Week-End's Minis XXXVII: Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison

Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison
published by Berkley in November 2012

Before she met Dragos, half-human/half-Wyr Pia Giovanni was alone and on the run. Now she’s mated, pregnant and heading south to repair the Wyrs’ frayed relationship with the Elves. Being separated from Dragos is painful, but for the good of the Wyr demesne they need to figure out how to be partners—in more places than just the bedroom.

In New York to preside over the Sentinel Games, Dragos is worried about his mate, but knows that finding two replacement sentinels is essential to show the rest of the Elder Races just how strong and brutal the Wyr demesne can be. But as the Games heat up, Pia’s negotiations with the Elves take a turn for the dangerous, straining her bond with Dragos and threatening everything they hold dear...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #5

What do you need to know? Well the story is pretty much as the blurb described. After losing two of his sentinels, Dragos needs to replace them, hence the Sentinel Games. All of his current sentinels have to enter as well, to show that they are the best of the best. There is only one rule and it is not to kill. At the end, the seven that will be left standing will get the prized positions.

While all the attention is focused on the Sentinel Games and New York City, Pia thinks it's the perfect time to conduct a diplomatic mission of her own. So she sets of with a group of canine Wyrs who act as her bodyguards to visit the High Lord and his lady to repair treaties and better their relationships with the Elves. However, this mission won't be easy. First, Pia has to compose with her new bodyguards who don't know her, have misconceptions and are not thrilled to miss the Sentinel Games to protect Dragos' new mate. In addition, perhaps Pia's timing is not as good as she thought because something is clearly going on in the Elven demesne.

Why this book? Hmmm, because it's part of a popular series and there was a lot of buzz for it. I probably shouldn't have though considering I didn't love Pia and Dragos in Dragon Bound ^_^;

What did I like? Well, Pia continued to impress me as an heroine in Lord's Fall. The maturity, the way she handled herself and everything that was thrown at her. Her confrontation with Eva at the beginning of the novel was the perfect example. I also appreciate that Pia is different from most heroines, that she's not a predator. It makes the way she's dealing with Dragos even more admirable. I also applaud Ms Harrison for her consistency with Pia's character, that Pia didn't undergo out-of-character changes in personality.

The premises of Lord's Fall had a lot of potential in my opinion and the ending is intriguing, pointing at changes to come.

What didn't work for me? Overall, I think my main issue with Lord's Fall was that it fell flat. As I just mentioned, Lord's Fall had a lot of potential, but Ms Harrison failed exploiting it. I was actually really looking forward to the Sentinel Games - the description for them so grand, but in the end, it wasn't exciting at all. The Sentinel Games turned out to be like background noise, a filler to keep Dragos occupied and justify the separation between Pia and Dragos. Also, the results were totally anti-climatic since Dragos' five sentinels did not meet each other and easily survived. Ms Harrison also had something with the Elven storyline, but I feel she couldn't fully develop that storyline because she was too busy with other elements. And once again, there was no excitement to it, most of the time, Pia was kept waiting or stone-walled...

I know a lot of fans were looking forward to Lord's Fall for the romance, to see Dragos and Pia together again... and I hope they were satisfied. As I was not a huge fan of their romance to begin with, this continuation didn't do much for me. I mean, the two of them are already together, there is no real issue between them and Pia continues doing a good job at managing Dragos' uber-alphaness. So really, their romance was just there to please the fans.

My Grade? C-. Lord's Fall wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't great either. While I continued enjoying Pia's character, she couldn't make me overlook the fact Lord's Fall definitively lacked omphf.  

Review: Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

Ugh, where did my week go?! I'm exhausted!! I feel like I spent the whole week running around :( Work was very busy this week, especially since my boss is going to a conference in Chicago tomorrow. The good news is that he'll be gone for a couple of days! Yay!

I was also very busy in the evenings. Basically, I had guests and friends over Monday, Tuesday and Friday. That's really rare for me LOL. Usually, once I come home, that's it. No going out again... Just the computer, TV and/or a book. I was planning to catch up on my reading this week, but yeah, didn't happen. I shouldn't complain though, because I had a great time :)

Now, I'm just looking forward to relax this week-end :) There's going to be more curling - yay! This time around, it's the Men World Championship. There's also some figure skating... but really, I just want to stay in bed and cuddle in my blankets :) Especially since the temperature is cold again! :)

What about you, any plans this week-end? If you don't, well you could read this review LOL.


Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison

published by Berkley in March 2012

As a second daughter, Grace Andreas never had to worry about the intrigues of the Elder Races. But when her sister, Petra, and Petra’s husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister’s two young children – neither of which she is prepared for.

Yet, she is not alone. Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn prince of House Marid – driven by his genuine caring for the children – has decided to make himself a part of the household both as their guardian and as an exasperating counterpoint to Grace’s impudence toward the Elder Races.

But when an attempt is made on Grace’s life, she realizes that Khalil is the only one who can protect her – and offer her more than a mortal man…

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #4

The Story: Grace Andreas was in the same car accident that killed her sister - the Oracle of Louisville - and her brother-in-law. While Grace survived, it came at a cost: a shattered knee. With the death of her sister, Grace has inherited the Power, which has been passed down in the female line of the family for century, and has become the new Oracle, but more importantly, she's also become her sister's children's guardian, Chloe and Max, 4 years and 9 months old respectively. For this young woman, it is a lot on her plate; however, she is determined to do her best to protect and provide them a good life.

When the most powerful entities in the world show up at her doorstep asking for a prophecy, Grace cannot turn them down and ask them to come back at a later time. The good news is that she ended up saving Carling and, by extension, Rune's lives. However, all she has to show for her efforts is the presence Khalil, a condescending and critical Djinn who's taken an interest in her children... but at the same time, she's grateful to Khalil for the protection he provides as Grace seemed to have become a person of interest for very powerful Wyrs and other supernatural beings. When Grace suddenly has a vision, prompted by Dragos Cuelebre's presence, in bright daylight and on her front lawn, she realizes that perhaps all the traditions that have been handed down about manifesting the Power were wrong... As such, she sets out to harness the Power, take control of it, so her niece can be spared from becoming the next Oracle.

Khalil's first impressions of Grace are not good. However, he has elected to stay behind, entranced by the children. His protective instinct is awaken as such innocence is not seen among the Djinns. As he comes to know Grace better, to understand the circumstances and witnesses Grace's devotion to the children, his opinion of Grace changes for the better... and he actually finds himself being attracted to this young woman.

My Opinion: Well, well, well. If you have not heard of The Elder Races series, I'm sad to be the one to let you know that you've been living under a rock LOL. While this series is hugely popular, it didn't click with me :( I thought Dragon Bound was a good book, but not the wowzer everyone raved about. As for Storm's Heart, it was just a let-down. So I decided not to continue the series... and I was able to stay strong when Serpent's Kiss was released... But it was another story with Oracle's Moon LOL. Almost all the reviews for this book were positive, but more importantly, the blurb made me want to read this book and the storyline sounded interesting to me. And here we are :)

It's clear to me the strength of Oracle's Moon was definitively Grace and good thing too, since she was the focus of the book :) Ms Harrison definitively did a great job with her characterization. Here you have a young woman of 23 years old, who got into an accident. She lost her sister and brother-in-law, finds herself in charge of her young niece and nephew, has become the new Oracle, is recovering from her injury and has to deal with the pile of debts from the surgeries, but also student loans for a degree she has not been able to complete yet because of the accident. She's struggling to make ends meet as being the Oracle is not very lucrative... and despite everything, she still has a positive outlook on life. Oh, she's not bubbly and cheerful, but she's not grim and depressed either. She's very pragmatic and doesn't mind setting her pride aside for the sake of the children. She doesn't try to shirk her responsibilities as Oracle, even if she wished to. I couldn't help but admire her. I mean, most women under this much amount of stress would have cracked, but no Grace. There was so much strength, so much focus in Grace... However, what I liked most about her was her devotion to Chloe and Max, how much she cared about them. They came first, no matter what... She was truly a good mother: loving, understanding and solid, but also strict when needed it. And when the burden got lifted a little and Grace could relax a bit, you got to see her spunky side. It's no wonder she had the guts to  go toe to toe with a Djinn who's almost immortal. Something else I appreciated was her sense of fairness and justice. As you can see, I really loved Grace and she made the book for me :)

There were also some great scenes in Oracle's Moon between the characters, especially involving the children. Khalil's interactions with them were so sweet and made me smiled. I thought Ms Harrison did a great job with the characterizations of Chloe and Max as well. I know some readers don't like children in their books, but I do and really, Chloe and Max were very good secondary characters :) And seriously, there's just something about a powerful, almost immortal being asking to spend time with children, reading to them, etc. It makes my heart melt LOL. Another good scene was when Khalil tracked down Carling and Rune, reminding them that they own the Oracle and then, letting them know he's going on a date with Grace. LOL, their reaction was great and then, Khalil getting dating advice from Rune? Priceless LOL.

One weakness of Oracle's Moon for me was the pacing of the story. It was simply to slow to my taste. I felt it took an eternity for the storyline really take off. It's unfortunate, because I thought the overall storyline was very interesting. I also expected a lot more action and there was some near the end, but not the big bang like in Dragon Bound or Storm's Heart . Instead, there was a large part of the book focused on Grace harnessing the power, becoming the Oracle... and that was building up to the main intrigue, but with a lot of subtlety. It also felt like Ms Harrison spent time on many superfluous story threads such as where the Power came from and the tortured Djinn, Phaedra. And in actuality, they feel superfluous because Ms Harrison did all the built-up, the but resolution was a let-down. For example, the ghost that is the source of the Power. There was a description of what she looked like, how she gave the Power to Grace's family, her reasons for still clinging to the Power... and one tug from Grace and she was gone. It's unfortunate because it was all very interesting, but at the end of the day, I wonder why Ms Harrison did not focus on something else or really develop that part?

The second weakness of the book was the romance. It seemed a bit off for me in terms of timing. Everything happened too fast in my opinion. Yes, Khalil and Grace got to spend a lot of time with each other and therefore, got to know each other very well. That was definitively a plus in the pro column... but I had difficulty believing that Khalil would fall under the charm of someone so fast. It just seemed to me that for someone immortal, it'd take more time to thaw his feelings, warm up his personality. Also, I have to say, I never really got a good sense of Khalil as a character ^_^; It just seemed we got to know the "him"
 with Grace, but what about the "him" before Grace? There's no doubt to me he wasn't the same person and I felt he was able to let go too easily. Perhaps he didn't like himself ^_^; I'm just a bit baffled because I think someone like Khalil would have a lot of issues and I expected his issues to come into play, but it never really did. I would have liked for his character to be as well developed as Grace.

My Grade: B. In everything, Grace tried her best, give her best and that's my kind of heroine :) She made the book for me and that's why Oracle's Moon is getting this grade. Otherwise, I think the book lacked a bit of balance between the characters, storyline and action. I feel if there's been a bit more focus on the storyline and Khalil, Oracle's Moon could have been a wowzer.

Review: Dragon Bound and Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison

Yay, I finally did it! I finally sat down and tackled this two-fer :) And now I'm nervous because my opinion of the books are different than most, but hey, honesty right? :)

Nothing going much with my life. I'm still sick - booo. Although I think it's getting better. I got some sad news yesterday. The Father for whom I used to send emails for passed away :( It was so unexpected, especially since I spoke to him not too long ago... But he lived a wonderful and long life... and I'm glad he didn't suffer at the end. So that's a good thing. What bothers me though is that I'm going to miss his funerals which are on Saturday :( That really sucks. Life.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the reviews :) Now, I need to work on my monthly post for August...


Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

published by Berkley in May 2011

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful-and passionate-of the Elder races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they've ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave - although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #1

The Story: All her life, Pia Giovanni - half-human and half-wyr - has hidden her true nature. However, in a moment of weakness, she forgets her mother's warning and training and reveals part of what she is to her ex-boyfriend. Biggest mistake of her life as the bastard blackmails her into stealing from Dragos Cuelebre, one of the most powerful, feared and respected Wyr. After completing her task, Pia leaves New York City and goes under as she does not intend to be blackmailed for the rest of her life.

It does not take long for Dragos to find Pia. While furious, Dragos is also intrigued by this woman, this thief who left a note of apology. Also, she's one of the few that stands up to him. Definitively attracted to Pia, Dragos decides to keep her for himself... but others have other plans concerning both Pia and Dragos.

My Opinion: Dragon Bound is Ms Harrion's debut novel and wow, the buzz it has received!! It was quite unbelievable. Aside from the positive reviews, one of the reasons I picked up Dragon Bound was that many have likened this series to the Psy-Changelings series by Ms Singh. I thought it made sense since both series are published by Berkley. To say I went in with high expectations would be a bit of an understatement LOL. Overall, I think that Dragon Bound was a solid debut novel, a good start to a series... but I wasn't as wowed as everyone.

First, I gotta agree with everyone that Pia was a great heroine. She's smart and level-headed which are two great qualities in a heroine in paranormal romance. Plus, I loved the way she stood up to Dragos, not letting him push her around and making her own decisions. She wasn't a predator, didn't have the alphaness or the kiss-ass attitude, but that doesn't mean she let people walk over her and I admire her for that. She dealt with whatever situations she found herself in and handled herself well. Basically, I liked that she wasn't the fragile little princess waiting to be rescued or following the lead. As for Dragos, he was an okay hero. I wasn't that impressed with him basically because I've over-dosed a little on the uber-alpha heroes. I mean, they stand over the heroines, all hubbah hubbah, being all possessive and overprotective and it's just getting old. I guess though, no matter how alpha or how old, they can still learn new tricks :) So it wasn't that Dragos was a bad hero, but simply that he wasn't refreshing ^_^; And then, the romance turns out to be a case of "mating." Once again, not a bad thing, but just not refreshing. I also think it was pretty one-sided from Dragos. I think you see a few signs from Pia, but it wasn't as obvious. Perhaps because Pia is more rational. Although I think it's a great thing that Pia didn't give in so easily as it gave them the chance to get to know each other... Still, I think that the whole mating storyline just precipitates the romance :(

The overall storyline of Dragon Bound was interesting. It's political and intrigues and I always like those. I don't think it's as strong as the Psy-Changelings series, but then that's really top-notched. One of my complaints though is that I thought the world-building in The Elder Races series was a bit weak. First of all, you have a lot of paranormal beings, some of them living thousands of years literally, and I think they weren't well defined. For example, you have elves, fairies and wyrs. What are wyrs, how does each race function, how did they come into power, what about the council? Then, what about humans? How do they factor in in this world? How can they have power? It just wasn't clear for me. I understand that really, Ms Harrison couldn't address everything in one book and that's why having so many races is always a risk. Perhaps if she had focused a little bit more on one aspect of this world in this book and left the rest for another book, it would have worked. In this case, I feel like Ms Harrison tried to give the readers a too broad overview and at the end, I still don't have a sense of the world unfortunately ^_^;

Still I think there's more good in Dragon Bound than issues. Like I mentioned, I loved Pia. I also loved the secondary characters - Rune, Graydon and Tricks :) I like the friendship that forms between them and Pia. I was really happy that the readers got to find out what kind of Wyr Pia is and I think it was very, very clever. The part with the white dragon was very cute :) And finally, the writing was also good - very reminiscent of Ms Singh.

My Grade: B. There's not doubt that Dragon Bound was a solid debut novel and shows a lot of potential. For me though, there were important issues and it wasn't a wowzer. I don't think it's a case of too high expectations or buzz overkill. I can see why other readers enjoy it so much. For me though, the feeling, the connection to the characters and story simply wasn't there.


Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison
published by Berkley in August 2011

During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle "Tricks" Periwinkle found sanctuary among the Wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle's death, there are those who don't want to see her ascend the throne...

Able to wield thunder and lightning, Wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the Wyr's best weapons. And he's the one sent to protect Tricks when she's almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them- a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #2

The Story: Tricks is the only survivor of the Fae royal family which was slaughtered centuries ago by her uncle in his quest to overtake the crown. To survive, Tricks sought refuge under Dragos and lived in plain sight as Dragos' PR, a thorn in Urien's side. After the events of Dragon Bound and the death of Urien, as the rightful heir to the crown, Tricks must return to the Fae to rule her people. That means leaving the Wyrs behind.

Unfortunately, as expected, not everyone is thrilled that Tricks is alive. When there is an attempt on her life, Tiago - one of Dragos' sentinel - rushes to her rescue. Then, there is a second attempt on her life and that's when things get more complicated as the assassins are not Fae, but Wyrs. Who can Tricks trust? One thing is sure though, she is stuck with Tiago as her protector.

My Opinion: After reading Dragon Bound, I was really looking forward to reading Storm's Heart because I really liked Tricks. The lady is bubbly, witty and fun and she's lived with Wyrs for centuries and therefore is not afraid to go up against them. Unfortunately, in Storm's Heart, we got to see the vulnerable side of Tricks instead, which meant a lot of self-pity and uncertainty. While it made sense that Tricks had some fears regarding the role she was about to assume and while it added some depth to her character, it wasn't the Tricks I was expecting to read about... and quite frankly, she just wasn't as interesting as I had expected. I kept hoping she'd get in control, grasp the reins of her life... but it seems to me instead, she kept being pushed around by Tiago and the control just slipped away from her.

As for Tiago, well he was even more hubbah hubbah than Dragos, if that's possible ^_^; Like he isn't more dominant than Dragos, but his attitude with Tricks? Yep, much more possessive and overprotective... and I think in part, Tricks is to blame because she lets him. She tried to escape a few times, but otherwise, she didn't stand up much to Tiago in my opinion. Anyway, back to Tiago. Unfortunately, he didn't make much of an impression to me. He's surly, good at being a warrior... There's nothing much to him, at the end of the book, I didn't get a feel for him.

And the romance? What romance? Once again, the male finds himself mating with the female without knowing it. In my opinion, there's no development to it. After centuries of knowing each other, suddenly, wham bam, the two are in love and that's it. I mean, it was hinted in Dragon Bound that there was something between them and you see it really early on in Storm's Heart when Tiago rushes to Tricks' rescue... However, there are no real development to it. The only interesting thing to this romance is as a Fae, Tricks doesn't feel the mating bond and could have turned Tiago down. Which raises another question: how does the whole mating thing works then? Oh and at the end, when Tiago gives everything up to be with Tricks... Nice grand gesture, but a bit sudden and too easy perhaps.

The storyline is what saves this book for me. I thought it was a bit obvious that Tricks going back to the Fae demesnes to become Queen wouldn't go smoothly, but I like political intrigues. However, I enjoyed finding out more about the Fae and I liked all the tidbits that went into Tricks getting ready to become Queen. For example charming the staff, the protocol moments, etc.

My Grade: C-. Unfortunately, the characters and the romance in Storm's Heart just didn't do it for me. At this point, I'm not sure I'll pick up Rune's book.