Early Review - Trapped (Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 5) by Kevin Hearne (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: November 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0345533647
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the Iron Druid Chronicles series
Source: eBook through NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

Thank to netgalley(dot)com and Del Ray for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the fifth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. The sixth book will be called, Hunted, and is scheduled for a 2013 release. This was an excellent addition to this highly entertaining series and a lot of things come to a head in this book.

Granuaile is finally done with her druid training and ready to be bound to the earth, but Loki has been freed and is disrupting travel through the planes. As a result the only place Atticus can bind Granuaile is right outside of Olympus. Atticus and Grauaile end up dodging Bacchus, dark elves, and vamps dressed as clowns. They need to figure out what is going on if Atticus is ever going to get Granuaile's binding finished.

This was a very fast paced story with lots of wonderful mythology. This book ties up some loose ends from previous books while starting some new storylines as well. As usual with these books there is a ton of humor.

This book starts out twelve years after the last one ended. This was an awesome decision on Hearne’s part because that’s just a blink of an eye in Atticus’s life and we get to pick up right where Granuaile has finished all of her druidic training.

Atticus has made a lot of enemies in his long life and this is the book where he finally has to pay for some of those bad decisions. He faces off with Bacchus and ends up involved with Leif again as well. In addition to that we are introduced to the super mysterious and creepy dark elves. Yep, Atticus has been blaming Dark Elves for everything bad that happens for a large part of his life...now they are here to make him pay the piper.

Atticus does have some good growth as a character. He is learning to stand back and let Granuaile make her own decisions. He also finally confesses his feelings about Granuaile too.

Granuaile has some amazing character growth in this novel too. Granuaile has changed in the years that she’s been training, while still staying the same witty and intelligent character she’s always been. Now she can kick some serious butt as well, she makes some awesome decisions, and she doesn’t stand for any of Atticus’s crap. She’s with Atticus because she respects him and loves him, not because she needs him to protect her. She adds a lot of fun to the story and is completely deadly with a knife...

Oberon is here as well and continues to drive some incredibly funny and witty dialogue.

The beginning of the story consists of Granuaile and Atticus dodging a lot of their enemies while they try to finish Granuaile’s binding to Gaia. In this part there are a lot of things happening that don’t seem related. As the story continues Hearne does an excellent job of bringing all of these story threads together. Many things from previous books are resolved, while many new story lines are started. Of course hanging over everything is the question of when Ragnarok will happen.

There is a ton of mythology in this book; Norse, Greek, and Roman...as well as a good dose of adventures in faerie land. I continue to enjoy the Norse gods the most, the story of why they want revenge on Atticus is the most relevant. The Greek Gods are less engaging, but still add a bit of fun to the plot.

Overall a wonderful addition to this series. Lots of action and humor, as well as character growth. It was great to see Granuaile come into her own and I continue to really enjoy the mythology woven into the story. The story is fast-paced, creative, and well thought out. This whole series is highly recommended to urban fantasy fans. I would definitely recommend starting with the first book of the series, because all of these books are pretty awesome.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Novella Review - Two Ravens and One Crow (Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 4.5) by Kevin Hearne (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 68 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: September 4, 2012
ASIN: B008TSC2E2
Stand Alone or Series: 4.5 in the Iron Druid Chronicles series
Source: eGalley from netgalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This novella takes place between books 4 and 5 of the Iron Druid Chronicles. It was an excellent read and did a great job of capturing all the things I love about this series; lots of humor, interesting mythology, and interesting history.

Atticus is six years into training his apprentice Granuaile when the Morrigan comes for a visit. She wants Atticus to take a 2 week trip with her. Since this is the Morrigan, and you don’t say no to a goddess like that, Atticus agrees. What follows is some tattoo repair and a meeting between Gods.

As with all the previous books in this series the humor in this book is awesome and had me laughing a number of times. Oberon and Granuaile aren’t in the story a ton but they are in there enough to get their humor in. Most of the story takes place between Atticus and the Morrigan.

The Morrigan has been a reoccuring theme in these books. In this novella Hearne does something interesting, he actually lets us look into the Morrigan a bit, not as a goddess, but as a person. It was great fun to see a little of what makes the Morrigan tick and to see a little vulnerability in her. Her relationship with Atticus has always been an interesting one.

We also finally get to see Atticus and Odin face off. It is a most excellent conversation to be present for and I enjoyed it a lot.

There is a preview of the next book in the series, Trapped, which I did not read. I am not a big fan of previews and prefer to wait until the book is released to start reading it.

Overall an excellent addition to the Iron Druid Chronicles. If you are a big fan of this series make sure and pick up this novella. If you are a big fan of urban fantasy then you should definitely read this series. If you haven’t read this series than you should. It is a wonderful blend of humor, action, and mythology.

Audiobook Review - Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 4) by Kevin Hearne (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0345533623
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Iron Druid Chonicles
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Iron Druid Chronicles; it was a wonderful book. This was kind of a transition book as Atticus transitions from his former life to a new one where his main goal is to teach his apprentice Druidic ways. Lots of humor, lots of action, and some serious moments too. The fifth book will be titled Trapped and is scheduled for a Dec. 2012 released; the sixth book is Hunted and is scheduled for a 2013 release.

Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon have left their previous home and journeyed to the Arizona desert to fake Atticus’s death. Coyote, the Trickster god, helps Atticus stage his death so that the Norse gods will leave Atticus alone in his new life. Of course, Coyote’s help comes with a price. Now Coyote has Atticus involved in an all out war with some very evil shapeshifters. While battling shapeshifters Atticus finds out that vampire activity is increasing because of Leif’s decrease in power after the battle with the Norse Gods and that leads to some trouble as well.

This series is just such an excellent blend of humor, interesting mythos, action, and great mystery. Having Oberon back in the story was wonderful, he is absolutely hilarious. Atticus and Granuaile have some excellent banter back and forth, this makes the book a lot of fun. Coyote is a major character in this story as well and he is just flat out amusing.

There is some wonderful action in this book, just like in previous books. Atticus is facing some dangerous enemies in these evil shapeshifters; this led to some wonderful action scenes and Atticus got thoroughly beat up a number of times. It was interesting to see how Atticus worked himself out of truly tight situations.

The setting was interesting for this book too. The majority of this book is set in the Arizona desert in Navajo land; as such we get to learn some about Navajo magic and myth and it was really interesting stuff.

There are some great new characters introduced as well. We get to see a lot more of Atticus training Granuaile and because of this we watch Granuaile grow a lot as a character. We find out more about Granuaile’s past and why she is so determined to become a druid. We also get some closure involving what happened to characters after Hammered, we finally see the Widow and what became of her.

The book ends well and had me dying to read more about Atticus and Granuaile’s adventures. I love all the mythology tied into this series and I love the interesting magic. As with previous books we get some glimpses into Atticus’s past and these help us to understand him better as a character, they are also just flat out interesting. There isn’t really much romance in this book; Granuaile and Atticus continue to be interested in each other but keep things platonic because of their student-teacher relationship.

Overall I really loved this book. It has a wonderful balance of humor, action, interesting magic, great character development, and an engaging plot. This book is a bit of a transition book as Atticus moves from his old life to a new one as Granuaile’s teacher. There are some excellent surprises in here as well and some additional things wrapped up from the last book. If you are a fan of urban fantasy I highly recommend this series. It is creative, intriguing, and a lot of fun.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 3) by Kevin Hearn (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 336 pages

Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0345522481
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Iron Druid Chronicles
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third book in The Iron Druid Chronicles.  The fourth will be titled, Tricked, and is scheduled for a May 2012 release last that I heard.  This was an excellent installment in this series and we learn a lot about the history of Leif, Atticus, and others.  I listened to this on audiobook and the audio book is very well done.  I would actual recommend listening to this on audio book if you like audio books, the narrator is really phenomenal.

Atticus promised Leif that if Leif helped him out with the evil witch coven in Hexed, Atticus would help Leif hunt down and kill Thor.  Leif is determined to make good on Atticus's promise.  First of course Atticus has to fulfill his promise to the witch that helped him out in Hexed and steal some golden apples.  Then there are other complications when rumors of Leif's injury gets out starting a vampire turf war.  The major part of the story though focuses on Atticus, Leif, and the other supernaturals that help them out on their quest to destroy Thor.  Will killing Thor be worth the repercussions?

This was another excellent installment in this series. I am just totally in love with this series.  This book tackles some serious issues, some hilarious issues, and some interesting history.  How Hearne can continue to continue to blend hilarious scenes with a salad shooter (which had me laughing my butt off) into a story that also addresses the difficultly in deciding when it is good to let someone you love grow old instead of granting them immortality I will never understand, but he is awesome at it.

This book also tackles the tough question of when is revenge worth it.  How many bad things does a person have to do to make it necessary to make heavy sacrifices to destroy them?  In this case of course that person is Thor.  Via Leif, Gunnar, a Chinese immortal, and Finnish thunder god we are treated to in depth tales of Thor's past evil doings and shown just how big of a jerk Thor can be.  I enjoyed the part of the book that went through each of their stories chapter by chapter; it gave each character a lot of history and was fascinating.  It was also fun to watch as the Norse mythology of Ragnarok slowly began to unravel and fall apart.

The other thing Hearne does very well is blend Atticus's everyday life with the concept of living thousands of years.  For example as a reader we follow Atticus's everyday activities, but then we also get to listen in on a conversation between Jesus Christ and Atticus.  This little aside between Jesus and Atticus gives the reader incite into what it actually means to be thousands of years old, Atticus is older than Jesus for Christ's sake!

This is an urban fantasy that blends a multitude of mythologies, is action packed, heartfelt, humorous, filled with wonderful character and has a non-stop plot.  I really can't think of anything I disliked about this book. Reading this book was just so much darn fun!  It ends well and I really cannot wait to see what Hearne does in his next book Tricked.  This is definitely an urban fantasy, not much romance present, still don't let that stop you from reading it if you are a paranormal romance fan.

Overall an absolutely stellar addition to this series.  This series is quickly becoming my favorite urban fantasy series.  Fans of The Dresden Files and Kate Daniels series should definitely check this series out.  This series is hilarious and interesting and heartfelt and just overall very well done. 

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List 

Review - Hexed (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 2) by Kevin Hearne (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0345522498
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in The Iron Druid Chronicles
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in The Iron Druid Chronicles by Hearne.  The third book Hammered released earlier this week.   I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was extremely well done.  I really enjoyed this story and am so excited that this book was just as good as (if not better) than the first book.

Atticus would just like to get back to healing the land that was damaged in the first book, Hounded, but it is not to be.  He is attacked by witches but it is not the coven he is used too; some evil witches have comes to town and they want Atticus dead.  Before hunting witches though Atticus has to sign a treaty with the local coven, then hunt random demons attacking the populace.  Of course a druid's work is never done and now he has some crazy Maenads to take care of too.

This book was awesome!  It is hilarious, very well written, has a great plot that weaves together a lot of different story elements, and was very hard to put down.  This is one of those rare urban fantasies that balances character development, action, plot, and world-building just perfectly.  Oberon, as Atticus's hound, continues to be an excellent character.  

It was great to meet the good witches in more detail and to spend more time with Atticus's apprentice.  I really enjoy how many mythologies and religions are woven into this story. The repercussions of the last book aren't the main focus of this story but they continue to be a part of the story and some of the things that result are interesting to say the least.

Things are wrapped up nicely in this book but you can tell that all of this is building to a confrontation between Atticus and Thor which makes me really really want to read the next book Hammered ASAP.  I already downloaded the audio book, so now I just need time to start reading it!

Overall just a wonderful addition to what is shaping up to be a spectacular series.  If you are a fan of The Dresden Files, Kate Daniels, or any other urban fantasy laced with humor you have got to check this series out!  I can't wait to read future books in this series :-)

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List 

Review - Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1) by Kevin Hearne (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0345522474
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Iron Druid Chronicles
Source: Audio Book from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I picked a copy of the this book in audio book form from audible.com.  It had been getting excellent reviews and sounded like a super fun read.  I am so happy that I picked it up; it was an absolutely excellent urban fantasy.  The audio book was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Since I listened to this, please excuse and misspellings of names/places.

Atticus O'Sullivan is a two-thousand year old druid who has survived so long through a combination of his own skill and wit and the protection of the death god, Morgan.  Now one of his ancient enemies has caught up with him and Atticus has decided it's time to stop running and hiding and take care of this villain once and for all.

I liked this book from the first sentence.  Seriously I listened to it for 5 minutes and was totally hooked.  This book is incredibly well-written, creative, has an excellent plot and even has something else that makes it super-special...lots of fun and humor.  Atticus permanently looks 21 but is actually 2100 years old. He has a wonderful sense of humor and loves to poke fun at things.  Adding to this is his wolfhound Oberon who has a thing for French Poodles and, naturally, steak.  The whole cast of gods, goddesses, werewolves, vampires, and faeries that populate this book are interesting and fun to read about.

That is not to say it is all about the fun.  This book is incredibly well-written, the characters sound natural, the magic is well explained, and the plot is well-paced and intriguing.  Hearne does a fantastic job of working in interesting mythology from a plethora of cultures and religions.  I really enjoyed how this mythology was wound around Atticus's past and present.

Of course it is super cool that this book is about a kick-butt druid; I mean how many urban fantasies out there feature druids?  That and the fact that Atticus's lawyer is literally a blood-sucking vampire adds a lot to the fun.

The book ends well, and starts up the next thread for the second book in the series Hexed (which I downloaded on audio book halfway through listening to this book).

Overall just an absolutely fantastic start to what I hope is a spectacular series.  This is one of those rare books that makes urban fantasy super fun, yet remains intriguing and intelligent.  Everything in this book is balanced perfectly humor, action, characters, mystery, plot...it pretty much has it all.  If you love urban fantasy, especially fans of urban fantasy with a touch of humor like the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews or The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, check this book out.  If you would like to start reading urban fantasy and don't know what to start with...well start here!  I am dying to read Hexed now and hope that this series continues on strong.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List