious gravy! These two are on one of those slow burn romances that put you on the Feels rollercoaster. Cue Gollum screams at a certain spoiler. Right in the feels!

There's so much more I want to say about the things I loved and raved about with this one but I can't. Because SPOILERS! All I can say is I'm so glad the third book in this series is out today because I need it. I need it now. ;)

If you have never tried Urban Fantasy before, start with this series. It's a fresh take on the standard tropes of wizards, vampires, fae, and shifters in some of the best ways. It's not too harsh but not mindless fluff either. It falls perfectly into the category of Urban Fantasy with lots of heart and humor, which is honestly my favorite of them all.

Have you read this series already? What did you think?

Until next time,

Kimberly A. Rogers

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (Lizzie)

Do you ever put off reading a book (say, let it molder in your TBR pile for a year and a  half), and then read it and wonder, why didn't I read this sooner? The Warrior Heir is one of those books for me.

The Warrior Heir is a unique combination of small-town life and high fantasy. In Chima's worldbuilding, seven families gained magical powers after finding a dragon's hoard in a lost valley in the UK. Their descendants belong to one of five groups of magics: wizards, sorcerers, enchanters, seers, and warriors, each born with a stone behind his heart proclaiming his power and his place in the world of the Weir (the magics). Wizards rule the other classes, the underguilds, using them for their amusement or advantage. And, unfortunately, the Battle of the Roses is still going on in for them. The wizards of the Red Rose and the wizards of the White Rose, to prevent the killing of too many wizards, established The Game, a tournament in which the warriors fight, one for the Red Rose and one for the White Rose, to determine which side controls the Wizard Council. It's a bloody game that's gone on for centuries.

But all of this is unknown to the non-magical, and to Jack Swift, a sixteen-year-old highschooler in small-town Trinity, Ohio. He'd had heart surgery as a baby, but is now in pretty good shape, thanks to his daily medication, and lives a normal life. He's focused on keeping up his grades and making the soccer team, but when he forgets to take his heart medicine one day, things start to change. He feels more alive and stronger than ever before, and is somehow able to send the bully Lombeck flying into the soccer goal without touching him. His small town is suddenly flooded with strangers, and danger, and Jack learns he's one of the last of the warriors and is destined for The Game.

Overall, I'd give The Warrior Heir 4.5 out of 5 stars. The prologue was a little confusing, as Chima didn't take the time then to explain the terminology of the different guilds and their history, but it captured my attention, nonetheless. The main character, Jack Swift, is likable. Unlike many YA books main characters, Jack isn't a walking attitude, nor inherently talented at everything, nor a please-connect-with-me-because-I'm-impossibly-accident prone loser. He makes good grades, has close friends in Will and Fitch, respects his mom, and has a good chance at making the soccer team (even before his warrior powers manifest). I also liked his friends and many of the other characters. In addition, the plot was intriguing, clues were handed out at a good pace, and their was plenty of action but neither too much action nor violence (though there is that). I liked the small-town feel and the relationship between Jack and his friends, as well as his burgeoning relationship with newcomer Ellen Stephenson, and the love his Aunt Linda has for him and how she tries to protect him from The Game.

My main caveats with the book are the magic and the behavior of some of the adults. I prefer magic to be strictly fantastic, and by that I it mean stays away from the "magic" people in real life engage in--astrology, fortune telling, card reading and so on. Those are part of the practices of some of those in the Weirgild. Also, Jack's beloved, "irreverent" Aunt Linda, an enchanter who'd do anything to help Jack, isn't always the best role model, tossing back beers after a nearly disastrous run in with the wizards of the Red Rose, and she and Leander Hastings, a very complicated character, were said to have been "together" at one time, but that probably wasn't a clean romance story.

Aside from those things it was a great book, with excellent writing, mostly likable characters, and a strong value on life as Jack has to confront the idea of taking a life as he trains for The Game.

Have you ever read anything by Chima? What kinds of magic do you feel comfortable with in fantasy, or uncomfortable with?

Top 3 Favorite Villainous Magical Creatures (Julie)

The last several Top 3 posts have been a really fun romp into the world of fantasy consisting of things like wands, modes of transportation, and weapons. We do love fantasy after all. For this Top 3 post, I'm going back to my last one on magical creatures (of the mostly good variety), but switching from mostly good to mostly evil beings! 

What makes fantasy so fascinating is that you can do pretty much whatever you want. One author can make a creature good, while another author can make the same creature evil. And then of course you have magical races who can be good and evil. Think Harry Potter vs Voldemort or Gandolf vs Saruman, etc... 

With that being said, here's my top 3 general magical creatures who I think make excellent villains!

1) Wizards and witches. What makes wizards and witches great mischief-makers is the amount of raw power they posses. They can cause all kinds of dastardly trouble for the heroes by a mere flick of a wand or staff. But I think why I like them the most is the uniqueness and variety that we find in stories and movies. They range from Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty to Voldemort in Harry Potter to Sauron in LOTR. All evil but their powers make each unique. 

2) Dragons. Depending on what story you read of course, but dragons are often portrayed as fearsome creatures full of magic and mischief. And they're really hot... literally. What a breath! Dragons aren't dense and mindless like some evil creatures, like trolls for example.They're smart and cunning and make an admiral adversary for any hero. I do feel, however, that in recent years, the trend has moved toward characterizing dragons more on the friendly side. 

3) Shapeshifters. These shiftless creatures present a wide array of intriguing villainy. One of my favorites are the boggarts from Harry Potter's world. Unlike other shapeshifters, they don't have a defined shape until they come upon a person, and then they are that person's worst nightmare. I'll be honest, whenever I watch the boggart scenes in Harry Potter, my brain wonders what might happen if I encountered one. What is my worst fear? These villains can help the hero face their fears and overcome them! But terrifying nonetheless!

What do you think, readers? Do you agree or do you have another particular favorite villain?

  

Top 3 Favorite Magical Beings (Julie)

I’m one of those people who like having background noise while I’m at home. It varies between music to movies to tv shows. Lately, I’ve gotten into watching I Dream of Jeannie. It’s so much fun watching Jeannie trying to be helpful with her magical powers except something always goes wrong. Poor Major Nelson. Jeannie isn’t the only genie out there, there’s the Genie in Aladdin, and then there John and Phillipa from the Children of the Lamp series (a great series by the way). As cool as their powers are, I’m not sure I’d classify them as my most favorite magical beings, although they’d be in my top ten for sure.  So what would be my top 3 favorite, fairly good, magical beings?

1) I debated with my top choice and wasn’t sure I was even going to include it on the list, but I decided that they truly are my favorites. And the winner is... fairies! The reason I vacillated with these intriguing creatures is because most fairies are known for being small, winged creatures who are vain tricksters. Except maybe the Sleeping Beauty fairies?  Unless you count the ordeal over the dress. But I’m a bit biased on my opinion of fairies because my book series is based on fairies, which are a bit different from the norm. I tend to associate fairies with nature. I didn't inherit my family's green thumb, but I like the beauty of nature and the ability to make things grow and flourish.

2) My next favorite magical beings are witches and wizards. Harry? Hermione? Ron? Gandalf? Need I say more? I think I like the idea of having something tangible, in my hand, to work the magic. Harry and the others have wands that they swish and flick to make magic happen. Gandalf doesn’t have a wand, but he passes by having an awesome staff. The downside of course is without the wand or staff, life gets a bit tougher.  

3) Finally, my third top favorite are elves...of the Middle Earth variety. They exude grace and beauty, yet are strong and fierce too. Bilbo Baggins couldn’t wait to see the elves again in Lord of the Rings. You just can’t help be drawn in by their ethereal presence, unless you are a dwarf.

What about you? What is your favorite magical being? It's okay if it takes you a minute to decide. It's a touch choice!