Urban Fantasy

COVET–My Fave Sin? a Review

Hi there! Welcome to a new review in my pre-Halloween SPOOKTACULAR. Today’s feature is an urban fantasy–again from JR Ward, but not of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Covet (Fallen Angels, #1)In COVET, our return to Caldwell, New York has more celestial implications.

As my buddies in Ghostbusters would say:


See, God’s kinda bored with the centuries-long battle for souls. The deal:  Seven people must choose God or Evil in a winner-take-all. If the majority end up choosing God, humanity and the universe win, we go on, no more evil…

If the other side wins? It’s the end…of everything.

The players: Jim “Zacharias” Heron has come to Caldwell on a mission to reinvent himself. He’s a military operative who’s grown weary of the assassin life. While blending in, he’s befriended by Adrian and Eddie–two Harley riding individuals who sometimes don’t throw shadows in sunlight…

Jim’s path becomes diverted by electrocution–yeah, he dies. Not good form to kill your MC in the first few chapters, but it works here. We get to meet angels and Jim gets his purpose: to save the soul of Vin diPietro–a multimillionaire developer under the control of a powerful demon.

This task is made somewhat easier when Vin sets eyes on Marie-Therese, a prostitute with a cause. She’s been through the wringer following a brutal divorce and kidnapping of her son. Now that she has Robbie back, her one goal is to pay off the costs of his recovery–being a high-priced hooker has been key to that purpose.

Vin is struck by her, but also by the need to protect her. His clairvoyance has revealed Marie-Terese is the target of a dark presence and the cost may be her life. And, she’s freakin’ hot, so Vin has two reasons to keep close tabs on her.

As Jim and Vin both work to save Vin’s soul, Vin’s girlfriend Devina proves to be a dangerous connection; one that might be the end of this game.

In the end, COVET is a fast-paced, Good-v-Evil smackdown that has a fantastic romance arc and plenty of smexy bits. It’s a giant departure from the BDB novel series, and yet, with the same location and some cross-over characters, I felt engaged from the start.

If you’re interested in COVET, you can find it in your local library, on e-Loan from a library, GOODREADS, AMAZON or Barnes & Noble.

Let me know if you’ve read this one–and if you liked it. 

And, as always:  keep reading, my friends.

Catch the Fever–DARKFEVER

In honor of October’s SPOOKTACULAR, it’s time for another Urban Fantasy Series–this one by Karen Marie Moning.

Now Ms. Moning had a great thing going with her Highlander romances. And I mean great. They freaking rocked.–from a romance standpoint. Delicious, burly, sensitive, considerate lovers, some with mystical Druid powers, all falling for smart, confident, not-quite-perfect-bodied, women-many displaced in time to the seventeenth century…

Money, pure and simple.

But no, Moning wasn’t content to churn out more category romance.

She went Dark.

Darkfever (Fever, #1)DARKFEVER is the first in an on-going series surrounding the MacKayla Lane, a party-girl turned warrior.

In this first book, Mac, as she is called, travels to Dublin to find her sister’s murder. Not as if she is remotely qualified to do so. But, she heartsick–missing Alina as if missing her own left hand.

Still, upon arrival Mac learns that her life has taken a step into the ether. Everywhere she looks she sees strage-looking people–well. not reall people. Fae. As in the mystical, mythical race my Irish ancestors called “wee folk”.

Ain’t NOTHIN’ wee about the creatures she observes draining humans of theirbeauty, or innocence, or life, however.

Lost in a world she can’t understand, Mac nearly dies herself–those flesh-sucking Shades are a sure excutioner–but a run-in with Jericho Barrons’s provides clarity and confusion in equal measure.

The dude is intense, and his desire for Mac is barely chained. She senses there is something dark within him, and it keeps her pushing back, even when the sensible thing to do would be to seek his protection.

In contrast to Moning’s earlier romances, DARKFEVER only drips with innuendo. No sex to be found, though it’s lurking, much like Barrons. It’s a great start to an urban fantasy series that holds many sensual delights down the pike.

You can find DARKFEVER in  your library, GOODREADS  AMAZON  Barnes & Noble

And, as always: Keep reading, my friends. 😉

FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT? Dead funny!

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)Still running down some fave paranormal/Urban Fantasy reads for the October SPOOKTACULAR.

FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones is a gem!

Charley Davidson is a Reaper. She doesn’t actually harvest souls–she’s merely a portal–a conduit to the otherside. A Pearly Gate, if you will.

And, she’s been this way her whole life. Even brought her own mother’s soul to eternal rest when she died at Charley’s birth.

So, it’s no surprise when dead lawyers show up unwilling to ride the express to Eternity. What is shocking? The three of them are partners–and they had a really nasty client.

Can anyone say m-o-b h-i-t?

Being the gate to the afterlife doesn’t pay bills. Charley works as a PI, and also helps her uncle, a police detective, solve crimes for the Albuquerque PD. Why not? I mean, lots of murder victims could tell her exactly where to find the body and who the perp was.

Anywho…Charley’s seen it all. Except perhaps for the dream lover who continues to sex-her-up when her eyes close. He’s the absolute sex bomb. And, for good reason:  Reyes Farrow is the son of Satan. Yeah.

Uber-hot!

Oh! I see you staring down your nose at me! Who’s to say he’s pure evil? And, and, even if he is, lots of girls go for the Bad Guy, amiright?

Besides, he’s just a dream lover…which means they do the dirty dance in her head. No need for confession, folks.

Charley endeavors to solve the mystery of the Three Dead Lawyers whilst dodging a pint-sized poltergeist and commiserating with her BFF/secretary Cookie and lamenting her shitty coffee maker. It’s a rollicking time–and Charley manages to get herself beat up (twice?) and nearly shot by a client’s abusive husband. In this she would have died but a cloaked visage appears and slices her attacker down with mystical efficiency.

Here’s the thing: this book is Laugh. Out. Loud. Charley is irreverent. She’s so dead pan (pun intended) about her interactions with the departed that it stuns the reader into hilarity. In the end she does help the lawyers to crossover and finds out a bit more about the connection between Dreamy Reyes and the cloaked assassin. Oh, and it’s hawt.

FIRST GRAVE is the first in a series–and I’ve read on. They are soooo fun.

Again, it’s a trad pub title and my library stocked a couple copies.

Check it out at YOUR library, or the usual spots:    Amazon   Barnes & Noble    Goodreads

Let me know if you’ve read and of Darynda’s Jones works–and if you liked them.

And, as always: keep reading, my friends.