So first an update on Dynasty. Been working on it whenever I get a chance. Roughly I would say that it is a little past halfway done. It is coming along and I think I am getting close to the final push before it’s finished. But for the time being I am having some people read over what I have to help fix any problems in terms of story that I missed, or simply didn’t think about.

So while I am waiting for them to get back with me I have been doing a little reading and thought I would share some of my thoughts about what I have read with you all.

The Bridge: Traitor

by Erik Schubach

Alright so this is the second book in this series. You might remember that I rather liked the first book and thought it had some very interesting concepts in it but thought it had a few shortcomings. Mostly thought that it was to short and that it sort of glossed over certain events, and lacked a bit of world building. So the hope is that the squeal will improve upon the things that were good and fix the bad.

So did this come through? Well…

So the plot is actually pretty interesting. One of the the Trolls was murdered and the assumption that most people are making is that it was probably another Troll, hence the name. So now our heroin and her girlfriend set out who it was.

Now here we have a great set up not only for good character development but also world building as they are going to have to go talk to people and learn about them as well as the world that they inhabit. And I was really interested in who the traitor might be because the suspect list was kind of short and most of them were all friends of the main characters.

Sadly the book is a huge disappointment. Firstly, as far as a murder mystery goes it lacks any of the good hallmarks but understandably that was not to be the focus of this so I am willing to let that pass. Secondly, the people in this are pretty stupid. Like it was so obvious that the MC was being framed and it was like the powers that be just simply didn’t care. And that is the third big problem I have. Most of the characters are so cliche, there is the old guy on the council who has the heart of gold and supports the main character but tends to work more behind the sense and not speak up. Then you have the main leader of the council who hates the MC for some reason that I truly do not understand. Like I get it that the MC became a Troll by usurping their normal procedures but I don’t get why they seem to despise her very existence. It’s not like she had a choice in the matter.

Now last thing that doesn’t involve spoilers is the fact that there is actually a chapter that repeats itself. There is literally a chapter where people recount events that occurred and then the very next chapter is those exact events. And it comes across as nothing more than padding as nothing new is learned by the telling from two different perspectives.

But the biggest thing that really urked me was the actual traitor. Partial Spoiler **It turns out that person was someone who we never even met. More than never met never even heard about until they caught them. It could have been anyone and it would have still worked, because all the evidence and stuff that they collected amounted to nothing, meaning the entire book was pointless.**

Final Verdict: I did like this book even with all my gripping about it but I didn’t like it as much as the first. If you liked the first one then give this one a go but if you were not all that impressed with the first book then don’t bother, this one is not going to change your mind.

Darktown

Ryan Love

Alright so first erotic book that I have reviewed and I only read it because someone asked me if I had written this, saying that the voice that the author uses is similar to mine, having Ryan in both our names and the writing style. And to that I say; I severely hope that my spelling is better than this and if not, then I am so sorry everyone. But all that aside… I actually did find myself enjoying this book just a little. Certainly more than I thought I would. There is always a huge apprehension when reading an erotica as most of them are just sex and the story is secondary if even that. But in this the story is actually really interesting and the sex actually feels to be relevant to the story at hand. More on that later.

But ever since I read the Imp Series I have noticed thistrend in Urban Fantasy regarding demons and that is that they tend to be not all that evil. I mean where are all my Evil Demons at? When the Demons aren’t just mindless monsters then they are either misunderstood and only need to be given a chance to be good or some such or they are just regular people that are also demons, some good and some not so good. While there are mindless demons in this there are also very intelligent demons and they are the most nonredeemable creatures ever. They do everything you would think a demon would do and weirdly enough, I think that is a good thing. Next thing you know angels are going to show up and they will actually be the good guys. Now wouldn’t that be a twist?

So the story. Darktown is a city that hides in the cracks of the real city, the real city being some unspecified city on one of the american coasts. It is filled with demons that pretty much do as they please but still remain just under the surface where no one can see them. Our main character is a woman who lives in Darktown and is a former Demon Hunter. Though the reasons for her leaving and coming to Darktown are unclear until later.

The other main character is a demon lady who’s a Seeker which are basically the PI’s of the Demon world and she has been sent to find this thing called the Lotus Stone that had recently been smuggled into the city.

So the sex. Most of it revolves around our two main characters for reasons of plot. Some of it is rather well done, some of it was kind of eh, but most of the scenes were not all that long and they did not actually slow down the pace of the story nor did they feel tact on for the sake of a sex scene. For the most part, this is book porn after all. But in fact, several times they were kind of key in the story as a whole.

The book is a little short, like 150 pages but it told a full story and I’m not sure a 200+ length book would have made things any better as it wasn’t like there were any gaps or rushed parts so it would have only been padding or worse just overly explicit sex scenes. (I’m sorry. I’ve just never been one for erotica.)

So disclaimer: as I mentioned before, these are bad demons and this is an erotica. So yes there is rape. It’s not very graphic and is not actually a big part of the story but it is there. I know a lot of people flamed Dynasty 2 because of that and I was trying my best to be respectful and considerate about the whole thing.

Final Verdict: I found myself liking this book but it is defiantly not for everyone. There is a lot of sex but in a setting like this it is actually expected. The demons are evil and there is a pretty cool fight at the end and an interesting set up for the next book. If you like these kinds of books then hey give this one a shot. If not then just let this one pass you by.