urban fantasy series

How not to be a detective

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

June 12, 2018 by TheShitWizard Leave a Comment

The second in the Toby Daye series, A Local Habitation sees her back in the fold, in service once more to Sylvester as one of his Knights and the person he calls in when he needs things handled. Which is what he does when his niece, fairly new ruler of a young fae territory, stops returning his calls. Pitching up at Tamed Lightning (said niece’s territory) with a young apprentice in tow, Toby finds its inhabitants apparently experimenting with all sorts of computing technology whilst their numbers are slowly picked off, one by one. For someone who apparently spent time […]

6/12/2018 TheShitWizard's CBR10 Review No:39 |

It’s too hot for Christmas fluff, but here it is anyway

Polterheist by Laura Resnick

May 22, 2018 by Bothari43 1 Comment

This book was thoroughly enjoyable fluff. It had a very A. Lee Martinez feel, except for the romance. Esther is a struggling actress, in between roles and trying to make ends meet in New York City. In desperation, she takes a job at Fensters, a giant department store with an entire fourth floor dedicated to Solsticeland. Fensters has learned over the years that going multicultural gets you more customers, so the sprawling display includes holiday stations for every religion or nationality you can think of. Esther plays Dreidl, the Jewish elf, selling toys in a blue and white elf costume, […]

5/22/2018 Bothari43's CBR10 Review No:12 |

Some days I don’t know if I am wrong or right

Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire

March 29, 2017 by Lipton Leave a Comment

“My theory of combat is simple: keep it as far away from myself as I can. I am a soft, squishy creature, with lots of moving pieces, and I want to keep all those moving pieces safely contained inside my skin.” -Antimony Price

3/29/2017 Lipton's CBR9 Review No:10 |

Five Books In And I’m Meh About This Series

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

March 27, 2017 by Julie Leave a Comment

I initially was pleased to read The Others series by Anne Bishop, particularly starting with Written In Red, the first book of the series. I’ve read some of her other fiction, the first few books of the Black Jewels series, which I would not recommend at all. A few people told me, yeah those books are terrible, but the Others books are great. The Others takes place in a world that is sort of like our own, but there are elementals and powerful forces of nature that are sentient and not too happy with humans. Then there are the lesser […]

3/27/2017 Julie's CBR9 Review No:10 |

Before the Killer Tomatoes Attacked

The Turn by Kim Harrison

March 26, 2017 by Julie Leave a Comment

I’m a huge reader of well-written urban fantasy series, the ones that have strong heroines whose magical powers help them navigate their worlds that are almost like ours except the supernatural is real. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison is a great example of that. The main character, Rachel, is a badass female witch who fights against elves, demons, and vampires, with her cool sidekick pixy and vampire bff Ivy. I was kind of sad when the Hollows series ended except it did seem like it was time. There is this thing that can happen in a long running series […]

3/26/2017 Julie's CBR9 Review No:9 |

It’s a Hard Knock Life

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

March 20, 2017 by Lipton 2 Comments

In the criminal justice system, magical crimes are considered especially bizarre. In London, the detectives who investigate these crimes are increasingly beset by dangers both mundane and otherworldly. These are their stories. Dun DUN.

3/20/2017 Lipton's CBR9 Review No:8 |

Circus of Inhumans

Magic For Nothing by Seanan McGuire

March 14, 2017 by Julie Leave a Comment

Yes, it’s book six in a series. You can probably go out and read the first five books before reading this one, but since this one takes a turn with a new character, Antimony Price, the youngest member of the Price siblings, you might be able to just read it on its own. Antimony is the younger sister, and the aimless one who has not found a vocation or career, and is still living at home with her parents. But that all changes when her sister Verity calls out the evil Covenant of St George in the previous book, and […]

3/14/2017 Julie's CBR9 Review No:7 |

I Feel Like I’m Not Liking the Things Other People are Liking

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

September 7, 2016 by emmalita 7 Comments

I found reading this book frustrating. I enjoyed it, and then I’d slam into a sentence or phrase that reminded me the author is a man. I have no inherent problem with male authors and I know men can write women, but this author seems to have had a hard time letting go of the male gaze. It did impact my enjoyment and lowered my star rating. Also lowering my rating were the endless letter/info dumps. I’ve read some other CBR reviews of The Rook, and I seem to be out of step with the crowd on this one. I […]

9/7/2016 emmalita's CBR8 Review No:38 |

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