Blog Tour: When Danger Bites by Heather Long Review and Gift Card Giveaway

I've been on something of a werewolf binge lately so I was happy to discover this new series from Heather Long. Bravo Team Wolf is about a Marine Force Recon team made up entirely of werewolves. Sounds good, right? Let me tell you about the first book in the series, When Danger Bites, and its author. And don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post.

When Danger Bites
(Bravo Team Wolf #1)
Heather Long
Release: May 8, 2017
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Buttoned-up Corporal Kaitlyn Amador is dangerous on every level. As a human, she poses a threat to Marine Captain Jax Raymond’s special Force Recon unit. Though the team has a reputation among the other recon units, only their commanding officer knows their secret. As a woman, the danger posed is entirely different. Jax can survive the temptation for only so long before his wolf takes over and pursues what it wants. 

Military intelligence specialist Corporal Kaitlyn Amador is the first woman in the Marines to be assigned to a recon team. And everyone’s watching her. Her mission? Not only prove herself worthy of her place in the group, but uncover the mystery of why Bravo Team is so successful. A mission that gets more difficult every time she’s near Jax…

Review:

I've read a few series about werewolf or shifter Black Ops groups, but Bravo Team Wolf is the first one I've seen to feature active military. The political and chain of command elements gives When Danger Bites a slightly different feel from anything else I've read.

For most of the story, the obstacles to Kat and Jax's relationship are orders and regulations. When they do encounter an actual villain it wraps up quickly, and I felt like a little too neatly. But I found the intense romance story compelling all by itself. It kept me riveted! However, I felt like the ending was a bit cheesy and cute given the intensity of the rest of the story.

I enjoyed When Danger Bites even more than I thought I would (though I still think the title is silly.) I'm looking forward to more stories about Bravo Team, especially Silver who's my favorite so far. And without being too spoilery, we're going to need an update on Kat and Jax in the next book.

Recommended for fans of: Paige Tyler's SWAT and X-Ops series

    

4  stars

Buy Links

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

ABOUT HEATHER LONG

USA Today best-selling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

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Review: The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis

The Guns Above
(Signal Airship #1)
Robyn Bennis
Release: May 2, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

The nation of Garnia has been at war for as long as Auxiliary Lieutenant Josette Dupris can remember – this time against neighboring Vinzhalia. Garnia’s Air Signal Corp stands out as the favored martial child of the King. But though it’s co-ed, women on-board are only allowed “auxiliary” crew positions and are banned from combat. In extenuating circumstances, Josette saves her airship in the heat of battle. She is rewarded with the Mistral, becoming Garnia’s first female captain.

She wants the job – just not the political flak attached. On top of patrolling the front lines, she must also contend with a crew who doubts her expertise, a new airship that is an untested deathtrap, and the foppish aristocrat Lord Bernat – a gambler and shameless flirt with the military know-how of a thimble. He’s also been assigned to her ship to catalog her every moment of weakness and indecision. When the Vins make an unprecedented military move that could turn the tide of the war, can Josette deal with Bernat, rally her crew, and survive long enough to prove herself to the top brass?

Review:
I knew from the moment I saw the blurb by Patricia Briggs on the cover of this book that I was going to love it. The Guns Above lived up to the hype I created in my own mind after reading said blurb. It has great characters, exciting airship battles, and lots of witty humor. I didn't expect this book to be as fun or as funny as it ended up being.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm kind of sick of the "I'm the first lady to do the thing and everyone expects me to fail." trope but I still really enjoyed reading this book! Josette Dupre is a character that is the perfect balance of cocky and respectful while knowing when it's time to be a rebel. She's very confident in herself while realizing that she's still growing into her position as captain.

One of the things I loved about this book was the dual narrative. The story is told primarily from the alternating perspectives of Josette and Lord Bernat, the foppish nobleman who's assigned to the Mistral to openly spy on her. The two POVs keeps things interesting and fast-paced. I loved reading the back and forth between the two and I loved seeing how they began to understand each other as they interacted.

This book is the kind of military fantasy that I enjoy the heck out of. It struck the perfect balance of steampunk and military adventure in my eyes. I especially enjoyed the science of the airships and the descriptions of the tech. Those little details makes my inner scientist happy. The combination of interesting characters, Napoleonic warfare, and airships made for a great story and I'm intrigued to see what will happen next!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Subscription Box Review: Whimsify April Box

I love subscription boxes! It's so much fun to discover new books and shops. This time, I got to discover a brand new box as well! 

April marked the debut of Whimsify, a monthly YA SciFi-Fantasy subscription box. This is the same concept as the Fairyloot box, which I love, but Whimsify is based in the U.S. which makes it much more affordable for me. It's a little different from Owlcrate, the other U.S. based monthly YA box we've reviewed, which sometimes features contemporary titles. The cost ($34.95) is slightly higher than Owlcrate ($29.99) though.

The theme for the April box was 

More Than Machine

The book in this month's box was Defy the Stars by Claudia Grey, which I've heard great things about so I hope to get to read it soon. The book came wrapped in tissue and I thought the presentation was lovely.

What the Whimsify box didn't have that other boxes often do is the extras that accompany the book - signed bookplates, notes from the author, and bookmarks, buttons or other swag from the publisher. I think that's something that may happen in the future as Whimsify becomes more recognized and has time to build relationships with publishers.

There was a bookmark featuring a quote from the book though. It's made by Little Inklings Design exclusively for this box and says, "Because hope can hurt and yet Abel can't stop looking out the window wishing desperately for someone to see him so he will no longer be alone."

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was how great it smelled. This BB-8 bath fizzy from Wizard at Work was one of the items responsible for that. It's raspberry vanilla scented.

The other item I was smelling is the Merciful candle from Novelly Yours inspired by Aiden from Illuminae. It has a masculine leather and smoke scent. I'm already a big fan of these candles so I was happy to see one in the box. I especially love the ones with the drizzle on top, except that they're too pretty to burn.

These next two items were packaged together in a little drawstring bag: the Cinder lip balm by Kool and Co which was made exclusively for the box and smells like mandarin orange, and the Tardis keyfob by Ellayna Boutique. The lip balm fits just fine inside the key fob's pocket but I had a hard time getting it back out. The lid came off and I wound up with lip balm all over my fingers. It can also hold a USB drive, which is probably not as messy.

Finally there's an Iko magnetic bookmark from Kaelis Paperie. This is also exclusive to this box and is inspired by Wires and Nerve. The bookmark is much larger than the other magnetic ones I have, which looks great. I do worry about it getting wrinkled though because of the thin photo paper.

Overall, I was really happy with this box. These are all items that I might have picked myself and would definitely use. I loved the theme and thought all of the items fit it well. I do think that someone who's sensitive to fragrances might be less happy since half of the items had a strong scent. (I actually have issues with certain fragrances, but none of those were in this box.)

I think that Whimsify is off to a great start! I'm especially excited to see what's in the May box. Its theme is Fight Like a Girl!

*I paid for this box and am in no way sponsored by the company.
Whimify is owned by one of my co-bloggers.*

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite SciFi/Fantasy Covers

Top 5 Wednesday is a group of bloggers, booktubers and bookstagrammers posting on a common topic every (you guessed it) Wednesday. You can find the lists by searching #T5W or Top 5 Wednesday. And you can join the group on Goodreads if you want to participate.

This week's topic is:

Favorite SFF Cover Art

*Booktube SFF Awards Crossover Topic*

 

5. The Breath of Earth Series by Beth Cato

Cover Art by Gene Mollica (Illustrator) and Richard Aquan (Designer)

4. The Soulwood Series by Faith Hunter

Cover Art by Katie Anderson

3. The Chronicle of the Unhewen Throne Trilogy by Brian Staveley
Cover Art by Richard Anderson

2. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
Cover Art by Adam S. Doyle

1. The Shades of Magic Series by V. E. Schwab
Cover Art by Will Staehle

 and

What are your favorite covers?

Release Day Review: The Untamed Vampire by Kate Baxter

The Untamed Vampire
(The Last True Vampire #4)
Kate Baxter
Release: May 2, 2017
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

WILD AT HEART

Chelle is not your typical vampire. Turned not with a bite but an age-old magic, she’s the only one of her kind—and more powerful than most. Still adjusting to her endless thirst and lethal fangs, she’s desperate to discover what sets her apart. When she encounters a brutally virile alpha werewolf, she soon learns that she’s not immune to the mating call—and her own primal longing…

The leader of the ancient Forkbeard pack, Gunnar is stunned by Chelle’s lush beauty. The wild wolf inside him howls for her, but unions between vampire and werewolf are strictly taboo—even if their clans weren’t on the verge of war. Desire has never been so dangerous…but, as a malevolent new power rises, Chelle and Gunnar face an even more frightening threat. Together, they might find a way to save their clans. But can they claim their passion, in The Untamed Vampire by Kate Baxter.

Review:
I've had mixed feelings about The Last True Vampire series so far. I love the world building, but some of the vampire heroes are just too overbearing alpha for me. I was really excited to meet the werewolf hero in this newest installment though. While he's still an alpha, the Alpha of his pack, Gunnar let Chelle do her own thing without trying to control her.

Chelle is actually more powerful than any of the vampires we've met so far in the series, but she's also unique. Because she was created differently than any of the other vampires, she's not only "other" but afraid of her abilities with no one to help her understand them. When you look at it that way, it's obvious that she wouldn't find her mate with another vampire. Gunnar has experience with unwanted magical transformation, but has had centuries to adjust to his powers. I think that's what made them a good match in addition to the instant chemistry that comes with fated mates. (I'm generally not a fan of the trope, but I think the way it's done in this series is quite interesting.)

But what I enjoyed most about The Untamed Vampire is the politics. The war between vampires and Sortiari has been ongoing throughout the series, but now the two groups are considering an alliance. The berserkers who served as foot soldiers to the Sortiari are rebelling and they're looking to ally with the werewolves. Gunnar wants to remain in neutral the conflict, but his power-hungry second is pushing to take sides. So there are pack politics at play in the story as well as conflicts between the different supernatural factions.

I like the different mythologies at play in the story. Chelle was turned by an Egyptian artifact, and the vampire creation myth is Egyptian in origin. She meets Gunnar when searching for another Egyptian relic. His werewolf pack is descended from Vikings so Norse mythology comes in to play as well. I would have liked to see a bit more of it though.

I also liked the way Gunnar dealt with his wolf side and the fact that Chelle perceived them as two separate entities. The internal dialogue between man and wolf can be hard to pull off, but I think Baxter executed it well.

What I missed in this story is the characters from the previous books. The heroes, Michael, Ronan and Jenner, do appear but Ronan is really the only one who shows any personality. Their mates are all mentioned, but I don't know that any of them actually actually appear on the page. Instead we spend a lot of time with Saeed, the third vampire that Michael turned and hero of the next book in the series. He spends most of his time lost in the Collective, the memories of every vampire that ever lived. One of the things that makes Chelle different is that she's not part of the Collective so the contrast is interesting.

I would have liked to have seen some of Logan's POV, the vampire that Chelle turned. He shares her powers to some extent, but doesn't seem to be troubled by it the way she is. Though it may be that she just doesn't notice since we've only seen him from her POV. I hope to get to know him better in a later book.

At this point, I think I'm definitely invested in the series story line. Even though none of the books have given me everything I wanted, I'm going to keep reading. The thing about a multiple POV series is that it's playing a long game. You get invested in the side characters and have to wait a while for their time in the spotlight. I'm hoping The Last True Vampire series continues to make it worth the wait.

Recommended for fans of: early Black Dagger Brotherhood books

   1/2 

3 1/2  stars

Our reviews of other books in this series:
The Last True Vampire
The Warrior Vampire
The Dark Vampire