One Fell Sweep

I received an ARC for an honest review. That said most people know that this book is the final and refined product of a weekly serial that is posted free online by the Ilona Andrews duo on their website.I followed the weekly chapters and enjoyed it but the book was thoroughly improved and smoother.Fiction, especially urban fantasy in the first person is not my favorite form of reading it, mainly, because it is so difficult to do it properly. There are a few exceptions however, and Ilona Andrews nails it every time in every book. The writing is smooth and in constant motion, in this case from Dina DeMille's point of view.Dina does not tell you story, she shows you, you can see and feel the story. Descriptions are detailed but manage to avoid being lengthly and tedious. The characters are complete with flaws and strengths making them authentic even though they are supernatural or alien. No two characters are the same or even similar in their personalities.This book was surprisingly emotional, there were parts that made me laugh and others made me cry. It's interesting how George without being present still has a hand in the story.If you did not read the book yet, please stop reading here! A few possible *spoilers* ahead.Who would have thought that Arland had a sense of humor? "Are you going to war Lord Marshal?" "No, I was attending a formal dinner. They make us wear armor to these things so we don't stab ourselves out of sheer boredom."Family and the importance thereof has a more prominent role in this book, the meals, conversations and bringing friends together when it seems that things can only go wrong and they find strength in the only place it can be found, with family and friends. We get to meet Dina's sister Maud and her niece Helen. I'm a mother and if Helen was my kid I would be a warrior too. Their relationship is interesting and it develops throughout the story. Maud is a strong and ruthless woman with a tenderness for those she loves. As the story develops Maud's relationship with Arland comes into focus, it is feisty and fun to watch the battle of wills. I could not imagine a better pair for Arland than Maud, right from the beginning it is quite clear that Maud is exactly what Arland needs, she even won over Lord Soren.I like Caldenia most of the times she makes me laugh, but in this story she has a more active role throughout the book and her presence was welcome. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this Caldenia in future stories. Another character that won a new dose of respect was Officer Marais and how his character took a turn in this book. Officer Marais rocks! The Hiru were so interesting with the saddest story, who could turn their backs on them? I imagine them as pure ethereal creatures. Wing, must confess that I have a soft spot for Wing. Cute creature eve though he's scaled. His wood carvings and his objective for them are hilarious and at the same time I am sure that somewhere in the world there must be a culture that does exactly the same. Orro's mango ice-cream won me over, the silent and brooding chef showed a soft side and I loved it.I'm hoping that the next book will enlighten us about the darkness and why it is targeting the ad-hal. Will we finally meet Dina and Maud's brother Klaus? So much more to write about.New worlds, new species and Dina and Gertrude Hunt find themselves in a sensitive situation once more. There is plenty of action and some serious "kick ass" fighting, love the swords.Speaking of Gertrude Hunt, that is one of the most interesting characters, and yes, as far as I'm concerned the inn is a character, it feels, yawns (which I found amusing) and has a life of its own. Ah, now comes the "Grab your Tissues" moment, the seed. Let me say that this is pathetic, but never have I ever felt so much sorrow and sadness for a seed. As much as it costs me to say this, I did spill a tear or two for that seed.In the end I couldn't't help but feel sorry for the Draziri.Moving on, Sean, well yes, Sean loses control once or twice. Okay fine, a few times but he is after all a wolf but he redeems himself a million times over when he takes care of Dina never losing faith in the woman she is. The development of his relationship with Dina is smooth and natural as it should be, nothing is forced or rushed. Everything about them happens when it should. I like them as a couple, I wonder if Dina will get him into a robe? That should be an interesting challenge.My question is about the cat, Olasard the Ripper of Souls, "Who the hell is Sebastien North?"

Welcome to Gertrude Hunt where the walls and floor can move, physics as we know it is just a guideline, the Chef on staff looks like a huge hedgehog, an intergalactic war criminal is taking an extended stay and just about anyone or anything can show up at any time.The Innkeeper Chronicles is the online serial from Ilona Andrews. The best part about the ebook version of this, besides being tortured having to wait for the weekly installments to come in, is that since it isn’t open to everyone and free online there is a little extra violence and sex added in for the mature reader.This is by Ilona Andrews (IA) and since I love them beyond reason it is hard to write an impartial review, so I’m not ever going to try. One of the things that always gets me with IA is their creativity. Even when you think it is going to be the same oud same old urban fantasies with Werewolves and Vampires it isn’t. Not just because they flip that a bit and make the Werewolves and Vampires alien civilizations but because they give it a totally different twist because they are aliens and so there is a lot more room to play with the lore. There is a great blend of serious storytelling, worldbuilding, dialogue and then some cute and humor added in. The cute in this one comes in the form of Dina’s half vampire niece Helen.*** Helen bit a piece of bacon. Her eyes got big again and she scarfed it down and reached for the platter. Arland had reached for the bacon at the same time. They stared at each other across the table. A vampire standoff. Helen wrinkled her face, showing him her tiny fangs. Arland bared his scary fangs, his eyes laughing. A low, tiny sound came from my niece. “Awrawrrawrawr.” “Helen!” Maud turned to her. “Don’t growl at the table.” Arland leaned back, pretending to be scared. “So fierce.” Helen laughed, her giggles bubbling up. “Awrawrawr.” Arland shuddered. Helen giggled again, grabbed her mug, and hurled it at the wall. The mug shattered. I looked back. Helen’s seat was empty. The platter of bacon had vanished. Sean lost it and laughed. “What a delightful little girl,” Caldenia said, her eyes sparkling. Maud looked lost. “I… She never…” The child has an inborn grasp of tactics.” Arland grinned. ***I’m not sure what was more cute Helen or Arland playing vampire games with Helen. Trust me both were adorably fun.It was great to finally see Dina with some family. She has been alone for so long that I really felt bad for her. I liked the sisterly teasing between the two Dina needed some interactions like that since she has been so lonely since her parents disappeared. It also helps that Maud is a total badass because with the stuff that is about to go down Dina is going to need a little back up.*** …if you don’t mind some advice, treat her as you would treat any skilled female vampire fighter. It will be safer for everyone involved.” Arland looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. Yes, the princess you were expecting put on her armor and left to kill the dragon. So sorry. ***Dina got to get out of the Inn a little more than usual this time. There was a trip to a vampire planet, a few to the greatest and deadliest flea market in the world Bah Char (I’d probably end up dead but I’d love to visit there) and even to a mystical sanctuary that made Sean’s skin crawl. Dina has a new foe and is currently under siege in the Inn, but these creatures have no idea who they are up against.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MY FAVORITE THINGS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~① - Movement on the relationship front between Dina and Sean. It feels like it has been a slow burn since they met in book 1. I was glad for the actual conversations and dialogue between the two. I think they have solidly hashed out some stuff and I’m super happy about that plus we have finally breached the (view spoiler)❷ - Everything with Helen. OMG and I mean everything. Normally I don’t really like the addition of kids to stories but there is some IA magic afoot here and it seems like anytime they add a kid into any of their books it makes it even better. This is no exception.*** The attack came with blinding speed. Helen dashed forward. Her dagger sliced the front of Arland’s thigh and she scuttled back around him, cutting across his calves. Arland let out a dramatic roar and fell to his knees. Helen leapt up and slit his throat. It was so fast and precise, she must’ve done it dozens of times. I hoped in practice. It had to be in practice. Arland collapsed on the ground, conveniently rolling onto his back. Helen put her foot on his chest, raised her dagger, and let out a vampire roar. Should I be horrified or cuted out? I couldn’t decide. ****I was beyond cuted out. I’m not sure what that says about me as a person but *shrugs* I don’t care. Which leads me into my third favorite thing.③ - Alrand! Yes I completely loved Arland in this. I never liked him for Dina and was completely #teamsean but I always liked the guy. I really enjoyed his page time in this specifically because when he wasn’t fighting the enemy he was playing with Helen in some way and like the above quote I was cuted out by vampire games.❹ - Best use of a fart gun in a scene. Yep you heard me right. IA is always pretty inventive with the beings or cultures in their books and I think that they get to stretch that a bit in this series is you can do just about anything with aliens but one thing will always remain true.*** Fart. Fart. Faaaaaaart. “Will you please stop doing that?” Cookie giggled and waved the fart gun around. Males and farts. Any species, any planet, didn’t matter. ****⑤ - Hints and Tidbits. I liked that we find out what Klaus (Dina’s Brother) is doing well a little anyway. There is also I little snippet about Dina’s father and how he met her mother. There is a clue to where she can start to look for her parents as well. Plus there is hint of another big bad that might be on the horizon and I think Dina will eventually be the Innkeeper to confront it.❻ - The concept of the Hiru (an alien being that visits the inn). Another very original idea from IA. I really don’t want to give anything away here but I really think the storyline involving them was well done and different than a lot of alien cultures you see in Sci-Fi or UF as the case may be.⑦ - Officer Marais. He has been poking around for a little while and that has finally come to a head. I’m really hoping for a nice little bromance between him and Sean since it was Sean who didn’t know anything about the universe not that long ago. They could be best friends *crosses fingers*There is much much more that made this story fun and entertaining for me. There are also a few very emotion moments that clenched my heart a bit and they were placed perfectly in the story.Again another great book by IA. I just don’t know how they keep coming up with these great ideas and I stand in awe of them once again as they put out another great book.

This series just keeps improving. The characters become richer, the plot more entwined and the world-building more complex. Warning - suspend all disbelief and let your mind free to really enjoy.

The whole parallel universe is just so amazingly awesome. The characters are wholesome and the action is packed! It's such a joy to read and it feels like I should go to Texas and look for Gertrude Hunt just to experience some of their adventures. Seriously, just read this series!

Pas de temps mort pour Gina et son auberge! Vraiment encore une aventure haletante: de sa soeur Maud et de sa nièce qui faut sauver dans une galaxie lointaine, à la demande d'asile des rares survivants d'un génocide, le siège de son auberge , un innkeeper victime d'une étrange entité noire qui absorbe et tue, j'en ai encore le souffle coupé. On retrouve avec plaisir les personnages secondaires :Sean, le loup qui prend une place très importante dans sa vie, Orro, le cuisinier farfelu et attachant, Caldenia la résidente permanente discrète et pleine d'humour, Arland le vampire galant et meurtrier avec son épée, sans oublié le policier humain Marais qui décidément ne peut pas s'empêcher de surveiller l'auberge de Gina. Nous découvrons Maud sa soeur et sa petite fille Helen qui vont prouver que les filles humaines ne sont pas des poupées et d'autres personnes qui vont amener la légèreté et l'humour qui nous permettront de souffler un peu. Je rappelle le concept de cette auberge, accueillir les visiteurs de l'espace ,les protéger à tout prix et ne jamais se voir des humains. .. l'auteur revient rapidement sur ce qui s'est passé les livres précédents donc je pense que ce livre peut être lu sans lire les autres mais bon c'est quand même mieux de les lire dans l'ordre.

I really enjoy this author and this series. The heroine is so believable yet courageous! Can't wait to see the next book!

Molto interessante la trama, un mondo che si scopre pian piano, ricco di personaggi interessantiNon vedo l'ora di leggere il prossimo!