Top 5 Sundays #29 - Book Series With The Best Covers Overall

When it comes to book covers, the true challenge is for its artist is to combine eye-catching beauty with subtle hints about the book's story. And then repeat the process over and over again as the series goes on. I'm a strong believer that a series should have some visual element that ties all the books together, some common theme to their cover designs that says these books are linked, they belong together - sort of like how siblings share common features, so too should books.

So, without further ado, I give you this week's (alright, so technically last week's - I was sick and I'm sorry!) Top 5 Book Series With The Best Covers Overall.

#5 - Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

Each cover features Mercy, hints either at her being a mechanic or at the story, and showcases her tattoos, each time having them show something different that directly links to the story.

#4 - Jane True series by Nicole Peeler

I love the cartoon quality of these covers - each one showing Jane in a scene from the book. I know animated covers tend to get a lot of criticism - most of it because young readers get the wrong impression - but these covers are nonetheless fantastic in their own right.

#3 - Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

The general consensus for urban fantasy covers is that you can display the heroine or the hero but you can't display both - that is for romance novels. The Kate Daniels covers, however, found a nice loophole to this - no, you can't display a man and a woman on an urban fantasy cover, but you can display the heroine and her love interest provided one of them wasn't them isn't in his human form. Thus you get Kate, a glimpse of a story-relevant place in the back ground, and Curran in his lion form.

#2 - Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk

Every cover shows Allie, sometimes with her tattoos shown, sometimes with her tattoos concealed, sometimes with magic a nimbus around her, sometimes without magic, but always with a weapon in hand and a setting from the story displayed behind her.

#1 - House of Comarré series by Kristen Painter

I love that this series not only went for image, but colour scheme as well. All the books are elaborately framed in black and feature Chyrsabelle in shades of white and silver in various poses, with only one or two elements coloured bright red. Not only do these covers highlight the books' theme of light and dark, they convey the Gothic tone of the story and the historical connotations of its settings. A remarkably well done feat.

REVIEW: Devon Monk's MAGIC FOR A PRICE

Book: Magic for a Price

Author: Devon Monk

Series: Allie Beckstrom

Publishing stats: November 6th 2012 by ROC

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Cover Blurb:  For most of her life, Allison Beckstrom has used magic and accepted the heavy price it exacts. But now that all magic is poisoned, it’s no longer just using people—it’s killing them.

With Portland about to descend into chaos, Allie needs to find a way to purify the wells of tainted magic beneath the city. But the only options left to her are grim: attempt to close down magic forever, or follow her father’s plan to set magic into the right hands—even though she’s learned to never trust his word.

Now, Allie will have to make a choice and face the darkness of her own deepest fears, before time runs out for them all…

First line: I never expected cookies at the end of the world.

What I liked: This book is the last in the Allie Beckstrom series and as such led to a lot of loose ends being tied up, what I liked, however, was that it wasn't done all at once or even one after the other. Right up until the very last minute there were questions hanging, questions that were answered in what felt like their own time rather than being rushed to shove it into the last book. Even better, those answers weren't what I was expecting, not by a long shot. This book also served to setup the upcoming spin-off series for secondary characters Shame and Terric in such a way that you have a firm idea of at least some of the plot points the new series will be tackling. Last books are never easy and I've read more than one where it ended and I was left staring at it thinking, "Seriously? That's...that's it? That's the end? You have GOT to be kidding me." This, I'm happy to say, was not one of those books; it was quite the feat and remarkably well done.

What I didn’t like: There was a lot of action going on, a lot of activity, which was by no means a bad thing, however with all of the story and the action going on there were very, very few moments of ordinary to break things up and remind the reader what it was the heroes were fighting to regain. Heck, I don't even think Allie went to Get Mugged for coffee until the very end. Understandable when you're a wanted fugitive, to be sure, but still disappointing that there were none of those happy ordinary moments, especially of the Zay and Allie variety.

Overall: I've waited eight books to see how happily ever after would be achieved for Allie; to say it seemed impossible at times is an understatement. The girl began the series with magic use costing her chunks of her memory and things just went downhill from there. Case and point, she began this book possessed by her dead father (whom she loathed when alive), on the run from a company of magical overseers led by a woman possessed by a pair of evil ghosts (there's a lot of possession going on, okay?) and whose every minute use of magic leaves her literally sick to her stomach or worse. But, hey, the book also starts off with cookies. Lots and lots of cookies - you can't go wrong with a book that starts off with cookies. Somehow, despite all the darkness and the seeming impossibility of happy endings, Ms. Monk manages to trudge her way through and  work everything out for one heck of an ending that's well deserved.

Would I read this author again: Yes - her next series cannot release too soon, especially if it includes more glimpses of Allie and Zay enjoying their happily ever after.

My rating: ☺☺☺☺☺/5

To purchase the book for yourself, you can find it at Chapters.Indigo.ca, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, or The Book Depository. Enjoy!

Top 5 Sundays #26 - Most Underrated Book Series

So, this week there was a choice on the topic front due to tied poll: either Favourite Book in a Long-Running Series or Most Underrated Book Series. I've chosen to go with the latter. Long-running series are, for the most part, currently ongoing and so my answer on the favourite book front is rather fluid and tends to change depending on each new release. At least with Most Underrated Book Series I can provide more stable answers.

So, without further ado, I present Calliope's Domain Top 5 Most Underrated Book Series.

#5 - Alexandra Sabian series by Jeannie Holmes

This series has it all; a complicated romance, family secrets, a dark, realistic take on crime and, of course, vampires. It's written in such a way that there's something of a duality between cold facts of the official investigation and the unpredictable emotions of the characters. The fact that the third person narrative tends to bounce between the heroine, Alexandra Sabian, the hero, Varik Baudelaire, the villain du jour, whoever he or she might be, and a myriad of other characters, rounds out the stories in a way a single or dual narrative wouldn't be capable of.

#4 - Shades of Fury series by Kasey Mackenzie 

I am a huge fan of mythology and this series has them all - literally. Where else can you read about a Fury (of Greek Mythology) reuniting with her Anubian Warhound ex (of Egyptian lore) to go up against brainwashed sidhe clones (drawn from Celtic legend). And that's just one scene of the first book.

#3 - Metawars series by Kelly Meding

Superheroes lose their powers without explanation as children only to regain them all of the sudden fifteen years later. As the author herself describe the series, it "follows a group of adult superheroes who are dealing with malfunctioning powers, a world that hates them, and a lot of romantic complications." Now, really, be honest - what's not to love about that? In my opinion, books featuring legitimate superheroes - complete with costumes and code names - are far to few in this world.

#2 - Monère: Children of the Moon series by Sunny

I love how this series is written - each book packs in so much more action and activity, so many more twists and turns than you'd expect given the back cover copy and page count. The emotion, however, that's described - the relationships and turmoil that arise between Mona Lisa and her men - is truly what gives these books their value. I cannot wait for the next book and hope to all the gods that it won't be too much longer!

#1 - Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk 

Author Devon Monk puts a whole new spin on the idea of magic users with this series and about a dozen other elements of urban fantasy. Set in Portland, it follows a young woman as she learns that the world, magic and people she thought she knew are truly nothing like she imagined - including herself. The last book is set to release in just one more week but, because Fate can't be cruel all the time, next year is set to see a couple of the secondary characters get their moment to shine in the driving seats.

And there you have it, ladies and gents, this week's Top 5. Be sure to check out Larissa's own list over at Larissa's Bookish Life. Until next week, my loves!

Top 5 Sundays #15 - Worst Fictional Dads

Okay, okay - it goes without saying but, once again, I'm late getting my Top 5 post out. To be fair though I usually write up this post much earlier in the week, as soon as it's clear what way the poll over at this feature's originating blog, Larissa's Bookish Life, is going to go in fact. Unfortunately, this week's poll was tied right up until the last minute and so I went away for the weekend without being able to post this week's Top 5 in a timely manner.

But now I'm back, the tie is broken, the topic is clear and I'm all set to go! So, without further ado, Calliope's Domain presents this week Top 5 list featuring the worst daddies the fictional world has to offer!


#5 - The Tulpa, Joanna's father, Signs of the Zodiac series

Once upon a time, he was a mental construct. Fast forward and he's a big bad who could give Darth Vader a run for his money. And Joanna Archer is his bouncing baby girl all grown up. Since learning of her existence (as his daughter, that is - he dispatched one of his minions to rape her at the tender age of sixteen not knowing of their familial connection), he's alternated between wanting her to join him on the dark side and trying to kill her and, really, he has no preference which way the results go so long as she's removed as an interference to his master plans. Can you say "fatherly affection"?

#4 - Daniel Beckstrom, Allie's father, in Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series

When he was alive, he had no qualms about using his magic and power to manipulate his family - namely his wife du jour  and daughter, Allison - into being more manageable, more in line with what he wanted them to be. When Allie realized what he was doing to her, she turned her back on him and his plans for her and struck out on her own, happy to be ignored by Daddy Dearest for years to come. Then he died - killed, to be precise - and took up residence in his daughter's head. I'll admit that he's has some kick ass knowledge to impart and has proved useful at times but when you get right down to it he's still using his daughter as a time share to escape death.

#3 - Jeffrey, Elena's father, in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunters series

Jeffrey wasn't always such an ass, it's true, but following the brutal murders of his wife and two eldest daughters, he shut up his softer emotions and became a man driven solely by his ambition and greed who sees his remaining daughters (from his first marriage at least) as assets to be exploited. First time he's introduced in the books, for instance, is when he summons Elena to his presence to demand she use her newly established acquaintance with an archangel to further his own business interests and, when she refuses, berates her for her lack of family loyalty, never mind that he'd all but disinherited Elena before that moment.

#2 - Max, Cat's father, in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series

Alright, so the question of whether or not daddy dearest raped Cat's mother has gotten a little murky since the first book but even if Max was innocent in that instance he's more than made up for it since. To date he's hired multiple hit men to try and kill his daughter and when they all failed took a turn at capturing and torturing her himself. Fortunately, like many a villain targeting an urban fantasy heroine, Max made the grave error (See what I did there? Ha!) of forgetting about the love interest.

#1 - Roland, Kate's father, in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series

Roland is a powerful, ancient man responsible for the creature of vampires and whose very blood is a weapon all its own; he's also a horrible father. Throughout history he's fathered numerous children and without fail every single one of them has tried to kill him, necessitating a bit of preemptive action on Roland's part. Fast forward a century and ten and Roland has a bit of a memory lapse and caves in to his latest concubine's desire to have his child. By the time he remembers why it was he was against having any more children, his concubine is already pregnant. So he tries to kill her and things just go downhill rather spectacularly from there...

And there you have it! Tune in next week for yet  another Top 5 list - hopefully on time! Kiss, kiss!