Lightning Blade

Ruby Callaway #1

by D.N. Erikson

After twenty years inside a supernatural internment camp, bounty hunter Ruby Callaway is granted a temporary release by FBI Agent Colton Roark to help capture a necromancer publicly killing high ranking government officials. Each year, on the same day, the necromancer kills. And today marks the eighth anniversary.

But after dying at the killer's hand, Ruby discovers something strange: the day repeats over and over, in an endless time loop starting at midnight.

The killer has something much bigger planned for today. And Ruby, as the only one capable of seeing the necromancer's endless time loop, must stop the psychotic necromancer from obtaining unlimited power.

But the world outside the fence has changed, the supernatural forced to live in sprawling slums lying just outside gleaming cities. And in this uneasy new world, there might be threats even greater than serial killers lurking in the shadows...

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Amazon, Dystopia, Magic

255 pages, ebook

First published January 20, 2017

About the author

D.N. Erikson is a USA Today Bestselling paranormal and urban fantasy author. To get your free copy of the novella BONE REALM - and join D.N.'s mailing list for the latest news on upcoming novels - visit dnerikson.com/bone.

D.N's series include THE HALF-DEMON ROGUE TRILOGY (complete), THE RUBY CALLAWAY TRILOGY (complete), and THE EDEN HUNTER TRILOGY (in progress).

Reviews

[Spirit-Soul-Body · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this EBook from Story Cartel in exchange for review.

It is science-fiction dystopia. Plot is pretty much same as “ Steelheart” where governing body has all the power and people living style often reminds them old time was good. They live with civil rights abuse and forced law to follow or get ready for worse.

In this urban fantasy, main character ruby has supernatural powers to see other creature’s true aura and strong intuitions. Ruby runs with FBI Agent colton roark against powerful necromancer who had power to animate army of creatures.

“Freedom was always preferable to incarceration.”

Ruby tries unfold suspense if time loop which activates when she dies.

It’s pretty much fast paced suspense thriller. Ruby’s sense of humor is comic addition.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Like Ruby my day seem to be in a loop as well. This is the third mediocre book today, don't know what it is but at this point I'm done.

It was a good book but it was boring, if that makes sense. The story was great and not so great. I liked the concept though. Good thing I got this for free if not I would have been a little upset.

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on Amazon today (12/13/2017)! 💝

[Sunshine✰✰✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of the story sounded interesting, but in the end I kind of felt meh about it. Ruby Callaway is...I don't know what. She ages 1 year for every 20 that pass. The blurb says she's a bounty hunter but the story was about her being stuck in a time loop. Every time she dies, she reboots back in the detention center where she started. She "partners" up with FBI agent Colton Roark each day but it seems like he was always dying and she would just go on trying to figure out the mess without him before she was killed herself.

[Yoryi (Por amor a los libros) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y como soy fanática de las fantasías urbanas no podía dejar de leerlo.

Este libro mezcla la fantasía, con lo sobrenatural, ciencia ficción y distopía creando un nuevo mundo lleno de magia, seres sobrenaturales y mucha tecnología de una manera perfecta, en la que todo se conecta con todo.

Nuestra protagonista, Ruby, ha pasado 20 años en un centro de detención correccional sobrenatural sin envejecer más que un año. Es un personaje fuerte, determinado y divertido, que al salir al mundo exterior se encuentra con que cambió y avanzó mucho durante su tiempo encerrada, lo que la lleva a tener que replantearse muchas cosas y volver a descubrirse.

Obviamente que no es una chica buena, nuestra querida Ruby es un ser único, un Realmfarer, el único que queda, además de una cazadora y mercenaria de más de 200 años de edad.

La historia gira en torno a que es liberada para ayudar a un agente del FBI a detener a un nigromante psicópata, mientras se encuentran en un bucle de tiempo, lo que provoca reiteradas muertes, venganzas, misterios que resolver y malos que asesinar.

Que podemos decir del agente Colton, él con su hermoso rostro y hermosa mandíbula, es el clásico chico bueno con un pasado malo, que a lo largo del libro avanza y progresa mucho, ya que al principio es bastante insípido.

Espero ansiosa la segunda entrega de esta saga, y que en ella haya mucha más química entre nuestros protagonistas.

[Angala Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Great paranormal romance with a tough female lead. I got hooked into the story from the first chapter and didn't want to put this story down. Definitely a must read.

[Damian Southam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lightning Blade is the first full-length novel of The Ruby Callaway Trilogy by D.N. Erikson. The trilogy is supplemented with an additional standalone prequel, and it's currently pending the final novel. It includes: Bone Realm - Book #0.5; Lightning Blade - Book #1; Shadow Flare - Book #2; & Blood River - Book #3. It's categorised as urban fantasy and it's one of two trilogies that take place in the same universe (The Half-Demon Rogue Trilogy is complete and supplemented with an additional standalone prequel, it includes: Storm Pale - Book #0.5; Demon Rogue - Book #1; Blood Forest - Book #2; & Moon Burn - Book #3). D.N. Erikson has shown a willingness to offer the first completed trilogy as a boxset with an appropriate discount. It excludes the prequel, for which both respective books (Bone Realm & Storm Pale) are available as newsletter/follower free downloads, not available for purchase.

Prequel reviews are on Goodreads. Below links are easily deduced by label, the review is on Demon Rogue (see above):
Bone Realm - http://watchfirepress.com/bone Storm Pale - http://watchfirepress.com/storm

Author Page Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/D.N.-Erikson/e...
Review - https://www.amazon.com.au/review/R378....
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SYNOPSIS:

Realmfarer Ruby Callaway is a unique supernatural being who is accordingly rare in the world from which she originates. Lightning Blade takes place in a dystopian version of the world and is set in the year 2039. Ruby was born as Rebecca around the turn of the nineteenth century. Now more than two centuries later her lifestyle is a far cry that of Rebecca's, in more ways than just how the sands of time have influenced the landscapes around her. The first time she cheated deatha was over two centuries ago. Following the respective period leading up to and including those events (see Bone Realm for the origin story), she emerged decades later as a changed woman in more than just name. In just the past week, however, she's managed to cheat death twice as many times as that in the first two centuries. Emerging from the Weald with extremely rare and highly sought after gifts, awaiting her was the Seer Pearl. She'd seen Ruby's emergence in one of her visions.

Ruby is now a bounty hunter, her skill set having broadened during her partnership with Pearl; her first attempt at a similar venture being at the core of her time in the Weald. She must be a believer in practice makes perfect to be willing to tempt fate a second time. Beginning the current story as a prisoner in one of the seven hundred Supernatural Internment Camps across the country, she a strong and bold survivor who refuses to be cowed. For the wrongs committed against her and her's she fights back when the situation arises, killing without any lost sleep if that's what is called for.

FBI special agent Roarke, noteworthy for being law enforcement's resident expert in the identification and profiling of supernatural perpetrators, offers her a reprieve from yet another of her countless stints in the camp's Dark Room. It's one place that even manages to cause cracks in her courage, the underlying cause of most nightmares. Even though Ruby attempts to come across as playing hardball, deep down there's very little she wouldn't do to avoid the barbaric torture in such places, save perhaps stopping from carrying out her list. For her conscience, nothing could stop her list.

With conditional release under Roarke's guardianship on the table as long as she agrees to aid in the capture (or execution if she's reading the insinuations correctly) of the country's most sought after serial killer, a necromancer believed to be called Marshall, she sees no reasons not to agree irrespective of the fact that she would've agreed to just about anything. The looming of the Dark Room seeing to that. Better still, if she plays her cards right then hopefully she'll find a way to maneuver things in wsys that'll permit some further names on her list. Nearly as important, Ruby also figures that a miniscule chance might arise that if she can prove her worth in ways the FBI would be unable to otherwise obtain, then perhaps a temporary reprieve can become permanent.

But soon after release, Marshall lures Roarke with a particular kind of honeypot he's unable to resist. As a consequence, she meets Marshall during this callout. He is so taken and intrigued by her essence that he's never encountered the likes of, and thus she is dragged into the complex web the necromancer has been establishing. She's added to a twenty-four hour Groundhog Day with Roarke when Marshall stabs her in the heart with a rather curious knife that Roarke carries in his arsenal. Even though her essence is of such a unique nature, Marshall assumes that like Roarke she'll be unaware of the time loop once her death incorporates her into it.

Although unaware of the reasons why, when Ruby awakens her memories promptly lead her to realise she is aware of the repitition in the Groundhog Day she shares with Roarke. She hopes this will give her an edge in beating Marshall before he catches onto her awareness. She assumes the game isn't just the smokescreen, that Marshall must be doing more than killing a government official and broadcasting it on a yearly anniversary date, but finding out isn't an easy thing to do when the calender starts each day anew.

The first possible deeper meaning she catches onto is a scary consideration, leaving her with the hope that she's wrong. She must undertake the very difficult role of participating without giving away that she is aware of all she's learning. Not only that, she is also restricted by only being able to investigate what needs to be discovered in ways that also won't give away that she's aware. This aspect is much harder given Marshall has his own preconceived notions of how far and what they can be investigating. Not to mention the dilemma over IF and HOW she makes Roarke aware, a task that cannot be easily achieved given her inclusion in his investigations was not instigated by the FBI's desire to use her skills. It is actually one of the camp's captains of security who, in his ambition to elevate his position, first made Roarke aware of her potential value to the investigation.

Any deviation could theoretically mean that Marshall learns of her awareness before she solves the riddle. To further progress she not only has to ask all the right questions, she has to do it in a manner that won't give away her situation. She also must establish the quickest method in order to get further before the clock starts again. Any perceived sentience will surely see Marshall cancelling her participation, it's only his intrigue in her that keeps her going as it's actually Roarke who drove Marshall's infatuation in the game he's designed in some weird fulfillment of his desires.

She doesn't for one second think that Marshall wouldn't or couldn't go further in simply killing her or Roarke permanently. Given his immense power - a prerequisite of the essence needed for time magic - he'd likely be capable of killing them both in a heartbeat (no pun intended). In a loop none can understand that it even has the capacity to exist, anything can happen when a Lightning Blade clashes with a Crimson Angel.
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OPINION:

It should indicate at least moderate recommendations that following my experiences of Demon Rogue, that I went out and grabbed the first trilogy boxset and both prequels. I also found Lightning Blade being offered at an introductory special and I have since added Shadow Flare to it, the second novel of Ruby's trilogy. Presently I have reviewed Demon Rogue and both prequels, but I've been somewhat remiss with the other books, something I plan to remedy over the next few weeks. Please don't interpret my lax attention as reluctance on my behalf. Regardless of when you read my review, it's worth doing a quick author search on your preferred retailer platform(s) for discounts; I've added Amazon's author page with this in mind. I've also included the link to my review of Demon Rogue.

In a manner that can be likened to Edge of Tomorrow the mystery herein is intriguing in the sorts of ways that elicits problem solving skills. Such efforts are further extended in thoughts about the ways that Ruby can achieve her needs in the framework provided. This inevitably involves a bunch of internal predictions resulting in a lot of 'I reckon', and 'I knew it'; thoughts about how a loop can be considered in positives relating to how to use it to best advantage, about trial-and-error. There are also a couple of further movie examples that readers might recognise in regards to loops. Such as Groundhog Day and The Arq. Most will know the setup in Bill Murray's romcom. The latter is more in keeping with the science fiction based suspense involved in the first example.

For those who haven't seen it, it's about a device created to answer an energy production crises, a not all to unfamiliar problem of the modern age. Its design deals with perpetual motion physics where once the technology is set in motion by a powerful electrical surge, the device is thereafter meant to run itself; along with tens-of-thousands homes. During a bumbled robbery the arq sets something in motion alright, a slowly reducing loop. Similarly as herein and the other examples, you could learn to see the conundrum as a serendipitous glitch that allows you to solve a riddle you otherwise might fail to do so, or a potential demise that you can come back from. You could say it's a matter of glasses being half empty or half full.

The landscape is ruled in totalitarian interests of human populations no longer unaware of the supernatural. A time span where fear mongering is realised through staggering subjugation. Human capacities to relegate, marginalise and dominate come from a marriage between science and technology, driven by a corporation's dissection of people in order to see what makes them tick so that the knowledge developed continues to drive the bottom dollar and share prices into unequalled profits. Whatever can be learnt and replicated is a means to profit bankrupted in the areas of the rights of the living people subjected to these practices. As profits increase the corporation is driven to further its knowledge of in order to maintain steady increases.

The general public and private, business and government sectors are maintained by artificial factors that create a reliance upon the means of production owned by the corporation, establishing an unavoidable symbiosis until society no longer knows how to function without the things the corporation sells. In some ways we already experience similar situations in our real world example of the reliance on medication and pharmaceutical giants who profit from what is essentially human sickness. In the use of another movie example to help form an impression of the underlying principles I'm reminded of Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation; MagiTekk might produce both similar and different resources that the world herein has become reliant on, but it treats the population with as little morality as Umbrella does. That is to say that people don't exist, only products and test subjects do.

In regards to the use of internment camps and torture (the Dark Room), locations hidden away from the public eye that might manage to produce sympathisers if they knew the true extent of policies to interrogate, experiment, and dissect, then we don't have to look too far to see that such possibilities are lacking realism, or even that they're purely fictional. Superiority is ensured by keeping marginalised populations alive but under such inhospitable climates and conditions that leave them so disenfranchised and under staggering individual duress that it's next to impossible for them to unite and mount any effective resistance. Some would ask why not simply eradicate then?

To which there's likely two main reasons, the first and biggest is that they serve as perfect examples warning others who might be shaped in such ways to tow the line. Second is that it may not ever be possible to eradicate when members of the respective groups can glamour and blend in. The ramifications of the warning in the first reason also mean that when it's absent sympathisers can be motivated to offer assistance, something they won't do if the first reason provides all the necessary incentives to not provide help. Whilst this isn't an overt aspect of the story's commentary from the perspective of wrong and right, you'd have to be blind not to see it. It's always an effective teacher who permits and promotes their students to work something out for themselves.

Under such conditions not only is retention more effective, those who've realised it for themselves can then also show the aptitude to then go away and apply that learning elsewhere, which pure rote learning doesn't do as well at. In essence the same can be said of really good fictional writers, who instead of using facts and non-fiction knowledge they use their story to get you there; just along a different pathway. If this fictional climate and Ruby's experience of it was to be manipulated, to say include Jews during Nazi Germany, or going back further to the case of Hebrew slaves used by ancient Egyptians to build their monuments, or even to the slavery of indigenous peoples not only past but also still present in some modified forms, then you would give it an A+ for methodology. In many ways, like techniques are among the underlying principle of what folk lore, fairy tales, and other traditional storytelling is designed to transmit, concepts like morality and learning wrong from right through lasting enjoyable tales.

As an ingenious coining of MagiTekk as the corporate entity's logo, the analysis of how perfectly it is named shows an outstanding capacity of lateral thinking on the part of its creator, D.N. Erikson. It has a rare diaphonous quality of being so simultaneously complex and simple at the same time. It achieves so many purposes that you cannot help but wonder if the story came first, and then the business logo arose from the need to supply a suitable name; or if the business name came first, and the story was written at length to describe the many concepts wrapped up in a single logo. I'll leave it as an implication so as not to spoil any discovery of your own part, but I challenge you to see how and why this deduction is possible. As a clue, I will highlight that to see the perfection you should think about the following items: the who, the how, the why, the where, and the when. Once you've read about it in relation to these critical items, then you might arive at a deduction regarding how intuitive and informative the corporate logo is: how it's without equal.

This book is fast paced entertainment with characters who drip mystique, and a plot similarly enriched with as much mystery. Ruby is a great character for whom there's so much depth that I expect we'll still be learning things about her in the final chapters of the third book. She's definitely one of the most unique quality the book has.There's also a lot that is said without actual voicing, sometimes the best way to address concepts with mixed opinions. There's no reliance on any messy love triangles or relationships that have broken down only to now see the parties needing to work together, which are two areas that can be overused to create drama. Mind you, not that a little lust or arousal isn't sometimes warranted and almost always appreciated. Problem solving and reading between the lines are common factors entertaining your thoughts as you simply enjoy a great story rich in content. The landscape develops with much clarity that isn't reliant on distinguishable world building.

I have a preference and deep appreciation of storytelling that achieves necessary tasks covertly, as a matter of course in telling the plot. Overt world building for me tends to slow books down with often no appreciable differences in how clear the environment becomes. Drawing attention to any of the things necessary for understanding a story always feels artificial and overly technical. I enjoy most the natural writing styles where authors doctor their tale in ways where you pick up on so much without it being shoved in your face whilst it waves flags with the caption, look at me! So there's plenty of positive features making it a worthy read, and I only had one area of knowledge regarding what's taken place in the timeframe between the prequel finishing and this book beginning. But as some things aren't always discovered all at once, I'm reluctant to mark down based on what I perceive as an area that could benefit from more delineation. I get the impression that the future books will star various events that'll elicit flashbacks that will solve more of this riddle.

[Nuria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2'5/5🌟

[Jack Vasen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby is a foul mouth, sarcastic, flippant, bounty hunter who also happens to be supernatural. Ruby has principles, but we just haven't figured out what they all are yet. It appears that they may be a mixture that doesn't always favor mortal humans. But it seems clear that mortal humans are almost always out to get the non-humans, except for Colton. She also has mysterious powers that appear to revolve around understanding auras and having some prescience.

The story is filled with violence and torture. Ruby is often the beneficiary of the torture even to the point of dissecting her to death. Fortunately she is currently existing in a time-loop that reboots her daily to the same point no matter how the previous day ended. She must figure out how to navigate that day to make progress toward her end goal. In this book, her goal is to defeat the necromancer who appears to be the source of the time-loop and thereby hopefully earn amnesty.

It's hard to figure out what all the ground-rules are in this futuristic world that includes vampires and other dark supernatural creatures. The story springs them on the reader and then explains them, sometimes better than others. There are many magics which are sometimes introduced without preface but as needed to solve a current crisis. This book exists almost exclusively under a cloud of hopeless doom, not just for Ruby, but also possibly for the world.

[Eric Lahti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the thing about time loops: They can get boring if they're not handled well. Groundhog Day could have been the least interesting movie on the planet - right up there with Ishtar - if it wasn't handled well. Ditto with All You Need Is Kill. If you've got the same character going through the same thing over and over, it can get ridiculously tedious. In other words, writing a time loop story isn't for the faint of heart.

Each time Ruby gets re-looped, she remembers even though the rest of the characters are reset back to zero. Since she knows what's coming, Ruby has to try new things to get her story back on track. Each of the loops gets us closer and closer to the endgame, which is just as much a surprise as everything else that comes before it. That's what makes a good time-loop book. A very enjoyable read.

Read the whole review on my blog

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby Callaway is in prison, in a time loop. She keeps re-living the same day, where an FBI agent releases her from prison in order for her to assist with the removal of a Necromancer. But Ruby and the Necromancer are the only ones that know about the time loop and every time she relives the day she has to convince the FBI agent that she is the one who can do this, but that they need to work together.

Despite being in a time loop, Ruby is in a race against time. The longer the time loop exists, the harder it is to break out. So she must find a way before she is stuck forever. She needs to break out of the time loop, in order to break out of her prison.

A really enjoyable story, it grabbed my attention from the opening lines. There were no blocks to the reading and I did find myself reading late into the night because I didn't want to put it down. On finishing this book I went straight on to reading the short Novella which gave the prequel information on Ruby's life prior to ending up in prison. I look forward to reading the next story in the series very soon.

"Words from two hundred years past echoed in my mind as the completed form streamed into the data cube. You’re a hunter, Rebecca Callaway. A killer."

I received an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Barbara Senteney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the strong female character of Ruby Calloway. She remained strong and level headed throughout the whole story. It was never an issue of liking her because she was so beautiful, which was refreshing. Ruby is a prisoner of The Federal Corrections Supernatural Internment Camp. Somehow her and an FBI agent named Roark are in a time loop together.

Like Ruby somewhere in the middle I was getting tired of the time loop saying come on already, get to it. Still there were added bits and pieces continually being fed to me. I felt the breadcrumbs were sometimes into small a dose. I did however really like the story and rooted for Ruby through every page.

Roark was also a very strong character never being overshadowed by his female counterpart. I did however get annoyed t my hero's continuing on this bad loop , seems like an acid trip gone horribly wrong.

The Necromancer was only a fraction of importance to the whole story, but was who they were after'
Lots of vampires, werewolves, fae all the creatures of the night. It was very action packed, each scenario was fresh, keeping you wanting to know, what's next.If you are looking for strong characters, a female who isn't vain and insecure, then I recommend this story.

[Soulfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightning Blade is made up of things I love, time loops, futuristic settings, and a kick ass female heroine. Time loops are so rarely done, at least I seem to rarely read about them, that when I saw that was what this book was I couldn’t not buy it.
I’m still not exactly sure what Ruby Callaway is, she’s a realms something or other, but she seems to be unique but not over powered. She ages very slowly so she’s had some time to train, which explains the abilities we were shown. I’m curious to learn more, though.
The real winner, though, was the world created. A futuristic world with paranormal creatures is just so cool to me. Things, of course, aren’t peachy in the future, and our heroes must find a way to survive and break the time loop, but things are never what they seem.
I wish the villain had been better developed. The pieces were all there, but the only time I felt anything for him was when he was first introduced, after that it was just sort of, “oh yeah there he is again.” He wasn’t over the top and he had awesome motivation but I feel like he could have easily been expounded on.
Really enjoyed the book over all, though, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
4/5

[Jessica (Read book. Repeat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is difficult, I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. The concept of the story seemed interesting: sassy protagonist who I enjoyed meets kind of dry partner with "sad blue eyes" and finds out they're stuck in a time loop where they must find out what's happening and kill the bad guy.

I found the writing itself to be great, besides the repetition of "sad blue eyes". I was worried at first that the whole time loop thing would mean I was going to go back over information constantly, but it wasn't like that at all, the author worked with this concept really well.

I'm thinking that maybe this story just wasn't for me, I can't work out why exactly, which is frustrating. It took me a while to get through it and I even put it down for a while too.

There's not really any magic in it perse so if that's what you're looking for, you won't find it here, I'm not even sure why I assumed magic would play a role in it. However, if you're looking for a near futuristic, sci-fi type story, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of the world the author has built, the characters you meet and the storyline that has been set up. Give it a try, you may like it!

[Sean Bai · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is really confusing. The main character starts off in a prison, and on the first page, we learn she has killed four people in prison in the last twenty years. Then guards come in, give her a sedative, and more, and find three bodies next door.

I'm not a fan of exposition but in this case, I didn't know what was going on. The execution felt a little off. I also wasn't particularly interested in the main character.

The author also name dropped many mystical creatures just to let us readers know it's urban fantasy.

There is also some technology in the series that helps humans be the equals of mystical creatures. It was slightly introduced but wasn't explained very well, like "Titanium alloy nano implants. Strengthening the muscle fibers beneath the skin."

This doesn't have a huge impact on my review, but the book cover I saw advertised on BookBub and the cover that appear on my Kindle device are one kind of book cover, but the book cover that appears on the Amazon store and on the actual book itself are different. I'm not sure what's going on with that.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the author’s approach to this story. It’s set in 2039 and depicts a grim, dystopian world that’s quite different from the one protagonist Ruby Callaway knew when she was imprisoned twenty years earlier. Knowledge of the existence of vampires, imps, trolls, and other creatures (she’s a Realmfarer who killed four people) has changed the world, and given control to a corporation known as MagiTekk.

The use of time loops in this story is a double-edged sword. The author shows what’s happening by repeating the beatings Ruby takes in prison, which certainly demonstrates the hardship and frustration she endures, given that she’s aware of the time loop. But repeating actions in order to move a story forward is tricky since it can make the story seem too repetitive at times.

The characters of Ruby and her partner Colton Roark are terrific as they hunt for the necromancer who wants to unleash terrible creatures on the world and destroy MagiTekk. This is a compelling first installment that fans of the genre will enjoy.

[H.M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish

I made it 51% of the way through this book. This book just wasn’t keeping my interest. The story was confusing, there was too much swearing, and I didn’t like the main character.

The writing seemed disjointed too. It felt like I was hearing only one side of a conversation between two people. The author doesn’t really describe what is around the characters, or what they are doing. For example, after the day repeats, the main character is holding the pen again, and then a prison guard comes in, she is suddenly on her knees, and then suddenly the pen is buried in the guard’s eyeball. What happened between the guy coming in and her being on her knees? Between the main character being on her knees and the pen in the guy’s eyeball? Did he grab her? Did she stand and stab him? The scenes just seem incomplete...

I was disappointed. I thought I would enjoy this book, because I liked other books by this author, but I struggled with reading it.

[Leslie Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, however I do agree that Bone Realm (free on author's website} should be read first. That being said, I was consumed by the book. Once I got into it there was non-stop action (and violence) both inside the prison and out. The humans are trying to control or eradicate the paranormals. Ruby is the only being that realizes the world is in a time loop. Ruby must work with FBI Agent, Colton Roark, to stop the Necromancer before he is unstoppable. First they need to understand what he's after before they can stop him. I like when Colton gave Ruby a secret phrase to remind him he can trust her when time resets the day. I highly recommend this book, but it will keep you captivated until the end. I read nonstop (except when I couldn't stay awake anymore) because I HAD to know what happened next. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Nicole Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and different

Took me a bit to get into; but after that it was fast-paced action until the end. Ruby is a Realmfarer; however no one knows her name or what she is. Even after reading, I'm not quite sure what exactly that is; but I plan to read the prequel from the author's web site and hopefully find out! One gift of hers is being able to recognize when she's stuck in a timeloop and it's up to her to end it. Partnered with FBI agent Colton Roark, she lives a life akin to Bill Murray's in "Groundhog Day"; making mistakes and fixing them in the following loop. Set in a future where supernaturals are confined to internment camps; solving this puzzle is her only chance at freedom. Great read with a lot of violence that isn't too gory for someone who isn't into that. A good read.

[Renee Rearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supernatural Ground Hog Day.

Reliving my worst day: horrific. Being stuck in a time loop and reliving my worst day: hellish torture.

Ruby Callaway is back, and she is seriously screwed. Imprisoned. Stuck in a time loop. Lots of bad nasties gunning for her. Yep, pretty much a day in the life...and reliving that day just gets worse. With a demented serial killer (that's an oxymoron) on the loose, a case to solve, and an FBI partner that sometimes believes her explanation of the time loop, dying and starting over doesn't just reset the ticking clock it sometimes resets everything. She's got to figure out how to stop a killer before there's nothing left to reset.

LOVED Lightning Blade. Fantasy with a dark side so appeals to me. Life is messy. Sometimes scary. Always about survival. That's Ruby Callaway every day of the week...even when it's the same damn repeated day!

[Cyrene Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncaged Review: First of all, this book should not be read, before you read the novella that is free on the author’s website. I did not – because it was mentioned at the end of the book, and it would have been helpful, as the reader does not get a good background on Ruby in this book, so it’s a whole lot of confusing as to her plight. I liked the unique time loop, but it got a little overdone – even with the alternate endings. It seemed Ruby only remembered the loops and had to catch Roark up every time.
There are some plot holes that didn’t pan out, and hopefully those will be addressed in the upcoming books and the male lead in this story is not all that likable with a wooden personality. The fact that the book ends on a cliffhanger is another sour point, but the full trilogy is out, so the reader can at least move on right away. Reviewed by Cyrene
3 1/2 Stars

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish- premise remove the supernatural powers from a supernatural story doesn't make sense

The story is an intriguing one, but the world where technology so far exceeds magical abilities that we put all magical creatures in concentration camps and have chips that remove all their powers.

Why write urban fantasy at all if you don't want magic in your story.

Make it science fiction instead. Having the heroine in prison is fine, but are you booing to tell me not a single magic user has any power.

The necromancer should have been destroyed within the first 5 minutes as his powers never would have worked with all the magical suppression fields up.

Rewrite the world so that it makes sense and give what might have been an interesting story a chance.

[Rachel Chiapparine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book in the Nook store on my tablet because it seemed interesting and it was in the free section. My personal review of the book is as follows:

The concept and characters were interesting however for me personally the way in which time was used made it hard for me personally to understand and connect with the story(I'm trying to avoid any spoilers), I think that the concept might work better as a TV show on the CW TV Network so that you can use CGI effects to help bring the world and magic of the series alive. I think that if you liked things like the Netflix movie "Bright" you might want to check out this book.

Overall because of how interesting I found the main characters I personally rate this book a a 4 out 10.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 star rating (I round up) This was one of those books that isn't what you think it will be. This was a dark gritty look at a future with the evil of technology and money(greed) being the real bad guy. The whole time loop and each day learning each time was very "groundhog day". A few times the author was repetitive with descriptions and phrases. Yes, I get each loop was the same day however same descriptive details like his sad blue eyes just gets old. I liked that the heroine was a survivor, smart and kind of badass. If you like syfy post apocalyptic stories you might like this book. I don't know if I will read the series..right now Nope better books to read.

[Lavana Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colton working for the FBI tries to get help from Ruby also known as the Lightning Blade to stop the necromancer from killing people. After Ruby and Colton die at their first attempt they have been stuck in a time loop that keeps on repeating.
They are now joined together, he dies, she dies until they both solve this together. As they die each time Ruby remembers everything unlike Colton whose human so she uses codes and information he has given her in their times before to get through to him.
Deep down in Colton soul he knows that he trust Ruby with his life and same goes for Ruby. Partners in crime together they fighting of this even if it means defying the government.

[Kriss · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5, read it in a day and really liked it. The first part was enough for me to buy the complete series, ok, so it was 99 cents, still I bought it, and enjoyed it. I would have liked it more if Ruby didn't completely understand what was going on the whole time. The very first day her time reset, she immediately thought, time loop, even though she said she didn't know much about time magic. So why was that the first thing she thought of? I would have liked to see her go through a second day, slightly disoriented with no idea what was going on, and then the third day, oh, i get this, time loop, and then carry on from there. But eh, no book is perfect.

[Tiffany Dover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing and grungy at the same time

I'm not even sure how to describe this book. It's a little bit grungy urban fantasy, it's a little bit Groundhog Day, and it's a little bit mystery. Nobody is truly a good guy here, or a bad guy for that matter. It's all varying shades of gray. Just like the real world. I found it refreshing in its lack of interpersonal drama, while still keeping the situational drama strong enough to keep me pulled in while the story was going through the same day over and over again. I wanted to be along for the ride when Ruby figured out the next piece of the puzzle. I'll definitely be continuing this series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightning Blade is the first book in The Ruby Callaway Trilogy. This should not be read as a standalone as it ends in a cliffhanger for the next book. There is violence. From the book blurb, I thought I would enjoy this story more than I did. The author should have given more insight into Ruby's abilities towards the beginning of the book. I now find out that there is a prequel available on the author's website that I think I should have read first so that this story made more sense. It is an interesting premise and while it started off slow, it picked up towards the end of the book. Worth reading but now I need to read the prequel.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Lightning Blade isn’t going to win any awards, but it will keep you entertained. The plot is fast paced, and I enjoyed the world building. The Groundhog Day trope had the potential to get really old really fast, but the author managed to keep things interesting throughout. The writing was also surprisingly decent except for the overuse of "sad blue eyes” as I've seen other readers mention. (D.N. Erikson and Jennifer Estep of the "my grey eyes" infamy need to get together.) Overall, Lighting Blade isn’t spectacular, but it’s a quick, fun read. I look forward to reading book two.

[Ronny · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 200 year old bounty hunter in a time loop.

This was a very exciting book all the way through, non stop action. The time loop reminds me of the movie "Groundhog Day". I enjoyed the whole book except for the foul language. The book would be even greater without it but some authors can't seem overnight a book without filling the book with all type of dirty words, I guess they thank it makes them more macho, but to me it means they can't find the right words so they fill in with that type of language to fill the gap. Just my opinion.