Ley Line Drifter by Kim Harrison - A pixy tries to solve a mystery and gets more than he bargained for.
★★ I liked how cute it was but there was a lot of repetition.



Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost - Bones is asked to hunt a ghoul couple in New Orleans by its Voodoo Queen. Of course, things aren't as they seem.
★★★ I liked the darkness and that Bones was able to carry the story without Cat.

Dark Matters by Vicki Pettersson - Dark & Light come together when agents from the opposite side come together.
★ No surprises.

The Dead, the Damned, and the Forgotten by Jocelynn Drake - A vampire fights to keep her domain under her control while she is being framed.
★★ Loved the violence, for instance, check out the quote below:

The fledgling was still in the attic, chained to the wall. For a moment, I wondered if I should go up and free, but quickly shook off the thought and got into the car. If she couldn't find a way to free herself, then she would never survive in my world.

but the story lacked cohesion.

Two Lines by Melissa Marr - A glaistig does her best to fight temptation and stay mortal.
★★ I really liked the parts with the glaistig's family but other than that, the story was repetitive and boring.

@XandrieKovak, #Dark, #Paranormal, #Fantasy, 4 out of 5 (very good)

My reading buddy selected this author as part of the January Pick It for Me challenge. The Fevor is not available in ebook format but after signing up for the author's newsletters I was able to attain a free copy Animus, which is a prequel featuring a character from the book The Fervor.

(About the size of Kovak's werewolves) 

The Story
Lucas Masters seeks vengeance. The Red Crescent wolf pack slaughtered Lucas' family and entire pack leaving Lucas the only surviving member. Infiltrating this brutal pack requires that he hides his wolf and act like an 'omega,' the lowest in hierarchy. Lucas must bide his time, seek alliances, and witness depravities. Lucas will kill his enemies or die trying.

 
My Thoughts
A lot of dimension was packed into the characters for such a short story (110 pages on Adobe Digital Editions). The action is steady. Lucas and the secondary characters gain layers as the story progresses. As for the setting, I found it vague but not a detractions since the author focused more on the plot and characters. I was invested in Lucas and others as well. Don't let the age of the protagonist fool you. Lucas falls into Young Adult territory but this book is dark. While there is not a rape scene it is in the story, along with other gruesome acts. Luckily, this author didn't shove my face into how gory she could write but placed Lucas in a place for transformation. Hopefully, The Fervor will release in ebook format soon because I want to read it!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review for my stop on the blog tour, which you can find at Donnie Darko Girl. 

In Finding Esta, Luna has grown up with cruel parents who have never shown her love and aren't proud of her for anything - including her job as a journalist. When she decides to travel away from home to investigate a cold case, she has no idea just how much this decision will impact her life. 

The beginning was slow for me up until Luna leaves for Cornwell. Nothing much happened, and I spent that time feeling horrified by Luna's parents' abysmal behavior towards her and also feeling depressed with her isolation from other people. She has an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and can't touch others without feeling pain, so to avoid questions as well as pain, she doesn't have friends or a significant other in her life. 

While Luna has isolated herself from the living, she has Ada and Flo. These two characters are Shadows, ghosts who don't like to be called ghosts. They were in purgatory called the Shadow Lands - at least I believe the Shadow Lands are purgatory because the souls of people who commit suicide reside there. Ada and Flo add humor and sparkle to Luna's life and to the book overall. 

I was taken by surprise when I found out vampires come into the story. I knew going in this is a paranormal story, but from the synopsis, I never would have guessed there would be vampires. I'm happy to say they have been given a fresh new twist that made reading about them a lot of fun again. 

This book was completely different from what I was expecting. It was original and fresh with well developed and interesting characters. If I had been pulled in right away rather than later, then I would have given this another star in my rating. 

If you enjoy the urban fantasy and paranormal genres, definitely give Finding Esta a try. This is the first in the beginning of a series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.