#BeatTheBacklist 2018 Reviews - The Iron Druid Chronicles, Dante Valentine, & Skulduggery Pleasant

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my first set of reviews for #BeatTheBacklist 2018, which is hosted by NovelKnight.  For this year long challenge, I'm catching up on backlist series titles that I've been meaning to read for ages (you can check out my TBR here).  The series I've caught up on has been The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and you can read my thoughts on Cold Days and Skin Game here.  Since then I've also caught up (or have so far as I mentioned on my Challenge TBR) on The Iron Druid Chronicles (#5 - #7) by Kevin Hearne, Dante Valentine (#2 - #3) by Lilith Saintcrow, and Skulduggery Pleasant (#2 - #3) by Derek Landay.  Read on to see my thoughts on each volume of these series that I've caught up on:

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Five books into The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne and it continues to be just as awesome as when I first began the series. This time I'm reading the book in print, but I can still remember exactly how Luke Daniels, the audiobook narrator, sounds in my head. There are so many awesome moments in this installment, but I'm so happy that after twelve years of training Granuaile has finally become a druid! Go, Granuaile! There are so many things that she can now finally do - from shifting planes, hearing Oberon, and shapeshifting. Of course, things don't go all that smootly at first for a variety of reasons, but it's wonderful to start to see her figure everything out.

I read this book from February 2 - 16, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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Hunted is the sixth book of The Iron Druid Chronicles and it's still just as awesome as when I first started reading this series 2014. Atticus, Oberon, and Granuaile are one of my favorite bookish teams in urban fantasy. Mentally, this book really put me through the wringer - so much happens and, gasp, we even lose a major character. I loved getting more from Granuaile's perspective in this installment - I love her voice in comparison to Atticus. Plus, that epilogue was fantastic and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here in Shattered.

I read this book from February 22 - March 5, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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Shattered is another brilliant installment of The Iron Druid Chronicles. I love that this time we add a new perspective character, so now we have Atticus, Granuaile, and Owen. I didn't expect to like Owen, Atticus's archdruid, so much but his character gets some fantastic moments and quite a few of those deal with his status as a man out of his own time. The author does a great job of further developing everyone and making their voices quite unique. I also really enjoyed that we get to see more of everyone separate on their own journey. Plus, as always there plenty of good action scenes, more expansions on the mythology (and some cool returns to places I thought we'd never get to see again) and hilarious moments.

I read this book from March 8 - 17, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I really liked book one in this series, but I wasn't quite as taken by the sequel though I still enjoyed my time with these characters. Lilith Saintcrow's unique world of Saint City is an awesome blend of urban fantasy and futuristic sci-fi and she definitely knows how to keep me turning those pages. As much as I liked Dante in book one, she's pretty frustrating here - she's very angsty too say the least when it comes to the effects of the events of Working for the Devil. I felt that the story could have been trimmed down due to the repetition, though I did love the author's continued world building. Definitely stick around for those extras at the back of the book.

I read this book from March 17 - 20, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I definitely enjoyed The Devil's Right Hand more than Dead Man Rising, the second book in the series. Book three definitely felt much more like what I loved about Working for the Devil. It's good having Japhrimel back on the scene. He has a lot of great scenes with Dante. I will need to continue on with this series with Saint City Sinners.

I read this book on March 20, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I'm definitely glad I decided to continue on with this series. Even though it's been a while since I finished the first installment, it was still quite easily recall what happened way back then. There are so many things to like about this series - I particularly love the sense of humor and the dialogue between Valkyrie and Skulduggery. Landy also does a fantastic job writing action and developing the magic system of the world. If you liked the series opener, you'll need to continue on here because this one is definitely better.

I read this book from March 22 - 23, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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This series is just so much fun! I love how this third installment throws you right into the action. The author still does a wonderful job balancing the action with humor. I absolutely enjoyed loved getting to know more about the our characters and the magic system. It's great seeing Valkyrie learn more and more about her powers. As much as I love Valkyrie and her reflection, my favorite character hands down is definitely Skulduggery himself - I mean, he's a magic using skeleton with fantastic sense of style and a great sense of humor. I will definitely need to continue on with this series.

I read this novel from March 23 - 24, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

Congrats for making it through this far!  I'm currently working my way through the last two currently released books in the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman and next up I'll be working my way through Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2) by Kerri Maniscalco.  I've currently completed 9 of 50 books from my TBR.  I'd say I'm making pretty good headway so far and luckily I've enjoyed the the books I've tackled so far.  Have you read any of the books in these series or are you planning on picking them up?  Are you taking part in #BeatTheBacklist this year?  What books have you tackled so far?  Anyway, as always thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!