Customer Reviews

They Call Me Death

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The back cover of "They Call Me Death" states "Warning! If you are easily intimidated by kick-ass heroines who can hold their own against shapeshifting alpha males and bring them to their knees, this book is not for you!"

I got as far as page 116 of the 208-page book and not only had the heroine, Alexia Williams, NOT kicked anyone or anything's ass, but she also had backed down and/or been intimidated in encounters with two males -- one human, one shapeshifter. She also relied on the latter to save her butt from two situations.

When compared with a real kick-ass supernatural genre heroine, like Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock, Alexia Williams is a simpering schoolgirl. I had to put the book down unfinished.

The title and cover of this book are a bit corny but I'm glad I didn't judge this book by it's cover; the story was phenomenal! Missy Jane, has built a vividly-dark world of chaos and fear. The world has been ravished and split by war between the humans and shifters. The USA no longer exists but is split in half between the North, shifter country and the South, human country.

It has been four years since a third of the worlds population suddenly united and exposed themselves as shifters. Alexia Williams, is one of the military guards who patrol on top of the fifteen-foot wall that separates the humans from their worst nightmares. Humans, naturally having the sense of entitlement, are permitted to come and go between both countries freely (assuming they can make it out of shifter country alive) but shifters are swiftly prohibited from stepping foot on human soil behind the wall.

When shifters suddenly start disappearing, Andor Olavson, a golden-eagle shifter, approaches Alexia for assistance. Having a smart wit about her and an even faster trigger finger, has gotten her the well deserved reputation as Death, amongst the shifters. However, Alexia is also known to be intuitive, level-headed, smart and fair. Alexia agrees to secretly smuggle Andor onto human soil and assist him in his investigation.

What they stumble upon during their search, shakes Alexia to her very core and causes her to reevaluate what she deems good and evil. For Alexia, the lines between human and shifter, right and wrong start to blur. Seeing the degradation human hands can cause, pushes Alexia into action.

I really enjoyed this book from the beginning to the very end and gobbled it all up in one day. The story was so fresh, exciting, imaginative and clever, I couldn't put it down. Alexia, is strong and fearless. She is the kind of heroine, I'd like to see more urban fantasy authors emulate. I highly recommend this urban fantasy romance to dark urban fantasy readers. I also look forward to the next book Much More than Human (Emily & Lance's story).

I also recommend:
Servant: The Kindred
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)
Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)

The story line is interesting, although not very believable. A horizontal wall across the entire US? Never happen, even if shifters existed and revealed themselves.

I found the dialogue stilted and stiff in places, enough to make me roll my eyes and think "People don't actually talk like that." There just wasn't an easy flow of conversation between people.

Many questions are left unanswered... mainly about Alexias family. That bit of the story just felt completely unreal. I think she only mentions their names once or twice, near the end of the book, which just make them seem fake. A woman mourning the loss of her family would think their names, she would not think of them as husband and son. Naming them to herself would help keep their memories alive in her mind, its part of human nature. And what about Sandulf? What does he want? It's possible it will be in the next book, but it feels like Alexias story is over.

I finished the book, but was disappointed in it... it had a lot of promise, yet didn't quite deliver. It's worth a read, but it's not nearly as good as it could have been. I'll look forward to Missy Jane's next work, and keep my fingers crossed that the rough edges will be more smoothed over.

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which is more novella-length than mass market paperback length. And honestly, had an additional 100 or so more pages been added with some more attention to world building and character development, this could have been a solid urban fantasy novel and the start of a strong series. As it is, there is enough to be interesting and unique and a very decent read.

In an alternate version of the US, shapeshifters have come out of the closet in mostly bloody and warring ways, and the war that resulted split the country from east to west, from sea to shining sea, and left humans struggling for any sort of cultural resurgence in the south while in the north, shifters flourish. Between them stands a wall, and on that wall stands Alexia Williams, a member of the Combined Human States Army, and known to the shifters simply as Death. She's the lone survivor of her family and after having watched her husband and infant son brutally slaughtered under the fangs and claws of shifters, she's got absolutely no love for the species' and not much more in the way of tender feelings for even her fellow man. In fact, her loss has turned her into a cold killing machine and the only person she trusts is herself.

So when a three hundred year old golden eagle shifter named Andor steps in and saves her life, then asks for her help in uncovering the truth behind missing shifter youth, shifters that are disappearing into human territory, it takes a lot to convince her to even start taking another look at shifters in general, and Andor in particular. Can a woman who has lost so very much ever trust a member of a species responsible for that loss?

They Call Me Death is actually pretty well written, given the constraints of the novella-length story. At it's core is an actually compelling narrative about the importance of humane and ethical behavior, the dangers of corruption, and the truth that evil isn't restricted to species, breed, sex, culture, color, or creed. What you realize is this isn't really a book about a kick ass chick who goes all Deathy on the enemy, because Alexia has a core that's less tough ass and more grief stricken...like she got stuck in the rage state of loss and never quite got over it. Beneath it, though, is a woman who loved her husband and son and led a fairly normal suburban life prior to the world going to such hell in such a spectacular handbasket. So when she starts to warm to Andor, starts to trust a little and heal a little, you realize she's got quite a capacity for lack of prejudice. I liked her quite a lot, and I enjoyed Andor too.

There's enough world building and character development to keep a moderately tolerant reader very happy, but in truth, if you tend to be exceedingly critical of shorter length novels, I wouldn't recommend They Call Me Death. I was left feeling the ending was a bit contrived and wrapped up a bit too patly, and there were some plot holes and questions that didn't get sufficiently resolved to my satisfaction. That being said, I also thought that the narrative (first person from Alexia's perspective) was rather well done in that it started out as cold and brutally clinical as Alexia herself was, then warmed as her character slowly changed - and that rate of change was realistic and seemed very organic to the story. If this was all the writer's intent, than kudos for the subtly drawn device that assists a reader in experiencing Alexia's change with her.

I would've liked to see more about her military compatriots, but I will warn easily upset readers that there was one thread about a co-worker, so to speak, that was extremely dark and disturbing and definitely chilling - I appreciated it from an intellectual standpoint for what it was and what it disclosed, but it was rough on an emotional level. Fortunately it didn't last long.

I don't know that I would recommend this particular story for just anyone, but I will say that I would reread it. There was quite a bit here I liked.

I'd give this 3 stars as a Paranormal Romance, but since this kept coming up for me as recommended "Urban Fantasy" by Amazon, I'm going to only give it 1 star. This is NOT Urban Fantasy.

The paranormal aspects of this story could have easily been removed and replaced with any other factor that typically keeps the hero and heroine apart in romance novels.

There is mention of what happened to Alexia's family, but not how she went from Suzie homemaker to kick-ass military chick who doesn't even remember how to put on lipstick anymore. Clearly not everyone took the military path she did and if all her "kills" are defensive, how could a whole nation of Shifters consider her "death".

For someone who had her child "torn apart in front of her", she is awfully quick to switch from big bad shifter killer to "I did shift so our thighs were touching"... "welcoming the warm touch" of a shifter she's known for a few days. Alexia is definitely not my definition of a "kick-ass heroine"

The action surrounding the romantic elements can barely be considered action.
...oh lets run to my house in the shifter zone
...oh no, the Alpha is coming... RUN!! Let's run back to the human zone.
...oh I can't run any more... carry me so I can rest while you run.
...OMG Alexia killed a shifter who jumped her! Big bad kick-ass heroine breaks down in tears and zones out while the big strong hero makes sure she gets to safety.
...Lets sneak into the bad guy's lair and infiltrate his evil operation.
...OH YEA! One of the big strong men is just in time to save Alexia, but where's the hero??

Hero runs off for 2 weeks without contacting her afterward but in typical romance novel style, that's OK because I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!


Now, if you like Paranormal Romance, you might like this book and for $3.60 for the Kindle edition, the price isn't too bad. It was a quick read and as far as Romance goes, it's not bad.

I wish Amazon would stop recommending Paranormal Romances as Urban Fantasy. This is not Urban Fantasy folks, it's ROMANCE. I just personally like darker Urban Fantasy... Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Illona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Faith Hunter. Now those are some "kick-ass" heroines (or heroes in the case of Harry Dresden).

Warning: book does contains somewhat explicit sex scenes.
Contains little to no gore descriptions in the "action" scenes

The title and cover of this book are so cheesy you want to pass. I took a chance because of the reviews and I'm glad I did. It was surprisingly good. I would have like a little more detail in places and it is a paranormal romance, but I give it a full 4 stars.

The only problem I have with some Trade Paperbacks is the length versus the price. Most Trades go for around $12.99 & up, so I think they should show that value in the size of the narrative. Most have intro pages, blank pages & this one is very short, not worth the price, although the author wrote a very good story.

Great characters. Great story. I took a chance on this one because it sounded like a fresh idea on shapeshifters and I was not disapponted.

There seem to be a plethora of urban fantasies out there these days with a tough chick on the cover, who's all fragile on the inside. I did not find the plot compelling, nor did I find the main character's emotional reactions to be believable-- sad, because I had such high hopes for this book after reading the Amazon blurb.

I tend to read my favorite stories over and over again when I need a break from a new series that I am currently reading. I have found that They Call Me Death is one of those that I come back to. I enjoy paranormal stories and this fits right in with my collection. I can't wait for the next in this series. At current count I have read it about 9 times this year.