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Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars
12 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging read
1 May 2009
By C. Thilmany
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the second book in the Phoenix Chronicles series, following the fight between the light and the dark, and the role of leader that Liz never wanted, but has come to accept. Unlike her Moon series, this one is told in the first person POV with a continuing story. It's also loaded with creatures from mythology outside of the normal shifters and vampires we've come to expect from Urban Fantasies.
Most of her army was killed in the first book and Liz needs Jimmy's help to locate the others that went into hiding. Only Jimmy is trying to hide from her because his father brought out his vampire beast and now he feels he's too dangerous to be around others; especially Liz.
While this is going on, a woman who turns into smoke, Sawyer's mother, is trying to kill her. How do you kill an evil spirit who plans on releasing the Grigori, causing total chaos on the planet? Sawyer has been trying for years. Along the way, two more people get picked up and added to her arsenal.
I like the fact that while Liz is in many ways a kick-butt heroine, she's definitely vulnerable. She doesn't know the limits of what she can do, but thinks outside of the box to solve problems. And yes, she does make some mistakes. The story contains elements of humor and there is a romantic interest in two men that may or may not go anywhere. The mythology isn't just thrown at us; we get a short history lesson on various creatures, entities and objects.
I found it difficult to put the book down, but do not recommend that anyone start it before reading Any Given Doomsday. You'd be missing too much.
Most of her army was killed in the first book and Liz needs Jimmy's help to locate the others that went into hiding. Only Jimmy is trying to hide from her because his father brought out his vampire beast and now he feels he's too dangerous to be around others; especially Liz.
While this is going on, a woman who turns into smoke, Sawyer's mother, is trying to kill her. How do you kill an evil spirit who plans on releasing the Grigori, causing total chaos on the planet? Sawyer has been trying for years. Along the way, two more people get picked up and added to her arsenal.
I like the fact that while Liz is in many ways a kick-butt heroine, she's definitely vulnerable. She doesn't know the limits of what she can do, but thinks outside of the box to solve problems. And yes, she does make some mistakes. The story contains elements of humor and there is a romantic interest in two men that may or may not go anywhere. The mythology isn't just thrown at us; we get a short history lesson on various creatures, entities and objects.
I found it difficult to put the book down, but do not recommend that anyone start it before reading Any Given Doomsday. You'd be missing too much.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Laurell K Hamilton knock off
26 Jun 2009
By bijou2311
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the second in a new series by Handeland. In this series psychic and former cop Liz Phoenix is finally starting to embrace her new status as a leader of good guys out to stop the Apocalypse. Helping her are characters from the first book (Sawyer, Jimmy, Summer, Ruthie, etc) as well as one or two new ones. We don't know much about any of the characters, because they all seem to refuse to tell Liz (and therefore us) anything about themselves. Way too secretive...
I don't want to tell too much because I don't want to include any spoilers, but honestly, this felt like a Laurell K. Hamilton knock off to me. And not the good earlier Anita books, but the really sucky later ones. To be honest, too I felt like the main purpose of the plot is to advance ways for the Liz to have sex with Sawyer and Jimmy. Liz can absorb someone's powers by having sex with them - a la Anita Blake. Sawyer feels like the practical Jean Luc and Jimmy is the whinny but powerful Richard. I have to say I dislike Jimmy as much as I do what Richard was turned into. Oh, and Summer - pretty much hate her.
All that being said, I would have rated this a 2.5 b/c it isn't awful, but I won't be reading any more in this series. The plot has potential, and the book moves pretty quickly. So, if you like the LATER Anita Black books, or even Merry Gentry, give this one a try. This series doesn't have the charisma (or whatever the equivalent is for a book) that the Anita series does to make you keep reading even through awful books hoping the series gets better. Basically it is a Hamilton knock off - quality isn't quite as good as the real thing, not as long lasting, but sometimes worth it if you don't have to pay too much, you don't have anything else to spend your money on and you like the original (in this case the last 9 or 10 Anita books).
I don't want to tell too much because I don't want to include any spoilers, but honestly, this felt like a Laurell K. Hamilton knock off to me. And not the good earlier Anita books, but the really sucky later ones. To be honest, too I felt like the main purpose of the plot is to advance ways for the Liz to have sex with Sawyer and Jimmy. Liz can absorb someone's powers by having sex with them - a la Anita Blake. Sawyer feels like the practical Jean Luc and Jimmy is the whinny but powerful Richard. I have to say I dislike Jimmy as much as I do what Richard was turned into. Oh, and Summer - pretty much hate her.
All that being said, I would have rated this a 2.5 b/c it isn't awful, but I won't be reading any more in this series. The plot has potential, and the book moves pretty quickly. So, if you like the LATER Anita Black books, or even Merry Gentry, give this one a try. This series doesn't have the charisma (or whatever the equivalent is for a book) that the Anita series does to make you keep reading even through awful books hoping the series gets better. Basically it is a Hamilton knock off - quality isn't quite as good as the real thing, not as long lasting, but sometimes worth it if you don't have to pay too much, you don't have anything else to spend your money on and you like the original (in this case the last 9 or 10 Anita books).
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Doomsday Can Wait by Lori Handeland
10 May 2009
By jjmachshev
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Doomsday Can Wait" was another hit for me by Lori Handeland. This is urban fantasy with hot sex and enough paranormal critters to keep anybody happy. There's blood, but not gore. There's a cool twist on reality that's more than just a cast of supernatural beings. And there's a tight plot that keeps you turning pages as fast as you can read.
Since Liz recently managed to stave off Doomsday (not that any normal humans know about that, thank God) she's been enjoying a little down time. She deserves it seeing how she had to kill her boyfriend (OK, he's a vampire so he's undead) and almost died herself. She's also not seen sexy Sawyer and she's pretty sure she's happy about that. But when a mysterious shadow woman keeps trying to kill her and Sawyer's talisman is the only thing stopping her, Liz sets off to find both of them. Once she does, she must make a difficult choice carefully because the wrong choice could start Doomsday...again.
I can't begin to include all the cool stuff in this series. Even though it's not marketed as paranormal romance, there's plenty of sexual tension and follow-through in Liz's life. She has her childhood sweetheart who will always occupy a special place in her heart and was the one to help her understand her new powers, and the smoldering mystic who practices sex magic on and with Liz. Fans of the early Anita Blake (by Laurell K. Hamilton) will likely succumb to Liz's world just like I have...and be happy to do so.
So whether you call it urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or contemporary fantasy, it's all good. Lori Handeland's world is distinct and different, and her characters are built slowly but surely into people with all the complexities of any race. This isn't hearts and flowers, and it's a very different series from Handeland's 'Moon' books. But it's a serious I'm happy to read, and anxious to find out where it will take me next.
Since Liz recently managed to stave off Doomsday (not that any normal humans know about that, thank God) she's been enjoying a little down time. She deserves it seeing how she had to kill her boyfriend (OK, he's a vampire so he's undead) and almost died herself. She's also not seen sexy Sawyer and she's pretty sure she's happy about that. But when a mysterious shadow woman keeps trying to kill her and Sawyer's talisman is the only thing stopping her, Liz sets off to find both of them. Once she does, she must make a difficult choice carefully because the wrong choice could start Doomsday...again.
I can't begin to include all the cool stuff in this series. Even though it's not marketed as paranormal romance, there's plenty of sexual tension and follow-through in Liz's life. She has her childhood sweetheart who will always occupy a special place in her heart and was the one to help her understand her new powers, and the smoldering mystic who practices sex magic on and with Liz. Fans of the early Anita Blake (by Laurell K. Hamilton) will likely succumb to Liz's world just like I have...and be happy to do so.
So whether you call it urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or contemporary fantasy, it's all good. Lori Handeland's world is distinct and different, and her characters are built slowly but surely into people with all the complexities of any race. This isn't hearts and flowers, and it's a very different series from Handeland's 'Moon' books. But it's a serious I'm happy to read, and anxious to find out where it will take me next.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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