Geetha Krishnan's Blog, page 6

Updates

I haven’t posted anything here in such a long time. Goodness! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I have had a severe case of burnout, which is better now, lol, and I’ve started to write again. I also started writing and posting some new fanfics to the MDZS fandom. I’ve been reading a lot but they petered out sometime in May but I started reading again now.

In the meantime, I have been sick, I’ve had family members who got sick as well. My nephew got married, and my daughter will be going to UK for a summer programme in July. Our visas have been approved, so I’ll be going with her. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll be getting a break or if it will be even more stressful.

I’ve started a few new WIPs, and have been revising and rewriting Set in Stone. Hopefully, it’s much better now, and will be even more so by the time I finish writing.

Apart from fanfics, Set in Stone is the only book I feel like working on right now. Blade Broken needs some revisions as well and Blade Reforged needs to be written. I also want to revise The Fallen Kingdom even though it’s not finished yet. I will be posting excerpts from my books on my other blog, as usual.

I’ve changed newsletter providers, moving from Substack to Convertkit’s free plan. I can’t afford paid options right now, but Convertkit looks good so far.

I have a new release coming up in July, and ARCs are open, so if you want to read some short sapphic fantasy, you can sign up for an ARC of Braving the Storm.

I hope I won’t neglect this blog again. I always make plans to write something, and then something happens and all plans get derailed. I hope this time, I’ll be able to stick to my plans.

Pluto says hi to all of you, and asks you to subscribe to my newsletter and to buy my books so I can buy her food and snacks.

Review of Ocean’s Blood (The Drowning Book 1) by Thelma Mantey

Blurb

“He looked newly born, as if the ocean spat him out of its womb, naked and wet, a creature made of waves and tides, of liquid and darkness, something that would slip through his fingers as soon as he tried to grasp it.”

Vindt’s tranquil life as a lord’s son comes to an abrupt end when his homeland is overthrown. Friends, family, his freedom—he loses it all to Singers and their dark song magic. Human in appearance, Singers are a different species. Their powers only fail against the demons hunting them. But even this flaw has a patch: humans with a rare and valuable “trait”. It allows Singers to take over their voice and use it like a weapon. Vindt turned out to possess this trait, and was bound to a Singer by blood. Ever since, he has struggled to break free.

Unexpectedly, a chain of events binds him to a new master, the sly and enigmatic Asche. From day one, their egos clash. Only, their encounter was no coincidence; Asche needs him—but for what? To free the Singers from the curse that plagues them? Or because Asche is on a quest for power, as the Singer’s brethren believe, who are determined to bring him down? Caught in the middle of their fight, Vindt gets yet another unexpected opponent: his wayward feelings for someone he’s supposed to hate.

When Asche’s enemies offer Vindt freedom in exchange for delivering Asche into their hands, Vindt has to make a choice.

CAPTIVE PRINCE meets INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE in this dark, queer fantasy novel about corrupted hearts and the fine line between hatred and obsession.

My Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It revolves around Vindt who used to be a lord’s son but who was captured by the enemy and forced into servitude by beings called Singers. Singers are powerful beings who are unnaturally beautiful and whose songs can kill or heal depending on their intent. Singers are often hired by warring kingdoms to defeat their enemies. Their only weakness is a demonic entity called Verdur whose song negates the singers. The only way a Singer can defeat a verdur is by using the voice of certain humans called Thyds. Thyds have something in their blood which makes them capable of resisting the verdur.

Vindt is a Thyd, but unlike most Thyds who are taken in by the singers as infants and raised in their society, he has fallen through the cracks and discovered only as an adult. As such, he hates the singers and his own helplessness. Their magic binds him, and he’s addicted to their blood without which he will die.

When the singer he’s bound to is killed by a verdur Vindt should have died with him. But somehow, he is rescued and no one knows how he survived and healed. A new singer called Asche who is also a member of the Singer’s council is his new master. Even as Vindt hates Asche, he can’t help but be attracted to him. But there are those in the council who see Asche as a mad man seeking more power and who asks Vindt to betray him, offering him what he wants the most in return: his freedom.

From the beginning, I was completely enthralled by this book. The whole book is from Vindt’s POV, but it was evident from the start that Vindt is an unreliable narrator. How he interprets events are different from how everyone else sees them, and it’s clear that his perspective is skewed by his own prejudices.

I love Vindt for all that, but Asche is my baby. I loved that singer from the start, and everything that happened since has only reinforced my belief that he’s not as bad as he’s reputed to be. Even when Vindt can’t make up his mind, I did, lol. Just wanted to shake Vindt and point out everything to him, lol.

The secondary characters are interesting and the world building is top notch. If you love dark romance, fantasy, queer characters, flawed and morally grey characters who are nonetheless trying to do what’s right, personal stakes and well realised worlds, you will love this book.

Review of The Carnation Murder (Adele Gossling Mysteries 1) by Tam May

Blurb

Can a forward-thinking woman help the police solve a murder in a backward-thinking town?

Smart inquisitive, and a firm believer in the new progressive reforms, Adele Gossling seeks a new life after the devastating death of her father. So she flees the big city of San Francisco for the small town of Arrojo. She plans a life of peace and small pleasures running her own stationery shop and living in her own house.

But peace is exactly what she doesn’t get when she discovers her neighbor dead in her gazebo. The police think they have a firm suspect: the young man who was secretly engaged to the victim. But Adele and her clairvoyant new friend Nin Branch suspect the young man is innocent. In spite of the raised eyebrows from Arrojo’s Victorian-minded citizens, she and Nin set out to prove Richard Tanning didn’t do it. But if he didn’t, who did?

Can Adele and Nin solve this puzzling case involving a striped carnation, a diamond ring, a note, a muddy pair of boots, and a broken promise? Or will Richard hang for a crime he didn’t commit and the real killer go free?

My Review

This was an extremely entertaining read. I do love myself a progressive woman who fights for justice! I love how smart and observant Adele is, and the cast of characters including the old hens and Mrs. Hatfield. I feel like Nin wasn’t given much room to grow, being in Adele’s shade and I’m so sad for Lucy who was an amazing young woman and whose life was cut so short.

Adele Gossling is a young, independent woman, who has lived in San Fransisco all her life and who has moved to the small town of Arrojo following her father’s death. She had a very close relationship with her father and wants to live some place without the memories. She has bought a house of her own and has hired people to cook and clean for her and is starting a stationery shop. The conservative women of Arrojo have difficulty accepting her, but Lucy, her neighbour, is also a progressive woman despite having a despotic father. Lucy strikes up a friendship with Adele, and even throws a welcome party for her. But the morning after the party, Lucy’s dead body is found in Adele’s gazebo.

Adele’s brother Jackson used to be a private detective and the local sheriff, Horatio Hatfield is more than happy to have his—and by extension, Adele’s—assistance. Adele has also struck up a friendship with Nin Branch, who runs the shop next to hers, and who’s a pariah in the town. Together, the four investigate the murder, and discovers truths that should have remained hidden in the process.

I do love Adele, her sass and her sharpness as also her initiative. Nin is more of a passive character, but she does come through when needed. Jackson is struggling with his own demons and his conservative nature, but he mostly lets Adele have her way. Not that he could have stopped her. Hatfield and his formidable mother are both very progressive and are happy to let Adele help with the investigation.

The one thing I didn’t like about Adele is how blind she is to Jackson’s trauma regarding their father. It’s very evident that his relationship with their father was far different from Adele’s but she refuses to see it or pay attention to it. I hope that the author explores that dynamic further in the remaining books because my heart literally hurt for poor Jackson who have no one to talk to about it since his sister will only invalidate his feelings.

On the whole, this was a well written, well presented, and thrilling mystery with a very satisfying conclusion and a host of very likeable, though flawed, characters.

This will appeal to fans of mystery books with women sleuths and historical settings.

Review of The Bachelor’s Valet (Flos Magicae 2) by Arden Powell

Blurb

Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn’t got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he’s perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife.

Despite Alphonse’s protests, he’s to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn’t threaten everything about Alphonse’s way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.

Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can’t fall in love with another man. Can he?

Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She’s as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he’ll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.

My Review

This is the first novel of the Flos Magicae series which I had been planning to read for a while. I’ve already read two books in the series which I enjoyed immensely, and this was no different.

Alphonse Hollyhock is a rich and handsome airhead. He knows he’s dumb and has no fashion sense, so he’s perfectly happy to let Jacobi, his valet take all decisions regarding his wardrobe and life in general. Jacobi is good looking, smart and efficient.

When his mother decrees that Alphonse should propose to and marry Aaliyah Kaddour, a woman who’s helping her father run his business enterprise, Alphonse comes to the realisation that he has no attraction to the fairer sex. His mother has threatened to cut him off without a penny if he bungles this arrangement, however. In desperation, Alphonse can only turn to Jacobi to find a way out. When Jacobi advises him to go ahead with it, Alphonse has no other options.

Till a conversation with Aaliyah makes him realise that she’s in the same boat regarding attraction to the opposite sex. However, talking with her has also made him realise his feelings for Jacobi and now Alphonse has to do everything in his power to pretend he isn’t love with Jacobi because he doesn’t want Jacobi to leave.

This was as funny as the others, and Alphonse is an endearing character, despite being so stupid that Aaliyah has to all but spell out his own feelings for him. For all that, he has a good understanding and can make connections when needed. The unflappable Jacobi with his dry wit, the domineering mother, the scheming Aaliyah and her paramour, Jasmine complete the cast of this very engaging book.

If you love romantic fantasy, queer characters, humour and lots of magic, this is the perfect book for you.

Review of The Heart of the Mummy (Avery & Carter 3) by Shane Carrow

Blurb

Egypt, 1919. Cairo smoulders in the aftermath of a failed revolt against British rule, and Lucas Avery arrives in the city intent on escorting his sister back to the safety of England. But Emily, a promising young archaeologist at the Museum of Antiquities, has no interest in being rescued. She and her fellow scholars are on the eve of a desert expedition in search of Nekharis, the ancient City of the Damned – a venture which also happens to be employing Avery’s old friend, the American gunslinger Sam Carter.

Recruited against his better judgement, Avery joins Emily, Carter and the rest of the Museum’s retinue as they sail up the Nile and strike out into the Sahara. But rumours of ancient Egyptian curses are no mere superstitions. A rival French expedition has vanished; a colleague of Carter’s is found murdered in his Cairo hotel; and an uncanny presence shadows them across the desert sands. Avery and Carter have battled the supernatural before, but nothing will prepare them for what lurks in the tombs beneath the City of the Damned…

My Review

This is the third, and I think last, book of Avery & Carter series, and this time they have to deal with a Mummy in Egypt. The war is over, and Carter now works as a guide in Egypt while Avery is there to look for his sister who’s an assistant at the British Museum there. An expedition to Nekharis, the City of the Damned is planned with the help of Carter who has got a map from one of his fellows. Unknown to them, an ancient entity is stalking them, having killed the previous expedition and taken over the body of one of the members. It’s purpose is to stop anyone from awakening whatever is buried in the lost city. However, it senses Avery’s vampire abilities and hence hesitates to attack, despite getting Bedouin warriors to help.

The evil that is interred in the city is awoken by the leader of the expedition, and the unknown entity attacks the party as well. Carter, Avery and Avery’s sister, Emily manage to escape with a few others. The Bedouin take them in and they meet the entity named Braxis who tells them they’ve awakened an ancient evil and that they must help him in destroying it. It will be going to Cairo to get its heart and once that happens, nothing can stop it. The evil is an ancient royal named Usarhet who led a rebellion against the Pharoah and learned forbidden dark arts. Braxis is a medjai who chose to be buried with Usarhet to keep him from rising.

In Cairo, Emily learns that the heart is in England and Avery and Braxis track down Usarhet only for the mummy to destroy Braxis’ soul. Avery escapes and meets up with Emily and Carter and the three make their way to England while Avery apprises his bosses about the mummy and its purpose. In the meantime, Sam and Emily strike up a romance which Avery approves of.

There are parallels to the mummy movie, but for all that, this one stands on its own. It’s considerably longer than the other two, but no less interesting. I was at the edge of my seat throughout. I’m sad the series is at an end, but I hope that perhaps more are in the making?

If you loved fast paced, thrilling books with a darker shade of fantasy, flawed characters who try to do the right thing, ancient evil curses and historical setting, this book is perfect for you!

Review of Werewolf on the Western Front (Avery & Carter 2) by Shane Carrow

Blurb

France, 1916. Europe is riven by two years of mechanised slaughter in the Great War. Hundreds of miles of muddy trenches and chemically-polluted wasteland run from the North Sea to Switzerland. Here at the southern border, so-called Kilometre Zero is quiet. The enlisted men are too cold and tired to pursue valour, the officers too wary of upsetting their neutral Swiss neighbours. Both French and German forces are content to huddle by their fires and let their comrades fight it out further up the line.

But something is upsetting the silent, snowy peace of Kilometre Zero. Livestock are found mutilated, a night patrol suffers a grisly encounter, and a captured German deserter carries a dire warning. As the full moon rises above the Jura Mountains, American legionnaire Sam Carter and British officer Lucas Avery once again find themselves drawn into battle with a supernatural evil…

My Review

The second book of Avery & Carter series, this one happens a few years after the first. In this we have a werewolf who slaughters a whole German platoon and goes after its sole survivor, a private called Otto who is saved by Carter and his troop since they mistook him for a French deserter. Yes, Carter rejoined the legion during the war. Fun times.

Avery is on a diplomatic mission to the base while all this goes down, and he gets to question Carter and Otto whose words he believes. But the Colonel in charge of the base isn’t so open minded. Avery’s friend, Felix Leroux tells him that Carter will probably go free. But Otto as a German may not get the same treatment.

In a fit of very foolish bravado, Carter frees Otto and they try to escape the chateau where they’re incarcerated but are caught. The colonel orders them to be shot in the morning. But during the night, just as Avery tries to break them out, the werewolf attacks. The three get away in a car, but they have to find a safe place for Otto to heal since he’s been shot and a way to get rid of the monster that stalks them.

This one was just as fast paced and dark as the first. Avery and Carter make a good team and I enjoyed how innocent Otto is, and how they’re both committed to protecting him despite the war that makes him an enemy.

If you love fast paced books, fantasy on the darker side and flawed characters who make bad decisions while trying to do the right thing, this is perfect for you.

I’m off to read the third book now!

Review of Vampire on the Orient Express (Avery & Carter 1) by Shane Carrow

Blurb

Paris, 1914. American adventurer Sam Carter boards the Orient Express, departing France in style after an impulsive decision to desert the Foreign Legion. British diplomat Lucas Avery is already nursing a drink in the smoking car, resenting his assignment to the distant Ottoman Empire. Neither man expects anything more from the next three days and three thousand miles than rich food, expensive champagne and fine cigars.

But something dangerous is lurking aboard the train, hiding in plain sight among French aristocrats and German businessmen. Through fire and darkness, through blood and ice, the Orient Express is bearing an ancient evil across the continent – and not all its passengers will live to see Constantinople…

My Review

This was my first book by this author, and I wasn’t expecting much, but it was so good! It’s dark, almost horror vibes, and while I’m normally not a horror fan since I scare easily, I loved the atmosphere and the descriptions in this one.

Sam Carter, American has deserted from the legion and stolen the pay packets of his fellow soldiers. Now he’s taken a first class ticket on the Orient Express, trying to get as far away from France as possible, to Constantinople.

Lucas Avery who works for the British secret service is upset at his transfer from Paris to Constantinople, but he has no choice but to accept it. On surface, he’s either a banker or part of the diplomatic staff, whichever suits the moment. He’s also gay which is a crime in those days.

When Avery and Carter run to the aid of a young girl who was attacked, they see a vampire, but they cannot understand what it is they saw or if it even was real. Their minds were affected by the creature compelling them to look away, to not see. Though the authorities chalk the attack to some unauthorised passenger who has attacked the girl and escaped when Avery and Carter arrived, the two men know differently.

With their own secrets and worries already, they have to team up if they’re to destroy the creature. But they don’t know how, and they don’t have any resources.

Apart from the religious angle, which I don’t really believe in, and the fact that Sam is straight—lol, okay, I would have loved for them to end up together, but it’s a nice team up too—I liked everything about this. It’s a very short read but packed a punch. The whole atmosphere from the train to the snowy wastes where they chase the vampire to the cellar where Avery confronts it is very dark and spooky.

If you love fast paced books with no let up on the action, dark fantasy (the genre not the biscuit), vampires who are as evil as they were originally intended (no sparkling), flawed characters who are struggling to do the right thing even when they’re afraid, this is the book for you.

The Adventures of Legendary Heroes by Flynn Bryan

Blurb

One day, in the peaceful Wooden Village, Flynn is told by a visitor by the name of Elliot that he must save the world! The two of them meet many people on their quest, and even try to defeat the evil Team Sparkle! Will they succeed? Join them on this quest across The Great Plains! They will fight many evils, discover new things, and even save the world!

My Review

In the interest of full disclosure, this was written by a friend’s son who is 12. It’s awesome.

Flynn is not the hero of the book though it may seem so. I loved all the shenanigans with Flynn and his friends and the evil Team Sparkle led by Juniper which is the name of real life Flynn’s sister. I’m assuming all the characters are either his or Juniper’s friends and relatives!

When I saw Crystalyn, I shrieked, lol. Shaun was the only one missing and he appears in the last chapter too!

If you love a fun romp with magic and sparkles, lots of glitter, laser fights and glue guns, not to speak of swamps that eat everything and magic guns to cover everything with glitter, give this one a go! Support the 12 year old author so he can be inspired to write more!

Great fun to read and short, and extremely obviously written by a child! Immensely enjoyable!!

Review of imPerfect Gods (imPerfect Cathar 6) by C.N. Rowan

Blurb

And so it comes to this. A showdown. An ending. But if we fail – if I end – then reality might follow along behind me.

We’ve been through so much. Torture. Murder. Trap after trap mainly sprung by me blundering head first into them and one of my friends saving my stupid behind.

But there’s no room for mistakes now.

We’ve got an inkling of what the scumbag we’re up against is after. Enough to know what his next target is. Enough to know it’s probably his last one. Enough to know it’s everything he needs to complete his nefarious plans.

If we don’t get there first, he wins. Simple. And I’m not sure … but my gut says if that happens, every living thing in the universe loses.

No pressure, right?

imPerfect Gods is the sixth book in The imPerfect Cathar series, and completes the first story arc. It is a darkly funny supernatural suspense mystery, containing dark humour and graphic violence.

My Review

The sixth and last book of the first arc of the imPerfect Cathar series, this one was an absolute banger.

We open the book where we left it off in the last book. Demon Fart has stolen the rib cage which means the only bone left is the skull in Isakob’s custody. Isakob has managed to create a robot made of titanium and put the skull, with Jakob and his angel-inside. No offence, but I keep forgetting whose angel is which, like I know they’re called Nith and Nan, but I can’t keep straight who is bonded to Nith and who to Nan.

They’re attacked while there by a group of people whose minds have been taken over by Demon Fart. Since they’re innocent, Nith and Nan lets them in through the wards, but when they try to break the mind control, they realise that a bomb is implanted in them which detonates if the mind control is lifted. One of the attackers is Otto, and Paul tries to save him which makes Demon Fart activate all the bombs and kill all of the attackers.

They also realise that all the bones belonged to Almeira, whose latest iteration is as another zealot who’s flying to Bordeaux. They go to the Mother but their quarry is abducted straight from under their nose. They form alliances with all others, since they believe that whatever Demon Fart is going for can affect the whole universe.

In a twist, as soon as they reach Toulouse, a dark magic ward springs up, neutralising their own wards and ensuring their allies can’t reach them. So, Paul, Aicha, Isaac and Jakob in his new robot body make their way to Bogarach which is where Demon Fart is.

The final battle was thrilling, but I had a feeling it dragged on too much. Like I was ready to yell and tear my hair because LET THE GOOD GUYS CATCH A BREAK! PLEASE!

If you love books that keep you on the edge of the seat, urban fantasy, dark humour, friendship and found family feels, this is the book for you!

Review of imPerfect Hunt (imPerfect Cathar 5) by C.N. Rowan

Blurb

At last a warm trail, through blood and bones and long dead kings. The hunt is on…

We’re back in Toulouse, and for once we have the upper hand. Our foe has no idea I’ve escaped from his trap in Fairie and we’ve got an actual lead. The famous discovery of a certain hunchbacked English king’s remains gives us a tantalizing clue, and now we’re hot on our enemy’s heels with him none the wiser.

Except nothing ever runs that smoothly. Hob kings, goth vampires and back-stabbing double-crosses are all lying in wait. And that’s just for starters.

To make it back to France we’re going to need serious magic, might and high-level brainpower.

Two out of three’s not bad, right?

Because if we don’t manage it, the hunter might just become the hunted.

imPerfect Hunt is a darkly funny supernatural suspense mystery that spans the south of France, England and Paris. Contains dark humour and graphic violence.

My Review

The 5th book of the imPerfect Cathar, this one continues the hunt for De Montfort who has now been rechristened as Demon fart, which, appropriate. Isakob is doing research, Paul has to get used to a female body and heal from his trauma, and Aicha is being Aicha.

When they discover a possible location for De Montfort, Paul and Aicha skip across the channel to England. On a plane. With Aicha complaining all the time. There, they meet Craig, a half fae who is also the king of the Hobs and who’s high out of his mind, but stupid powerful. Demon Fart has made an alliance with vampires but with Craig’s help, Aicha and Paul are able to enter his lair undetected. Still, Demon Fart hasn’t spent all these years and centuries plotting for nothing, and he’s able to use the bones he already has to fire a spell at Paul, which Aicha jumps in the way of and which disintegrates her instantly. Paul slaughters the vampires in a haze of grief and rage, but Aicha does manage to reform.

They return to France after exchanging numbers with Craig who shamelessly flirts with Paul who’s still in Maeve’s body because he doesn’t want to lose his talent. They realise that the only bones left are the skull in Isakob’s possession and the rib cage with the stupid powerful fae, Leandre, who’s ruling Paris. On their way to him, they’re double crossed and there’s a hit out for Aicha and Paul.

This one kept me on the edge of my seat and I had to stop frequently because I was so anxious for the characters. I was screaming bloody murder when I thought Aicha was dead. About to hop on a plane to England to gut the author murder. Fortunately, it wasn’t needed.

I’m so anxious about the next book now and have a feeling that nothing good isn’t going to come of it.

If you love supernatural entities, urban fantasy, dark humour, badass female characters who constantly save the day, villains who you love to hate, friendship and found family feels, this is the book for you!