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Rune Alexander #1-3
Boxed Set: Rune Alexander- Vol. 1-3
**For a limited time, The first 3 books in the Rune Alexander series are available discounted and as a boxed set!**
Also included is a sample from book 4, Obsidian Wings.
SHIV CREW - Book 1
The somewhat unstable and damaged leader of Shiv Crew, Rune Alexander, discovers a faceless human is torturing the supernatural groups in her city. Her job is to protect humans from the supernatural beings, known as Others, but now she and her crew must break the rules and begin to protect the Others from the humans.
And as the darkness inside her becomes stronger and she ends up on the wrong side of a battle she must not lose, who will save Rune from herself?
BLOOD AND BITE - Book 2
Rune and the crew--some of them a little healthier, some of them a little more battered--take on new monsters and unbelievable surprises in Blood and Bite.
With a mad vampire master she must destroy, a child she must save, and unimaginable screams from a past she has to ignore, Rune has her hands full. But there is always something new and terrible waiting in River County--waiting, it seems, just for her.
STRANGE TROUBLE - Book 3
A baby necromancer calls her mother from the grave, starting a zombie infestation Rune and the crew are not prepared to handle.
But as always, they jump headlong into battle--a battle that will lead into some of the darkest moments of Rune's life. Moments that will shatter her tenuous grip on sanity and make her long for the man whose abuse allowed her to function.
With Strad Matheson and the crew behind her, Rune will stride through hell, horror, and the endless, black despair of her own mind to show the monsters why Shiv Crew is the scariest group of warriors they will ever face...
Also included is a sample from book 4, Obsidian Wings.
SHIV CREW - Book 1
The somewhat unstable and damaged leader of Shiv Crew, Rune Alexander, discovers a faceless human is torturing the supernatural groups in her city. Her job is to protect humans from the supernatural beings, known as Others, but now she and her crew must break the rules and begin to protect the Others from the humans.
And as the darkness inside her becomes stronger and she ends up on the wrong side of a battle she must not lose, who will save Rune from herself?
BLOOD AND BITE - Book 2
Rune and the crew--some of them a little healthier, some of them a little more battered--take on new monsters and unbelievable surprises in Blood and Bite.
With a mad vampire master she must destroy, a child she must save, and unimaginable screams from a past she has to ignore, Rune has her hands full. But there is always something new and terrible waiting in River County--waiting, it seems, just for her.
STRANGE TROUBLE - Book 3
A baby necromancer calls her mother from the grave, starting a zombie infestation Rune and the crew are not prepared to handle.
But as always, they jump headlong into battle--a battle that will lead into some of the darkest moments of Rune's life. Moments that will shatter her tenuous grip on sanity and make her long for the man whose abuse allowed her to function.
With Strad Matheson and the crew behind her, Rune will stride through hell, horror, and the endless, black despair of her own mind to show the monsters why Shiv Crew is the scariest group of warriors they will ever face...
892 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2015
75 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Laken Cane
44 books467 followersLaken was first published in 2008. After a few exciting years with her publishers, she struck out on her own to write the now complete Rune Alexander series, and never looked back.
She shares her Ohio home with three spoiled dogs, two fish, and a tenacious African Violet. She drinks too much coffee and continues burning up the keys of her trusty laptop, getting the stories out of her head and into her readers' hands.
You can connect with Laken through her website at www.lakencane.com or her Facebook author page at www.facebook.com/authorlakencane
She shares her Ohio home with three spoiled dogs, two fish, and a tenacious African Violet. She drinks too much coffee and continues burning up the keys of her trusty laptop, getting the stories out of her head and into her readers' hands.
You can connect with Laken through her website at www.lakencane.com or her Facebook author page at www.facebook.com/authorlakencane
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2023
Good story telling
Good story telling and world building but way too dark and depressing. I'm intrigued but feel like its been a massive dump of constant unfortunate events!
Good story telling and world building but way too dark and depressing. I'm intrigued but feel like its been a massive dump of constant unfortunate events!
June 1, 2023
Has its faults but a compulsive read.
Shin Crew is a brand of the.police that's deals with threats to humans from "others" were', vampires, ghouls, zombies etc. They kill the monsters except Rune Alexander the head of Shiv Crew IS one of the monsters but only her boss Jeremy and her best friend Ellis know it. In the first book we meet the crew they are an eclectic group who all share one thing, they are amazing fighters, especially with blades. There's an organisation among the humans called the Church of Slayers (C.O.S.) they hate the others and live to destroy the monsters. The leader of the Church Helen Love is on death row for multiple violent crimes. Three ex members of her church apply to join the crew and they are such brilliant fighters Rune gives them a chance . These three quickly become integral members and quickly find a place in Runes heart. The other members are Z, Jack, Raze and Strad. This box set contains the first three books in the series, in book one Rune and the crew right wit a vampires and werewolves and come very close to losing someone dead to them. In book two, Strad arrives back in town with his wife and son in tow, his son Matthew is a psychic and is being hunted by people/groups wanting to use him for their own ends. The crew they to protect Matthew by ultimately fail and he is kidnapped with no clues as to who has taken him, there's also a master vampire who has gone insane and the Church of Slayers has set up a mission in town, book three, too much to mention, deranged vampires,a superpowerful homicidal witch, a baby necromancer and zombies. Last but not least the C.O.S. want their ex members back. This is an interesting read the negatives are small, Rune uses endearment S a lot.......... and not always when they are appropriate also Runs is mentally ill, she hates her "monster" and controls it by the use of pain in ways which may disturb some people. The story's flow really well and are non stop action (sometimes too much action) so once you start reading it's hard to find a place to stop as there's always something happening but I love the character, I did expect we would be learning more about the supporting characters by now but the book focuses purely on Rune and is told from her point of view. Book three ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so I'm off to.start book four.........
Shin Crew is a brand of the.police that's deals with threats to humans from "others" were', vampires, ghouls, zombies etc. They kill the monsters except Rune Alexander the head of Shiv Crew IS one of the monsters but only her boss Jeremy and her best friend Ellis know it. In the first book we meet the crew they are an eclectic group who all share one thing, they are amazing fighters, especially with blades. There's an organisation among the humans called the Church of Slayers (C.O.S.) they hate the others and live to destroy the monsters. The leader of the Church Helen Love is on death row for multiple violent crimes. Three ex members of her church apply to join the crew and they are such brilliant fighters Rune gives them a chance . These three quickly become integral members and quickly find a place in Runes heart. The other members are Z, Jack, Raze and Strad. This box set contains the first three books in the series, in book one Rune and the crew right wit a vampires and werewolves and come very close to losing someone dead to them. In book two, Strad arrives back in town with his wife and son in tow, his son Matthew is a psychic and is being hunted by people/groups wanting to use him for their own ends. The crew they to protect Matthew by ultimately fail and he is kidnapped with no clues as to who has taken him, there's also a master vampire who has gone insane and the Church of Slayers has set up a mission in town, book three, too much to mention, deranged vampires,a superpowerful homicidal witch, a baby necromancer and zombies. Last but not least the C.O.S. want their ex members back. This is an interesting read the negatives are small, Rune uses endearment S a lot.......... and not always when they are appropriate also Runs is mentally ill, she hates her "monster" and controls it by the use of pain in ways which may disturb some people. The story's flow really well and are non stop action (sometimes too much action) so once you start reading it's hard to find a place to stop as there's always something happening but I love the character, I did expect we would be learning more about the supporting characters by now but the book focuses purely on Rune and is told from her point of view. Book three ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so I'm off to.start book four.........
June 13, 2018
Fantastic series
Laken creates a complex world with characters that drag you in and never let go. Rune and her crew are favorites of mine and I love the relationships that begin and evolve in this series. I promise you that you will never be disappointed by this author.
Laken creates a complex world with characters that drag you in and never let go. Rune and her crew are favorites of mine and I love the relationships that begin and evolve in this series. I promise you that you will never be disappointed by this author.
January 31, 2022
Addicted
I'm totally addicted to everything Laken Cane. This is the third series of hers I've read in the past week. You've got to give it a TRY! You'll love it, too!
I'm totally addicted to everything Laken Cane. This is the third series of hers I've read in the past week. You've got to give it a TRY! You'll love it, too!
Want to read
June 15, 2018Review from Book 1:
3.5 to 4 stars I couldn't quite decide.
Well.
As Rune would say: Fuck me.
I am stunned. Devastated. Emotionally drained. Completely hollowed out.
That was an absolutely gutting read.
Having just read BLOODHUNTER and SHIV CREW back-to-back, I have to say that I think Laken Cane's skills as a writer have grown. Her latest novel, BLOODHUNTER, contains very similar characters and a lot of the same themes as this book did. (Actually, I wonder - are they the same world? I would suspect so, though there seem to be a few differences in the vampires.) Both series contain strong thematic social commentary about prejudice and injustice, abuse and PTSD.
But BLOODHUNTER felt a little more balanced, a little more sophisticated, a little more complex than this earlier effort.
That is not to say that this was not good. It was.
Yes, it started off pretty rocky. And more than once (okay more like a million times) I wanted to absolutely throttle the main character, Rune Alexander. Her utter inability to learn from her mistakes and willful blindness to what was happening - both within her and around her - was extremely frustrating. I really hope we are past that now, but I suspect not. And that is unfortunate.
However, the author has clearly always had a talent for writing complex, flawed, interesting, and compelling characters. Rune is no exception. I think this first book was really Rune's book. Introducing her, and the world, and setting up the overarching conflict that will occur throughout the series. The other members of the Shiv Crew are remarkably likable. I would not say that most of them have been very well developed yet, but there is plenty of time for that, since this a lengthy series.
One of the strengths of this book was the compellingly immersive point of view. Sure, that connection was very frustrating at times - it is tough to be stuck in the mind of someone that is so very broken. But because the entire book is from Rune's singular POV, the connection held me tight and pulled me relentlessly through every dark event. It was extremely difficult to put down. Even when I was utterly horrified or disgusted by what was happening.
I will also note that it was an utter pleasure to experience that strong a POV that was not in first person! This book was written entirely in third person. Thank you Laken Cane! It becomes tiresome when every PNR or RH PNR is written in first person.
I will also note that I really disliked this book for at least the first third. I was intrigued by the world and almost immediately liked the other members of Shiv Crew, but the story and MC just didn't grab me early on. I persevered because I was so impressed by BLOODHUNTER and thought this deserved a fair shot. I am glad I stuck it out, because the book kept building the farther it progressed - a runaway train I ultimately couldn't disembark. I am sure you can see the change if you read my update notes below versus the overall tenor of this review.
In either case, if you are a fan of extremely dark paranormal romances (though there nothing on the romance front to date - unless you count the abuse, and I most definitely do not), then this is worth the read. But be warned... this is DARK. Really dark, and with an infinite number of potential triggers.
3.5 to 4 stars I couldn't quite decide.
Well.
As Rune would say: Fuck me.
I am stunned. Devastated. Emotionally drained. Completely hollowed out.
That was an absolutely gutting read.
Having just read BLOODHUNTER and SHIV CREW back-to-back, I have to say that I think Laken Cane's skills as a writer have grown. Her latest novel, BLOODHUNTER, contains very similar characters and a lot of the same themes as this book did. (Actually, I wonder - are they the same world? I would suspect so, though there seem to be a few differences in the vampires.) Both series contain strong thematic social commentary about prejudice and injustice, abuse and PTSD.
But BLOODHUNTER felt a little more balanced, a little more sophisticated, a little more complex than this earlier effort.
That is not to say that this was not good. It was.
Yes, it started off pretty rocky. And more than once (okay more like a million times) I wanted to absolutely throttle the main character, Rune Alexander. Her utter inability to learn from her mistakes and willful blindness to what was happening - both within her and around her - was extremely frustrating. I really hope we are past that now, but I suspect not. And that is unfortunate.
However, the author has clearly always had a talent for writing complex, flawed, interesting, and compelling characters. Rune is no exception. I think this first book was really Rune's book. Introducing her, and the world, and setting up the overarching conflict that will occur throughout the series. The other members of the Shiv Crew are remarkably likable. I would not say that most of them have been very well developed yet, but there is plenty of time for that, since this a lengthy series.
One of the strengths of this book was the compellingly immersive point of view. Sure, that connection was very frustrating at times - it is tough to be stuck in the mind of someone that is so very broken. But because the entire book is from Rune's singular POV, the connection held me tight and pulled me relentlessly through every dark event. It was extremely difficult to put down. Even when I was utterly horrified or disgusted by what was happening.
I will also note that it was an utter pleasure to experience that strong a POV that was not in first person! This book was written entirely in third person. Thank you Laken Cane! It becomes tiresome when every PNR or RH PNR is written in first person.
I will also note that I really disliked this book for at least the first third. I was intrigued by the world and almost immediately liked the other members of Shiv Crew, but the story and MC just didn't grab me early on. I persevered because I was so impressed by BLOODHUNTER and thought this deserved a fair shot. I am glad I stuck it out, because the book kept building the farther it progressed - a runaway train I ultimately couldn't disembark. I am sure you can see the change if you read my update notes below versus the overall tenor of this review.
In either case, if you are a fan of extremely dark paranormal romances (though there nothing on the romance front to date - unless you count the abuse, and I most definitely do not), then this is worth the read. But be warned... this is DARK. Really dark, and with an infinite number of potential triggers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews