Review: Wild Country by Anne Bishop

Wild Country
Anne Bishop
Publication date: March 5, 2019
Series: The World of the Others #2, The Others #7
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Adult
Source: Berkley Publishing and NetGalley

GOODREADS  |  AMAZON

There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.

But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the Blackstone Clan, outlaws and gamblers all, will uncover secrets…or bury them. 

M Y   T H O U G H T S

The wait between last year’s Lake Silence and Wild Country was a long one but it was so worth it. This return to the world of The Others was everything I wanted. Unlike Lake Silence, where everything felt new from the location to the cast of characters, in Wild Country we return to the town of Bennett and plenty of familiar faces.

It’s only a matter of weeks after a war between humans and the terra indigene (beings that occupied the earth long before humans) and the town of Bennett is being resettled. This draws not only people looking to make a fresh start but also con artists and criminals. The town quickly becomes a mix of both humans and Others (shape shifting wolves, ravens, panthers and more) with vampire Tolya Sanguinati serving as the town leader. With feelings ranging from uneasy acceptance to outright hostility (from both sides), it’s only a matter of time before things reach a boiling point in Bennett. Some humans and Others have forged a tenuous alliance to avoid further bloodshed and loss of life (courtesy of the Elders who remain largely unseen). But there are those who seem determined to repeat the mistakes of the past and are on a collision course with another clash between humans and Others.

As always, one of my favorite aspects in this series is the interaction between the terra indigene and humans. It’s always interesting watching as they adapt to one another and it never fails to lead to some laugh out loud moments (and yes, some dangerous ones, too). In this case, Jana, a human police officer and her boss Virgil Wolfgard, the sheriff, have to learn to work side by side and trust one another. Jana wants a chance to prove herself as a female police officer and Virgil has to remember to not bite her when she yaps at him. While I enjoyed almost all the new characters introduced in Wild Country, it was these two that had me invested and they provided not only real character growth but also some comic relief and a few genuinely sweet moments.

It never fails to surprise me that in this amazing urban fantasy series so many humans remain convinced of their superiority and invincibility. Newsflash: in this stunningly original world that Bishop has created, humans are not at the top of the food chain. But there are always those whose hubris will be their downfall. The cruelty and senseless violence from some of the humans begs the question: who is actually the more humane – the humans who lie and cheat and kill? Or the Others, who put Pack above all, take care of their own, and have their own swift form of justice?

The timeline of Wild Country overlaps somewhat with Etched in Bone (the fifth and final book in the original series) so readers of the original series will recall certain events that took place, now seen from a different perspective. But even those new to the world of the Others will be able to fall right into this fast-paced story and enjoy the ride. 

4.5/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.

Short Take Reviews: The Ranty Edition

Burn For Me (Hidden Legacy #1)
Ilona Andrews
Publication date: October 28, 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world. 

This book has crazy high rating on GoodReads (4.35). And I was excited to read it. Find a new urban fantasy series to get into. But that didn't happen. To be fair, I don't think it's really the story. I lay 90% of the blame on the narration. It was BAD. And I really, REALLY disliked it. And basically, it ruined the book for me.

This was the first time I encountered Renee Raudman's narration and I've gotta say: not a fan. To start, there's the twangy country accents. Yes, the story is set in Texas but it's in metropolitan Houston, not hillbilly central. Then there was the voice for the main character's grandmother - an active woman who was maybe sixty and yet sounded like a frail little grandma at age 101. It was just such a cliched "little old lady" voice that it was like something out of a cartoon. In fact, most of the characters sounded years beyond their stated age - including Rogan, who sounded like a crusty old cowboy instead of a 30 year old badass.

The story was okay but a mostly unsatisfying. Nevada tried to bring in a fugitive while verbally sparring with Rogan. In one sentence she was referring to him as a psychopath, in the next she was drooling over his abs. *eye roll* But it was the narration that made Nevada unlikable, every character sound decades older than they were, and as if every Texan was a country bumpkin. Ugh. I could switch to the books instead of the audio and continue on, but I'm afraid the bad experience with this one has pretty much ruined the series for me.

2/5 STARS

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story
Kheryn Callender
Publication date: October 30, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings.

Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after?  

Oh, the high hopes I had for this one! It's contemporary, it's YA, it had a synopsis that hooked me, my trusted book buddy gave it 4 stars. But no, I have no love for this set of miserable characters.

Main character Nate was thoroughly unlikable. He was moody and taciturn. He was standoffish and treated his friends poorly, often to the point of being intentionally hurtful. Worse, he knew what he was doing and did it anyway. Yes, he was dealing with a recent break-up (and losing his father as a child) but I couldn't see how any of it excused his behavior.

He "best friend" (ha, some friend!) and ex-girlfriend Flo was horrible. She cheated on him when they were together and then had the audacity to insist he be friends with her new girlfriend. WT-actual-F? And when he showed any emotion about her cheating, she copped an attitude. When he showed interest in Ollie, she got mad and quit speaking to him. Note to Nate: this person is not your friend!

The only one I actually liked was poor Ollie. And I felt like telling him to run-don't-walk back to Santa Fe and ditch these toxic people.

They argued, they gave each other the silent treatment, they made up. Rinse and repeat. I'd had enough.

DNF @ 192 pages


WHAT'S THE LAST BOOK YOU DNF'D?

Review: Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

Series: The Others #6

Genres: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: March 6, 2018

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley & Berkley Publishing

Find it here: GoodReads | Amazon

Human laws do not apply in the territory controlled by the Others–vampires, shapeshifters, and paranormal beings even more deadly. And this is a fact that humans should never, ever forget . . .

After her divorce, Vicki DeVine took over a rustic resort near Lake Silence, in a human town that is not human controlled. Towns like Vicki’s have no distance from the Others, the dominant predators that rule most of the land and all of the water throughout the world. And when a place has no boundaries, you never really know what’s out there watching you.

Vicki was hoping to find a new career and a new life. But when her lodger, Aggie Crowe–one of the shapeshifting Others–discovers a dead body, Vicki finds trouble instead. The detectives want to pin the man’s death on her, despite the evidence that nothing human could have killed the victim. As Vicki and her friends search for answers, things get dangerous–and it’ll take everything they have to stay alive.

I have been eagerly awaiting this latest installment in The Others series and I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint!

In Lake Silence, Bishop leaves the Lakeside Courtyard and the residents I've come to know and love and sets this latest tale in the small village of Sproing. Human inhabited... but not human controlled. Surrounded by the Wild Country, where The Others have free rein, Sproing is now home to Vicki DeVine. Hoping to turn the property she received in her divorce settlement into a successful business, things take a turn when her lodger finds a dead body. And things certainly take off from there.

There's all new cast of characters in Lake Silence and Bishop spun her magic and made each one unique, quirky and full of personality. From Vicki, still struggling after years in an emotionally abusive marriage, to Wayne Grimshaw, the cop called in from a neighboring town who is quickly embroiled in the apparent murder, to Julian Farrow, a former cop now running a small bookshop and who has an uncanny sense about the area around him. There's the charming and almost childlike Aggie Crowgard, Vicki's lodger who quickly becomes an important part of the story and whose constant search for "shiny" was always amusing. 

And let's not forget The Others. Those seen - like Aggie, and like Ilya Sanguinati, Vicki's vampire attorney - and those unseen. Those that live in the wild, those that are heard or felt or even sensed. Bishop has a way of imparting just how lethal The Others truly are without ever making them the "bad guys." In fact, with their strong sense of right and wrong, their swift justice, and their loyalty to those who deserve it, it is most often the humans who show a lack of humanity and are doing the most harm.

I was thoroughly invested in Lake Silence. From the characters, to the mystery, to the world building, Bishop totally captured my imagination and kept me glued to my Kindle as the story unfolded. While Lake Silence can easily be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend grabbing the previous books and immersing yourself fully in the world of The Others. Meanwhile, I'll be ready and waiting for the next book in this addictive series!

4/5 STARS

Do you enjoy urban fantasy?