Looking Forward To...(76)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down. Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

Next Book Is...

Killing Rites

The Black Sun's Daughter #4

By:  M.L.N. Hanover

Due Out:  November 29, 2011

I read the first two books of this series thus far and have the third here.  It's not one of those series that's outstanding and brand new with ideas or out of the ordinary ones, but one that I enjoy because it's what I like and I know it.  I'm comfortable reading this series, one to curl up by the fire with and let the hours go by.  So, I'll keep reading this series as it's what I want.

Goodreads Synopsis:
JaynÉ Heller has discovered the source of her uncanny powers: something else is living inside her body. She's possessed. Of all her companions, she can only bring herself to confide in Ex, the former priest. They seek help from his old teacher and the circle of friends he left behind, hoping to cleanse JaynÉ before the parasite in her becomes too powerful.

Ex’s history and a new enemy combine to leave JaynÉ alone and on the run. Her friends, thinking that the rider with her has taken the reins, try to hunt her down, unaware of the danger they’re putting her in. JaynÉ must defeat the weight of the past and the murderous intent of another rider, and her only allies are a rogue vampire she once helped free and the nameless thing hiding inside her skin.

Looking Forward To...(28)

There are so many amazing books already on the shelves and new ones coming out.

For a list of books yet to be released I'm looking to get, you can also look on my right Sidebar at the ever growing list titled Desired Reads - just scroll down.  Of course there are tones of other new books to come out that are amazing as well, but these ones are part of series I have already started or for one reason or another caught my eye (and haven't seen much on other blogs yet). But I will highlight one here each week.

(mentioned in order of Release Date then Alphabetical if there are more than one book coming out on the same date.)

The Next Book Is:

Vicious Grace

By:  M.L.N Hanover

Due Out:  November 30, 2010

I've read the first two books in this series and enjoyed them for leisure reads.  Jayne Heller has inherited her Uncles business.  A business no one in the family has ever learned about.  But I have enjoyed reading as Jayne learns her way through the supernatural world that no one else knows exists, except for a few fellow members of the crew she has pulled together.  Jayne has a few special traits of her own, which I am curious to learn more about.  But I am looking forward to the third books release.

These are the first two books, Click the title to go to my reviews:

      Unclean Spirits

      Darker Angels

Goodreads Synopsis:

The third book in M.L.N Hanover’s bold, highly acclaimed Black Sun’s Daughter series featuring a strong-willed demon hunter and her colorful crew of supernatural helpers. 

There’s only one thing wrong with being on top of the world: falling. Jayné Heller has it all. Trusted friends, a gentle lover, a huge fortune, and a mission in life that she inherited from her uncle along with his money and power. But half a century ago a vast and terrible rite took place at Grace Memorial Hospital, and now something under the hospital is knocking against the walls of its coffin. Something huge.With every secret she uncovers, Jayné comes closer to understanding what happened before, but the truth will take away her friends, her lover, the uncle who protected her, and the past she thought she knew.

Book Review: Darker Angels

Darker Angels

By:  M.L.N. Hanover

Publisher:  Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Publish Date:  October 2009

Genre:  Fantasy

Format:  Paperback; 360 pgs, pocket book size

Series:  Second in The Black Sun's Daughter, Quick Review of Book 1 ~ Unclean Spirits

Recommendation:  Sure, if you are looking for a quick relaxing Urban Fantasy read.  Not really one to knock the doors in for, but a decent read.

Book Synopsis:
In the battle between good and evil, there's no such thing as a fair fight.

When Jayne Heller's uncle Eric died, she inherited a fortune beyond all her expectations - and a dangerous mission in a world she never knew existed. Reining in demons and supernatural foes is a formidable task, but thankfully Jayne has vast resources and loyal allies to rely on. She'll need both to tackle a body switching serial killer who's taken up residence in New Orleans, a city rich in voodoo lore and dark magic.

Working alongside Karen Black, a highly confident and enigmatic ex-FBI agent, Jayne races to track down the demon's next intended host. But the closer she gets, the more convinced she becomes that nothing in this beautiful, wounded city is exactly as it seems. When shocking secrets come to light, and jealousy and betrayal turn trusted friends into adversaries, Jayne will soon come face-to-face with an enemy that knows her all too well, and wont rest until it has destroyed everything she loves most...

First Sentence:
"Hey," my dead uncle said. "You've got a call."

My Review and Summary:
Karen Black is at a school where most of the children will probably not graduate, or will end up in loads of trouble, to meet with Daria ~ the bright young girl in fourth grade who's now telling outlandish lies, such as her sister got ate by a snake.  Karen seems to think Daria is in trouble... big trouble.

Jayne and the guys have been traveling at rushed speed for months to inventory her deceased Uncle's many, many homes and stocks.  While in Athens, Jayne receives a call from Karen asking for Eric, Jayne's deceased Uncle, for help.  Jayne and the guys decide even though they are exhausted from the pace they have been keeping to go help Karen.  So, they head off to New Orleans, to help Karen with her case of ten years in the works... To help save the next expected victim of a voodoo demon...

This was a quick easy read for me.  I just let myself enjoy the book and go with the flow of the characters.  The crew members; Jayne, Aubrey, Ex, and Chogyi Jack.  Jayne brought these characters together in the first book Unclean Spirits.  They still are new to working closely together with each other and it sounds like they are still trying to find their places in the group.  The characters are all so different from each other, yet they compliment each other nicely.

Jayne is the main character, and in a way the leader of the group - yet Jayne is new to the whole world of the demon Riders and magic.  She still feels out of her league with taking charge of cases or situations and lets her self be lead to thoughts a little bit.  But this is believable in the world that is built here.  But I like how Jayne is not as weak as she may think she is in this area.  And I still have questions on Jayne, such as why she is able to do a few things she does (like being able to cross into the Crossroad of the demon path).  There is much more to Jayne than even Jayne knows.  I am wondering how her Uncle set her up so well with magic and protections, without her knowing.

The first third to half of the book was a little relaxed for me.  There was a lot of setting up here; for the plot, characters, and religious beliefs.  Then about half way through the book it started to accelerate.  I could see what was coming and the clues where set for me to find them, but I still enjoyed letting the story unfold in itself.  There where a few moments where I wasn't sure of what was being said in the way of Voodoo, but I enjoyed the voodoo spin on this book.  The demon riders that mixed with the believes of the New Orleans Voodoo.  This book didn't hit me like a book to drop everything you have and dart out to get it, I still liked the read.  It was a quick, relaxing read for me as I got through it in record timing.

I had seen that the third book of this series will be released in November.  I will eventually pick it up, as I have enjoyed Jayne and the crew.  And curious to see where Jayne goes next along with the growth of the characters.


I purchased this book for my own reading and enjoyment.


This book qualifies for my challenge Speculative Fiction hosted by Book Chick City.

Quick Review of my Shelf...

I have just a few books I have been watching for the second one to come out. So I thought I would mention them here over the next few days. There is not many but since I have been thinking of them and they were before I started blogging I thought I would share them.



Unclean Spirits

By: M.L.N. Hanover

Synopsis on the cover:

Jayne Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayne travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers-and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayne finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means-magical or mundane-so Jayne had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions-Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse of Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities-Jayne finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast-or break them completely...

My thoughts:

Jayne is a 22 year old college student who finds out her uncle has passed away. Jayne is not all that close to her family, and there was something between her father and uncle-so they didn't talk. Jayne is surprised to learn her uncle, who helped her out a time or two, has left everything to her in his passing. She goes to check out some of his properties and is attacked. To her astonishment she can really kick some butt.

Jayne is clueless as to what her uncle even did for a living. Eventually, she finds his comrades, whom he worked with, and learns there is a demon out there that needs to be stopped. Unaware of what her uncle had planned, besides some notes with rifles and specially made bullets in a storage unit, she needs to decide to take action or leave and let the others tend to it.

I do have to say the scenery descriptions were a little short. All the details are found in the actions and planning of the actions. This book is placed in our world so there is no great new world setup needed here. The character development was a great start to a first book in a series. I love how the characters are real, in they are not perfect in their choices and make mistakes. They are not a Superman who is always doing the right thing at the right time.

I am waiting for the second book to come out. Which should be out in a few days.