Liz Maverick

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a bit in picking up Crimson City, but I thought I might as well start somewhere in delving for the first time into the realm of urban fantasy/paranormal, and this book seemed as good as any. I don't know how original or formulaic Crimson City might be, but I really enjoyed the world building that Liz Maverick accomplishes in this first instalment of the series. The relations between humans, vampires, and werewolves were set up very well, grabbing my show more attention with questions of inter-species conflicts and tensions. As for the romance, I think it paled in comparison to the fantasy and mystery elements of the book, and was its weakest aspect. Also, after creating such an interesting world, I thought that the book failed to deliver on its promise and mostly fell flat by the end. show less

The Transporter by Liz Maverick
Hudson Kings #1

All I can say is WOW and when is book two going to be released? It was THAT good!

I know, I know, the alpha male has a few moments where he questions his ability to be the best option for the girl he falls for and she wonders if they are a good match BUT they really are good together and it plays out well and is believable – for them – so – great job and kudos to the author!

This book immediately reminded me of Jason Statham in “The show more Transporter” but it is different and a great beginning to a new series that I will want to read. The merc group, Hudson Kings, is filled with gorgeous males that are a brotherhood working together on various clandestine projects. There are enough crumbs left about each of the men and two women that made me feel invested and eager to read what comes next. Each character is attractive, interesting and different but together the camaraderie is great and made me want to get to know them all better.

As for the story? Shane is sent by Cecily’s brother, Dex, to pick her up after she leaves an abusive relationship. He has a package to drop off somewhere along the way. There is attraction even though both realize she is on the rebound. There is minimal action taken on the attraction, though. Their arrival in New York at the home base is when the reader meets most of the team and finds out quite a bit more about the Hudson Kings and a bit about another group called 6th Ward. There are mistimings between Shane and Cecily and some times that really work for them with a HEA for the couple by the end of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars show less

Dain Reston is human and a leader for B-Ops (Battlefield Operations) in charge of keeping the peace between all the conflicting species. Fleur Dumont is vampire and heir apparent to the Dumont family bred to lead the vampire people but after a youthful mistake when she turned a human to a rogue they no longer trust her. Her two half-brothers take over leadership. But when her half-brothers are killed the vampires have no choice but to make her their leader even though they still don't trust show more her. Dain and Fleur are forced to work together after a rash of vampire killings to try to discover who and what group is behind the murders.

Worldbuilding in paranormals can sometimes be confusing for me since I read so few of them. Crimson City had many different species and sub-species to keep straight: Vampires, humans, werewolves, rogues that are vampires that have been made from humans, and mechs that are humans with mechanical limbs. Vampire (fangs) control the sky, humans control the surface, and werewolves (dogs) control the underground. Most of the time I was able to follow all the rules but not always.

But aside from that this book seemed to have several problems, the greatest being the uneven pacing. Some scenes were gripping, dark and intense but others were ho-hum and still others were just confusing. It's always a bad sign to me when I have to flip back several pages repeatedly to figure out characters, dialogue, and worldbuilding details that I must have missed. I don't know anything about the publishing world but it seems to me that this book could have used a good editing job.

I did like Dain and to some extent, Fleur, even though I thought she was a bit weak. But I never really bought their love story. It seemed a little forced. The most intriguing characters were actually Cyd, Dain's partner, and Hayden, the rogue vampire that Fleur had 'made' in a rash moment. I am hoping that these characters appear again in the series. (Grade: C) show less

The Financier by Liz Maverick
Hudson Kings #2

Complex, intricate, detailed and delightful – this was a book that I could not put down.

The Hudson Kings are an independent group of stunning studly extremely competent mercenaries that work together but also take freelance jobs from time to time. On one such job Nick Dawes, money mover extraordinaire, manages to “lose” 20 million dollars – and his life is then on the line. Wanting someone to apartment sit and care for his fish he hires show more Jane MacGregor, a friend of some women linked to the Hudson Kings, until he feels it is safe to come out of hiding again.

Nick is a handsome, wealthy, multifaceted man that is such a breath of fresh air as a book boyfriend. I think he might be one of the most unusual and endearing men I have met in a book recently. And then there is Jane and she is so much more than many female leads – she too is unusual and such a great match for Nick. She is unflappable, dedicated, humorous, lusty and just perfect in so many ways. The two together are great. The story is wonderful. The team and other side characters are so interesting that I can’t wait for the next book in the series – no matter WHO it is about! This is one series that is a winner, a keeper and a delight to the soul.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars show less