Mishel reviews: Better off Dead - HP Mallory

Mishel reviews

Series or Stand Alone: Lily Harper series, book one

Release Date: March 2013 

Publisher: Smashwords

Pages: 247 (Kindle edition)

Author Site: http://hpmallory.com/

My Rating: 3.5/5 

Source: Received for review from author

Cover: Not a really big fan. The cover model doesn’t even look like Lily’s description. I do like the book trailer though.

If there’s such a thing as luck, Lily Harper definitely doesn’t have it. 

Killed in a car accident before it’s her time to go, Lily learns that the hereafter isn’t exactly what she hoped it might be. 

First, there’s AfterLife Enterprises, the company responsible for sorting out the recently dead and sending them on their way to the Kingdom, (aka happily ever after,) or to the Underground City, (not so happily ever after.) Learning that Lily’s death was indirectly their fault (her guardian angel, Bill, was MIA during her accident and was one of their employees,) Afterlife Enterprises offers Lily the chance to live again. But, as with most things involving the afterlife, beware the fine print. Most notably, Lily will have to become a soul retriever, venturing into the bowels of the Underground City to retrieve souls that were mistakenly sent there by Afterlife Enterprises during a Y2K computer glitch. 

Second, there’s angel Bill. As if risking her second life in the Underground City wasn’t enough, Lily’s guide to the Underground is none other than her incompetent, alcoholic, womanizing guardian angel, Bill, the antithesis of anything wholesome. With only Dante’s Inferno and Bill to help her in her quest, Lily’s future isn’t looking bright.

Finally, there’s the legendary bladesmith, Tallis Black. As Scottish as his kilts and heavy brogue, Tallis Black is a centuries-old Celt who, for reasons only known to him, offers to train Lily and act as her escort into the depths of the Underground City. Dark, brooding and definitely dangerous, Lily knows she shouldn’t trust Tallis, but she also can’t deny her attraction to him. 

Between soul retrieving in hell, dealing with Bill and trying to figure out what’s in it for Tallis, Lily wonders if maybe she would’ve just been better off dead. 

Review:

Sometimes a book has so much potential that one can overlook the flaws it may have. Better Off Dead started out a little too fast, then came to a ridiculously slow crawl through the middle, but had me wanting more of Lily Harper’s story by the time I got to the end. Go figure! I’m glad I stuck through because I really think this series has a lot of promise and can have some pretty fun and unique things to offer in the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance genre!

We don’t learn much of Lily Harper in the beginning other than that she lives a rather ordinary and drab life. She has two best friends – which includes her mother.  She is a self-motivator, and by that I mean she is always finding instances in her life to repeat and apply favorite quotes and sayings from inspirational leaders and self-help gurus. She’s also part of a medieval reenactment club that surprisingly comes in handy later on in the story. The reader learns all of this right before she dies in a car accident about 15 pages into the book!!! After Lily dies she finds herself number 3,750,045 in a massive waiting room where it’s determined that there’s been a mistake and Lily has died before her time. Technically it was Lily’s fault for being on the phone while driving (distracted driving is dangerous) but the bigger picture is that her guardian angel, a forgetful alcoholic guardian angel, wasn’t there for Lily when he needed to be. This is where the concept of the Kingdom, the Shade, and the Underground City are first introduced, all pretty self-explanatory I think. Lily is offered a job as a Retriever as restitution where if she collects and relocates ten souls she can bypass Shade and go directly to the Kingdom. It’s kind of like passing ‘GO’ in Monopoly, collecting the $200 and hitting Park Place all in one roll!

I really love the entire concept of the storyline. AfterLife Enterprises sort of reminded me of a modernized Beetlejuice when Barbara and Adam first go to meet their case worker Juno. I don’t want to go any more into the introductory part of Lily’s new life because to be honest it’s a lot of fun. I just felt that the beginning was a little rushed. I don’t know if that was supposed to be a part of the story (lay Lily’s options out in front of her super-duper quickly and tell her she has .5 seconds to choose certain details without really thinking anything through)… or if the author was just really excited to get the story going. *shrugs* I suppose Neo didn’t get much time to think things over when Morpheus offered him the choice between the red and blue pill either….so I get it. 

Lily’s guardian angel, alcoholic Bill, is a character I came to hate (very quickly) and love (I couldn’t believe it!) His crude and ridiculous comments soon had me laughing and became a true delight throughout the book. Maybe it’s my weird sense of humor but I liked the rude little man. Tallis Black grew on me too, I admit. He didn’t seem like my cup o’ tea to be honest. He’s very dark, standoffish, and his Scottish brogue was so heavy I found myself reading a loud with an accent even if I didn’t want to. It was honestly a bit distracting. But again, towards the end of the book Tallis became this hott alpha male that I seriously didn’t mind so much. I could learn to deal with that brogue of his! 

While I could somewhat relate to Lily I couldn’t quite come to like her…even by the end of the story. Even now I can’t recall any great qualities I found in her and I find myself thinking more of Bill and Tallis.

I wasn’t a big fan of Lily getting an entire new body makeover when she decided to take the job with Afterlife Enterprises. Can a tall, dark, and handsome supernatural bladesmith not fall for a boring, plain-Jane heroine?…I guess not. And while I respected and admired her self-motivated pep talk she just it became repetitive and slightly annoying.

So the pacing goes from lightning speed to super slow crawl. I understand that the first books in a series needs to have a good portion of the book dedicated to background information, world introduction, etc. But I honestly didn’t feel like I got a lot of that while in the forest with the trio of characters. And honestly we were in the forest for a ridiculously long time. I wanted more of Lily before death and less dilly-dallying in the forest on her first mission. But with a climactic ending I came away pretty satisfied. I also came away wanting more of this world. I’ve became super curious of H.P. Mallory’s other two series as well so I’m excited to get started and eager to read what happens in the second book of The Lily Harper series.

Review: Kiss Me, Kill Me (anthology)

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 220, ebook
Published: February 2011

So hard to review anthologies! So I am just gonna say a few words, sentences about each short story.

A Ghoulish Valentine by H.P. Mallory:
Dulcie O'Neil can't help her attraction to Knight Vander, much though she tries to fight her feelings. When she begrudgingly accepts his invitation to dinner and a movie, she can't imagine her evening will be derailed by a cemetery full of hungry ghouls and one incredibly sexy man.

They fight evil ghouls while on a date. Dulcie and Knight seem ok, and the world is interesting. I did like that before just rushing in to fight she stopped to see to that her clothes offered protection. Good girl.

Cat Fight by Zoe Winters:
Cat Fight takes place in Zoe Winters' "PretVerse". Greta is a cat therian (shifter). She's been involved with Dayne, a local sorcerer since she sought his protection from her murderous tribe. After a fight, Greta shifts into cat form and refuses to come back out.

I liked Greta, and Dayne. Not much happened since it was short but I did enjoy when she went all mad and refused to shift back, even after he tried his best. So short and cute, and it did make me wanna read how they met in the first place. Which I can since this novella happens after book 1.

Impulse Control by Susan Bischoff:

In the world of the Talent Chronicles, kids born with supernatural powers are taken from their families and forced into government research facilities called State Schools. At one such school, a group of Talents must work together to stop a dangerous experiment that's already killed two of their peers and threatens others. If they're caught they face Detention, and Detention at a State School has a whole different meaning. 

This was a YA story. Kids put in schools, never to see their families again. Sure I understand people being afraid of people with talents but I would expect some sort of outrage. What a horrible world, I hope those kids get out.

Wild Passion by Lori Brighton:

James is a treasure hunter intent on collecting a deadly, priceless statue. Then he meets Adelaide, a stubbornly beautiful and mysterious woman who knows more about the statue than she admits. Suddenly, James is tempted to give up everything for the one treasure he can't seem to own ... Adelaide.

This one deals with events in Wild 1 and 3, but it works fine on its own too. I liked Adelaide, she did what she had too, and I am sure she and James are gonna have some great adventures.

A Fairytale Ending by M.T. Murphy:
An unlucky actress discovers that there is no good and bad when it comes to vampires and werewolves, only bad and worse.

I did like it in the beginning, but then came a sad and depressing end that ruined the whole thing for me. So I did not like it.

Blind Sight by Kait Nolan:
Isla's ability as a Seer has made her a life-long captive of a paranormal crime lord. Fae assassin, Ransom, offers her a chance at escape, but when she touches his hand she sees only blood, horror, apocalypse. What reason can Ransom have for wanting to rescue her, and can she possibly trust a man who deals in death?

I liked this one. Seemed like a nice world and I wanted to know more, and I would read more too.

The Sacrifice by Toni LoTempio:
After a chance meeting with the mysterious Alfred Barstow, Jennifer is swept off her feet by his whirlwind courtship of her, so much so that she accepts his proposal of marriage. Leaving her boyfriend Peter behind, she heads off to start a new life in California, unaware there's more to Alfred than meets the eye - and a sinister plot behind his proposal. The Sacrifice is a story about what happens when the man of your dreams turns out to be your worst nightmare...and then some!

It was a good story, though one thing was a bit far-fetched. She went away, her ex was sad and decided to look up her new man, and then he realized they were evil vampires..really, I would just have thought she was high on passion.

Until the Breaking of the Day by Daniel Arenson:
The Underground. A realm of flame, blood, and knives in the dark.When its prince returns from exile, a young demon girl will learn his secrets.


Omg! This story was my fav of all the stories in this anthology. I seriously need to read more by this authot!! Awesome story.

If You Leave by Stacey Wallace Benefiel:
Despite their devotion to one another, Gabrielle and Jorge have been living separate lives. That is, until Gabrielle's life ends. Reunited and it feels so...complicated? 

It was the last one and I fear I did not pay as much attention as I could have. 

Conclusion:

I had only read one author before so the rest were new to me, and one thing is for sure, I need more Arenson!!! Trust me, that world was pure gold. All in all, an interesting anthology with a lot to offer, Paranormal YA, paranormal historical, some ass-kicking and cool new worlds.

My flash fiction entry for the week

Here

Guest Review: Toil and Trouble - HP Mallory

Jolie Wilkins 2

Genre: paranormal romance
Pages: 307
Published: November 2010
Review by Lis

The Underworld in civil war. The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead. A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her. An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love. Who says blonds have more fun?

After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside down—the creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war.

The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen.

While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin.

And as if that weren’t enough to ruin a girl’s day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when she’s thrust into the shock of a lifetime. 

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Dum, dum, dum!! Remember Jolie Wilkins? The Witch? From Fire Burn and Cauldron Burn? The story that left us on the edge of a great big battle? Well her story is continued in Toil and Trouble! And oh my is it ever a story!

In Toil and Trouble is good vs evil. Bella again Jolie and Rand. Of course the evil side has a lot more misguided people on their side and of course love gets in the way! Because remember SinJin? The not-so-quite-evil vamp from the previous story? He's about to complicate the meaning of love for Jolie. These things always come at a not so convenient time. Come, let a girl win a war before you make the moves on her. But nooooooooo... men and their one-track mine *grin*

Then there is Rand. It's clear they love each other, but they can't just commit. It's a soul mate thing. If they get together in a permanent way, there is no out. It's forever. And forever is a very long time if you don't really like each other. It makes a girl put her thinking hat on first! The soul mate thing was a bit of a let down for me. I'm a realistic kind of gal and people change. Love changes. Soul mates is fine, but forever with one guy? But then if you reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally love each other *nudge nudge*

Plus Rand is the overprotective guy *rolls eyes* Yup, that makes a girl want to spent time with one hell of a hot vampire too.

Back to the story. On the one hand this story is action-packed and full of adventure and I loved it. On the other hand, Jolie is training and learning and exploring. Plus the end of the previous book left her quite drained and I don't mean the melted and boneless kind of drained, if you get my meaning.

In many ways Toil and Trouble is a lot better than the first book. The writing has even improved and I liked Jolie's snarky narrative! Something tells me, we're not quite finished with her!

There is a major twist that left me gaping and re-reading the scene at least three times, but no sharing! If you want to find out what happens with Jolie, Rand and SinJin (Yum) then I guess you have to run to the cyber-bookstore and find out for yourself!

Thanks Lis :)

review copy from the author, for Lis

Guest Review: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble - HP Mallory

Jolie Wilkins, book 1

Genre: Urban fantasy/paranormal romance
Pages: E-book, 206
Published: 2010
Review by Lis

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

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Remember how a while back I reviewed How to Kill a Warlock? That was H.P. Mallory's second book. Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble is the first. I got both books at the same time, but decided to wait a bit for the second review. After reading the book I wonder how I managed to wait this long!

The set-up for this book is much the same, though unlike in the other book, Jolie has no idea who she is. When the book starts she is just one of the many women out there trying to make a living. In her case as a fortune-teller, because she is aware she can do things others can't. This all changes when Jolie meets tall, dark & extremely hot (and 150+ years old) warlock Rand. Rand quite literally turns her whole world upside down when he tells Jolie she is a witch. Of course, the meeting is not just that random, Rand wants her help with a dead and see-through client.

The stories might be different, but there are elements between the stories that are the same. Without trying to make this a compare feast, the biggest was the host of (male)characters that meet the main character and have an interest or two in her. Don't get me wrong, I loved the characters. H.P.  Mallory certainly has quite the talent for writing funny, witty and likeable character. Even the evil queen b(w)itch  Bella was likeable, even though she is evil with a capital e. Again the strength an weakness of the book was in its characters. If you want to know who they are...well you're just going to have to read the book, now don't ya? Suffice to say, there are enough (hot ones) to keep you interested!

What I especially liked about this book, apart from the story, was the world building. Many authors take the (paranormal)setting for granted. This author doesn't. As a result you have a vivid picture of the world the characters live in and how it functions. While the subs or paranormals in the book are nothing new, basically your average witches, warlocks, vampires, ghosts and werewolves, the author manages to write them in an entertaining manner.

What I liked less was Jolie's constant doubting of herself. Get over yourself woman! Sorry, sometimes that really annoys me in women. Yes, everyone has their doubts, but the reader is constantly reminded of her shortcomings and her struggle to accept that she is a witch. Though I did like that she grows throughout the story and that she is the one to make a move on Rand, while Rand is the one trying to be a gentleman and restrain himself. Hehehe, beware modern women, old man!

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble  is a witchy wicked read. It might be chick lit (or not, depending on how you look at genres), but it's quite an entertaining and funny read that will have you thirsting for more. Did I mention yet that Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble is basically a set-up for an epic battle lurking just out of view, beyond the horizon? No? Well it is. And you'll definitely want more!

 Lis is back with one of her fun reviews!

Review: To Kill a Warlock - HP Mallory

 Dulcie O'Neil, book 1

Genre: Urban fantasy/(paranormal romance)
Pages: 216 e-book
Published: July 2010
Review by Lis

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

Yes, B. managed the snare another review out of me. This time she sent me the deliciously wicked How to Kill a Warlock by indie author H.P. Mallory. While I have to admit that the blurb did not really raise my curiosity above ‘hmmmm possibly interesting’ it was the cover that made me read this book over H.P.’s first book. I know, very shallow and wrong, but I occasionally choose books because of their cover. In my defense, it did not have a hot man on it!

About How to Kill a Warlock

On to the review. Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy with the job of Regulator, one who regulates the supernatural (not so) creepy crawlies that came out of the proverbial closet and into the real world about 50 years ago. She is not your typical kick ass (though she does kick ass) heroine. In fact when the book starts she found herself turned into very slimy, nine-eyed, put your average beer belly to shame, monster by the Warlock she was supposed to be watching. The very same Warlock that later ends up very dead. On with the investigating, in which Dulcie is aided by the very yummy Knight Vander.

This story has a multitude of (hot, male & single) characters. Her hobgoblin Regulator partner Trey (whom I liked) who is maybe not so hot. Her best friend, the Witch Sam. Then again, which best friend chases you with a butcher knife?

Then there is Dulcie’s male harem as I like to call them. Her very hot elf boss Quillan, Dulcie’s big crush and who likes Dulcie right back. Knight Vander, a Loki, with very interesting abilities. Nightclub owner Bram (the vampire) who is nothing but very vocal about his carnal interest in Dulcie. Last there is Dagan, the tattooed demon, who owns a BDSM club (yes, you read that right) and who has a sex addiction.

Both the strength and the weakness of this book is in its characters rather than the plot. The strength being that each, easy to love, character adds their own bits to the story and they make for interesting scenes. The weakness being that there are so many of them. In a way it reminded me of Laurell K. Hamilton’s books, in a good way that is. In Hamilton’s books it is not so much the story that makes the books, but the characters. Whom you come to love and crave to learn more about.

The writing is very strong, funny and witty. There are some very comical scenes in the book. However, there were some things I did not quite like. Dulcie is looking for Mr. Right and this is very important for her. Yet she has several right in front of her! Then there was the ending that would not quite end. Writing the ending of a book is hard, but this one was a tad bit too long.

The last thing has not so much to do with the story, but with the layout of the book. How to Kill a Warlock has such a beautiful cover. Why not include it in the file? In fact, the whole e-book feels like the text is copy pasted. This is a long time frustration of mine with e-publishers. They create the e-file, yet sometimes it feels like they hardly spent time on it.

How to Kill a Warlock is a good, solid, spunky read and there are so many things I could tell you about this book and what I liked about it, but my advice? Go find out for yourself! 

Lis