meilufay’s #CBR4 review #24 Killbox (Sirantha Jax #4) by Ann Aguirre

This is the fourth book in Ann Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax series.  Finally, the war that has been threatening since the second book has broken out and it’s up to Sirantha and her misfit band of friends to win it.  I love the world and characters Ann Aguirre has created and I really enjoyed this book, but I found it a little unsatisfying and not just because of the cliffhanger ending.  The book felt like an interstitial, designed to connect the events of the first three books with the events of the last two books, rather than a standalone story. I can’t really write more about it without giving away spoilers so I’ll leave it at that.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #25 Aftermath (Sirantha Jax #5) by Ann Aguirre

At the end of the last book, Sirantha Jax took the fate of the entire galaxy into her hands with a jaw-droppingly impulsive decision.  In the appropriately named Aftermath, she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.  What lifts this series above typical action-adventure science fiction series is that the smart-ass heroine never just gets away with it.  Her actions ALWAYS have consequences.  And sometimes those consequences smack her down big time.

This series reads a lot like a comic book series.  It has arcs within arcs within arcs.  It isn’t just your classic good versus evil storyline with a big bad who is defeated in the end.  Yes, there are big bads, and yes, they are ultimately defeated, but there are also always consequences and usually Sirantha is still dealing with those consequences when the next crisis comes around to kick her in the head.  In my life I’ve consumed a lot of genre fictions (comic books, videogames, movies, television shows and novels) and I’m rarely surprised by a story.  The Sirantha Jax series consistently surprises me.  I’m not entirely sure this storyline will wrap up the way I want it to in the sixth and final book but I can’t wait to read it.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #23 Doubleblind (Sirantha Jax #3) by Ann Aguirre

This is the third book in Ann Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax series.  This series is like a written word version of the Mass Effect games in which the main character is Starbuck from the Battlestar Galactica reboot.  It’s chockful of action, romance and bug-like aliens (some good, some bad).

In this book, Sirantha finally fulfills the mission she was given at the beginning of book two – acting as ambassador to Ithiss-Tor.  She’s not even remotely qualified for the job but she happens to be the only person in the human-dominated Conglomerate who is friendly with an Ithtorian (Mantis-like aliens who humans refer to pejoratively as Bugs or Sliders).  The relationship between the Conglomerate and Ithiss-Tor is similar to the relationship between Europe and China in the 19th century.  Like the Chinese, the Ithtorians have a closed door policy towards diplomatic relations.  They look down on other cultures, viewing humans as barbarians.  Unfortunately, war with the Morgut (arachnid-type aliens) is on the horizon and the Ithtorians are the only race who have ever defeated the Morgut in battle.  The Conglomerate needs the Ithtorians.  And a minority of Ithtorians want the intellectual enrichment and technological advancement that would come from opening up the planet to new ideas and new races.  To complicate matters, Sirantha’s lover March is suffering from a serious case of PTSD.

I’ve read five of the projected six books in this series and so far the first and third are by far my favorite.  I love how Sirantha’s relationships are deepening.  Not just her relationship to her love interest, March, but her relationships with her friends, especially the Ithtorian bounty hunter, Vel.  This book manages to be action-packed while still developing meaningful relationships and cultures.  The exchanges where Sirantha learns to communicate with Vel in his own language are actually kind of poetic and beautiful.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #22 Wanderlust (Sirantha Jax #2) by Ann Aguirre

The most fascinating thing to me about the Sirantha Jax series is that it really defies the convention of most science fiction series.  You meet the villains (Farwan Corporation) and the rebels (March and his gang) in the first book and you think the whole series is going to be about that relationship.  You think you know what’s going to happen to these characters and how their relationships with each other will develop.  And instead, events take such a sharp turn that at the beginning of book two absolutely everyone is adrift.

I did not love this book as much as I loved the first book in the series – the plot seemed episodic and meandering – but I really do enjoy the world and the characters.  The tone and storyline reminded me a lot of Mass Effect, one of my favorite games.  A fun read.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #21 Grimspace (Sirantha Jax #1) by Ann Aguirre

Romance-y urban paranormal and fantasy novels (Felicia Day calls them vaginal fantasy) are a dime a dozen.  Romance-y science fiction, not so much.  In fact, the only romance-y science fiction series I can think of is Catherine Asaro’s Skolian Empire series which was one of the eye-rollingest series I’ve ever read.  I was pleasantly by Ann Aguirre’s series because it’s not only romance-y science fiction, it’s GOOD romance-y science fiction. I can actually see a guy reading this series.  Sirantha Jax is like Starbuck from the Battlestar Galactica reboot – she’s an impulsive bad-ass who happens to be the best navigator ever.  Navigators possess a rare gene that allows them to perceive “grimspace” (folds in the fabric of space) enabling near-instantaneous space travel.  The problem is that jacking into grimspace is dangerous – which is why Jax is a live fast, die young, leave clean underwear kind of a girl.  Her success as a navigator has lead to galaxy-wide celebrity and her party-girl lifestyle means that she’s a little bit like a Kardashian (complete with the sex tape).  Jax has just survived in an accident which killed everybody on her ship including a very important diplomat and her lover, Kai.  She’s being held and interrogated to determine her blame when a group of rebels breaks her out.  They don’t care about her (in fact, they all despise her), but they need her for their cause.  Essentially from the first chapter, this book is balls to the wall action.  I absolutely loved it.  I loved the character of Sirantha Jax and I loved the fact that from page one she has no idea what’s going on and she has to prove both to herself and the people around her that she’s worth her survival.  I had an absolute blast reading this book.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #20 On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

I really loved the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, but I will not be reading any more of this series.  If the Kate Daniels series was urban fantasy with a side of romance, the Edge series (of which this is the first) is romance with a side of urban fantasy and that formula just doesn’t work for me.  The main character is a very young, very feminine, feisty yet submissive Cinderella damsel-in-distress and the hero is a straight on knight in shining armor, dominant guy who may not be a prince but IS nobility.  If Barbara Cartland had written Winter’s Bone as an urban paranormal romance, it would have been A LOT like this.  (Although to be fair, the quality of the writing is much, much better than Barbara Cartland’s.)  This just isn’t my cup of tea.  But if you like straight up romance, enjoy!  This series is for you!

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #19 Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5) by Ilona Andrews

The only thing I don’t like about this book is that it’s the last of the Kate Daniels to be published (so far).  Which means I have to wait to find out what happens next.  It’s a quality problem.

At the end of the last book, everything changed for Kate.  Now, she’s dealing the consequences of those actions.  I don’t want to write too much and spoil the series.  This book seems to be setting the readers up for a showdown with Kate’s father, Roland, and I’m wondering if the sixth book will be the last in the series.  Fans of the series will not be disappointed with this book which delivers the usual Kate Daniels wall-to-wall action.  If you haven’t read the series, but like romance-y urban paranormal, do yourself a favor and pick up the first book!  (Word of warning: this is NOT a series you can read out of order.)

One comment I have to make about this series in general – it’s very bloody and violent.  It’s interesting because while many romance-y urban paranormal series depict battles, very few of them get into the visceral nitty-gritty of it all.  I really like that the Kate Daniels series goes there.  I wonder if it’s because it’s a husband and wife writing team and they’re aiming to attract some male readers?  Anyway, I definitely feel like the violence in these stories should have consequences for the characters and I’m really really glad that we see that in this series.  If you’ve ever wished the Sookie Stackhouse books were more like True Blood (the series based on them), then you should check Kate Daniels out.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #18 Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels #4) by Ilona Andrews

So far, this is my favorite book in the Kate Daniels series.  From the first book, we’ve known that Kate is special.  Her father is a nearly immortal, incredibly powerful sorcerer and Kate’s sole purpose in life is to train until she’s strong enough to kill him.  It’s the reason why she’s grown up in hiding, why she avoided forming relationships and why she’s tried to stay under the radar, hiding her powers.  With the events in the first three books, Kate has stepped away from her lifelong habits and formed relationships.  In the process, she’s allowed people to catch glimpses of just how powerful she really is. She’s closer than ever to being discovered by her father but she’s nowhere near powerful enough to defeat him.  In book four, Kate goes head to head with an associate of her father’s, someone who knows his history and Kate’s power potential intimately.  The book manages to deliver wall to wall action while revealing a lot about Kate’s past AND moving all of her relationships forward.  I’m really loving this series.

meilufay’s #CBR4 review #17 Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels #3) by Ilona Andrews

The first two Kate Daniels books did a great job of setting up the world and the characters.  I really enjoyed both those books, but I found their plots less than compelling.  Magic Strikes finally brings world, characters and plot together in a really satisfying read.  I absolutely love the fact that the writers (Ilona Andrews is a pseudonym for a husband-wife writing team) allowed the character to grow from the events of each novel.  Kate Daniels started off emotionally disconnected but now she has friends, a ward (the orphan girl she saved in the second novel) and a brewing love interest.  In fact, it’s her friendship with Derek (the teen werewolf she inadvertently got saddled with in the first novel) that pulls her into investigating the Midnight Games – an illegal gladiator-style competition.  The world-building in this series is excellent.  I love how the writers weave mythology into the novels – in the second book it was Celtic mythology, in this one it’s both Norse and Indian.  I also love the slow burn of the relationship between Curran and Kate.  This is definitely one of my favorite urban paranormal series.

Alexis’s #CBR4 Review #10: The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus is well trodden territory here so I’ll spare you the recap and skip to right to why this is a 5-star book.

1. The Circus itself. Dark, magical, and slightly menacing. As the sign says, “Trespassers Will Be Exsanguinated.” You believe it but willingly go regardless.
2. The secrets are kept secret. Magic fades under harsh light and the author knows how to keep things bright by keeping them in the dark.
3. The characters aren’t explained so much as implied. For example,  Mr. A. H— is a man so mysterious that we are never to know his name nor why he no longer casts a shadow. Yet we know that the Mr. A will stab you with a silver knife and walk on without a second thought.
4. The world that is created in this book is one of the most original and vibrantly imagined that I have read in years.
5. The writing borders on poetry without weighing down the plot.
6. The romance is darkly passionate and free of cliche.

Marco kisses her as though they are the only two people in the world. The air swirls in a tempest around the, blowing open the glass doors to the garden with a tangle of billowing curtains. Every eye in the crowded ballroom turns in their direction. And the he releases her and walks away.

There are some small flaws in this book and I can understand why some would give it 4 vs. 5 stars. Some might not appreciate the fact that many of the mysteries are kept mysteries. Some might feel the characters are too distant and unrelatable. Or the ending too abrupt.

But I assert that Erin Morgenstern is a major new talent and her inaugural work is a staggering work of beautiful fiction.