Friday Mini Reviews #2

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KUSHIEL'S SCION   
library
Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse Phèdre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions.

Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in art, beauty, and desire. It is a court steeped in deeply laid conspiracies ... and there are many who would see the young prince dead. Some despise him out of hatred for his birth mother Melisande, who nearly destroyed the realm in her quest for power. Others because they fear he has inherited his mother's irresistible allure - and her dangerous gifts. And as he comes of age, plagued by dark yearnings, Imriel shares their fears.

At the royal court, where gossip is the chosen poison and assailants wield slander instead of swords, the young prince fights character assassins while struggling with his own innermost conflicts. But when Imriel departs to study at the famed University of Tiberium, the perils he faces turn infinitely more deadly. Searching for wisdom, he finds instead a web of manipulation, where innocent words hide sinister meanings, and your lover of last night may become your hired killer before dawn. Now a simple act of friendship will leave Imriel trapped in a besieged city where the infamous Melisande is worshiped as a goddess; where a dead man leads an army; and where the prince must face his greatest test: to find his true self.

  Amazon  US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository US/UK | Fishpond
9/10

Jacqueline Carey is a great author of realistic fantasy, and I adore her. Kushiel's Scion is the beginning  of Imriel's trilogy, and it's distinctly different from Phedre's story. However, it's still a rich and lush adventure of a very likeable young man. Highly recommended.
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Я даже и не знаю, стоит ли мне продолжать рекламировать Жаклин Кэри? С одной стороны, если вы уже прочитали триллогию Федры, то вы и без меня возьмётесь за трилогию Имриэля. С другой стороны, если вас не сооблазнила Стрела Кушиэля, то вы - безнадёжны ;) Читайте!

EVIL OUTFITTERS, LTD.
bought
Evil Outfitters, Ltd. has specialized in the equipage of dark lords, assassins, necromantic wizards and priests, and rich madmen for hundreds of years--and it’s still run by its original founder, Tavrax the Lich. When the baron Drackley signs on as a new client, he ruffles the firm’s calm by showing every sign of truly being able to overthrow the king. Even Tavrax takes an interest.

Madeline Muir and James North, who comprise the tailoring department, are much less happy to discover that Drackley wants their undivided attention...and their loyalty.

Turning traitor isn’t typically a prerequisite for working as a tailor.
Amazon kindle US/UK

6.5/10

Evil Outfitters is a quirky little fantasy about a company that caters to up and coming and wannabe villains in an alternative version of 17-18 century Europe. I liked it but at the same time it kind of dragged and not much was happening for it to stand out.
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Интересная книжка в стиле реалистичного фэнтэзи про компанию, специализирующуюся на помощи в создании имиджа злодеям-карьеристам или тем, кто хочет ими стать. События происходят в альтернативной версии европейской истории 17-18 вв., и несмотря на то, что книга мне понравилась, ей не хватает живости и яркости, чтобы оставить сильное впечатление.

MORE THAN MEETS THE INK
bought
 Wickedly sexy James Bowen is a bad boy of the highest order -- tattoos and attitude included -- which unfortunately ranks way up on Tate's not-a-chance-in-hell list, right there along with skydiving naked over Teheran and juggling Ebola vials just for kicks. But what the heck, she's on holiday, the guy is absolutely irresistible, and she needs to unplug from her life. With her dad and brother gone, Tate is left to deal with the family restaurant, which is fast going down the drain. Her employees are acting out, her boyfriend has bailed out, and her very own private stalker is emailing her to death with lovely threats of doom, fire, and dismemberment. So yeah, maybe a little holiday fling is in order. Strictly sex though, and no follow-up whatsoever once.

She hadn't counted on her take-charge holiday fling having an opinion of his own and stubbornly sticking around, before and after the sex, making himself at home in her life. There is definitely more to James than meets her prejudiced eye, and even if she's not ready to look deeper, James isn't prepared to permit her not to.
 Amazon kindle US/UK

7.5/10

I liked everything in this book, peeps, apart from the main heroine. She was so stubborn and unyielding and...stupid like a damsel in distress, that I just had no sympathy for her. I could not figure out why would the male character stick with her (and he was scrumptious) and her temper tantrums?

If you like Lauren Dane's Delicious series, I'm sure you'd love Elle Aycart as well.
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Неплохо написанный современный, немного эротический роман. Единственное, что меня доводило до белого каления - это главная героиня с её идиотской независимостью и откровенной грубостью доходящей до тупости. А вот паренёк, который за ней ухаживал - ну просто был сказочный. Одно удовольствие о нём было читать, и она его уж никак не заслуживала. 

Подойдёт для любителей Лорен Дэйн.