Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher: Self-Published

Tags: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Dark, Violence

Length: 504 Kindle Pages

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At: Amazon

Blurb:

For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is the first book in a new series of heart-wrenching romance, dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue, perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses

Review: 

But they were fighting for power. I was fighting for survival.

Another fantasy book that’s been hard to review. I bought this because I love vampires. I love bloody vampires, yet the primary voice throughout is human, Oraya. The book offered me the potential for a kickarse heroine. I’m always up for that. I also loved the cover. So I one-clicked. The title is a mouthful and I still forget it, even as I’m typing this review. The story though, that I do remember.

Oraya was plucked, when young, from the debris of a house by Vincent, King of the Nightborn vampires. From the beginning he knew she had fight in her. She bit his guards and him. She seemingly stared death in the face and was defiant, his little serpent. He knows she wonders about her human family. However, Vincent has shut her down from young whenever she enquired, so she learned to stop asking but she’s never stopped thinking about them.

I knew the logical answer. Human lives were so fragile. Yet it still didn’t stop the dark corners of my mind from wandering. Wondering where they were. Wondering how they had suffered. Wondering if any of them remembered me.  

Those thoughts are encouraged by a friend, Ilana, who lives in a district ruled over by Vincent’s House. She is a blood vendor, a human who allows vampires to feed from her. On one of her trips to the palace, Ilana meets the then fourteen-year-old Oraya and Ilana makes a lasting impression. Ilana always wears colourful clothes, she is stubborn, full of human thoughts and feelings, all of which pulls Oraya magnetically to her. If Vincent is her father, then Ilana is her mother, but only in secret, because she either meets her at the palace when she’s acting as a vendor or Oraya sneaks out to visit her. They’ve known each other for six years. A lot longer than other blood vendors last. Ilana encourages Oraya to move away, to live life somewhere far away from vampires and their politicking and violence, but this is home, how could she leave Vincent? As Oraya is older Vincent ventures more information to her about the day he took her home. The Rishan attacked the area and it remains their territory so he cannot take her there. Nyaxia won’t allow him to intercede on her behalf in another House’s territory.

Oraya has been trained by Vincent since young. He has made sure she knows that she is prey and that she needs to be faster, better, to aim for the heart of a vampire, to thrust so hard into their ribcage that they don’t stand a chance. She’s also been coached to do away with human emotions, they are for the weak. Vincent is a vampire, a powerful one, and that sets up a complex Family or Origin for Oraya. Vincent was so well portrayed as a father who uses emotional duality to keep her, his daughter, obedient safe. On one hand he has kindness, the kindness is relative, he’s a vampire, not human. On the other he has ruled over her life like the Nightborn king he is. He also makes sure she remembers her human frailties. He drills in that any errors made, whether Vampire or human, are either you were wrong or in the wrong place. There are no allowances. Mistakes lead to death in a vampiric world. Which you can see as a kindness given the environment she finds herself growing up in. However, every which way you spin it – and I found Vincent to be both intriguing and mesmerising, he absolutely lights up the page – by his very temperament, his is a toxic paternal role.

When you’re young, fear is debilitating. Its presence clouds your mind and senses. Now, I had been afraid for so long, so ceaselessly, that it was just another bodily function to regulate—heartbeat, breath, sweat, muscles. Over the years, I’d learned how to hack the physicality of it away from the emotion.

***

Vincent’s moon-silver eyes narrowed at me. “You’re an insolent brat, little serpent.” He never sounded more affectionate than when he was insulting me. Maybe it meant something that both Ilana and Vincent cradled their tenderness in harsh words. They were so different from each other in every other sense. But maybe this place made all of us that way. Taught us to hide love in sharp edges.

In this world of vampires, love is definitely hidden in sharp edges. Love can be hoped for by Oraya, but at the same time she implicitly knows that if she opens herself up to it, she’s in danger. She ponders if Vincent loves her, she believes he does but with a degree of reservation. The psychological world building is stellar in this book. Vincent could be ruthless. On the other hand, he would protect Oraya. He’s bandaged her wounds. Kept her on a separate floor of his palace to keep her apart from potential predators. He brings her human medicine that heals her. Before the Kejari, he gives her intel on some of her opponents, and also gives her specially crafted knives that have (refillable) poison hilts so she has an edge. It all seems so conflicting at times that Oraya feels unworthy. 

No doubt several generations of Nightborn kings rolled in their graves to think of such a weapon wielded by an adopted human girl. I felt as if I was tainting these simply by touching them.
“These are…” I started again.
“They are yours,” Vincent said quietly. As if he heard everything I didn’t say.

Throughout the book, and before the Kejari trials, there are some Interludes. These were magic parts for me. They show you the development of Oraya, from a child to a young woman. There is often trauma in the words, like recollections of rape – yet she calls her rapist her “lover” in an Interlude; she was young in a tough world and thought it was love. The Interludes are generally written in a quite dissociative manner. As time progresses, there is far more of a questioning and awareness. The incongruous nature of Vincent can be more readily seen, and yet, you feel deeply for him and his vampiric care for Oraya. Kudos to Carissa Broadbent for her handling of the psychological aspects throughout the book. The fear, the doubt, the anger, wanting to trust, the longing, love, all of it is a palpable, living, breathing entity. 

To be human, and thus safe, is romanticised by Oraya, because if she thinks about what happens to the humans in Sivrinaj districts, it is far from safe. It is also unpalatable. But she compartmentalises the fact that humans are livestock. They’re food. Oraya hates her human weakness, that she is prey to basically everyone around her. It leaves her constantly in a state of fight or flight. Always waiting for someone to trick her. Best her. To bleed her dry. She loves Vincent, inasmuch as she knows the word love, but then she also hates vampires, of which he is their king, but then he is her father…. So, turmoil. No matter how much you want to sit on it, no matter the quieter moments, the environment conflicts her. She goes out on a nightly vampire killing run in the rundown, poverty stricken human districts. Really, it gives her a sense of justice which allows her to tamp down her anger. Vincent doesn’t know because it’s a punishable offence. But it is a big old vampire FU from Oraya.    

He didn’t even stir when I approached. Nor did he move when I took my dagger and plunged it into his chest—pushing hard until the cartilage cracked, pushing until the blade pierced his heart.
Then, his eyes finally snapped open.
Good. I liked to watch it when they realized death was coming for them. 

Then there’s the Kejari. The world building around the Kejari is brutally vivid. There is complete and utter carnage. Nyaxia, the vampire’s deity, their Dark Mother, is a cruel and twisted being, making those who choose the Kejari reenact her time spent being hunted and tortured by the White Pantheon because of unsanctioned love. She was blinded, starved, demons hunted her, etc, and the five trials reflect and represent all of these experiences she had – on freaking steroids. Fifty start off and bit by bit they pick each other off, as well as fighting demons and other things of nightmares. By the Half Moon trial, half of the combatants are dead. You think Nyaxia might have gained some insight from her torture, but no, Mother Vampire likes to inflict the Kejari every hundred years. The milk of black-red blood flows eternal in her veins.  

In the background there is the burning question as to whyyyy Vincent agreed to take in Oraya, a human. Whyyyy he allows Oraya – again, a twenty-year-old human – to take part in the Kejari. Something full of older and more powerful vampires. It can be argued he did what he did for Oraya. It can also be argued he sees a dominant outcome if she wins. Also, our girl Oraya has magic going on, so there’s something telling us she’s probably more than human. That maybe there is more to the story than Oraya knows. Then there’s the fact that Vincent has covert happenings at the same time as the Kejari. He knows Oraya is spurred on to find her human family but that seems a tad off-brand for Vincent’s nature in and of itself. 

What I didn’t realize then was that vampires lived in constant fear of their own family. Immortality made succession a bloody, bloody business. Even Vincent had murdered his parents—and three siblings—to gain his title. Vampires killed their parents for power, then crippled their own children to keep them from doing the same.

Oraya partially believes what she has been told, that Nyaxia will grant a wish to the winner. She’s not into dark deities being real, but Vincent won the Kejari two-hundred-years ago, and look where he is? The wish she wants is for Nyaxia to allow her to become Vincent’s Coriatae. His heart-bound. The stuff of vampiric legend. If she becomes a Coriatis, she is no longer human and becomes a vampire without having been vampire-born, and all with no risk of chancing Turning. Also, a HUGE fact, she cannot kill Vincent. This would make Vincent and Vincent’s House nigh on invincible. Is this about love or power?

No one but the two of them know why she’s in the Kejari. Most are in it for power, a big duh there, and to defeat Vincent. Oraya is motivated by survival and love and that’s complex because there is love for Vincent the father figure, then there’s Vincent the vampire king. And, of course, there’s the strong pull of seeming biology driving her. So, hmmm, how’s this going to play out if the human wins? If only someone placed a bet on it. Oh, wait….     

There is a eventually a relationship, a very, verrryyy slow burn relationship between Oraya and another competitor in the Kejari, Raihn, a Rishan vampire. Meaning a threat and an enemy of the Hiaj. Meaning her father. Meaning the vampires that destroyed her home. He’s a rare Turned vampire. Raihn is there with a friend, Mische, who is the most human vampire Oraya has ever encountered. Mische finds the good in everything, is kind, has humour. This both scares and attracts Oraya because she sees Ilana in Mische. She can’t work Raihn out, though. She finds him hard to read. He has a sense of humour, like Mische, but then uses Asteris as a performative kill at a gathering before the Kejari. Asteris is magic rumoured to be from the stars and is an incredibly powerful, rarer magic that is best described as your opponent(s) being obliterated by a blast. Raihn also does things like leaning against windows, staring at the sun rising or setting, and even though it hurts, he constantly pushes the boundaries around it. Raihn and Vincent share Asteris as a magic. Raihn seems too chill to be a vampire to Oryaya, add his magic and power, and it doesn’t join the dots. That’s because Raihn is like finding her father in another vampire and allowing him in, only this time it’s with all the romantic feels.  

Where Oraya finds Raihn enigmatic, he knows how to read her in most, but not all, circumstances. She surprises him with her tenacity and attitude. However, he does know where her sympathies and fears lie – with Vincent, liking those who are human or close to it – like Mische, even Raihn because he can pass as human. He knows that Oraya, while caring for humans, also feels a weakness in that longing. Still, she doesn’t quite trust him. Raihn does a number of things that appear genuine, but Vincent’s voice is always in her head. You. Cannot. Trust. Anyone. But. Me, little serpent.

“Think about why a Rishan would want to get close to you, Oraya. You.”

Ouch! 

The Half Moon trial of the Kejari requires team work and Raihn wants her to work with him. Even though Oraya knows she needs to work with someone else, it’s still hard to let him in. When she finally agrees, she basically won’t train with him for some time for fear of him using it against her at the next trial. She has been emotionally stripped back and isolated over her years in the House of Night. Thus she has been socially isolated from anyone who may be worth being around. Outside of Ilana, and no real spoiler here, Ilana is human and therefore becomes livestock, she’s lived by one vampire’s ideas and rules.

The men in Oraya’s life do use her in one way or another. This is done via couching all their feelings for her in love, affection, and safety, which definitely aren’t always truths. But she’s made and makes allowances for them: Her lover, the rapist mentioned in an Interlude, her father, who does care albeit with power as his main affect, and Raihn, who also seemingly has an agenda. Even when he does develop feelings for Oraya, those feelings come co-mingled with a vampiric need for payback and power.   

Some extra stuff:

These vampires have wings and Oraya’s description of them makes them sound beautiful. She also has opportunity to fly. What a buzz.

Food: One part of the Kejari starves them because, of course, Nyaxia was starved in her hellscape of an existence that the Kejari is based off. From about the 70ish percent mark Oraya didn’t eat. She was in the middle of a violent tournament and she had given blood to Raihn to help his bloodlust when they were all starved, she’d previously given blood to the Ministaer as a deal with the religious and creepy, she was wounded, emotionally worn down. I was waiting for mention of food at some stage after the starvation portion of the Kejari. The Moon Palace had previously provided both solid food and blood offerings to the competitors. From then on Oraya just remained food absent. It actually worried me. I finished the book stressed with one thought –  ‘won’t somebody please give our girl some food!’ 

Overall:

I want to mention that these books are well priced. Over 500 pages and much less in AUS$ than some of its contemporaries in the genre. As of today’s date it costs AUS $10.62. Some of these fantasy/ romantasy books I’ve been paying nearly $20 AUS for.

I really liked this book. I think the writer has great ideas and a lovely style of writing. Vincent was this larger than life character full of contradictions, I do love that type of character in my books. Like Oraya, it’s hard to know exactly what he’s thinking. He is very much a slave to his nature, and that can be taken any way you choose. I liked Oraya, she fought hard on several fronts. She kept getting up physically and emotionally. I wasn’t so keen on Raihn. He has yet to win me over. This book had a twist with a cliffhanger-esque ending. To be perfectly honest, you could read this book and stop here. I liked it enough to buy the next one featuring Oraya and Raihn, The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King. I believe this is a duology. I’d like to see where it goes and if there is an actual romance that fully takes root because they could be good together, or they could be messy. Either is fine by me. I’ll let you know. 4 Stars! 

Genre/Tags: Romantasy, Bloody, Violent, King, Queen, Goddesses, War, Fantasy, PNR **TW Blood. Death. Grief. Dark Elements.

Author: Carissa Broadbent 

Story Rating: 5 Stars

Narrator: Amanda Leigh Cobb & Aiden Snow

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

Length: 19 hours & 27 minutes

Audiobook Buy Links: Audible or Amazon

Review: 

**THIS IS BOOK TWO OF WHAT IS CURRENTY A DUOLOGY FOR ORAYA AND RAIHN. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.  I ALSO USE ONE VISUAL DARKER QUOTE. 

Did you really think, Vincent whispered in the back of my mind, that I wouldn’t account for you, too, my little serpent? I flinched. Once, I’d craved his voice so fiercely. Now, it brought with it a wave of complicated emotions.

**There is a TLDR section at the bottom of this review with an overview.

So, I always knew this book would get off to a rocky start. Because Raihn, the vampire Oraya grew feelings for during the Kejari, and feelings are not something Oraya likes having, and the man she’s loved as her father for sixteen years, Vincent the Nightborn King, hmm, let’s just say they did not mesh well at the end of book #1, The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

This book picks up post Kejari, the vampire trial. Oraya is vacillating between sadness and anger, which can happen with grief, but then you add a layer of betrayal and you have a complex cocktail of feelings – sorry, Oraya, there’s that word again. The depressive grief wins out over betrayal for a while. Totally understandable.

My father lived in the hazy moments before I opened my eyes every day, caught between waking and dreaming. I treasured those moments, when my nightmares had faded but they’d yet to be replaced with the grim shadow of reality.

I know what it’s like to have people die. Family. Those you love easily, and those you’ve had a complex relationship with. It all hurts. However, a while after losing that person you had a complex relationship with can allow you to grow into your full potential. Not always, but often. I understood Oraya’s start to this book. The relational complications. All Vincent was to her and also wasn’t. The potential of Raihn who, understandably to her in the beginning, did not potentiate in the way she thought. Trusting someone when you have never allowed trust to form a part of your vocabulary, then feeling like that backflipped on you. I understand why some readers felt she needed to avenge Vincent. But Oraya is half vampire and that side understands the violent past and present of that nature. She is also half human and she has hurt for sometime about that, but had never been allowed to grieve it prior. She’s been lied to about it. Now, bit by bit, she has her emotional reins loosened about what that fully, holistically means for her. And you can’t keep a stabby gal down.

As Raihn is wont to say when Oraya gets pissed-off face or fires up, “There she is.” I know it annoyed some readers but I liked it. What it stood for. It was Raihn recognising what Oraya was feeling. That she was coming back into herself. Like at the Kejari when Oraya fought against almighty odds. Every time Raihn says “there she is,” Oraya was getting her dander up, at Raihn or someone or something else she didn’t like. It wasn’t always for the right reasons but, equally, it was also for the right reasons. It meant Oraya was on the journey to be who and what she is meant to be. Not who or what someone is telling her she could or could not be. Oraya is a fighter. She’s bloodthirsty. She’s a motherfucking queen and I was ready for her to shine.

Meanwhile, Raihn is dealing with a wife that is angry with him and hurt by him. He thinks about another woman in the past who showed him kindness when there was no other. Now, with Oraya’s pain, he is drawn back to that difficult time once again, and all because of another Kejari.

I got into bed, but didn’t sleep. Nessanyn’s words floated through my mind, this time with a cynical tinge that was distinctly mine.
Who wins?
Well, Nessanyn sure as fuck didn’t.
And Oraya didn’t, either.

Then there are the vampires who resent his newly found power and status as King after Nyaxia’s Heir Mark gift – Shadowborn, Hiaj, even his original house, Rishan, they’re predominantly gunning for him. The vampires who don’t want him in power can take a ticket and stand in (a very, very loooong) line. How dare a lowly Turned slave come out on top. How dare he become the Nightborn King. To add to all of this, he has residual trauma from over seventy-years spent as a slave under Neculai, then his time under Vincent’s and Hiaj rule. And the same goddammed nobles are still swanning around, being pricks. Raihn wears a smile, a sneer, gives occasional speeches like Neculai once did, but he does not get the same respect from the nobles. He married Oraya after the Kejari because she saved him – he loves her and wants her safe in return – but it seemed shady at the time. Oraya is the previous Hiaj Nightborn King’s daughter. In the Rishan’s minds she’s the enemy and he should have killed her. And as much as Raihn feels he puts on a good show, no matter if he pretends publicly to show cruelty toward Oraya, something these vampires all respect, it’s pretty unmistakable he has feelings for her. His crown is shaky as fuck for multiple reasons.

There are several attempts at easing into vampire society and none of them go well. Ballgowns and blood. On the first occasion, Raihn calls all the nobles to the Nightborn Palace in Sivrinaj to bow before him. It’s the norm but also risky. Things don’t go two thumbs up well. It’s not that he didn’t expect it, he did. He punishes one of the nobles, someone Raihn already loathes, when he calls Oraya a whore. Meaning he rips Marta’s head off, something I found extremely satisfying. However, Marta’s cousin and equally noble prick, Simon, won’t see it Raihn’s way. There’s going to become further support problems. And, my god, Simon turns into the freaking Terminator. Enjoy that! Anyway, in a shock move, Vale, one of the most respected Rishan vampire nobles, sweeps in and bows before Raihn, taking the offered position as his general. Vale has a newly Turned  wife as well. All in all, the first ballgowns and blood night scares a few, while mostly slapping a Band-Aid over the sharp edges of the vampire Houses. It’s simply buying time. Raihn has a few people behind him. Apart from Mische, his best friend, everyone else is somewhat sketchy. Including the most dodgy of them all, Septimus – he who likes to bet on outcomes and is all about self.

To make Raihn’s early fraught rein – cough cough – better, Septimus speculates that Vincent used seers when he was in power to give him an edge. There have been rumours. This could be valuable to Raihn if he can find those god blood pieces used by Vincent. Sure, it’s not the usual for vampires to use seers, but Vincent was incredibly powerful for his two-hundred-year reign. Searching the Nightborn Palace doesn’t yield much so there’s a push to find these items that Vincent probably would have hidden. He was nothing if not secretive. The directive is for Raihn to travel to Vincent’s original home town, Lahor. While it’s not realistically the best time, his shaky reign and all, Raihn wants Septimus off his back. If they do find some god blood items that’s a bonus for them, not him. Raihn, rightly, presumes Oraya will be interested in visiting Lahor to discover more about her father. Vincent shut down talk about his family as well. Road trip it is. Although they literally fly there.

Lahor is a remote city of the House of Night, and to put it mildly, a creepy shithole. This part of the story was extremely gory and giving Children of the Corn: Dystopian Vampire Edition vibes. We have Vincent’s crazed sister, Lady Eveleana, ruling a decrepit castle like it’s something out of Home Castle Beautiful, with her little army of vampiric Turned and bonded blondes who are way too young, giving it massive ick factor. And Eveleana is a traditionalist around humans – they’re prey and livestock. She’s also not shy about using a bit of vampire taxidermic lepidoptery as well. Runs in the family. Anyway….You just know there’s nothing good coming out of Eveleana’s backstory. In book #1 we learn what happens to the family line of a new King. Seeing the aftermath was something extra.

The Narrators: I was so, SO happy to have a male narrating alongside a female. I love it when authors do that. It makes the book better. There are romantasy books out there I refuse to buy in audio because they lack male narration for the MMC. I’m not alone in this as I talk to other readers. I already know and enjoy listening to Aiden Snow. He has a lovely deep-timbred voice. I must admit he wasn’t how I expected Raihn to sound but he was really, really good in his narration. Clear and strong and heartfelt. I’ve never heard Amanda Leigh Cobb previously but she has a good voice. Clear. I felt she truly embraced Oraya’s personality. My recommendation if you like a bit more of a visceral experience, go the audiobook version. The story lends itself beautifully to audio, and Cobb and Snow deliver.

Raihn: There was some wonderful growth for Raihn. I wasn’t Raihn’s biggest fan in The Serpent & the Wings of Night. Like the Hiaj’s head guard, Jesmine, once told Oraya about Raihn, ‘he’s pretty trouble’. I appreciated that. The whole Kejari ending was problematic and Raihn didn’t handle it well. I now know more about that. He didn’t have much of a choice once Oraya threw him for a loop with her decision to save him. He also knew what lay ahead. He would have to be somewhat leashed otherwise his sponsor, for want of another word, would pull support and much needed troops after Raihn’s bit of regicide. It left him in an untenable position and the last book ended badly for Oraya. Not quite Nessanyn bad, Neculai’s wife, she died, but Oraya has been left deeply hurt. No one is more aware of this than Raihn. But, man. He really let Oraya soar in this book. He let her come into her own and helped her step out from under Vincent’s shadow. I thought Vincent was an incredible character in book #1, and even though he’s dead, he gets poignant air time here. I enjoyed that. There is still that ruthlessness but also melancholy and the full understanding that love was something he just wasn’t able to fully connect to in a way  humans need. The author did an incredible job of delving into multiple complex relationships and doing them justice.

I stopped short.
I couldn’t help it. I needed to just take a minute to look at her. Her wings were out now, the red shockingly vibrant even under the moonlight. Her gown glittered like the night sky itself. And her posture– she held herself like such a queen.
Sometimes I found it impossible to imagine how Oraya had ever thought of herself as helpless. She was the most powerful person I’d ever met.

Oraya: I loved her in the first book, I loved her even more here. She can still hear Vincent in her head. Not quite as much, but often enough to help her fight. Not enough, though, to stop missing him. She’s mad at him for keeping pertinent details from her, both emotionally and from the standpoint of being the heir to the Hiaj crown. If she had become his Coriatis, as was planned, would he have shared it all then? She can use his sword, the Taker of Hearts, as it responds to Vincent’s blood within her. Her blood. She wields that sword well. She takes no shit from anyone once she gets her legs back underneath her. There is the justified hurt and anger toward Raihn, he killed Vincent. Toward Vincent for making her believe he was her only family. So yes, Oraya had some hurdles to overcome, but she did. She had to work out how to make the Hiaj vampire guards work with the Rishan’s. Rival Houses = no easy feat. Raihn was always there to nudge her but she was the one who took the steps. Then ran. She didn’t stop loving Vincent. Sadly, though, he never told her anything about her deceased mother, which she desperately wanted to know, and he absolutely could have given her that. But things took a turn. And even though she is dead, her mother came through for Oraya, and Raihn, too. A nice touch.

  All this time, I had been trying so desperately to decode my father’s past, my father’s secrets, to find the power I needed to reclaim my kingdom. How fitting that in the end, it was my mother who gave me the answer.

I cannot begin to plumb the depths of all the events in this book. It’s a lengthy read at 626 pages or a tick under 20 hours of audiobook listening. I actually started out reading then switched over to audiobook. There’s a lot going on. Multiple battles on multiple fronts, both personal and physical.  Multiple times when Raihn saves Oraya and vice versa. The Hiaj and Rishan guards working together is a first. Others join as well. Oraya and Raihn have a protective love of humans. Not something other vampires share with them. Humans are considered food. Oraya, though the Hiaj Queen, remains half human, Raihn remembers his time as a human and has always liked to mingle in amongst them, drinking their “piss beer.” While Oraya was healing her heart, Raihn had already put steps in place around the human districts. Together, the future looks bright.

TLDR: The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King offers plenty. Action. Bloodshed. Violence. Power struggles. My god, Simon becomes the freaking Terminator. I just kept thinking those iconic words –  ‘I’ll be back.’ Wow. Dude would not freaking die! There is the right balance of sex. Excellent world building. Multilayered character development. Excellent romance. Carissa Broadbent really poured her heart and soul into the MCs. Where I had doubts in book #1, I had none – z e r o  d o u b t s – here that Raihn and Oraya are meant to be anything but together. Forever. I hope she writes another book with this pair, and there’s certainly an untied thread or two she could delve into with them. There are other books in this series but Mische, as lovely as she is, isn’t what I’m looking for in a FMC. I might read Lilith and Vale’s story, Six Scorched Roses.

Overall: 

If you like bloody vampires. Some nasty vampires. Vampires who bite. A kickarse female lead. Some excellent romantasy. Second chances. Plenty of action. A fantastic fantasy world. A MMC who supports and lifts up his partner, it doesn’t have to be about him, no putting her down to make him feel better. And if, like me, you enjoy some good payback and are fine with the ensuing bloodshed, then here’s your book. Loved. It. 5 Stars!

Rating: 5 Stars 

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre: UF

Tags: Magic, Mythology, Paranormal, Gay MC, Action, Horror, Humour  

Length: 276 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At:  amazon

Blurb:

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Tags: Magic, Necromancy, Mythology, Entities/Dieties, Action, Gay MC, Series

Length: 273 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen 

Purchase At:  amazon, Nazri Noor

Blurb:

Review:

It’s carnival time in Valero and the Boneyard boys are out enjoying themselves. Dustin is sucking at winning prizes, Sterling doesn’t let him off the hook about it either, and before they know it, their ongoing motto of carpe noctem turns into a shit sandwich. These guys need to learn to stay in.

The Eldest, those pesky and powerful beings that want to control/destroy the earth as we know it, who don’t give one hoot about the veil between the arcane and humans, also don’t care about downtime or fun for anyone.

Right at the outset it’s all hands on deck to keep the shrikes and their overlords from creating havoc, and they do some damage before the Boneyard fight back and the Lorica join in, then comes the obligatory and difficult clean-up, but you know they’re coming back for Dustin. He can’t be let off too easily.

There are some thick and fast attacks by the Eldest. Dustin gets to meet some more entities and supernatural beings like Baba Yaga and Izanami.

  “I fear that terrible things are coming your way, boy,” Baba Yaga said.
“Tell me something I don’t already know. The Eldest are coming, and they mean business this time.” I raised my chin. “And my name is Dustin Graves.”
Baba Yaga scoffed.

In his search for gifts to those who ask for it, for the knowledge Dustin needs, there are some rather specifically disturbing requirements.

Madam Chien was right. Even a bazaar as diverse and – well, bizarre as the Black Market didn’t trade in things like the breath of the dying, or the screams of those in truest pain.

There is also another of the Eldest’s finest coming Dustin’s way.

“The hell is that?” I muttered.
“This one is named Shtuttasht,” Izanami said, her voice laced with both fear and reverence. “The Overthroat.”

Plenty of the regulars are in Last Rites. I always love Sterling, but now I have this massive soft spot for Asher. He has a sweet disposition and he’s also a fierce necromancer, all in the one non-jaded package. Keeping doing you, Asher.

**Personal rant: I’ve noticed a couple of reviews noting a problem with Dustin being gay. No, it isn’t mentioned previously, but why should it be? Newsflash, people of all sexual identities or orientations exist and they’re allowed to get into relationships, and they’re allowed to exist in the UF and fantasy mainstream genres. I’m glad that feelings aren’t completely neglected in any book, but if you’re worried, it’s way off in the background and the action is to the fore. I agree with my sci-fi/sci-fantasy reviewing colleague John’s sentiments – ‘books where there is no personal connection or sentiments, even some sex to relieve tension, are not real, and sexual orientation should never matter, good content should’. The content in this book, this series, is good. Just for fellow readers who want to know, there is absolutely no sex in this series, not even close. There is no fuss about Dustin and Herald in the writing either. Dustin and Herald have feelings for one another. Big deal. Logically, given the number of characters, someone in this series being LGBTQ is on target for the population. I didn’t hear shock or horror about Gil being heterosexual, and a werewolf, and being in a relationship with Prudence, an arcane human. One more thing. Dustin goes to a bar and the Fuck-Tons are the drag queen owners – Imperial and Metric, loved their names. It was a small part of one chapter of thirty-five chapters, and Dustin had been sent there like the Black Market or the Midnight Convocation. It was fun and it was what it was, part of the series that fit the book. Viva diversity in writing and reading! Hopefully it fuels more openness in UF/fantasy writing and reading. To homophobic readers, grow up is my overall sentiment to you. **Personal rant over. 

Dustin definitely has a lot on his plate and sacrifices are made, very painful ones. Ones that make me unsure how certain skill-sets can be compensated for, or if it’s a temporary situation. I can’t say anymore without spoiling the book. The Boneyard has Dustin’s back, and Dustin has grown a big pair along the way, too. The Lorica are proving to be a help and a hindrance as the series progresses, depending on who it is within that organisation we’re talking about. Some of the entities/dieties prove to be frustratingly apathetic in a situation that affects them as well.

Another good addition to the Darkling Mage series, Last Rites leads into a difficult arcane time ahead for Dustin… some interesting connections with those around him as well, and I know it will be painful for Dustin before it (hopefully) gets better, mwahahaha. Run, Dust. Ruuun…. 

Bring on the rest of the series. 4 Stars.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Publisher: Hayden Thorne

Genre: Gay Fiction

Tags: Alternate Universe, Ghosts, Magic, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Victorian (mid-19th century)

Length: 199 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi 

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

Blessed with the unique talent of Inscriptive magic, twenty-year-old Mathieu Perrault leaves his old life in France and the orphanage that has been his home since his childhood for work as the new tutor to a five-year-old mute girl. His head filled with dreams and endless possibilities, Mathieu soon finds himself in a great house tucked away in the quiet wooded hills of the northern region of Luxembourg. 

A house occupied by an ailing Dutch artist, one burdened with a terrible secret, and his charming family. A house shadowed by the sudden death of a well-loved servant. A servant, in fact, whose ghost stirs from its dusky world and seeks out Mathieu in terror. Through echoes of past events in unlit hallways, incoherent messages carved into walls, and the eerie vigilance of crows guarding the family, the ghost does what it can to warn Mathieu of a coming danger. 

And in the midst of warmth, laughter, and family, of friendship and magic, of young love blooming against a backdrop of terrible heartache and tragedy, Mathieu searches for answers in a dreamer’s bid to give the ghost the peace long denied it. All the while, a twisted shadow from the past creeps forward, inching closer and closer to him, a vicious hunger that leaves ruin and death in its wake. 

In that isolated great house among the silent trees and the watchful crows, Mathieu will soon learn that the restoration of balance in a world gone awry doesn’t always lie in the sphere of ordinary, mortal men.

Review –

When Mathieu, 20, arrives at the house in the woods he’s eagerly looking forward to tutoring young Aletta. He’s hoping that his special form of magic will flow to his young charge. His first job away from the orphanage he grew up in, he’s desperate to prove himself. He’s not prepared for what he walks into. The journey is an interesting one as he’s surrounded by crows as he slowly makes his way to the large house the first time. The crows play a big part of the story later, but the reader doesn’t know if they’re warning of upcoming evil or are actually evil themselves.

The first person Mathieu meets is Aletta’s uncle, Josef. Josef, 25, is so handsome that Mathieu finds himself tongue-tied and blushing just by being in his presence. Then there’s Aletta’s mother, Saskia. Saskia and Josef are very close, both doting on five-year-old Aletta. There’s Saskia and Josef’s father, an aging artist who spends most of his days locked away in his studio. Then there’s Aletta herself. She was born unable to speak but she can hear fine and communicates very well via her ‘finger movements’ – re: sign language. She and Mathieu have an instant bond. I adored her right off. She’s very intelligent for her age.

Mathieu hasn’t even had time to get comfortable in his new position before strange things start happening. The crows have gotten loud and are hovering outside the window of the classroom where he teaches Aletta. They appear to be waiting for Mathieu to do something, but what? Then he starts seeing things written in places that would be hard for anyone to access. Cryptic messages that make little sense to him, with the exception of a name: Marjam. When he finally works up the courage to ask questions about Marjam, he’s told a story about a young servant who committed suicide in the lake on the property. The lake is dark and foreboding. Mathieu has been ordered to keep Aletta away from it at all costs.

Aletta speaks often about the sad fairy in the woods. At first it appears as if the little girl has an overactive imagination, but then Mathieu begins to question if maybe she really is seeing someone – or some thing.

Then there are the nightly visits…

Each night Mathieu is awakened by sounds outside his bedroom door. There’s shuffling right before somebody stops and attempts to turn the doorknob. To say he’s terrified is an understatement. Then he starts seeing what he believes is the ghost of young Marjam. Suddenly Aletta’s sad fairy talk doesn’t sound quite so far-fetched.

Throughout everything there’s a growing attraction between Mathieu and Josef. Only when Mathieu confides his fears about Marjam to Josef do things really start to come together. There’s still a mystery to be solved – Why did Marjam commit suicide? What or who is she trying to warn Mathieu away from? – but now there’s support from within the household and relief that Mathieu isn’t seeing or experiencing things that simply aren’t there.

A Murder of Crows has a little bit of everything. There’s the large house surrounded by woods and close to the creepy lake where a young woman went to her death. There’s the bad guy who may or may not have had something to do with what happened to the young woman. There are secrets being kept by the patriarch of the family. There are the cryptic messages, the nighttime visits, the ghost of the woman, and even a budding romance between the wealthy uncle and the orphaned tutor. Throw in a unique cast of secondary characters and the story is complete.

I’m not normally a big fan of books that aren’t contemporary. I don’t find myself enjoying stories where characters have to hide who they are and are looked down upon by society. In historical settings that’s almost always the case. Not in this book. This is set in an alternate universe (of sorts) but it’s still not in a contemporary setting. Thankfully Josef and Mathieu being gay isn’t an issue for the family or society. What I do love are books with ghosts, a good mystery, anything with children, and entertaining secondary characters. I’m a sucker for a good romance, so there’s that as well. A Murder of Crows had it all. The romance may not take center until much later – and it shouldn’t, really – but it does play a nice part in the story as a whole.

The mystery is written well and I was happy with the way that was resolved. It was actually the perfect resolution and something I didn’t see coming. The author also wrote an epilogue that I absolutely loved, giving the reader a glimpse into what’s happening a few years down the road.

Overall, a very entertaining read. I’m eager to read more by the author.

This book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher: Self Published 

Genre: Urban Fantasy 

Tags: Action, Gore, Mythology, Series, YA/NA Up 

Length: 171 Pages

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At:  amazon, Nazri Noor

Synopsis:

The walls of our world have shattered. The Eldest are coming.

Mad angels and demon princes were once the worst of Dustin Graves’s problems. Now rifts are tearing open in the fabric of reality. Eldritch abominations are slipping through, plunging the world into peril.

All signs point to the awakening of the cosmic horrors known only as the Eldest, and Dustin desperately needs immense arcane power to stop them. The quickest way is to offer himself to the Midnight Convocation, a grand assembly of the entities of night and shadow. The only question… who gets to claim his soul?

If you like snarky heroes, snappy dialogue, and a bit of grit and gore, you’ll love the fifth book in Nazri Noor’s series of urban fantasy novels. Explore the Darkling Mage universe and discover Midnight’s Son today.

POSSIBLY BEST TO HAVE READ THE PRIOR BOOKS BEFORE THIS REVIEW

Review:

Carver is big on downtime for his crew at the Boneyard, they certainly earn it, hence a BBQ at Heinsite Park where the lich cooks with his hands, literally putting them in the fire or on the hotplate. Freaky finger burgers anyone? He also makes sure to invite the friendlies from the Lorica to join in. Of course they can never have a moment without something happening, makes life good for us readers, and when a rift appears, a tear in the universe, and shrikes find their way into this world, it’s all hands on deck.

The others were still hacking and blasting away at the shrikes, but they had their limits, too. I wasn’t looking forward to resorting to bleeding myself.
“Push them towards the portal,” Carver called out, his voice thick with resolve and authority. “Take the fight to the rift.”

Royce, the annoying Lorica Scion from book #4, turns up at the BBQ and tells Dustin he has to leave town. The Boneyard see this is as a threat when in fact it’s not actually animus driving Royce. The Heart, the upper echelon of the Lorica, the primary (and bureaucratic) protectors of the arcane and the Veil, want Dustin dead. Royce senses there is more to Dustin, and his loyal friends from the Lorica already know this. So it’s game on.

When Hecate tells Dustin he can ask for patronage, or matrongage – a god or entity can have a soul-offering from someone in the arcane world in return for major magical mojo and a long lifespan – Dustin rules it out. Then he discovers one of his friends from the Lorica, Romira, has the patronage of Cerberus, she is powerful with multi-magical abilities of the highest order and also seems happy with her deal. Perhaps it isn’t so bad. Perhaps to save this planet and all who inhabit it, no matter which side of the Veil, it’s worth it. With the Heart after him and the Eldest on the move, maybe patronage is worth thinking about.

I’m glad Arachne killjoyed the Three Sisters, even if she requested payment of a debt. She’s fun and they’re her antithesis. She has a soft spot for her sweetling but there is always a price to pay – a lock of Nyx’s hair, the Greek deity of the night. It’s not like anyone connected to the supernatural world is going to be saying ‘sure, take a lock of my hair’. Right?  So that’s just another something extra to add to the list of things Dustin has to do. However, she does tell Dustin how to find what he needs. If Dustin is to thwart the Eldest and the Heart he needs to access the Crown of Stars and that can only be done through the Midnight Convocation, and Arachne knows their whereabouts.

Quite a few of the arcane underground come out to play in Midnight’s Son. Even Mama Rosa, who owns the restaurant they live behind in a weird non-space space, is a surprise player. The Viridian Dawn think they can regroup with spells from grimoires left at their old compound. Yep. Well. Sucks to be them. The usual suspects are here in this instalment– Sterling, Gil, Asher, getting stronger, Carver, getting more intense about the Eldest, Prudence, Bastion, thankfully quieter, Herald, I’m calling bromance, Odessa, Romira, a more pleasant Royce, Scrimshaw the imp who will work for food… and blood… and is surprisingly good with a butter knife, who knew? And my favourite telepathic sword, Vanitas. I also loved Artemis and that wicked sense of humour. Give me more Artemis anytime.

“Don’t worry. None of us have mentioned to Nyx that you’re supposed to bring back a lock of her hair.” Artemis slapped me on the back, so hard that I jerked from the impact. “Good luck with that one.”

.

Meanwhile, the Heart is sending Eyes out as well as orbital strikes against Dustin, yet they aren’t as invested in the Eldest as Carver and others believe they should be. They have met and hypothesised that the ritual sacrifice by Thea Morgana on Dustin, the one that contained the ancient and Eldest star-metal, is the reason the Eldest can tether to this world from theirs – a tether is what’s needed to allow them through. Hence the Eldest are becoming more frequent and problematic. While they’re on the lookout for Dustin, his friends, and oddly Royce, are on his side, protecting him. Carver sends Sterling and Gil to help Dustin, and Herald joins them as they head off to Silveropolis, the Switzerland of arcanelandia, to gain some sanctuary from everyone breathing down Dustin’s neck, and to find the Convocation together.

This is hands down the best book of the Dark Mage series thus far. It was like Nazri Noor has found the perfect groove of every character and where they’re going, what they’re doing, where they fit, and what they mean to one another. The humour was also on point. Artemis added extra depth and I enjoyed Nyx. Most of all, Dustin Graves has a lot more power and darkness in him and I am loving it. His friends were the right amount of supportive and didn’t detract from the plot. The action was superbly paced, the world building was stellar, developing further on previous books. From the earthly but interesting Twilight Tavern, with the All-Father and Valkyries running a B&B when the ennui of eternity is wearing thin, to the Lunar Palace and the Midnight Convocation, it was all so vivid. Then there was the Trial that Dustin had to undertake if he was to be worthy of the Crown of Stars, it was just so bloody satisfying. Tsukukomi was a new player but his siblings are already known to the readers of this series – Amarterasu and Susanoo. Some Entities never learn. In the End: 

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a great story and I already know it will be a re-reader for me. There wasn’t one thing I could fault. If you are looking for a well written urban fantasy series, one with some fun as well as gore, action, mythology, good world building, and a core group of characters who are like family and grow as the series develops, grab yourself a copy of this book. Start with the prequel – Penumbra – it’s free at Nazri Noor’s author site. Midnight’s Son is thrilling. Fun. Bloodthirsty. Dark. Action-packed and riveting, everything a good urban fantasy story should be this book is. 5 Stars.  

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: JMS Books

Genre:  Paranormal

Tags: Supernatural, Gothic

Length: 25 Pages 

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At:  amazon, JMS Books

Synopsis:

A family curse. A lusty midnight visitor. A terror awakened.

Still grieving the death of his lover, Colm returns to the family estate on Christmas Eve to prepare to sell the house. An unexpected visit from Sebastian Lore, his brutish yet handsome neighbor, leads to fireside drinks.

As things heat up between them, Sebastian shares a long-buried secret that sheds a terrifying light on Colm’s father’s prophetic warning: You will never sell this house.

Review: 

Colm, an adjunct professor at a small New York university, is returning to his family’s summer house. It’s been in his family for years, his grandfather owned it before his father and now it’s Colm’s. It never felt inviting or comforting to him in all the years he visited. His parents died a decade ago and he hasn’t been interested in returning. Now older, and after the loss of his partner Stan, his return is with the intent of making some money off the sale of a property that holds no joy for him, much like his life in general these days, and particularly after Stan died two years ago.

There has always been a caretaker of the property, currently it’s Mrs Finch. The Finch family were left a stipend to maintain the property after Colm’s grandfather and father passed. She isn’t there when he arrives but he can’t help feel someone is watching him. It’s odd because no one lives especially close.

The creaking continued, but more slowly. It was a sad sound. His eyes were not adjusting to the blackness. Colm had a terrible sense that someone else was there, someone watching him.

On Christmas Eve, a particularly lonely one, one where Colm is having the dickens of a time keeping the fire lit and the house warm, he falls asleep but when he awakes the house is warm, and a burly, attractive man is there. Sebastian Lore claims to be the neighbour, one who knows his name and Mrs Finch, but is that right? Mrs Finch has left no notes about a neighbour. This man wears a thin, ragged shirt, and marks upon his chest draw Colm’s attention. Sebastian is interested in telling Colm a Christmas tale but does Colm wish to hear it?

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: NineStar Press

Genre: Genre Fiction 

Tags: Mythology, War, Male Valkyrie

Length:  17,600 Words

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At:  amazon, NineStar Press

Synopsis:

Review:

This is a twist on Norse mythology as Sakuma is a male Valkyrie. The world has grown and with it conflict, requiring more Valkyries than ever before. In this Valhalla there are actually two males, that we are aware of, but the story concentrates on Sakuma who returns to earth multiple times for one soldier, Ishii Hiroshi.

From the first time Sakuma attempts to take Ishii up to Valhalla, because he’s seriously injured in battle, Ishii refuses, preferring to stay and tough out his particular injury. Not something that’s ever happened to Sakuma before.

“You know when most men see something celestial they don’t hesitate to ride along.” He shifted weight onto one leg. “You could at least have the decency to act surprised.”
The soldier’s lip pinched in at the corner. “You could at least have the decency to realize death is a big deal for a human.”

Sakuma can’t understand why Ishii is so stubborn, why he’s allowing the war to take a toll on his physical and emotional being and spirit. Why the number of refusals mount up. If Ishii dies anywhere other than the battlefield Sakuma won’t be able to collect and transport him to Valhalla, something he feels befits both Ishii’s valour and strength of character. But Ishii has doubts, what started as defence of his country, his patriotism, fighting alongside fellow combatants, morphs into something else.

.

Sakuma believes in Ishii from their first meeting. As the war continues to be waged, and they meet over and over, Sakuma is convinced even more that Ishii deserves his place in Valhalla – Ishii, not so much. Hildr, Sakuma’s superior, is not terribly impressed that Sakuma spends a lot of time and effort trying to keep tabs on Ishii’s energy levels. For the reader, however, it’s very moving that Sakuma worries he could lose Ishii completely, to illness, to a final refusal.

Over the years that Sakuma visits Ishii, something more transpires between them, but this is not a romance, not in my eyes. It’s about respect and a bond – the Samurai Valkyrie and the human soldier – something that transcends a solely human understanding of feelings and connection.

In the End: 

Valhalla is a moving tale. For a short story it manages to pack a fair punch as you wonder just what Ishii will decide, if he even gets the chance to decide. Having a support like Sakuma watching you prior and then waiting for you in the afterlife would also be pretty special. 4 Stars.   

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Dark Void Press

Genre:  Horror

Tags: Creepy Doll, Gory, Graphic Violence, Psychological 

*** See Note At Bottom Of Review. ***

Length: 85 Pages

Reviewer: Cindi

Purchase At: Amazon.com

Synopsis –

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Summer ends, Fall comes, and then Winter kills everything with snow, ice, and bitter winds.

The five tales of horror contained within these pages touch upon the worst of the season – from haunted Christmas presents to secrets hidden beneath a frozen forest floor.

So cozy up next to a warm fire, put on your fuzziest robe, and prepare to have your blood chilled.

Review –

The Toy

It all started with a toy; with the toy, my life ended.

That was disturbing.

Mike, Emma, and Teddy are the perfect family. Teddy is four and kind of a mama’s boy. I’m not saying that in a bad way by any means. He just relates more to Emma than Mike. It’s close to Christmas and Emma has to work on the day she’d planned to pick up the bulk of the gifts. Mike agrees to do it and to make a day of it with their son. Everything is going well until young Teddy spots a toy in the window of an old antique shop. This thing is ugly and more than a little creepy. Of course Teddy begs Mike to buy it for him. Anything to make his boy happy, you know? Unfortunately, buying the creepy toy for Teddy turns out to be the worst thing he would do in his life.

The toy obviously isn’t your average toy. When Teddy removes it from the box on Christmas morning weird things start to happen.

I’m huge on books about family. I always have been. Give me a story with a kid in it and I’m usually happy. I can’t say that about this particular story and I can’t say why. I knew from the first page what was going to happen. I just wish I knew in advance how it was going to happen.

This reminded me of the story of Robert, the ‘haunted’ doll in Florida, I think it was? If you’re not familiar with Robert, I suggest checking out his story. I’d add a link but Robert creeps me the hell out, so there you go.

The writing was good. The way the story was told was good. The ending was perfect.

Good horror short. Just take note of tags above and my ‘final thoughts’ at the bottom of this review.

A Few Steps Away

This was a breath of fresh air after The Toy. I can’t say much other than A Few Steps Away tells the story of a boy and his dog. From the time the boy is quite young until he’s twenty-one he and the dog have a special bond. This bond doesn’t disappear when one of them is no longer in this world.

I really enjoyed this.

Armed Insanity

The title for this is so fitting.

Charlie, 35, has just been through a rather bitter divorce after his wife cheated on him. He lost the wife and his young daughter to some guy named Sean.

A couple of months after the divorce is finalized Charlie makes the mistake of going out for a few beers after work with one of his coworkers. One bar turns into several and before he knows it Charlie is pretty wasted. It’s snowing hard but drunk Charlie decides to try to drive home anyway.

He doesn’t quite make it. What happens on the drive home is bad. What happens later is terrifying.

The Fridge

I’ll never look at a refrigerator the same again. Old, new, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I will now have nightmares of possessed refrigerators, gory deaths, and teeth.

Yes, teeth.

Anything I say beyond that will tell the whole, strange story so I’ll stop here.

The Edge of the World

This is an excellent horror story.

A young couple takes a walk through the woods on a cold, cold night. It’s only their third date. The girl is wanting to see a section of the forest known as the Edge of the World. There’s been talk of disappearances for decades involving the Edge of the World but it’s mostly been laughed off.

If ever there were woods foreboding enough not to enter, it was these. But see, I would’ve done anything for her. I would’ve followed her into hell, if she wanted me to.

The young man really doesn’t want to go but you know how it is with young love. He wouldn’t allow himself to show fear. What would she think of him then?

Unfortunately, the Edge of the World turns out to be more than just a section of the forest that warranted being laughed off. It was everything the ‘talk’ had said it was and more.

Excellent short. This is the type of story I look for when I want horror.

~~~

Final thoughts and Slight Spoilers 

This is a nice collection of quickie horror stories, but be prepared if you’re interested in reading this. One has the rather brutal death of a child and another one involves the violent death of a pet. Expect a little bit of gore and know what you’re getting into before picking up the book.

While all the stories were written well (even if parts bugged me), A Few Steps Away and The Edge of the World are my absolute favorites for two totally different reasons. Excellent short stories. As for the others, make note of my warnings if you go to read them.

I’ll be reading more by this author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher: Indie

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Tags: Magic, Paranormal – Vampire, Werewolves, Other. Mythology, YA+, Series

Length: 181 Pages

Reviewer: Karen

Purchase At: amazon.com

Synopsis:

Dustin Graves goes on a rare night out with the boys from the Boneyard, but things go horribly wrong. Over a hundred revelers drop dead at a pop diva’s concert, bleeding from their eyes and their ears. Miraculously, Dustin and his undead associates survive.

But the troubles have just begun. Soon Dust is dealing with a bloodthirsty imp, a grizzled Scion, and a strange man covered in even stranger tattoos. Then Mammon, the demon prince of greed, comes knocking, eager to collect on Dustin’s end of the bargain…

If you like snarky heroes, snappy dialogue, and a bit of grit and gore, you’ll love the fourth book in Nazri Noor’s series of urban fantasy novels. Explore the Darkling Mage universe and discover Oblivion Heart today.

Review:

After a pretty full schedule for the boys of the Boneyard of late, Sterling’s love of Mona, a bubblegum pop princess, has their boss, Carver, telling them to have a night out at her concert in Valero. While Sterling’s choice of music fandom shocks Dustin, Sterling is a vampire in black leather with attitude, Dustin and Asher join him for the concert.

I looked over at Sterling, who was pumping his fists, accurately singing every lyric right back to Mona, and actually crying. Like, full tears, streaming down his face. I realized then that I hadn’t had so much fun in ages.

Dustin finds himself sucked in by Mona’s music as well, but wherever they go some mayhem’s going to happen. Honestly, Valero is like Eerie, Indiana, “the centre of weirdness for the universe,” and when Mona hits the high notes and the stage and her eyes turn silver, bleeding from the human fan’s ears and orifices is not a happy ending. But why would Mona kill her own fans? Is she a mage? If so, why didn’t Sterling know? Of course the Lorica turns up to investigate and take action, the Veil has to be protected at all costs and this is an epic flag for them. There are new faces at the Lorica, like Royce, a Scion – a powerful magical multi-tasker – who’s also a power-tripping a-hole and is less than pleasant or caring from the moment he meets Dustin after the deadly concert.

Dustin makes some new and unusual friends in Oblivion Heart, including Scrimshaw, a little imp (demon) who’s partial to some fries… and a dram of blood. He can’t be seen by humans. and it makes for a couple of interesting ‘is he okay?‘ conversations when Scrimshaw pops up and Dustin appears to be talking to himself. But that’s nothing new as Vanitas is an enchanted and telepathic sword that only Dustin can hear, a sentient instrument who is very loyal. Vanitas has his heroic moments but also seems to have been upgraded with a newer, gleeful menace about him courtesy of a demon’s do-over. There’s also Sam, the tattooed…. supernatural who happens to turn up where Dustin is, in libraries or at the Black Market, a new place Dustin discovers when he’s searching for the Tome of Annihilation.

Mammon, the Prince of Greed, also reappears. He’s come to call in his favour from Dustin for helping restore Vanitas. He wants the Tome as payment, not so easy as it’s flighty and doesn’t stay in any one place for any length of time. Mammon may want Dustin to retrieve it but it’s already on the hit list of a few other powerful parties. But Mammon adds a whole new dimension to what happens if Dustin doesn’t succeed on Mammon’s behalf –

Then there’s the mysterious silver light and malevolent voice threatening humans with ‘the culling’ which is not something the human race wants happening.

A shout out to the Esthers. It’s a long story, the short version is the name and the implication equals a fond memory for me.

A lot of the regular characters take a backseat in this addition and I missed Sterling, and Sterling and Dustin’s bicker-banter.

Dustin is developing his special powers further. His shadowstepping is more readily accessible and considered. The Dark Room is getting more powerful, his fire skill set is coming along nicely… but his scar? His heart? They potentially hold a lot of dark, powerful secrets.

This book is slightly darker once again than the previous books. Dustin’s entry into the arcane underground was murderous and the being who brought him through represents the darker side of this world. Having said that, there is also the familiar series humour, and the group camaraderie and necessary connection between the Boneyard and certain people in the Lorica is deepening further. I was so glad of the direction that Bastion’s character took in this book – even if it was via something pretty epic.

Niggles:

The three Sisters didn’t work for me, the other entities thus far have been far more interesting and far more important to the overall story than the Sisters were. Maybe there’s something more in relation to them later, they are the Fates, but I can only go off this book. There’s also quite a bit of cameo catch-up. I guess it’s working on a reminder of characters for readers, or maybe a reader drops in at book #4, I do get it, but in a 188 page book it does slow the flow down.

In the End: 

Although Oblivion Heart is book #4 this is the 5th book I’ve read in the Darkling Mage series – I started at Penumbra, the prequel, which is a freebie at the author’s site. I’m still enjoying the series a great deal. There’s always plenty of well paced action, and the world building continues to grow in every book, and not at ridiculous levels. It’s not always easy for me to find UF series that are well written, well edited, and don’t have at least some romance in the background – and this doesn’t – that are riveting, with characters I have an emotional investment in. and this series ticks all the boxes every time, it’s why I keep coming back. 4 Stars.