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Apr 20, 2009

Cathy rated it:

"Part-time bartender, private investigator/bodyguard/jack-of-all-trades to the nonhuman world, and one suspicious son of a bitch, that was me." Caliban Leandros, p3, a perfect introduction/reminder of who the central character is.

I was really excited to get this next adventure with the Leandros brothers. I love the sardonic tone and dark style of the books. Overall, I was pleased, but it wasn't the best in the series for me. The author experimented by switching back and fo More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Rachel rated it:

Not five stars because it's not for everyone -- the angst and vivid archetypes make it seem potentially more juvenile than other novels. But the main characters really resonate for me, the solution to their problem, though inevitable, was daring and somewhat satisfying, and reading the first chapters written from Nik's point of view was much better than I expected. A lot of authors ruin characters by changing to their point of view -- Nik's read like Thurman wrote the chapter from Cal's point More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2009

Ascexis rated it:

Deathwish is Thurman really hitting her stride. The story is smoother and less confused than the previous three: this is probably because it's the first one that wasn't based on something else. Cal has finally grown up some, and Niko gets it, and that in itself drains a lot of the criticism I had of the previous book.

I guessed the Auphe arc fairly early in the book, but that did not in any way lessen it -- the author rather neatly has Niko guess it about at the same time, without More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Sammy rated it:

This has been one of the more unique urban supernatural series to come along in awhile - breaks out of the heroine role with the men falling after her; or the powerful magical creature (whether it be shapeshifter, werewolf, vamp, wizard, what have you).

Not that I don't think there aren't some good series in this every growing area that fits these molds, but some of it is just becoming mundane...

Ok, so this series takes two brothers. Ok, so they might be hot. And angst- More...

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Apr 19, 2009

Schnaucl rated it:

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Nov 15, 2011

Hazel rated it:

This series just keeps getting better and better! Deathwish is the fourth book in Rob Thurman's, Cal Leandros series and by far the absolutely best one yet! Whereas I thought Ms. Thruman really found Cal's voice in Madhouse (book 3), she simply took it one step further in this book. In addition to Cal's sardonic POV, we also got a treat with every other chapter being in his enlightened and virtuous brother, Niko's, POV. This book picks up immediately on the cliffhanger in Madhouse. Cal and Niko More...

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Aug 30, 2011

Joey rated it:

I'm usually a very tolerant reader, but when a series starts going downhill for me, I don't expect it to ever pick up again. This has held true for even the best writers; once you lose that special something, there's no coming back from it.

No so with Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros series! The last book, Madhouse, left off on an interesting enough cliffhanger that I wanted to know what happened next, but the book itself felt like we were going through the motions. I didn't expect the series More...

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Oct 29, 2010

Ami rated it:

The fourth book in Cal Leandros series breaks my heart in more ways than one. I think it is the most emotional book, the most thoughtful as well, among all books I have read in this series so far.

The 'key' for this is the inclusion of Niko's point of view. For the previous three books, we only get the story from Cal's. But this time, the book has chapters from Cal and Niko. So we get to see how Niko thinks -- we get to see how a moment in their life from different perspectives. In r More...

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Aug 15, 2010

Jenny rated it:

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Jul 20, 2011

L-D rated it:

YES! Finally! Now this is the Cal that I've been waiting 4 books to meet! Cal is finally growing up. While he still has whiny and yes, definitely many more lazy moments, in this book he steps up to take some responsibility instead of letting Niko make all the decisions. By embracing and accepting the Auphe in him instead of rejecting it, he becomes stronger all around. Ms. Thurman switches from Nik's POV to Cal's and back again which does wonders for the development of the storyline but ev More...

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Oct 31, 2010

Lin rated it:

"I hated logic. It was never on my side."

Premise: The 4th Cal Leandros book

Viewpoint: Cal has always been the narrator in the past and that's hands down the best thing about the series. Here he shares duties with big bro Niko. Its nice to get a look inside Nik's head after hearing so much of him through Cal (The real thoughts, not just Cal's guesses). But whereas Cal's voice is very distinct Nik's is a bit bland. Cals narative snark does come through as Nik quotes h More...

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Mar 19, 2009

Mare rated it:

I think this book is right up there with the first book in the series, which I love and adore. While I enjoyed books two and three, those books didn't quite hit the mark on what it was that made the first book so great to me - the relationship between Cal & Niko. While it's evident in all the books how much they care and are a team, this book really is all about their relationship and the how they became (and will stay) the unit that they are, whether it's healthy or unhealthy. I loved the sw More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Krista rated it:

I cried, I literally cried, and more than once.
Compared to 'Madhouse', it's a completely different book in quality, coherence and climax. Where all these points made me consider 'Madhouse' to be the one I liked least of the series, it makes 'Deathwish' the best.

The story worked and delivered in more than I had been hoping for.
The writing was much better, though I still sometimes have been wondering if some sentences were examples of slang, or just plain awfull and incorr More...

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Oct 23, 2009

Abby rated it:

Dear me, I seem to have read the most recent Cal Leandros book. Now I have to wait for months for the next one. Excuse me while I wail in misery.
...
This one? This one was amazing. They keep getting better.
Oddly enough, this book had a bit of a shaky start. Thurman has always told the story through Cal's eyes. But in this one things switch up a bit, and the narrator alternates between Cal and his brother Niko. At first I was a bit worried it wouldn't work - Niko's first chapter More...

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Jan 02, 2010

Dena rated it:

This book was okay. Like a lot of urban fantasy I've read recently it tended to jump from fight scene to fight scene, with a loosely connected plot. Which gets old. Cal is half-Auphe, a dangerous paranormal that can jump through gates and appear at the worst possible time. He and his brother (who is, of course, an excellent fighter and practitioner of martial arts) have been in hiding from the Auphe for most of their lives, but in this novel the Auphe's plans for Cal are revealed and the con More...

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Jun 28, 2010

Anita rated it:

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Oct 08, 2010

Kristen rated it:

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Aug 06, 2009

Kim rated it:

The Cal and Niko Leandros series is one of my favorite urban fantasy series, a fact which owes much to its well-developed characters and the originality of its fantasy world. Mythological stereotypes are turned on their heads---there's a merman here who is a barely humanoid shark, a chupacabra who plays Go Fish, and vampires who (usually) rely upon iron supplements. And I adore the interplay between the two brothers Cal and Niko---they clearly love each other, and Deathwish in particular shows More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2009

Theresa rated it:

If I could give this book 4-1/2 stars, I would.

I really liked the book, but I did not like the alternating POVs between Cal and Niko. It took me out of the story and that is never a good thing.

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Nov 16, 2009

Summer rated it:

So in Deathwish, Cal and Niko are having almost as many personal problems as their usual problems. Cal discovers that he can create gates now without even trying. Promise introduces the brothers to an old vampire friend of hers named Seamus for a job. Seamus seems to believe he's being followed, but even with his vampire-heightened senses he can't seem to pinpoint by who. Niko and Promise's relationship is put on rocky status when Promise also turns out to be a not-so-proud mother of a vampire d More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2010

Suzan rated it:

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Feb 14, 2010

Topher rated it:

I'll admit to some disappointment in learning that "Rob" is short for Robyn; I love the urban fantasy genre, but there are very few male authors writing male characters that appeal to me. Actually, there are very few male authors in the genre in general! On the other hand, the story is just as good as the previous, she writes believable brotherly interaction, etc. I look forward to the next one in the series, if there is one. She has started a 2nd series, and this one ends on a note th More...

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Jul 24, 2011

David rated it:

Fourth book in Rob(yn) Thurman's Cal Leandros series, I found this one to be both slower moving and harder to get into than the previous novels in the series.

This, I believe, is also the first book in which Thurman splits the narration between the two brothers: the problem with that being, as another reviewer rightly pointed out, that both brothers 'sound' exactly the same, meaning that (quite often) it's easy to get confused about who is narrating! Would have worked better if each of More...

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Mar 17, 2009

Tim rated it:

This is probably Ms. Thurman's best book in this series (book #4). She has decided to write a good portion of the book from both Caliban's and Niko's points of view which added a much needed change of perspective in the series. Ms. Thurman still repeats idea's and themes a little too much in this series. At least a quarter of this book was dedicated to how much the brothers mean to each other and then rephrased and repeated ad naseum. I still plan to continue reading this series with the exp More...

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Jan 01, 2010

Sandi rated it:

In this book, Rob Thurman departs from her usual Cal only first person POV and goes into the mind of his brother Niko. This passing of POV back and forth between the two brothers works, and what the reader gets is even more crazy monsters like a chuacapra, a ridculously strong(and did I mentioned vengeant creature named Oshossi, and a vampire or two. Oh, and yeh, the Auphes make a family visit to Cal as they are often likely to do and we find out at the end of the book they'd love to use their More...

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Nov 30, 2009

Tara rated it:

4.5 stars! What started for me as a rocky series, I have grown to enjoy. This book felt very much like a series reset. Some things that have been over-arching story lines have come to a finish and there was a new narrator added to the story. After three books, it actually became a little disorienting at times to remember whose head I was in. There isn't much at this point I don't like about these brothers. I like the were-wolf that has been introduced. There's a peri which is a half angel More...

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Jan 24, 2011

KC rated it:

This was a bit of a departure from the rest of the series, as the chapters alternate between Cal and Niko's viewpoint, which was very interesting. I had been hoping that we would get a little more into Nik's head, and this book definitely delivered. The story was engaging, and the emotional turmoil for all involved was very evident and very real. My heart broke for Promise, and Niko's waking nightmare at the end of the book was devastating. I hope we see more of George in the next installment. G More...

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Dec 14, 2010

Cherry rated it:

Being book 4 in the series, the world building and character development has been done a long time ago. Although new characters were introduced, it is done in the same flare as the first book. Very good indeed. A 5 out of 5. So what else can I say about this book that I haven't said already in the previous books? The ending. The story ended with a bang and satisfying closure, but, some of the scenes there had some feasibility issues. It just tells you that this and that happened. It didn't take More...

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Aug 16, 2010

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

I'm in the middle of this...and it's not bad, but it has to go on hold till I finish a couple of library books. I also have a reading group book that may have to be bumped up. I am truly over committed.

Okay.....

if you have followed my reviews of the other books in this series you know that I've given each 3 stars. They are good reads....mostly. I only had a few gripes with them. I'm not much into anti-heroes with angsty, negative, nihilistic outlooks on life. And Ca More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Kati rated it:

My favorite book in the "Cal Leandros" series so far. Not only was the plot really intriguing, I also loved that the book wasn't told just from Cal's POV, but also from Niko's. I hope the author sticks with it, that she continues writing the book from both the brothers' POV, it's much more interesting, especially in situations where Cal turns Auphe raving mad.

There were so many things that I loved about this book, first and foremost the brotherly love between Cal and Niko, More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)