The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Great series, sad to see it come to an end.

The series is pretty much summed up by it's title. It's about Fey, the Summer & Winter courts. However, the Iron Fey are suddenly gaining numbers and iron is a weakness for the fey, so yeah bad news. 

I'll be honest and say that I thought the series did not have a great start. I did not like the first book, but after that, the series was awesome! Meghan Chase literally grows up in front of your eyes and her relationship with Ash was sweet and cute.

My first impressions of Meghan's character were not great, but she grows on you after the first book. My favorite book is the 3rd one, Iron Queen, because you see a different Meghan, a matured Meghan who is ready to take responsibility for her actions. 

Ash & Puck (Robin Goodfellow) are both great characters. As you go on reading the series, you realize there's more to Puck than just a normal teenager, and when I found out, I was shocked & excited. His character's past is definitely interesting and funny, and I love his personality. Then, there's Ash. Ash is the Winter prince, and at first he comes out as a jerk, but he grows on you as well. As you watch the progress between Ash & Meghan, you'll definitely look back and go "wow, they've come so far". The characters Ash, Puck, & Meghan are all complex. They've all been through a lot throughout their lives, and their loyalty to one another is just great. 

Anyways, I don't want to spoil the series. I just wanted to recommend these to every person that has not read this series, because you're definitely missing out. 

1. The Iron King

2. The Iron Daughter

3. The Iron Queen

4. The Iron Knight

UPDATE: I also forgot to mention that there is a spinoff of this series called The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten (thank you for reminding me).

The first book is titled The Lost Prince & it's Ethan Chase's turn to be the protagonist. 

I received an ARC for this book, so hopefully I'll get around to reading it as soon as possible and be able to post a review!

Here's the description:

Don't look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.That is Ethan Chase's unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he'd dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister's world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Love Science Fiction?

Or the Dresden Files?

Then try out this awesome series:

The Iron Druid Chronicles series by Kevin Hearne!

1. Hounded

2. Hexed

3. Hammered

4. Tricked

5. Trapped

6. Hunted

Background story: Basically, Atticus O'Sullivan is the last Druid alive. He lives peacefully in Arizona where he runs a bookshop. He also has an Irish wolfhound named Oberon. Atticus looks like he's 21, but he's actually 21 centuries old. Yikes. Unfortunately for Atticus, his status as the only Druid alive until he trains new recruits, has attracted many enemies. Many of these enemies were made by Atticus years ago, so now he's cursing his young self. So, now he has to depend on his powers, wit, a seductive goddess of death, his werewolf & vampire team of attorneys, his new recruit, his wolfhound, and some Irish luck. 

The series has many humor, action, and potential romances. It's definitely worth a try. 

(My favorite cover is Hexed)

How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken

This book is the 6th book in the Dragon Kin series by G.A. Aiken (Shelly Laurenston).

I have been waiting for Éibhear & Izzy's story since I first started the series. They've known each other since Izzy was only 16 and Izzy has been in love with Éibhear for a long long time. 

In Keita's book, I was definitely angry with the way Izzy, Celyn, & Éibhear handled their little love triangle. Izzy knew that her cousin Celyn was a playboy but she still slept with him anyways. She did it because she "thought" Éibhear wouldn't ever find out, but of course, he did.

In this book, Éibhear & Izzy are definitely over the whole Celyn thing and so is Celyn. It was good and bad at the same time. It was bad because I thought they should've talked about it more and I also wanted Izzy to become jealous because Éibhear attracted many women. It was good because then we'll have more adventures and arguments with these two characters who seem to always argue like Briec & Talaith (but not as bad).

Even as much as I loved the book, there were also flaws in it. There were too many things going on and it seems as if Izzy & Éibhear had a lot of things to do. We meets new characters such as the witches (Talaith's mother & grandmother), the Sand Dragons, the kin of Izzy's birth father, the Mi-runach, a blind god, and many more. 

It's been 10 years since the last book so many things have changed. I think Keita finally mated Ragnar, the twins are now grown and are definitely scary, Talaith's daughter Rhi is also grown, Dagmar has a grown nephew that is abandoned by her kin, Izzy has a grown "dog", and Éibhear finally comes back to see his family.

I liked the book. It had a great plot and it kept me entertained, but I think the mating of Éibhear & Izzy was a bit rushed (and you have to wait quite a bit) which was a huge downside to the book. But! I loved the interactions between Éibhear & Izzy and you'll definitely see why Izzy fell in love with Éibhear and how Éibhear changed after he transitioned from child to adult (in dragon years).

I definitely recommend this book, and I believe that the series is definitely not over because this book has many different characters that are definitely worthy for their own books. 

Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

Finally got my hands on this book! I love the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh, and this book is the 5th book in it.

We finally get Jason's story! Jason is Raphael's spymaster and he always stays in the shadows. I actually thought the book would be called Archangel's Shadow, but Storm is okay too. 

I love Jason in this book. He's just like how Nalini described him to be in the past books in the series. I wasn't a big fan of Dmitri's book because it just didn't do Dmitri's character justice. Here, Jason is the emotionless and straightforward spymaster that has volunteered to help solve the murder of Neha's consort. He agrees to have a blood bond with Mayiha, Neha's consort's daughter. Mayiha is not Neha's daughter, she is the daughter of Neha's sister. Neha's daughter was killed because she tried to kill Elena in the earlier book (I think it was the 2nd or 3rd book). 

I thought I would hate Mayiha because she was weak, but I love her character because she might be weak physically, but mentally she's tough. She's definitely Jason's other half, and she understands him more than anyone else. They pretty much complete one another. I loved their interaction with one another right from the start. It wasn't an easy relationship, but it usually starts out like that anyways.

Dmitri and Honor appeared frequently in the novel, and Honor had to make a big decision concerning her relationship with Dmitri. I was still disappointed with Dmitri's book, but it was great having them back. Elena and Raphael also make brief appearances, but I heard the next book was going to be in their POVs so I'm good.

The verdict: Great book. Great plot. Great conflict. I love the whole idea of Jason having to work at another archangel's territory. It made the whole place seem dangerous and untrustworthy. I literally was like going through each person and thinking is he/she the killer?! I was going insane, and when I finally realized who it was, I was surprised (in a good way). The relationship between Jason & Mayiha definitely rivaled that of Raphael & Elena, but I think I still love Raphael & Elena more.

Can't wait for Aodhan, Illium, and Venom. They're my favorites and I definitely know that their books have to be great! (I think I know who Venom might end up with though...)

Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper

This is the first book in Molly Harper's Half Moon Hollow series.

Miranda's mother, father, and brother are all lawyers. She isn't. She was supposed to marry her fiancé Jason, but she met his childhood "friend" Lisa. Turns out that Jason's been texting Lisa that he loves her behind Miranda's back. What a great boyfriend.

Now, Miranda's got a new job. She's now a driver for Beeline, a company that offers to drive vampires around. Her first client? Mr. Collin Sutherland. He has to deliver a suitcase to another vampire named Ophelia Lambert. The suitcase is very important, and Collin doesn't even let her touch it.

As a matter of fact, Collin is grumpy, rude, picky, and he's afraid of flying. Miranda's first impression to her new passenger wasn't the greatest, but hey, they have days of driving ahead of them, so what else can go wrong? Too many to count.

With old, dirty motels and long drives ahead of them, Collin suddenly realizes that even if Miranda was a magnet for danger and very unpredictable, she's awesome and he cares about her. Now, if only Miranda doesn't feel guilty about being with Collin while she was on a "break" from her ex. Turns out her ex makes the decision easy for her... (you'll find out that he's even a greater jerk!).

Anyways, this book is a fun and easy read. There's a lot of humor in it and Miranda is a great narrator. She's tough, unpredictable, and funny. Collin is your typical rude and rich vampire that hasn't been out of his house for a long, long time.

The verdict: Great read, plenty of humor, and charming characters. I really felt bad for Miranda near the end... she should've trusted her instincts about Jason.

New Releases September 4!

Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter #5)

How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken (The Dragon Kin #6)

Playing to Win by Jaci Burton (Play by Play #4)

Fear the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

This is the 9th book in the Guardians of Eternity series by Alexandra Ivy.

If you were hoping for a lot of romance, then you'll be very disappointed. This was Caine & Cassie's book, but their romance was overshadowed by the fact that the Dark Lord is returning and planning to attack. 

Gaius, the vampire we found out that betrayed everyone by working for the Dark Lord, has a major part in this book. The POV changes a lot of times in the book, which sometimes was frustrating because I thought this was supposed to be Caine & Cassie's book. I thought that because Caine was one of the antagonist before that he'd have a really good book where he finds his redemption. I didn't change my mind about Caine. I don't like him, and I had to force myself to keep reading.

Cassie was a great character. She was your typical heart-faced Were. I liked her character better than Caine, and had she not been a strong character, I don't think I would've finished the book. Even if she was captive for most of her life, she wasn't too "I don't know this or that", which was really great. 

There wasn't a "teary & happy" family reunion between the 4 sisters. Harley & Regan had a little reunion with Cassie, but she was distracted with Caine. Harley didn't really have much part other than the reunion, but Regan constantly helped with the fight against the Dark Lord. Darcy also supposedly met with Cassie, but the author didn't write the part. 

If you love Styx, Viper, Salvatore, Laylah, & Jaelyn, then you'll love this book because they were mentioned a lot. There were parts of the book with Styx having the POV, which showed just how stressful being the King of the Vampires was. We also meet a new vampire, Roke, who is going to be very important in the future. Abby & Dante also make a brief appearance... pretty much every past characters come back (Cezar is briefly mentioned & Jagr appears a few times). Levet also plays a major role near the end of the novel & as always, he's sad because he's not as big as the other gargoyles but the demon, Yannah, tells him that he has heart, which is a strong weapon. The two babies were also constantly mentioned because they were a big part of the Dark Lord's plans of returning. 

The verdict: Compared to Ivy's other books, I think this wasn't as great. There were too many change of POVs and the romance was overshadowed by the battle against the Dark Lord. I wanted Ivy to show Caine's redemption, but he just seemed to have been forgiven pretty easily which I didn't like. The tension between Viper & Roke was funny, and I guess having Styx have the POV was OK. If you're planning on continuing to read the series, then this book is a definite must-read.

The next book in the series is going to be about Santiago & Nefri, and their book is titled Darkness Avenged. The book doesn't release until June 2013. I definitely want to see how their story is going to turn out.