The Daemoniac by Kat Ross Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway!!!

The Daemoniac by Kat Ross
(A Dominion Mystery, #1)
Publication date: October 12th 2016
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Young Adult

It’s August of 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will begin his grisly spree in the London slum of Whitechapel, and another serial murderer is stalking the gas-lit streets of New York. With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim’s throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.

But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.

From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York’s richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?

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About the author:

Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.

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REVIEW

Well, Kat Ross has done it again! A switch of genres and she's won my undying love! I simply couldn't put this one down! I was supposed to read another of her books first (blog tour commitments) but the moment I started reading this one I was captivated & enthralled and I only stopped reading when I had to leave for work!

A wonderful mix of murder mystery with paranormal strikes and a very fresh retelling/reimagining of Sherlock & Watson!

I loved having a female reimagining of Sherlock, a male Watson and a female version of Mycroft too! It was quite intriguing to see our Sherlock trying to prove herself and her abilities away from the shadow of her older sister. I loved that the mystery was complex and had some clear paranormal & supernatural undertones, although for part of the book we aren't exactly sure if those paranormal bits are legit or just a sort of smoke curtain to hide the real line of investigation.

This is a real page turner, and not only because of the mystery of the murders to be solved but also because it is done in a bit of a time crunch, given how our Harry wants/needs to solve it before her sister returns to town! And of course, the murderer is on the loose and it's getting close to Harry the closer she gets to solve the case! So much tension!

I'm usually a bit of a romancephobe in books, I tend to cringe from romance that feels like it's added to the book for the sake of adding romance, but that is not an issue here! There are some hints of romance and of a shippity ship that I totally ship, but our Harry's brain is much better to discover clues for murder than to see what might be right in front of her! I must confess to be looking forward to see the development of said ship in upcoming books!

I simply cannot wait for more in this series, and the sequel won't arrive soon enough for me! Very much deserved 5 stars!

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You'll Want To Read This Book Wednesday: A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas!!

You'll Want To Read This Book Wednesday was inspired by Save the Date from The Perpetual Page Turner and Pre-Squee from Bewitched Bookworms, when I decided to do my own feature/meme to showcase those books that I get to read pretty ahead of time (mainly from BEA) and it'd replace Waiting on Wednesday on my blog. It might be weekly, bi-weekly or once a month, depending on when I indulge on reading one of the far off ARCs!

Today I'm featuring an eARC that I got approved for by Berkley on NetGalley and I just had to devour right away! A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas!!

 A Study In Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the story of the renowned Sherlock Holmes upside down…

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society.  But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London.

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her. But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

I was pretty sure I'd love A Study In Scarlet Women because I've read other books by Sherry Thomas and I've loved her writing and the way she weaves plot and world building, and because I love Sherlock retellings, I love historical fiction and the idea of a gender-swapped Sherlock? It was automatic GIMME ME!!

And as soon as a started reading, I knew I couldn't put it down until I was done with it and it had me in its thrall, turning pages like mad and trying to guess at the mystery!! Our Charlotte/Sherlock is a heroine to root for, with her eccentricities and her powerful mind, flounting the society conventions in very bright ways. I simply adored figuring out who was who, gender swapped or not. And there's a shippity ship too!!

In short if you love historical fiction, mysteries, gender swapping, badass ladies and Sherlock retellings? YOU DO NEED THIS ONE LIKE NOW!! Preorder now, because it comes out October 18th!!

Mark This Book Monday: Every Move by Ellie Marney!!!

And as the second Mark This Book Monday post of this week, I have one of those highly awaited books that I've been making grabby hands since I read the first book of the trilogy!

I highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone and it reinforces my love for Australian fiction and authors, and I plan to continue to support Ellie Marney and whatever books might came after this trilogy!

As book released on 2015 (even if only in Australia) I'm totally counting it towards my 2015 release category in the 105 Challenge!

Every Move by Ellie Marney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Since I first got my hands on book 1, Every Breath, I've been addicted to this series, that can be considered a contemporary retelling of Sherlock Holmes with murder mysteries and the most shippity ship of all times. And so my need to get my hands on this final book was rather dire, and after preordering somewhere and them not shipping it, I ended up ordering it directly from the Australian publisher. It arrived as I was leaving for work, so I spent the whole shift wishing the time to pass faster because I wanted to get back home to devour it! And that I did! I stayed up till 5 am till I finished inhaling the book!

If you still haven't started this series, you really ought to get going, but even if you've started it, you might expect some spoilers in this one for book 1 and 2, since I might discuss some of the events, so GO READ THEM NOW!!

As the previous two book the pacing and the plotting and the mysteries in this one were done so well! And the characters and emotional connections and the relationships as well! I love how important for the book are all the relationships, not only Rachel & James and their romantic relationship, but also Rachel and her brother, and Rachel and her parents, specially her mum.
No absent parents here, no even those that are dead, since Mycroft's parents are always present in the way they have shaped who he is and his interests and motivations. Rachel's parents don't trust her know, and her mother is both angry and scared with Rachel's taking off after Mycroft to London and returning injured.

Rachel is going through a very tough time after the events in London, and although she doesn't acknowledge it really, she's trying to push through it, but she cannot allow close contact with even her family and she gets nightmares every day, PTSD to the letter. And it's fantastic how the author deals with it. With Rachel trying to get away from everything and returning to her home away from the city for a day with her brother (that doesn't really work as she expected as they end up having company) and then having someone not involved with the events or her family helping her finding a way to regain control of her fear somehow by focusing on defending herself.

Mycroft and Rachel are a bit more distant at the beginning of the book, given how each of them is dealing with the aftermath of London. Mycroft has thrown himself even harder into investigating his parents' case, and Rachel cannot deal with any of that, so they barely spend time together. It is painful to read, how they need each other not only as a couple but as friends and how they cannot seem to be able to communicate with each other, both thinking that the other needs the time and space to sort themselves out. But when they confront not only each other but their feelings and the way they're dealing with the fear, the threat and the mystery... they're back to being one united team, the ship to end all other ships.

There is one new guy introduced in this book, one that has an interest in Rachel and that helps her when Mycroft couldn't, teaching her self defence and being a neutral party for her to talk to, but I cannot speak of love triangle since Rachel never thinks of anyone but James. And nevermind that Mycroft does actually punch the dude, which if not exactly something I should condone... I actually enjoyed it loads in the book! Bad Pili!

As far as the mystery goes, I had a bad vibe about one character in Every Word and to my surprise, I ended up being right on who was our Moriarty to my surprise and glee! The final climax was full of heartstopping action and tension and boy I couldn't turn the pages past enough!

This book and series was an amazing journey and despite some of my issues of lack of knowledge of the Australian flora that made me pause to search for some terms in my phone (Dictionary app for the win!) I adored everything from these books, from the characters, their relationships, the mysteries, the pacing, the plotting, the OTP!! Very well deserved 5 and all the stars!! VERY recommended!!



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Mark This Book Monday: Every Word by Ellie Marney!!!

Hey again guys!

Back again with another entry for this week's Mark This Book Monday and this time with one of those rare books that made me emotional in strange ways, made me relate with both the characters and their parents, made me turn the pages like there was no tomorrow and made me decide to plan a trip to London to celebrate my birthday come September!



Every Word by Ellie Marney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


HOLY CRACKERS!!
Yes, that was my first reaction upon finishing the book and I still find it hard to write a coherent review for this!

A warning to those in the US, this book will be releasing later this year over there, so although this is a finished AUS copy, do not read if you want to avoid any and all sort of spoilers, because I'm not sure if I'll manage a completely spoiler free review!

And another warning, there might be some spoilers for Every Breath, if you haven't read it or the summary for this one, so please, go read book 1 now!

I simply devoured and loved Every Breath and I was dying to get my hands of Every Word and this one was yet another case of book I stayed up all night reading till I finished it! Thank goodness for working the late afternoon shift!

Rachel's parents have reacted like normal parents would and they have some trust issues with their girl and are putting limits on the time she spends with Mycroft and how she spends it, and although I'm angry because they are interfering with my ship, I so bloody well agree with them trying to act like parents would! The family is very present here in this series, and both a source of strenght and conflict for both Rachel and Mycroft. I adore Rachel's relationship with her brother, and how he was both protective and supportive and found himself conflicted trying to mediate between Rachel and their parents.

Most of the book moves the action from Australia to London and Oxford, and although that was a massive move and change for Rachel, that meant going to familiar waters for me. Mycroft left for London without telling Rachel, a rather jerk move, and Rachel decided to go to London after him in a move that probably was the least smart but that also made a lot of sense, given their relationship and what motivated Mycroft to go to London in the first place.

This book was even more gritty and harsh than the first one, because not only we deal with someone that was murdered but also with kidnapping and torture, there's crime investigating, an autopsy is done and there's also a visit to 221 Baker's Street. I think I've already said this before, but this book was a serious page turner, not only because there's plenty of action and tension, but also because the chemistry and the relationship between Mycroft and Rachel is both amazing and painful!

Mycroft took off without further thought or consideration and he simply was one way mind only about his quest to find answers about his parents' case. Rachel followed him and knew it would hurt her but she was not just a great girlfriend but mostly a very good friend. And once Mycroft got out of the fog in his mind, he literally threw himself in harms way for Rachel. These two have an epic chemistry and I just want them together for good but holy shit do they seem to drag each other into danger! But they also help each other out of it rather epically!

Long story short, this is a bloody epic and wild ride of a book, both emotionally and when it comes to the plot. We discover many things about the past and the biggest shocker comes by the end of the book, so I'm now here on pins and needles waiting for my copy of the third and final book in the trilogy so I can put myself and my emotions through hell and back again!

If you haven't started this series yet, please do! It's contemporary, it's gritty, it's also a reimagining of Sherlock Holmes with a stronger and brighter (and female) Wat(ts)on and a ship to rule all ships. Very much deserving of 5 stars!!



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Friday Reads: Every Breath by Ellie Marney!!!

Hello guys!

Happy Holidays, belated Merry Xmas and all that jazz! I hope you had a lovely time with the family and got loads of gifts!

To celebrate Boxing Day this Friday Reads I have an amazing book that you all need to buy and add to your reading pile STAT! It's rare that I highly recommend a contemporary and this is one of those occasions!! It was even in my list of Top 10 Debuts on Wednesday, so yep, go get it!!



Every Breath by Ellie Marney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my bookish resolutions of next year will be checking out more Australian fiction, because the two series I've started written by Australian authors, I've fallen in love with them completely!

When two of my bookish canaries, Kristen and Kim, highly recommended this one and then my fellow street team founder Ri concurred, I knew I had to give this one a chance, and since it was a loose retelling/reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, I just HAD to get it into my reading list before the end of the year!

And it was so the right choice! I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary, but this... this I absolutely loved! Both Watts and Mycroft (and dear me, I kept on thinking of either naked Stephen Fry's for movie's Mycroft or Mark Gatiss for BBC's Mycroft at first whenever I read the name!) feel like extremely genuine and realistic teenagers, with more or less extreme situations, with their own kind of family and personal drama that added to the whole setting of the book but never felt done for the sake of adding drama. The Watts are a family in a rather difficult situation and for once parents are there, caring but at the same time a cause of conflict. And Mycroft's aunt is a more absent figure, one that doesn't know how to deal or care for him.

The secondary characters are pretty well developed themselves and never felt like a filler, and I simply adore Mai with all her legal knowledge! She and Gus together were also quite cute and showed that friends were there for both Watts and Mycroft when needed! And boy does our Mycroft need friends and one with legal knowledge to boot!

I loved how the author adapted Sherlock's beggars and underground contacts to Mycroft and his knowing everyone in the streets, from the tram drivers to cafes owners and homeless guys. Like that many other characteristics can find their own parallels, even having a Watts instead of a Watson, except that Mycroft ain't as condescending with Rachel as Sherlock was with his good doctor.

The murder mystery they have to solve is one that hits Watts & Mycroft since it's someone they knew and it's them who discover the body, thinking that the police won't have enough interest they start their own investigation, colliding or collaborating with the police following their leads. I did figure out who was the killer a lil before Mycroft and Watts but not as much as to make it frustrating waiting for them to catch up.

The way the author mixes developing relationships, characters' growth and the investigation of a murder mystery and how sometimes the three mix in the most unexpected of ways was fantastic. I loved reading the progression of the relationship between Watts and Mycroft, from best friends to waaay something more and they both seem to either be oblivious to their chemistry or simply restisting it for fear of what the change might bring, but dear me I was shipping these two with the force a thousand burning suns!! *does a lil happy dance*

The book in itself was a clear 4 to 4.5 stars for me, BUT then we add the Englishness of Mycroft and the mix of British and Australians expressions and saying and I just had to add an extra half star just for that!! SO VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO BOOK TWO NOW!! Or re-reading this one maybe!



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