Sally Bend's Blog, page 35
November 1, 2023
Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.
My choice for this week is the sequel to a book I only picked up on a whim, not even sure I’d ever shift it from the TBR pile, but loved immensely.
Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages
February 29, 2024 by HarperVoyager
Gabriel de León has saved the Holy Grail from death, but his chance to end the endless night is lost.
After turning his back on his silversaint brothers once and for all, Gabriel and the Grail set out to learn the truth of how Daysdeath might finally be undone.
But the last silversaint faces peril, within and without. Pursued by children of the Forever King, drawn into wars and webs centuries in the weaving, and ravaged by his own rising bloodlust, Gabriel may not survive to see the truth of the Grail revealed.
A truth that may be too awful for any to imagine.
October 25, 2023
Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.
My choice for this week is the first in a new trilogy that turns convention on its head and explores a queer high fantasy world where elves thrive and humans are legend.
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Adult, High Fantasy
Hardcover and eBook, 496 pages
January 18, 2024 by HarperVoyager
Two elven sisters become imprisoned in the hidden world of the fae where danger, and love, lies in wait. Faebound is the first book in an enchanting new trilogy from the internationally bestselling author of The Final Strife.
A thousand years ago, the world held three fae, elves, and humans. But now the fae and humans exist only in myth and legend, survived by the elves who are trapped in an endless war over the remaining lands.
Yeeran is a colonel in the elven army and has known nothing but a life of violence and hardship. Her sister, Lettle, is a diviner whose magic promises a different future for her and her sister, but the prophecies have yet come to pass.
When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, Lettle, fearful for her sister’s life, follows her into the uncharted territory beyond their borders. In the wilderness the sisters encounter the largest obeah they have ever seen. Part leopard, part stag, the obeah’s magic is harnessed to make weapons for the elven war. It is during this hunt that they are confronted with the a group of fae who take them captive. Imprisoned in a new land, they must navigate the politics of the fae court all while planning their escape.
Now Yeeran and Lettle are fighting a different kind of between their loyalty to their elven homeland and the intoxicating world of the fae, between what duty decrees is right, and what their hearts tell them they need.
October 23, 2023
Book Review: Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff (fantasy, horror)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publication Date: February 29, 2024
Genres: Fantasy, Horror
Protagonist Gender: Male
Damn it. I knew I was going to regret falling prey to the vampire’s call and immersing myself in this early sampler of Empire of the Damned. The first book was so bloody amazing (check my review here), and I’ve been so anxiously awaiting Jay Kristoff’s sequel, that I surrendered myself to the thirst for more blood … for the Grail … for it all … and now I fear I may go mad waiting for the rest of it.
This sampler captures, as near as I can tell, the first half of the book. It picks up right where the first left off, takes us through several new set pieces, thrusts us into increasingly deadly battles with the undead, twists the silver blade just a bit deeper into Gabriel’s heart, unveils new layers of mythology, and leaves us with not one, but two cliffhangers.
There’s not much I can say without spoilers, but this is a book that’s heavy with consequences. There’s the bloodbath that ended the first book, the loss of Gabriel’s birth family, the fate of friends and allies, and (more than anything) the choices made that have led us here. That’s not to say it’s all doom and gloom – the wit, the banter, and the morbid humor of the first book is still here – but the more we know of the world and its characters, the more we feel the significance of every action.
Here’s hoping I manage to land an ARC of the entire book before release but, if not, I’ll be in line at the bookstore on release day with everyone else.
Rating: 
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 21, 2023
Book Review: Eli Book Three – The Perversion by B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre (erotica)
Author: B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre
Publication Date: February 24, 2023
Genres: Erotica
Protagonist Gender: Male
With The Perversion, book three of the Eli series by B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre, we hit the physical, emotional, and thematic midpoint of the saga. It starts out with some frisky, fetish-filled fun before it gets risky, then dark, and then somewhat ominous.
So, let’s get right to it. The fun involves another ‘delivery,’ which Eli is now wise enough to know means letting himself be used for some kinky sex by older men who can afford his affections. What makes this delivery so much fun is that Eli does it while dressed as Little Bo Peep. It’s sweet and adorable and oh-so-very naughty, and it ends in an act of passion that (once again) has consequences, but also involves a gratuity that raises questions.
Not to spoil anything, but at this point you really have to wonder if it’s even possible for Eli to repay his debt.
The whole Eli/Bernie dynamic grows even more muddled here, with glimpses of meaningful emotion mixed in with secrets, lies, and jealousy. I fear a confrontation is looming for poor Eli at the store, as not everyone appreciates how his presence has shifted Bernie’s behavior. Before we get to that confrontation, though, there is another in store within this chapter. I won’t go into detail (you can likely guess from the cover blurb), but it ties deep into the first two books and promises to have consequences for Eli when summer break is over.
As for the ominous part, that involves a certain freedom given to Clem, another new realm of discovery for Eli, and a final moment that feeds my fears of that looming confrontation. I’ve been very diligent about not reading ahead, but I had to peek at the blurb for Deception as soon as I was done . . . and it has my feelings a muddled as Eli’s relationship. I don’t want his story to end, but I need to know how it ends!
Rating:
My sincere thanks to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 20, 2023
Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday – Putting the TG in TGIF!
Well, if it’s Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday!
Every Friday I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.
Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.
While you’re on Amazon, if you’d like to support my stories, could I kindly ask that you give these a read/review?
Enjoy!
October 18, 2023
Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.
My choice for this week is a queer Victorian romance, and that is pretty much my favorite new genre of the last few years.
Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
Historical Romance
Paperback and eBook, 400 pages
Expected publication January 9, 2024
A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!
Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.
It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.
Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.
“Let’s get them together,” she says.
It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.
“It’ll be easy” she says.
There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.
But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?
Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.
Beth’s not mature enough for this…
Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.
That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.
October 13, 2023
Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday – Putting the TG in TGIF!
Well, if it’s Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday!
Every Friday I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.
Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.
While you’re on Amazon, if you’d like to support my stories, could I kindly ask that you give these a read/review?
Enjoy!
October 6, 2023
Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday – Putting the TG in TGIF!
Well, if it’s Friday, then it must be time to bend our way into the weekend with Fetish & Fantasy Freebie Friday!
Every Friday I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might be of interest to similarly bent readers, fans, and lovers. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.
Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.
While you’re on Amazon, if you’d like to support my stories, could I kindly ask that you give these a read/review?
Enjoy!
October 5, 2023
Book Review: Nights of Silk and Sapphire by Amber Jacobs (fantasy romance)
Title: Nights of Silk and SapphireAuthor: Amber Jacobs
Publication Date: April 7, 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Protagonist Gender: Female
Desert fantasy, erotic romance, a sapphic harem, and a gloriously sensual awakening – Nights of Silk and Sapphire was an absolute gem of a novel that I never wanted to end! The whole cast of characters is wonderful, but the slow-burn romance between Dae and Zafirah is so beautifully orchestrated, you feel every ounce of their longing.
Dae is a young woman from the city, full of innocence, and ignorant of the world outside her family’s privileged social sphere. When she’s abducted in a desert raid, her discomfort grows even deeper as she’s ‘rescued’ to a harem full of beautiful women, only to be find herself even more uncomfortable with her fate when she realizes they’re all concubines of the beautiful Scion, Zafirah.
There are so many ways this story could have gone wrong, could have become something sordid or exploitative, but Amber Jacobs makes it romantic and empowering. This is a story of women who, in bondage, are more free than any of the women Dae was surrounded by at home. Free of the patriarchy, the church, and all the ‘polite’ social morals that come with ‘civilized’ structure, they can love openly. The harem is very much like a polyamorous family, loved and respected by Zafirah, with everyone free to love one another, with some entering into marriage-like bonds with each other. They all belong to the Scion, but there is no pressure to perform or serve her desires, and there’s none of the infighting or social maneuvering within the harem that you often seen in the genre.
While there is some delicious eroticism to the story, it’s largely a story of the friendships that Dae forms within the harem, the romantic courtship by Zafirah, who finds herself in love rather than lust for the first time in her life, and the young woman’s empowered awakening. She struggles with the conflict between heart and soul, body and mind, but is given the space she needs to find herself. It’s a beautiful journey.
There is also a strong fantasy story behind Nights of Silk and Sapphire, with men of the desert looking to take down the Scion and replace her rule with their own, and that conflict gives the story added significance. Just a wonderful book that I am so glad I had the opportunity to discover.
Rating:
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2023
Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.
My choice for this week is the first in an epic fantasy about an inquisitor, a thief, a dragon, and a demigod.
The Dragons of Deepwood Fenby Bradley P. Beaulieu
Adult, Fantasy
Hardcover and eBook, 496 pages
December 5, 2023 by DAW
This 1st book in a new fantasy series from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series follows an unlikely pair as they expose the secrets at the heart of the mountain city of Ancris.
Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. When a mysterious tip leads her to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself.
The trail leads her to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Rylan came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives’ achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful she frees him.
Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they discover something terrible. The Red Knives are planning to awaken a powerful demigod in the holiest shrine in Ancris, and for some reason the Church is willing to allow it. It forces their return to Ancris, where the unlikely allies must rally the very people who’ve vowed to capture them before it’s too late.
Explore the mountain city of Ancris, where fast-paced adventure and intrigue abound. in this new offering from the author of the acclaimed Song of the Shattered Sands series.
