Review: King of Prey by Mandy M Roth

Title: King of Prey
Series: Talons - #1
Author: Mandy M Roth
Published: 2006
Format: Ebook provided by author for review

In a place where realms combine and portals open passages to the unknown, a prophecy speaks of fertility being restored to his people through the taking of King Kabril's mate.


The prophecy neglects to mention she lacks something vital to his kind--wings. Kabril, King of the Buteos Regalis has no interest in taking a human mate. His kind believes humans are dirty, vile creatures who rely on machines to lift them into the air. The last place he wants to go in search of his mate is Earth, but he's left no choice.


Never did he expect to find love on a planet with one moon, people who lack wings and a stubborn vixen who makes his heart soar. When he does, he fears the truth about who and what he truly is will steal it away. Little does he know his enemies fully intend on doing the taking.

I haven’t read too many bird shifter books.  This is definitely one to add to your library!  The shifters in this book don’t turn into tiny little birds, oh no, they are larger than life huge birds of prey.  And Kabril, he is the King. 

King Kabril must take a wife in order for the mating magik to begin, and for the people of his kingdom to once again have children.  It is his duty.  Sachin, his friend and right hand man, tells him that he must woo an earth woman to fulfill the prophecy.  This doesn’t sit well with Kabril because humans are generally looked down upon.  But as King, his life is not necessarily his own and his kingdom is counting on him.  So he goes to earth, where he meets Rayna.

Rayna is an animal photographer, which seems to good to be true.  Kabril’s cover story is that he is an avian veterinary.  Very clever, Kabril! Right away there is some really great sparks between them, and their scenes together are an absolute joy.  But Kabril believes Rayna is not the woman of the prophecy, so he keeps his distance.  And Rayna keeps her distance because she’s a bit nervous and likes Sachin and Kabril so much – they become fast friends.  But Sachin, he knows more than he is letting on and he is very effectively pulling the strings on this whole scenario.

One thing I can say about Mandy Roth and her writing, she is really fantastic at creating these new worlds for her characters to live in.  Not only do you connect with her characters very easily, but their world feels so natural you feel like you are there.  Kabril and his people don’t live on Earth, although they are able to travel here at their leisure through portals.  Their world is fantastic and full of different types of bird shifters.  I’ve read several of her books now and she really has a knack for combining the paranormal/supernatural element with the human elements, and on top of that she can add sci-fi so well that it is all a seamless blend.  If you haven’t read her work before, I highly recommend you get started in doing so. 

King of Prey does not disappoint on the action aspect either.  There are battles and torture, the stuff that really ups the ante on the drama.  But there are also skin tingling sensual moments that are definitely not to be missed.  Ms. Roth is so good as describing the world around her characters, I could definitely vision some fantastic fan art coming from this.  In particular there is a water scene in this story that I think would be gorgeous in a painting!

King of Prey is the first book in the Talons series.  There are also two more books out.  The second focuses on Sachin, and the third puts its attention on Prince Aeson. I am definitely checking those out in the very near future!

Find Mandy Online:

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Previous Work Reviewed:

Immortal Ops

Blaze of Glory

Review: King of Prey by Mandy M Roth

Title: King of Prey
Series: Talons - #1
Author: Mandy M Roth
Published: 2006
Format: Ebook provided by author for review

In a place where realms combine and portals open passages to the unknown, a prophecy speaks of fertility being restored to his people through the taking of King Kabril's mate.


The prophecy neglects to mention she lacks something vital to his kind--wings. Kabril, King of the Buteos Regalis has no interest in taking a human mate. His kind believes humans are dirty, vile creatures who rely on machines to lift them into the air. The last place he wants to go in search of his mate is Earth, but he's left no choice.


Never did he expect to find love on a planet with one moon, people who lack wings and a stubborn vixen who makes his heart soar. When he does, he fears the truth about who and what he truly is will steal it away. Little does he know his enemies fully intend on doing the taking.

I haven’t read too many bird shifter books.  This is definitely one to add to your library!  The shifters in this book don’t turn into tiny little birds, oh no, they are larger than life huge birds of prey.  And Kabril, he is the King. 

King Kabril must take a wife in order for the mating magik to begin, and for the people of his kingdom to once again have children.  It is his duty.  Sachin, his friend and right hand man, tells him that he must woo an earth woman to fulfill the prophecy.  This doesn’t sit well with Kabril because humans are generally looked down upon.  But as King, his life is not necessarily his own and his kingdom is counting on him.  So he goes to earth, where he meets Rayna.

Rayna is an animal photographer, which seems to good to be true.  Kabril’s cover story is that he is an avian veterinary.  Very clever, Kabril! Right away there is some really great sparks between them, and their scenes together are an absolute joy.  But Kabril believes Rayna is not the woman of the prophecy, so he keeps his distance.  And Rayna keeps her distance because she’s a bit nervous and likes Sachin and Kabril so much – they become fast friends.  But Sachin, he knows more than he is letting on and he is very effectively pulling the strings on this whole scenario.

One thing I can say about Mandy Roth and her writing, she is really fantastic at creating these new worlds for her characters to live in.  Not only do you connect with her characters very easily, but their world feels so natural you feel like you are there.  Kabril and his people don’t live on Earth, although they are able to travel here at their leisure through portals.  Their world is fantastic and full of different types of bird shifters.  I’ve read several of her books now and she really has a knack for combining the paranormal/supernatural element with the human elements, and on top of that she can add sci-fi so well that it is all a seamless blend.  If you haven’t read her work before, I highly recommend you get started in doing so. 

King of Prey does not disappoint on the action aspect either.  There are battles and torture, the stuff that really ups the ante on the drama.  But there are also skin tingling sensual moments that are definitely not to be missed.  Ms. Roth is so good as describing the world around her characters, I could definitely vision some fantastic fan art coming from this.  In particular there is a water scene in this story that I think would be gorgeous in a painting!

King of Prey is the first book in the Talons series.  There are also two more books out.  The second focuses on Sachin, and the third puts its attention on Prince Aeson. I am definitely checking those out in the very near future!

Find Mandy Online:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Blog

Newsletter

Previous Work Reviewed:

Immortal Ops

Blaze of Glory

Review/Giveaway - Transcendent: Tales Of The Paranormal

Title: Transcendent - Tales of the Paranormal
Authors: Lani Woodland, Melonie Piper, Rita J Webb, Wendy Swore, Melanie Marks, Heather McCubbin, and Even Joseph
Published: 2011, Robot Playground
Format: Print copy provided by Rita J Webb for review

Discover the secrets of a siren, fly with a hawk girl over the mountains of Montana, and flee supernatural party-crashers as the décor comes to life in this magical journey through paranormal stories.


Along the way, watch for ghosts in a haunted house, or ride through the moonlight with a stranger. Save a comatose boy who has lost his soul, and don’t forget to bring your garlic and wolfsbane—you never know when the shadows will snag you.


Transcendent includes eight stories of magic, love, death, and choice by some of the newest names in young adult fiction.

First let me say that I find it very difficult to review anthologies.  First, you might love one story and hate the next.  So they get a middle grade because of averages? Luckily I didn’t run into that problem with this book, because they were all pretty darn good!

In Transcendent you get 8 stories.  My favorites were the ones that were a bit longer and able to give a bit more detail. And those were Spectre by Wendy Swore, Pumpkin Thief by Evan Joseph, and Kiss of Death by Lani Woodland and Melonie Piper.

In Spectre we meet Marcella and Lissae, who are throwing a Homecoming Halloween themed party at Marcella’s house.  They go to a store to rent some decorations and find the staff there to be extremely accommodating.  They even set the decorations up the next day! The party is a smash hit, and then some uninvited guest show up and crash.  And they aren’t exactly what you’d call Welcome. 

I found this story to be great, perfect for a setting like a campfire (although I could probably say that about any story in this book), but this one had an extra level of creepy that I liked.  It reminded me of a B-Movie – and I totally adore B-Movies!

Second, Pumpkin Thief.  Another Halloween themed story.  Kira is getting ready for a party, and she is going as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Already I’m hooked.  She’s carved a pumpkin pretty elaborately for part of her costume, but someone has stolen it!

I’m not going to blow the surprise on this one.  But lets say that it mixes some of the very old with some of the new, and it throws in a dash of romance and a bit of chivalry.  It was a great blend of everything and I really enjoyed reading this one!

And lastly, Kiss Of Death.  In this story we are introduced to Scarlet, who has been very sick with cancer.  She knows her end is near, but she wants to live every girl’s teenage fantasy – Prom.  So she goes.  She dances, she socializes, she has the time of her life with her friends.  And then he arrives.

This story had a really great twist that I think YA PNR fans will really love and just snatch this story up.  Plus its written by two authors, so I think that in itself is pretty darn cool.  Again, I’m not going to tell the secret, but it certainly has a modern feel to the story. 

Overall, all of these stories fit very well into the YA category.  There was nothing that was too adult in nature.  This normally isn’t one of my favorite genres, but its starting to really grow on me with the more that I read - and this book totally added to that.

And here we go!  I’m going to give away my copy of Transcendent along with a Fictional Candy bookmark and magnet (I’ll even throw in some other swag!)  It is still in really good condition, I made sure not to break the spine cause I thought this would make a great giveaway prize!  Just enter your info in the Rafflecopter, and Good Luck!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Initiation - Imogen Rose - Giveaway/Excerpt/Review

For my stop on the tour I am featuring a review, an excerpt, and there is also a tour wide giveaway, so make sure you enter your information in the Rafflecopter below.  Please note that Fictional Candy will not be picking or announcing the winner

Title: Initiation (Bonfire Academy #1)

Author: Imogen Rose

Format: ebook provided by Bewitching Blog Tours for Review

From Goodreads:
Welcome to Bonfire Academy. Set in the foothills of the alpine mountains in St.Moritz, this exclusive private school caters to a special kind of student. Enter at your own risk... but if you are human, you may not want to enter at all. 

This is part one of the prequel series (Bonfire Academy) in the Bonfire Chronicles. Book two, INTEGRATION, will be released summer 2012

~*~*~*~*~

As a book blogger I have a very hectic “book life”.  My “To Be Read” pile is enormous.  I wanted in this tour as soon as I saw it on the Bewitching Blog Tours site.  Then I got the book, and paid it no mind until it was time to read.  Then I opened it up on my kindle.  Over 400 pages! My first thought was “oh no, what have I got myself into???”  Seriously, I was worried.

And that was the most useless thought I’ve had in a very long time because – no joke – this book had me hooked from the very first page, and I barely put it down until I was finished.  Less than 24 hours later (which includes work, some sleep, and a bit of time with my daughter) and I was done. 

So lets start, eh?  This is a super power / paranormal private school type book.  But that’s about where the similarities to any other private school book end.  Perhaps this book is YA, but it’s definitely on the higher end.  There is violence and swearing, and there is some steam, but not outright steam.  Got it? 

Cordelia is a third year student at Bonfire Academy, which is an ultra posh paranormal prep school in Switzerland (interesting note – that’s where the author is from!). She isn’t required to attend this year, but she does so that she can focus on tennis a bit more.  Because demons have interests outside of being well, demonic.  That’s when Jagger, uber hot Student Council President fae, assigns her to a new student as a mentor.  It should be easy, since both girls are demonic princesses.  Yep, I told you it was an ultra posh school! The new student is Faustine, and she’s only 12.  But she is rare in the fact that she is half human.  The paranormal beings often procreate outside their own race, but hardly ever with us humans. 

               

                “My words were supposed to come out in a firm demonic growl, but instead, they slithered out in an unfortunate raspy whisper”

Then something happens between Jagger and Cordelia that is 1) totally unexpected, and 2) totally life changing.  And I loved every minute of it!!  If there is one thing I could wish for this book, or this series, is more Jagger and Cordelia!!  Of course, Cordelia has a boyfriend, Quinn, but who cares??  He is clearly not the one for her.  She needs to drop him like a hot demon potato and get with some hunky fae Student Council President action!

This book has a lot going on.  You’ve got vampires, weres, shifters, demons, fae and even more.  And here’s something great – they don’t all get along!  And this creates a ton of drama and mystery at school.  You expect that you can go to school and feel safe walking down the hallway, but at Bonfire, things are more than a little different!

Something else that I absolutely loved – when demons or shifters shift into their paranormal form, it doesn’t mean that they turn into some 7 foot beautiful demigod of a being. Nope.  Some of them are downright ugly and repulsive.  Perfect!!  It was surprise after surprise in this book, and I love how Imogen Rose has not only bent the rules, she’s downright broken and rewrote them.

Cordelia, that poor girl haha.  She really takes a beating in this book.  I hope the rest of her life doesn’t go on like her third year at Bonfire, because she’s spent so much time in the infirmary she should get a personal room there!  Anyhow, she is a wonderful character.  She has heart and a conscience, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a demon. 

And there is a myriad of colorful characters to choose from.  Mysterious Jagger, helpful Quinn, naïve Faustine, mile a minute Martha, and Ryker – another mystery.  You will definitely not get bored reading this book, and I couldn’t recommend it any more than this!  Read it! Love it!  Come back here and tell me what you thought, cause I love to dish about my favorite books.  And that’s where this book is going, my favorites list!

Embers - Laura Bickle

Title: Embers
Author: Laura Bickle


Format: Ebook provided by Bewitching Blog Tours for Review


From Goodreads:
Unemployment, despair, anger--visible and invisible unrest feed the undercurrent of Detroit's unease. A city increasingly invaded by phantoms now faces a malevolent force that further stokes fear and chaos throughout the city. 

Anya Kalinczyk spends her days as an arson investigator with the Detroit Fire Department, and her nights pursuing malicious spirits with a team of eccentric ghost hunters. Anya--who is the rarest type of psychic medium, a Lantern--suspects a supernatural arsonist is setting blazes to summon a fiery ancient entity that will leave the city in cinders. By Devil's Night, the spell will be complete, unless Anya--with the help of her salamander familiar and the paranormal investigating team --can stop it. 

Anya's accustomed to danger and believes herself inured to loneliness and loss. But this time she's risking everything: her city, her soul, and a man who sees and accepts her for everything she is. Keeping all three safe will be the biggest challenge she's ever faced.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Embers is the first book in the Anya Kalinczyk series, which is based in Detroit!  Hometown love!  I tried very hard to not let the familiarity of the places in the books mess with my opinion, and I think I did pretty well.  I liked this book overall.  There were some parts that were a little slow for me, and some of the Detroit references got to be a bit much for me – but once the action was going, it was an easy coast to the end.

Anya is a fire investigator for the Detroit Fire Department.  She’s also a supernatural being, a Lantern to be exact.  She can see ghosts, and sort of…devour them.  The way she says it, she takes them into herself, and incinerates them within.  And on top of all that, she uses her supernatural skills working for the DAGR (Detroit Area Ghost Rescuers).  That’s one busy lady. 

There is a serial arsonist in Detroit, and as it turns out, the fires might have a supernatural connection.  Enter Drake Ferrer.  I don’t like him.  He isn’t the sexy villain, except that he does have some sort of appeal.  I just can’t put my finger on it.  Anya is drawn to him because he is a Lantern like she is, only more powerful.  Not to mention that he is the only other one she knows of.  But she is the arson investigator, and well, he’s the bad guy. With Drake I kind of felt like he was not the evil guy in black, but more the bad guy in heavy shades of gray.  I didn’t really warm up to him like I do most leading men, but he definitely had his moments.

Anya on the other hand… I liked her, but she just has problem on top of problem on top of problem – and none of them were getting solved.  That was a bit frustrating for me, but it definitely lent to the clicking tock feel towards the climax.  I found myself feeling sorry for her, and a bit frightened at the predicament she had gotten into.  She’s got the fires and Drake, her work with the DFD and DAGR, and then a demon possession on top of it all. 

And next, Sparky.  I loved him!  Sparky is Anya’s familiar, but not like a familiar that we are used to.  Sparky is a fire elemental, in the form of a salamander.  He is frisky and playful, and he has quite the personality.  When he isn’t needed, he can transform and reside in her necklace (which was handed down from her mother).   I guess that part is kind of hard to explain, but in a magical world anything is possible.  But you definitely get to see a mischievous side to him, and it brought a bit of fun and grins to the story.

There are plenty of characters in this book that I liked, but I didn’t really feel like I got to know much about them.  We get to know some of the ghosts more than the actual living humans.  The city is as much a character as anyone in this book.  I definitely think this is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in the fiery side of the supernatural, ghosts.  And if you are local to the area, you will definitely love it! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Laura has worked in library science, criminology, and technology for several years. She and her chief muse live in the Midwest, owned by five mostly-reformed feral cats. She is represented by Becca Stumpf of Prospect Agency.

Blog: http://www.salamanderstales.blogspot.com

Facebook.

Twitter: @Laura_Bickle

Sparky the fire salamander from EMBERS and SPARKS has his own Twitter account, here: @SparkySalamandr

Afterlife - Naomi Clark

Title: Afterlife
Author: Naomi Clark

Format: ebook provided by author

From Goodreads:
Yasmin Stoker is a ghost tour guide who spends her days showing tourists around Shoregrave’s haunted hotspots. She also happens to be a wraith who spends her nights hunting Revenants, newly-risen flesh-eating vampires. On one of her regular hunts, she witnesses a mysterious ghostly girl pulling the body of a teenage boy underground. Who and what is this girl, and why is she attacking men around the city? Yasmin investigates, but it quickly becomes clear that somebody wants to keep her from finding the killer and they’ll do anything–including ambushing her with ghouls and cacodaemons–to stop her.

With only a persistent private eye and a taciturn vampire (one of the Immaculate, no less) to help her, Yasmin must deal with fanatical necromancers, crazed ghosts, and a sexy history teacher in her quest to solve the mystery. And along the way she uncovers some heartbreaking truths about her own existence.

First, let me just say that I really enjoyed this book.  I felt I really got to know the characters, the town, everything in it. 

In this story we meet Yasmin Stoker, a 600 year old wraith – a soul thief. But she isn’t the “bad” kind of wraith that ghosts should fear, but rather a wraith with a sort of conscience.  She only feeds on the souls of Revenants, newly made vampires.  Yasmin lives in the coastal town of Shoregrave, which inhabited by many paranormal beings: a wraith, Revenants, Lich Lords, cambion (half breeds), ghouls, and of course, ghosts.  

One night, on one of her feeding hunts, she comes across a little girl who basically pulls a mortal man through an iron fence and into the ground, never to be heard from again.  Who is this girl?  How does she do this?  And why isn’t anyone doing anything??  Yasmin decides she needs to get to the bottom of this and accidently enlists the help of many people along the way.  She finds heroes and friends where she thought there were none.  She trusts the wrong people, and she helps those who truly deserve some help.

Yasmin works for Nicomedes, a Lich Lord – a very power paranormal being.  He is described as tall and skinny, with very white skin, and long white hair.  And his eyeballs have been removed and eyelids sewn shut.  Now of course, I can’t tell you why.  But the way Naomi Clark describes him… well, to me, he may be evil and scary and a “bad” guy, but he sounds beautiful.  Ethereally, painfully, scarily beautiful.   In fact, there is a scene with Nicomedes and Lucretia (another Lich Lord) when they are in the Pale World (the plane between here and the Netherworld) that just seems so eerily beautiful and terrifying, I would love to see an artist’s rendering, to see if they saw what I saw.

I’m not sure what country this book takes place in, but to me it has the feel of Ireland, or UK, or Scotland.  Not that I’ve been to any of these places, mind you.  But the descriptions to me, seem vivid.  Spots that were very traditional and old world styled, with areas of modernism.  There were gallows and modern clubs with fetish shows.

Something I found interesting and looked forward to at the beginning of each chapter was that there was a blurb.  Sometimes it would be an advertisement from a tour book, or an excerpt from a book written by a psychic.  But it was a bit of foreshadowing and entertaining, too.

I hope this is a book destined to be turned into a series.  I would love to see what happens next, how everything turns out for everyone.  I like the characters, and I will be a bit sad if this is all we get to hear from them!  I do see on her website there is a kind of prequel type of short story for one of the characters, Ethan Banning, so I will be sure to check that out.