Urban Fantasy Investigations

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Winners!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

The Winners chosen by Rafflecopter is.....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Review: Generation V by M.L. Brennan

Generation V

Author:M.L. Brennan

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Roc

American Vampire Book #1

ISBN: 0451418409

ISBN13: 9780451418401

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Reality Bites

Fortitude Scott’s life is a mess. A degree in film theory has left him with zero marketable skills, his job revolves around pouring coffee, his roommate hasn’t paid rent in four months, and he’s also a vampire. Well, sort of. He’s still mostly human.

But when a new vampire comes into his family’s territory and young girls start going missing, Fort can’t ignore his heritage anymore. His mother and his older, stronger siblings think he’s crazy for wanting to get involved. So it’s up to Fort to take action, with the assistance of Suzume Hollis, a dangerous and sexy shape-shifter. Fort is determined to find a way to outsmart the deadly vamp, even if he isn’t quite sure how.

But without having matured into full vampirehood and with Suzume ready to split if things get too risky, Fort’s rescue mission might just kill him.…

I have not read many stories where there is a male protagonist. I don't know if it's because there are not many of them or that I just don't pick them up but GENERATION V was a character driven story with a neat take on vampires that I had a good time reading.

Fortitude starts out as a dorky, quite, uncomfortable in his own skin kinda guy. He has a "girlfriend" and roommate that walk all over him and a family that he would rather not be associated with. He works in a nasty coffee shop with a boss that treats her employees like crap. He is the youngest of his siblings and he has not yet made the transition to full vampire so he really doesn't have anything in common with them and he likes it that way. Throughout the story Fortitude grows into himself and learns to embrace who he is to save a few little girls that were kidnapped by another vampire. Suzume was a neat character. She is a Kitsune shifter hired by Fortitude's mother to protect him. She does a great job of throwing him off his game but also giving him the confidence he needs to pursue what he wants to do. She calls him out on his faults often but you can tell she cares about what happens to him no matter how hard she claims not to. There is not a romance between the two but there were a few times where some sparks can be seen.

Fortitude's family was interesting to say the least. His mother is a very old vampire that makes him come home for family dinners although she adopted him out after he was born to be raised by humans. His brother Chivalry is loving and devoted to his human wife while also killing her a little more every day. His sister hates him and would do anything to see him fail. You end up getting to know them well during the story and you will either love them or hate them.

GENERATION V was an interesting read. It managed to pull off a well-rounded story while also introducing you to everyone and everything that makes up Brennan's world. With the way things progressed I'm definitely interested in what will happen next for Fortitude. I'm not sure when book 2 will be here but I will be reading it!

I gave it 4/5 stars

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Review: Prophecy Girl by Cecily White

Prophecy Girl

Author: Cecily White

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Publisher: Entangled

Angel Academy Book #1

ISBN: 9781620612

Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

Amelie Bennett. . . . Ending the world, one prophecy at a time.

I was born to slay Crossworld demons.
Big black flappy ones, little green squirmy ones. Unfortunately, the only thing getting slain these days is my social life. With my high school under attack, combat classes intensifying, and Academy instructors dropping right and left, I can barely get my homework done, let alone score a bondmate before prom.
Then he shows up.
Jackson Smith-Hailey. Unspeakably hot, hopelessly unattainable, and dangerous in all the right ways. Sure, he’s my trainer. And okay, maybe he hates me. Doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the wicked Guardian chemistry between us. It’s crazy! Every time I’m with him, my powers explode. Awesome, right?
Wrong.
Now my teachers think I’m the murderous Graymason destined to bring down our whole race of angelbloods. Everyone in New Orleans is hunting me. The people I trusted want me dead. Jack and I have five days to solve the murders, prevent a vampire uprising, and thwart the pesky prophecy foretelling his death by my hand. Shouldn’t be too difficult.

Getting it done without falling in love. . . that might take a miracle.

The world for the Angel Academy Series was fun. There are both werewolf and vampires but there are also Guardians who use magic. These magic users are either channelers or watchers and when they graduate they are paired together and are expected to get married and have children together. This doesn't always happen but those that do not are frowned upon.

Amelie's personality reminded me a lot of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series. She was spunky, outspoken and found herself at the front of trouble throughout the entire book. She was not a rule follower. Jackson tries REALLY hard to hide his feelings for Amelie and push her away. He ends up playing a few roles in the story but they all revolve around Amelie in some way. The action seems non stop and the mystery is well written.

I found PROPHECY GIRL to be a fast paced fun read. The characters were interesting and the story was smoothly written. The reason I am giving it the rating I am is because there are so many books that have the same sort of storyline. I have a few questions from some book ending events that I don't fully understand the results of. I will most likely pick up book 2.

I gave it 3/5 stars

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Interview: The Savage Blue by Zoraida Córdova

UFI welcomes Zoraida Córdova Author of The Vicious Deep Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

1.) What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

I'm often very silly, love staying home and watching movies like PITCH PERFECT and THE HANGOVER I & II, and I love hot wings. For more, I have this vlog: http://youtu.be/MVDDZobIwWg

2.) What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

I don't have much downtime, but when I do I catch up with my drawings/sleep/gym.

3.) What is your Favorite part of writing?

Creating new worlds.

4.) Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

I don't. Every writing day is different. Sometimes I write in the day and drink coffee. Sometimes I write at night and have wine. Sometimes there's music. Sometimes I sit in Central Park.

5.) What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

Holly Black, Libba Bray, Charles DeLint, Amelia Atwater Rhodes, Sarah Beth Durst.

6.) What can you tell me about the world that The Vicious Deep Series is set in?

The Vicious Deep is set in Coney Island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcE__mvXFmo

It's a place that really symbolizes "the other" in society and welcomes oddities. Like mermaids.

Then there's the world of the sea court. Toliss Island is my version of Avalon for mermaids. I like the idea of a traveling sea court, much like a traveling circus. Then there are other locations like the Vanishing Cove in book 2, which represents a borderland of sorts where the magical community has exiled themselves as humans grew in numbers over the centuries.

7.) Do you have a favorite scene in The Savage Blue?

I loved writing about the oracles. They're such fluid and powerful women/beings. You see different versions of them, from the lonely to the power hungry.

8.) Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

Favorite is definitely Tristan Hart. Writing from an emotionally turbulent teenage boy is fun.

The hardest is Kurt. Only because sometimes I find myself liking him too much, and in book 3, that would be trouble.

9.) What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

I'm happy to say Sourcebooks Fire has bought book 3. The working title is THE VAST & BRUTAL SEA.

After that I'm going to try writing from a girl's POV. She is death and she is magic.

Find Zoraida and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

The Savage Blue
The Vicious Deep #2

A storm is coming...

The ocean is a vicious place. Deeper and darker than Tristan could have imagined. Beneath its calm blue surface, an ancient battle is churning —and no one is safe.

In the quest for the Sea Throne, Tristan has already watched one good friend die. Now he must lead the rest on a dangerous voyage in search of the trident that will make him king. But while Tristan chases his destiny, the dark forces racing against him are getting stronger, and the sea witch of his nightmares is getting closer.

Battling sea dragons and savage creatures of the deep, Tristan needs his friends' support. But they each have their secrets, and a betrayal will force Tristan to choose between his crown and his best friend Layla — the only girl he's ever loved.

__________________________________

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Guest Blog: Superstition Mountain Trilogy by Stacey Thompson

UFI welcomes Stacey Thompson Author of The Superstition Mountain Trilogy. Thanks for Joining us!!

Why The Superstition Mountain?

Superstition Mountain is set in the Apache Junction area of Arizona in the late 1880's. There are a lot of legends set around the Superstition Mountains and they became the backdrop for this really fun and interesting story. It not only incorporates the Apache creation story, it also uses a form of the Lost Dutchman Legends. That's why it's such a great place to base a story that explores the boundaries of good and evil.

The story is based around a young woman named Ami who watched her mother die from a Vampire Demon named Price. She was trained as a Monster Slayer by a man named Wesley who has a past of his own. She is sent away for her own safety before Price attacks the only real family she's ever known. The Shaman and the other Monster Slayers. This sets Ami and Wesley on a mission to set things right and kill Price. Things don't go as they planned. They become instrumental in where the lines of good and evil really are and how far they will go for the people they care about.

These mountains were the perfect setting because there's so much lore in the area. From the legend of the Lost Dutchman's mines to the unexplained light shows that will happen at night. No one knows exactly where this supposed mine is in the mountains and many people have looked for the mines within the mountain. The legend talks about a man, Jacob Wilks, who found this mine and traded gold from it in the nearby city of Apache Junction. The problem is no one has ever found it.

The Apache creation story is also featured within the story. The legend talks about a small battle between what is translated into the Monster Slayer and the first evil of the Earth. Of course the Monster Slayer defeats the evil, but the question is does evil really ever truly die? I took great care in learning this story the best I could and incorporating it into the main line of the story. There are several versions of the creation story so I did my best to try and honor all of them that I found in my research.

This story is a great mesh of American Indian legends as well as some of the lore within the area. It's a wonderful mix of Wild West with Vampires and a sprinkle of Witches. I love this area and the mountains themselves and hope that everyone who reads these books will want to see the real mountains. They really are a magical and beautiful place to visit or live.

__________________________________

Stacey has been writing since she can remember. She primarily writes Edgy Paranormal and Paranormal Romance, but has dabbled in the Horror and Young Adult Genres.

She is a mother of Three and lives in the beautiful state of Wyoming. You can find her at her blog and Facebook page.

Find Stacey and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________