Hunger Moon by Melissa Snark

Title: Hunger Moon
Author: Melissa Snark
Series: Loki's Werewolves - Book 2
Type of read: eARC

Stars:

You can find the book on Amazon US, Amazon UK and B&N
You can find more about Melissa on her website and blog



Victoria Storm faces seemingly insurmountable odds to keep her dwindling pack of werewolves alive and together. She fights hunters- including the brother and father of her deceased lover-and the pack takes another devastating loss. When they seek sanctuary in a small town near Lake Tahoe, high in the secluded Sierra Nevada Mountains, Victoria discovers they are infringing on the territory of a vastly more powerful Alpha wolf. To save her pack, she uses her feminine wiles to seduce the Alpha. Nothing comes easily for Victoria. Her plans are complicated by the Alpha's erratic son, a ghostly wife, and a vengeful witch. Not even her status as a Valkyrie or the favor of the Goddess Freya can change the course of destiny for Victoria or her packmates

This is the second book in the Loki's werewolves series, you can find my review for the first one at http://lauraoflurkng.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-child-thief-by-melissa-snark.html

I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

This is the second book in the Loki's Werewolves series, and while the first one was good I felt this was a big step up in writing quality. The connections between the characters and their species, as well as the wolf hierarchy really showed in this novel, making fascinating reading as character chose to submit or not depending on rank. And not all the dangerous ones are supernatural, there's danger at every turn.

The character's were well crafted: Victoria, the Valkyrie werewolf who give a lovely insight into both the living and those who died both in this book and the last, Arik, the hot suitor with more secrets than he has sleeves for, a grumpy librarian, breaking the tension of the story for a little bit, and the fact that you have amputee werewolves that just get on with life.

The book has a lovely action feel, starting off with a vicious fight and carrying problems, whether they be ones of growling animals or stomachs all the way through. Problems of the heart, war with problems of survival as Victoria, the almost accidental Alpha of the pack, has to find a mate to keep her pack alive. That just leads to more trouble, cover up, trouble, fighting, and did I mention trouble?

This book sent me from laughter to being choked up, to tension, everything I like in a good novel. I am looking forward to the next in the series, especially having read the excerpt in the back of the novel. I think this is a series to keep your eye on.

I would give this book 4.5 stars but increase it to 5 stars for the sake of rating sites

The Child Thief by Melissa Snark

Title: The Child Thief
Author: Melissa Snark
Series: Loki's Werewolves - Book 1
Type of read: eARC
Stars: 

You can find the book on Amazon US, Amazon UK and B&N
You can find more about Melissa on her website and blog

Valkyrie Victoria Storm has werewolf hunters hell bent on revenge trying to kill her. She can barely keep her own downtrodden pack alive, let alone respond to the pleas of a murdered mother.  Can she set aside her differences and work with her sworn enemy to save a little boy from a Christmas nightmare?

I received a free copy of this short story in return for an unbiased review.

This book has a great hook from the first page, a bit creepy with a smatter of world building in the mix. I did feel in the next few that various mythology and supernatural terms were thrown at me a bit fast while I was still trying to get my feet with the relationship between the characters. This smoothes out as the book progresses however and I got a comfortable feel for the supernatural involved.

I felt the protagonist was relatable, despite reeling from recent loss and the emotions that come with it she keeps away from emo and looks after her pack as well as herself. It was refreshing to see a character that didn't hit one extreme or the other but was able to move between them. I also liked her reactions to different ages within the pack, both having to act as a mum and a little sister.

In places the writing quality dipped, particularly during fighting, with redundant words or phrases. The rest of the time the quality was high and made me want to keep reading.

A nice quick read, I look forward to reading more.

Doomseeds by Tam Linsey

Title: Doomseeds
Author: Tam Linsey
Series: The Botanicaust series - Book 2
Type of read: eARC
Stars: 


You can follow Tam Linsey on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website

How could a rescue mission go so wrong?

A photosynthetic woman ventures into cannibal territory to find her lost sister, but her trader guide has his own goal; he needs to sell her to ransom his father from a cannibal king. Neither rescue mission will go as planned…


I received a free copy of this book in return for an unbiased review. A copy of the review for the previous novel, Botanicaust, can be found here

Set several years after the first book in the Botanicaust series, this was a wonderful re-entry to the world and expanded greatly on it. At first the novel felt a little fragmented as it switched rapidly between several points of view while the reader was still trying to get to grips with the changes that had taken place. However, many of these characters soon came together, or their plans linked in, making it seem whole again.


This novel felt like it had depth. I particularly liked the look we got into the different cultures, and how each of them responded to the others.  It felt as if the author had a tighter hold on cultures and religions, especially when mixing them. This particularly showed when meeting cannibals who were also traders who had to "keep the peace" and not follow the instincts they were brought up on.


The plot twisted back and forth, sometimes to the point of confusion, but any knots were soon unraveled. In the first novel one of the things that got my attention was the way some of the characters were torn between different communities and ways of life, never being accepted, and never feeling they fitted in. In this novel that is ramped even higher, really pulling at the heartstrings.


I felt the ending wrapped up nicely, but I hope for a third novel so can enjoy these characters again.

Botanicaust by Tam Linsey

Title: Botanicaust
Author: Tam Linsey
Series: The Botanicaust series - Book 1
Type of read: eARC
Star rating:

Available from Amazon US Amazon UK
You can follow Tam Linsey on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website


The only crop left ... is human.

In an all-too-plausible future where Earth has been overrun by invasive, genetically modified weeds, a doctor with photosynthetic skin risks everything to save a man who refuses to be genetically modified. Together, can they find sanctuary in a cannibal wasteland?

I was lucky enough to be offered an eARC of the second novel in the Botanicaust series, called Doomseeds. The author, Tam Linsey, also gave me a copy of the first novel so I could better judge the series. The review of that novel is to come shortly, however I wanted to give a review to this promising novel in its own right.

The first thing that hit me with this novel was the extensive world building right from the first page. A world barren of life as we know it with humans split off into almost separate species, all trying to keep away from the others and live their way of life. The introduction was quick, making clever use of actions to do this, thus avoiding an infodump.

The protagonist was easy to identify with, a single father desperately trying to find a cure for his terminal son from fabled beings living in their world. He drew the story forth, drawing emotions clearly on the page. Almost all of his interaction with other people were written very skillfully, especially when there was no common language and they had to resort to rudimentary sign language.

My only issue was the lack of sexual tension between him and another character, where I believe it was intended. They'd have sex then carry on as if nothing ever happened. Some of this was explained away later in the book as you came to understand the species better, but I still feel it could have been handled better.

I was very impressed with this novel, it ticked all the boxes, and shows an extremely promising writer.