Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge Recap

Challenge:  Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge
Host:  Book Chick City
2012 Level:  Forty Eight (48 books) - FAILED!
Thoughts:  I love horror and urban fantasy, but 48 in a year was just too much for me.  I think I'll go back down a level next year.
Books:1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
2. The Nameless One by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
3. Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
4. Veil of the Unknown by Kelly Leigh & Terri Lucas
5. Until Next Time by Amy Lignor
6. Mongrel by K. Z. Snow
7. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel
8. Die for Me by Amy Plum
9. Spectral by Shannon Duffy
10. Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
11. Nightmare Inspector 1 by Shin Mashiba
12. March Story 1 by Hyung Min Kim & Kyung Il Yang
13. Brody's Ghost 1 by Mark Crilley
14. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
15. The Reaper of St. George Street by Andre R. Frattino
16. The Ridge by Michael Koryta
17. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey
18. The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts
19. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 3 by Svetlana Chmakova
20. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 4 by Svetlana Chmakova
21. The Crimson Z by Robert Cloud, et al.
22. Silver & Gold by David Sakmyster
23. Nightmare by Annette Shelley
24. Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning
25. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
26. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
27. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
28. Ghosts in the Graveyard by Kim Bowman
29. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
30. The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen
31. Dead World by Shannon Rouchelle
32. Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan
33. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
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48.

Silence

Title: Silence
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN: 978-1-4423-4381-8
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy

Thoughts: At first, I was not sure how the plot device of amnesia was going to work, but not only did Nora start regaining her memory, she made connections withint those memories that furthered the plot, so it ended up working very nicely.  I also liked how the prologue was read by a different reader as it is the only part of the book that is not first person.

Rating: 4 stars

Rebel Angels

Title: Rebel Angels

Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte
ISBN:978-0-385-73341-0
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, Immortal

Thoughts: Normally the middle book in a trilogy is just meant to be a build-up to the climax in the third, but Rebel Angels has such a strong plot that it could almost be a stand alone.  The dark intrigue and plenty of riddles kept the story moving rapidly and now I cannot wait to see how things end for Gemma Doyle and her friends.

Rating: 5 stars

Ghosts in the Graveyard

Title: Ghosts in the Graveyard

Author: KimBowman
Publisher: Astraea
ISBN:978-1-936852-68-0
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy

Thoughts: This is a cute MG novella perfect for Halloween.  Young readers will get a thrill out of the ghostly chills, but what really makes Ghosts in the Graveyard work is the ending.  With most stories, the beginning tends to be the strongest - not so with this one; the ending is perfect.

Rating: 4 stars

Crescendo

Title: Crescendo

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Audioworks
ISBN:978-1-4423-3419-9
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, Immortal

Thoughts: Crescendo has more action than Hush, Hush, but it also has a little more of Nora being an annoying wishy-washy teen.  The audio book kind of gave away the answer to the mystery in the prologue by the voice used, but the ending is one heck of a cliff-hanger.

Rating: 4 stars

Hush, Hush

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Audioworks
ISBN:978-1-4423-5607-8
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Audio Book, Horror & Urban Fantasy, Immortal

Thoughts: There were some points where, if I thought too long,  a couple of plot points did not make sense, but listening to it, kept my mind from drifting.  Overall, though, a very unique and suspenseful YA paranormal.  I am very interested to see where the series goes.

Rating: 4 stars

Silver & Gold

Title: Silver & Gold

Author: David Sakmyster
Publisher: Dragon Moon
ISBN: 978-1-896944-98-2
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Horror/Urban Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is a wonderful historical fiction account of the Alaskan gold rush, reminiscent of the storytelling of Jack London. The beginning, as the story bounced back in time, was a little confusing, but once it started focusing on only Delin’s life, it really picked up. The Sesquats added some interest, but I think the story would have been stronger without them.

Rating: 3 stars

The Crimson Z

Title: The Crimson Z

Author: Robert Cloud, Lee Rush, Richard Savage, Abby Blythe, & Kara Elsberry
Publisher: Black Velvet Seductions
ISBN: 0-9774682-8-3
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Horror & Urban Fantasy, Immortal, Free Reads, Paranormal Fantasy, Short Story, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I love the idea of a frame story involving a jewelry story that sells magical objects and I like that different authors told the object's stories.  The big reason that I did not like the story was that Melanie and "Papa" Zach's relationship was just creepy, and Melanie's backstory seemed very unrealistic.

Rating: 2 stars

Nightschool: The Weirn Books 4

Title: Nightschool: The Weirn Books 4

Author: Svetlana Chmakova
Publisher: Yen
ISBN:  978-0-316-09126-8
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Horror & Urban Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: Lots of action in the final volume, which means lots of chances for Chmakova to show off her wonderful artwork.  This volume was intense, and the ending was perfect.

Rating: 5 stars

Nightschool: The Weirn Books 3

Title: Nightschool: The Weirn Books 3

Author: Svetlana Chmakova
Publisher: Yen
ISBN:  978-0-7595-2861-1
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Horror & Urban Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: Things really begin coming to a head in this installment and we learn some important background information.  I really liked the parts about the search for Sarah, but the ones involving Mr. Roi's students left me a little confused.  But no matter what, Chmakova's artwork is amazing.

Rating: 4 stars

The Haunting of Gad's Hall

Title: The Haunting of Gad's Hall

Author: Norah Lofts
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN:  none
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Horror & Urban Fantasy, British Books, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I read Gad's Hall over a decade ago and really enjoyed it.  It was a perfect scary gothic.  The Haunting of Gad's Hall sounds like it should be even more chilling, but it wasn't.  The beginning was promising and the second part was what it should be, but the majority of the first part (and the book) was the overly-detailed backstory for the house with no haunting whatsoever.

Rating: 2 stars

Brody's Ghost 1

Title: Brody's Ghost 1

Author: Mark Crilley
Publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 978-1-59582-521-6
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Graphic Novels, Horror & Urban Fantasy, Ghostly, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is the first in a six-volume series, and boy does it end making the reader want more.  Brody is a down on his luck slacker who sees a ghost.  Talia, the ghost, wants Brody's help to solve a murder so she can get into Heaven, but Brody does not think he has what it takes... and it ends with a bang.  I definitely need to find the rest of this series.

Rating: 4 stars

March Story 1

Title: March Story 1

Author: Hyung Min Kim & Kyung Il Yang
Publisher: Viz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3755-9
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Graphic Novels, Horror & Urban Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is a beautifully illustrated yet highly gory horror. Each chapter could stand on its own, but March’s backstory is slowly and expertly doled out through it, so they are much richer together and make for excellent reading. The story and illustrations compliment each other so well that it is amazing it was a collaboration. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely a keeper.

Rating: 5 stars

Nightmare Inspector Vol. 1

Title: Nightmare Inspector 1

Author: Shin Mashiba
Publisher: Viz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1758-2
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges:  Graphic Novels, Horror & Urban Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I love shojo horror, and Nightmare Inspector is a pretty good example of the genre.  Mashiba keeps everything dark, however, most of the endings are just a tad too glum.  It does end with an awesome cliffhanger, though.

Rating: 4 stars 

Spectral

Spectral

by Shannon Duffy

published by Tribute

2012

ISBN 978-0-09837418-7-9

Why Read?: Review

Challenges:  Mystery & Suspense, Debut Author, Horror & Urban Fantasy, Witches & Witchcraft, Paranormal Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Shannon Duffy mixes an ancient occult feel with contemporary romance in her YA paranormal, Spectral.

Jewel Rose has spent her entire life on the run.  Every few months means a new town, a new school, and a new name.  Jewel thinks her parents are hiding from the mafia, but shortly before her seventeenth birthday, she learns the truth after moving to the sleepy little town of Ponoma Park, Florida.  Arriving at the same time as her family is another new student, Roman.  The mysterious and attractive Roman explains to Jewel that she is a spectral, a special witch who turns seventeen on a summer solstice with a full moon.  What makes a spectral so special is that she is able to assimilate the powers of any other witch if those powers are used on her.  Every coven wants her – either to use her power or to kill her because of it – and that is part of the reason her family has been running for so many years.  The other reason is that they kidnapped her for their own coven.  Now with Roman’s help, she must find her real family…but can she trust someone whose coven is out to kill her?

Spectral is very fun and fast-paced.  The pages fly by as Duffy doles out twist after twist, shaking Jewel’s sense of whom to trust with each new development.  The only problem is its lack of believability.  Yes, it is a paranormal, and by that definition alone, it is unrealistic, but there should still be some plausibility.  Jewel was a realistic teenager with solid young adult feelings but the turn her life takes was a tad too fantastic lacking the by-in that lets a reader suspend their disbelief.

All in all, Spectral is an engaging YA paranormal romance.  I look forward to more works by Shannon Duffy – especially ones with a hint of the occult.

Rating: 3/5

Until Next Time

Until Next Time

by Amy Lignor

published by Tribute

2012

ISBN 978-0-09837418-5-5

Why Read?: Review

Challenges:  YA Historical Fiction, Horror & Urban Fantasy, YA/MG Fantasy, Immortal, A to Z, Once Upon a Time, 100 Books in a Year

Amy Lignor puts an interesting spin on angels in The Angel Chronicles.  Part fantasy, part historical, the first volume of the series, Until Next Time tells the tale of two partnered heavenly beings and their first foray into the lives of humans.

Emily and Matt have spent their whole lives training with the Saints in Heaven to learn how to help souls on Earth.  Now it is time for their first mission, which will also be the first time these two soulmates have been separated as they will bear no memories of their lives in Heaven.  Emily, an Angel, is sent down into the body of Liz, an orphaned barkeep in early 19^th century Ireland.  Liz and her best friend Faith run the bar that used to be Liz’s parent’s house on their own, but have the full support of the town.  One of their great protectors is Daniel, a young man with some troubles of his own, which is why Matt, the Warrior, has been sent to his body.  Liz and Daniel have a close relationship, but when a tragedy occurs, Liz is forced to leave Daniel and travel with Jason and Charles, two mysterious travelers who capture the girls’ hearts.  But Liz cannot forget about Daniel, especially as her strange nightmares continue, always leaving her battered and bruised in the morning.

Until Next Time starts strong and fast but soon moves to a slower pace which fits fine with the historical fiction part but not so much with the urban fantasy.  The middle tends to drag with not enough action or revelations to keep the reader truly engaged.  The main problem is the precedent the prologue sets for the rest of the story.  From it, one gets the idea that Until Next Time is a first-person dark fantasy rather than a third-person historical with just a hint of fantasy. Plus, it seems like it would fit better with the next book in the series as it takes place after the events in Until Next Time —the reason is explained as Emily is reading about her mission—and gives just a tad too much away.

That said, Lignor creates realistic characters and really transports the reader back to Ireland in the early 1800s.  The trips home (aka Heaven), though, can throw the reader out of the story as they disrupt the flow.  However, without these, we would not get to know the Saints with their pithy quips that they hope catch on, which really add some humor to the narrative.

With some tightening up of the genre, Until Next Time could be a great religious historical fantasy.  Obviously, Lignor has more planned for Emily and Matt, and I look forward to seeing what that may be.

Rating: 2/5

The Haunting of Hill House

Title: The Haunting of Hill House

Author: Shirley Jackson
Publisher: Penguin Classics
ISBN: 978-0-14-303998-3
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges:  Horror & Urban Fantasy, A to Z, Ghostly, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: The Haunting is one of my favorite classic horror movies (the original -not the remake).  However, it does take some liberties with Jackson's original story (the play version, though, is as true to the book as a play can be).  The real story is more psychological than in-your-face, but the creep factor is still ramped way up there.

Rating: 5 stars

Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge

Challenge:  Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge
Host:  Book Chick City
2011 Level: Twenty Four (24 books) - COMPELTED!
2012 Level:  Forty Eight (48 books)

1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
2. The Nameless One by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
3. Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
4. Veil of the Unknown by Kelly Leigh & Terri Lucas
5. Until Next Time by Amy Lignor
6. Mongrel by K. Z. Snow
7. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel
8. Die for Me by Amy Plum
9. Spectral by Shannon Duffy
10. Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
11. Nightmare Inspector 1 by Shin Mashiba
12. March Story 1 by Hyung Min Kim & Kyung Il Yang
13. Brody's Ghost 1 by Mark Crilley
14. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
15. The Reaper of St. George Street by Andre R. Frattino
16. The Ridge by Michael Koryta
17. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey
18. The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts
19. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 3 by Svetlana Chmakova
20. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 4 by Svetlana Chmakova
21. The Crimson Z by Robert Cloud, et al.
22. Silver & Gold by David Sakmyster
23. Nightmare by Annette Shelley
24. Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning
25. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
26. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
27. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
28. Ghosts in the Graveyard by Kim Bowman
29. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
30. The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen
31. Dead World by Shannon Rouchelle
32. Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan
33. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
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Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge Recap

The Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge did prove to be a challenge, albeit a fun one that I will definitely do again! I just finished reading 24 last month:

1. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

2. Summer by Eden Maguire

3. Grand Guignol Orchestra 1 by Kaori Yuki

4. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

5. The Dark-Hunters 4 by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Claudia Campos

6. The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

7. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

8. Odd Is on Our Side by Dean Koontz, Fred Van Lente, & Queenie Chan

9. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

10. Into the Dark by Gena Showalter

11. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

12. Secrets in the Attic by Damian Serbu

13. The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne

14. The Haunted by Jessica Verday

15. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 1 by Svetlana Chmakova

16. All You Desire by Kirsten Miller

17. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

18. Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery by Graphic Classics

19. Ghost Hunt by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson

20. Ghost Hunt 2 by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson

21. The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

22. Nightshade by Maryrose Wood

23. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

24. Trance by Kelly Meding

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade

Title: The Poison Diaries: NightshadeAuthor: Maryrose Wood with The Duchess of Northumberland
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
ISBN: 978-06-180242-3
Why Read?: Review
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, iChallenge

The YA market is currently oversaturated with dark fantasies. In order to stand out, an author has to have a very unique concept. That is exactly what Maryrose Wood, with the help of The Duchess of Northumberland, has with The Poison Diaries trilogy. The first book in the series was a gothic tale of love, plants, and a startling revelations. Nightshade, the middle book of the trilogy, takes an even darker turn, adding murder and political intrigue to the mix.

After recovering from her illness, Jessamine Luxton wakes to find her betrothed, Weed, has fled. Depressed, she goes about her day working as a healer and trying to avoid the voice of Oleander, the Prince of Poisons, in her head. However, it is with his help that she discovers the cause of her illness and her mother’s death. Enraged, Jessamine sets out to poison her father, and ends up killing another man in the process. Now she must disguise herself and flee Northumberland with only Oleander to guide her. Shortly after she leaves, Weed comes back for her only to surmise what she had done. With the plants in England too scared of the prince to tell Weed where Jessamine is, he travels to Italy, to the Orto botanico, the oldest garden. There he falls under the tutaledge of Signora Baglioni, the gardener, a wise and trust-worthy woman interested in Weed’s gift of talking to the plants. But while Weed is bettering himself, Jessamine is falling further under Oleander’s power, possibly past the point of no return.

While The Poison Diaries was dark mostly in an atmospheric sense, Nightshade was dark all around. Jessamine’s life starts off dim and gets darker and darker as she progresses through the blonde healer Jessamine, the auburn embroidery and cosmetics merchant, to the raven-haired poison dealer. Weed’s life, on the other hand, seems to lighten a little once he reaches the Orto botanica and is able to learn more about how to use his gift for good. However, through it all, he still carries the burden of his murderous transgression along with the worry of loosing Jessamine to Oleander. These emotions make for tense, fast-paced reading.

Nightshade was a good I simply could not put down. Maryrose Wood shows great prowess as a storyteller in all aspects of writing. I simply cannot wait to see how The Poison Diaries trilogy ends.

Rating: 5/5