REVIEW: Dark Time by Dakota Banks

Series: Mortal Path, Book 1
(c) 2009, Eos Books, HarperCollins
306 pages, Mass-Market Edition
Author's Website

Summary:

Susannah lives in perilous times. A woman with the gift of healing, she uses her gifts to ease suffering, but she is accused of being a witch. Burned at the stake, she is not willing to just let her life go, and thus, she makes a bargain with the demon Rabishu. She is given immortality, but in return, she has to do the demon's bidding, which usually involves killing people who is poised to thwart some purpose that the demon has. Until a series of events culminates in the breaking of the wall around her heart, and she decides she cannot go on this way.

Now, as Maliha Crayne, she is given a chance for redemption, if she can save a life for every life that she has taken. Or if she can find the means to destroy the demons and rid the world of evil forever. However, she is in a race against time, for every life that she saves aged her in indeterminate ways. If she cannot balance the scales before her death, she is in for a lifetime of unspeakable torment, at the hands of the demon who was once her master.

Review:

Simply amazing! On-the-edge-of-your-seat brilliant, Dark Time is an intriguing blend of myth, paranormal, suspense, and action-adventure.

Maliha Crayne is a complex heroine. A trained assassin, she now uses her powers for good, not only because it's the way to her redemption, but also because she couldn't ignore people in need. After two coders were murdered, she seeks to find the killer and comes face-to-face with an enemy she might not be able to take down, considering her reduced powers.

Yet, what I like about Maliha is that she faces life head on. She takes stock of what she has and does what needs to be done, no matter that the situation might end in her death. She doesn't give up hope, but strives on toward the goal she sets for herself, no matter the obstacles. She is also fiercely protective about the few friends she has and would die to keep them safe. No wonder these friends feel the same way about her.

I also like the detailed descriptions of Maliha's weapons and action scenes, as they give an authentic feel to the story, with Maliha being what she is. Though this book focuses on Maliha's solving the mystery of the coders' death, the entire series has an overall arc, which leaves the question hanging at the end of this book: Will Maliha triumph over evil and emerge victorious in her battle with her demon master?

Because Maliha is not the only Ageless her demon master employs. It also stands to reason that the other six demons have their own Ageless minions as well, minions who are threats to Maliha and her goal.

There's a hint of romance as well, between Maliha and DEA agent Jake Stackman. Yet, who is Jake exactly? A mystery that I'm sure will be revealed in succeeding books.The ending caught me by surprise, and what a cliffhanger! Makes me anxious to read the next book. I hope I won't be kept waiting long.

Disclaimer: This book is provided by the author.

Book Rating: 4.0

REVIEW: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Series: Kate Daniels series

(c) 2007, ACE Fantasy, Penguin Group

260 pages, Mass-Market Edition
Author's Website

Summary:

Kate Daniels was devastated by the death of her guardian, knight-diviner Greg Feldman, and sought to unravel the mystery of his murder. Her investigation led her into the midst of the People (vampires) and the Pack (shapechangers), and it became clear that someone was trying to stir up trouble between these two groups of creatures and Kate may be caught in the middle of it all.

Review:

People who have been following my blog know that I want to read Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series because I was impressed with her novella Silent Blade. (Incidentally, Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife writing team.) Suffice it to say, I wasn't disappointed with Magic Bites.

Though the story started out slow (for me, as I had a hard time getting into the story initially), I was soon caught up in this richly-detailed world that Kate Daniels inhabited, which was a curious blend of science and magic. However, since the story opened with a vamp in Kate's home, the action-filled sequences were never-ending, and terminologies like residual magic, feylanterns, etc lend a certain authenticity to the story, thereby creating a believable world where a suspension of disbelief on the part of the readers is easily maintained.

Kate Daniels is a likeable, spunky heroine who faces life head on. Though she's a strong woman powerful in magic, she also has moments of vulnerability, like being afraid and being down on her luck at times, that causes me to sympathize with her, as I have been there before. However, she's also a woman running from something, and the author has shrouded her identity with a mystery that aroused my curiosity. I think Kate knows who she is, as in she knows whose blood runs in her veins, but the author doesn't reveal it to us, while giving us tantalizing hints as to what she could be. And I'm a sucker for secrets, so suffice it to say, I'll be following this series.

There's no overt romance in this series, although there's an almost-romance with a non-hero, but I thought Kate's hero might ultimately be Curran, who's the Beast Lord. Yup, the Lord of the Free Beasts, the King of the Shapechangers. He certainly fit the descriptions of what a hero should be--a true alpha male--plus he and Kate have these flirty conversations and they set each other on edge, so I bet we'll see more of Curran in the later books. (There are six more of them, not counting novellas.)

At 200 over pages, it's a short read as the pages flew by, with the author really catching my imagination and interest, even though the heroine wasn't engaged in a romance.

Book Rating: 4.0