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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This time around Ivy goes undercover on her guilty pleasure magical reality show on behalf of the Guild, and it makes for more fun and funny moments as Ivy - a self-professed lazy slug who just wants to sit on the couch, watch tv and eat chocolate has to get up early, run around and generally do stuff. Not her preferred mode of being.
Winter is also back, and this time around there's less tension than in book one between him and Ivy, which on the one hand is nice, but on the other hand is too bad, since the sniping between them in book 1 was very entertaining.
Overall, this is one of my go-to series for light, fluffy, entertaining reads when all I want is to laugh and be entertained by a fun story, engaging, likable characters and a zippy-paced good story. So far this series delivers and I will continue with it.
Overall: 5/5
Plot and themes: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Attention-grabbing: 5/5
So I thought that Brimstone Bound would have to be my favorite Helen Harper series but this one is really raising the bar. Ivy and Winter had an awkward encounter a few weeks ago and haven't talked since. She doesn't want to be part of the Order but she does want to see him. When she's recruited to work with him and go undercover on one of her favorite shows, it seems like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, things get pretty serious pretty quickly and the danger of the whole situation escalates faster than she can really keep up with.
I said it in the last review and I'll say it again: I love Ivy. I also love Rafe and obviously I'm obsessed with Brutus. They're such a funny cast with such amazing interactions. I think that Ivy goes a bit overboard with the whole lazy angle but we really get to see her step up for what she believes in in this one. It's campy and fun but still has a great underlying plot that keeps you wanting more.
I just have to restate how funny Brutus is. Like, you won't think it's funny unless you read it but a cat who only speaks in monosyllabic statements like "food", "pet", and "bitch" turning around and basically giving us a whole page of poetry? That's comedy gold right there and no one's going to convince me otherwise. I loved him and I loved the story which he was such an intricate part of.
So yeah, this is perfect for urban fantasy fans because it's my ideal urban fantasy. I'm recommending this series a lot and I've already read it all so I can really confidently do so.
This review and all my others can be found at: https://aworldshapedbybooks.blogspot.com/
Square: The Bar
Challenge Pack: Moon
Challenge: Read a book where you share one initial with the author.
I admit, I totally used this square as an excuse to read book two in this series, having finished book one a few moments before. (Hey, when the author's names begin with H and my first name begins with H.. what else was I expected to do? I mean, really. It's like you don't even know me.)
We pick up a few weeks after book one's "epilogue" ends. (Let's not discuss what I think of the author's idea of "epilogues".) Ivy is back to her life of driving a taxi around Oxford, but not avoiding the Order like she had been... and maybe keeping an eye out for Rafe. Maybe? She's totally NOT stalking him. No. Not at all. One night she's surprised by Rafe and the Ipsissimus (did I spell that right?) asking her to help them with an investigation: they need her to go undercover on the set of her favorite TV show, Enchantment. There was a mysterious murder of one of the contestants and while the police don't believe magic was involved, traces of magic have been found and the Order is understandably concerned. They need someone not related to the Order to help them get information from the cast and crew - and who better to do it than Ivy? Through a series of incidents, Ivy ends up taking the place of one of the contestants, which proves to be even more dangerous. Ivy is determined to solve this with Rafe and keep everyone safe, but how?
I loved this book as much as I did the first one. It's a quick, fun read with a storyline that keeps you engaged. I will say that the book leaves you with a cliffhanger - and will make you want to pick up the third book immediately. (Which I have.) I'm actually glad that I only discovered this series now, three years after it was published, because I would be MAD if I'd been reading in real time to discover a cliffhanger like that. Since there is a book three, you know that it'll all be fine, but still. However, Romanceopoly is going on the back burner for the next couple days so I can finish this series.
Winter is his usual self (of course). For a third of the book he acts like a prick - or a jealous and immature teenager. Aren't they supposed to be in their late 20s?