fantasy Archives – Janshea Bowens

Review-Archangel’s Viper

Hey there! It has been a moment, but I just wanted to drop in with a quick review of the latest Guild Hunter novel, Archangel’s Viper. Archangel’s Viper is the 10th installment in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. This is not the latest book, because I am behind in the series.

The Series

The Guild Hunter series is a paranormal world much like ours. Archangels are the pinnacle here. They are mostly beautiful and always deadly as they oversee other immortals and the humans. The Guild Hunters are those whose job it is to hunt down rogue vampires who break the contracts they have with these archangels.

The Story

Venom is one of the elite guard of the archangel of New York, Raphael. Seven of the best vampires and angels are a part of the guard. They have pledged allegiance to Raphael out of honor and a belief in his way of doing things. In this world filled with angels and vampires, Venom is unique. His eyes are like snakes and poison is in his fangs (he’s a vampire). Holly was once kidnapped by a crazed archangel who butchered her friends and left something of himself inside her. She has spent years learning how to live with her personal tragedy and how to control and use her new abilities. She is small and fast and her fangs carry poison too. Holly’s education is led by Venom and they have been like oil and water from the beginning.

Now Holly has come into her own and is also working for Raphael, when Venom returns from a few years abroad and stumbles right into a plot to kidnap her. During the search for the person behind the bounty on her head, Venom realizes that Holly is changing even more and something about it isn’t quite right. Holly is desperately trying to keep him from learning about the malevolent voice in her head. But they don’t yet realize the two are connected. The search brings them closer and they can no longer deny the chemistry they have. Since Venom is aloof and intimidating, while Holly is witty and combative, they have a hard time agreeing on anything. Even the chemistry may not be enough.

The Last Stand

The two find themselves having to breach another archangel’s home in order to save Holly. The cost may still be too high, for she and the voice inside can no longer co-exist. As the cost becomes clearer, Holly and Venom finally give in to the romance they feel. They are hoping the wait wasn’t too long. The epic battle for her life and the continued existence of their world comes to a dramatic conclusion sure to appease the romantics and the adrenaline junkies.

Where To Go

If this book sounds exciting, you can read more about Nalini Singh and her stories by clicking here. You can find the book here. Let me know if you have ever read her work, or if you decide to give her a try.

3 Books of My Late Summer Reading To-Do List

Have you been reading this summer? I spend a lot of time reading, a host of genres. Really anything that captures my attention I will try. I even have that terrible feeling of guilt to finish books I don’t really like. So, I generally have a never-ending books to read list that grows daily as I find more interesting stories I want to give a try. This summer I meant to catch up on some books I had on my list from earlier in the year and read one parenting book in regards to my 2e children. Well, like many of you probably, summer was a blur of fun, pools, beaches, camps, and video games. While the kids did all of that, I found myself gravitating to quick and fun reads with tons of HEAs. So, I didn’t get to some of those books I originally planned on, but I read other great stories, so it isn’t a bust! Now, as we have only a few weeks before back to school here in Central Florida, I am re-committing to finishing these three books.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – this book has had a lot of great buzz. Many writers I enjoy following made me aware of Ms. Adeyemi before the publication in February. Then I saw the viral video of her unpacking her first box of bound books and I knew I wanted to be a part of her expansive love of words. This fantasy tells the story of one girl’s journey to reintroduce magic to her world along with fighting the ruling monarchy. Grand new world with interesting characters and qualities, check. There are wonderful takes on mythology, religion, and culture, so sign me up to be immersed in this newly imagined world where a girl is fighting to save us all. And, it is now a summer read on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, which is awesome exposure for the author. This is a must read on my list and I can’t wait to jump into Orïsha through the pages of this novel.
Cedric The Demonic Knight by Valerie Willis – in the vein of transparency, I personally know Ms. Willis but haven’t read her work before. This is the first in the Cedric Series and was published a few years ago. Here we get to go on another adventure into a fantasy world built with folklore, myths, and history from the 12th century. It is filled with beasts and demons, where Cedric battles himself in an epic choice quest. I always find it fascinating the many ways writers use and interpret folklore and myth. I am excited to finally read this fantasy world.
The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. – as you know through many of my posts, I have twice exceptional (2e) kids and sometimes that means things don’t go so smoothly. One of the psychiatrists in our lives suggested I read this book to better equip myself and our family with understanding behaviors, identifying triggers, and solving problems in a proactive manner. I have read the first couple of chapters and I see us in almost every paragraph. So, I look forward to reading this popular parenting guide that has been useful to so many others and recommended by those we entrust with our physical and mental health.

Now that I have this goal, I’m planning to finish by September 30th. Stay tuned to see if I can do it.

Book Review: The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter

What better way to start a new year than with a review of a scrumptious book? I can’t think of one, so let’s go!

I recently finished the long awaited title The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter. It is number 16 in the Lords of the Underworld series. I have read each book, I have genuinely enjoyed each of them too, which is why I still reading 16 books in. The Darkest Torment tells the story of Baden, recently returned to life, sort of, and a dog trainer caught in the wrong place at what turns out to be the right time. Baden has recently been returned to life to rejoin his friends who comprise the Lords and of course such a thing comes with a lot of strings. Not only does every story build upon the previous ones, but they each stand alone as a complete story and can be enjoyed if you stumbled over, say number 10 first. You may discover them out of order, but I am sure your curiosity will get the better of you and force to you go back and get each person’s complete story for yourself. Ms. Showalter’s world is richly imagined and vivid with details. One of my favorite visuals this time around was the fact that Lucifer’s palace was built of blood and bones and surrounded by a moat of acid and tears of the damned! Just reading that made me want to turn around and run. Baden is described by referencing Jamie Fraser of Outlander book and now show, fame. It is a series many of her readers will be familiar with and brings the contemporary believably into her fantasy world. As Baden and Katarina, the dog trainer, collide we have some typical butting of heads with one or both lying about themselves and their situations. I always think, “Can’t anyone tell the truth so we can have a little bit of a smoother ride?” But let’s face it, most of us love the conflict and enjoy screaming at our books when the characters make ridiculous choices (I certainly do). I didn’t like Katarina a lot at the beginning because I was so caught up in what I saw has her needless tales, but it didn’t last and you will have to read it to see if you feel the same, but I came to enjoy her story more as it unfolded and my first impression was definitely changed.

One of the other things that often go into serial books is secondary stories as set up to forthcoming books. When they are done well, as Ms. Showalter does here, they are integral to the current story and whet your appetite for the other character’s book as well. There are two major secondary stories in this installment, that of Cameo (a female Lord, so a Lady of the Underworld?) and of William the Ever Randy (great name, right?). I wanted both these characters to have their day in the spotlight right now based on the continuation of their private situations that came to a bit of a head in this book. I don’t know which one will be next, but I can’t wait!

Back to the main story, as Baden and Katarina are forced into a longer and longer involvement, they start learning truths not clearly evident in the beginning and feeling proprietary towards each other. It is played out masterfully with a return of hellhounds, a decisive independent stance by Katarina in a world populated by demons and immortals, and an explosive twisty ending that shows smart character development. The Lords are also collectively battling to save their lives as they each fall in love, every story expounds on this and shows a maturing of the characters and their thoughts from a simple black/white and good/bad outlook, to one that is nuanced and shaped by caring for others and understanding that we all want to live.

I have long enjoyed Ms. Showalter’s writing and Lords of the Underworld was the first of her books I enjoyed, but she writes seemingly as voraciously as I read and has other series you may enjoy including contemporary romance with no fantasy worlds involved! I hope you get a chance to read The Darkest Torment, it was a delicious treat filled with misunderstood people trying their best, like you and me.

Book Review: Dark Promises by Christine Feehan

I have loved the Carpathian novels, The Dark Series by Christine Feehan for a while now, and I hadn’t read any in a moment and when I saw Dark Promises on my library shelf, I got myself caught up with the series in order to read this. I was only one novella and one novel behind and I quickly read those. I completed Dark Promises in one day, this is a bit unusual as I don’t normally have a day to commit to nothing much more than reading and laying around, so this was a treat. Read on to see how I thoroughly enjoyed it!

In having read the series up to this book, I went into it prepared for the normal story arc as presented in the realm of the unique circumstances of the main characters in this book, but was totally rocked off my chair (out of my bed) of normal Carpathian storyline in Chapter 1, page 24 (hardcover edition)! This installment in the world of the Carpathians is NOT the same and already I am so shocked by what is happening I had to put the book down and process my feelings about it.

Now, to be honest, these books are not for anyone triggered or with a general dislike of themes where the woman is dominated both mentally and physically by the man. I don’t find the domination to be overtly sexual in the way of BDSM (as recently popularized in fiction writing), but in the Carpathian world, the males have strong personalities and often come from a time centuries earlier when the main objective was keep your woman safe and cherish her at home. Often a woman is brought into the Carpathian world (they are not human) without her full knowledge of it and this heavy handedness, as some may call it, is usually tempered by seeing that the woman has a feeling this is the right man and the right thing to do, but doesn’t mindfully know it is. She wants this new reality but will probably have a very difficult time admitting it. In this installment, this theme is very prevalent. In some past installments, the woman is less dominated, often has a dominating personality herself which then has to be understood by a male working on a centuries old dynamic of his word being law. That is not the case in Dark Promises. If you can get past that, keep reading.

In Dark Promises, someone at odds with herself all her life has been forced into a new life. Now she is being ripped from her perfect fantasy life and trying to claw her way out of it into reality. This reality also has the benefit of showing her what strengths she has always had. The essential theme in Carpathian novels is the immutable bond between life mates, and one of the things I love most about Ms. Feehan’s world is that the players involved always find out that the bond isn’t the real glue in the relationship, it is the trust and care built, even in a short time, that makes you root for the couple. It makes you scream in frustration and weep in joy as they stumble through learning trust and care in a strange, exciting, often terrifying new world. Also, the couples often feel the lifemate bond has it wrong due to the vast gulf of differences and opposite personalities, but often this bond cements the idea that a loved one’s opposite demeanor helps expand our perceptions and makes us stronger. This story actually covers two couples and moves the story of The Dark Series along well. The two couples’ lives are intertwined and while one couple’s story is prominent and the other secondary, both are told well and fit in the realm of one book. This installment in the storyline depends heavily on the book immediately previous, Dark Ghost, but if this is the first Carpathian novel you have picked up, it won’t be hard to follow. But, I will warn you, if you read it and love it, you will likely want to go back and start at the beginning to see all the great lives changed in the world of the Carpathians.

Dark Promises gave me a jolt out of my preconceived notion of how things and people worked with the Carpathians, and that was great. Especially since I didn’t know my notions needed a jolt. Yet, this didn’t feel forced or contrived, it was plausible in the world Ms. Feehan has built. While it moved the overall storyline and ended with my own searing need for the next book in the series, it was still a lovely, self-contained story of people being grown outside of the box they have forced themselves into by an otherworldly and all encompassing love. And that, my friends, was superb.