The Morph Action packed adult fantasy

                Hello fellow book lovers!  I have been totally obsessed with reading a couple of series and haven’t been doing much reviewing.  So I’m taking today off from reading, or at least until I can write a few reviews and catch up.  Today I want to talk about The Morph by J.C. Andrijeski.  If you are a regular reader then the name probably sounds familiar, I first heard of her books at the start of 2014 and have read the vast majority of her books and enjoyed them immensely.  Now I will go ahead and warn these are not YA books and deal with more adult themes and such.  The Morph was provided to be through NetGalley for an honest review.

                As I mentioned I am already a fan of the author, and am currently reading two other series by J.C. Andrijeski, Allie’sWar and The Slave Girl Chronicles.  So I was more than ready to start another one while I wait for more in those.  The Morph is book 1 in The Gate Shifters series and currently has two books out.  Yeah I found out about book 2 Crash Morph from the author herself when I mentioned how much I loved The Morph on her blog page.  Turns out it isn’t listed in the series on Goodreads (at this time, I have contacted them to see about adding it), but I found it and am currently reading it.  Like the rest of her books, The Morph has a TON going on.  There is constant actions, suspense, world building and exploring, strong characters with a slew of personal issues, devious plotting, and oh yeah some serious sexual tension.  A brief summary:

                Dakota Reyes, a twenty-something private eye who specializes in what she calls ‘hard-to-prosecute’ cases, finds herself in a dark alley one night, about to end up dead at the hands of a young Ted Bundy in training…that is, until a lost, shape-shifting alien named Nihkil rescues her, and inadvertently takes her home with him.  The problem is, his home is in a different dimension, and Dakota has no clue how to get back to Seattle, or Earth, or even her own time period.  She finds herself bound to her rescuer, Nihkil, through his ‘lock,’ a quasi-biological structure that controls whether he can shape-shift, among other things, which he needs to be able to do in order to get her back home.  Only Dakota has no idea how to open Nik’s lock, and the longer she spends in his world, the more forces begin to align against them, trying to prevent her from getting home.

                Our main character, Dakota, is a strong and independent female.  She has a less than safe or normal day, or should I say night, job and she is a fighter.  She goes for what she wants and she is willing to fight with every ounce of herself for it.  Dakota is not the type to go down without a fight, that’s for sure.  She ends up in a new world where everything is flipped on its head.  She’s lost and confused and unsure who to trust and most importantly she just wants to survive and go home.  She may be strong and independent but she is also flawed; somewhat proud and not the best at communicating feelings.  One of my favorite things about her though is her ability to roll with the punches.  She knows things need to be explained and she knows she isn’t getting it sometimes but she makes the most of what she has and goes with it until she can find a moment to get more information.  Oh and her connection with Nihkil.

                Oh Nihkil.  I like him because he is VERY flawed.  I wasn’t 100% sure if I liked him or not through part of the book.  He seems like a good guy but it wavers for a bit and I liked the uncertainty, really you have to make up your mind for yourself if you trust him or you don’t.  That is made harder because he’s not very forthcoming.  He’s pretty secretive and much like his counterpart, Dakota, is not getting a gold star for his communication skills.  Though I admit I gave him a bit more slack in this because well he’s not human so I cut a morph some slack.  Nihkil is a very complex character and he has some serious issues, many of with leave him unsure of his role in life and unsure of himself. And the tension between them is very solidly there but it doesn’t overpower the rest of the story.

A perfect reason to add pretty pictures like this!

                 And remember the little part about a new world, a new dimension.  There is a lot of world building and learning of the new world and adapting to the cultural differences and views.  Some things remain the same but the majority of things are different.  We see new creatures and places.  Hello aliens are real.  There is a total structure change for the government/society.  Morphs, they are treated like slaves or pets.  It’s a very harsh and brutal world, but even in the vicious world there are still spots of beauty and The Morph finds a good balance with that and not bogging you down with too much world that you lose the story.  Things are always in a state of constant motion in one way or another, from internal struggles to knock down drag out action, or the political games, and war.  Things are never boring that’s for sure. 

                I’m currently enjoying the second book.  If you like high action, complex characters with issues, fantasy, and adult themes then I highly recommend checking out this book.  I give it 5 Stars!

                

The Culling by J.C. Andrijeski

                Hello again!  It's a bit later than intended but I had a bit of a power issue before work due to the storm and no power means no internet.  Anyways I'm back today with a review for The Culling by J.C. Andrijeski thanks to NetGalley.  Now this book is not an ARC it is a re-release and the next two books in the series are already out. 

                This is about 19 year old Jet, a skag, a human living free on Earth.  Yes Earth was taken over by an invasion of creatures called Nirreth and they allow humans to live in their cities but they are slaves so to be free you are always on the lookout.  Being outside the cities of the Nirreth is dangerous, not just awaiting capture by the culler ships but the Earth is not the same and resources are hard to find and so many things are toxic.  Jet is out trying to barter supplies when the unthinkable happens, she is taken by the culler ship.  No one knows what happens when you are taken, just that no one ever returns. 

               

                This story was pretty short and was a quick read.  I finished it in one sitting.  It was an interesting concept and let's face it a bad ass looking chick on the cover with a samurai sword looked pretty cool.  I had a flash of Walking Dead for a minute.  Then add in aliens and the makings for a good invasion/fight back story and I'm all for it. 

                You dive right into the world and you see what it has become and honestly it’s a future that is pretty bleak but still you see it from Jet's perspective and despite everything she is free and that is all that matters.  She is a good mix of strong, stubborn, and witty but she also has her moments which may cause more trouble down the line.  She is forced to confront her ideas and really lack of knowledge of the Nirreth and their ways in this new life of hers.  Also it brings up some interesting ideas, if you could be drugged into being compliant/numb would that be better to blindly serve or would you rather be aware of the servitude that you found yourself in?

                 This is a quick sci-fi/dystopian read to lose yourself in for a little while.  I give it a solid 4 swords.  As I mentioned this is a re-release and the next two books in the series, The Royals and The New Order are already on sale and I look forward to reading them and figuring out what happens to Jet next.  How she adapts to being a slave.  As a note I see that the books have two different series titles "Slave Girl Chronicles" and "Alien Apocalypse" but they are all the same, I believe the series name was changing, but rest assured it's the same series. 

Contact by Laurisa White Reyes

                Hello All!  I am on my first day off from my brand new job and I love it.  The new schedule is not set yet as I'll be moving around with trainings and such but yeah the first week I think the pure excitement was too much for me.  I was wide awake at work but then at home between 6pm-7pm I was passed out on the couch trying to watch a show, read, type, whatever until the next morning.  Anyways I think I have managed to get a handle on that, mostly by avoiding the couch at that window lol.  And the week before was running around finishing paperwork and getting parking permits and IDs and letting my old job know and saying goodbye to people there, moving jobs is crazy busy .  But now I'm off and have some reviews to type.

               

                Now I was provided Contact by LaurisaWhite Reyes by NetGalley and Hallowed Ink Press to read and review.  This is an ARC and is set to come out June 23rd.  This is a story about a girl, Mira, who tries to kill herself.  We join her after her second failed attempt.  She isn't depressed and suicidal as you might initially think, no she has a deeper reason.  Every time she comes into contact with someone, skin to skin, for even just a second she can see everything about the person.  Their whole psyche loads into hers and it sucks.  Not only does it hurt physically but she also feels so alone.  And on top of all of that her father is ruining for political office and is being investigated for several deaths during testing for the miracle drug he helped pioneer. 

                 I clicked on this book first because the cover caught my eye.  A beautiful girl with an cracked glass background in cool colors and font clutching an old school record, I was curious to know more.This book was pretty interesting.  It was set in modern day and I'd even say not a fantasy or sci-fi really.  Sure the seeing peoples mind is a bit fantasy but its more a symptom and the rest of the story is about a mystery and a girls struggle to deal with her life and everything in it.  She has family issues including a father who seems somewhat aloof and distant but whom she with her 'stunts' is clearly bringing more bad press to him.  Oh and did I mention this drug also is mandated now because it cures, you guessed it, depression so when your daughter is still suicidal it raises questions. 

                Mira is a solid character for me that has a lot of things going on in her head and heart and doesn't know what she wants anymore.  That's pretty much something everyone can relate to.  Then we have David, a guy she meets in the most interesting way, who seems drawn to her and despite her rationalizations she is drawn to him.  When you can't touch another person being around a boy that makes you want to touch is a conundrum.  As her life starts to spiral David is there to help her search for answers and keep her sane while maybe even bring her through this. 

                The story itself as I mentioned is more of a mystery than a fantasy as Mira and David search for clues about what she is and just what really happened in those trials.  It’s a dangerous game filled with excitement and intrigue so enjoy the ride.  I give Contact 4 Stars.  I enjoyed it and read through it pretty quickly, less than a day really.  It has a little bit of everything in there for you and  keep you going  to the last page.  Now it is currently only listed as a single book with nothing to indicate, that I have found, a start to a series but the book.  It ends but and you are okay with the ending but there was the option to continue so if the story of Mira does continue I look forward to reading it.   So check out Contact when it comes out soon on June 23rd.

                So I'm aiming for Monday to have my review of The Culling by J.C. Andrijeski ready to post.  But in the mean time, I adore all of you who take the time to read my blog and my ramblings about everything but I would love to hear from you as well.  So I ask you all, would you like the ability to read others minds/see their past?  Would you think of it as a curse or a gift?  Share your thoughts below please and stay tuned!

Rook by J.C. Andrijeski

                So I got Rook by J.C. Andrijeski from NetGalley, and I started reading.  As I did I went to look it up, for curiosity to see when it would be available for sale and found out that it isn’t an ARC as I suspected but a re-release from 2011.  Yep and there are already 7 books in the Allie’s War series and 3 novellas out.  They are for more mature YA audiences with stronger themes of torture, sex, rape, war, genocide, all make for an interesting story for sure but if you are a bit of a light weight be warned. 

                Now knowing me, and my inability to wait for things…I am currently reading book 5.  I finished this one a while back, 2 weeks I think, but I didn’t write my review right away because honestly I wanted to know what happened next and just kept reading.  These books are long, longer than most of the books I have been reading as of late so it took longer than I expected and I have taken a break to reflect and update my blog with some reviews.  I’m behind again. 

                The story is pretty original, with supernatural elements with a new race Seers that come with this own rules and quirks and differences.  The books also deal with a lot of mythology and fate vs. free will.  Are you destined to do one thing, can you change destine or are you fated to a certain path?  I liked that and it has some pretty interesting characters who…well they change A LOT over the course of each book and the series thus far as a whole.  Some moments you can’t stand someone, then something happens, and you rethink your opinion of them.  It’s a rollercoaster. 

                Now when I say the characters change a lot and develop that is an understatement.  I can’t give much detail without ruining the story but our main character Allie is new to this whole world.  She knew about Seers but had no idea she was one…or how it could be possible in this day and age given all of her tests.  So she has to struggle with that and how every move she makes seems wrong and the one person she knows is trying to protect her, confuses her with his odd behavior and half truths.  New world and she is the Bridge, this important being that everyone respects but she doesn’t understand the importance of that and is still programmed with the prejudices from her human upbringing.  Then we have Revik who is confused himself with his conflicting emotions.  He fights his natures, holds secrets when honestly would be so much easier.  Plus it seems many of his misunderstandings with Allie and her intentions should be cleared up when he can read her thoughts, clearly confused, but he’s so awkward it doesn’t seem to matter. 

                And there is a good bad guy, Terrian.  I mean that in a way that is hard to be.  There are so many way a bad guy can simply be just that a bad guy, the evil one for the purpose of the story and not be something else.  To be a real good bad guy, for me anyways, you have to have more going on, a complex personality that I still hate because, well you’re evil, but I can appreciate you better as a character for having depth.  Not to mention her human friends and family, Cass and Jon, find their lives changed as well knowing their friend is now something different and everyone is out for her in one way or another and that means they are at risk as well.  Like I said there is a lot going on in each book. 

Books 2-5, which is where I'm currently at.

                Rook manages to keep the pace moving along and keep things going and there is always something happening.  I’m a little fuzzy about one small part but it may have been my eagerness to keep going that I missed a small piece but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment.  Learning about the new rules of the world with Seers and the government in a world where they exist.  New things like the barrier and light bodies, all visually appealing.  Seeing things differently when looking at it with light. 

                My only complaint with the book was that it made me feel like a slow reader.  I normally read through my lunch hour at work and I can knock out a good 10-20% of a book.  I would manage like 3% and at first I thought it was me, that my reading speed was really getting off but then I looked and realized this book, all the books thus far in the series, are all twice the size of the books I’ve been reading so that explained that.  So my real complaint was that most of the chapters are a bit longer, which isn’t too much of a thing but it makes it harder to try and rationalize one more chapter before bed when it doesn’t take 45 mins to read one chapter is all. 

                Overall I enjoyed this book and give it 5 Stars, clearly I liked it as I’m currently on book 5.  Bright side is no waiting for the next book right?  Well not so much I did some research and found out there are at least 2 more full books planned and 2 more novellas…hopefully the wait won’t be too long.  I don’t know if I will be able to post much of a review of the others as I would give too much away, but feel free to always check out my goodreads page as I’ll be posting them there slowly but surely.