Kit Colbana--half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades--has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters--especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.Or maybe it's all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she's gotten in over her head. Or maybe it's because if she fails--she's dead.If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she'll even live long to collect her fee...
Start reading Blade Song (Colbana Files) on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
Try it free |
Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
|
| Digital List Price: |
$4.99
What's this?
|
| Print List Price: | $9.99 |
| Kindle Price: | $4.74 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet |
| You Save: | $5.25 (53%) |
|
| |||||||||||||||
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store. |
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Do yourself a favor and read this book. This story is original and hard-hitting with terrific world building and some of the best characters I've read. Yum." Patricia Briggs, author of the #1 NYTimes Mercy Thompson series
From the Inside Flap
I carried a picture of Doyle in my back pocket.
I'd made a copy and tucked it in my pocket the day I accepted the case.
Maybe it was silly, but I wanted to remember what I was risking my life for.
Who.
A kid.
A nervous, scared kid who wasn't even sure he could survive the change from human to were.
He had blond hair, sleepy-looking eyes and the promise of what would be a killer smile. So much promise. And what was more...he had kind eyes. The kindness in his eyes hadn't been lost on me.
It seemed that the cat shifters could use with more kindness in their ranks.
It pissed me off that somebody who might have been one of the nice ones could be lost to them.
I knew his face now. He was mine. I'd do everything I could to find him and if I couldn't find him, it would be because there was nothing left to be found.
On the way down to the cold lower level of Banner HQ, I slid my hand into my pocket and tugged out the picture of Doyle, rubbing it with my thumb. I didn't look at it. There was no need. I knew his face well enough now that I could draw his picture. More than once, I'd found myself doing just that.
Would death be kind--?
No. I can't think like that...can't, I can't, I can't....
A hand came up and closed over my neck as the elevator doors opened. The people trickled out, but before we could follow them, Damon hit the button to shut the doors and then he just held it. "Are you trying to push yourself into a panic attack?" he asked, dipping his head and growling right into my ear.
I drove my elbow into his stomach.
I might as well have been hitting steel for all the good it did.
I did it again anyway.
He swore and spun around, shoving my back against the elevator doors.
My hand itched--bad, bad, bad.
"Listen, little girl," he snarled.
He reached for me.
I'd made a copy and tucked it in my pocket the day I accepted the case.
Maybe it was silly, but I wanted to remember what I was risking my life for.
Who.
A kid.
A nervous, scared kid who wasn't even sure he could survive the change from human to were.
He had blond hair, sleepy-looking eyes and the promise of what would be a killer smile. So much promise. And what was more...he had kind eyes. The kindness in his eyes hadn't been lost on me.
It seemed that the cat shifters could use with more kindness in their ranks.
It pissed me off that somebody who might have been one of the nice ones could be lost to them.
I knew his face now. He was mine. I'd do everything I could to find him and if I couldn't find him, it would be because there was nothing left to be found.
On the way down to the cold lower level of Banner HQ, I slid my hand into my pocket and tugged out the picture of Doyle, rubbing it with my thumb. I didn't look at it. There was no need. I knew his face well enough now that I could draw his picture. More than once, I'd found myself doing just that.
Would death be kind--?
No. I can't think like that...can't, I can't, I can't....
A hand came up and closed over my neck as the elevator doors opened. The people trickled out, but before we could follow them, Damon hit the button to shut the doors and then he just held it. "Are you trying to push yourself into a panic attack?" he asked, dipping his head and growling right into my ear.
I drove my elbow into his stomach.
I might as well have been hitting steel for all the good it did.
I did it again anyway.
He swore and spun around, shoving my back against the elevator doors.
My hand itched--bad, bad, bad.
"Listen, little girl," he snarled.
He reached for me.
Product Details
Would you like to give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
105 of 110 people found the following review helpful
By booklover7
Format:Kindle Edition
I thought I would like this book. Nice premise, decent start. But by the time I finished it, I wondered that I bothered to.
I'm not going into extensive over-view of the plot. I try to give these reviews without too much spoiler material. But I have two gripes about this book that killed it for me.
The heroine: She's a hardened warrior woman who dealt with major abuse from her mother's family for the first half of her life because she's a "half-breed" before she finally escaped and eventually found her feet. That was a long time ago and now she's a hard-core free agent. The author endowed nicely - cool weapons, high skill, and a dash of magic. But she hasn't "recovered". Nearly every other chapter has her in panic attacks, paralyzing flashbacks, drowning in nightmares or some other severe post-traumatic drama. If the story was on a shorter timeline, like if it had only been 5 years since her escape; or if her self-centering exercises - the first part of a mantra and a fidget for touching her sword - actually worked. But as is, it's hard to believe that she could be functional by herself this long without anything setting her off before. The story itself mentions a previous case about finding a girl she knew and cared about. But I find it hard to believe. At least twice in any given chapter she loses focus because of invading memories and several times in the book the only thing that pulled her out was someone noticing she was losing it and interfering. This woman does not strike you as the type who can work alone. She's...broken. This kind of heroine is not repulsive to me. We see it a lot in this genre; but then the story, action and timeline need to reflect that. Don't take a barely-keeping-it-together psychiatric case-study and ask us to accept she's running the show.
The love interest: While he sounds especially scrumptious, he does not, at any point, become likeable in this book. First he is an abusive, controlling, condescending jerk. And while she is often overly antagonist in her approach to him, I can understand why. He hurts her and threatens her regularly. I honestly did not want them to get together no matter how obviously he was meant to be the love interest. Though he shows some contrition for his actions it's not nearly enough to make you cheer on their coupling. And that made no sense. One chapter they are still at each others' throats, then he suddenly starts calling her "baby girl" - which I truly hate. I get that quirky nicknames are a thing that guys do to the strong heroines in these novels because...who knows. I was fully prepared to accept "kitten" for Kit. But to call a grown, supposedly strong and independent, woman you just met "baby girl" is not charming. When guys do that on the street we call them creeps and walk away...fast. The author tries to cover with this "rut" of his, but says he has a choice and doesn't fall for the nearest female. So why (and when and where) did he fall for her? There was no lead-up. It was just "I'm still really sorry for almost strangling you...and I also kinda like you now." And she returns the feeling! The "I just need a bond to push out the (obviously) bad guy vamp" turns into "Even though I'm an emotionally-stunted hyper-defensive post-traumatic victim and you've been mistreating me this whole time...I kinda like you, too". What?! Not buying it. Don't wanna buy it. Because even after all that, at the end, he's still grabbing, pushing, and pulling her around at will. Why's it okay now?
Summary: I took interest in the story itself. A lot of the surrounding characters were likeable and the author proposed an interesting premise. But I could not gel with the two lead characters. I won't be reading another one and I'm glad I paid so little for this one. Sorry.
I'm not going into extensive over-view of the plot. I try to give these reviews without too much spoiler material. But I have two gripes about this book that killed it for me.
The heroine: She's a hardened warrior woman who dealt with major abuse from her mother's family for the first half of her life because she's a "half-breed" before she finally escaped and eventually found her feet. That was a long time ago and now she's a hard-core free agent. The author endowed nicely - cool weapons, high skill, and a dash of magic. But she hasn't "recovered". Nearly every other chapter has her in panic attacks, paralyzing flashbacks, drowning in nightmares or some other severe post-traumatic drama. If the story was on a shorter timeline, like if it had only been 5 years since her escape; or if her self-centering exercises - the first part of a mantra and a fidget for touching her sword - actually worked. But as is, it's hard to believe that she could be functional by herself this long without anything setting her off before. The story itself mentions a previous case about finding a girl she knew and cared about. But I find it hard to believe. At least twice in any given chapter she loses focus because of invading memories and several times in the book the only thing that pulled her out was someone noticing she was losing it and interfering. This woman does not strike you as the type who can work alone. She's...broken. This kind of heroine is not repulsive to me. We see it a lot in this genre; but then the story, action and timeline need to reflect that. Don't take a barely-keeping-it-together psychiatric case-study and ask us to accept she's running the show.
The love interest: While he sounds especially scrumptious, he does not, at any point, become likeable in this book. First he is an abusive, controlling, condescending jerk. And while she is often overly antagonist in her approach to him, I can understand why. He hurts her and threatens her regularly. I honestly did not want them to get together no matter how obviously he was meant to be the love interest. Though he shows some contrition for his actions it's not nearly enough to make you cheer on their coupling. And that made no sense. One chapter they are still at each others' throats, then he suddenly starts calling her "baby girl" - which I truly hate. I get that quirky nicknames are a thing that guys do to the strong heroines in these novels because...who knows. I was fully prepared to accept "kitten" for Kit. But to call a grown, supposedly strong and independent, woman you just met "baby girl" is not charming. When guys do that on the street we call them creeps and walk away...fast. The author tries to cover with this "rut" of his, but says he has a choice and doesn't fall for the nearest female. So why (and when and where) did he fall for her? There was no lead-up. It was just "I'm still really sorry for almost strangling you...and I also kinda like you now." And she returns the feeling! The "I just need a bond to push out the (obviously) bad guy vamp" turns into "Even though I'm an emotionally-stunted hyper-defensive post-traumatic victim and you've been mistreating me this whole time...I kinda like you, too". What?! Not buying it. Don't wanna buy it. Because even after all that, at the end, he's still grabbing, pushing, and pulling her around at will. Why's it okay now?
Summary: I took interest in the story itself. A lot of the surrounding characters were likeable and the author proposed an interesting premise. But I could not gel with the two lead characters. I won't be reading another one and I'm glad I paid so little for this one. Sorry.
79 of 85 people found the following review helpful
By GoldiReviews
Format:Kindle Edition
You know how sometimes you feel like you read a different book than everyone else? Yeah, that's me and Blade Song. I did not care for this book at all. I adore urban fantasy, its my favorite genre to read. I like the love/hate relationships, the strong heroines, the balance of fighting and romance, and the mysteries to be solved. This book fell flat for me in every one of those areas.
The heroine is supposed to be a baddie that several are comparing to Kate Daniels. She wields a katana and works with shifters. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, at the mention of her name in the same breath as Kit's, Kate Daniels has passed out from shock. Kit and Kate are nothing alike. Kit makes stupid decisions over and over again and her choices of allies and enemies boggles the mind (Jude the vampire? NOT your friend Kit). And she is supposed to be a sword master with her katana that she has a special connection with. Instead, we CONSTANTLY see her using other weapons instead of the sword. Why? I want to see some serious sword fighting dang it!
Kit's relationship with our hero, Damon, starts off on shaky ground and they instantly don't like each other (although Kit is attracted to his physical hotness). I thought I was getting some of that love/hate that I love, where the hero and heroine banter back and forth until their chemistry wins out and they fall madly in love, and into bed. That is not what I got. Kit and Damon have a hate/hate relationship, with both treating the other awfully. Their banter is not playful and on the edge between arguing and flirting. Their's is just fighting and being mean. There is even a point where Damon smashes Kit's head again the trunk of a car and chokes her out to the point that her throat and voice are messed up for a while. What. The. Heck? How am I supposed to swoon over that? And Damon is not nearly as apologetic as he should be or charming enough after that happens for me to get over it. Ugh.
Then, at 60% in, suddenly they are head over heels for each other. Its a very awkward transition that felt disjointed to me. Why the sudden change? I just couldn't by it.
I also didn't really love the world this story takes place in. None of the secondary characters really flourish for me and I felt like it was just the Kit and Damon show with these useless extra people occasionally thrown in.
I read just over 70% of this book, which I think was quite noble of me considering my issues with it. I also feel that this is enough of the book to write an honest review of it. I realize that the romantic relationship probably continues to evolve in the last 30% of the book, but I just couldn't get there.
However, several of my good blogger friends have read and loved this book - and I mean loved it. If you're still on the fence, please feel free to read the positive reviews and make up your mind for yourself. This one just wasn't for me AT ALL, even though I gave it a valiant effort.
The heroine is supposed to be a baddie that several are comparing to Kate Daniels. She wields a katana and works with shifters. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, at the mention of her name in the same breath as Kit's, Kate Daniels has passed out from shock. Kit and Kate are nothing alike. Kit makes stupid decisions over and over again and her choices of allies and enemies boggles the mind (Jude the vampire? NOT your friend Kit). And she is supposed to be a sword master with her katana that she has a special connection with. Instead, we CONSTANTLY see her using other weapons instead of the sword. Why? I want to see some serious sword fighting dang it!
Kit's relationship with our hero, Damon, starts off on shaky ground and they instantly don't like each other (although Kit is attracted to his physical hotness). I thought I was getting some of that love/hate that I love, where the hero and heroine banter back and forth until their chemistry wins out and they fall madly in love, and into bed. That is not what I got. Kit and Damon have a hate/hate relationship, with both treating the other awfully. Their banter is not playful and on the edge between arguing and flirting. Their's is just fighting and being mean. There is even a point where Damon smashes Kit's head again the trunk of a car and chokes her out to the point that her throat and voice are messed up for a while. What. The. Heck? How am I supposed to swoon over that? And Damon is not nearly as apologetic as he should be or charming enough after that happens for me to get over it. Ugh.
Then, at 60% in, suddenly they are head over heels for each other. Its a very awkward transition that felt disjointed to me. Why the sudden change? I just couldn't by it.
I also didn't really love the world this story takes place in. None of the secondary characters really flourish for me and I felt like it was just the Kit and Damon show with these useless extra people occasionally thrown in.
I read just over 70% of this book, which I think was quite noble of me considering my issues with it. I also feel that this is enough of the book to write an honest review of it. I realize that the romantic relationship probably continues to evolve in the last 30% of the book, but I just couldn't get there.
However, several of my good blogger friends have read and loved this book - and I mean loved it. If you're still on the fence, please feel free to read the positive reviews and make up your mind for yourself. This one just wasn't for me AT ALL, even though I gave it a valiant effort.
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
3-1/2 stars
J.C. Daniels, aka Shiloh Walker, has created a new Urban Fantasy world worth checking out.
Kit Colbana is descended from an ancient warrior race, even if she is a half breed. She owns her own PI Firm and has taken a new job: find the missing ward of the local Cat Alpha or be killed. A requirement of the job is to take along the Alpha's top soldier, Damon. Finding a missing teen shouldn't be a problem, but while searching she finds several non-human kids are missing all over the city.
I really liked Kit. She is half-human half-Aneira (Think Amazons), but most everyone mistakenly thinks she is full human because the Aneira are dwindling in numbers and keep to themselves. She has a very interesting skill set, most notably her skills with weapons. She has a sword that she can call to her at any time...much to the confusion of Damon and others with humorous results. She has a natural luck that is part of her hunter instincts. She isn't as strong as other non-humans, but she is very cunning. Even though I liked Kit overall, there were moments were I was shaking my head at her as she seemed to just jump around with her loyalties or purpose. Partly, my moments of dislike were when I would unintentionally compare Kit to Kate Daniels of Ilona Andrew's works Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1). It really isn't fair to do so, and I didn't mean to do it, but it happens. In comparison to the Kate Daniels series, I found this one slightly lacking. It didn't help Kit's case that EVERYONE constantly tells Kit that she is foolish and not making intelligent choices. It got grating to hear it over and over again.
Kit and Damon's relationship went from annoyance and brutality to love awful fast for me. I know Damon was a shifter, but he was awfully brutal physically to Kit in the beginning, which I had a bit of a hard time getting over myself especially as he believes she's fully human. The author does do a good job of showing the little changes that happen in their relationship and the confusion they experience as they find that despite their annoyances with each other they like each other. I did find it believable in the end, but I still didn't like how brutal and downright mean Damon was in the beginning.
The mystery Kit is trying to solve seemed a bit obvious, but I loved watching Kit use her Aneira skills to uncover the plot. Her skill set is rather unique in the growing UF genre. Her growing number of allies and friends brought a lot to the table and showed just where Kit is in the pecking order of the non-human world she lives in. The worldbuilding was done well and was very interesting.
I did have a few moments of confusion as Kit references a specific past case as if we were a part of it. Did I miss something? Isn't this book ONE of a new series? Well, kind of. This is book one, but the author DOES have a free short story on her blog that is a prequel to this series, so this isn't REALLY the beginning.
This is a promising start to a new Urban Fantasy series, and I am looking forward to reading more about Kit and her big kitty. We get a small expert for the next in the series NIGHT BLADE, which has perked my interest even more.
Blade Series
A Stroke of Dumb Luck: A Tor.Com Original 0.5
Blade Song
Night Blade
J.C. Daniels, aka Shiloh Walker, has created a new Urban Fantasy world worth checking out.
Kit Colbana is descended from an ancient warrior race, even if she is a half breed. She owns her own PI Firm and has taken a new job: find the missing ward of the local Cat Alpha or be killed. A requirement of the job is to take along the Alpha's top soldier, Damon. Finding a missing teen shouldn't be a problem, but while searching she finds several non-human kids are missing all over the city.
I really liked Kit. She is half-human half-Aneira (Think Amazons), but most everyone mistakenly thinks she is full human because the Aneira are dwindling in numbers and keep to themselves. She has a very interesting skill set, most notably her skills with weapons. She has a sword that she can call to her at any time...much to the confusion of Damon and others with humorous results. She has a natural luck that is part of her hunter instincts. She isn't as strong as other non-humans, but she is very cunning. Even though I liked Kit overall, there were moments were I was shaking my head at her as she seemed to just jump around with her loyalties or purpose. Partly, my moments of dislike were when I would unintentionally compare Kit to Kate Daniels of Ilona Andrew's works Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1). It really isn't fair to do so, and I didn't mean to do it, but it happens. In comparison to the Kate Daniels series, I found this one slightly lacking. It didn't help Kit's case that EVERYONE constantly tells Kit that she is foolish and not making intelligent choices. It got grating to hear it over and over again.
Kit and Damon's relationship went from annoyance and brutality to love awful fast for me. I know Damon was a shifter, but he was awfully brutal physically to Kit in the beginning, which I had a bit of a hard time getting over myself especially as he believes she's fully human. The author does do a good job of showing the little changes that happen in their relationship and the confusion they experience as they find that despite their annoyances with each other they like each other. I did find it believable in the end, but I still didn't like how brutal and downright mean Damon was in the beginning.
The mystery Kit is trying to solve seemed a bit obvious, but I loved watching Kit use her Aneira skills to uncover the plot. Her skill set is rather unique in the growing UF genre. Her growing number of allies and friends brought a lot to the table and showed just where Kit is in the pecking order of the non-human world she lives in. The worldbuilding was done well and was very interesting.
I did have a few moments of confusion as Kit references a specific past case as if we were a part of it. Did I miss something? Isn't this book ONE of a new series? Well, kind of. This is book one, but the author DOES have a free short story on her blog that is a prequel to this series, so this isn't REALLY the beginning.
This is a promising start to a new Urban Fantasy series, and I am looking forward to reading more about Kit and her big kitty. We get a small expert for the next in the series NIGHT BLADE, which has perked my interest even more.
Blade Series
A Stroke of Dumb Luck: A Tor.Com Original 0.5
Blade Song
Night Blade
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Solid Series Starter
It's not like Kit Colbana is happy to take a job for the alpha of the cat shifters. There are a lot easier ways to die if she were feeling that suicidal. Read more
Published 19 hours ago by Tracy
4.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ
I really enjoyed the characters(kick butt heroine/hot alpha male)and the storyline. Will definitely read the next book in the series.
Published 1 day ago by Amy R
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loved this book
I randomly bought this book when it was a Daily Deal and loved it!!! It kept my interest and once finished, I immediately bought Night Blade. I cannot wait for Broken Blade.
Published 1 month ago by Monkeybutt
3.0 out of 5 stars
Blade Song by J. C. Daniels
From my blog On Starships and Dragonwings
Blade Song by J. C. Daniels is an urban fantasy novel that follows the investigations of Kit Colbana when a powerful were-cat's... Read more
Blade Song by J. C. Daniels is an urban fantasy novel that follows the investigations of Kit Colbana when a powerful were-cat's... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Anya
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conflicted
"Conflicted" covers both the heroine, my view of this book, and definitely the reviews I see here... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nřrthćrn Lĺights
3.0 out of 5 stars
Blade Song
I don't read much paranormal.
I liked it. It was quirky. I liked Kit's sass. But disliked her childish thinking and her impulsiveness. Read more
I liked it. It was quirky. I liked Kit's sass. But disliked her childish thinking and her impulsiveness. Read more
Published 1 month ago by HForsythe13
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Took me a little time to get into the story but once it going I found it a good read.
Published 1 month ago by Jake's buddy
3.0 out of 5 stars
My personal review on "Blade Song"
Anytime a story holds my interest, I consider it good. I have several novels on my bookshelf that are unfinished because the story(s) were boring or too predictable. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mizflud
5.0 out of 5 stars
...and I found a new, great author!
...but J.C. Daniels is also Shiloh Walker. No wonder this was such a great book! It had great balance, driven by both plot and character, and I really want to know what happens... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Renea
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great New Favorite Author
I read alot of books, mostly sci fi/fantasy and paranormal romances and I believe that this Author is going to be among the greats that I re read over and over again. Read more
Published 1 month ago by LadyCAD
Book Extras from the Shelfari Community
(What's this?)To add, correct, or read more Book Extras for Blade Song , visit Shelfari, an Amazon.com company.
More About the Author
J.C. Daniels is the pen name of author Shiloh Walker. J.C./Shiloh has been writing since she was a kid... she fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah... serious vampire stories. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, but most all anything romantic. Once upon a time, she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
So You'd Like to...
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > Literature & Fiction
- Books > Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic
- Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy
- Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Fantasy
- Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal
- Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban
