Book Review: The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5) By Genevieve Cogman

The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5) 
By Genevieve Cogman
November 27, 2018
448 pages
Publisher: Ace
November 27, 2018
ASIN: B07B774YYJ ISBN: 9780399587443
When Irene returns to London after a relatively straightforward book theft in Germany, Bradamant informs her that there is a top secret dragon-Fae peace conference in progress that the Library is mediating, and that the second-in-command dragon has been stabbed to death. Tasked with solving the case, Vale and Irene immediately go to 1890s Paris to start their investigation.

Once they arrive, they find evidence suggesting that the murder victim might have uncovered proof of treachery by one or more Librarians. But to ensure the peace of the conference, some Librarians are being held as hostages in the dragon and Fae courts. To save the captives, including her parents, Irene must get to the bottom of this murder--but was it a dragon, a Fae, or even a Librarian who committed the crime?

Irene returns to London and Bradamant tells her about the peace conference between the dragons and the Fae set in Paris of another alternate world. The Library will mediate it, 

But when a second-in-command dragon to the King dragon is murdered, Irene along with Vale and Kai, must figure out who killed the man and get the peace treaty signed. But the Blood Countess, a Fae known that inspired Dracula, isn’t helping. 

Once again, Genevieve Cogman has drawn me into her fantasy alternate worlds peopled by mortals, Fae, and dragons. There are librarians and books, and a real-life woman infamously known as a vampire because she bathed in virgins’ blood, a Parisian underground, and much more. She has proven again that librarians make the best heroes!Review: The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library Novel)
Review: The Masked City (The Invisible Library #2)
Review: The Burning Page (The Invisible Library Novel)
Review: The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5)

I give The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5) 5 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the author:

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Genevieve Cogman is a freelance author, who has written for several role-playing game companies. Her work includes GURPS Vorkosigan and contributions to the In Nomine role-playing game line for Steve Jackson Games: contributions to Exalted 2nd Edition and other contributions to the Exalted and Orpheuslines for White Wolf Publishing: Hearts, Swords and Flowers: The Art of Shoujo for Magnum Opus: and contributions to the Dresden Files RPG for Evil Hat Productions. She currently works for the NHS in England in the HSCIC as a clinical classifications specialist.

She has had three books of her series about the multidimensional Library accepted by Tor Books, and the first two books, The Invisible Library and The Masked City, are now available. Her novels are represented by Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

Spotlight: The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5) by Genevieve Cogman + giveaway

The Mortal Word (The Invisible Library Novel Book 5)

by Genevieve Cogman

November 27, 2018
446 pages

Ace Trade Paperback
In the latest novel in Genevieve Cogman's historical fantasy series, the fate of worlds lies in the balance. When a dragon is murdered at a peace conference, time-travelling Librarian spy Irene must solve the case to keep the balance between order, chaos...and the Library.

When Irene returns to London after a relatively straightforward book theft in Germany, Bradamant informs her that there is a top secret dragon-Fae peace conference in progress that the Library is mediating, and that the second-in-command dragon has been stabbed to death. Tasked with solving the case, Vale and Irene immediately go to 1890s Paris to start their investigation.

Once they arrive, they find evidence suggesting that the murder victim might have uncovered proof of treachery by one or more Librarians. But to ensure the peace of the conference, some Librarians are being held as hostages in the dragon and Fae courts. To save the captives, including her parents, Irene must get to the bottom of this murder--but was it a dragon, a Fae, or even a Librarian who committed the crime?

I Smell Sheep reviews of The Invisible Library 1-4

About the author:

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Genevieve Cogman is a freelance author, who has written for several role-playing game companies. Her work includes GURPS Vorkosigan and contributions to the In Nomine role-playing game line for Steve Jackson Games: contributions to Exalted 2nd Edition and other contributions to the Exalted and Orpheuslines for White Wolf Publishing: Hearts, Swords and Flowers: The Art of Shoujo for Magnum Opus: and contributions to the Dresden Files RPG for Evil Hat Productions. She currently works for the NHS in England in the HSCIC as a clinical classifications specialist.

She has had three books of her series about the multidimensional Library accepted by Tor Books, and the first two books, The Invisible Library and The Masked City, are now available. Her novels are represented by Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

GIVEAWAY

The giveaway runs from 11/12-11/23: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/invisible-library-sweeps

Book Review: The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library #4) By Genevieve Cogman

The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library #4)

By Genevieve Cogman
January 9, 2018
Publisher: Ace
Paperback Pages: 384

eBook Pages: 372.
ASIN: B06XR1NH33 ISBN: 9780399587429
In a 1920s-esque New York, Prohibition is in force; fedoras, flapper dresses, and tommy guns are in fashion: and intrigue is afoot. Intrepid Librarians Irene and Kai find themselves caught in the middle of a dragon political contest. It seems a young Librarian has become tangled in this conflict, and if they can’t extricate him, there could be serious repercussions for the mysterious Library. And, as the balance of power across mighty factions hangs in the balance, this could even trigger war.

Irene and Kai are locked in a race against time (and dragons) to procure a rare book. They’ll face gangsters, blackmail, and the Library’s own Internal Affairs department. And if it doesn’t end well, it could have dire consequences on Irene’s job. And, incidentally, on her life...

The fourth title in Genevieve Cogman's witty and wonderful The Invisible Library series, this current novel has plenty of action and adventure, and of course, books! After being commissioned to find not only a rare book but a young Librarian connected to the book they also might be helping dragons searching for it. This is not good as the Library has always remained neutral between dragon and Fae politics. Librarian Irene and her assistant, dragon, Kai, land in Prohibition-era Boston, only to find the library there destroyed and neither the Librarian nor the book in sight. After a run-in with a dragon, Hu, they escape and take a train to New York City, where they are thrust into the middle of a political fight with dragons, mobsters, and Fae.

This fantasy mixed with Steampunk has been set in Victorian-like worlds (except the Library—which is a more modern setting), this time we get a world set in the 1920s, which is one of my favorite eras of history. There’s something about gangsters, flappers, and more during this time, that has always fascinated me. The Lost Plot delivers the time well. If like me, you enjoy the Roaring Twenties, adventures concerning libraries, Librarian heroes, and fantasy and traveling between alternate realities, The Lost Plot, will give you what you want.

Review: The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library Novel)
Review: The Masked City (The Invisible Library #2) 
Review: The Burning Page (The Invisible Library Novel)

I give The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library #4) 5 sheep.

Pamela K. Kinney

About the author:

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Genevieve Cogman is a freelance author, who has written for several role-playing game companies. Her work includes GURPS Vorkosigan and contributions to the In Nomine role-playing game line for Steve Jackson Games: contributions to Exalted 2nd Edition and other contributions to the Exalted and Orpheuslines for White Wolf Publishing: Hearts, Swords and Flowers: The Art of Shoujo for Magnum Opus: and contributions to the Dresden Files RPG for Evil Hat Productions. She currently works for the NHS in England in the HSCIC as a clinical classifications specialist.

She has had three books of her series about the multidimensional Library accepted by Tor Books, and the first two books, The Invisible Library and The Masked City, are now available. Her novels are represented by Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

Excerpt Part 1: Flame in the Dark (Soulwood #3) by Faith Hunter + giveaway

Flame in the Dark (Soulwood #3)
by Faith Hunter
Publisher: Ace/Roc
December 5, 2017
Mass Market Paperback $7.99
352 pages
ISBN: 978-0451473332
Nell Ingram has always known she was different. Since she was a child, she’s been able to feel and channel ancient powers from deep within the earth. When she met Jane Yellowrock, her entire life changed, and she was recruited into PsyLED—the Homeland Security division that polices paranormals. But now her newly formed unit is about to take on its toughest case yet.

A powerful senator barely survives an assassination attempt that leaves many others dead—and the house he was visiting burns to the ground. Invisible to security cameras, the assassin literally disappears, and Nell’s team is called in. As they track a killer they know is more—or less—than human, they unravel a web of dark intrigue and malevolent motives that tests them to their limits and beyond.

Excerpt FLAME IN THE DARK - Part One

I spread my blanket out and sat next to the oak. I cupped my hands around the base of the tree, so that the outer pads of my hands touched the ground, my fingers on the bark. Sinking into the tree, I felt along the pathways up and down it, the starchy sugars and oils and organic molecules that spoke of life. The ruined limbs were at the outer edges where the thing had brushed by it, touching it with the death in its body. I could trim them back but it wouldn’t help. The roots were damaged in ways I couldn’t even understand. I tried pushing life into them, tried to heal the small tree. But it was ruined. It was dead. I sat back on my backside.

I understood why people cut down healthy trees. I understood the concept of trees as crops and building materials, of trees as being removed for habitations and business buildings. But killing for the sake of killing—even trees—was an alien concept to me. And this creature—the shooter—was a killer. A killer by nature, perhaps? A killer by his cellular composition. It appeared that he killed just as he it breathed, by body chemistry, or by instinct, by predisposition and reflex. I knew it but I couldn’t prove it. I didn’t know what the shooter was. But the death of the tree made me weep.I wiped my cheeks, feeling the chapped skin. I didn’t question why I cried more over a baby tree than I did over the woman the shooter had killed. Surely the woman with the gray eyes deserved a greater grief. I would have to look at my own biases, but later, when I had time, after this long night was over. I stood, gathered up my blanket, and continued after the killer. I followed the death of plants through the woods, ignoring the scratches of nearby limbs, the vines and shoots and roots set to trip me, reaching down to the roots, trying to support them all, to the end of the cove, where I stopped. The destruction led directly into the water. 

About the Author:

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Yellowrock Securities  
Gwen Hunter
New York Times and USAToday bestselling fantasy author Faith Hunter was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. Altogether she has 40+ books in print under the names Gary Hunter, Gwen Hunter, and Faith Hunter. As Faith, she writes two contemporary Urban Fantasy series: the Jane Yellowrock series, featuring a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires, and the Soulwood series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. Her Rogue Mage novels are a dark, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. The role playing game based on the series, is ROGUE MAGE, RPG.

Link with all tour stops:

http://bit.ly/2zxgpmQ

GIVEAWAY!

The tour giveaway is for 3 sets of the 1st 2 Soulwood books ( BLOOD OF THE EARTH and CURSE ON THE LAND ) and one $50 Amazon gift card (US residents only)!

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Book Review: The Burning Page (The Invisible Library Novel) by Genevieve Cogman

The Burning Page (The Invisible Library Novel)

by Genevieve Cogman
January 10, 2017
Publisher: Roc
ASN: B01CZCW2NS ISBN: 978-1101988688
Never judge a book by its cover...

Due to her involvement in an unfortunate set of mishaps between the dragons and the Fae, Librarian spy Irene is stuck on probation, doing what should be simple fetch-and-retrieve projects for the mysterious Library. But trouble has a tendency to find both Irene and her apprentice, Kai—a dragon prince—and, before they know it, they are entangled in more danger than they can handle...

Irene’s longtime nemesis, Alberich, has once again been making waves across multiple worlds, and, this time, his goals are much larger than obtaining a single book or wreaking vengeance upon a single Librarian. He aims to destroy the entire Library—and make sure Irene goes down with it.

With so much at stake, Irene will need every tool at her disposal to stay alive. But even as she draws her allies close around her, the greatest danger might be lurking from somewhere close—someone she never expected to betray her...

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Librarian Irene is on probation suddenly finds herself the subject of an attack while on a fetch and retrieve job for the Library. It takes her apprentice Kai in his true dragon form to fly them out of the world and to the world where detective Vale lives. Vale is going through being Chaos infected, due to their last adventure on a chaos fae world in the second book in the series, and worse, Irene finds it is her enemy, and ex-Librarian Alberich who is behind her attacks, plus what is happening to other librarians and the Library.

What can you expect from this story? There is a deeper level of understanding about the mechanics of the Library, which in turn will also help the reader better understand how books create the connection between the Library and the alternate worlds. I enjoyed the depth that Ms. Cogman explains about high chaos worlds versus high order worlds and everything in between.

Of you enjoy the TV series, “The Librarians,” on TNT, or The Librarian movies that proceeded that, then this book and its proceeding novels will be something you’ll like. It’s full of adventure and excitement, an entertaining page turner that you won’t put down the book, not until the last sentence is read.

I gave The Burning Page 5 sheep

Pamela K. Kinney

Review: The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library Novel)

Sheep review: The Masked City (The Invisible Library #2)

About the author:
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Genevieve Cogman is a freelance author, who has written for several role-playing game companies. Her work includes GURPS Vorkosigan and contributions to the In Nomine role-playing game line for Steve Jackson Games: contributions to Exalted 2nd Edition and other contributions to the Exalted and Orpheuslines for White Wolf Publishing: Hearts, Swords and Flowers: The Art of Shoujo for Magnum Opus: and contributions to the Dresden Files RPG for Evil Hat Productions. She currently works for the NHS in England in the HSCIC as a clinical classifications specialist.

She has had three books of her series about the multidimensional Library accepted by Tor Books, and the first two books, The Invisible Library and The Masked City, are now available. Her novels are represented by Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.

Exclusive Title Reveal of Soulwood Book Three by Faith Hunter

A little bird (actually more of a doggie) passed the new title info to me.

The next Soulwood novel will be titled:

FLAME IN THE DARK (SOULWOOD #3)

by Faith Hunter

There is no cover or release date yet. Based on the first two covers, it is going to be gorgeous! As soon as I find out I'll be sure to pass it along. In the meantime, check out my reviews of book 1 & 2.

Review: Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1)

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Review: Curse on the Land (Soulwood #2) 

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Book Review: Shadowed Souls (Anthology) Edited by: Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes

Shadowed Souls 

Edited by: Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes
Authors: Jim Butcher, Kevin J. Anderson, Seanan McGuire, Rob Thurman, Tanya Huff, Kat Richardson, Jim C. Hines, Anton Strout, Lucy A. Snyder, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Erik Scott de BieNovember 1, 2016
Publisher: Roc
In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil..

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s Cold Case, Molly Carpenter—Harry Dresden’s apprentice-turned-Winter Lady—must collect a tribute from a remote Fae colony and discovers that even if you’re a good girl, sometimes you have to be bad...

New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s Sleepover finds half-succubus Elsie Harrington kidnapped by a group of desperate teenage boys. Not for anything “weird.” They just need her to rescue a little girl from the boogeyman. No biggie.

In New York Times bestselling Kevin J. Anderson’s Eye of Newt, Zombie P.I. Dan Shamble’s latest client is a panicky lizard missing an eye who thinks someone wants him dead. But the truth is that someone only wants him for a very special dinner...

And New York Times bestselling author Rob Thurman’s infernally heroic Caliban Leandros takes a trip down memory lane as he deals wih some overdue—and nightmarish—vengeance involving some quite nasty Impossible Monsters.

ALSO INCLUDES STORIES BY

Tanya Huff * Kat Richardson * Jim C. Hines * Anton Strout * Lucy A. Snyder * Kristine Kathryn Rusch * Erik Scott de Bie *Author Kim Butcher as editor and editor Kerrie L. Hughes gives the reader 11 stories, all I assume in worlds the authors had written novels for.

Jim Butcher’s has Molly Carpenter in “Cold Case,” once apprentice of Harry Dresden and now, the Winter Lady, a queen of Faerie. Mab has her going to a contingent of Faerie in Unalaska, Alaska, to get tribute. She runs into wizard and Warden of the White Council Carlos Ramirez in a dive in the town. He was sent to investigate odd activity in the town. And when Molly finds her fae, they tell her of their stolen children that she goes to save, along with Carlos. Right into danger of Lovecraftian proportions.

In “Sleepover” by Seanan McGuire, a not completely human heroine, Elsie Harrington, (her other half being succubus) is abducted by a Bigfoot hunter for a bunch of teen boys because a Bogeyman took a young sister of one of them. So she heads underground to retrieve the child.

Vicki, the vampire P.I. in Tanya Huff’s “If Wishes Were” has her working to find a jinn and stop it, get it back in the lamp it had been let loose from.

In “Solus” by Anton Stout, two agents from the Department of Extraordinary investigate a castle on top of a skyscraper in New York City that may be haunted by a ghost.

Kat Richardson’s Peacock in “Peacock in Hell” is hired to bring back Lennie Redmayne from Hell.

In Kevin J. Anderson’s “Eye of Newt,” undead P.I. Dan Shamble is hired by a one-eyed newt to find out why a rock monster and a golem robbed him of his eye.

Jessie Shimmer and her ferret familiar search for a girl named Alice and what may have hatched from an egg inside a statue of Santa Muerte in “What Dwells Within” by Lucy A Snyder.

In “Hunter, Healer” by Jim C. Hines, Julia Chapel tends to otherworldly beings who come to her apartment hurt or ill, no questions asked, no wars allowed on her turf. She is assisted by a hearth fairy named Hob who cusses lie a sailor (actually refreshing, giving him a bit of odd character). Most of all, she is a double soul-her dead twin’s soul inhabits her body with her soul. Someone from her past, her father, Terrance, comes to visit her, asking for her help- with another double soul like her. But she doesn’t trust him, and not due to their past. Then she meets the deadly Shard for the first time.

Vivienne Cain, aka Lady Vengeance, a former demon-possessed supervillain and now a super hero drinks to keep her fear powers in control in “Baggage” by Erik Scott De Bie. She joins a fight gym and one night stops a guy hitting on the young woman behind the front desk.

In Sales Force by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kaylee, loses her fiancée due to a car accident. He had promised they be forever, but death took that away. So, she goes back to her job, one she never told him what she did. But it would help her, as killing something day in and out can numb those feelings, so she’d never get hurt again. Except the job she is assigned first day back isn’t quite what she has always done. They want her to see if a love potion guaranteeing someone giving up on love 0r lost too much in life could have their belief repaired.

In the last dark tale, “Impossible Monsters” by Rob Thurman, Caliban came from the first murderers to walk the earth. Except there’s more beneath his human-looking skin. As he planned to let Coach know it.

Nothing is black or white, but again, that makes the hero/heroine a complex character and each story a great autumn read.

I give Shadowed Souls 5 sheep.

Pamela Kinney

Book Review: Curse on the Land (Soulwood #2) by Faith Hunter (Spoiler-free) + giveaway

Curse on the Land (Soulwood #2)

by Faith Hunter
November 1st 2016 by Roc
352 pages
Set in the same world as Faith Hunter’s New York Timesbestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, the second Soulwood novel tells the story of a woman whose power comes from deep within the earth...

Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly-formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded—even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals presents dangers of its own...

After training at the PsyLED academy, Nell returns home to her woods to find the land feeling sick and restless. And that sickness is spreading. With the help of her team, under the leadership of agent Rick LaFleur, Nell tries to determine the cause. But nothing can prepare them for the evil that awaits: an entity that feeds on death itself. And it wants more.

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Book two picks up after Nell has finished Spook School. She's just gotten home when the team is put on a case that could have dire consequences for the paranormal community's fragile relationship with humans. Nell also has her own problems in her land. The dark presence from book one is still there, but something else has started to grow. And if that wasn't enough crazy for the gang...the full moon is here and half their team will be going furry, including their leader Rick who has he own set of problems.

There is so much—plot-wise— going on in this book. I'm amazed Hunter could keep it all straight! The paranormal mystery Nell and friends need to solve is full of twists and proof Hunter's imagination is a scary place indeed. Nell and the reader learn more about her powers and that of her land. I can't talk about the plot because...spoilers!

This isn't an easy read. You have to pay attention to keep up, there is a lot going on and skimming any part might leave you lost. If you prefer books more like a hearty beef stew than a salad then you will enjoy this.

There is some fun humor too:
"Gear up how?" T. Laine asked.
"As in weapons and unis and the psy-meter 2.0. As in any magical tricks, trinkets and magic wand. Take a frigging Quidditch broom if you got one. Soul says someone is flying."

"What happened to the bulldozer?" I asked.
"We think the tree ate it."

Review: Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1)

4.5 "slime" Sheep

SharonS

About the Author:

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Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. She writes three Urban Fantasy series: the Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires. The Soulwood series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. And the Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. (There is a role playing game based on the series, ROGUE MAGE.)

Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 30+ books in print in 29 countries.

Hunter writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their rescued Pomeranians to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

Book Review: Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1) by Faith Hunter (spoiler free)

Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1)

by Faith Hunter
August 2nd 2016 by Roc
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Set in the same world as the New York Times bestselling Jane Yellowrock novels, an all-new series starring Nell Ingram, who wields powers as old as the earth.

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her.

Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville.

Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out.

Blood of the Earth is the debut from Faith Hunter's new urban fantasy series Soulwood. It revolves around Nell Ingram...and there is no way to sum up this character in a few words...she is complicatedly delicious. I finished the book days ago, but wasn't quite sure how convey the essence of the story in a way for you to understand. So after days of thinking on it I came up with:

If some books are kind of like eating Jello Brand cheesecake (light and fluffy and sweet)...then Blood of the Earth would be like eating NY cheesecake (dense, heavy and filling)

Yup, that's the best I could come up with <G>. But you get my point...I hope. Anyway, this story is a combination of mystery, crime solving and the supernatural. It has a dark edge, but there is some humor too (Nell's reaction to eating her first Krispy Kream donut and piece of pizza). Nell's character, just like any supernatural character, is hyper-sensory (is that even a word?). Every sense is engage and Faith conveys this to the reader. In the beginning I felt the sensory descriptions were over done, but it evened out quickly.

Nell...I really like this character. She is part Sherlock Holmes, yet part naive, and also too wise for her age...you have to read it to understand. At the beginning of the story Nell has no idea what she is, but she is intimately (and kind of in a creepy way) connected to the earth, especially her woods. She is unsure if her connection is good or evil. By the end of the book Nell does find out exactly what she is and will need to figure out how to use it.

There is a great supporting cast of other characters that Nell lets into her life. Each complex  and with backstories just waiting to be told. My favorite is Tandy. He is an empath and part of the PsyLED team Nell ends up working with. I love how Faith portrays what the life of an empath is like. It was easy to connect with this character and you just want to protect this little cinnamon roll from the world.

As with any first book in a new series, when there is so much world building, you get overloaded with information, but I have no doubt this will smooth out and it didn't keep me from enjoying this story.

4.5 "feed me!" Sheep

SharonS

About the Author:

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Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. She writes three Urban Fantasy series: the Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires. The Soulwood series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. And the Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. (There is a role playing game based on the series, ROGUE MAGE.)

Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 30+ books in print in 29 countries.

Hunter writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their rescued Pomeranians to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

Double Book Review: The Demonists by Thomas E. Sniegoski

The Demonists
by Thomas E. Sniegoski
Publisher: Roc
ASN: B011IUSPQQ

ISBN: 9780451473523
April 5, 2018
There is more to our world than meets the eye—darker things, crueler things. Exorcist John Fogg and his wife, psychic medium Theodora Knight, know what lurks in the shadows. But even they’re not prepared for the worst Hell has to offer...

It was supposed to be a simple exorcism, a publicity stunt to firmly establish John and Theodora’s thriving paranormal investigation empire in the public eye. But something went wrong, leading to an on-air massacre that unleashed a malicious host of demons and left Theodora catatonic, possessed by countless spirits.

John sets out on a desperate quest to find a cure for his wife, but his obsession brings him face-to-face with an even more terrifying problem: Theodora’s possession is only one piece of a deadly plot that is threatening the entire world. Because an ancient evil is about to make Earth its battlefield—and without John and Theodora’s intervention, there is no chance for salvation...

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Review by Pamela K. Kinney

5 demonic sheep

The first book in a new series by Thomas E. Sniegoski is a dark fantasy, or horror. John Fogg investigates haunted places and has even written a book or two about it. One day, at a talk and signing at a bookstore, a woman asks him about his treatment of mediums. Then she mentions his ‘Nana,’ his grandmother he had been close to growing up. That Nana says to get his ‘stick out of his ass.’ He knew then the woman spoke the truth. After that meeting, he and Theodora Knight get married and investigate haunted buildings together for a paranormal reality show. At a taping in a supposedly haunted house he was investigating one Halloween night, a jar in the basement is discovered and when one of the investigators opens it, a thousand demons are unleashed. John is hurt, but his cameraman and the other investigators are killed, while the demons possess Theodora’s body. Now John searches for the Demonists and the books they might have on exorcisms, so he can expel the demons from his wife’s body. Worse, the demons escaping the jar bring into play a believer to bring back an ancient demon god and the end of the world. A secret organization made to battle all things demonic come out of the shadows to contact John. All this while the FBI are investigating the kidnapping of children from different states. Many intricate plotlines are woven well together and won't confuse the reader. Many interesting and some even frightening characters besides the Foggs. One of my definite favorites is Nana, John’s dead grandmother. 

The Demonists can be frightening, but it is also a fantastic read. If you cannot stand horror, then this book is not for you. But it is dark fantasy, with demons (which are not nice creatures who do evil things like those in paranormal romance). It hooked me enough that I want to read the next book in this series. So, if you are looking for that scary and suspenseful book for your next read, this will fit the bill. Warning: just read it in the light, and not alone in bed at night.

SharonS Review

DNF

Well...my review couldn't be any different than Pamela's! <G> I am a big fan of Sniegoski's Remy Chandler series and a fan of dark fantasy so I was excited to give this new series a try. The book was too easy to put down and I never felt compelled to keep picking it back up; I got half-way through when I decided to tap out.

I think this is a case of not my cup of tea. The prologue was full of creepy tension and horror, but for me, it didn't carry over into the rest of the story, and I never connected with the characters. 

About the Author:

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THOMAS E. SNIEGOSKI is the author of more than two dozen novels for adults, teens, and children. His teen fantasy YA series Fallen was adapted into a trilogy of monstrously successful TV movies by ABC Family Channel. His other books for teens include Sleeper Code, Sleeper Agenda, Legacy, and Force Majeure, as well as the series The Brimstone Network. The author's first adult novel, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse, developed into a series of novels about the character Remy Chandler.

Sniegoski's work for younger readers includes the Billy Hooten: Owlboy series and the fantasy quartet Magic Zero, which he co-authored with Christopher Golden.Magic Zero is in development as a film at Universal. Sniegoski and Golden have also collaborated on the adult dark fantasy series The Menagerie, and multiple creator-owned comic book series, including The Sisterhood, which is being prepped for a feature film by InterMedia, and Talent, currently in development at Universal after a major bidding war.

As a comic book writer, Sniegoski's work includes Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, a prequel miniseries to international hit Bone. Sniegoski has also written the Bone: Quest for the Spark novels. Sniegoski collaborated with Bone creator Jeff Smith on the prequel, making him the only writer Smith has ever asked to work on those characters. Sniegoski and Golden also wrote the graphic novel BPRD: Hollow Earth, a spinoff from Hellboy.

Sniegoski was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his wife LeeAnne and their dog, Kirby.