Review: Night Blade

Reviewed by Jen
 

I knew something was up when I read the Dedication on this book:

Thanks to everybody who encouraged me to continue with Kit's story. Be warned... she's got a rocky road ahead of her. But I hope it's worth it in the end.

I saw this and thought to myself, "Dammit.  Kit and Damon are going to break up."  I dreaded it.  I steeled myself for it.  What I fool I was.  Suffice it to say, Shiloh Walker and I have a vastly different understanding of the words "rocky road."

Let's back up.  As the story begins, Kit and Damon are going strong, though they are both hard at work.  Damon is cleaning house in his pack, getting rid of the crazies who thrived under the old Alpha.  And Kit is solving cases for her investigative firm.  Things are actually kind of... good.... until Kit gets a call from her ex-boyfriend Justin.  The witch works for a powerful branch of law enforcement that is investigating Damon. They believe he is behind some unauthorized kills and if Kit can't prove he didn't do it, he'll be slated for execution.  To make matters worse, Justin puts a spell on her that prevents her from talking about the case.  Kit has to work against the clock to clear the man she is falling in love with, while keeping her mission a secret.

I really, really like Kit.  She is tough, but she is also so very vulnerable. She endured so much as a child, and it's clear we don't even know the whole story. Entirely new atrocities are hinted at.  And the memories still plague her.  Still terrify her.  But she soldiers on. There is something like steel at her core. She will not break.  Her past makes her growing love for Damon even more poignant.  She's always been afraid to love anything, for fear of losing it.  Damon shows himself worthy of her and makes me fall for him as she does the same.  The characters just strike such a chord.

And then it all goes to shit.  Not the book.  But everything in Kit's life.

I won't spoil it.  But I will tell you that dedication should have come with flashing yellow lights and perhaps a skull and crossbones.  This book gutted me.  Completely and utterly.  I cried.  I shook my head.  I talked to myself. And I cried some more.  As I write this, I still feel sucker punched and slightly hollow.

It was amazing, horrible, terrible, wrenching, and utterly consuming.  Worth reading, to be sure.  But have your Kleenex ready and a support group standing by. You're gonna need it.

Rating: A-

*ARC provided by author for review 

Click to purchase: Amazon

Night Blade

by JC Daniels

Release Date: March 4, 2013

5 for Friday - September 21

A sick husband and a sick kid this week.  Plus the other kid had a birthday. Throw in a cheerleading/ football game event, various sports practices, cupcake making, and school projects --and I am desperately in need of some "me-time." I have no idea when it will happen, but I can dream.  Let's talk about fun stuff.

5. I have been stalking Sherrilyn Kenyon forever since I found she was planning this Styxx book.  Now she's got more deets about him on her website. She says, in part:

...(I)n many ways, it's another story of Acheron. You will see events that weren't in his book and I know Styxx will win you over. In all honesty, he was done wrong and it will break your heart.  Misjudged, condemned, betrayed and abandoned... There is a whole side of him that no one knows.

I am so anxious!! Only 11 months to go.

4. Shiloh Walker, aka JC Daniels, has revealed the cover for book two in her Colbana Files series.  Take a look at Night Blade:

Kit Colbana is always biting off more than she can chew. She has a knack for finding trouble. This time, though, trouble finds her. Someone from her past drops a case into her lap that she just can’t refuse…literally.

People on the Council are dying left and right and she’s been requested to investigate the deaths. The number one suspect? Her lover, Damon. If she doesn’t clear his name, he gets a death sentence. Even if she succeeds? They still might try to execute him. Oh, and she’s not allowed to tell him about the case, either.

The stakes are high this time around, higher than they’ve ever been. Kit may be forced to pay the ultimate price to save her lover’s life…a price that could destroy her and everything she loves.

I really enjoyed Blade Song so I have high hopes for this one.

3. JR Ward is sharing tidbits on the next Fallen Angel book, Rapture. Every day, she is releasing a new little video on her Facebook page, which is evil and refuses to allow me to embed her clips. However, you can click on the pretend video player below and it will take you to the clip where she is talking about the heroine.

Rapture is out Tuesday.  Please, JR, you must fix this Eddie thing.

2. I really loved the ARC of Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed by Anna Campbell. It's a Beauty & the Beast type of historical romance (also out Tuesday.)

Forever is giving away seven copies. You can win it before you can buy it. Check out the giveaway here.

1. And finally, Karen Marie Moning is answering some of the big questions about the next book in her Fever series, ICED.  If I wasn't nervous before, I definitely am now. (I was totally nervous before, but now it's worse.)

Here are some of the high points:

• The next three books will be Fever #6-8
• The titles are ICED, BURNED & FLAYED
• They will be Dani POV
• She will be 14 at the beginning of her 3 book arc and 17 when it's over
• Dani will have sex with one of the guys who is in ICED
• Books #9-10 will be Mac POV
• These are not teen fiction
• ICED will not end in a cliffhanger

Without crossing the line into too much information, I know all too well that teens Dani's age have sex.  But if it's with a being who is hundreds (or thousands) of years old, I'm out.

I loved the Fever books. Loved.  But I am scared. Somebody needs to read this for me and give me the all clear.

I've got big news coming next week!  I can't wait to share.  Until then... stay to the light!

XOXO,
Jen

 

Review: Blade Song

Reviewed by Jen
 

OK, Urban Fantasy fans, listen up. I have a premise for you. It involves a woman with a magical sword. She is part human, but has supernatural blood in her veins.  Though she is not as strong as some of the paranormal beings around her, she is more than she appears. She is often underestimated. She's a bit cut off, emotionally. Her childhood was miserable, filled with training and bloodshed.  She's sort of a gun for hire now... well, a sword for hire.  And her life begins to change with the arrival of a sexy, powerful cat shifter who can't resist her strength and her spirit.

Sound familiar?  No, I'm not talking about Kate Daniels, though it's hard not to see the parallels there.  Our heroine's name is Kit Colbana. She is half human, half-aneira --which is sort of an Amazon race.  Her father was never in her life and her mother died when she was young, leaving her in the clutches of an evil grandmother who tortured her for years.  She ran away as a teenager and has started a new life for herself.

The agency she owns isn't doing well. Between that and a vampire who won't stop stalking her, Kit is just about ready to pull up stakes again when Damon (see "sexy, powerful cat shifter" above) walks into her office with a job. The nephew of his Alpha is missing and the pack wants Kit to solve the case.  Despite Damon's cocky and obnoxious behavior and despite the cats' reputation as crazy, she takes the case to save the boy.  She has no idea at the time that her life will depend on her success.

The Cat Alpha is as mad as a hatter and when she meets Kit, she lets her know in no uncertain terms what failure will mean. Damon is assigned as her bodyguard as she investigates the case.  And, of course, he ends up being much, much more.

I liked this story very much.  Even though it seems familiar in some places, it didn't really feel like a Kate rehash.  Kit is damaged in a way Kate isn't. She perseveres through grim determination.  She gets beaten down, but her survival is her victory.  I really enjoyed watching the evolution of her relationship with Damon.  He is such an ass at the beginning, but I could see him changing with her. She earns his respect and affection by simply being who she is and by never giving up. And when we learn more about his backstory, so much of his behavior makes sense.

The world-building is solid here and the characters are fleshed out. I admire Kit and her fortitude --and I commiserate with her inability to keep her mouth shut. Damon is sexy and deliciously Alpha --though he pushed me close to my limits at the beginning.  My only small complaint was the speed in which they make a key decision in their relationship. It happened awfully fast for something so monumental, but at least they weren't tossing around "I Love You's" quite yet.

The action was intense. And while the motivation for the kidnappers didn't exactly tread new ground, there were enough surprises to keep me engaged. The villain reveal was pretty cool. And the writing was fast paced and very engaging. I will definitely read the sequel. Very good.

Rating: B+

Click to purchase: Amazon

Blade Song

by JC Daniels (Shiloh Walker)

Release Date: August 1, 2012