Monday, May 4, 2015

Rising Darkness by Shannon Mayer (Rylee Adamson #9)


5 stars

I love Rylee.  She is a heroine I rarely get annoying with.  Since reading book #8, I had managed to forget that Rylee was pregnant and Liam was dead.  How could I forget this?  I don’t know, but it crushed me once more.  Pamela has been training with Deanna and trying to help those afflicted with the plague with her meager healing skills.  She is resentful that Rylee has been gone for 6 months.  Milly is coming to her in her dreams and feeding this resentment.  Only we know it can’t be Milly, or rather it can’t be just Milly.  Pamela runs away when Rylee returns and Frank follows her right to Milly.  Rylee can’t go after her because she has 4 days in which to find the Destroyer. 

I didn’t read the novella between book 8 and 9 and I think it would have been very helpful.  I got by without it, but definitely didn’t know why Faris was with Rylee, who the Destroyer was and who the new kitty, Peta was.  It becomes clear pretty quick that Liam’s soul is inside Faris (which I would have known had I read the novella I am guessing).  This is causing Rylee quick a bit of confusion. 

As usual there is a lot going on.  Rylee has to find the Destroyer.  Pamela gets her own little storyline as she grapples with her inner darkness.  Liam/Faris have issues (as you can imagine).  And of course there is lots and lots of fighting.  One good thing is that while Rylee is gone she trains with her uncle and is a better fighter than she has ever been.  I enjoyed not feeling like she was so frail all the time.  A lot of time in previous books it feels like Rylee is always just at the point of breaking physically. 

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #8)


5 big fat stars

It is not secret that I LOVE Mercy Thompson.  I also thoroughly enjoy the Alpha and Omega series, but Mercy is my first love.  This book starts out with one of my least favorite situations to read about.  Adam’s ex-wife Christie is in trouble and needs his help and wants to come “home.”  Many of the wolves still don’t like Mercy and opening disrespect her.  There are only three other females in the pack and they all know Christie from when she was Adam’s wife.  Christie is very good at manipulating people into feeling sorry for her and generally doing what she wants, and werewolves like to protect those weaker than them. 

Christie comes “home” and immediately is trying to push Mercy out.  She is cooking fantastic meals, and is staying in the room next to Adam and Mercy’s and using their bathroom, etc.  The problem is that she is honestly in a lot of trouble and needs protection.  The guy she is running from is clearly a psycho. 

That is only one problem.  One of the Gray Lords has come looking for the walking stick…only Mercy gave it to Coyote and doesn’t have it.  Of course he doesn’t care about this, she has one week to get it for him or he will take out the whole city.  Only, how does one go about trying to find Coyote?  Mercy finds this is not easy and her time is limited because Christie’s stalker is of course targeting Mercy now. 

The writing was super good and I enjoyed the story line as a whole.  I felt like Adam needed to stick up for Mercy and put his ex-wife in her place.  She repeatedly strove to make Mercy look bad in front of the pack.  If he didn’t want to defend himself…fine, but he should have defended Mercy.  I am not sure I would have been as tolerant as Mercy was of the whole situation.  This is probably more annoying to me than most people as I hate “love triangles” and anything close to them.