Windcatcher by A.J. Norfield.

I love fantasy novels involving dragons and enjoyed Windcatcher, the first book in the Stone War Chronicles, by A.J. Norfield. Windcatcher is an old-fashioned (in the best sense) traditional fantasy dragon novel. A small squad of soldiers travels deep into enemy territory in an attempt to retrieve a treasure stolen from their kingdom’s ally. The treasure turns out to be something thought to exist only in legends – a dragon egg. He hatches, bonds with one of the soldiers, and becomes an ally in their fight against the enemy.

First person narrators are all the rage these days, and I’m tired of them. I’m especially tired of unreliable first person narrators. Give me a good old omniscient third person narrator any day. It was refreshing to read Windcatcher from that standpoint – it reads like a throwback fantasy novel. 

Windcatcher starts slowly, but I recognize that one has to take the time to do some world building in a long fantasy series. Once the dragon, Galirras, hatches and joins the cast of characters, things really take off.

The author is also a fan of traditional fantasy, and it shows. Sometimes the story is derivative. For example, on page 300 I could hear the Wilhelm scream used in many blockbusters, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, in this sentence: “The soldier disappeared from sight with a high-pitched scream.” But since the book is well written and well plotted, I can forgive the occasional lapse into cliché.

One way in which the book is not quite traditional is that the author does attempt to work in some diversity. For example, there is a “same gender” couple in the small troop, and the human tells the dragon, “Unfortunately, same gender lovers are heavily frowned upon by some. You often hear about such people being ridiculed, beaten up, or worse. They’re ignorant and small-minded people that do those things. I mean, who gave them the right to judge how others should feel?” (p. 159 of the ebook)

I do wish the Evil Bad Guy had a little more depth. He is pretty much a stereotypical, one dimensional fantasy villain. I’d like some explanation as to why he is evil and what motivates him. I was surprised by a violent episode that occurred at the end of chapter 13. It seemed extreme compared to the tone of the rest of the book, and its only point seemed to be “hey, this guy is really evil!” Perhaps we will learn more in the second book. 

Book one definitely does not stand alone. It stops in the middle of the story, and I’m ready for book two. If you like immersive traditional fantasy novels, especially those involving dragons, I recommend Windcatcher. It will be available in print at the Galesburg Public Library within the next month.

I was given a free digital copy of Windcatcher by the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Bold Tricks by Karina Halle

Series: The Artists Trilogy #3
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Adult
Release Date: December 14th, 2014

Publisher: Forever
Source: Won in Giveaway

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The faster they live, the harder they fall...

Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories - but none more so than being scarred with acid by crime boss Travis Raines. Now Travis has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother. And Ellie has only one chance of getting them out alive - using two dangerous men who love her to death...

One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover. From the streets of Mexico City to the jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all - a battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust...or die.

After putting off reading this book for over a year, I decided it was time (plus it was just sitting there on my shelf, waiting to be read so I HAD to.) Bold Tricks; however, just wasn't as good as its predecessors.

I am not one for angsty novels but if there is anyone who can make me enjoy one, it’s Karina Halle. She knows how to make angsty situations come off as realistic rather than annoying and bothersome. It’s what sold this series to me in the first place.

Camden, Ellie and Javier have always been complex characters. There is no black and white when it comes to them, only the grey. And for some readers that won’t work. I didn’t think it would work for me! But Halle has a way of making it work which was why I gobbled up the first two books in this series in spite of the things that frustrated me.

This time around, Camden and Ellie still had some awesome moments but most of their moments were cheesy and cringeworthy. Like REALLY cringeworthy. Also given some of the things that happened in the previous book, you’d think Ellie would do some grovelling but she kind of just expects things to go back to normal because she lurves Camden.

Javier was the highlight of the book. And me saying this is kind of a big deal since I never liked him in the first place. He is such a complex character and even though you know not to trust him, sometimes, like Ellie, you’ll find yourselves doing exactly that. He is a sketchy character but his moves aren’t always predictable (even if they aren’t surprising.)

The plot aspect of this book was well done and Bold Tricks was just as addicting as its predecessors. I loved the hunt and I loved how those things wrapped up.

Overall, I’d say Bold Tricks was a decent conclusion to the series but I would have liked it better had Ellie and Camden not turned into cheesy goop around each other(I only like cheese in/on my food, not my books.)

Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Series: Jessica McClain #3
Genres: Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Adult

Release Date: October 8th, 2013
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Library

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Jessica arrives back in town to find her best friend missing and the most powerful witch in the country is blaming her for it. But before they can move to save her, the group is attacked.

On the run, Jessica and Rourke head to the mountains. Several surprises await them, but in order to save her father they are forced to leave for New Orleans early. Arriving on the Vampire Queen's doorstep unexpectedly, and bringing trouble on their heels, the Sects are thrown into an all out war. The vicious skirmish ends up forcing the vamps and Jessica to fight on the same team.

The Vamp Queen ends up owing Jessica, but what Jessica doesn't realize is just how soon she'll have to cash it in... 

When I first dived into this book, I only expected to find the book to be pleasant, like its predecessors, yet  a small part of me still hoped it would be better, that there would be something more to it and I managed to hit the jackpot. This book was amazing!

We finally have Jessica and Rourke reunited and to see them function as a couple was definitely fun. Both of them have come so far from the beginning of the series and it’s nice to just see these independent and stubborn characters function in a relationship and be supportive of one another.

Jessica, as we’ve already come to know, is a strong female lead. She doesn’t back down easily and will do whatever she can to protect the ones she loves. The thing about her was that I never really connected with her until this book. I admired her and even liked her but there was just something missing. Perhaps it’s because we’ve finally gotten to a point where we aren’t so confused about her and all the information that has been thrown at us in the previous books is starting to settle in.

Rourke was amazing. Ah how I love him. He is swoonworthy and it’s nice to finally have him around! In book 1, we were barely introduced to him. In book 2, he wasn’t even there. In book 3, we finally get to meet Rourke and get to know him a whole lot better; which was amazing because otherwise I wouldn’t be shipping the two as much as I did!

The secondary characters are as fabulous as ever and Ray is losing some of his hard-headedness so for those of you who were never fans of him in the first place, it’s all good. He’s never going to stop being stubborn but he wasn’t as much of a jerk this time around. The sad thing about this instalment was that the secondary characters didn’t shine out as much as they had in the previous books because Jessica and Rourke finally have the spotlight.

I wasn’t actually all that unhappy about that fact since I know a lot of us have been waiting for the two to finally get together and if you haven’t already figured that out, the romance doesn’t disappoint. It was worth the wait. But you’ll have to read the book yourself to find out how great it was.

Moving on, this book was fast paced. There was a lot of stake and things kept on happening one after the other but the transitions were well done so the book didn’t feel ‘off’. It was just fun. The plot was well developed and incredibly entertaining and it just reminds me why I love Urban Fantasy so much. Urban Fantasy makes the best brain candy.

The book, on the whole was a fantastic addition to the series and if I may say so, the best yet. I can just imagine how much better things are going to get with Red Blooded.