Bone Magic

My expectations for this series have never been high. All I really expect is a fun, wacktastic, OTT adventure with the D'Artigo sisters and their menagerie. With this book, though, I realize that the fun is over (for me, anyway). It's not that the sexual parts are more graphically detailed than in other books, that's easy enough to skip over if you want to. And it's not that it's a one-note series, that can actually be a benefit for work-week reading since you know you're not going to be tempted to stay up all night finishing it. I think what's really pushed this into do-not-enjoy territory is how often the sisters use self-serving excuses to rationalize away behavior that breaks their own moral codes. (Hello, this is how war criminals show more are made.) Between that and the going-nowhere plot, I think I'm done with this series. show less

Slowly improving, book by book! With this sister, Camille, there's still the unrelenting sex (ok, quite common in the genre) but less of it in this installment told from her point of view. Some things are becoming contrived--at least one of her men keeps being out of the picture for most of the book when it's her turn to tell the story--but I can see why it would be necessary. There's only so many characters you can keep track of during action/sex/conversational scenes. As I thought around book 4, things are beginning to pick up as the series draws closer to an end. The larger plot moved forward a bit more. Yay!

It's been a long time since I read the others of this series, and I'd forgotten how much fun they are: compelling characters and an intricate web of relationships between them helps fuel the story. So much fantasy falls into the "I must save the world! alone!" trope that it's refreshing to see such a huge mesh of personalities involved, even if sometimes things strain believability. Despite my hesitation at the "paranormal romance" label, I found that these are enjoyable reads with sexy times that fit the characters.

I never particularly like the Camille books in the series (each book is told in a different sister's voice), but this one was pretty awful. Several things I realized with this book:
1. So the sisters have been Earthside for about 2 years in the series. I don't recall in the backstory that they had spent much time on this side of the portals prior to this. So, how the hell do they have a bunch of Pop-culture references...everything from M*A*S*H to Keanu Reeves to various movies, etc. I know it's fantasy, but it's unrealistic.
2. I like sex in books, but if I want porn or erotica, I'll look for that. Threesomes (there's one in the book) are bad enough, but a foursome...come on.
3. The dialogue has become supremely campy. When Camille meets show more up with her lost lover Trillian, he has to accept that she has married her other lovers. When he does, he proclaims (I'm paraphrasing slightly), "as long as you and they know that I am your alpha lover." Sheesh, who says that. Not the only instance of this phrase in the book, or of campy dialogue.
I will probably listen to the next book (I like the other sisters), but I am not sure. Note: the reader of the audio is good. show less

My OCD to finish any series I start reading has really "done me wrong" in this case. It makes me struggle through books I know I won't like. The author is a decent writer, but honestly, I loathe most of her characters.

Camille, the sister this book is centered on, is hands down my least favorite. I tire of her "I'm scorching hot, all of my husbands are scorching hot, I'm the only woman who fulfills them, I'm a witch with powers that backfire (but really they don't... not in any significant way), and I keep getting handed more and more power and accolades" life. It just gets old.

I'm going to try not to purchase any more of this series. Hopefully my OCD will let me borrow it off of a friend, if necessary.

Galenorn's Otherworld series gets stronger and more tangled with every book. Now back to Camille, and there's a new demon in town, a powerful lamia who's well-versed in some nasty magics. But before dealing with that, Camille has her own personal life to handle. Her primary, Trillian, is still missing, and Smoky, her dragon, gets a very interesting and unwelcome visit from his past. Our half-human, half-fae protagonist again returns to Otherworld to discover what has come from the war. Friends and enemies are seldom what they seem, and the question of who to trust becomes more important.
Highly recommended if you enjoy a good dose of urban fantasy and want to get away from the "real" world for a while.

Narrated by Cassandrea Campbell. A lot of sex while the group tries to find and thwart the latest demon general. Camille has dragon trouble, demon trouble as well as big changes for her and her friends. Lots love messages and steamy sex with her men, as well as loss as the battle heats up.