Tag: Amanda Bonilla

July 30, 2014 Books, Reviews, Urban Fantasy Post a Comment

AGAINST THE DAWN by AMANDA BONILLA – Review

The Shaede Assassin series continues

Amanda Bonilla

Book 4 of the Shaede Assassin series shows no sign of fatigue. After the emotional turmoil in book 3, the first few pages of Against the Dawn act as sort of an intensive care ward for Darian’s wounded soul. She takes stock and reconnects with Xander and Ty. While she’s hesitant to give any sure-fire indication as to which way her heart beats, the Shaede king and the jinn grab the opportunity to prove themselves.

Along the way the author serves up a number of road blocks and surprises. The resulting zigzag is also reflected in the characters’ journeys. Not only do we dig deeper into the people in Darian’s life, Darian herself reveals her true mettle.

And like any good book, this isn’t all about who’s making out with whom. Plenty of action and plot-twisting awaits us, including the appearance of an unwelcome face from Darian’s past. After the introspective start, the pace doesn’t as much gallop as hurtle head-over-feet-over-head to the ending, providing just enough respite to let us catch our breaths.

A word about the ending. I prefer it if the author wraps everything up into a lovely, tidy parcel. Cliffhangers and loose threads get you all hot for the next instalment, then leave you hanging for many months as you wait for the conclusion.

That said, biting into a pillow while grunting your impatience is a lot of fun, too. And this truly is the mother of all cliffhangers. Either way, I will sit by my Kindle app, on the look-out for book 5.

tl;dr
Should you read it? Hell yeah.

Reviews

June 30, 2014 Books, Urban Fantasy Post a Comment

15 URBAN FANTASY AUTHORS YOU SHOULD READ

15 Urban Fantasy Authors I Love

Urban fantasyI prefer Urban Fantasy to Paranormal Romance, although Urban Fantasy typically also contains a generous helping of romance. In fact, the line between the two genres is so smudgy, writers, aka me, get confused about where to place themselves. Since my focus is on the ‘fantasy’ plot rather than the ‘boy-meets-girl’ plot, I declared myself an Urban Fantasy Author years ago, and I’ve stuck with it since. This is the definition on which I based this article.

Last month, I published a short list of my five favorite urban fantasy authors. Of course I realized my mistake quickly. How can you possibly distil a whole world of exciting plots and delicious characters to five lousy entries? It just won’t do. So in full awareness that this collection is not complete either, here a more exhaustive attempt at introducing some of my favorite writers, in no particular order, together with my favorite series. Among them you will find some of the most popular Urban Fantasy writers, and hopefully a few names you haven’t yet read, but are eager to check out.

Patricia Briggs Her Mercy Thompson series is an exercise in smart, interesting urban fantasy. She has also published other series, but Mercy Thompson was the first of hers that got me hooked. You can’t beat werewolves, can you?

Kim Harrison Kim’s series The Hollows got me started in Urban Fantasy. Her quirky characters, intricate relationships and heart-pounding plots make her books a real joy. Witches, vampires, demons, werewolves — there’s no need to choose just one. To date, The Hollows is still one of my favorites.

Darynda Jones When Darynda came on the scene, I was stunned. Here was finally someone who wrote like me. An immodest thought, but one borne out of deep admiration. In all fairness I should say I want to write like her. Her main character, Charley Davidson, can see ghosts and helps them cross over. It’s fun, original, and with plots that keep you interested.

Jim Butcher Jim Butcher’s wizard Harry Dresden is a flawed and therefore all too likeable character. The plots are highly imaginative, and the characters as quirky as can be. What’s not to love?

Jennifer Rardin’s Jaz Parks series is a winner. Yeah, I know, some people like their Urban Fantasy sexy and serious, but if you’re after sexy and snarky, you’re at the right address. Sadly, Jennifer Rardin passed away in 2010, but her books are as readable as ever.

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, at least the earlier books, are must-buy reads. Anita Blake raises the dead and is a licensed vampire executioner. She’s tough, funny, and very sexy. Halfway through the series, Laurell changed the genre from Urban Fantasy to, I guess, Erotic Paranormal. I don’t mind sex in books, but plots always come first, and hers were getting a little thin in that department. That said, anyone who likes Urban Fantasy should give her books a go.

Amanda Bonilla Amanda’s Shaede Assassin series is a breath of fresh air. I was hooked from book one. Here we have fantasy that didn’t involve werewolves or vampires or any other creatures from lore. Nope, Amanda made up a whole new world for us, with the main character being an assassin. Hey, a girl’s gotta eat, right?

Jennifer Estep Jennifer’s Elemental Assassin series features Gin Blanco, the feared ‘Spider,’ an assassin not to be trifled with. As a rule I never trifle with assassins, but Gin Blanco knows her stuff, that is to say her elements, which makes her all the more dangerous. Really fun read.

Rachel Caine Another writer who steps away from the more traditional mythologies. Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden who always seems to be running from or toward things. There’s never a dull moment when she’s around.

Jaye Wells Jaye Wells gave the old witches and vampires genre a fresh twist with her Sabina Kane series, and although I adore the main character, her mischief demon Gigul steals the show every time.

Mary Buckham Mary’s Invisible Recruits series took me unawares. I’m an avid reader and my favorite authors simply couldn’t keep up with my demand. I was always looking for new stuff. Mary’s a great teacher, so out of curiosity, I gave her books a try. Well, I love, love, love her character, Alex Noziak. Talk about kick-butt. With twisted plots that keep you guessing, Mary’s books make her another author to add to my must-read list.

Kate Griffin Kate Griffin’s book A Madness of Angels stole my breath from the very first paragraph. Matt Griffin is a 21st century sorcerer of urban magic. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is one of the most stunningly beautiful Urban Fantasy books I’ve ever read. And as I mentioned, I read a lot.

Keri Arthur Keri Arthur’s Guardian series with Riley Jenson is fresh and littered with three-dimensional characters. Riley is no prude, thanks to her werewolf genes. The same genes that make her such a powerful investigator. With each book, Riley’s personal circumstances get more complicated, and the plots more twisty and turny. Isn’t Urban Fantasy great?

Faith Hunter Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock is a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who makes her living hunting vampires. Something about Jane, and her alter ego Beast makes her an incredibly compelling character. Perhaps it’s her wit, or her no-nonsensitude. Definitely worth reading.

S.J. Day Sylvia Day’s Marked novels immediately sucked me in. Eve Hollis is Marked, which means she can identify infernals (demons) and, if need be, eliminate them. She’s constantly torn between Abel and his brother (your guessed it) Cain, and there’s enough intrigue and mystery to keep me interested. Sadly the series is quite short.

I’ve also read some fantastic new authors recently, but the above is a compilation of the crème de la crème IMHO. Clearly I’ve missed out authors whose books I devour, some because they’re outside what I call the Urban Fantasy genre, some because their names escape me for the moment (I apologize). All of them have helped shape my writing, in terms of plot, style and humor. More than that, through their delicate relationships, vivid characters and solid plots, they still make me read as a reader and not as a writer. I hope I’ll never lose that ability.

May 9, 2014 Books, Urban Fantasy 3 Comments

My top five urban fantasy writers

I hate lists. Okay, I love lists. Hate them because I keep adding items or change my mind, and love them because they bring some cohesion to my fan-girl rants, especially when it comes to recommending authors.

But first, my history as a reader.

As a kid, I read all sorts. But as I got older, there weren’t many books that caught my interest. I was too old for the fantasy books of my youth, and the only thing I could stomach were crime books, typically “soft” crime like Agatha Christie or Martha Grimes.

It wasn’t until the advent of Harry Potter that I rediscovered the joy of reading. I joined at the second book, and soon had my entire workplace, let alone family hooked. Well, the women anyway. Thinking about it, Ms Rowling owes me a hell of a commission. Suddenly I remembered why I used to love books. So I read children’s fantasy books.

And then something marvellous happened. I discovered there were fantasy books for adults. But with the job and everything, wading through six hundred plus pages took commitment. Besides, most were a bit dry.

Finally, I discovered Kim Harrison. Her The Hollows series knocked me for six. She’s therefore number one in my list.

Then I discovered Keri Arthur and Laurell K. Hamilton. The latter was really good, but after a while, the sex took over and the plot became thin, at which point I lost interest. Keri Arthur is an author I read regularly, but she, too, missed out on a spot in my top five.

To make a lo-ong story short, I found Jim Butcher (number 2), Patricia Briggs (no. 3), Jennifer Rardin (number 4) and most recently, Darynda Jones. With Darynda Jones, here was finally someone who wrote the way I myself tried to write. Quite a revelation, and I’ve been a fan since her first book. I even named one of the characters in my book after her, but since she’s a rather nasty character (the one in my book, not the author), I changed the spelling to Derinda.

There are many more excellent urban fantasy writers out there. Amanda Bonilla, for example, who hasn’t yet received the recognition she deserves. Who knows? A couple of more books, and she’ll be in my top five. Another near miss was Mary Buckham, an excellent teacher AND an excellent writer, as I only recently discovered.

Anyway, to recap. My top five, in no particular order, are:

1) Kim Harrison

2) Jim Butcher

3) Patricia Briggs

4) Jennifer Rardin

5) Darynda Jones.