Review - Alien Nation

Alien Nation by Gini Koch

* Read via NetGalley for Review

5 out of 5 gnomes

This series never gets old, I think I love it more with each new book. If you think you know what’s going to happen next prepare to be surprised. Even after all of these books the reader is always presented with something new.

There are some big showdowns in this book and at least one big question/problem gets solved. Until the next major problem of course. Things look like they end in a really good place though. Which now that I think about it probably means there’s going to be even more trouble in the next book.

The title of the book is Alien Nation and trust me you get to see a plethora of new aliens. My favorite new alien is named Muddy and I look forward to learning even more about him and his people.

The characters are all written so well so you really care what happens to all of them. Take all the various hyrbid children, I foresee some crazy stuff in their future and am looking forward to seeing what exactly they can all do.

There are plenty of Aww moments along with a lot of Oh Carp moments because that’s what keeps things very exciting.

This book brings a massive change to the world and I cannot wait to see where the story goes now. Plus there is plenty of potential for the future.

My Favorite Quotes/Lines - The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée

The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée by Kristen Painter

“Just because I’m a librarian, possibly with a cat, doesn’t mean I’m a cliché.”

“I’m a librarian. The opportunities to wield a sword are few and far between.”

“But I want to be a librarian. It’s what I went to school for. It’s what I’m good at. It’s where my heart is.” She loved books. In a book you could escape and be anything you wanted, no risk involved. No chance of hurting anyone else.”

“You think because my sister looks like a librarian and is a librarian that she’s too timid and quiet for anyone to buy that she’d be your fiancée. Well, I’ll have you know that she might look harmless but she’s a valkyrie, same as I am, and one of the fiercest women I know.”

“If he was going down in flames, it was going to be the largest bonfire Nocturne Falls had ever witnessed.”

“Holy Loki, you actually have a body. And boobs!””

“I look less whore-y than I thought I would.”

“You’re a vampire, not a robot. Who doesn’t eat sweets?”

“The thought that she was being underappreciated by those around her bothered him.”

“I am a librarian. We certainly don’t dislike brains.”

“Except ever since that kiss, it hadn’t seemed like pretend at all.”

“Or he could crawl in bed next to her and give her something else to do besides read.”

“It smelled of him, dark and spicy and sort of woodsy. Like the pages of a much-loved, leather-bound book.”

“He’d never been so glad to have someone on his side. Nor had he ever underestimated anyone quite so much.”

“Sebastian Ellingham, you are the dumbest, smartest man I have ever known.”

“If something was worth doing, it was worth doing well.”

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

“I still want to know how the librarian knocked out a vampire.”

Review - The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée

The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée by Kristen Painter

5 out of 5 gnomes

This series is just so freaking fun. The halloween-tastic setting of the town means you never know what kind of creature or mythology might be featured next. Whatever is though is always entertaining and this book was no exception.

Loved learning more about Sebastian Ellingham. That whole family is intriguing. Seeing more of what made him all standoffish and how he grows as a character is great.

Then there's Tessa who I adore. Seeing as I am a Library Assistant, I never get tired of reading about kick-butt librarians. Her and Sebastian are definitely an interesting match.

I liked the conflict in this book and how everything worked out. It was full of surprises and the chemistry between Sebastian and Tessa was strong.

This setting and plethora of different types of characters continues to be an awesome combination. Seeing how the whole town works is just pretty fascinating too.

Check out this series if you love paranormal romances that have humor and heart.

Review - Book 4 in this Zombie-tastic Series (a must read.)

How The White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland

5 out of 5 gnomes

There is so much going on in this book and so much makes sense/falls into place in this book. Betrayal, craziness, and so much tension.

Gah, now that is one ending that I don’t think bodes well at all. The ending shows that everything might not be going as great as it seems or well the shit may indeed be about to hit the fan.

Pietro has such an intriguing backstory and well lets just say there is a reason you should never underestimate him. I loved finding out his history because it and what he does in this book shows yet another intriguing side of zombies.

Dr. Nikas is one of my new favorite characters. He has such a sad backstory and with everything he does you just kind of have to hope for the best for him. I am curious to how he’ll factor into later books.

Once again it is really hard to know who to trust and there are a plethora of surprises in store. Sometimes their own security seems to work against them. I do like that Angel actually has more friends that she can talk to and know about being a zombie.

To put it succinctly if you like zombies at all check out this series ASAP.

Radical Research

Alien Research by Gini Koch

* Provided by the publisher for review
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

5 out of 5 gnomes

Now this is what I was expecting to happen in the last book. You definitely see the backlash from the whole reveal of aliens being real. There’s a lot of action and things are really going crazy.

Kitty continues to improve as an ambassador along with still being able to kick plenty of butt. Her solutions are creative and like Ace says Kitty thinks right.

The tension is extremely high and it really helps move the mastermind plot along. I am really wondering who the mastermind is and have a bad feeling that it might be somebody really close to the group. (not that I can guess who yet but it seems like it’ll go that way.)

Kitty’s recruitment powers continue to be awesome, I love when she finds somebody else to add to the team.

Jamie's character continues to be interesting and makes me worry about the future of her character. The developments at the end of this book show just how important Jamie is to the future.

Whoa there was a lot of death in this book, be prepared to cry more than once. I wasn't prepared for who did die. I did not foresee these deaths at all. The fate of more than one character is really sad.

Things I Adored:

* Getting to meet the Operations Team/AC Elves.

* Finding out more about the poofs.

* The fact that ACE is BACK!!!!!!!!!

PRR (Pre Review Ravings) - Alien Research

These are my P.R.R.(Pre Review Ravings) aka what I think before I write my review.

Alien Research by Gini Koch

- Spoilers highlighted like so :)

* So much craziness in this book but it really helps move the mastermind plot along.

* All the alien hate is really hitting the fan kind of like I was expecting it to in the last book.

* The tension is really high in this book.

* Kitty’s recruitment powers continue to be awesome.

* Love getting to meet the Operations Team/AC Elves

* Like finding out more about the poofs.

* Whoa there was a lot of death in this book, be prepared to cry more than once.

* Did not foresee these deaths at all.

* Really wondering who the mastermind is, have a bad feeling that it might just be somebody really close to the group.

* The end for one character was really sad and I really hope they somehow find their way back.

* I feel really bad for Chuckie and Naomi.

* Ace is BACK!!!!!!!

* Jamie's character continues to be interesting/make me worry about her.

Excellent Eyes

Phantom Eyes by Scott Tracey

* Provided by NetGalley for Review

5 out of 5 gnomes

I adore this series. The characters, city, family dynamics, and the crazy amount of tension really make this book/series shine.  

I like seeing the wide variety of relationships in this book. You have two very messed up families on both sides of this witchy feud and things just keep getting more interesting among these families.  Braden and Trey’s relationship is well done and a great same-sex take on the Romeo and Juliet dynamic.  It’s once again great that their relationship is not the focus of the book but just feels like a natural part of the characters.

For a bit Braden has to figure out how to be normal without all the magic that he’s used to. Of course this is not easy for him because he is used to being very powerful and if you read the previous book you’ll know that he’s powerless now in a big way.  For awhile there’s kind of a switched dynamic between him and Trey that was intriguing and lets you know that there just might be a lot of magic in their futures.

There are troubles aplenty in this book as everything with the bad guys ends up in a final conflict. There were a bunch of twists and turns and you’ll never be a hundred percent sure whether his plan will work or not.

It was awesome to see Jason actually acting more dad-like in this book. Catherine even breaks her icy exterior just a little bit too. After the events of this book I’m sure their working relationship will get even more intriguing.  

The only real disappointment is that this is the last book of the trilogy and there is so much more about this world and these characters that I want to know.  The future for them all looks like everything might just work out. Overall I highly recommend this series and I know I love Scott Tracey’s other series and can’t wait to see what he writes next.

Monumental Monument

Monument 14 Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourne

4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

This series is so freaking good because it has an edge of your seat plot and a plethora of characters that you will find yourself actually caring about. None of the characters feel underused, I really want to know how all of their lives are going to turn out.

The point of view in the book is split up between Dean and his brother Alex.  At first you might think that one group’s going to have it a lot easier than the other but there are plenty of surprises in store for both groups.

The book has a great range of emotions. There’s plenty of scary moments but also some really touching moments too.  It’s not all doom and gloom though there’s some funny too.  Max has got to be the funniest little kid character that I’ve read in quite a while.  The stories he tells are hilarious.

There were some scary moments where I thought the book was going to go a lot darker in tone than it actually did especially with Niko’s group. I’m already suspicious of the government in this story so I think there was good reason to be worried.  I was pretty sure that they were all about to die at more than one point in the story.

There are no easy relationships in this book.  I think Astrid is definitely in for a bumpy ride with her future but I really hope that it works out.  This story is really about a large diverse group finding a way to become a family even in horrible conditions.

The teamwork that leads to the conclusion really made me want to cheer, talk about your close timing, that really was a heck of a save.  The end of the book made me extremely happy that there’s going to be another book in this series.  It ends on a somewhat hopeful note and the future looks very intriguing.  There are so many questions about what exactly happened to create the nightmare scenario that this future world is going through.  I can’t wait to see how this trilogy ends and where all the characters end up.