A great start to a series.

This book has pretty much everything I look for in an Urban Fantasy. Kick ass heroine, great mythology and world building, murder mystery side plot, sex on legs love interest, and sizzling romance. 

Check, check, check and double check on the love interest and romance. 

Janet has a strange superpower from iffy origins...she's a Stormwalker, she can control storms - rain and lightning, etc. The whole thing is steeped in the most wonderful Navajo mythology. On again/Off again boyfriend Mick is sexy and mysterious with a wickedly hot superpower of his own.

Starting off with an action packed punch, Janet is renovating an old hotel not far off from where she grew up. Along with being asked to come and investigate the disappearance of a Police Chief's daughter. Right off there's magical trouble, the reader is dropped right into the book's mythology and world building. Which lands her in hot water with the new local Sheriff. 

I loved the mythology, the way the magic is weaved into the plot and how normal it is in these people' lives. The only character I really did not like was Nash Jones, the new Sheriff in town. The man is an asshole right from the start and doesn't let up. Refuses to believe Janet no matter what, even when magic and superpowers are used right in front of him. It got very frustrating.

Janet and Mick's relationship was well written, intriguing and not without emotional background drama which made the book all the more compelling. Mick has plenty of supernatural secrets and powers of his own. All which come into play as the novel progresses. And there were some deliciously hot sex scenes. 

There were parts towards the end of the book where the magic and world building did get a little ludicrous and made me giggle a lot because it got to be so silly. Still, a solid start to a series with great characters. Definitely a series I will be looking forward to continuing.

Crosses off a Square for Spring 2015 Bookish Bingo - Rain or Storm in title. 

I got a copy from Netgalley as I have auto approval from the publisher. I seem to have lost interest in this series. I liked the first book but was less than impressed with the second though I did initially want to know how it ended.

However at 24% I am just not feeling interested in this book. It's the same plot...only different demons and I have no I interest in Ellie's whining over should I be with David or Collin. And what's pissing me off most us she is STILL referring to her father as 'Daddy. She's in her fucking 20s!! It's just wrong and creepy for a grown ass woman to call her father daddy.

So thank you to Netgalley but this book is not for me.

Not as good as the first book, I must admit. But I like the series, so I have the next two books ready and waiting.

The second book picks up almost right where the first book left off. Our main character Daire is now working towards her destiny as a Soul Seeker and learning about her powers determined to defeat the evil Richter clan (the bad guys) and madly in love with her new boyfriend Dace Whitefeather (twin of evil villain Cade Richter) all have roles in some big prophecy.

I was quite surprised to see fairly early on, almost within the first hundred pages, something I didn't except, a very tastefully written sex scene, romantic and very well written. Which turned out to be a big turning point for the plot. No details as it would be very spoilery.

But shortly after the love affair is deemed doomed, and Daire and Dace spend the rest of the book in an oh no we love each other desperately but we can't be together because prophecy and doom and blah blah blah. And figuring out how to beat the bad guy when all they want is to be together.

Where in the first book Daire's speshul snowflake status repeated over and over drove me up the wall, (its not so bad in this second installment) what drove me up the wall in this one was how they go on and on about how evil Cade is. Cade's dialogue is laughable to the point of (to borrow a phrase) "taken the leap from every day villany to cartoonish super-villany".

What I absolutely love about this story is the setting and the Native American mythology. The mythology worked in is fascinating and its very compelling seeing how each character has a part to play and how it all works together. Despite the fact that everyone seems determined to translate various prophecies to their own needs and ignore everything else.

A damn good cliffhanger at the end.

Crosses off a square for Holiday Bingo - Native American MC

I received a copy from Netgalley.

Disappointing. I haven't read a lot of middle grade novels and I'm always looking for new things and this one sounded quite interesting so I put in request, if I got approved, great, if I didn't no big deal. I was approved. Started off interestingly enough, Violet was a mildly ingesting heroine with a clearly smart mind and seemed quite older than her twelve years.

But as the novel progressed I found it rather dull. The story was very slow and centres around Violet finding a mysterious copper hand with magical properties that she takes advantage of. The middle of the book was long winded and dull and while I think as a middle grade book some kids might like the freedom Violet seems to have (her mother has gone with her baby brother and her father barely seems to be around much) other reads, like I did might find it very dull and tedious. The story does pick up in the end when Violet realises some mistakes she's make in regards to the object she found and he she's used it and tries to rectify her actions but it felt like too little too late.

There was some mildly interesting mythology regarding the artefact Violet finds, it was well edited and the writing itself wasn't bad at all, the story was just rather dull. I'd be happy to let younger kids read this. I think it would interesting to see some book reports on what a younger mind thinks.

But personally, just not not for me. Thank you to Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the approval.

Actual rating 2.5 stars.

I got a copy via Netgalley.

I didn't love this follow up to the Curse Keepers as much as I loved the first. There was something...missing in this one though I can't quite put my finger on what it was. There was still an abundance of Native American mythology, fighting evil spirits, a new character introduced....

This was just a rather...meh...read for me. The plot picks up shortly after the first book, Ellie is now dealing with the consequences of what happened at the end of the Curse Keepers. I found the plot repetitive, a lot of unnecessary recapping of events in the first book to bring the new character up to speed. It did get irritating. And not a lot seemed to happen, there didn't seem to be much advancement in the story.

it was still well written, Ellie was still awesome, less Collin who hadn't improved much when he did show up. A new romance angle with the new character. Some grisly murders of people and animals (the animal mutilations were more upsetting than the people being killed) even so..

It just wasn't as good as the first book. Even though I didn't like the book as much as the first one, I will still be looking out for the next one as I do enjoy the series and want to know where the story is going.

(I have auto approval from 47 North on Netgalley, I think I also had an invite for this title, so thank you 47 North if it was an invite).