Review: Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title: Retribution

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Dark-Hunter #20
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 448
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating: C

Summary:
From Goodreads: Harm no human...

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meets the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.

A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster...

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect.


Why did I read this book? I always wanted to read the Dark-Hunter novels and since I heard they could be stand alone, I gave #20 a try!

Source: Review copy from publisher

My Review
The Dark-Hunter novels have been around a long time (this one is #20, wow!) and I always wanted to read them. This was my first experience and I was really intrigued by the world building. Dark Hunters are undead beings ressurected by Artemis to protect humans, mostly from Daimons (Appolites that live past their 27th birthday by feeding on souls of humans) and I liked this idea since Dark Hunters have many similar attributes to vampires. Seeing them as a force of good was different and fun. I wish this was more apparent; this novel seemed to focus more on the story of the Guardians, which is somewhat based on Native American mythology.

Anyways, the two main characters, Sundown (a gunslinger from the Wild West - he's now immortal because he's a Dark-Hunter) and Abigail (raised by Appolites to belive Dark-Hunters were evil) had some good chemistry that lead to the romance that developed between them. I liked their early interactions, but then at some point, it became a romance where they loved each other after too little time. I wish it was played out more but I suppose it had to go along with the very short timeline of the plot. Also, this being paranormal romance, I expected there to be more steamy romance but it was really toned down.

I don't know if this is the best novel to jump into the series with since it didn't proivde much of the Dark-Hunter side of things and that is what I found really interesting.

Rating: C
This was a decent quick read as my firsst experience with the Dark-Hunter series. I met characters from previous books I'd love to get to know more about and so I will check out the backlist. For my recommendation, I'd say give it a try if you're interested in the premise but perhaps the earlier books might be better.

Retribution is also available in audio book format from Macmillan Audio. Click here to listen to an excerpt.

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Review: The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Title: The Iron Duke

Author: Meljean Brook
Series: Iron Seas #1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 378
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Steampunk
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Rating: A

Summary

From Goodreads: First in an all-new series where seductive danger and steampunk adventure abound in the gritty world of the Iron Seas.

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

My Review

Why did I read this book? I never read this author before and didn't have much interest in paranormal romance but I just saw great reviews for this novel everywhere and I caved in and bought it.

What I liked: I loved this book! I don't think I burned through a book this fast in a long, long time! I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed with Brook's ability to create romantic suspense between her characters. Yes, the book is mostly romance but there is so much more to enjoy as well. The world is some kind of steampunk world where Europe was devastated by the Horde not long before. There's everything you could want in this steampunk novel: zombies, goggles, crazy mechanical items, and airships. And boy, do I mean airships. I think if there was an add at the back of this book to purchase your very own airship, I would have called it in right then.

Another great part of this book is the characters. The protagonist, Mina, is a inspector who solves crimes by her own insight and wit. I just loved her. She's a flawed character dealing with her own experience with the Horde occupation of England but still manages to be awesome at her job and her relationships with her family. Another character I enjoyed was Yasmeen, the caption of the airship Lady Corsair. We never got enough of her, I think, but I heard she's in the second book and I'm looking forward to that.

What I didn't like: There's very little I didn't like. The only thing that really bothered me was Rhys' (Mina's love interest) preoccupation with possessing things (including Mina). He just seemed to think in that zone so much when he thought about her, that I questioned really want he wanted (did he love her?). Things are resolved by the end, but throughout the story this sometimes jarred my enjoyment of the budding romance.

Thoughts on the cover: I love the colors and layout but can't get past that chest smack-dab in the middle of it. Oh well!

Overall Thoughts

I would definitely recommend The Iron Duke to anyone interested in paranormal romance or steampunk. It's really a great book even if you're just into the steampunk. The romance itself is very, very steamy. Even if you're not hugely into romance I'd say try this one out, because that's how I was before I picked this up and now I'm hooked. I'll definitely be reading more of Brook soon.

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Review: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta

Title: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
Author: Marta Acosta
Series: Casa Dracula #1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 311
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Comedy
Publication Date: July 4, 2006
Publisher: Pocket
Rating: B-

From Goodreads: Latina Ivy League grad Milagros de Los Santos can't find her place in the world or a man to go with it. Then one night, at a book party for her pretentious ex-boyfriend, she meets an oddly attractive man. After she is bitten while kissing him, she falls ill and is squirreled away to his family's estate to recover. Vampires don't exist in this day and age — or do they? As Milagro falls for a fabulously inappropriate man, she finds herself caught between a family who has accepted her as one of their own and a shady organization that refuses to let the undead live and love in peace.

For Valentine's Day I thought it would be appropriate to read and review a romance book, and after seeing the good reviews Happy Hour at Casa Dracula has gotten from places like Dreams and Speculation and Dirty Sexy Books, I thought it would be a perfect pick.

There are many things I appreciate about this novel. Normally I don't like these flirty, light romantic reads because the contents usually don't appeal to me (characters, plots). However, I really enjoyed reading Happy Hour. We experience the story through the protagonist, Milago, and boy, is she ever a character! She's funny, smart and even has some flaws. Milagro was a believable and well drawn character I was able to connect to throughout the story. She falls for the engaged Oswald and spends most of the book reasoning with her feelings while also being pursued by a secret organization. I wish there was more action from her instead of being largely passive but I was dazzled enough by her clever narration that this was a minor issue.

Of course, this is all due to Acosta's clever and fun writing. I was able to zip through this in two days (which is fast for me) and I had a smile on my face pretty much the whole time. I would call this book largely a comedy and it had me laughing out loud many times. I also enjoyed Acosta's take on vampires which is unique yet still yields the same effect vampires have in romance novels.

My issues with the book lay with certain character and plot elements that remained a minor annoyance throughout my time reading. For example, I was a bit frustrated about how rudely Edna would treat Milagro for seemingly no good reason. It felt very unrealistic and over dramatic. Sometimes it was how some plot points were skipped over, like what happened between Winnie and Sam. I just wanted more out of it.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a highly fun, energetic paranormal romance, especially if they want a different take on vampires. The series continues with Midnight Brunch, which I already have and look forward to reading. B-

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