Marianne de Pierres

Not many sequels surpass the original work, but Angel Arias achieves this gargantuan feat with relative ease: it’s just as eerie and beautiful as Burn Bright, but quickly becomes a darker and edgier tale – one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Naif’s growth is the most striking aspect of this book for me, because her return to the Grave could have easily allowed her to slip back into being the passive Retra, but she steels herself and brings Naif into her old world and comes out a lot stronger show more for it. I think that the way that Naif deals with being back in the Grave’s oppressive environment and seeing the consequences of her decision to run away to Ixion reveals the strength of her character. Markes helps Naif in this journey a lot and we get to see a stronger, more confident side of him that was lost within the splendour of Ixion. I really hope there is a happy ending in the next book for them both!

The new characters in this book are wonderful and provide an excellent counterpoint to Markes and Naif – Liam is especially endearing (and creepy, yes) and I love Jarrold. I’m not sure about some of the other characters, but I think that has more to do with Naif’s biases than my impressions of them. However, no one can replace Suki’s vivacity and Rollo’s good naturedness, and I keenly felt their absences right along side Naif. Her bond to Lenoir allows readers to glimpse what is happening back at Ixion, but nothing is clear and I am looking forward to getting back to the island in Shine Light.

I had not expected this book to be quite as action-packed as it is, since Burn Bright was filled with descriptions of the wonder and splendour of Ixion and only ramps up at the end. Angel Arias is thrilling from the get go, and with everything progressing so quickly I forgot that the book only spans a few days, until the very end. It has answered a lot of the questions raised in Burn Bright, but has offered up many more for readers to contemplate before reading Shine Light.

Engaging, thrilling and dark, Angel Arias offers us a wider glimpse into the world of the Night Creatures and is a must read for fans of Burn Bright. I am thoroughly enjoying this series and I think if you’re not already reading it, then what on earth are you waiting for? Hop to it: the third book is out already and now there is really no excuse!

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less

After her eventful trip to Brisbane, Tara Sharp is glad to be back home in Perth. Finally time for things to settle down – or so she hopes. Unfortunately, life has other plans, and soon Tara’s going to be in over her head in more ways than she can count.

Just when she commits to the dreamy Edouardo, Nick Tozzi leaves his wife – for Tara. Now she’s torn between two equally delightful men. And, if that’s not bad enough, she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when show more she and Tozzi find a body washed up on the beach. Throw in the bikie gang calling in the favour Tara owes them, and her work and social life brushing up against the crime lord who wants her dead, and life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Sharp Edge brings back all the amazing aspects from previous novels in the series, but with more intensity. The stakes are higher, the threats darker, and the enemies are closing in on Tara despite her attempts to stay off their radar.

While each of the novels can be read alone, they’re best read in order. Everything in the series accrues as it goes on, so starting in the middle means missing some excellent plot and character development. The first novel, Sharp Shooter, is a quirky, fun adventure involving stubborn galahs, oddball characters and a surfeit of decadent desserts. It’s the kind of book that feels like time spent with good friends. So coming back for the second round is a given. By the time Sharp Edge, the fourth book in the series, rolls around, there are so many more layers to the characters and situations than I would have dreamed of in those early heady days.

In Sharp Edge, Tara’s still disorganised and prone to getting herself into unfathomable situations – but she’s grown a lot too. While her business isn’t quite on solid ground; she’s taking more responsibility for things and has a much better grasp on her aura-reading ability. She’s also much more capable of holding her own in this high-stakes game she’s stuck in. And I love how she uses the resources at her disposal to get herself out of sticky situations – even if those resources don’t seem like much at first glance.

That said – for all of her growth and new-found maturity – there are still an abundance of facepalm moments at her antics. Between her and her friends, it’s mystifying that any of them have made it this far.

After turning the last page of Sharp Edge, I’m hoping that the next in the series doesn’t keep me waiting too long. show less

This review might contain a few light spoilers!

I bought this paperback on a whim in a used bookstore in New Zealand last year. Zero knowledge of the author or book. Absolute totally random buy. Fortunately for me, this was book #1 in a trilogy. From the looks of it, getting copies for the rest of the series might be very difficult.

The first 20% of the book is freaking awesome high stakes. Our protagonist Retna is 17 years old, a seemingly average brunette. She grew up in an ultra show more fundamendalist cultish concentration camp neighboring another religious fundamentalist town (which seems to belong to the same sect, but offers far more freedom).

Retna's older brother Joel escaped to the mysterious island of eternal night known as Ixion a year ago. As expected, punishment in the camp for families of fugitives is harsh. A warden moves into her home to keep close watch, her mother is forbidden to visit the library and Retna has a machine surgically inserted on her upper thigh that causes painful shockwaves 24/7 that increases the closer she gets to the meshed wire gate. Oh, and her father is also really pissed off at her because he lost credibility in the community and flogs her with a belt. There are also hints that the warden sexually molested her (which I think could have been written better).

In every sense of the word, I can't blame Retna for counting the days the next boat to Ixion is supposed to arrive and fight tooth and nail to escape.

Without spoiling too much, yes, she will arrive to Ixion and the whole process entering this strange and terrifying place is really well written. If the rest of the book had kept up the pace, I would have given it 5 stars. This is an island where modesty is sin and debauchery pure. Where the confessional booths in churches are aimed at receiving drugs with variable effects, and the club parties and sexual orgies never stop.

Pretty much, outside of the scant libraries hidden in some of the island's 7 churches and some special caverns called Dominion, the entire island seems like introvert hell. This is compounded even more by a peculiar rule: there is an age limit. You can either party yourself staying high on the black pills until suffering an early death. Or party within reason, enjoy the experience and once you become too old, you vanish. Where? Well, the book eventually answers this question. Much to my chagrin, the way the answer is told isn't written well at all and felt very underwhelming by too much else going on.

The way Ixion is described and each church is awesome in variably kinky ways, the characters really do feel like college aged young adults, and both Retna and the island's vampiric guardians named Ripers are cool (also spooky). Retna starts her voyage as a terrified and sheltered cult escapee. As the story advances, she becomes increasingly assertive with her opinions, morals (which clash with the island for obvious reasons) and her sexuality. I can't say everything due to spoilers. Only that the scene where she makes her huge life-altering change in the later middle half of the book was sooooo good, I really wanted to award 5 stars right off the bat.

If the highlight scenes of the book are so good, then why not give it 5 stars? There's some aspects the book gets increasingly weak as the story advances. I feel the book could have fused some characters. Suki with Krista-Belle, Rollo sometimes with with Kero and others with Markes. The large cast doesn't feel too intimidating most of the book because Retna interacts with them separately. But the final 20% feels more than can be chewed so to say. I liked Lenoir a lot, which is frustrating because I can't say much about him due to spoilers. Wished his scenes were developed a tad bit more than the college frat party drama stuff. Mainly because it is obvious he plays an important role in the sequels.

In a nutshell, if this had been an indie book by a debut author, I would have been far more lenient with the pacing issues. Discovering more things about this island was such a huge thrill. I wanted to know why Ripers tolerated Charlonge spending her time in the Vank Church reading books all day (which seems to bend the rules). We never get full confirmation there are only 5 Ripers or more. How can only 5 Ripers sit in a confessional booth offering drugs in so many churches while also monitoring clubs, spending free time in the Dominion caves and also recruiting new inhabitants? How come one scene in the book they say newcommers can stay awake 5-7 days while 90% of the time the plot is written in a way they need to sleep once every 24 hours? How come Retna never noticed her planet has three suns?

If I read the book a second time, I might spot more things that don't really add up. For a trad book published only 14 years ago to be overflowing with these many development editing issues, it really feels concerning.

Despite these issues, I still think the story is cool, the mystery fascinating and if I ever have the chance to nab the sequel books, I would love to read them.

3.5 stars for me! show less

At twenty-six, Tara Sharp expected her life to be on track. Instead, she has just lost her job, has no future prospects and has had to move back in with her parents. She might count herself a total loss, if help hadn’t arrived from an unexpected angle.

Mr Hara might be an odd sort of saviour, but if he can pull through on his promise to give Tara a job, she’s not going to turn the offer down.

What she doesn’t expect is that the job will bring her into close proximity with Perth’s show more local crime boss, or how much danger it will put her in. Before she knows it, she’s dodging hit and run attempts, trying to keep under the radar of the local authorities and trying to keep her hands off a certain delectable but very married man.

For a lot of people this series is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Both are wildly entertaining with twists that you don’t see coming, but the Tara Sharp series stands on its own. The way Delacourt handles her large cast of characters, winding plot and Australian setting is unique, as is her accessible writing style.

The cast of characters in Sharp Shooter are an incongruous and whacky bunch. Full of social climbers, social misfits, murderously jealous wives, all too interested husbands, the criminal element and suspicious police, this is going to be tough terrain to navigate. But somehow Tara is going to have to work everything out with only her wits and ultrasensitive senses to guide her.

The way that Tara utilises all of her unusual skill sets to keep herself alive while she gets to the bottom of the mystery is original and inventive. Her ability to see auras coupled with a penchant for knowing which of her many acquaintances can come through with the information that she needs makes her a formidable force. If it weren’t for her inherent gawkiness and knack for making bad situations even worse, she would probably be ruling Perth with an iron fist.

Sharp Shooter is a crazy-entertaining first instalment to a series that is fresh, fast and fabulous. It clears up all of the major mysteries but leaves some enthralling threads dangling, which will leave everyone yearning for the second novel. show less