Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

I absolutely fell in love with the world that Kristoff created in Stormdancer so I had been counting the days until this one came and out and it was worth the wait. There is also a world of difference between the two books. This is a much, much darker story than Stormdancer. On his website it says, "He does not believe in happy endings," and he has really taken that to heart in Kinslayer. There was a sense of hope throughout the first book but this one has none of that. It is devastating to all the main characters - there are a couple of new story lines added - and just so very sad. I had to take breaks while reading it cause it was just doom and gloom for every character I had grown to love, especially Yukiko. I don't mean that as a negative, I think it's a credit to Kristoff that that I feel such an emotional connection with world he has build.
It picks up right after the events of the first book. There was a really helpful refresher (Thank you Jay!) that helped remind me where we left off with each character . Some are dead, some are surprisingly not so dead and some are gonna be dead very soon. Yukiko has been emotionally and physically changed because of the events of the first book and there are some surprises in that respect. I didn't particularly love some of these surprises but I can see he has bigger plans for the characters.
Overall its fast paced with plenty of bloodshed and mayhem to keep the story moving. I will say this; do not get attached to anyone because shifting loyalties is an ongoing theme in this series and is part of what made it a great read. I don't know how he will wrap this all up in one book but I have faith in Kristoff. Fingers crossed it doesn't end with Yukiko dead and me bawling. Yay to another year of waiting!

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Kerrick and Avry are back in this sequel to Touch of Power, again to save the Fifteen Realms. Finally, we find out if saving one King was worth the sacrifice that Kerrick and the band so strongly believed in in the first book. Luckily, Healer Avry has survived the posion that kills everyone else and now to save the realm the two lovers - having just confessed their love - must travels to the opposite ends of the world to save everything they hold dear. Avry wants to find her sister and goes undercover, while Kerrick goes up north where a terrible surprise awaits him when he reunites with his family.
What I find refreshing about Snyder are her brave choices in plot twists. She is never afraid to risk killing a favourite character or bring back another thought dead. It makes for interesting reading. I also thouroughly enjoyed the world building in this one, as we discover more about the lillies and their powers and uses.
Snyder is one of those authors I go back to once every couple of years cause she is such fun to read. The sense of humour laced throughout her series keeps bringing me back. I am happy to see her writing improve as compared to Poison Study, which was a little simplistic to read. I will always buy her books and recommend her to all fans of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore. She is not as good as those two, but she features female protagonists who are strong and courageous and are not afraid to make difficult choices. Looking forward to the sequel.

Ever After by Kim Harrison

Ever After starts with Rachel trying very hard to find a reason not to work with Trent. However, KuSox has other plans, and with the help of slippery and hateful Nick- yes he's back - he manages to kidnap Trent's daughter Lucy and Ceri. On top of that, the ley lines are leaking and the ever-after is shrinking. The demons of course blame Rachel and that gives her a few days to save Ceri and Lucy as well as the ever-after.
This was kind of a grim book for the series. Couple of the characters die. Their deaths come out of the blue and read like an afterthought. I think they deserved a better send off. However, one death in particular opens some doors for Rachel which I was quite happy about.
I love this series and not only cause I sigh every time Trent's name pops up, but also because Rachel is one of the only characters in urban fantasy that has shown real growth through out a series. It is wonderful to see her plan things, and think twice before doing something extremely foolhardy. She knows her limits and especially her strengths. I was glad that the battle at the end also didn't feature any deux ex machina moments, but instead culminated from different discoveries through out the book. Everything in the book clicked at the end and came together beautifully, especially the last chapter.
Ivy is barely a part of this book, and Jenks is around but not the way you expect him to be. It was strange to see them side tracked, but finally Rachel acknowledges who and what she is now. This a confident and powerful Rachel who has outgrown both Ivy and Jenks.
Trent is front and center as the demon/elf relationship and history lies at the crux of this book. We learn more about the war and what the original demons looked like. The world building in this book is fantastic. In Dead Witch Walking we started with Ivy's hope that Rachel could save her soul. In this book Rachel has some revelations that will hopefully lead to a happy ending for Ivy. I love how we've come full circle with saving Ivy's soul being the end game. It shows really good writing on Kim Harrison's part.
My favourite part of the series has always been Trent. You never really know what he is going to do at any point in time. Also, the fact that Rachel in her head is always drooling after him makes having him around very entertaining. I laughed out loud, when she arrested him at his wedding in For a Few Demons More and their relationship has only gotten better since then. Ellasbeth is also back in this book and the mature cattiness Rachel displayed was hilarious and kind of awesome.
Over all I think this might be favourite of the series so far as I start another year of waiting impatiently for Book #12.