| Title | : | Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0451464338 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780451464330 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 353 |
| Publication | : | First published January 3, 2012 |
But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry master vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It's a good thing she's worth every penny.
Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, #4) Reviews
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Jane Yellowrock is back! Our favorite cougar-shifter has been dispatched to investigate an attack on humans that is being blamed on vampires. But when she arrives, Jane isn’t so sure. This wound up being a great mix of detective work, plus plenty of Jane and a certain ex I always enjoy when urban fantasy books incorporate complex storylines and lots of different sups, and this book had that in spades. (Sorry I’m being vague… trying to avoid spoilerville.) As usual Jane was the total Alpha-cat, taking charge and being a bad-ass, and I can’t wait to see where she goes next.
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*** 4 ***
A buddy read with the Wednesday UF fanatics @ BB&B!
Jane does not disappoint! This Cherokee tall, dark and dangerous lady who shares a body with the soul of a Big Cat, is one very exciting character whom we can always count on for some danger and adrenaline rush! She is so beyond awesome, but despite all around her seeing that, she still has a lot of self esteem issues...
Because of the nature of her job, a rogue Vampire hunter, it is only to be expected that many creatures, and even some humans, would hold a grudge and might want to exact some revenge on her or her loved ones. And you would think that her loved ones would understand that and know that the insane vamps or werewolves, or whatever other species are out there, who come after her or them, are not her fault or responsibility!!! No one can be responsible for the actions of another. Unfortunately the job does put her in the middle of very unsavory characters and they do seem to know how to hold a grudge and how to inflict most discomfort and pain. Thus when Jane goes back to her hometown for a bodyguard job to protect a vampire during a diplomatic visit, it is not surprising that two very pissed off werewolves from a pack she pretty much destroyed, followed her from New Orleans and while trying to figure out how to replace their dead female, kill Jane and destroy people she likes, they also kill for food and fun, as well as bring general terror to the area at large. And just when she needs her best friend, the witch Molly, she is standoffish and cold, not inviting her home and keeping her from the Kitts, Angie and the little man... And when things really get bloody and hopeless, all blame Jane for every single thing that goes array .... This pisses me off enough, but I am even more pissed that Jane takes it all on her shoulders and accepts the blame!!!! And yes, I feel sorry for all Rick has to go through, but darn it, he is a cheating douchebag who gets his way by prostituting himself, and honestly, I cringe every time Jane and Beast swoon over him!!! Beast, wake up, he is not a strong enough or good enough mate material!!!
I loved the green were Justice deliverer and its story arc:-) The African Cat Shifter is an asshole, but I understand his anger. He came to this country to make diplomatic connections with the supernatural races of America, and first thing that happens is some idiot with a sexy smile tries to seduce his wife and somehow she is killed after an assignation with him, and now he is grieving, has to live with the dude that was trying to get it on with his dead mate, and some crazy chick constantly challenges him and threatens to kill him. I would be in a permanent dark mood too... And again, why is Jane coddling this cheating ballbag Rick??? Stop it!
The main arc, involving Evangelina , the sister of Molly and head of the witch coven in the area, is evil, brutal and heartbreaking!!! It puts all the folks we love in danger and I had no idea how our guys are going to get out of it. Very intense, very nail biting, completely entertaining! I loved it all. Beast outshined all and her internal monologue was the best part of the book! Obviously, I will not get into the plot, because it is so much fun to discover it yourself! But I will say that it will be hard after this ending, to stay away from the next book until next Wednesday... If you are a fan of UF, this is totally worth it!
I wish you all Happy Reading and many more wonderful books to come!!! -
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 -
“Chicken, yeah, that's me. I'd rather fight an old rogue-vamp in my underwear, with my bare hands, than deal with relationship problems.”
Raven Cursed takes Jane out of New Orleans and back to her hometown Asheville, but she’s not running from the vampires – she’s on an extended job. Accompanied by Gregoire, who hasn’t really been around since the first book, Derek and the marines, the two twin blood servants Brandon and Brian, I got over my irritation of her being out of the city when the rest of the characters started making up for it. She meets a few new ones, of course, and does some overly extended scenes of bonding with Molly and the sisters that got a little boring. She has to buddy up with some of the local cops during investigation, but mainly side characters stayed side characters.
The book starts with a central job – Jane is supposed to smooth over a political parley for the vamps – but ends up involving new crisis. Returning werewolves ripping up the locals have Jane in a guilt frenzy, and demented Evangelina has upped her evil witch badness. Toss in obstacles with Rick still not able to shift and Kem being a pain about it, and you have plenty of storyline to keep the pacing strong.
Even if the fight scenes and teasing with the twins was fun, I missed Bruiser being kept to phone calls. He does show later but they never had an actual scene. Leo finally shows up too, but briefly, but at least he’s finally in a good mood and over his grief. Jane makes a mistake of claiming a title she doesn’t understand – sometimes I do wish she acted with more sense – but it’s clear she didn’t know what she was doing. Since vampires don’t seem to understand anything reasonably that other people do, that doesn’t really let her off the hook later on.
I was happy to get a break from Jane’s chapter long spiritual journeys in the spirit lodge, but her unreasonable guilt wasn’t fun to deal with. Blaming herself for the witch woes or the werewolf drama grew tiresome. At least there were some dominance battles with Kem that were fun, that especially hot Gregoire scene, and the introduction of weird demon/angel.
Jane learns a few new things she can do, but even Beast feels like she’s abandoning her by the end of the book. It ends yet again with her wanting to leave but changing her mind at the last minute, another false start and seeming end with Rick, but at least the head vamps are in better moods and not as annoying, although Gregoire overreacted big time with her accidentally stake by the door instinct.
A good sequel but probably my least favorite of the first four. -
Faith Hunter barrels into the fourth book in her Jane Yellowrock series with all the subtlety of a monster truck rally.
If fine literature is wine and roses, then this series is beer and pizza – lively and fun.
Truth be told, I am a late arrival to the urban fantasy party. I was introduced to the idea by Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series and was hooked. Hunter’s Yellowrock also introduced me to her Soulwood series and now I’m open for all kinds of fantasy hiding in broad daylight. The premise that there is magic walking the sidewalks of our modern reality and buying coffee at Starbucks is more fun than a barrel full of monkeys, cooler than the other side of the pillow.
Hunter has Jane Yellowrock and her security detail team traveling to her old stomping grounds around Asheville, North Carolina. Love this setting. If you’ve never been to Asheville, do yourself a favor and book a room downtown so you can start your walking tour of tap rooms and art galleries. Jane is guarding a parley between vampires and then there are witches and werewolves and were leopards and demons and lots of action and just too much excitement for this simple review to describe.
Part of the attraction with urban fantasy books is to mix in myth and legend in a modern, more or less realistic setting. Hunter’s world building is first rate and while the characterization and dialogue here devolved somewhat into made for TV drama speak, this was still a page turning large order of nachos with cheese and jalapenos. Jane is a skinwalker, meaning she is similar to were creatures in that she can shift to another animal. These shifts and her interior dialogue with her Beast! is part of why this series works. Add in Cherokee legend and history, throw in some fresh twists to old Monster Manual ideas and Hunter has a winning formula.
Good times.
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I've been following this series since the beginning, full of hope and almost-admiration for the heroine, Jane Yellowrock. She is a fabulous example of what I enjoy in urban fantasy females. She's independent, athletic, even-tempered, kicks butt, almost never talks about her clothes, and intially, couldn't care less if she had a boyfriend or not. (However, she does talk about her weapons and armor--does that count?) Her world is a modern day U.S. coping with the exotic "races" of vampires, weres and witches, and Jane makes her living hunting down rogue vampires guilty of killing humans. Jane's character is somewhat exotic in the UF field, both as a Native American and as a skinwalker, someone able to take the bodies of mammals using specially prepared fetishes. Due to childhood trauma, she now shares her body with Beast, a female mountain lion.
I find this a hard series to review because I want to love it. I want to love Jane. I want to love the version of the world, even if this book started to remind me of Anita Blake's setting with federal paranormal bureaus, vampire "separate nation" charters and growing talk of Jane's "pack." However, I struggle in each book with various plot points, and Jane's personality seems a little too malleable by book 4, like she believes what her author needs her to believe for that plot, rather than a natural evolution. She's also troubled by a giant guilt complex. In one book, it showed up as neglecting her Christian beliefs; in another, it was neglecting her Cherokee heritage. Not that it changes her behavior for longer than that book, mind you--in this one, we had a cursory church service and a brief conversation with her Native spiritual elder--both with guilt, of course. Add in undeserved guilt about putting her best friend and god-child in danger (the last book and this), and it becomes a crutch of motivation more than a true character flaw.
The Anita Blake parallels became horribly clear after It did create a very strong reaction in me, however--I'm begging you, Faith, please don't let Jane go the way of Anita Blake. I was having uncomfortably flashbacks to wereleopards and non-penetrative vampire sex. Please, please don't go there.
What do I like? Hunter takes particular care with developing her settings, and has a good feel for developing atmosphere. Jane, when she wasn't feeling guilty. Jane and Beast hunting, and Jane talking with her goddaughter. The discovery of the traitor, and the overall finish. The grindylow. There's a lot to enjoy and it is written engagingly, as long as consistency in character from book to book and sub-plotting is ignored. Ouch--that sounds harsh--but it is a compliment, as there is enough good stuff to make it time-worthy. A three and a half star read.
Cross posted at
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0... -
4.5 What I really like about this series is the original stuff I seem to encounter every time.
Again, this book was pretty addicting, hard to put down and fast-paced. And the characters are evolving, something I rarely see and always appreciate.
Like in the previous books, what I loved the most was Beast. The moments when you see Beast's POV are absolutely great, I fell in love with that cat! Plus, she's damn funny at times, what's not to love.
And I have a feeling that Rick won't be here for much longer, which I have to admit isn't a bad thing. I dunno why but I never really connected with the guy.
This series is really worth giving it a try! Badass heroin, sarcasm, great guys, what's not to like. And a damn interesting plot, I really didn't expect it to be so much fun!
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Sale Alert: Kindle daily deal 01Oct21
$1.99
See Jane Run….
See Jane Hunt.
See Jane Fight.
See Jane have weird spells cast on and about her.
See Jane take the blame for absolutely everything that is happening around her, even thought the majority is really not her fault.
See Jane make horrible personal decisions or non decisions about her love life.
See Jane call an angel.
See Jane battle a demon.
In the Jane Yellowrock series I like the magic, some of the characters and story plots. But I struggle with Jane’s interpersonal communications with most of the other characters. Maybe this is supposed to be something we see growth with overtime but Jane often takes all the responsibility and blame for things that are happening around her. Because of that she tries to do a lot of things solo that she should maybe ask for a little assistance on since she knows a lot of powerful people who could be of assistance.
We get a continuation of the last books story and find out more about what the hell Evangelina is trying to do with all the spells she is throwing around on people. Molly and her family are in danger because big sis is an end justifies the means kind of girl and she will stop at nothing for the revenge she is seeking.
It did feel like I was missing a few chapters when we start into this book. I’m not normally one to read all the shorts between stories unless it is a full novella and sometimes even not then. But I felt like Faith Hunter expected us to and that I was missing some developments between Jane and Rick. Like why she is even thinking about forgiving him and why he is holding up with the African Werecat mate of the woman who bit him.
I missed Bruiser. We only get some phone call interactions with him. I liked seeing his continued interest in Jane and him desire to spend some time with her when there isn’t a spell of some kind between them. But I really am tired of the push pull of Jane never making a choice of any kind in the relationship front. It’s book 4 I’d like some solid relationship progress or no relationships not this middle of the road what should I do crap.
The storyline is pretty cool Witches, Were’s, Vendettas and now Demons are all in the mix. If more of the story stuck to the plot on not the wishy-washy romance I’d be happier with the series.
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2022 Re-Read
I'm enjoying my return to Jane Yellowrock‘s world and I can't believe how much I have forgotten. It's been long enough that my library no longer has this installment and I had to interlibrary loan it.
I'm sorry to see Jane separated from Molly, but the reasons are understandable. Still, we all need female friends, especially someone with as much going on as Jane has. Ricky-bo is still a fixture in her life, though they've been through a lot, but he has started on the pathway that will take him to Hunter's Soulwood series.
Now I must resist the next volume until I've dealt with a pile of other books. What a hardship! LOL
Original Review
***2017 Summer Lovin’ Reading List***I'd rather fight an old rogue-vamp in my underwear, with my bare hands, than deal with relationship problems.
Perhaps that’s because Jane’s love life is complicated. That would have to be her Facebook status! She is so busy fleeing from all the men in her life that she allows herself to take the blame for a bunch of things that truly aren’t her fault. But, realistically, that’s what happens when you’re a woman in charge of something—the men involved feel free to blame you for every damn thing that doesn’t go as planned. Jane hasn’t been in charge long enough to learn to throw it right back at them! She’s damn good at her job—despite all the wrenches that keep getting tossed into the works, things work out.
Jane has religious questions in her life that she needs to deal with too. Can she be a Christian of some sort and still practice her Cherokee rites? I think the two are compatible, but its not up to me! I’ll be interested to see where Hunter takes this question in future books.
I’m not nearly as into Rick as Jane is. I can see why she chose him in the beginning—choose the human, right? But now that he’s a were-jaguar-in-waiting, things get complicated. Not to mention Bruiser, hanging around in the background, waiting for Rick to disappear. Is a blood-servant any better than a vampire in the long run? And there are vampires who’d like to be in line to woo our Jane as well. She may tell the people who have a grudge against her to “get in line,” but that applies to her relationships even more!
Always entertaining, lots of action, plenty of emotional ups & downs, I am coming to appreciate Jane Yellowrock a great deal. I can hardly wait to get the next book from the library! -
I know there is more to the Jane Yellowrock series than just her love life. I really do. But going into this book, all I could think about was whether Jane was going to end up with Rick now that he's "big-cat" or if she'll kick his big honking cheating ass to the curb. Will Bruiser be there to stake his claim? Will those two finally cross the finish line? So in deference to these burning questions, I'll say right off the bat that after reading this book, I am wholly dissatisfied with this entire element of the plot. Rick's actions in the last book are explained away far too easily. Even more frustrating, is the fact that Jane is unwilling or unable to assess her feelings for the two men in question. There. Is. No. Resolution. Not even a clear destination. But before I start gritting my teeth too loudly, let me talk about the rest of the book.
As the story begins, Jane is back in her hometown of Ashville, SC, where she is tasked to handle security for some important vampire-talks. But just as things get started, bodies start popping up. The culprits are the last two surviving werewolves from Mercy Blade. They've followed Jane, it seems, to get revenge for her killing the rest of their pack. Rick is in the area, learning how to be a big cat from Ken-whatshisname... the African panther, whose wife was responsible for infecting Rick in the first place.
The first third of the book just didn't jump out and grab me. Maybe because we were removed from the New Orleans gang and it took me a while to care about what was happening in South Carolina. Maybe it was because I was distracted, waiting for something to happen in Jane's love life. Regardless, things began to improve once we get into the meat of Evie's storyline. Yes, the wicked witch is back. We finally find out what her deal is --and it's a whopper. Evie also spices things up because she brings Molly and her family into the mix. And who doesn't love Angie Baby?
There is also some good stuff happening between Jane and her Beast. A lot less attention is paid to the mechanics of the shifts, which is cool. Jane and Beast come to really appreciate the strength they have as one unit... but without getting into details, I was a bit confused by a problem between them at the end of the book.
The plot and the action were really good in the second half... and it reminded my why I like this series. Jane is tough as nails; she's fierce and loyal; and it's so sad to see how truly fragile her connections are to others. I'm really curious to see what will happen for her next. (And hopefully, we'll gain a little ground in the relationship department. Please.) Almost 4 stars.
*ARC provided by Ace -
Overall, this is a solid book in the series, focusing mostly on the primary plot than interpersonal drama... but you know how a lot of these UF's go. They always stand or fall because of the characters. You can throw them into a whole bunch of action scenes and get them fully involved with mysterious murders, supernatural factions, and have their cred grow as each successful mission comes to a close, but in the end, it all boils down to what the main character believes and upholds.
Jane Yellowrock seems to have a little issue with her beliefs, and it's not quite as organic as you might expect. It kinda pops up, like guilt without a mom hanging around to instigate it, at the weirdest times. Religion? Which is it, the Christianity side, or the Cherokee spiritualism? Is she just exploring both? I don't know. It doesn't seem to have much reason. And besides, aren't there a bunch of werewolf murders to solve?
Alas.
THAT BEING SAID, I like the new supernaturals even if the character logic surrounding it seems more on par with a kind of spiritual nod to Anita Blake (in more than one way). I'll ignore this for now. The core tale is still good and it has all the normal features that draw us to UFs in general.
Magic walking the world, getting political, and developing a complex society side-by-side with us. :) -
I was far from bowled over by this offering in the series. It felt too long and poorly paced. Also - and I never thought this would matter to me- there's too much Rick and no Bruiser (except for a couple of phone calls).
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[3.5 Stars] I finished this earlier today, and I must say I quite enjoyed it! There was so much going on in this one, dare I say a little too much?
In this book the mystery/mysteries seemed a bit too nebulous, and I wish they were a bit more contained like in the earlier books. I also feel like there is some development when it comes to Rick and even Kem that I have missed? I'm sure there is a short story or novella somewhere that I've accidentally skipped over because something just didn't seem to add up.
I really enjoyed this, but I wish there was less going on and that it was a touch more focused. It's been a while since I've read this one, and I hesitate to continue. Somehow the magic just isn't there, and I've heard the 5th and 6th in the series are some of the worst. Bleh. -
Raven Cursed was a fantastic book. It is full of information and demands you slow down and pay attention. Some much needed answers we've been wanting from the end of Mercy Blade are answered in regards to Jane's relationship with Rick and what Evangelina is up to. The witch's nickname is Evil Evie for a good reason! The plot of Raven Cursed itself was good as was it's place in the overall storyline of the series. My only complaint is in terms of Jane's emotional growth throughout the series. I don't see that there has been a lot of it. She is still experiencing the same crisis of faith and attempting to reconcile her Christian modern life with her Cherokee Skinwalker childhood experiences. To compound what I see as constant spiritual questioning with no answers I also feel Jane takes an inordinate amount of personal responsibility for the actions of others. She frequently comments that people have died on her watch or she has let someone down. She takes responsibility for Evangelina's actions in Raven Cursed as though Evangelina herself had no free will and was somehow mind controlled by Jane. I don't like the juxtaposition of a tough as nails Rogue Hunter whining to herself about letting everyone down all the time. Some of the time would add depth to her character and humanize her. As much of it as there was had me telling the book to shut up and quit whining.
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DNF
I don't see this story going anywhere. There is no real advancement in characters development. Almost everything feels stilled. The series is simply not evolving fast enough for me and I have lost all interest as a result. We are in book 4 and everything is still superficial, the emotional deepness and tension keeps being but aside in favor of new action. Without a solid background story that matters and evolves, every new plot that we encounter in each installment feels unimportant. I just don't care anymore, I have been patience enough with this series, I am out.
Skinwalker (Jane Yelowrock, #1) - 3 stars.
Blood Cross (Jane Yelowrock, #2) - 3 stars.
Ravel Cursed (Jane Yelowrock, #4) - DNF. 2 stars. -
Dear Santa, I want loads of Leo and Jane moments! D:
Thanks~ -
Jane needs to stop blaming herself for other people's actions and everything that goes wrong. Otherwise, awesome book.
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You may also read my review here:
http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/12/...
When we last left my favorite skinwalker in Mercy Blade, there were definitely some strings that needed tyin’ up, so I was eager to dive back into Jane’s world in Raven Cursed. In the 4th book of the series, Jane heads out of New Orleans and back to Asheville, North Carolina to provide security for a parley between the MOC of New Orleans and a master vamp that wants to establish his own territory. Unfortunately, Jane gets way (way) more than she bargains for in Asheville. Rogue weres are killing tourists in horrible ways, and Jane is tasked with taking them out. Easier said than done, especially when Jane feels that she’s responsible for the weres’ rampage.
Strangely enough, this is one of the things that I love most about Jane. Her guilt. Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but she’s such a tough girl; so capable and strong, especially with Beast, that her enduring habit of taking nearly everything upon herself gives her a vulnerability that I can’t help but love. Seriously, sometimes I want to smack her (purely out of love), and say “It’s not your fault!!! You can’t control everything!!”, but I digress… So, there’s the were issue, which really gets bad when she finds out they might be after her best friend (and witch) Molly, and her family. Molly’s hubs isn’t all that fond of Jane for various reasons, so convincing Molly that things aren’t as they seem may prove to be a hard bargain. It really complicates things when Jane finds out that Molly’s sister Evangeline may be dabbling in the dark arts. I really wanted to throttle Evil Evie in Mercy Blade, and it only gets worse in Raven Cursed.
You think there’s a lot on Jane’s plate? There is! But wait, there’s more! Ricky-Bo is in town and is freaking out (understandably) at the possibility of going furry. Doesn’t help that his “mentor” , head of the African were cats, wants to kill him. I’ve always been hopeful for Rick and Jane, and their relationship just gets more complex, and more tender in a lot of ways, as the series goes on. I will admit that Jane and Bruiser’s , ahem, “almost” scene in Mercy Blade was the awesome, (‘cause Bruiser is a hottie, after all), but Rick is where it’s at, and I have no doubt that their relationship will just get more and more interesting as the series progresses. So, there you have it. Rampaging weres, twisty-turny vamp politics, hot shifters (and vamps), some seriously nasty (and witchy) black magic (we’re talkin’ demons here), and Ms. Hunter’s trademark, awesome fight scenes make for a book worth relishing. The Jane Yellowrock series is superb, and they just keep getting better. If you haven’t discovered it yet, I envy you, because you can start with Skinwalker and race right through. If you have discovered it, you’ll love Raven Cursed! This series is a must for any urban fantasy lover! -
**Also posted at
the purlsonline readers forum!**
Raven Cursed opens with Jane in charge of security for a parley between master vampires. Jane is confident and competent in her duties. But after a while the vampire politics takes a backseat to a mess involving witches, werewolves, and Jane’s ex-boyfriend Rick, and even Jane’s abilities are taxed.
Raven Cursed has Jane at her independent and slightly feral best, but with a guilt syndrome that seems out of place in such a competent woman. Beast is fantastic as ever. I love great sidekicks or minor characters, and the reason I enjoy these books is Beast’s down-to-business, literal, and downright horny inner voice. Jane continues to defy Beast and maintain emotional distance from others, which is a huge tease now that she has so many interested men in her life. I found myself cheering for Beast as she insists that these men are good, strong mates!
This book takes Jane away from New Orleans to Asheville North Carolina and the surrounding rural areas. Camping, rafting, hiking – Jane’s all over it. Because of the change in setting, Leo and his bloodservant Bruiser are mostly absent from this book. While I missed them, I did grow fond of the B-twins and became more intrigued with Gregoire. And then there’s Ricky-Bo, who is also in the Asheville area.
The change in setting allows more focus on Molly and her witchy family, who live in the Ashville area. I wanted to slap Big Evan silly, squish Angie Baby and Little Evan into a tight hug, and sit down over a cup of tea with Molly and her sisters. Except Evil Evie. She’s not invited to my make-believe tea party!
Faith Hunter deftly writes thorough and detailed mythology with interconnected plots. Now that the series is on it’s 4th installment, the backstory (-ies) has gotten large. If it’s been a while since you’ve read the previous books in the series, a reread may be in order before diving into Raven Cursed. I also recommend reading the shorts in
Cat Tales, especially the ones told from Rick’s POV.
I rate Raven Cursed 4.5 stars.
Thanks to Penguin for providing an advanced copy! -
Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series must be one of the most under-rated UF series out there. It rarely gets mentioned in the same company as Kate Daniels or Fever, or other high profile series, and it really should. These books are every bit as good, and they get better as they go on.
Many of the plot lines from the previous novel, Mercy Blade, spill over into this book, as Jane returns to her home turf to provide security for a parley between a local fanghead and Gregoire, one of Leo's associates. There are also a couple of rogue werewolves from the last book on a killing spree, and Jane's guilt compels her to become involved. Molly's family feature prominently again too, with Evie's odd behaviour in Mercy Blade becoming significant. Jane is placed in a difficult situation having to deal with divided loyalties and her fear of bringing harm to those she is closest too. The luscious Ricky Bo is around too, dealing with his own Big Cat issues. I'd hoped for a little more development in Jane and Ricky's relationship, but he has a lot to deal with so I can understand why it wasn't forefront.
I've always liked the vampires in these stories, with their political scheming and manipulating. I love a sexy vampire as much as the next gal, and the fangheads that Jane Yellowrock deals with are gorgeous and intoxicating, but they're also dangerous and unpredictable. I was a little disappointed at first that Leo and Bruiser didn't feature much in the book, but Gregoire and his twin blood servants filled the gap nicely.
Something happens with Beast in this book (won't go into detail), and I was as upset as Jane was about it. Beast is such a fabulous character, with her own unique identity, despite existing only in Jane's head. There's an awesome scene between Beast and Kem-Cat, where we learn just who is alpha, and I was practically cheering when I read it! I also love how Beast gets horny when she spots a good-looking guy. Jane tries to deny what she's seeing or feeling, but Beast just purrs! Rrrrrr!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. I'm just disappointed that I'll need to wait possibly a year to find out what happens next. -
4.5 stars
I love, love, LOVE these books. Jane Yellowrock is one frickin' cool chick. -
Buddy read with the Wednesday UF Group over at BB&B.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Jane Yellowrock has climbed all the way to my favourite self. I'm kind of in love with her. Or rather with Beast. Beast is amazing! I can't believe that a cat can be this interesting. Kudos to Ms. Hunter for writing such a believable animal character.
It's time for a change of scenery in the Yellowrock series. We're in Asheville for a high-stakes vampire parley. And Jane was the dubious honor of being responsible for the security of the whole gig. Unfortunately old enemies are stalking her and making her life miserable and endangering her loved ones. Or so it seems.
Remember Evangelina's strange bizarre behaviour in the last book? Well it seems she's went over the edge and it's up to Jane to fix things. And she does, because she's Jane Yellowrock and she never backs away from a challenge. Even when it costs her the only family she's had since coming out f those woods as a child.
There are a few plotlines that eventually tie up nicely. The one I was most invested in was with Rick. While I disliked him on principle, he suffered pretty badly in the previous book and will be paying for his sins for the foreseeable future. I liked how it was resolved because, while he deserves to be punished, he does not deserve to die. I hope he and Jane can move on to a friendship based on respect and understanding following the events of the last few books.
I quite liked Gregoire (I'm not sure I spelled the name correctly) here. For a while I was convinced that he is a girl but apparently I'm mistaken. He is really interesting character and I would like to see more of him in the future.
I'm really pissed at Molly for the way she's treating her supposed bast friend. From the start of the book Molly is acting like a doormat, obediently following Big Evan's decree to not see Jane. As the book reaches it's end things are even worse of, despite the fact that Jane saved their damned lives. I've been in a similar situation and I know how hard it's to cut ties with people that you love but don't appreciate you. It hurts to realise that you've given your all and to have all that effort be thrown in you face. It's easy to say that Jane should just let them go but in truth it's really hard to see it and actually act on it. You keep thinking that if you give a little more they'll see how much they mean to you and will show you that they love you. It doesn't work that way and you know it but you keep hoping. Time and separation are the things that give you the needed perspective to do what's right for you and I hope that Jane will have the strength to do it. For her sake and Molly's, because it's the only way to make her see how wrong she is. -
4.5 stars – great!
This book was pretty great. I really, really enjoyed it. It kept me reading long past my bedtime so that I could finish it. (I didn’t go to bed until after finishing the final page at about 7am on May 11, 2016.) :-)
This book even had a couple of lines that almost made me laugh-out-loud, and one line that DID make me LOL. :-) I’d give it a full five stars, but it was missing that extra special something that would have made it a true five star book. So “4.5 great” stars it is. :-)
This story finds Jane in North Carolina and Tennessee (Asheville and Hartford and environs), where she’s on assignment for Leo Pellissier to manage and maintain security for a parley to possibly establish a new Master of the City in Asheville. Naturally, of course, things soon go wrong. :-)
First, it turns out that
And second,
It turns out that We learned that she spell she laid on Thankfully, that spell seems to have dissipated once :-)
I was really happy to have this question, left over from the last book (book #3:
Mercy Blade), answered. And the other questions I had at the end of
my review were also mostly answered, in this book and in the two prequel stories for it. :-)
At the end of book three, you may remember (I certainly do) that Well, one of the prequel-to-this-book shorts, "Blood, Fangs, and Going Furry," pretty much picked up right from that ending and gave us what happened next. :-) As far as but we were left with a nice clue as to where she's going next:
This book ends with Jane Happily, by the end, :-)
But first, But thankfully, things were calmed by the final page. :-)
Jane and her security force :-)
Some readers might view this ending as a cliffhanger, but me? I’m a happy camper. I liked that we weren’t left in the lurch; that instead we were just left with a very intriguing question. (Though I wonder if I’d be less happy if I didn’t already own the next book and have it ready to start?) :-)
One last thing: I mentioned two almost-LOL moments and one true-LOL moment near the opening of this review. I'll share. :-)
The two almost-LOL moments struck me as humorous, but I didn't laugh out loud . . . this time. The potential was there, though. I think. :-) I won't share those quotes, but for my future reference, they appeared on pages 6 and 263. :-)
The one true-LOL moment came on page 282, at the end of Chapter Twenty-Five. Jane lol! :-) Have I said recently how much I really like Beast? She's fun. :-)
Anyway, in conclusion, I am really enjoying this series. I'm so glad I bought it. :-) -
This was awesome.
I just loved it! The universe is amazing and I can't wait to read more.
I liked this one way more then the last book. -
3.5/5.0
Still loving the series, just wasn’t as riveted in this installment. It seemed to puddle along a bit slower than the first three. I was also perfectly disgusted with the way Jane allows Rick back into her life so easily. Especially since she is completely aware, not just of his indefensible cheating, but of the fact that he still drools over every other woman with two legs. OBVIOUSLY this is a character trait not a one-time indiscretion! Why or why does she so easily ignore all that? Doesn’t make sense and totally goes against her otherwise strong character.
Still, once the action gets poppin, it is back to the Jane we all love and can’t put down. -
Not a bad entry to the series but not something that captured and held me. I felt like I'd missed something regarding the character Rick and later discovered that there is a short story in the anthology "Cat Tales" that fills the gaps in a bit.
I am not always happy with the choices the protag makes in her relationships and this entry was no exception. I have a hard time respecting women who constantly choose to go back to men who have played and gamed them, or men who consider themselves players all the time. I can appreciate a woman who allows her libido to use one, but I can't appreciate or respect a woman who allows her libido to keep her emotionally invested. Jane remains emotionally invested in Rick LeFleur who, in my estimation, is unworthy of that investment. Him being "the best looking man she'd ever seen" means nothing to me in that regard.
I spent a lot of time bored with this installment. There was a lot of descriptions of weather, and forest, and other things that felt like filler. The story that was here was interesting enough but it seemed to take a long time to evolve, which is incongruous given that it closed up a lot of arc from earlier books.
In regard to Jane's personal growth, to her personal relationships, to her defining herself, I don't feel like there was much movement in this installment. There was very little Leo or Bruiser in this book, all together too much Rick for my tastes, and not nearly enough personal evolution.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. -
Jane Yellowrock is back for another adventure! I like her a lot as a kick butt heroine and her powers are interesting and I think pretty unique. My only issue is that she accepts poor treatment from people around her (Big Evan was the one that really irked me in this one) and in doing so she lets small problems grow bigger out of guilt. I hope she continues to mature and her relationships (both romantically and with her chosen family.
Jane is back home playing security guard for vampire parley talks but of course other trouble has followed. There are rogue werewolves taunting her and something is going on with the witches and Jane may be over her head. I do love that we got to see more of Angie and Little Evan who are adorable and some of the best characters in this series. -
This series has sucked me in, I'm here trying to figure out what Jane is and who's her love interest and I look up and see I'm already on book 5. Slow clap for you , Faith Hunter, slow clap for you.
