Review: Fixer

Title: Fixer
Author: Gene Doucette
Publishing Date: March 21, 2013
Source: Publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):

What would you do if you could see into the future?

As a child, he dreamed of being a superhero. Most people never get to realize their childhood dreams, but Corrigan Bain has come close. He is a fixer. His job is to prevent accidents—to see the future and “fix” things before people get hurt. But the ability to see into the future, however limited, isn’t always so simple. Sometimes not everyone can be saved.

“Don’t let them know you can see them.”

Graduate students from a local university are dying, and former lover and FBI agent Maggie Trent is the only person who believes their deaths aren’t as accidental as they appear. But the truth can only be found in something from Corrigan Bain’s past, and he’s not interested in sharing that past, not even with Maggie.

To stop the deaths, Corrigan will have to face up to some old horrors, confront the possibility that he may be going mad, and find a way to stop a killer no one can see.

Corrigan Bain is going insane . . . or is he?

Because there’s something in the future that doesn’t want to be seen. It isn’t human. It’s got a taste for mayhem. And it is very, very angry

 

I loved his Immortal series, so when I discovered a new Doucette book, you better believe I snatched it up as quickly as I could.

Fixer is another one of those books that you will not be able to put down. I love the way Doucette spins a tale—his writing style is just so fresh and new. The creativity that goes into his books is just something that makes you sit there and wonder how one man can be so bloody brilliant.

It’s not a romance novel by any means, yet I fell head over heels for Corrigan. I want a Corrigan. Big, strong, burly motorcycle riding piece of yum. Sure he might be a little crazy, but it’s the insane ones that will always keep things interesting.

But is Corrigan really insane?

No. Absolutely not. He’s as sane as I am….um, well that might not be a very good comparison. Okay, so maybe he’s slightly insane, but really it’s an insane that means well. Corrigan is a fixer—he uses his ability to see the future to stop life threatening accidents from happening. So you can understand how the man might feel a little loony when he’s living seconds ahead of everyone else in time.

The story is faced paced which is always good, but beware: you’re thrown back and forth into past and present flashes so fast that if you’re not paying attention you’re left wondering “wtf just happened?” Paying attention to this book shouldn’t be a problem though so you’re confusion level should be just fine.

As entertaining as the book is, once it was over it really made me stop and wonder about the concept of time, and if it’s really that easy to manipulate it. You’ll know what I mean when yhou read it for yourself. And trust me, you HAVE To read this book. If it’s the only book you read in 2013  make it Doucette’s. You know you’ve just read a truly amazing book when not only do you finish it feeling more than satisfied but you walk away from it pondering huge questions. 

Review: Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

 

Title: Blood Flows Deep in the Empire
Author: N. Isabelle Blanco
Publication Date: March 7, 2013
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Summary (from Goodreads): Dyletri, God of Fertility, has locked away his powers. No woman is allowed to touch him, not until he can return his long-dead lover back to life. All he has to do is sacrifice one human girl, a girl who unlocks his powers and rips his dormant lust right out of his body. Trapped by his promise, Dyletri has no choice but to watch Ismini die, no matter how much he wants her.

Yet the darkness of his calling is spiraling within him, demanding he claim the human as his. If he goes back on his promise, the energy of the Fates will cause untold destruction in the Universe. That doesn’t change how Dyletri’s begun exhibiting symptoms that point to more than just lust. How does he allow Ismini to die when she’s come to own him from the inside out?

Desire and torment spiral into something much darker than obsession, more turbulent than an addiction, and something much more brutal than a mere soul-mating. As a war is being rekindled right under his nose, Dyletri will have to come to terms with a destiny eleven thousand years in the making. He thought he’d known what path his future would take, but he’d been wrong. Now the one woman he truly loves might pay the price for his decision.

Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first in a series that will pit free-will against Destiny, Destiny against Fate, and love against brutal desire. Everyone likes to think they have a choice as to who they end up with, but as they rise to face the greatest threat they’ve ever known, even the Gods will learn they have to bend to Destiny’s whim to survive.

First, let’s address the hotness of this cover. Can you say yum? Being a cover whore it was obviously the first thing that attracted me to the book. And once I was able to tear my eyes away from Ablicious, the summary caught my attention as well.  

Now that I’ve read it I just have one question. Where has this author been hiding? TWCS has struck gold once again with the talent that has landed

Her characters are kick ass, take-no-shit Gods and Goddesses with so much heat packed into their million year old abs I’m surprised my e-reader didn’t catch on fire. Although, I have to say I was a little… I don’t know, irked by how Ismini went from fragile human to wicked, leather wearing Goddess in two seconds flat. I would have liked her to stay human.  

But as kick ass as the characters were it did get somewhat old how every single character had pretty much the same attitude. I’m all for making strong heroes and heroines but there really didn’t seem to be any depth to any of them, it was like reading the same POV from each of them because the way they spoke and acted were identical to one another.

The way the story was written reminded me of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There were so many similarities in the writing style it was hard not to compare—maybe too much similarity. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not yet.

While the book is labeled Erotica there really are only two or three sex scenes. There’s a lot of smut talk but not so much action which isn’t such a bad thing. It proves that Blanco put the plot before the sex and only added it when necessary. As much as I love a rough and dirty adventure, I don’t want to read sex thrown into books just for the sake of having sex in it. I want it to be part of the story and Blanco did a great job of this.

Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is the first book in this new series and I have to say that I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.

Author Bio:

N. Isabelle Blanco, the woman who would come to be known as “Nyddi,” was born in Queens, New York. By age three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she’d already begun to read and write. By the time she reached kindergarten, she was reading at a second-grade level, not to mention talking up a storm and showing off her extensive vocabulary. Her obsession with words and reading ended up bleeding into every aspect of her life. As she got older, romance novels took the reins of her obsession, leading her to devour every romance story she could find.

Thanks to the world of Japanese Anime, N. Isabelle was introduced to the wonderful universe of Fanfiction. She would come to write fanfics on and off again as a hobby for the next ten years, but it wasn’t until the Twilight phenomenon came along that she began dedicating hard hours to writing. For the next year and a half, she amassed a following that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It is those fans that encouraged her to step beyond the fanfic realm and take her talent out into the publishing world.

N. Isabelle’s first ebook novel, Destructively Alluring, came out in July of 2012, followed by "Addictive Lunacy" in September, and "Allure Magnified" in November of 2012. The Writer’s Coffee shop Publishing House has recently signed her first print novel, the highly anticipated first book in the Szolite series. Blood Flows Deep in the Empire is scheduled to be released in March of 2013 and will be available in both print
and ebook formats.

Buying link: http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/84