Well this book will make you laugh, cry and cheering from the side-lines.

It's definitely a rollercoaster ride. Also there are some very creative language which really made me laugh. I guess its my English sense of humour.

You also need to enjoy the supernatural to really enjoy and appreciate this book. There is a lot of talking but there is also a lot of action. Kind of keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The story also takes on board various social issues. Like a bullying boss, a homophobic mother and interspecies relationships.

I would definitely recommend this book. It was a pleasure to read.

Enjoy!

P.S. I also want a chitterik.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4101337729

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RG5SVS32WZSPZ/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I was drawn by the intriguing premise but this book did not do it for me. The author’s use of the present tense and her writing style didn’t really work for me, I found the action scenes too difficult to follow and the romantic storyline was eclipsed by the fast-paced action. I didn’t particularly like or identify with the main character. However, the world building aspects of the book were interesting and creative.

Paranormal action at breakneck speed with a human/vampire romance thrown in for good measure. The main character SPEAR Agent Danika Larson has a fearsome reputation and a sassy attitude and her job is to hunt non law abiding supernaturals such as vampires. In comes Rayne, a gorgeous vampire, who Danika knows she shouldn't trust but is conflicted when sparks fly between the two.
Well written, entertaining book with lots of humour. I'll be looking out for more Ileandra Young books in the future.

This was a nicely paced adventure book with a little lesbian romance thrown in. It's not a "romance" book, per se, but if you are a fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" stories than you'll love this one.
It's very well written in terms of story, but it did get a little confusing at points. It almost moved too fast when it came to the action scenes, so that I'd have to go back and re-read sections just to make sure I was properly following along. For instance, there is a fight where I was incredibly confused if they were in a car or not, and how the "things" attacking them even got to them in the first place. I'm being vague to not give anything away, but that's an example of an area that could have been more clear in my opinion.
I really liked the two main characters, especially Dani's wit and Rayne's complexity in who versus what she is. I was also really impressed that some really bad things happened, and it wasn't all HEA. That's life, and makes me more interested in what's to come in what seems like the beginning of a great series.

I really like Both Ways. The book is a variation on what I would call a Shadowrun theme. Preternatural races and monsters mingling with regular humans, magic and supernatural abilities mixing with technology. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This is not really a romance, although a romantic attachment develops, but it is a great story combining movie-style action, thrills and danger, and harsh, real, adult storytelling. Very topically, the story also tackles intolerance and “the fear of other”. Possibly character development could be deeper but what is here certainly works.
Note – the language is British English which fits, and I encourage readers who complain about that to broaden their horizons.
Overall, I love this book and will be in line for the sequel if one arrives. Five stars and Recommended

This is mishmash of Star Wars (imaginary critters living alongside humans) meets Men in Black (critter exterminators) meets Twilight (vampire-human pairing, vampires not eating) meets House of Night (dead in daylight, blood-lust, humans freely offering vampires blood).

Danika Karson is a field agent with Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment (SPEAR), in fictional Angbec. She has the highest capture and kill rate on record. She is modelled to be a badass, rule-breaking superstar of SPEAR. Largely based on all the tough-boys-who-don’t-give-a-damn-for-rules heroes in action films.

Rayne is a vampire with a conscience. She doesn’t want to be the nasty piece of work that vampires are and ends up trying to help Danika.

Other characters are Danika’s sister, Pippa, her mother, her boss, her partner at work, a mayor, a mayoral candidate and a clutch of other critters and humans.

We are so uncertain about this sci-fi urban fantasy.

We wanted to love the book, but we absolutely hated Danika. There is no redeeming characteristic or quality in her.

We would like to hate the book, but there is so much sweetness in Rayne and the romance she brings in to the book.

The action scenes are meh.

Confession: we had a hard time actually picking up the book to finish it after reading the first 10%.

Would we recommend it? Hell, no!

Would we say steer clear of it? Mostly, maybe.

At the end of it: don’t pick it up...but if you have, and if this kind of thing floats your boat, maybe.

This was a decent entry into the urban fantasy genre. I thought there were some really strong points of the book, but then there were somethings that were slightly irritating. Dani is an agent with SPEAR, a supernatural policing force that helps protect humans from the things that go bump in the night. She's the best in the city, and has a reputation that gets her into a ton of trouble. Then she gets into a mess with a local politician and rogue vampire that tests her views on the world.

I enjoyed Danika's character, she fits all the tropes of a hero in the urban fantasy genre. She's brash, cocky, a screw-up, and has something in her past that defines her. Some of the things she does works well, but others don't. Like, I don't understand her developing feelings for Rayne (yes, she's hot but they only worked together a couple of days) even though she has such a deep seated hatred for vampires. It felt a little out of character to me.

Then there's some of the fight scenes. I do have to agree that just listing the things that they do in a fight is irritating. I get what the author was trying to do, which was to show how focused and narrowed her vision is. It doesn't work so well when there's a ton of events strung together. It does work sometimes, though, and I have to give Young some props for trying something a little different.

Overall, I thought this book was uneven to good. I also think the cover was a bit of a miss but it didn't affect my rating, as it usually isn't the author's decision. There's some wonky style decisions that I couldn't get, and some weirdness with the characters; yet it still is a decent enough book for me to recommend for paranormal romance/ urban fantasy readers.

If you like crashing head first into the thick of a story, whiplash inducing action, foul mouthed, hot headed main characters, and tight, clever language, then this is the book for you.

Danika Karson is a human agent for SPEAR, an elite, anti-Supernatural force that fight vampires, werewolves, fae, gargoyles, etc who become violent or just do crazy shit that is against the law. Excuse the language but that is the tone of this book and I loved every bit of it. And the mc has a cat-size pet dragon that is so ridiculously cool. There’s an intro to a romance with another character who should be off limits to Danika but all it does is make it more intriguing. The ending is satisfying but obviously, there will be more books because there is much story left.

I hate reviews with spoilers so you won't read any here. All you'll get is my humble opinion about the quality of this novel.

Ileandra Young’s Both Ways is an interesting novel. In the not too distant future our world has changed greatly. Vampires, goblins, trolls, sprites, werewolves and other supernatural species roam the streets freely alongside humans. Young has included several of these non-human species in her cast of characters.

The main character, Danika Karson is an agent of (SPEAR), Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment. She has earned a reputation as the best vampire killer on the force. Danika faces challenges in both her personal and professional lives, some related to her sexual preference. Her latest case leads to conflict with her boss, her colleagues, her family and even within herself. I like that although Danika is portrayed as a strong female, she still has human failings.

Young has written an intense romantic, paranormal fantasy. She boldly addresses bias on more than one front. I give Both Ways 4 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

1.5 stars.

Nope, I can't force myself to finish this. Everything about this book is so bland - the cover that doesn't communicate anything preternatural, the characters, the dialogue, the difficult to follow action scenes. That is when they're actually described because often an action scene in this book looks like this excerpt "I reach the car as the vampire catches me a third time, clawing for my face. Jump kick. Her head snaps back. Elbow strike. Down. I leave her writhing and pop the boot."

I mean... I can do this too! "Pew pew. Bang. Big Boom! I pop the boot whatever that means." Am I a writer yet? I tried to ignore the action scenes and find something else of value in this read (dropped the book around 80%) but it never got better.

Danika, the main, character is so inconsistent too. I'm supposed to believe she's the best vampire hunter in the country yet she makes countless stupid and impulsive decisions and then cries a lot. A twenty-something that acts like a teenager in puberty with mood swings does not make for a badass vampire hunter. When someone close to her is taken what is the first thing she does? She takes a fricking shower! PRIORITIES! Gotta smell nice before kicking ass and taking names, right? The taken person meanwhile might or might not be a vampire snack. I just can't...

The book has some good world building ideas in it, the dragon pets, how the preternatural are publicly out. But it all still feels flimsy and full of plot holes. Like why the romance interest doesn't know about basic vampire rules when it's public knowledge to everyone else.

And the dialogue! It's so, so standard and bland with gems like "I'm going to kill you!" and as a response - "You're going to try." Very imaginative... Maybe I'm spoiled by recent books I've read that had really good dialogue, this book comes nowhere close.

I really didn't like this one.

I just finished this book and I'm really hoping there's going to be a sequel! The turns and twists in the storyline really kept me on my worried toes waiting to see what was going to happen. The story started off well enough, but as the book progressed it really got it's legs and started running! I don't want to say too much because there's too many chances for spoilers with this one. My only comment is that it's written in first person. Some people like that but I'm not a fan. I can say that by about a third of the way in, I barely noticed anymore. That's saying a lot because many first person books aren't engaging enough to out way my dislike of that style for me to even continue. I am really looking forward to reading more from this author. I received an ARC from Net Galley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this read! This is exactly what I needed after the last book I read. Also, I’m just craving good paranormal books this close to Halloween. If I didn’t have other books to review all I would be reading is paranormal anything so this was a real treat. This is a paranormal/urban fantasy book. This has a slight feel of Keri Arthur’s Riley Jenson’s books or early Anita Blake books but not as gritty. The story is different but it’s that kind of genre except with a lesbian main character.

The main character is Danika, a SPEAR agent that hunts down supernaturals behaving badly. This takes place in the distant future where weres, vamps and many other beings all have certain rights, but some humans are still a bit weary. When Danika is asked by the mayor to do a personal favor, she soon realizes her life will never be the same again.

This book had a lot of entertaining action. Danika is an ass kicker and works hard to do what is right even if she doesn’t always do it in the right way. This book is a decent length but the pace of the action is so good that the pages flew by.

While there is a lot of fighting, shooting, stabbing, and even a battle axe, this book actually has a romance. It’s a conflicting romance because of the difference in the characters backgrounds, but I enjoyed it anyway. The main focus of this book is entertainment but Young knew how to give this potential couple some chemistry. The relationship is still in the beginning stages, but it absolutely made me want more.

I have no idea if Young is planning to make this a series but I can’t see why she wouldn’t. While all the big loose ends are wrapped up and the ending is a good satisfying ending, these characters stories are just beginning. I’m hopefully that this book does well because I really want a sequel!

If you are a paranormal or urban fantasy fan, don’t hesitate to read this. There are just not enough of these kinds of books in lesfic so it was a real pleasure to read. This was a good entertaining read that I was sad to see end. Young just put herself on my radar.

I really enjoyed this book,I thought the main character was fabulous,I like a kick ass heroine and she certainly was.I also liked the world that had been created, very imaginative ,some of the supernatural creatures were great ,some were scary,and some were fun,and the vampires were pretty nasty some times.I hope this is the start of a series I would love to read more and for fans of this genre you won't be disappointed with this book.Thanks so much to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC.

I'm a great fan of paranormal/vampire romances, and Ileandra Young wrote a very interesting one. It pulls you in from the first moment, the plot is very interesting and fresh, even though one can think nothing new can be written about vampire/human romances. What I actually liked the most is that Ileandra Young wrote many minor characters which made this book even more attractive, and well described fight scenes made it look like a movie.

Ileandra Young has written a fabulous paranormal romance that pulled me in from the first chapter and I could not put it down. There is not one thing I could find fault with about this book. Bravo. I can't wait to read more from this author and I will buy this book for friends when it comes out.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything about this book especially when vampires are involved.

Danika Karson is SPEAR’s (Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment) top agent and vampire killing machine. When the Mayor summons her to find his son for a large sum of money she reluctant to take the job because she believes he been taken by vampires. As her mother gets involve she comes across a vampire name Rayne.

As they race against time to save the boy their is a mutual attraction between them and Danika has to look at herself to see what it means to be attracted to a vampire when she’s so good at exterminating them.

It had great action scenes and
it has great characters, species and ethnic diversity, humour, witty dialogue and a fantastic story.

There is so much that I loved about this that I’m not sure I’ll be able to express it all. I’ve never come across the author before so this was a lucky pick. Danika Karson is SPEAR’s (Supernatural Prohibition, Extermination, and Arrest Regiment) top agent and vampire killing machine. They want to promote her but she keeps turning it down. Not all her superiors are fond of her though. The Mayor of Angbec summons her one morning to ask her to find his son for a large sum of money, she’s reluctant because not only is it moonlighting but he’s probably been taken by vampires. As a result of her meddling mother, Danika comes across Rayne, a beautiful vampire who doesn’t seem to know the rules that vampires need to follow.

Not only is this action-packed, it has great characters, species and ethnic diversity, humour, witty dialogue and a fantastic story. Danika has only ever wanted to be a SPEAR agent and taught herself everything she could to make her the best. I loved that she’s black, powerful and that she takes pride in her locs. The society she has to uphold the law in is a complex one with goblins, vampires, werewolves and trolls (as well as others) and they don’t have the same rights or respect as humans do. Dani has to look at what it means to be attracted to a vampire, the very thing that she’s so good at exterminating.

Her stubborn, busy-body mother is constantly on her case with her sister trying to run interference. The family connections were a nice touch because it gave the story some grounding so that it’s not just a paranormal escapade. The actions scenes were riveting and while they’re fairly violent, I find that the death of a vampire in a puddle of black gloop doesn’t have the same effect on me as a human death. That said, if I’ve come to care about the vampire and the relationship, it’s a different story.

I enjoyed the pace and found I really didn’t want to put it down, even to sleep. This is not one of those books where I could confidently guess the direction of the plot. I’d definitely read more by this author especially if there are strong, lesbian leads.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.