Undone Deeds

Title: Undone Deeds

Author:  Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy (Penguin Group)

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 6

ISBN: 9781101578667

Length: 336 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:  The is the final book in the series.  I had to see how it all ended.

Comments:

As it turns out, I do not really know what to say about this one.  Connor is scrambling, things are crumbling.  The world is on the verge of war, starting in Boston.  A war between Celtic fey, Teutonic fey, the Dead, Solitaires, and humans.  The end is a whirl of confusion that, quite frankly, was difficult for me to follow.  And "that's all there is; there ain't no more."  Because I have no other thoughts on the matter.

Uncerain Allies (Connor Grey, Bk 5) AND New Tricks ; Unleashed ; Play Dead (Dog Days, Bks 2-4)

Uncertain Allies (Connor Grey, Bk 5)

Author:  Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 5

ISBN: 9781101514078

Length: 308 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:  I've been reading the series.

New Tricks (Dog Days, Bk 2)

Author: John Levitt [Website] aka J. R. Levitt

Publisher: Ace Books

Series: Dog Days, Bk 2

ISBN: 9781440642814

Length: 320 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:

I've been reading the series.

Unleashed (Dog Days, Bk 3)

Author: John Levitt [Website] aka J. R. Levitt

Publisher: Ace Books

Series: Dog Days, Bk 3

ISBN: 9781101151532

Length: 304 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:

I've been reading the series.

Play Dead (Dog Days, Bk 4)

Author: John Levitt [Website] aka J. R. Levitt

Publisher: Ace Books

Series: Dog Days, Bk 4

ISBN: 9781101477786

Length: 304 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:

I've been reading the series.


Comments:

I was on something of a Urban Fantasy kick, finishing up some series I had started.  I read all of these in December 2014.

Uncertain Allies - More of the world tearing apart and Connor being blamed for at least some of it.  By this point I was ready for Connor to get a break.

New Tricks - Mason doesn't clue in about something pretty big, and his poor judgment of character was very annoying.  But otherwise I guess the book was okay.

Unleashed - The title says it all.  Bad stuff has been unleashed on the world.  Mason must fix this (not only to save the world, but because he is at least partially to blame).

Play Dead - The cliffhanger ending, combined with the fact that this is likely the last book (no more are planned), has overwhelmed the rest of the story for me.  What on Earth?

Anyway, this meant the end to the Dog Days series, and I finished the final Connor Grey book, Undone Deeds, in the new year (post to come).  You know what I was thinking as I read these?  I want another Twenty Palaces book by Harry Connolly (another series that is gone).  ::sigh::  Maybe I'll finally read some of the Dresden series soon (as almost EVERYONE refers to it when speaking of male-author urban fantasy series).

Unquiet Drams, Unfallen Dead, Unperfect Souls

Title: Unquiet Dreams

Author:  Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 2

ISBN: 9780441015696

Length: 292 pages

Obtained: Personal copy - www.paperbackswap.com

Why this book?:  I'm reading the series.

Title: Unfallen Dead

Author:  Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 3

ISBN: 9780441016891

Length: 309 pages

Obtained: Personal copy - www.paperbackswap.com

Why this book?:  I'm reading the series.

Title: Unperfect Souls

Author:  Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 4

ISBN: 9780441018383

Length: 338 pages

Obtained: Personal copy - www.paperbackswap.com

Why this book?:  I'm reading the series.




Comments:  I've been enjoying this series as a whole.  Connor (who does not look like the cover for the simple fact of his hair, btw), is trying to make his way in a life nothing like he had originally planned for himself.  But he is finding that he actually likes himself better this way.  He's looking for justice instead of power.  Of course, that means he is becoming more deeply involved in the building chaos and trouble that is becoming more and more obvious in the area.   I always have trouble giving my thoughts when I read books from a series with the same primary character in row, and this is no different.

So here are some brief and choppy thoughts.  And even though these are supposed to be about the individual books, some of the points actually apply to more than one.

Unquiet Dreams - We meet Connor's brother.  We have some evil, "I'm taking over the world bwah-ha-ha!" action (not in so many words, but still).  And of course that means lots of politics.

Unfallen Dead - Everything is falling to pieces, and many are blaming Connor.  (But is he really to blame?) Connor's memory seems to be missing on all the bigs events.  (Kind of weird because the reader still sees them and knows how it all went down.)

Unperfect Souls - Now violence, anger, tension, and turmoil is everywhere.  Connor has some internal problems threatening to take over.  Bad timing, that, because he has become something of a nexus for everything going on.  Some big secrets uncovered in this one, too.

Anyway, I've requested the library get the ebooks for the next two books in the series (as I maybe don't have them?).  Hopefully I'll be getting t them soon.

Unshapely Things

Title: Unshapely Things

Author: Mark Del Franco [Website][Facebook]

Publisher: ACE Fantasy

Series: Connor Grey, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780441014774

Length: 305 pages

Obtained: Personal copy - I'm unsure of where I got it.  My best bet would be www.paperbackswap.com.

Why this book?:

I've read it before years ago.  I knew I enjoyed it, and I wanted to continue with the series (most of which I also own ), but I needed a refresher as I had forgotten most of the story.

Comments:

Well, first, I had forgotten that Connor is a druid.  It was interesting to compare his world to the one found in Kevin Hearne's books.  They are very different.  Apparently Connor was a powerful dud e working for the powerful entity - the Guild.  But then there was an incident and he no longer has his full powers (or at least no longer has access to them), and now he's scraping by doing occasional consulting for the Boston P.D.

Which leads to this current case of male prostitute fairies being murdered.  So Connor tries to figure out just who this murder could be, and he doesn't stop when everyone else seems to be done with the case.

I've already started the 2nd book in the series, Unquiet Dreams.

Hexed, Hammered, Tricked, Two Ravens and One Crow, Trapped

Title: Hexed

Author: Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Ballantine Books Del Rey

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 2

ISBN: 9780345522498

Obtained: Library copy

Title: Hammered

Author: Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 3

ISBN: 9780345522542

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Title: Tricked

Author: Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 4

ISBN: 9780345534637

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Title: Two Ravens and One Crow

Author: Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 4.5

ISBN: 9780345535436

Obtained: Library ebook novella copy

Title: Trapped

Author: Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 5

ISBN: 9780345535627

Obtained: Library ebook copy




Comments:

I was reading this series one after the other in a whirl so to some extent they have become blurred together in my mind.  I have to admit I was a bit startled and even somewhat offended by the portrayal of Christianity and Jesus in Hexed.  The portrayal may fit some, but not myself or my beliefs.  The lumping together bothered me.  But moving beyond that I continued to enjoy the series.  Atticus makes some stupid decisions in Hammered.  He seems to become further and further embroiled in a mess as his story makes its way through Tricked.  So I was startled when, in Trapped, time had jumped 12 years.  I realized I had missed something very important and backtracked to the novella Two Ravens and One Crow.  There are short stories that I missed that belong within this timeline, but apparently they aren't as vital to the story.  The novella in question is important though, and you don't want to miss it.  Once I had read it I moved back into Trapped where the consequences of Atticus's decisions and choices become more glaringly obvious.  But there is no choice now but to keep moving.

I have not moved on with the series yet because Hunted was not readily available, but I look forward to reading both it and Shattered.

Hounded

Title: Hounded

Author: Kevin Hearne [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Del Rey Ballantine Books

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780345522474

Length: 289 pages

Obtained: Complimentary copy provided at a signing at a convention

Why this book?:

I took it because it was free, the series sounded interesting from a panel I had heard Kevin Hearne speak at, and I wanted the author's signature.

I read it because I was in the right mood and remembered it sounded interesting from the panel.

Comments: 

I enjoyed this book and immediately found (in ebook format), and read, the short story that comes before it, Grimoire of the Lamb, once I'd finished it.    

But I'm jumping ahead, so let me backtrack.  Hounded features the Druid currently called Atticus O'Sullivan.  He's lived thousands of years.  He's been pretty much on the run (if you can call it that) with a highly coveted magical sword from an angry Celtic love god. But now he's found a comfortable place and is starting to develop roots.  Which means he is ready to stand his ground and fight.

And all the earth-related phrases I just used were unintentional but surprisingly accurate.  Because as a Druid, Atticus is very connected with the earth and actually draws his power from it.

Anyway, I'm excited to read the 2nd book in the series, Hexed, which has finally came in at the library.  I just needed to write this up first before the series becomes a blur in my head.

Title: Grimoire of the Lamb

Author: Kevin Hearne [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Del Rey Ballantine Books

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles, Bk 0.5

ISBN: 9780345548290

Length: 76 pages

Obtained: Library ebook copy

Why this book?:

It comes before Hounded and I like to read books as much in order as possible.  Plus it was available that night.

Comments: 

This is a story of Druid meets (or meets again) Egyptian mythology.  It was quick, fun, and interesting.