Sally Bend's Blog, page 6

Finding the Light in Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay

Title: Written on the Dark
Author: Guy Gavriel Kay
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Nonbinary, Bisexual

Written on the Dark is another stunning historical fantasy from the masterful pen of Guy Gavriel Kay, who this time turns to medieval France for inspiration.

In many ways, this is a story about stories – about who tells them, how they tell them, and how we interact with them. As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but so is history. We get history told by those who were there and those who weren’t, but those who insist on being remembered and those who are content to be forgotten. All of this is wrapped up in the story of a poet (Thierry Villar) who even steps outside the narrative at times to offer brief asides to the reader, some adding color to what’s passed, and some foreshadowing what’s to come.

While much of this is precisely what you’d expect of Kay – history, drama, politics, and storytelling – there are two elements that stood out for me. The first is the women of the tale, probably my favorite in anything Kay has ever written. Silvy and Marina, their lives intertwined with that of Thierry, are wonderfully written characters, and the crossing of their affections is a quiet, subtle, but wonderful moment. Jeannette was an interesting character (as much as I chafed a bit against the introduction of a Joan of Arc figure), and Alaina, for the very little that we see of her, is just magical. The second is the character of Gauvard Cole, easily my favorite creation of Kay’s since Fionavar. Described as having an “element of uncertainty” and “a name wrapped in mystery,” who isn’t “exclusively male or female” but “changeable,” it’s not clear whether they’re transgender, nonbinary, or intersex, but I loved them and their role in the story.

Narratively, it’s a bit of an odd story, skipping between characters, places, and plotlines, with those asides I mentioned earlier, but it all works . . . all comes together . . . all accentuates the story or the history or perhaps both.

Rating: 1/2

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

New Purchases

A few new purchases this week, including Arkangel, the latest Sigma Force novel, by James Rollins; Paladin’s Grace, the first Saint of Steel novel, by T. Kingfisher; and Demon Gate, a whimsical FLR monstergirl story, by Snek Guy.

For Review

Sadly, still waiting on my last batch of requests, so nothing new on the review front this week.

Currently Reading

A fresh batch of reads this week, including Amplitudes edited by Lee Mandelo, Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race, and A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows.

Weekend Freebies – Femdom Feminization Futanari

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. 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.

Enjoy!

Another Review Round-Up

I’ve been in something of a reading rut lately, with a mix of okay, meh, and good-grief reads, none of which I want to dwell on at length . . . so here we are.

Title: The Death Relic 
Author: Chris Kuzneski
Publication Date: August 6, 2013 by Berkley Books
Genres: Fiction | Thriller
Representation: None

Okay, so the blurb promised Aztec and Mayan civilizations, legends of a deadly artifact known as “the Death Relic,” missing archaeologists, and one of the darkest mysteries of the New World. It sounded like fun, a popcorn treasure hunting adventure, and honestly, my expectations were pretty low.

But now low enough.

I chose to DNF this at Chapter 38, a little more than 40% of the way through, when we were still stuck talking about the missing professor, still bickering about relationship issues, and still bantering about race with the black guy who you really know is black because he reminds you every few pages that he’s black. We literally just left the hotel, where we finally saw some artifacts, but we still haven’t even talked about the treasure. The only redeeming quality of the book has been the villain, who served as our conduit to an info dump as a tour guide details the history of the Aztec people. 2 stars for the history and the tour guide, who I quite liked.

Rating:

Title: Captive Prince
Author:  C. S. Pacat
Publication Date: April 7, 2015 by Berkley
Genres: Fantasy | Romance
Representation: Gay/Bisexual

I first attempted to read this a few years ago, back when I was still dealing with undiagnosed anxiety, and likely was not in the best headspace or mood to enjoy it. All I remembered of it was being sickened by the nonconsensual sex, cruel torture, and disturbing glimpses of child exploitation.

It has such a good reputation, though, and I wanted an edgier sort of M/M fantasy romance, so I decided to give it a second shot. So, how did it go? Well, it’s still full of nonconsensual sex (the gladiator ‘triumph’ sticks in my head); and Damen does get whipped, beaten, and flayed far more than even I, with my fetish for BDSM kinks, is comfortable with; and it’s still deplorable what happens to Nicaise. In fact, the first half of the book is pretty much exclusively a masochistic fantasy of sexual slavery and sexual violence, far more explicit than anything you’d find in John Norman’s Gor novels, and lacks the philosophy (problematic as it is) of those books. There’s neither commentary, justification, or apology for the violence, just a sort of underlying suggestion that it’s okay since they’re men.

There is something of a political plot in the second half that was interesting enough, but what I had come for – the enemies-to-lovers romance – falls utterly flat. There’s a hint of respect building there as we journey from fiery loathing to cold hatred, but that’s it. What’s more, in the context of the society, against the backdrop of what the Prince inflicts on Damen, I found myself actually relieved that the ‘romance’ never went anywhere because the idea of validating that abuse is the most sickening part of the book.

Rating:

Title: Daughter of Tides
Author: Kit Rocha
Publication Date: May 6, 2025 by Montlake
Genres: Fantasy | Romance
Representation: Bisexual throuple

This wasn’t a horrible read, it just wasn’t a very good one. The pacing is very uneven, with a chaotic opening where we’re dumped into a lot of names and facts (apparently it makes much more sense if you’ve read her other series, which the blurb does not mention), a middle that is so slow as to feel stalled, and then an ending that is frantic and fierce, but all sex and no plot.

The poly/throuple aspect was fun, and I was glad to see it explored, but everything felt instalove sudden and rushed, with nothing to build a relationship, just the fact of relationships we were expected to accept and follow through. Again, maybe there’s history to these characters, I don’t know, but I felt like much was missing.

Rating:

Weekend Freebies – Femdom & Kink

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. 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.

Enjoy!

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

New Purchases

A small stack of new books this week, starting with Bold Strokes by Jane Boon (her follow-up to the empowering, edgy, and erotic Edge Play); Solomon’s Seal by Skyla Dawn Cameron (her first Livi Talbot, treasure hunter, book); A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows (queer love story full of Byzantine politics and lush sexual energy); and The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (a heart-pounding romantasy, full of shocking twists, morally shifty characters, and erotic thrills).

For Review

Just the one new review title this week, but it sounds like a ton of fun. Blood and Treasure by Ryan Pote brings together the destruction of the International Space Station, the discovery of an ancient scroll, a treasure hunter, and the sole survivor of a killing spree conducted 254 miles up in the sky.

Currently Reading

As for what I’m reading, on the Kindle I’ve paused (but not abandoned) Heir of Strahd by Delilah S. Dawson in favor of Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay, while I’m still reading The Death Relic by Chris Kuzneski in paperback.

Weekend Freebies – Femdom & Kink

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. 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.

Enjoy!

To Please Her Is a Delight with Elena Abbott

Title: To Please Her
Author: Elena Abbott
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Genres: Romance
Representation: Trans, Lesbian

I have been crushing on the idea of To Please Her since December, when Elena Abbott first mentioned it on her blog. The promise of a trans woman, love and kink, a rope class demo bunny, and a woman with reasons for avoiding relationships caught my attention, and the cover . . . well, it had all the elements to make me shiver with anticipation.

So, how does the read stand up to such lofty expectations? Much to my delight, it not only meets them, but exceeds them in every way. I absolutely adored this book. Seriously, it got into my head and my heart early on, and I had to fight myself to not read it all in one sitting, but to stretch it out and enjoy it over the course of a few days.

Sabrina Doyle is a driven young trans woman with no time for love, few friends, and no family. Shunned for her choice to be true to herself, she’s working two jobs and saving for surgery. When she stumbles into a beautiful woman on the street, spilling coffee all over the woman’s blouse, she has no idea where her promise to make it up to her will lead. That woman is Delilah Holte, a bold, confident, kinky professional with her fingers in two local businesses and her heart in domination. She needs a demo bunny for a rope class, and the cute young woman suddenly in her debt is the perfect candidate.

If there’s a more perfect meet-cute in the genre, I have yet to come across it. This is the kind of accidental encounter that dreams are made of, and the blend of awkward, adorable blend of cute and kink is immediately endearing. Sabrina finds herself caught up in this beautiful woman’s wake, powerless to resist as she discovers the surprises of her inner submissive – and for a scene that is largely clothed and chaste, the rope class is as erotic as it is empowering. What’s more, the casual way in which Delilah accepts and embraces Sabrina being trans is fabulous, and that simple acceptance carries through the whole story, with nary a hint of doubt or fetishizing. More authors can learn from how Abbott so sensitively approaches the subject.

There’s so much I loved about this, but it all starts with the dynamic between Sabrina and Delilah. Even though this is a Domme/sub relationship with very different personalities, their life experiences have a lot of parallels, slowly uncovering complementary needs and desires. Abbott explores themes of family and friendship, being true to one’s self, and finding strength in relationships. There are some dark moments in the story, including some deplorable homophobia and transphobia, but it’s not without purpose. We have to understand where these women have come from, along with what they’ve faced (and are facing) to appreciate their relationship journey.

To Please Her is a story that’s beautifully told, an easy read that welcomes you in with open arms and holds you close, right through to the end. The cast of support characters is small, but delightful, including one we don’t meet until near the very end who made me smile. The power-exchange relationship is just that – a relationship, not a scene – and the way Abbott explores submission, subspace, and protocol rings true. I expected to love this . . . I wanted to love this . . . but even I didn’t expect to love it this much.

Rating:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Believing in The Last Vigilant with Mark A. Latham

Title: The Last Vigilant
Author: Mark A. Latham
Publication Date: June 24, 2025
Genres: Fantasy
Representation: N/A

The Last Vigilant hooked me from the opening chapter and never let go. What Mark A. Latham has crafted here is an homage to the kind of high fantasy that remains my favorite subgenre, infused with just enough grimdark and military flavor to give the fantasy a sense of gritty tension.

Sargent Holt Hawley is the very definition of a flawed, tragic hero. It’s made clear from the start that he’s fallen from grace, that he’s looked down upon (and mistrusted) by his fellow soldiers as a pariah, but Latham does a masterful job of teasing out his backstory. The more you read, the more you come to like him, and the more you wonder and worry about what he’s done, because the it really begins to feel like the truth will hurt. As for Enelda Drake, the legendary Last Vigilant, she takes a while to warm up to, what with her need to keep secrets and deny the obvious, but there’s a charm to her that only grows as we begin to get glimpses of her vulnerability.

As for villains . . . well, take your pick. There are nobles, clergy, soldiers, and commoners alike who all play the role of antagonist (some with more scene-chewing glee than others), and even those who don’t give off big-bad vibes still get under your skin. Yes, I was annoyed and angered at multiple points of the story, but I was also surprised to find myself feeling defensive and protective, wanting to spare our heroes from being knocked down one more time.

I mentioned high, grimdark, and military, but this is also a mystery that fits very well into its fantasy trappings. That mystery element makes for what feels like a slow read, but it’s also a smart one . . . and a surprising one. Even when it seems like there’s not a lot happening, there’s a lot to be learned. Of course, the more answers we get, the more questions we have, but those questions just open the story wider, eventually returning it to its fantasy roots. There are some big reveals, some clever red herrings, and some great twists, and Latham crafts the story so well that you don’t even feel cheated or let down when you guess right.

Getting back to the fantasy angle, which is what opens and closes The Last Vigilant, the action, adventure, monsters, and mythology are entirely satisfying. It’s an underlined by the mystery, which creates much of the drama, but it all meshes beautifully together to create something familiar and yet fresh at the same time. The climax here is strong, offering answers to big questions and a resolution to the central mystery, and I think that satisfaction is part of what left me so eager for the next installment.

Rating:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: From Blood and Ash
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: January 13, 2022
Genres: Fantasy | Romantasy
Representation: None

While I didn’t love it the way I had hoped, and was decidedly less satisfied with how it ended than how it it began, I’m still glad I expanded my romantasy bookshelves and gave From Blood and Ash a read.

Let’s start with the good. This was an interesting read with some fascinating elements and great atmosphere, especially at the start. I felt immersed in the world Jennifer L. Armentrout has created, and could almost feel the tension of it all. There’s intrigue and mystery to the story, with the kind of political posturing that you’d expect of the fantasy genre. I was fully invested in the drama at court, although at least a little of that drama was artificially manipulated by Armentrout keeping key details close to the chest.

As for the romance element, I simply did buy into the central romance between Poppy and Hawke – which is a pretty significant issue for a romantasy. I’d read the warnings about abuse, dark themes, and dubious consent, but there are some whiplash-inducing swings between hate/love, especially in the last act, that beggar belief. I can’t count how many times I closed the book in exasperation, unable to believe that Poppy fell for it yet again. And again. And again.

Also, and this is me being picky, there were a few glaring continuity errors that I found really confusing me because something was said on one page only to be contradicted on the next.

That said, I might read another one, as I’m not entirely opposed to continuing . . . but I’m also in no hurry to do so.

Rating: