L.R. Braden's Blog, page 18

Guest Post: Review for A Drop of Magic

Hey all, check out this awesome YouTube review I just got on A Drop of Magic from I Love Vampire Novels!
Leave a comment on the video and you could be entered to win a free copy! Details at the end of the review. ;)
Thanks, JD Brown!

Review: The Becoming

The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Overview:
This was a fast-paced origin story with a unique mythos. I'd recommend it for fans of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.

Characters & Voice:
The first thing to strike me about this book was that it was written in present tense. Personally, always find a present tense narrative a bit jarring. It takes me longer to lose myself in the story. That said, it was well done. Just something to bear in mind if you (like me) have a tense preference.
The narrative character was a woman named Anna Strong who becomes a vampire. (That's not a spoiler, it's the main premise of the story.) Anna is a strong, no-nonsense kind of woman who makes her living as a bond enforcement agent partnered with an ex-football player. She spends a lot of time being angry (not too surprising considering all that happens to her) and a lot of time having sex. (Note: the sex scenes are frequent, but not explicit.)
I had some difficulty connecting with Anna at first, mostly because of the way she responded to the attack that turned her into a vampire. She was also a little too lusty for my tastes. When she was puzzling out problems or kicking butt, however, we got along just fine.
This book had a relatively small cast, consisting primarily of Anna, her friend David, and her vampire teacher Avery. There were a few walk-on characters, and a couple others who were mentioned but never existed on the page, but Anna pretty much only interacted with David, Avery, and some bad guys.
Anna's relationship with David, or rather his with her, seemed a little too close for friends or co-workers. David is *very* protective of Anna. So much so he's willing to blow off his own girlfriend to be available for Anna despite her saying she doesn't want his help. I think it's great that Anna has a solid guy friendship, but David's solicitude felt a little more like unrequited love to me. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

Language & Mechanics:
There were several places where people said things like "You are vampire," or "what it is to be vampire," and I kept feeling like there was a word missing there. I assume Stein wrote it this way to mirror the way we say "I'm human" as opposed to "I'm a human," but it always sounded a little weird to me.
Aside from that, the language flowed well. Descriptions were detailed enough without dragging on. Anna's internal thoughts and feelings were well described.
One interesting mechanic was the use of mind-to-mind interactions in the book. Stein's vampires could communicate telepathically, reading thoughts, emotions, and memories. This was portrayed though the use of italicized dialog, much as an internal monologue would traditionally appear. For the most part, Stein did a great job utilizing this mechanic for a strong effect. There were only a couple times that it was unclear who was "speaking," or when the main character thought something and then added, "but I hid those thoughts," which was a little confusing.

World Building:
Like many urban fantasies, Stein's book is set in an alternate version of our world. One in which vampires are not only real, but have adapted over the centuries to survive in sunlight. Stein incorporates several well-established myths about vampires while throwing others out the window in favor of her own unique twists. It's always nice to see authors interpret old stories in new ways.
I was a little lost as to the setting at the beginning of the story. I eventually came to learn the book was taking place in southern California, but I was lost in the initial scenes. It's possible some of the scene descriptions would have tipped off a local, but being unfamiliar with that area, it took me a while to get my bearings.


NOTE (including a spoiler): I would not recommend this book to anyone sensitive to the topics of rape or cheating partners.

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Extending my Reach

The first two books in my Magicsmith series can now be purchased at the Boulder Book Store on the Pearl Street Mall. If you're unfamiliar with this book-lover's dream, I encourage you to stop by and browse their extensive collection spread over three floors. I promise you'll find something to fall in love with, be it a cozy corner to watch the rain, a sweet treat off the chocolate rack, or (like most of us) a new literary adventure to embark on.
See you there!

Courting Darkness Online Tour

The online book tour for Courting Darkness is officially underway! I'm once again partnering with Silver Dagger Book Tours for an online tour of my newest book: Courting Darkness. Be sure to stop by this kickoff page for the tour to see what it's all about and enter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon giftcard! kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
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fundinmental

Review: The Scrivener's Bones

The Scrivener’s Bones by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Overview:
A great continuation of the adventures of Alcatraz Smedry. In this second installment, Alcatraz isn't starting from zero. He's been established as the leader (however incompetent) of the group, and the challenges and stakes are ratcheted up accordingly.

The main character, Alcatraz Smedry, is also the narrator, but he's even more than that. The books are written from the perspective of an older Alcatraz writing his autobiography.

This is not fiction. In the Free Kingdoms--lands like Mokia and Nalhalla--it will be published openly as an autobiography. For that is what it is. My own story told--for the first time--to prove what really happened.

As such, we get the usual narrative voice of the character, and also the interjected narrative voice of the author. These interjections happen throughout the book, but most are concentrated in the short intros that proceed each new chapter. While I enjoyed the humor in these sections, I mostly found them a distraction from the story proper. *However,* I would also like to note that my daughter, with whom I'm reading the series, enjoys them immensely, and while she doesn't always understand the content (she was only six when we started this book) I feel like they pull her deeper into the story by making her imagine Alcatraz as a real (if silly) person sitting somewhere writing this book. This is one of the many aspect of this series where I think Sanderson did a marvelous job writing to his target audience. Because, let's face it, a lot of the things that annoy us adults are freaking hilarious to kids.

Language & Mechanics:
As noted in my section of Voice, the author (or pseudo-author), Alcatraz of the future, interjects non-sequiturs at the beginning of each chapter which are at times hilarious, but really drag down the pacing of the main story. This is frustrating for readers who are used to books with a continuous flow, but the mechanic seems to work well for a younger audience.
Conversely, while I think Sanderson does a great job keeping the voice and tone of the story appropriate for young readers, the topics of the non-sequitur chapter beginnings often involved concepts and comparisons that had to be explained for my daughter to grasp what he was talking about. (Note: she is probably a little below the target age-range) This made me feel like those beginning sections were actually geared more toward the older end of his audience.

World-building:
This series takes place in an alternate version of our own reality, similar enough that the argument could be made that it *is* our world, we are simply ignorant of the truth of it due to Librarian intervention. As with the first book, Alcatraz starts out in the Hushlands, but he quickly leaves the comfort of this known environment and heads into the Free Kingdoms--the lands not under Librarian control.
As always, Sanderson does an amazing job of creating the world in which the story takes place, painting a rich picture full of unique and memorable details. For example, when Alcatraz enters the Library of Alexandria, the Curators there rip the tags out of his clothes because they take every scrap of writing that enters the library to make copies for the collection. This was, historically, the practice at the real Library of Alexandria (though they didn't have tags in their clothes). So Sanderson made his world both accurate and memorable by adding this fun detail.

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In Good Company

A Drop of Magic just made it into the top 100 on the Amazon Best Sellers list in Contemporary Fantasy Fiction! I can't even describe how excited I am to see my name along side those of Ilona Andrews, Kevin Hearne, and Patricia Briggs. It's like standing next to my idols!

Review: 5 Secrets of Story Structure

5 Secrets of Story Structure: How to Write a Novel That Stands Out by K.M. Weiland
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Since I'm about to dive into outlining my next book, I decided to get a quick refresher on story structure to help me decide the order of my plot elements. Enter, The 5 Elements of Story Structure. If you want a fast (and I mean super-fast) refresher on story structure, this is it.
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Character Sketch: Sarah

While most of my time has been taken up with writing (and rewriting) lately, I've found a few moments here and there to sit down with my colored pencils. As such, I present Sarah Nazari, the newest addition to my Character Sketches. BACKGROUND: A friend of David's. Sarah is a police officer with a strong sense of justice... and a secret to keep.

New Release: Courting Darkness

Can you believe it? Courting Darkness is already out! For those of you who don't know, Courting Darkness is the second book in my urban fantasy series: The Magicsmith.

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she's got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect.

Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust.

She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend. I feel like this whole month has been a crazy blur. My first book, A Drop of Magic, released July 31st. Since then I've been promoting book 1, getting ready for the launch of book 2, and putting the finishing touches on the manuscript for book 3. And that's just my writing life. I feel like I could face-plant my bed and sleep for a week!

At least all that work has produced some pretty awesome creations! Here are some links where you can find my books: A Drop of Magic - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Kobo | Apple | Goodreads

Courting Darkness - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Kobo | Apple | Goodreads

Review: Into the Still Blue

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

Overview:
A solid conclusion to the series. Into the Still Blue was a very fast and fun read, just like the previous books. There were a couple places where things lined up a little too conveniently, and some decisions that didn't really make sense to me, but overall I enjoyed it immensely.

There was not a whole lot of world building beyond what was already established in the first two books. The two new settings were the Komodo--the dwellers' mobile unit--and the Still Blue. That said, the descriptions where consistently satisfying and kept me grounded in the story. I particularly like Rossi's handling of the terrible storms that are ripping her world apart.

Characters & Voice:
As with the previous books, the novel alternates between the narrative voices of Aria and Perry. Both characters are fairly single-minded, they do not sway from their perceived duties or their love for each other. As narrators go, they are both very serious and a bit dramatic--though that's to be expected when dealing with teenagers with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Beyond the two of them you'll find the crew of wonderfully rendered secondary characters who where introduced in the first two books. I think the only really new character we get to know is Sable's second-in-command, Loran. This cast of support characters added greatly to the feeling of growth in the book. Since neither of the main characters changed much, it was in the side characters that we got to see the most development.

Parting comments:
While Aria and Perry both made decisions and took action in this book, I was left with the overwhelming feeling that they were just being swept along for the ride, reacting to deteriorating circumstances. Sable is 100% in control of events from the very beginning of the book, while Aria and Perry mostly felt like they were floundering. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much, but it didn't quite live up to its potential as the conclusion of this unique and engaging series.

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