As I’m sure everyone who reads my reviews (or deals posts every time it goes on sale) by now knows, I ADORED the first book in this series, Polaris Rising. I still get chills when I think of the first meeting between Loch and Ada. And the tension between Ada’s sister Bianca the family head of security Ian Bishop left me on greedy for more.

I loved the heroine, Bianca. She’s intelligent, fierce, and uses her political clout in positive ways. She also runs a huge spy network that will come in handy while she is tracking down her missing brother.

I was more so-so on the hero Ian, mainly because he kept trying to hold Bianca back “for her own good” or “for her safety”. It got annoying. I mean he does come around and eventually starts to work as a team with her, but it took a good 50% of the book. Once he does see the error of his ways I was all in with them as a couple.

The romance kind of takes a back seat to the missing brother plot. This is more of a space adventure with a subdued romance that the previous book in the series. Don’t get me wrong, I still gobbled it up in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed myself, I just want readers to be prepared.

I really love this series and an once again on the edge of my seat for the next installment.

Final grade- B+

KINDLE * GOODREADS * JOINT REVIEW OF POLARIS RISING

I think this is one of the most unique and imaginative books I’ve read this year.

Claire is the head librarian of hell’s library, where all the unfinished, unwritten books are stored. Her job is to repair, organize and maintain the books in her stacks. Occasionally a character will escape from their story and it’s Claire’s job to retrieve them and return them to their pages. She has an assistant, Brevity, who is a muse and is light and friendly where Claire can be stern and uncompromising.

When tasked with finding an escaped character on Earth, Claire and Brevity find themselves caught in the middle of a much bigger problem. A piece of what is known as the Devil’s Bible has made it’s way to the pearly gates and several angels have set out to find the rest. If they do Heaven and Hell will be thrown into war. Accompanied by Hero, the once missing character, Leto, a demon courier, and Andras, the arcanist of hell, Claire and Brevity embark on a quest to find the Devil’s Bible and bring it back to the library.

This was quite an adventure, with the main protagonists travelling through several afterlife realms while evading two angels. There is witty banter, interesting back stories, betrayal, bravery, a very surprising connection between two of the characters that is revealed toward the end. All in all, a good read and very nice way to spend the afternoon. Recommend.

Final Grade- B

KINDLE * GOODREADS

I love this author’s adult fantasy novels, but this is the first fantasy/horror book by her I’ve read. While I don’t like to watch scary movies, I do enjoy a good horror book and this is one of the best I’ve read in quite awhile.

I think the setting is what did it for me. I mean how much more creepy can you get than a house set out in the woods, full of hoarded junk, and the discovery of a journal written by a deceased family member that talks about a missing book? The journal’s rambling, somewhat nonsensical narrative, with repetitive words and talk of twisted ones is also quite eerie.

The heroine, Mouse, was the perfect mix of tentativeness and bravery. She had this wonderful, deep understanding about human nature and the ability to use humor to cope with the fear of her situation. She also has an awesome relationship with her somewhat goofy, yet endearing dog.

As with every book I’ve read by this author, everything from the pacing, to the narration, to the character development, to the worldbuilding is superb. She knows how to keep readers engaged and on the edge of their seats. The Twisted Ones is weird and creepy and I highly recommend. I’ve enjoyed every T. Kingfisher book I’ve read and look forward to what she has in store for her readers next.

Final grade- B+

KINDLE * GOODREADS

What’s on my Kindle for this week:

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