Tuesday, 29 December 2015

Urban fantasy Tuesday: Thorn Queen and Dark Alchemy

Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she's also become queen of the Thorn Land. It's hardly an envious life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one--except Eugenie--seems willing to find out why.

Eugenie has spilled plenty of fey blood in her time, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and nursing a very personal grudge. And the men in her life aren't making things any easier. Her boyfriend Kiyo is preoccupied with his pregnant ex, and sexy fey king Dorian always poses a dangerous distraction. With or without their help, Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in an unpredictable power she can barely control. Reluctant queen or not, Eugenie has sworn to do her duty--even if it means facing the darkest--and deadliest--side of her nature. . .

My thoughts:
I do think I liked this one better than book 1, with book 1 I liked it, but it never packed a punch. This one was better, but of course those things that I did not really care for where still here, but here they did not bother me for some reason.

Let's start with the love triangle. Now I do not really see it as a love triangle anymore. Sure she is dating Kiyo. All is well. But every time she meets Dorian she goes all dang! And who can blame her, Dorian sounds like sex on a stick, wile Kiyo is so boring. Not to mention about to become a father to a fairy queen's kid. Eh. Maybe they both are wrong for you. She will surely end up with Kiyo in the end, but at the moment he bores me, he turned into the nice guy. While King Dorian is mmmm, and that dark side of his, mmmmmmm.

The smexy scenes I skim, who cares, get to the real action!

She is queen . So lots of things to deal with there.

There is one part that I wish that had not been there...why? Really why?!

Conclusion:
All in all it was good. I wish she would just kill her sister, and I will totally read more.

Cover
ok

Mass Market Paperback, 374 pages
Published August 1st 2009 by Zebra (first published July 13th 2008)
Dark Swan, #2
Urban fantasy
Own

Geologist Petra Dee arrives in Wyoming looking for clues to her father's disappearance years before. What she finds instead is Temperance, a dying Western town with a gold rush past and a meth-infested present. But under the town's dust and quiet, an old power is shifting. When bodies start turning up - desiccated and twisted skeletons that Petra can't scientifically explain - her investigations land her in the middle of a covert war between the town's most powerful interests. Petra's father wasn't the only one searching for the alchemical secrets of Temperance, and those still looking are now ready to kill. Armed with nothing but shaky alliances, a pair of antique guns, and a relic she doesn't understand, the only thing Petra knows for sure is that she and her coyote sidekick are going to have to move fast, or die next. 

My thoughts
I can't decide whether this was a 2 or 3. Yesterday it felt like a 3 for the reason that if the library got book 2 I'd read it. Today I am more like, if the library got book I would just say meh. I'd say 2,5 then, but give it a 2. Because I do not really want to read more. I could just leave it like this and be fine with it.

Petra come to Temperance to find her dad. She meets a coyote. I never got if the coyote is magical or not. She makes friends. She does not do much for her work, the reason why she officially is there. She meets a hunky weird guy. She finds a few corpses.

There is a bad Rancher, a real asshole. There is a bad alchemist, I never really got him,

There are strange...stuff.

Conclusion:
So all in all...meh? Yeah meh. I still read it and all, I was never omg, boring! But still, meh.

c over
meh

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published April 28th 2015 by Harper Voyager Impulse
Dark Alchemy #1
Urban fantasy
Own

26 comments:

  1. I know I read the Richelle Mead series a while back, but now I can't remember it all. Might be time for a re-read:)

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  2. Replies
    1. Yes you sure love these :D I have to try the other one too

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  3. Hahaha, will you be reading Mercury Retrograde?

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  4. Getting a whole bunch of books done! I can't believe 2015 is nearly over. xI

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  5. I know what you mean about Dark Alchemy, it was a pretty "meh" book. There were some pretty great moments of creepiness though, like that whole situation under the giant tree!

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    1. Oh yes that tree was cool, but in general, sadly so meh

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  6. I've seen Dark Alchemy around, but really hadn't read any of the reviews that I can remember. It's a shame that it wasn't better. I read the first few books from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy, but never finished it. It got too YA angsty for me. Is this one YA? Maybe I'll try it.

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    1. Omg VA sucks so much. I tried a few but no, I just could not even skim them. And nope, this is certainly not YA, lots of sex

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  7. Oh bummer! I perked right up when I saw that western cover. But for a meh read, I'll wait.

    The other series holds promise and I think it's on the wish list from a while ago. LOL

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    Replies
    1. I thought it would be so cool, but sadly not.

      I will continue to read it

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  8. I read my first Richelle Mead book this year, a YA novel. Didn't turn out so well, made me think I should have started with her UF. And I want to read Dark Alchemy, I bought this on earlier this year!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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    1. The, silence or something one, so bad with names. I had hopes for that one, but now I am all nope, since her other YA books sucked so much. So go UF

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  9. You don't see a lot of geologist protagonists - bummer it wasn't a better read.

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  10. I really do want to read the Richelle Mead books, but not so much the other author. Totally does not appeal to me.

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  11. *sigh* I need to read this series by Mead still.

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  12. I haven't read a Richelle Mead book in awhile. I have a couple on my shelf. I am totally intrigued by you saying you wish she would just kill her sister. Thanks for your reviews. Happy New Year.

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  13. I keep thinking I want to read Richelle Mead, but then I read a review and think, maybe not.

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