Annie Bellet

Interesting. I was afraid, for most of the book, that it would be a classic Celtic myth/fairy tale - those usually end very badly for everyone. This one didn't exactly end well, but given enough time things pretty much worked out - at least, for the main characters. The Other World was true to the Celtic view of Fae - weird, cold, and un-moral. The tasks Seren sets Aine suit her style (and she suits the Other World); Aine's reaction and choices shift a lot. Real, solid self-sacrifice for the show more smith - but once she actually has a choice about doing her tasks, she seems to get a lot more careless about the long-term effects. What would Seren do with the hair, for instance - besides free the twins, if she did do that? Aine doesn't even seem to think about what she's giving Seren. The Ravens' intervention is interesting, but it only seems to solidify Aine's choices. And the last task...the only hope I have is that she thought, or knew, that the children would rise again. The mother is a tree, after all. But that's not supported in the text; she just makes that choice, the one that lets her go free, despite her training as a Wisewoman. And the story skims over the whole thing - Aine's unhappy as she goes back, but as soon as she has the charms the matter's done with, and we're back in the standard fairy tale pattern. Seren's last trick fits that, and the way things worked out with the twins. And the more-or-less happy ending. It's a weird interval, in the Other World. We don't even see enough of Aine afterward to find out if she's irrevocably changed - more than being willing to settle down. Hmm, was part of the point to make her shed her Wisewoman self, to settle down? If so, it didn't really work. She'd made that choice already. Very strong story, very rich, not quite as depressing as I'd expected. I'm definitely looking for more Annie Bellet - her stuff is always worth reading. show less

Nice. It's a short book, I discovered when I looked at the page count - I didn't think of it that way while I was immersed in the story. Interesting setting, great worldbuilding (without infodumping - I have no idea why or how three sapient species share this city, but I want to know more!), good story. The twists on magic are elegant - that's _not_ what I've ever thought of a blood mage as being/doing! - though it's a little odd how they share that aspect. It's a police procedural, down to show more the paperwork, but set in a world with quite a few differences from ours. New partners integrating, with old baggage and ongoing secrets interfering. And politics - that's a universal, I guess. I like Zhivana a lot, and by the end of the book I was starting to like Par - it was hard, earlier on (he's grieving his old partner, who died, and seems to have decided that sulky is the best protection against...everything and everyone, pretty much). Definitely a world and characters I want to see more of; this book is worth rereading, too. Which seems to be a recurring theme with Bellet, for me. show less

This fantasy is a quick read that is enjoyable, if a bit shallow. In other words, a great fluff read. Jade Crow is a sorceress that has hidden her true identity, because she's so powerful that another sorcerer wants to kill her for her magic. Instead, she lives a relatively quiet life as a comic book and game shop owner. She has supernatural friends, such as shapeshifters and leprechauns, who know she has magic, but think it's only low-level witchery. However, when another magic-user starts show more to murder people in her community, putting her friends in danger, Jade has to start using her powers and risk drawing the attention of the person she's been hiding from. To make matters worse, a council that polices magical crimes has sent a shapeshifting were-tiger to investigate, and he thinks that Jade may be the culprit behind the murders.

The tiger shapeshifter, Alek, also happens to be incredibly hot. Chemistry and star-crossed romance ensues. I enjoy urban paranormal stories, and also appreciate a good tale with an underdog main character who happens to be way more powerful and dangerous than the other characters realize. The world building is pretty limited here, but the comic book shop setting is great fun, and I loved all of the nerd culture references. The side characters were a little flat, and we could definitely have used more development of Alek's character, but the author does build up our interest in Jade and her life. It has flaws, but was still engaging. As I wrote, a fun fluff read. I likely will read the next in the series, but am not sure when, as it didn't grab me enough to immediately scoop up the second book. show less

Finally reread Justice Calling and went on to the next in the series. Nice! We get to meet Jade's original family - the ones who were never mentioned in Justice Calling, before she was on the streets. And it's a nasty situation on several levels. She was raised in a shifter cult (not a normal shifter life, but something weirder); she finds out that things were even worse than she thought when she goes back, with Alek, to help them deal with some very odd killings. She makes some choices, and show more finds out about consequences; she also finds out a lot of stuff about herself and her past that she had never known. Good story in itself, and it advances the arc - Samir is meddling in this mess. show less