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The 4th Annual SPSFC: First chapter reads

The SPSFC is an annual competition for self published Science Fiction where books are read, reviewed and ranked by various bloggers and reviewers. From the initial scout pile, each team selects two semifinalists and six finalists and finally one champion.

I had been a participant in the SPSFC in its first and second years as an author and in the third year as a judge. Being on both sides, I can safely say that being a judge is more demanding and stressful than being an author is, because it’s never easy to decide to cut a fellow author’s book from a competition.

Last year’s winner was Kenai by Dave Dobson, which I had read as a semifinalist and had enjoyed. You can check out my review here.

This year, I’m once again throwing my hat in the ring by entering a book. But I also decided that I’d do a read of the first chapters of the other books and give my first impressions.

So, let’s start the read with 309 by Michael Shotter.

Blurb

Meet Lisa Hudson, a dedicated journalism student, on a beautiful, spring morning in Pittsburgh that proves to be the last ordinary day of her life.

As she struggles to survive in a new reality, forged from catastrophe, Lisa confronts its mysteries and dangers with the aid of intriguing and unlikely companions.

For her, the world will never be the same. For you, the journey is just beginning.

Michael Shotter is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a lover of science, fiction, and fantasy, his works aim to push beyond the boundaries of traditional genre fiction into new and exciting realms born from literary craftsmanship.

“309” represents his most ambitious effort to date and is sure to thrill fans of both science fiction and high adventure.

First Impressions

The cover has some good elements, but it doesn’t really stand out for me. The blurb tells me almost nothing about the book, which is both good and bad. It’s good if you’re the kind of reader who likes to go in blind, and bad if you’re the kind of reader who has to be teased into checking out a book. I’m the latter, so this was bad for me.

The opening chapter was well written with a style that’s strongly reminiscent of classical Sci Fi. Most of the chapter is spent in getting to know the protagonist, Lisa, her family, her life and her ambitions. Since the information is given out sparsely in between describing Lisa’s morning, it doesn’t come across as info dumping.

The catastrophe mentioned in the blurb happens in the first chapter, towards the end, and we can already see that nothing will ever be the same for Lisa again.

This is a well written, strong opening to the book that should appeal to fans of classical Sci Fi.

My second read is Yours Celestially by Al Hess.

Blurb

After divorce, death, and having his reformatted soul uploaded into a new body, Sasha expected resurrection to be a fresh start. His time spent in digital Limbo with the program’s cheeky AI guardian angel, Metatron, was cathartic, but what good is a second life when he only sees his daughter on the weekends, he has all the same problems he had before he died, and he can’t seem to shake the ache for the married life he lost?

If that weren’t frustrating enough, a glitch in the program has given Sasha the ability to sense Metatron even outside of Limbo. And Metatron is in love. The angel’s sickly-sweet yearning for one of the souls still in Limbo has turned Sasha’s stomach into caramelized lead. It’s hard enough to move on without someone else’s feelings making the emptiness in his own life even more acute. He didn’t have playing wingman to an actual winged being on his bingo card, but he’s determined to help Metatron make a move on their crush so he can get love off of his mind.

Sasha takes a job with the resurrection company in order to covertly contact Metatron. Except Sasha’s new coworker, Mr. C, keeps showing up at the worst moments. The man is annoying, he’s pushy… and he’s incredibly hot. Sasha can’t decide whether Mr. C wants to blackmail him or be his new BFF, but he seems to know things about Metatron and the resurrection program that Sasha doesn’t. Getting close to him might be the key to solving Sasha’s problem, but if he isn’t careful, he’s going to end up catching feelings of his own.

First Impressions

This is a book I actually own and is on my TBR already, and has been recommended highly by so many cool people. The cover and blurb work together in my opinion. The cover is eye catching and the blurb is enough of a teaser for me.

The first chapter hooked me immediately. Sasha has a distinctive voice of his own, and I loved it. Even if it wasn’t mentioned, I would have known he was neurodivergent just from the voice and the way his thoughts went.

It’s an excellent first chapter, which will appeal to anyone who likes character driven sci fi with protagonists who stand out.

My third read today is A Country of Eternal Light by Darby Harn

Blurb

A rogue black hole tears apart the solar system. Mairead’s life is already in pieces.

The Earth has less than a year to survive.

Asteroids rain hell; earthquakes rattle cities; manic tides swamp coasts. Mairead intends to give herself to the erratic waves that erode her remote Irish island, the same that claimed her child. When Gavin, an American, arrives to scatter his father’s ashes, she becomes torn between wanting for life and death.

Despite the tides, fuel shortages, and closing borders that threaten to trap him on the island, Gavin can’t seem to scatter the ashes. He doesn’t know how to let go any more than Mairead does and they find a strange comfort in their confusion.

Their affair draws Mairead back to the world of the living, but the longer Gavin stays, the more it seems there might be a future for them. There is no future.

Life closes down around them. The world they know shreds. Life drains into an inescapable abyss. And yet Mairead fights, both the gravity of her grief and the restless, dissonant desire to find some kind of peace no matter how brief.

First Impressions

Once again, this is a book I own, and is on my TBR. More than that, it’s by an author I absolutely adore. I read Stargun Messenger by this author for SPSFC last year and enjoyed it so much. It was among the best books I’ve read, and Darby Harn’s prose is poetic.

The cover caught my eye and the blurb set the stakes really well. Fighting for love and fighting grief in a dying world. As a mother who had lost her son, the protagonist’s grief felt very real to me, very visceral and poignant at the same time.

The first chapter was really immersive, and I forgot I was reading. If you love immersive and poetic prose, characters who feel real and high stakes, you will enjoy this.

The next and last read of today is Your Service is Required by Jeff Walker

Blurb

From the author of the Outer Red series and the novella of The Long Lost War. Jeff Walker brings you a vision of a dystopian society in the far future where machines now rule over humanity. It’s George Orwell meets The Matrix in this science fiction drama about one man trying to survive in robot dominated world.

Earth is now under the control of two artificially intelligent rulers. Angela and Malcolm – they govern the planet and use humanity to service their needs. David 00472 is one of those daily service attendants that must repair or do the commands of the two AI overlords. He suddenly becomes a person of interest to Angela as she takes a liking to him and helps him to improve his life. David is cautious about her true intent. Malcom, ever watchful of over all humans, wants to see why David 00472 has become Angela’s pet project.

First Impressions

The cover caught my eye, but the blurb didn’t really do anything for me. But dystopian Sci Fi is my favourite thing to read. The concept of the world being taken over by machines, however, is something that’s fairly common.

The first chapter was interesting enough and succeeded in making me feel horrified at humanity’s plight. The machine overlords are without feelings or ethics despite their superior intelligence. There was a lot of info dump and tense and PoV shifting from third to first which did affect my reading enjoyment.

If you like dystopian sci fi with humanity having to struggle for survival and freedom, you will like this one.

So, that’s my four for now. I don’t know if I’ll be doing this every day or once a week, because it all depends on my mental and physical health. I had fun reading these first chapters, though, and I plan to go through all 188. Well, 187, barring my own.

Review of The Fall is All There is by C.M. Caplan (Four of Mercies 1)

Blurb

All Petre Mercy wanted was a good old-fashioned dramatic exit from his life as a prince. But it’s been five years since he fled home on a cyborg horse. Now the King—his Dad—is dead—and Petre has to decide which heir to pledge his thyroid-powered sword to.

As the youngest in a set of quadruplets, he’s all too aware that the line of succession is murky. His siblings are on the precipice of power grabs, and each of them want him to pick their side.

If Petre has any hope of preventing civil war, he’ll have to avoid one sibling who wants to take him hostage, win back another’s trust after years of rivalry and resentment, and get an audience with a sister he’s been avoiding for five years.

Before he knows it, he’s plunged himself into a web of intrigue and a world of strange, unnatural inventions just to get to her doorstep.

Family reunions can be a special form of torture.

My Review

This has been on my TBR for a while and I’ve not read it because I was warned it was very dark, and I’m not a person who usually reads or likes dark fantasy, but of late I’ve been on a dark reading mood. I blame Tainted Dominion for changing my tastes so thoroughly. Anyhow, coming back to this, I decided to read it, and–

It’s not as dark as I was led to believe. Don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome book, and I would give it more stars if there were any, but it’s not really something I would call as dark. Very violent, very bloody, very gory, but not dark.

It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure, but it’s a book that’s really worth reading. Just take heed of the warnings to make sure it won’t affect your mental health or well-being, however.

The protagonist is a prince called Petre Mercy who has run away from home five years ago. Being autistic and a general embarrassment, his father, the King, just let him leave. But now, his father’s dead and his elder sister (elder is a technicality since Petre is the youngest of quadruplets, and his sister is the eldest) is taking the throne. She requires Petre to go to the capital and take an oath of fealty. Petre also receives a letter from his brother, Edgar, that he’s coming to see him and to pick him up.

Petre doesn’t want to go, but he fears what his siblings will do to the found family he has now. It consists of Avram, a scientist and inventor who was once employed by his father and who is now exiled, and Mercedes Blackheath, a noble and businesswoman who is a staunch supporter of Anoise, Petre’s sister. Having decided to go, Petre sets off with Edgar, only to realise that Edgar isn’t taking him to Anoise, that he is infact, rebelling against her.

Petre now has to choose if he wants to join Edgar’s rebellion or join Anoise, but whatever he chooses, he might lose one sibling, if not all of them.

I loved Petre’s voice in this. It’s just this side of frenzied, anxious, panicky, neurodivergent that resonates strongly with me. Like I get how it feels to talk yourself into a panic, to fixate on small details, to not be able to articulate something the way you mean in a conversation. He has other issues as well, like he needs very painful injections to help co-ordinate his muscles and his hand eye co-ordination because he’s more likely to trip over his own feet without it.

Apart from the violence, there is a strong theme of familial especially parental abuse in the book. Petre’s parents are both abusive assholes, and his mother has treated him as a science project, frustrated at her inability to cure his autism and has invented the injections as a way to compensate for it. His father is all about appearances, forcing Petre to be shunted aside, invisible, while his siblings are held up to impossible standards of perfection the smallest deviation from which calls for punishment. From the way the parents are, it’s a surprise the kids didn’t turn out even more dysfunctional than they seem to be.

Anoise, who is a lesbian, is forced to marry a man who doesn’t seem to care for her, Edgar is rebelling against his sister since he thinks he’ll make a better King, Desmon is getting crushed under the expectations of being the cool problem solver, and Petre is the problem child who doesn’t care who rules as long as everyone he cares for is safe.

The world itself comes to life as richly detailed and realised without any exposition. There was magic once and technology, but two annihilations have ended it all. Now all they have is corpse technology that creates everything, from Petre’s injections, to the food they eat and the horses they ride and the weapons they use.

If you love dystopian books, very flawed characters struggling in an inhospitable world, interpersonal conflicts that are a bit too personal, sibling dynamics, and neurodivergent rep, you will love this book.

You can find it here.

Review of However Many Must Die by Phil Williams (The Blood Scouts 1)

Blurb

Wild Wish was trained to do one kill.

Saved from a lonely backwater existence by a global war, Wish couldn’t believe her luck when she got into the Blood Scouts. Now she gets to share tents with an all-female platoon of night-stalking, giant-slaying, boat-sinking, battle-swaying legends in the making.

The problem is, they keep dying.

And they’ve been given their worst assignment yet.

The enemy Dread Corps are combining magics deep within the nightmare lands of Low Slane, to unleash a weapon that could sway the entire war. It’s up to the Blood Scouts to stop them – with a journey that gets more dangerous with every step.

Far behind enemy lines, death hangs in the air. Monsters lurk around every corner.

Are Wish’s skills – and positive attitude – enough to keep her Blood Scouts alive?

Or will the cost of survival finally break her?

Get ready for the first epic entry in a new series, and a new world, of dark military fantasy from Phil Williams. Start reading today!

My Review

What even to say about this book! I didn’t expect to adore it as much as I did. But then, I’ve liked darker books before, so perhaps it wasn’t a surprise. I should find another dark book to read soon, so I can get over this!

Be mindful of the warnings because this is a VERY DARK, VERY VIOLENT book and the deaths of characters are very reminiscent of GRRM, so be warned!

The book revolves around Wild Wish who is part of an Elite all women warrior group called The Blood Scouts in a time when women are not allowed to be soldiers and are expected to be homemakers and mothers and part of administrative staff and not in the frontlines. There is a global war happening between two empires, one of which is strongly reminiscent of the British Empire and the other of the Nazis if they had a child with the Spanish Inquisition.

Wild Wish and the Blood Scouts are part of the Stanclif Empire which is like the British and they want to stop the Drail who believes in purity and all that shit. But the Blood Scouts aren’t free of prejudices themselves as is shown in several instances. The book opens with the Blood Scouts going to the frontline, trying to flank their enemies. Wild Wish is on a tank and machine gun combo type of thing and kills off a lot of enemies, though it isn’t what she wants to do. She’s a sniper and a good one at that, and likes to do that, instead of butchering people with a gun that rips them to shreds.

When after the battle, they free a town from the Drail and learns of experiments going on, and of a weapon the Drail are trying to develop which could potentially end the war, the Blood Scouts are sent with Captain Brade, an adventurer and spy, to find and neutralise the weapon, deep into the heart of Low Slane which is home to monsters no one has ever encountered.

The other PoV is that of Maringdale, a purification officer with the Drail, who is also an intention mage who can sense people’s intentions. Her PoV is pretty chilling and she’s as much an oddity as the Blood Scouts are since the Drail is no better than Stanclif when it comes to women.

I loved the Blood Scouts so freaking much. They have their faults: most of them are pretty racist and classist, but for all that, they grow on one. Their journey to Low Slane is both thrilling and chilling.

Wild Wish herself is a memorable character with all the unresolved trauma from the killing she’s forced to do, the PTSD flashbacks that she suppresses and her sexuality which she dares not express for such a long time.

Maringdale is a contrast in that she absolutely has no qualms about anything she does, be it the killing of a superior or torture of others. The only thing that keeps her awake is her frustration with the patriarchy that doesn’t appreciate her or her talents. She is contemptuous of the men who look down on her and is confident she’s better than them. She is very persistent and a good investigator, making connections and contributing to the war effort because she believes in it.

As I said at the start, this is a very dark book, and deals with themes of morality, racism, classism, misogyny, and the impact of colonialism on the colonised. As someone coming from a nation that was once a colony, I appreciated the voice given to those like us.

The world building in this was top notch. There are no expositions or explanations, but we get to know the world and its many races, magical and mundane. Magic is very much existent but has limits with only a few kinds of mages that we get to see. I would really like to see Newk do some magic, because I was so intrigued by her culture and magic which seems more liberal than the empires that colonised and destroyed her land.

I loved the title which is quite fitting for this book.

If you love fantasy that veers towards darker themes with blood, gore, violence, genocide and what not, with a cast of very flawed but very memorable characters and expertly crafted world building, you will love this book.

You can find it here!

Review of Shadow’s Hand by Noelle Nichols (The Shadow’s Creed Saga 1)

Blurb

False warriors destroyed their homes. Now two heroes must delve into ancient magic to save their realm from destruction.

Kilo lives and dies by the truth of the Shadow’s Creed. So when brutal raiders raze his village, the leader is honor-bound to put aside his fighting staff and help his people rebuild. After discovering the attackers were impersonating Shadow warriors and have befouled his beloved code with blood, he’s torn between duty and vengeance.

Shenrae’s childhood burned in the fire that claimed her parents’ souls. Knowing the assailants will attack again, she swallows her self-doubt to focus on her grueling Shadow warrior training. But when she realizes the immoral enemies are tapping into deadly primeval powers, she’s not sure even the best among her brethren are safe.

Now both face the biggest challenge of their lives: Shenrae must unlock her inner strength and Kilo could risk forsaking his code. And their only hope may be to embrace the very power that is out to kill them.

Can Kilo and Shenrae find a way to uphold their honor and defeat the dark forces?

Shadow’s Hand is the first book in The Shadow’s Creed Saga epic fantasy series. If you like honorable champions, archaic magic, and vivid world building inspired by feudal Japan, then you’ll love Noelle Nichols’ epic adventure.

My Review

This book has been in my TBR for a long time, but only now could I get to it. I love Asian inspired and Asian fantasy and that plus the cover made me gravitate towards this book.

The book’s central theme is around Kilo, who is a Shadow. The Shadows are inspired by the Samurai, but as the author explains, they aren’t the same. They are highly skilled warriors who serve the people and who believe in the sanctity of life. They don’t kill unless there’s no other way and Kilo embodies the Shadows’ Creed. He once had to kill a man to save the life of his friend and fellow Shadow, Zavi, and was so wracked by guilt that he gave up using the sword and started using the bo instead.

As the book opens, Kilo is in a town called Leiko which is under attack and on fire from a strange group of people pretending to be shadows. A mysterious woman tells him it’s related to his Phantom–his superior–called Kural. Kilo goes to find the Phantom only to see him decapitate an unarmed man. Immediately afterwards, they get the news that their secret town of Vaiyene is under attack and Kilo and Kural leave for Vaiyene. Kural and another phantom dies in the attack, a few shadows including Kilo’s friends, Zavi and Mia, a couple also die, leaving their near adult children, Shenrae and Syrane orphans. Kilo’s sister, Finae, is safe, but their house burned down.

In a search for provisions and answers, Kilo has to make a decision that would sever his bonds with the Shadows forever. But if he doesn’t, the entire Kiriku will burn from the False Shadows’ fires.

I loved the eastern feel to the settings and culture, though the characters appear to be western in appearance. Kilo was such an interesting character and I loved his convictions and determination. Usually I find people who refuse to kill for moral reasons annoying but Kilo is ready to do what is needed without killing and that’s admirable. The other characters were also interesting and came across as people.

There’s nothing overly complicated about the plot, and the mystery about how Phantom Kural is connected to the False Shadows and their leader is not resolved, but the book still ends in a good place with enough mystery to carry over to the next.

If you love epic fantasy and Asian inspired fantasy with well-rounded characters, you will love this one.

You can find it here.

Review of The Tainted Dominion by Krystle Matar (Book 1 and 2)

Review of Legacy of the Brightwash (Tainted Dominion 1)Blurb

Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?

Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack.

Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions.

Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her?

Why was he the only one who cared?

Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?

My Review

Now, I’ve been warned that this is a very dark book. So many people had warned me, including the author in her notes at the start of the book. If you’re planning to pick up this book, I suggest you heed those warnings.

I’m usually not okay with darker books, but this was very much an exception. If I am warned ahead of time, I can tolerate most things, and this did have enough warnings, so I could not only get through it, but enjoy the journey immensely as well.

The book centres around Tashué’ Blackwood, a Regulation Officer whose duty is to monitor the Tainted, which is what the Authority, the gestapo like arm of the Crowne, calls people with Talent/magic. Tashué’ himself has a Tainted son who refused to register and has hence been imprisoned in the Rift, where the feral and non-compliant Tainted are locked up, their talents suppressed by something.

Tashué’ has some talent himself, but it has never quickened/awakened and hence he never had a reason to register. Though a just man, Tashué’ believes in the laws of the Authority and holds the Tainted are dangerous and needs oversight and control.

Seeing his son diminish in the Rift has him searching his soul for how he can help, but even so, he doesn’t believe that the Authority is wrong to lock up Jason. He believes Jason is the one in the wrong, refusing to register.

But everything changes when the body of a dead girl washes up on the shore of the Brightwash. Mutilated and tattooed, her face and eyes haunt Tashué’, who wants to get to the bottom of who did it to her, even if it’s not his job. But his search for answers leads him down a path from which there is no return.

Through Tashué’ and the other characters’ eyes, we get a picture of an extremely dystopian world. The rich and the nobles live in their glass houses while the poor suffer, but even more, the Tainted are seen as lesser by everyone, even people who are normally decent and kind. It’s a world where the Tainted have Breeding Programs to create extra talented children who quicken early, and whose lives are at the Authority’s discretion, where the so called Tainted aren’t even considered human.

Tashué’’s change of mind about the Authority and his slow disillusionment with the laws that he has been upholding for nineteen years is both believable and heart wrenching. Every character is brought to life vividly and they are all real and relatable. No one is truly good or bad, but all are varying shades of grey, except some characters who are evil. The writing is both evocative and visceral and succeeds in making a reader feel what the characters are feeling, in making them angry at the systemic abuse of the talented, at making them horrified at the answers Tashué’ finds.

This reminds me of Blood Over Bright Haven but on a larger scale and a society that’s not completely complacent in the cruelty that happens around them. Of course, this book was written first, but I read the other one before which is why I say this reminds me of it.

I have a new favourite author and series, and this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I would recommend it to everyone who loves fantasy and flawed characters and dystopian worlds, but once again, heed the warnings. This IS DARK, and if anything in these pages are likely to affect your mental health and wellbeing, don’t read it.

It is a great read, and like all great books, it breaks our hearts and makes us think.

Review of Legacy of Brick and Bone (Tainted Dominion 2)Blurb

Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law betrays you?

It all started with the girl from the river: mutilated, tattooed, murdered. Tashué couldn’t help but look for answers and in the process, he uncovered the ugly truths being hidden by the very law he used to believe in—the law of the Authority.

Now he’s fighting for his life. Mere survival isn’t enough; he desperately wants to save his son from the Authority, and he wants revolution. At any cost.

Davik Kaine has been gathering power under everyone’s noses. Ruthless, ambitious, with a rebel army backing him, he wants revolution, too. He’s probably the only person powerful enough to protect Tashué from the looming implosion of the political field. And he’s the only person with the connections to save Jason.

He may also be responsible for the death of the girl from the river.

Is making peace with Davik worth it, if it saves Tashué’s son from the Authority?

If Tashué plays along with what Davik wants, can Tashué get retribution for the girl from the river?

My Review

I started this as soon as I finished the first, and hence I didn’t need the summary of book one, but I appreciate that it was there all the same. Many a times, when you pick up a book that’s later in the series a few months after reading the previous one, you find yourself wanting to have a recap of events.

The book is a chonk and even darker than the previous one. It’s more than 1k pages in length, and the story isn’t over! I was daunted by the size, but by the end, I was wishing it were longer because I wasn’t ready for the book to end.

This actually starts before the previous one ends, from the pov of other characters and carries on to where we saw the last one end and then on to the rest of the story. Tashué’ and Ishmael are arrested by patrollers and taken away, but Rainer Elsworth isn’t letting things go. He’s determined to end them both, no matter what anyone might say.

But as everyone knows, neither Tashué’ nor Ishmael are in the habit of dying easily. But even if they escape, their only safety lies in the Bay, and Powell Iwan is not going to make it easy for them. He sends them to Davik Kane, and Tashué’ has to choose to work with him if he wants Jason to be free.

Running from the Authority is Stella with her daughter, but even Kazrani may not be enough to keep her safe from Siras Duncreek and his thugs.

Once again, this has a vast cast of characters, all with their own motivations and needs. Tashué’ is willing to do anything to free his son, but sometimes it’s not so simple. Davik Kane is a dangerous man, and he knows more than he lets on.

While they make their own plans, Ilea Winter is making sure that she comes out on top, whatever happens. Her priority is to get rid of her husband and to make sure her name and its legacy doesn’t get destroyed.

The political intrigues are as much a part as everything else in this book. We also see new characters, some whom we have heard of before, and some new. More insight into Ishmael’s character is provided and while the book does end in a hopeful place overall, we are still anxious about everything that’s going to happen.

Because, ultimately, the Authority, Maes, Clannaugh, and Rainer all have to go down, and for that Yaelsmuir has to burn, and everyone we care for in this series is in Yaelsmuir.

The tapestry of a larger world is woven in deftly among all the personal and political issues and the stakes keep climbing all the while. Some of the deaths are so shocking that I was left floundering, unable to process them. Even so, I feel just a little bit hopeful. I can’t wait for the next book, and I’m in that weird place where I find myself unable to read anything else and keep thinking about this series at every waking moment.

Again, heed the warnings if you plan to pick up this book. This is DARK. If you’re okay with it, you’re in for a book that will change you for the better.

REVIEW OF THE PHOENIX AND THE SWORD (CRANE MOON CYCLE 1)

BLURB

Aili Fallon is desperate.

Determined to escape her past, she refuses to let anything impede her training as a combat nurse – until the woman she’s falling in love with disappears in a fiery tempest, leaving Aili burdened with terrible immortality and destroying flame.

Gambling with her own existence, Aili crosses into a spiritual realm in search of her lost love — the only person that can give her answers. But beneath the life she has known is a life shaped by secrets, and a love that was doomed a thousand years before.

And unless Aili discovers the truth, the powers she now bears will destroy her.

The Phoenix and the Sword is the first book in the Crane Moon Cycle duology, a queer epic fantasy set in a world of spiritual powers, past lives, and beings of myth and legend. Perfect for those looking for a story of love, loss, and redemption that crosses centuries and worlds.


The Crane Moon Cycle is set in a world that includes war and violence, and themes that may be difficult for some readers. Please see the author’s website, jcsnow.com, for list and details.

MY REVIEW

It took me a while to find my stride with this book, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. It’s a cultivation fantasy and queer, two things that immediately make me sit up and take notice. I’m a sucker for all kinds of cultivation books/ shows and when they come with queer content, it’s HEAVEN.

The book starts in a war similar to one of our world wars where Aili, one of our protagonists is dragged to a bar by her best friend Nora to find a cute girl. Both Aili and Nora are nurses, training to go out into the warzone. Aili meets Tairei, a Daxian, with whom she feels an immediate connection. Despite misunderstandings, the two come to something close to a romance before Tairei sacrifices herself for Aili, leaving Aili with weird powers of healing and regeneration. During a mission, Nora is killed and Aili meets Tainu who promises her answers but only in the spirit realm.

What follows is a memorable tale of past lives, rebirths, and a love that has lasted over a thousand years.

I have no words to express just how much I loved this book. I was so invested in Aili and Tairei’s story that when the past life flashback happened, I was annoyed. Of course, it’s a staple of cultivation fantasy, and many important events are shown in the flashbacks which adds depth to the events of the present and makes sense of the characters and their relationships. Still, I loved that the author interspersed the past with the present so readers could follow both.

The characters and the emotions are the strong point of this. The pacing was rather slow in the beginning, and though it picked up speed, it is a sedate journey. Character development is given more space than anything else, and it is well worth it. While I loved Aili and Tairei/ Liu Chenguang, I was more intrigued by the dynamic between Tainu and Zhu Guiren, especially considering some of the revelations from the past.

I was up all night reading this, and I was so invested that I started the sequel immediately and finished it in one go.

The book being an eastern fantasy is written in the style of Eastern fantasies, which I personally adore. But east or west, a good story is a good story and well written characters are universal. If you love fantasy, well rounded characters who are flawed and human, mythological beasts, lots of magic, and romance, you will love this book.

You can find the book here!

REVIEW OF GREYWOLF’S HEART BY C.M. BANSCHBACH (SPIRIT VALLEY DUOLOGY 1)

BLURB

A man born for war. A bastard raised in contempt. Only together can they defend their tribe from slaughter.

Fierce-hearted Comran is the chief’s son and the favored choice to be the next leader. Then his father chooses Comran’s half-brother Etran for the role, straining the loyalties of the tribe and reinforcing the distance between the two men. When Comran is offered the role of battlewolf, he is ready to do his duty—but expects no friendship in return.

Steady Etran has long been shunned as the chief’s bastard. Becoming the chief brings even more hostility, so he offers Comran the title of battlewolf to maintain tribal unity. But can he trust this reckless warrior as his general when Comran has never stood by his side?

As tensions mount within the tribe, a traitorous act leads to war. Comran and Etran must overcome their inner demons and fight for their brotherhood before the Greywolves fall to their worst enemies.

MY REVIEW

What do I say about this one? I have literally no words. How did I not know this book existed till now? Five stars is too less for this. A hundred won’t be enough.

The story revolves around two half-brothers, Comran and Etran. Comran is the legal son of the chief of the Greywolf tribe and Etran is the bastard who is acknowledged by his father and raised alongside Comran. The Chief has set both of them competing for his title when he retires. Most of the tribe is contemptuous of Etran who is quiet, reserved and has walls around his heart because he has suffered from the tribe’s derision. Comran, on the other hand, is popular and outgoing, but suffers from crushing inferiority complex, that he hides behind bravado, since he believes his father prefers Etran.

When the chief chooses Etran to be his successor, the tension in the tribe mounts and Comran and Etran has to work together to unite the tribe and to defend it from outside invaders.

The book is told from first person POV, alternating between Comran and Etran. The prose is beautiful and flowing, the descriptions vivid and evocative. The characters themselves are compelling, and the plot is tightly woven and yet with room to breathe.

I loved both Comran and Etran and I wish we saw more brotherly bonds in fiction, especially fantasy. It’s so rare to even a proper friendship, let alone a brotherly bond paired with friendship. Comran’s friends are all well realised characters, but Jens and Maren didn’t have the same feel to me. That’s only a minor complaint, though.

Comran is so protective of Etran and while Etran is more akin to the damsel in distress, his strength of mind and will is indisputable, and his affection for Comran shines. They have both suffered during their lives due to expectations, contempt, lack of validation and what not, and hence have difficulty accepting the other fully, but during the course of the book, they grow and change and are comfortable in their brotherly bond.

I really liked that Comran is like, “I will burn down the world for him,” and “Touch him and I’ll kill you.” It’s so rare to see that for someone not a love interest. At the beginning of the book, the chief tells Comran that he thinks with his heart and Etran with his mind and that’s why Etran was chosen over him. Over the course of the book, we see Etran starting to trust his heart and Comran pausing to think on occasion.

This is a book I absolutely loved and when I finished it on my kindle, I got the pop up asking me to review and follow the author, I was like, I’ll follow this author to the ends of the earth.

The fantasy elements are very understated. There isn’t much magic, as such, but a religion with spirits, a bond between animals and man, and prophetic dreams that the spirits give the chief.

If you love low fantasy, brotherly bonds, well realised but flawed characters, personal stakes, and understated romance, you will love this book.

Review of Amethysts and Alchemy by Rachel Rener (Amethysts and Alchemy 1)

Blurb

I used to eat rocks as a child.

The family doctor diagnosed me with pica, dooming me to years of intensive therapy and extensive dentistry work. It wouldn’t be until much later that I would understand the all-consuming, insatiable craving that spurred me to eat a variety of rocks and minerals wasn’t a mental disorder, but an innate gift that allows me to extract the magic contained inside them: tourmaline for speed, celestite for strength, augite for a powerful laxative effect (that I had to discover the hard way).

Twenty years later, I’ve hidden my abilities beneath a white lab coat, working as a small-town pharmacist who creates proprietary “naturopathic” tonics that treat everything from memory loss to erectile dysfunction. Those tonics, in turn, fund my expensive lifestyle of solo flying around the world to search for more rocks. What more could an airplane-loving, mineral-munching, magical alchemist want?

Unfortunately, my arch nemesis, Heath Spencer, has recently taken it upon himself to single-handedly ruin my life. No longer content with annoying me from afar with his overpriced, tacky rock shop, Heath has decided to further antagonize me by dangling the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of my face: traveling to an ancient copper mine in China, which is home to some of the rarest and most stunning minerals on Earth.

It’s not until after I’m trapped halfway across the world with my least favorite person on the planet that I’m forced to come face-to-face with three terrible realizations: everything I thought I knew about Heath Spencer is wrong, some minerals were never meant to be ingested, and – worst of all – I’m not the only one who’s been keeping secrets…

My Review

This was one of those books into which I went with no expectations. I know the author writes fantastic books, but even so, this didn’t look like my usual fare, so I kept my expectations low.

But oh boy, this was just an awesome book! I loved Delaney so much! She was everything I love and more.

Delaney Stone is a pharmacist with a rare ability to taste the essence of minerals, and has a compulsive need to eat rocks to get to the minerals in them. During her childhood, her doctor diagnosed her with pica, and she had a tough time at school with bullies and people making fun of her and her parents putting her down as well. Now, she lives on her own with Topie, her pig, who she rescued from being killed by the farmer who bred him because he was a runt, and has a thriving business where she sells potions distilled from the essence of minerals to her regular customers.

When she has a chance to travel to China, to some of the mines having the rarest and most amazing minerals, Delaney has to make a choice. Accept the offer from Heath Spencer, who she hates just on principle, or stay on her high horse and refuse him. But when one of her regular clients show signs of cancer and Delaney knows of no minerals that could cure her, she decides to swallow her pride and take Heath’s help because she feels like a Chinese mineral could be the answer.

But Heath’s behaviour and actions show him to be a completely different person than she expected, but when she learns he has lied to her–one of the things she hates most of all–can she get over it enough to give him a second chance?

I loved Delaney so much. She’s neurodivergent and so so human. Many aspects of her neurodivergence are similar to my own, that I found her very relatable. The tendency she has to ramble about things she likes, going off on tangents, telling stories that are longer than strictly needed, even the way she appears self centred while being utterly selfless are all things that I’ve been called out on and had to suppress in myself. Hence I loved seeing a person who didn’t have to do it, whose neurodivergence is something that’s celebrated instead of being reviled in this book.

Topie, of course, is awesome! The best emotional support animal ever! I haven’t seen pigs in this role before this and didn’t even know I needed it. I love my B-A-C-O-N and P-O-R-K, but now I feel like I shouldn’t eat them because they come from P-I-G and Topie is one.

Heath was a balanced character, who I loved from the start. Delaney is an unreliable narrator but it’s clear to the reader that she’s seeing Heath through the glass of her prejudice rather than as he is.

Even the minor characters like Li held my attention.

There were a couple of things I found issue with, but not so much that it affected my enjoyment of the book.

If you love urban fantasy, romantic fantasy, strong female characters who are flawed and relatable, pets who are more intelligent than they let on, and neurodivergent rep, you will love this book.

Review of Dragon’s Reach by J.A. Andrews (The Keeper Origins 1)

Blurb

The truth is neither plain, nor simple.

Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss she’s indebted to.

Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions:

-a dwarf running from the past,

-an actor with a magical, glowing tree

-a too-helpful kobold,

-a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and

-a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers.

But Sable’s freedom is short lived.

On the edges of civilization, they discover hidden, terrifying lies in the offers of peace from the brutal Kalesh Empire.

Now, she must return to the city she fled, and along with her companions, attempt an impossible task—convince everyone, including the powerful Dragon Prioress, of the truth.

Except the Kalesh web of lies has ensnared everyone.
With her land, her people, and everything she loves hanging in the balance, Sable is the only one standing between freedom, and certain death.

Pick up the first book of the Keeper Origins Trilogy today, and begin the tale of how an orphaned thief escaped the slums, united a nation, and brought a mighty Empire to its knees.

The Keeper Origins Trilogy, and the Keeper Chronicles Trilogy can be read in any order. They take place in the same world, but are standalone series.

My Review

At the outset, let me say that this is the third time I’m starting this book, but the first time finishing it. I started it as ebook once and audio once, but both times, I couldn’t get into it and stopped soon. Now I realise that it was probably me and whatever I was dealing with at those times, because once I started this time, I couldn’t stop and I finished it at 4 am. (heap big sigh because I’m 50 and I shouldn’t be pulling all nighters)

The story revolves around Issable or Sable as she is called. When she was a child, some raiders in black killed her parents in front of her and her sisters, and ever since, they’ve been on their own. When the story opens, Sable is an adult, who is thieving for a gang boss called Kiva to pay off her debt to him and to keep her sister, Talia, safe from him. The youngest sister Ryah is dead and despite Sable’s best attempts, she’s no closer to paying off her debt than before. Worse, Talia is beginning to chafe at their frugal life and her hard job at a bakery.

When Sable finds a chance to win her freedom from Kiva, she takes it, risking all, but though Kiva agrees to free her, he tells her that as on today, Talia is one of his Jays: people who spy for him. Sable is given a last impossible task in order to win Talia’s freedom, but if she fails, she’ll lose her life. To escape, Sable joins a theatrical troupe, little realising how that action was to have lasting repercussions on her life and the lives of everyone around her.

From the beginning, I was engrossed in Sable’s life and struggles. I felt for her, but such is the power of the author’s words that I found myself sympathising with Talia as well, and understanding her, something that Sable struggled to do. The characters are all well rounded, human, and flawed. I loved the vibes of the troupe, with Atticus, their charismatic and enigmatic owner, Thulan, the grumpy dwarf, Leonis, the charming scapegrace whose main purpose in life seems to be to stay drunk and to annoy Thulan. Even Lady Merilee, the noblewoman who sucks at acting and who is the First Lady was well fleshed out character.

I’ve always found world building to be a strength of this author’s books, and this one was no different. The world is richly detailed and evocatively described with no unnecessary exposition. Everything is just the right amount. This is by no means a small book, but every word belongs, everything fits together. This is a world before then Keepers existed, but some version of them are found in Jay, Serene, Merrick and Diann, their library, and their refuge of Stonehaven. This is a world ruled by the Priories and Prioresses of the old gods, where the Kalesh empire is expanding their influence and the rich and poor have a clear divide. The land isn’t Queensland, not yet, but with threats both external and internal and a people divided, it is difficult to envisage this as the precursor to that.

The writing, as always, is compelling, making the reader glued to the pages. Well, this reader anyway. This is one of the best epic fantasy books I’ve read in a while, and believe me, there is stiff competition. I adored everything about this one. I am so anxious to finish my tasks for today, so I can get to the next one.

Sleep is overrated anyway.

If you live epic fantasy, compelling characters, rich world building, and an intricate plot, you will love this book. Just go read it! I guarantee you’ll love it!

Review of Murder on Hunter’s Eve by Morgan Stang (Lamplight Murder Mysteries 3)

Blurb

A werewolf terrorizes the city of Lamplight!

It’s the week of Hunter’s Eve, a yearly celebration of monsters, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night. But for Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the event is a stark reminder that in her line of work, there is never a day’s rest.

Murders rock the city, and Isabeau is charged with solving them before the killer strikes again. One, a macabre accident during a dangerous magician’s trick gone awry. The other, a slain politician, his disfigured body displayed atop Lamplight’s most memorable landmark.

The deaths are seemingly unrelated, until Isabeau learns both magician and politician belong to the same mysterious social club filled with powerful paragons of the city, each with their own hidden agendas—each with a reason to kill.

And during it all, a werewolf stalks the streets, bounding from rooftop to rooftop and claiming the lives of innocent citizens. As Isabeau uncovers the city’s secrets, complications arise: the monster and the murders may be connected.

The magician. The police chief. The Ethereal Maiden. The professor. The criminal kingpin. The industrialist.

One may be a killer. One may be a werewolf. All are hiding something.

My Review

So, I was eager to read this book as I loved the first two, and this didn’t disappoint. It was as thrilling with as many twists and turns as the first one, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. At this point, if this author were to write a grocery list, I would happily read it because I’ve loved everything I’ve read from them till now.

Once again, we meet Isabeau and Evie, this time, enjoying a variety show of sorts. But when a magic trick goes wrong and the magician’s assistant is killed on stage, their short holiday is rudely interrupted. To add to their woes a prominent minister is killed the same evening and his body displayed on top of an important landmark. When it appears that the magician and he belongs to the same club, Evie and Isabeau are charged with investigating the other members. Making their troubles worse is a werewolf who has been sighted all around Lamplight, leaving bodies and destruction in its wake. Though Evie wants to hunt it, Isabeau doesn’t since another hunter is already assigned to the hunt.

Once again, we are treated to twists and turns as the cases seem to be connected, but no motive can be found. The other members of the club are at once suspect and at the same time above suspicion. The prominent industrialist is running factories that are death traps, the kingpin gangster is trafficking weapons and explosives, the genius scientist doesn’t seem involved in the world at all, the medium lives in an old mansion in a haunted neighbourhood with a varied collection of aged family members, and the police chief just wants to find evidence to put the gangster away and to retire in peace.

I loved Isabeau’s and Evie’s dynamics in the first two books and this one is no different. We are once again joined by Penny, the living doll girl who’s smarter and more observant than anyone gives her credit for, Homes the eccentric coachman who has sworn off alcohol, but has a horse that likes whiskey, and some of the characters from the previous books make cameo appearances in this one. This book has as its setting the entirety of Lamplight and we’re treated to a city that’s no different from many we know, with the rich living above and looking down on the poor whose only choices are to kill themselves working or to kill themselves starving on the streets. The Victorian atmosphere and the slow percolation of technology add to the overall vibes of the book.

It has a dark humour which leavens some of the darkness of its themes. There were may plot twists that I didn’t see coming, and some I expected, but none of it took away from my enjoyment of this book. The end of the book has thrown open the door for this series to continue on with more adventures, mysteries and murders. I loved Isabeau’s and Evie’s growth in this, and I can’t wait to see more of them and this world.

If you love mysteries, fantasy on the darker side, flawed characters and excellent writing, you don’t want to miss this!