Review: Stray Magic by Kelly Meding

Stray Magic by Kelly Meding

Strays #1

Shiloh Harrison was hoping for a few days off to recover from a particularly nasty assignment, preferably with the help of the talented hands (and, well, the rest of his body too) of her sexy boyfriend, Vincent. But when a group of vampires takes an entire trailer park hostage, there’s nothing to do but make her apologies and get to the scene.

Such is the life of a Federal Marshal in the Paranormal Investigators Unit.

Yet this isn’t like her typical track-and-nab case: something is going on that has vampires scared, and it takes all her strength not to imagine what could frighten such powerful creatures. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have that option. Her boss is MIA, someone is snatching vampires, and there’s a ticking clock that can only end one way: a bloodbath.

Unless she can stop it.

Since the blurb mentions a boyfriend, I feel I should mention that this is not a romance. It's a strict urban fantasy with maybe a tiny sprinkling of romance. It's been a while since I read a straight forward urban fantasy without a romance at the center, or at least a strong movement towards a romance. I love the genre, but I typically lean towards the ones that are more of a hybrid with paranormal romance as I do love the steamier side of things. However, in this case, I found STRAY MAGIC to be a breath of fresh air and a great palate cleanser for me, so much so that I didn't miss the lack of romance. Don't get me wrong, the entire time reading the book I was looking for threads of what romances could bud in the future, but the lack of real romance didn't detract from the story, which is saying something for this romance lovers heart. The plotline, world, and characters all kept me more than entertained.

As for the heroine, Shiloh is an incredibly strong character, and she more than carried the story for me. I really enjoyed getting to know her, and see her world through her eyes. She has her own Scooby crew and each one brought something special to the table. The character who intrigued me the most however, was Tennyson, the centuries old vampire. He was dark and mysterious, and yet incredibly honorable and had a sense of humor to boot. I definitely want to see more of of him, in addition to Shiloh and the Scooby gang. 

All in all, if you are looking for a well written urban fantasy with a great setup for a fantastic series, look no further than STRAY MAGIC.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

Order Links:



Other Reviews:
     Carole's Random Life in Books
     Gizmo's Reviews
     Caffeinated Reviewer

read more

Another Kind of Dead (Early Review)

Another Kind of Dead by Kelly Meding

Dreg City #3

She can heal her own wounds. She can nail a monster to a wall. But there’s one danger Evangeline Stone never saw coming.

Been there. Done that. Evy Stone is a former Dreg Bounty Hunter who died and came back to life with some extraordinary powers. Now all but five people in the world think she is dead again, this time for good—immolated in a factory fire set specifically for her. Evy and Wyatt, her partner/lover/friend, can no longer trust their former allies, or even the highest echelons of the Triads—the army of fighters holding back from an unsuspecting public a tide of quarreling, otherworldly creatures—they can trust only each other. Because when the Triads raided a macabre, monster-filled lab of science experiments and hauled away the remnants, they failed to capture their creator: a brilliant, vampire-obsessed scientist with a wealth of powerful, anti-Dreg weaponry to trade for what he desires most of all—Evy Stone: alive and well, and the key to his ultimate experiment in mad science.

The sheer amount of horrors Evy has survived is amazing. That total stepped up to an incredible amount by the end of Another Kind of Dead. I've read many series where the main character is put through hell and back, but never in such a short amount of time as Evy has had. How she has the willpower to keep dragging her bleeding and broken body into fight after fight without rest is simply beyond me. Yes, she has supernatural healing powers, but they are no where near instantaneous, and she still feels the full pain of every injury, and they do nothing to help her mental stability. Those healing capabilities get tested to their ultimate limit in Another Kind of Dead. If you thought Evy had suffered before, you really haven't seen anything yet.

Evy Stone, now in hiding since she died and came back with some extra abilities, then almost died again. Since almost everyone thought the second death was real, she's decided to lay low. Of course that isn't the easiest thing for Evy as she is a trouble magnet. This time it's a crazy scientist who is on a path of vengeance, determined to stop vampirism at all costs. Right now his obsession is Evy as she may hold the key to his illustrious cure. But, just because he wants her alive, doesn't mean her friends are safe as he will do anything he can to get his hands on her. Evy knows she must do everything she can to keep the ones she loves safe, even if it means the ultimate sacrifice.

I love the dynamic between Evy and Wyatt. Their love for one another is so incredibly strong, yet so very fragile as well. They need each other more than anything, yet neither one seems to know what to do with that fact. At times the progression has felt gratingly slow, but then I force myself to take a step back to realize that while this may be the third book, at the start, only about two weeks has passed. So, when you consider everything that has happened to them as obstacles to their relationship, it is a wonder they stand a chance at all. I think that more than anything shows just how much they belong together. The brevity of their time together made everything seem so much precious and sweet, so I fell even harder for the two as a couple. I know this is a wish with very slim odds, but I really hope they get a little more time together before the next crisis hits, as they have more than earned it.

Like its predecessors, Another Kind of Dead is one big roller coaster ride from start to finish. It is so full of loops and turns that barely give the characters (and readers) a chance to take a breath. You won't find any slackers here, just a set of characters determined to stand up for what is right no matter the personal cost. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last word, and while there wasn't a cliffhanger ending, there was still more than plenty things left open to make me more than a little desperate to get my hands on the next installment. My hat goes off to Kelly Meding for another great installment in the Dreg City Series. You won't want to miss this!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

Pre-Order from Amazon:
Another Kind of Dead

Other Reviews:

• The Spinecracker
  

Previous Books:

1. Three Days to Dead
2. As Lie the Dead

Challenge Categories:
Outdo Yourself
Horror and Urban Fantasy

read more

Review: As Lie the Dead by Kelly Meding

As Lie the Dead by Kelly Meding

Dreg City #2

Evangeline Stone, a rogue bounty hunter, never asked for a world divided between darkness and light . . .

. . . or the power to die and live again in someone else’s borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help—even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.

Amid weres, Halfies, gremlins, vamps—and increasingly outgunned humans—a war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it—unless, of course, her own side gets her first.

This book picks up right where the last book ended. Poor Evy doesn't even get a second to breathe before she is pitted into another race against the clock. The shape shifting clans want retribution for the Olkins massicure, and they have chosen the handler that led the raid as the head they want on a stick. That handler was one of the very few people that tried to help Evy out in the last book, so she can't just sit by and allow them to murder him. She vows to find the Brass who is ultimately responsible since they gave the order. The only problem is that no one knows who they are. Meanwhile she also has to protect the last three remaining Olkins, one of which being very very pregnant.

Evy is still struggling to come to terms with her new identity. She is afraid to fully embrace her new self as she knows that is truly shutting the door on her old one forever. She knows she can never get who she was back, but it doesn't make it any easier to let go. This made the relationship between Evy and Wyatt really strained. Her new feelings for him terrify her and she just cannot seem to bring herself to express them. I really look forward to the two of them being able to work through the difficulties that will face them, and make a great couple. How could she possibly find anyone better than the man that literally gave up everything for her.

Phineas made for an interesting character addition. There is a lot of depth to him, and it seems we have only scratched the surface. I loved how he was so manipulative yet loyal and trustworthy at the same time. Those attributes usually cannot go together, but somehow he pulls it off perfectly. I hope he is in the future books as he added to the already great cast of characters and made the book even better.

I really enjoyed this book, however, I hope the next book slows down just a little, or at least has a little more downtime between the two books. This book winds up an insane time line of about a week, and pretty soon Evy won't be able to function at all if this pace keeps up. Hopefully, she will get some rest and be ready to kick butt and take names for the next book.

Rating:

Buy now at Amazon:
As Lie the Dead (Dreg City, Book 2)

read more

Review: Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Dreg City #1

They’ll never see her coming. . . .

When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was.

Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . .

Imagine waking up on a table at the morgue about to cut open for an autopsy, with no knowledge of how you got there. To make matters worse, when you look at your reflection, it isn't you. All this and more happens to Evy after a series of unfortunate events. She tracks down her handler, Wyatt and finds out the spell to reanimate her body will only last 3 days, after that its lights out for good. She scrambles around trying to figure out who set her up and quickly finds out things are not as they seem. She must unravel the plot quickly before time runs out because there is much more at stake than just her life.

It seems everyone is gunning for Evy. The only person she even remotely thinks she can trust is Wyatt. However, things are a little complicated there since he is head over heels in love with her. She slept with him in her old body when she thought she was going to die. She did die of course, but then she was brought back. If she had expected to live, she never would have slept with him, as she only lived for the hunt. However, her host's memories is causing her to have conflicting emotions. Throughout the entire book she struggles to sort out what she is really feeling and what feelings belong to the remnants of the body she is inhabiting.

I loved Evy's character. Shes very strong and her will is amazing. She was thrust into an impossible situation but never once thought to just give in and accept things. Never once did she accept her immanent death. While it was slightly frustrating, I admired her for not allowing things to really get physical with Wyatt. She just couldn't bear to indulge in her feelings for him when she knew more than likely he would lose her again. That took a lot of willpower. 

This book is extremely suspenseful, fast paced, and filled with action. Once it started, it just didn't stop. Meding's debut novel is an impressive addition to the Urban Fantasy genre. I look forward to reading more from this series, as Evy is a flawed but intriguing character, and will have a lot to cope with.

Rating:

Buy now at Amazon:
Three Days to Dead

read more