DarkHeart's comments (member since Dec 31, 2008)

DarkHeart's comments from the Urban Fantasy group.

Um... It's been a bit since I read it (and I have a crap memory), but I believe one of the main characters in Lori Handeland's Phoenix Chronicles is a shaman who can change into different animals.


And next year's

Unfortunately, they do seem to have bad covers. The cover for Magic Strikes is their best one yet, and it's still cheesy. I think they'd attract more new readers if their publishers found someone else to do the art, as I only read them because a friend assured me they were good. A while back Ilona mentioned that they'd sold the rights to a UK publisher who is redoing the covers, so I'm eagerly awaiting the results of that.

Anne wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Valorie wrote: "I heard that Disney bought rights to blue bloods to make a movie. It looks as though they did the same with Adrian Phoenix's Makers Song series. Here's the link for..."

Please save us all from that torture... I'm not convinced Dante will be cast right, so this makes me quite nervous. I tend to prefer my books to stay in my head, as film adaptations as so rarely done well.

I think it's a hybrid of the two. It's not straight UF though, as I believe each book will center around a different couple and end in their HEA, but so much emphasis is placed on the world building and the overarching story, that it isn't straight PNR either. It is similar to the later BDB books in that respect.

Valorie wrote: "I heard that Disney bought rights to blue bloods to make a movie. It looks as though they did the same with Adrian Phoenix's Makers Song series. Here's the link for the Adrian Phoenix movie gossip...."

That's very interesting. I've just posted to the Adrian Phoenix Yahoo group to see if anyone's got anymore information on it.

I don't know that they've specifically said, but it does seem like it's going down the PNR path rather than the UF one of Kate.

Darcy, I agree. Often I find children in books to be annoying or easily forgotten, but Georgie and Jack were brilliant. I may have liked them even more than Rose and Declan. They did such a great job of fleshing out their stories and their personalities, that you were left having grown really attached to those two boys.

Oh and William and (the not yet met) Cerise, will be the subjects of the next book, Bayou Moon. So far they're only contracted for two - but I can't believe their publishers will leave it that way for long!

I love the aspect of the color covers on the Nook and the personalized screen savers, but I'm not sure if that should be enough to sway me. I love that the Sony Touch has the ability to click on a word in a book and it pops up the dictionary definition - perfect for the sci-fi space operas my husband is always trying to get me to read, and the stylus that allows notes and the landscape reading option. In the end, I'll probably go with the Sony, as I think a lot of the key Nook benefits will be lost on me outside of the US. Maybe I'll upgrade to a Nook in a few years when they release the second version.

I'm really conflicted. I thought I'd decided on the Sony Touch, but even though I'm not in the US, I quite like the looks of the Nook as well (although I could do without the B&N branding on it). Must decide soon so I can finalize my list for Santa.

Ooh, do pick up the Kate Daniels series, Elena. I think it's the best UF series out there right now. Love it!

And see I felt like Magic Bites was information overload for the first 50 pages or so, which is why I initially put it aside (I'm so glad I picked it up again though). But I agree that Kate's world is more complex, and as that has been revealed over the course of the series, it's fitting.

But I digress, and return to the book at hand. LOL, I guess there was an emphasis on Declan's hotness, but possibly they felt they had to do that as they were resolving the relationship in one book, rather than the slow build we have with Kate and Curran. But I agree that even though it happened quicker, the evolution of their relationship was believable. Of course there was that initial attraction, but you're right, they really grew to respect and care for each other. So, when she agrees to marry him after only a short time of knowing him, it didn't feel forced.

I definitely look forward to reading William's story and have been enjoying the Edge 2 snippets posted on their blog so far.

Okay, I decided to wait to chat, although I read (and loved) it last month. Ilona and Gordon are so good at their world building. I think this book showed how they've matured as a writing team, able to present a complex world in an easily digestible format, which I think they struggled more with when they wrote Magic Bites. I love the idea of The Edge, and the moving between The Broken and The Weird. The idea that Weird residents would pay top dollar for mundane objects from The Broken was great.

I'd have thought it would be tough to top Curran, but they give it a good go with Declan. He's a wonderful character and a great match for Rose, another strong and well developed character. They do a great job of creating female characters that remain relatable, even while in fantastical situations. It was interesting to see that we didn't have to wait for the build-up of Rose and Declan's relationship, and I hadn't realized that the next book wouldn't center around them. As for supporting characters, I absolutely adored Jack and Georgie. Such wonderful characters, each written with such emotion and depth. Loved them.

So, basically, yeah, I loved this book. Ilona Andrews remains my favorite UF author(s).

LOL, posting this so early - does this mean that those of us who couldn't wait until November can start chatting about it early? =)

As the Kindle isn't yet available here, in the UK, I've been looking at the Sony eReader Touch and officially put it in as my Christmas wish with my husband last night. It won't take place of my books, but I have a growing collection ebooks and hate reading on my laptop. I was also swayed by their support for the ePub (and PDF) format with their latest round of readers and didn't want to be stuck with a proprietary Kindle format for my books.

I'm with you, Michelle, in that I loved Rincewind (I still laugh at how long it took me to get "economics"). I must admit to having skipped any books with the Wyrd Sisters, as my husband swears they're rubbish. LOL Vimes, Carrot and crew are probably my favorites though. I love Pratchett though - the man's a genius! =)

Hmm... I think the Black London series has the potential to be the stronger of the two, but we'll have to wait and see as she's had four books to develop Luna's character. Pete and Jack are very compelling characters though, so it will be interesting to see where she goes with it.

I just finished the first book in J.F. Lewis' Void City series, and quite enjoyed it.

And although I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, Mark Henry has his Amanda Feral series. So, although it's a male author, it's a female protagonist.

Well, now in fairness, Derek was adopted so I would say that he and Simon do count as brothers even though they are not blood related.

While they've now got their own series, you do have Samuel and Charles in Patricia Briggs' series Mercedes Thompson and Alpha & Omega. I'll admit they don't spend a lot of page time together, but some.

Dora wrote: "Has anybody read the Nocturne City series by Caitlin Kittredge? I am on the 3rd book, and really loving the series."

I've read them all and I enjoy them. Luna's need to sabotage her relationships drives me batty at times, but the books are entertaining. I recommend Street Magic, the first book in her Black London series - a strong first novel which has left me eagerly anticipating the next installment.