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Urban Fantasy, Comedy - novel
TBR reviewer: Kim

This is a story about a Grim Reaper, Mal, who is trying to chase a demon serial killer. He is nursing a broken leg, in love with a succubus who used to be his partner and to top it all, his boss, Death has just woken up after many years asleep. Some Reapers have all the luck!

This was a little difficult to get into at first, and hard to wrap my head around the idea that there was one Death but many Reapers. This was somewhat helped by having 'Grim Reaper Myths Dispelled' at the beginning of some of the chapters. Once I did get into it though, I really enjoyed it. The characters were colorful and different and larger than life! The story went along at a fair clip and there was plenty of action. I liked the fact that it was tackling a long held belief and turning it on its head! This is the second 'Reaper' story and I think it would help to have read the first as there are many references to events in the previous book that at times left me a bit confused. That being said, I still recommend it but with the caveat of reading the first, which I would very much like to now!

Part way across the room, a very large and very drunk demon stepped into their way. His gaze ran the length of Xyla’s body, pausing on all the bits Mal tended to pause on, too.
“H-hey, cutie,” he said, attracting the attention of  half the bar with the volume. “Buy you a drink?”

“I’m flattered,” Mal  said, batting his eyelashes. “But we have elsewhere to be.”

The bar  roared with laughter as the demon frowned, trying to work out what just  happened. His eyes widened as it struck him. “I meant her, not you!”

“Really? Well now I’m just embarrassed.”
   
“You wanna watch your mouth,  human.”
 
 “Or what? You’ll start a fight?” Mal gestured about the bar. “In  Earl’s?”
   
“I don’t give a damn where we are, I’ll rip yer head off and use  it as a bowling ball!”

Mal scratched his neck. “You wouldn’t get many  strikes.”
   
“Huh?”

“Heads aren’t round enough, you see. You wouldn’t  be able to accura—”

His attempt at neutralisation via sarcasm ended  abruptly as the demon swung a large fist at his face. It came too quick for him  to dodge, so he closed his eyes and tried to think painless thoughts. The blow  never came. He opened one eye tentatively to see the demon’s fist held fast in  Xyla’s hand. She cocked her head as he struggled to pull free.

“Did you  just throw a punch at my boyfriend?” The demon screeched as she squeezed,  and Mal winced at the sound of grating bones.

“Well?” she asked again,  the picture of calm. “Hurry up. We have places to be.”

“N-no, I mean yes!  I mean...” He paused. “Can I have my hand back, miss?”

“Not until you  apologise.” She squeezed again.

The mountain of a demon babbled a number  of apologies, in several languages, and Xyla let go. “There’s a good  boy.” She turned back to an amused Mal and held out her hand. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” He took her hand, and they walked over to a bemused Earl. “So I’m  your boyfriend, am I?”

“Yup.”

“Do I get a choice in the  matter?”

“Nuh uh.”

He feigned a sigh. “I guess I’ll just have to  go along with it, then.”

She grinned. “You know, most men would chastise  me for stepping into that fight.”
   
“Meh. Most men are stupid. Also, most  men’s girlfriends aren’t millennia old demons capable of head-butting their way  through a bank vault.”
   
“You put it so lyrically, Mal.”

He dropped  into a short bow and hoped that she wasn’t paying too much attention to his  thoughts. Boyfriend? Booya! If he was anywhere else, and had two working  legs, he’d have danced a jig.

Mr. Slade is giving away an ecopy to one lucky winner. Comment below to enter. Contest ends December 26th.

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Urban Fantasy - Novel
TBR reviewer: B.H.

Even Grim Reapers have bad days on the job.

Mal has managed to stay out of the afterlife for 31 years, despite  having been dead for
the last three. He's a Grim Reaper, and while he  may not be the most enthusiastic, he enjoys his "life" too much to give  it up to death. But he's got a problem. A troubled young woman's soul  becomes bonded to his, and a vicious demon is hired to retrieve it.

If Mal can't get her soul free in a hurry, he's doomed to share her  destination, whether it be heaven or hell.

This is what I’m talking about! The last book I read by Mr. Slade, Strand, needed less telling and it frustrated me because he was so close to greatness. I think this time he’s reached even closer to that mark. There was still telling and a lack of emotion in the characters but, and this is a big but, it’s a lot less.
 
Now, there’s a great story unfolding.

The world of demons, Grim Reapers and alcoholic poltergeists was well described. Mal is a grim reaper who gets his soul stuck with an undecided. That’s a person that has been equally good and bad. There's a court to decide if Amy, the undecided, is going to hell or heaven.

There’s an excellent pace to the story, information and action blended nicely. I couldn’t stop reading, Mal’s character really grew on me. He meets Amy who falls down the steps and breaks here neck. After that Mr. Slade seemed to revert back to the telling issue. 

The story unfolds we get these short passages in first point of view. Having no assigned characters it was a bit confusing at first. There’s a lot of grin worthy moment, twists, and action plus a little romance. This is all hindered of course by the telling. I was wondering what exactly Mal looked like naked, lol. I couldn’t help it, he was a very well written character! Zach is a great addition as well. I hope to read more on both these characters.

I am not giving up on Mr. Slade yet for a five star review one day. I hope his writing only grows because his plots are worth the read.

He was facing the wrong way, watching a group of people on the other side of the road. Ducking behind a hedge, Mal waited, heart in mouth, until he heard footsteps pass the gate and continue down the street. Relieved, he stood, only to find himself a foot from the demon’s grinning face. “Crap.”

“You’re a hard man to find,” the demon said, placing his hands on the garden wall between
  them.

“Don’t know why,” Mal replied, trying to remain nonchalant, despite opening the conversation with ‘crap.’ “I was moving slowly, and went to rather predictable places. Frankly, a half-eaten onion sandwich could have found me before you did.”

The demon’s smile disappeared, replaced by a snarl with far too many teeth. "Now why did you have to go  and say that?”

Before the demon had chance to grab him, Mal was in flight. He dodged left and leapt over a low fence into next door’s garden then  bolted through the open gate. A roar sounded behind him and he turned to see the  demon in hot pursuit.

“You think you can  out run him?”

“As long as he stays in his human form, I stand a chance.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He  won’t reveal his true form in broad daylight. Demons have a code.”

Mal hoped  he was right and kept running. He rounded the corner and spotted a familiar  street sign. Only half a mile from the bar. He put his head down and thudded on,  wincing at the jolts of pain coming from his leg, and risking the odd glance  back. His pursuer was the faster, but the slight head start and Mal’s knowledge  of the area’s twisty alleys kept him in the lead. As he neared the bar, he found  himself back on the main road and had to hope that
the lead he had built up in  the back streets would hold. Dodging and weaving around pedestrians, and jumping  the occasional dog, he neared his target. He could hear the demon’s heavy  footsteps as he dove through the door to the ramshackle bar front. He grabbed  the beer pump and yelled for Earl, who appeared moments later. Mal grabbed  Earl’s outstretched hand and felt something slash at the back of his shirt just  before everything went black.

Mr. Slade is also giving away an ecopy to one lucky winner! Comment below to enter. Contest ends November 18th.

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Genre: Urban Fantasy - paranormal
Ebook - Evernight Publishing - Novel
TBR Reviewer - B.H (Brutally Honest)

A Centennial City Novel

All Eve Faulkner wants to do is forget that she’s a Kumiho and live her life the way she sees fit. As a supernatural arbitrator, she considers her life to be chaotic enough without having to worry about keeping her identity a secret.

Unfortunately for her, a supposed “easy” job goes horribly wrong and a close colleague almost dies. Fired from her job, and a virtual pariah, the only person who’ll hire her now is one of the High Vampires of Centennial City, Vincent Sheridan, who wants nothing more than to jump her bones.  

In between having her secret discovered by a sadistic alpha of the Were pack who seeks to use her, and finding out who’s killing people in the city sewers, Eve will come to grips with her reality and finally make peace with the person she is and will become.

I admit, I’m a HUGE vampire fan. I love True Blood, Interview with the Vampire and any book about vampire’s are usually on my ‘to be read’ list. When I read the blurb, I instantly wanted to read it.

The action is well written and she explains the complication that comes with a paranormal book without leading to an information dump. I love the reference to Rob Zombie as I’m a fan. By chapter four, I was loving Eve. She’s got such a great personality that really shines through with Ms. Jameson’s writing. As the story continues and Eve meets Vincent, I could not put this book down!

I began reading in bed and forgot the whole getting up early for work thing. She really tells an engrossing, almost addicting story. I laughed, I bit my nails off, and I practically drooled! Vincent, master vampire, what can I say about him? Oh my and yummy. Then there’s sexy, tortured Ryder and the mysterious Van. I’d like one of each pretty please!

Then there’s the romance, why oh why, didn’t she steam things up. I wouldn’t even consider this erotic, it was to Tame and that would normally bring the rating down. However, the story was so good I’m ignoring that fact and hoping she adds more fire into the next book. I really hope there is another book with these characters. I cannot wait to read more about Centennial City!

Her style reminds me of Laurell K Hamilton and the Anita Blake series without the heat. I am a fan of Ms. Jameson after reading Blood Wish. I recommend this book without a single doubt.

“You must help us. There are not many who understand the darkness as well as you do, Eve Faulkner.”

A vampire didn’t often ask for help. But hey, even the denizens of the night need help with contracts sometimes.

As a negotiator for the preternatural, I’m both lawyer and hunter. Lawyer because it pays the bills, and hunter because there are abominations that need to be taken care of. I’d hunt full time, but most of the work is pro-bono, so if all I did was tote around a semi-automatic with silver bullets and a case of salt water, I’d be living in a cardboard box pretty damn soon.

The tall vampire appeared too lean to be considered healthy. Then again, since when were vampires supposed to be healthy? Cheekbones jutted out nearly a mile from his face, and I could’ve split paper with the tip of his nose. Dressed in unrelenting black, he looked like a Dracula wannabe. All he needed was the black cape with the scarlet lining, coupled with that booming laugh, and even Bela Lagosi would roll in his grave.

Except he wasn’t a Dracula wannabe; he was the real thing.

And for some reason, it made him seem even more pathetic than he already was.

Watching him from across the massive desk, I tried not to stare too long at the jagged scars down his cheeks. “Uh-huh. Right. How about you tell me what I can do to help you, and we’ll see if I really can.”

He smiled, and I averted my eyes, trying to pretend I couldn’t see the tips of his fangs sticking out of his mouth. Most old-world vampires considered such a gesture as obscene. It’s like people doing the down and dirty in the middle of a busy shopping center.

Truth is, I used to be ashamed I knew so much about vamps. The only people who knew as much as I did were either vamphiles or the vampires themselves, and I didn’t want to be confused as either.

But all knowledge has a price.

Hey, what can I say? I like money. After all, money never betrayed me. Never stabbed me in the back. You always had to watch out for people.

The vampire, otherwise known as Malcolm, leveled himself to his feet and paced the length of my slightly shabby office. My boss, Owen, gave me enough money to decorate it, but I’d always thought interior decorating over-rated. So sue me if I preferred buying more firearms instead of stupid curtains that matched the stupid wallpaper. Paintings wouldn’t save my life, but a Glock just might.

“This is of the utmost importance,” he said, walking back and forth so fast I was half-afraid I’d get dizzy. “I wouldn’t have come to you if it wasn’t. My master does not want to bring in outsiders, but we no longer have a choice. Our last lawyer was scared out of town by the Weres, and we are in need of some…legal advice.”

He didn’t look very happy, and to be honest, neither was I.

I couldn’t even begin to count how many vampires wanted me dead. Preferably a painful death. Make that a very, very painful death. And who the hell wanted to work for things that wanted to kill them? Talk about pressure.

Leaning back in the therapeutic armchair I paid an arm and leg for, I steepled my fingers, feeling a bit like the evil rich man about to rob the common man blind.

And oh, did it feel good. Righteous, even.

“Of course. Don’t worry. Just tell me what’s going on, and I’ll try to see what I can do,” I said and grimaced as I thought about what Owen would say. He harbored no love for vampires and would never have accepted any sort of job from them, if it wasn’t for the fact that vampires paid pretty good money. But he was like me; he liked the money more than anything else. I’m still waiting for the wedding invitation when he gets hitched to a thousand dollar bill. “Besides, it’s my job. I go in, I talk, and things get settled. Easy as pie.”

Things couldn’t be any more understated, but he didn’t have to know that.

Malcolm stopped and stared at me. “Do you really believe what you’ve just said? That this will be easy as, how did you say it, pie?”

I didn’t answer and I didn’t think he was expecting me to.

Long, thin hands clasped behind his back. He paced to and fro once more, hair flying in oily strands around his face. He shook his head, and I didn’t know if it was because he really didn’t want to hire me, or if he just had a loose joint somewhere in his neck.

“This cannot go on. We’ve got our territory to protect.”

I couldn’t quite understand the concept of squabbling over a block of dirty, abandoned warehouses, but hey, to each his own.

“It’s a turf war?”

He nodded. “It’s the godforsaken shifters.”

Oh goodie, a vampire calling a lycanthrope “godforsaken”. A bit like the pot calling the kettle black. “Go on.”

Ms. Jameson is giving away a copy of her Ebook to one lucky winner. To enter comment below with a valid email address. The contest ends June 14th.