Dark Coven

 

 

Alexis "Lexi" Levine thought her life couldn't get any more complicated, she's been turned into a werewolf, bonded to the sexy, moody Reece Garrett, and has become a permanent member of the Shifter Squad. If hunting zombies and psychics wasn't bad enough Lexi's being stalked by a vampire who's desperate to make her one as well. When the team gets sent to West Virginia to investigate a dark coven of witches, Lexi's vampire stalker follows along adding more danger to the team. Keeping family secrets proves to be to much when the vampire attacks Reece forcing Lexi to come clean. The vampire is Lexi's own mother. As the Shifter Squad fights to defeat the coven they make new friends and develop stronger bonds, but will it be enough to survive?

 

Review

Dark Coven, book three in J.C. Diem's Shifter Squad series wasn't my favorite so far. I would have liked this book a whole lot more if it had just been about the team vs. the vampires. It felt to me that the coven was just there to give the team a reason to be in a new setting. Don't get me wrong I still liked the interaction between the squad and love Zeus the new addition, but the coven scenes didn't do it for me. If this book wasn't necessary for following the series I don't think I would recommend it unless the person really enjoyed the first two books.

Zombie King

 

Alexis "Lexi" Levine's life changed the night she became a werewolf. At barely eighteen Lexi is now a permanent member of the Shifter Squad. In denial about her mysterious connection with the broody and sexy werewolf Reece Garrett, she hopes if she ignores the problem it will go away. But when the team is tasked with heading to New Orleans to hunt down a powerful bokor, a voodoo practitioner who calls himself the Zombie King, has been raising the dead, Lexi and Reece find that the only way to survive is to trust not only each other but their bond. Once there, the team finds there are more than just the Zombie King and his minions, because when a ritual doesn't go according to plan the Zombie King releases far more than he bargains for. Add to that something odd is happening to Lexi, it's going to take all the Shifter Squad has to survive the Big Easy.

 

Review

Book two in the Shifter Squad series by J.C. Diem, is an excellent continuation of the story so far. This book picks up exactly where the first left off. At the end of book one Lexi had just informed her father that she was now a werewolf, and much like any overprotective dad he dropped everything to see for himself that she was in fact ok. I loved this and found it to be hilarious because I'm the baby girl in my family and I know my dad would have been out for blood if anything was to ever happen to me. The fact that Lexi's dad finds out that not only was she turned that she also had sex with the very man who changed her, not once but twice. It's so awkward that you feel the tension radiating from everyone on the page. He's only there for a few days and after he leaves is when the plot starts to take place. The team sets off to hunt for a zombie raising bokor, who calls himself the Zombie King. Now I find it ridiculous when bad guys give themselves nicknames, it's stupid. But in this story the bad guy is a young cocky guy whom you could totally see giving himself the name, so it doesn't bother me much. What did bother me was how some scenes would repeat, not in a person's routine repeat, but writing the scene the same way with only the slightest difference. It was bothersome but not enough to ruin a very entertaining story. I'm really enjoying this series and I sincerely hope the rest of the books continue to entertain.

Seven Psychics

 

Alexis Levine is a recent high school graduate and is waiting to turn eighteen so she can  join the army and become a sniper just like her father. While practicing at the army base's shooting range, Lexi meets Mark Steel the head of a small specialized group belonging to a mysterious government agency and he is in need of the country's best sharp shooter. But since Lexi's father is over seas on a mission of his own, Agent Steel recruits the next best thing, Lexi. She signs on to be a temporary member of the team but as Agent Steel begins to explain to Lexi that the team is faced with hunting down and destroying The Seven Deadly Sinners, seven psychotic psychics who have escape a special facility and is now going on a rampage in the streets of Denver, Lexi can't believe what she's hearing. When Lexi finally meets the rest of the team she knows there's something not normal about them but she can't figure out what, add to that the first meeting with Reece Garrett, the sexy, strong second in command who looks at Lexi like she's nothing more than a child, Lexi knows this mission isn't going to be as easy as she first believed. Caught in a trap he can't escape Reece forever changes Lexi's life forever.

 

Review

Let me start by saying I got this as a free read on Amazon for my Kindle. I'm not a huge fan of the freebies on Amazon, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Seven Psychics by J.C. Diem, is worth the time. Now if you're the kind of person who sits there and points out things that could never happen I'm pretty sure this book will drive you nuts. For starters there's psychics whose mental abilities revolve around the seven deadly sins, plus there is the introduction of shape-shifters. But I think the most unlikely thing to happen is a seventeen year old girl hired as a sniper. I had no problems with this, because my whole library revolves around paranormal craziness. I liked the relationship between the characters, I like that Reece didn't just look at Lexi and think I love you. This is another reason some might not like this book, he's a hot jerk and she's completely smitten. I happen to like books like this, unlike other books with a similar relationship plot Reece doesn't do a 180 at the end and express his undying love to her. But if you can ignore the little things I've mentioned this book is jam packed with some pretty intense violence and a whole heap of humor. I'd recommend this book and hey if you don't like it it's not like you wasted your money.

Magic Stars

Somethings are worth risking everything.

 

 

Derek Gaunt is now a true lone wolf, he answers to no one. Known amongst Atlanta as the Grey Wolf, Derek has made it his mission to protect those who need protecting. When a family close to Derek is murdered, he sets out to find those responsible and to make them pay. Not to be left out Julie Lennart - Daniels soon joins him for his quest for vengeance. It becomes a race to save the city as the two face an ancient power so great it might cost them everything.

 

 

Review

 

Magic Stars is one of the many novellas in the Kate Daniels series by Illona Andrews. I was so excited to see Derek have his own story. If you haven't read any of the books so far do not read any further, for this way holds spoilers. When we met Derek he was just this cocky teenage werewolf, almost like Curran's sidkick, then he becomes  Jim's go to guy, and all along the thing everybody mentions is how pretty he is. But then we hit Magic Strikes ( Book 3) and this kid, and that's what he is gets molten metal poured on to his face and beaten with in an inch of his life, his back story is heart breaking, it's one of the saddest things. Anyway as the books progress he starts to almost pull away from everyone, I mean he's still Kate's boy wonder and Curran's wolf but he also seems so lonely, it's sad. This novella allows you into his mind and you find out that he's barely keeping himself from turning loup. He's walking a very thin line. Now I have mixed feelings about he and Julie getting together tough I like Julie I have a feeling she's going to be bringing a lot of drama in the future and that could go easily into that snotty, bratty, "I know everything" attitude that gets super annoying very quickly. I would really love to see more Derek stories in the future. If you enjoy this series then this is a must read.

Underground

Harper Blaine was your average P.I. that is until she died, well for two minutes. Now she's a Greywalker, someone who walks the line between the human world and the paranormal. On the harsh winter streets Seattle's homeless are being butchered and Zombies have been seen roaming the night. When Harper's mysterious friend Quinton comes to her for help she can't refuse. They soon discover that someone's unleashed an ancient monster of legend on the city's underground and Harper must work with the living and the dead if she wants to keep anymore of Seattle's homeless from dying.

 

Review

Underground is the third book in Kat Richardson's urban fantasy series. I'm a big fan of this series, it's like a cool mix of horror and folklore, with a dash of history. This book isn't like a lot of Urban Fantasy books, though it has moments of comedy and romance, the story itself dives into some pretty dark and gritty places that at times are uncomfortable. It's so common for books to lean toward either Greek or Celtic folklore, it was refreshing to read about some of the myths in Native American culture. I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys urban fantasy mysteries.