Beth Tabler's Blog, page 151
November 23, 2022
Monster*ucking and a Dissection of the Genre
*Right of the top if you are not into smut, this is not the page for you.
This fantastic podcast by Fiction Fans is Titled “Monsterfucking” starring the wonderful smut positive pioneer author Dan Fitzgerald talks about stories that are not sweet romcoms. They are talking about…monsterfucking. It can be fun and niche, and everyone has their thing and being sex positive about what we read is one of the best parts of being a reader in this day and age.
Some folks enjoy the sweetness of two individuals having a slow lingering kiss in a canoe with flowing water under them and a grove of weeping willows around them. Birds are chirping and a crab is singing “There you see her, sitting there across the way..” It is slow, it is sweet, it is a Disney fairy tale. But for some it is boring and they wish dear Eric would turn into a monster, grab them by the next for some consensual nonconsensual fucking. Honestly folks, it is whatever floats your boat but in this case your canoe.
From Dan:
We talk about two books specifically for the episode: Carnal Cryptids: East Coast by Vera Valentine and Dogman: The Alpha’s Knot Bundle by Sibley Stamps.
Check out the episode, along with the other excellent Fiction Fans episodes. Lilly and Sara are fantastic humans and Fiction Fans is one of my top three must-listen podcasts, and you should listen to all their episodes. But this one should come first. 
And read my review of Rescued by the Married Monster Hunters by Ennis Rook Bashe, which I absolutely should have mentioned, but we got carried away talking about the books we had read specifically for the episode.
In addition, I have included some of more Monsterfucking fun in case you are looking for something new to read.
1.The Dragon's Bride (A Deal With A Demon Book 1)By Katee Robert
“I’m sure your world has its dangers, but so far, I’ve only found delights.” “It does have its dangers, yes.” He reclaims my hand, and we resume walking down the rock path. “But I intend to keep you surrounded by delights.”
― Katee Robert, The Dragon’s Bride
About The Dragon's Bride (A Deal With A Demon Book 1)
Briar Rose might have a name out of a storybook, but she learned at a very young age that no prince was coming to save her. She’ll have to save herself. Unfortunately, even that is an impossible task in her current situation—trapped in a terrifying marriage to a dangerous man.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is how she finds herself making a deal with a demon. Freedom from her husband…in return for seven years of service.
She expects the service to be backbreaking and harsh. She doesn’t expect to be put on an auction block in a room full of literal monsters and sold to the highest bidder.
To Sol.
A dragon.
He might seem kinder than his fearsome looks imply, but she knows better than to trust the way he wants to take care of her, or how invested he is in her pleasure. In her experience, if something seems too good to be true, it certainly is.
Falling for Sol is out of the question. She’s suffered enough, and she has no intention of staying in this realm…even if she leaves her heart behind when she returns to her normal life.
Buy from Amazon
2.The BeastBy Jenika Snow About The Beast
What if the Beast never turned into the prince?
My father had just sold me off.
Bartered my body to erase his debt to the very devil himself.
A Beast of a man. Literally.
A creature whispered about amongst the villagers and feared by all.
He was a beastly visage at three times the size of a man, his monstrously huge body covered in fur. Sharp fangs and eyes that held an unearthly red glow. He had pawlike hands tipped with claws and horns that arched back from his inhuman face.
I was to live with him, to be his in every way—all ways—he saw fit.
I was to be his wife, and so I offered myself up as the proverbial sacrifice to the very devil himself.
I just didn’t expect to enjoy being with a monster as much as I did.
Buy from Amazon
3.Ice Planet BarbariansBy Ruby Dixon About Ice Planet Barbarians
You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women – including me – on an ice planet.
And the only native inhabitant I’ve met? He’s big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me…
Buy from Amazon
4.Stolen by an AlienBy Amanda Milo
“Arokh made a low noise that rumbled not just in his chest or throat—but his nose. I politely tried to ignore how much it sounded like a velociraptor.”
About Stolen by an Alien
AROKH
I broke the rules and stole an auction item from her buyers.
Because somehow, they’d managed to abduct a Gryfala princess.
Though… she doesn’t look, or act, or sound quite like I thought one of her kind would.
But I’m merely a Rakhii gladiator; this is the closest I’ve actually ever been to a princess.
I’d be considered lucky indeed if she chose me to guard her.
Instead, I want more.
I need her to claim me.
Because she doesn’t know it, but now I can’t let her go.
ANGIE
Woke up in a freaking auction pen.
With no coffee.
But there were aliens. And they didn’t bid on me out of the goodness of their hearts.
FML.
Then this nice alien showed up in the nick of time, but he keeps referring to me as “Princess” and I’m starting to worry what he’ll do when he finds out that there’s been a little case of mistaken identity, that I’m not royalty – see, I’m not even whatever alien he mistook me for…
I’m just a human.
5.Tentacles and Teeth: A Consorting with Monsters NovellaBy Rowan Merrick About Tentacles and Teeth: A Consorting with Monsters Novella
Katarina was only looking for one night.
An evening of no-strings fun with someone who knew what they were doing and wasn’t afraid of getting a little wild. One look at the gorgeous bartender with the midnight skin and waving tentacles, and she knew she needed to feel all those…appendages wrapped around her before the night was out. Lucky for her, the bartender was a woman who went after what she wanted, and oh, did she want.
More wasn’t on the table.
But when Katarina wakes up the next morning not only still desperate to touch her, but also talk to her, she’s forced to reevaluate. Maybe a relationship wouldn’t be so bad?
Especially a naked werewolf before coffee.
Running into her maybe-more-than-a-one-night-stand’s roommate in the hall was yet another thing she wasn’t prepared for. It might have helped if she wasn’t still reeling from the night before. Or if he hadn’t been completely nude. Or so…sexy. She wasn’t in the market for one relationship, much less two. But they were both so tempting…
Can she finish her plate? Or did she bite off more than she can chew?
In this novella you will find:
Tentacles (put to various uses)
Size/stretching
Knotting
Primal
Sharp teeth and claws
And more…
Consorting with Monsters is a series of standalone spicy novellas set in the same world as the upcoming Cairn Riders Series. True love isn’t guaranteed; but every couple, throuple, or collective will have a monstrous good time and finish (several times) Happy For Now.
Buy from Amazon
monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•monsterfucking•
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November 22, 2022
Real Shit and Book Shit with fantasy author Ben Galley
I had the pleasure of interviewing fantasy author Ben Galley, known for dark fantasy in a variety of flavors, as well as for his jaw-dropping special editions. Links are at the bottom of the interview!
Dan: Thanks for joining me on the blog, Ben! Before we get into talking about your acclaimed dark epic fantasy books and your brilliant illustrated special editions, tell me: How’s your mental health these days?
Ben: You know what, it’s not too shabby! I can’t complain, even after possibly the busiest month of my life with 5 audiobooks, 1 new book, and a Kickstarter launching all within weeks of each other. I was incredibly stressed and close to burning out several weeks ago, but after catching the signs, I managed to take a few days off up in the mountains and on an island to reset my brain. The dreaded wall had infected my writing, but after that much needed mental rest, I’m pleased to say I’m back on it and positive AF.
Dan: That’s great news, and congratulations on the funding of your Kickstarter for Pale Kings! I loved seeing you hit the goal and smash the goal and then all the fun little extras for the stretch goals. I can tell you’re very into the artistic side, and I wonder if you have any art background, or are you just passionate about the visual aspect?
Ben: Thank you! It blew my tiny little mind to see the project goal funded within 30 minutes. I woke up at 5am to launch it and while I was getting some breakfast, it had already passed its goal of $10k. Seeing the support has been fantastic. I think a lot of it comes down to the visuals of the editions. The artwork by Denis Kornev is incredible and perfectly suits the dark and Nordic style of Emaneska. The typography and exterior cover design is exactly what I envisaged when I first came up with the idea to launch these Kickstarters. That’s all thanks to typographer and illustrator Rachel St Clair, who just so happens to be my partner in life and/or crime. She smashed it out of the park with that design.
As for my own visual/art skills? I have practically fuck all in terms of creating digital or traditional art. I can create a decent range of marketing images and have a good eye for putting a few graphic design elements together, but that’s about it. It probably makes any true artists and designers ill to know I use Pages for most of my graphic design and putting together cover spreads. However I’m incredibly compelled by visuals and art in general. I use it for inspiration and get as involved as politely possible in the cover design processes.
Dan: Your passion shows in the quality of the covers and the artwork, but also in the branding. There’s no way to look at one of your covers and not know it’s yours, and I got to thinking, way back in 2010, the early Wild West of indie publishing, who were your mentors or inspirations to think Hey, I can put out gorgeous books that say Ben Galley and build a brand from the ground up?
Ben: That’s a good question, as there weren’t a lot of mentors or guidance in general in the dark ages of indie publishing. Instead, there was a lot of research and guesswork and even more crossing of fingers. Joanna Penn was a great help and one of the first pioneers I came across that was vocal about the right advice, which was sorely needed. There was a huge amount of bad advice floating around back then, plus an even more blurred line between vanity and self-publishing. Plenty of authors have fallen into the traps of companies under the umbrella of and similar to Author Central. I almost did myself, but thankfully a background in being an independent artist at a music college helped me to realise I could self-publish the true DIY way, which is what has become standardised now. I made a lot of mistakes but ultimately learned a lot along the way, and that’s why I’ve spent years as a self-publishing consultant, helping fellow authors to avoid the pitfalls I fell into. As for other inspirations, I studied the traditional publishers from the outset, and quickly realised that to be taken seriously, I had to emulate – and exceed – their level of professionalism. That was where the branding came in, and focus on producing the best possible book, and not just when it comes to the story.
Dan: Well, there’s no question you’ve succeeded. In addition to the special editions of The Written and Pale Kings, you also have a graphic novel version of The Written. What was the process like for creating that, both as a writer and as a design overseer? I assume you wrote the text, and that must have been quite a complicated undertaking!
Ben: In a few words, enlightening, fun, yet lengthy. I worked with a great artist and we worked very closely regarding how the text and art should both flow. He was great in terms of style and it definitely brought my reworked words to life, but working around his other projects and with the size of the book itself, it took us almost two years to deliver. All the art was done by hand and then scanned, which gave it a really authentic look. That process of seeing the art come together was highly enjoyable, as Mike had this weird mind meld with my word-pictures and painted almost exactly what I’d envisaged of Farden the mage and Emaneska.
Dan: This leads me to my next question: will there be more graphic novelizations of your books, and more special editions? I assume the answer will be yes, but I wonder–do you envisage doing this with all of them if it’s successful enough, or are certain series higher priority for you?
Ben: With the need to rewrite and rework all the text (which did take an inordinately long time), I think I would have to find somebody or a team that could do that part in my place. That could probably drive the costs to prohibitive levels, but the completionist in me really does ache to get all the Emaneska books adapted into graphic novels. Sadly, there are a lot of books waiting in the mind-bank to be written and with two more illustrated editions to kickstart and several books to deliver for publishers, they’ll loiter on the backburner for probably a few years.
Dan: Totally understandable. I gather you write full time now; how do you structure your time between writing new books and promoting/adapting/making special editions of your current books?
Ben: On an ideal day, writing always comes first. But I have a problem with loading up my to-do list to silly proportions. There’s always something admin-y that can be done! I thoroughly enjoy being a full-time indie author and it is my life, but sometimes it’s easy to delve too deep, as the dwarves did in Moria. I have to remember balance and force myself to reorganise.
Normally, I write best in the morning and aim to get 2-4k words done by lunch. Afternoon and early evening is for the inevitable author admin and marketing, which does take a completely different mindset. If I have more words to do, I’ll write late in the evening as well. For some reason, once the sun goes down, I can focus a lot more and usually write past midnight if I’m on a word-binge or hitting a deadline. However, that’s the ideal day. Some days, admin does become more important than the wordcount. Something urgent, for example, or a big launch is coming up and there’s a lot to accomplish, such as outreach, social, ads, and all that fun stuff we authors dabble in.
Dan: I wonder if readers realize that the writing itself is actually the minority in terms of total time spent for authors.
Ben: You’re absolutely right: I’ve spent weeks not writing and instead planning out and executing launch and marketing plans. It is utterly necessary in this current landscape. Mere existence on Amazon doesn’t sell books, and getting the word out is imperative to break even and make writing your profession. However, the golden rule is that the best marketing is the next book, and so writing should… should always come first. That’s the bastard battle.
Dan: Indeed it is. And in battle, there must be rest. You mentioned getting out into the wilderness to decompress, and I gather you enjoy a good hot tub; what else do you do to destress when all the admin and writing and covers are flying around your head like a swarm of bees and you just need to get away?
Ben: Swarm of bees is bloody right! It’s helpful living in a place like Vancouver and having the mountains and wilderness only a short drive away. It still stuns me every time and can distract me like few other things can. I recently escaped up to Whistler, hence that hot tub, and also a log cabin on a lake, and together they were the perfect cure for my almost burnout. Aside from wilderness and landscapes, I game as frequently as I can – currently slaughtering zombies in Dying Light 2 – go to the archery range when I can, snowboard badly, and loiter in bars on my laptop. That’s another kind of scenery that also works to keep the words flowing.
Dan: The bar thing reminds me of my sister, who used to do most of her grad school reading and studying in loud bars because she said that helped her focus, oddly enough. I need total silence to write or read, but I get it!
Ben: The access to a pint or two helps as well 
Loud noises help as long as they’re almost constant. Most of my writing playlist is comprised of bands like Killswitch Engage, which drowns out other parts of my brain so I can enter that good old flow state. It’s probably why I sleep to loud rain sounds or Office episodes I’ve seen a hundred times.
Dan: On the topic of book-related-but-not, writing takes a toll on the body–hours sitting in a chair, no matter how ergonomic, and the wrist and fingers moving all the time, the back, the hips…how do you manage the physical part? I don’t know if you’re as old as I, but I definitely need to move a lot or I get seriously creaky, and writing too much always takes its toll.
Ben: I definitely crack my back about a dozen times a day and have to keep checking I’m not slouching, which I’m constantly guilty of. I can see myself becoming a hunchback in the future and living in a belltower surrounded by broken typewriters. Let’s be honest, writing isn’t the healthiest fucking activity. Gym or exercise is basically the answer, and making sure you’re not working so hard you forget to eat healthy or eat at all, which is what I also have done far too often. A good chair and desk is imperative. Take breaks. Remember to sleep. You can’t write clearly if you’re physically exhausted.
Dan: Truth bombs galore. We touched on this a bit earlier, but I want to talk about the past, the present, and the future of indie publishing. You were there at the beginning, and you’ve been a regular SPFBO contestant and finalist. How important was SPFBO in your budding career, and how do you see it now? Is it as important, more important, the same? And are you involved in any way when you’re not a contestant?
Ben: I think SPFBO has been highly important for my career and for others. Mark Lawrence has put together a great showcase and proven that indie talent can’t be dismissed or silenced, and that there’s a shitload of it out there. It has definitely put me in front of a lot of new readers, and made me dozens of author and blogger friends. It’s been something I’ve followed every year whether I have a book in the game or not, and it’s great to see the gems get dragged into the light as they should be.
Dan: I am so impressed with the contest, with Mark, with the bloggers and authors–the whole thing just brings me a lot of joy. I’m judging this year with Beth Tabler’s Before We Go Blog, and seeing it from that side, the passion reviewers have for the stories–it’s really something special. Have you read anything good from this year’s contest, or do you have any of the finalists on your TBR?
Ben: The bloggers work daaaaamn hard during the contest. It can’t be easy reading and judging that many books in a relatively short time. It’s like a separate challenge altogether, and it’s been great to make so many lasting friends with the reviewers too. As for this year, I’m well behind in following thanks to my mental October, and have a TBR mountain to climb already, but I routinely add the finalists to my TBR each year no matter what. One that has caught my eye is On Lavender Tides by Travis M Riddle. The cover immediately caught my eye. I’m shamelessly all about the cover art. Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla and Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide by Quenby Olson also look brilliant and can’t wait to dig into them. I have a signed version of the former on my shelf right this moment.
Dan: You’ve got excellent taste! I’ve only read one of those (Miss Percy) but they all look great! As we wrap up, let’s talk about the future of indie publishing, especially in this age where fantasy is expanding across media. When the fuck are we going to get an indie series picked up by a film or TV production company? Or are they just going to keep doing re-iterations and new versions of the same old? I exaggerate, of course, but it seems like it’s waaay past time. And they could probably get indie properties for cheaper, right?
Ben: For years, I’ve been waiting for Hollywood to stop rehashing (and usually ruining) old classics and start delving into the huge wealth of worlds and stories that a) can be found in the fantasy and SFF genres, and b) are produced by hard-working indies, not just the big names. It’s been wonderful seeing the success of indie authors in recent times. Legends & Lattes is a great recent example of how an indie can find – at the risk of sounding like Borat – great success, and the Amazon bestseller charts are regularly stocked with indie authors. It has, however, become harder to stand out and to keep standing out amongst the volume of books, never mind the algorithms getting trickier, to put it bluntly. My number one goal has always been to see one of my books on a screen, large or small. Who knows. It’s never been a better time for SFF content given the success of GoT, The Witcher, Dune, Expanse, and Rings of Power.
Dan: I expect it’s just a matter of time before the right person pitches the right idea to the right person, and I hope one of those people is you, as you dream!
Ben: I think we’re also going to see a lot more digitally-created content appearing, perhaps like Arcane. As animation tools get cheaper and more accessible and processors get faster, I think we’ll see far more fan content and partnerships with smaller creators, and an increasing market of indie films inspired by SFF. That could be really exciting.
Dan: Your lips to the gods’ ears, Ben. Before we go, can you tell us about what your readers have to look forward to from the Galleyverse in the coming year?
Ben: Now that Demon’s Reign is out, I’m working hard on Demon’s Rage, Bloodwood Saga 2 so that it can come out next year. I’m also continuing my serial novel on Royal Road – Somebody Has To Be The Dark Lord, which I’m excited to wrap up and publish as one big tome at some point. I’ll also be building the Dead Stars – Part One Kickstarter once Pale Kings is all wrapped up and delivered. Oh, and the final book in the Scalussen Chronicles – To Kill a God. Jesus.
Dan: Your productivity and work ethic never cease to impress. Thank you for taking time from this incredibly busy schedule to chat with me, and please drop those links so people can find out all about you and the exciting fantasy worlds you continue to create!
Ben: My pleasure and thanks for inviting me! Good to talk real shit and also book shit! All my books and links are at www.linktr.ee/bengalley
Dan: All right! I hope you get some words in this evening! And with any luck, I’ll see you around the Twitter, if Muskrat doesn’t kill it entirely!
Ben: Hah! We’ll see and fingers crossed he doesn’t seeing as it’s my main platform. Bastard. Thanks again and this was great fun!
Find out all about Ben’s books and special projects on his Linktree.
Read my interview with romantasy author Grace Draven
The post Real Shit and Book Shit with fantasy author Ben Galley appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.
November 21, 2022
Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel #1) by Anthony Ryan
Synopsis
Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path – one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier’s life in the king’s army.
Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine’s rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?
Review
Hello again dear reader or listener, hope you are doing well. Won’t you join me today in chatting about the first installment of Anthony Ryan’s new series? Getting my copy of this book was a small odyssey worthy of a novella in and of its own frankly, but let me keep it short by saying I tried to trick Fate and she laughed in my face, making me wait for ages till I could finally read the book so many of my peers were raving about. Well, I finally got my chance to agree with them.
The Pariah is the opening act in The Covenant of Steel series and what an opening it is! We follow Alwyn Scribe in first person, as he shares with the reader his tale through the benefit of hindsight. I’ve grown really fond of this type of narrator over the years because, especially if the attitude is right, it makes for some really fun reading, rife with asides and commentary that add a certain dimension to the story that, be it because of ominous foreshadowing or amusing snark, sass, or dry humor, regularly gives you a solid chuckle. The Pariah had all of that and more.
Now, I am very fond of Ryan’s work, and he is among my instant buy authors, so let me say that I went into this book barely even glancing at the plot blurb. I particularly enjoyed seeing the new directions Ryan tried out for his writing, while at the same time recognizing several common elements that I’ve come to expect of his storytelling. The literature major in me is thriving in other words, but I won’t go down that rabbit hole, don’t worry. The main difference this time around is that rather than spreading his gaze between various characters and their povs, he kept the story centered solely on the protagonist Alwyn. This limited the range a lot and, while understandable and an interesting device in and of itself, it caused the macro plot of the story to unfold much slower, and the wider cast of supporting characters to be less developed. Alwyn is after all an unreliable narrator. This meant that while there are several instances of solid action caused by a plot twist here and there throughout, at the same time, they do feel strongly episodic as the Alwyn that is narrating, is subjectively giving what he thinks is the necessary context and background that will explain his future actions and decisions. The things he chooses to dwell on for longer as opposed to what he skims over quickly, is of course telling of his character and, if getting into a protagonitst’s head to understand them (even through what they are omitting) is what you enjoy while reading, then you’ll definitely enjoy this book! I certainly did!
Moreover, this level of slow burn plot, let’s say, is reminiscent to me of Ryan’s Draconis Memoria series, as in there as well, the first book, while full of action, only works as a setup to the wider plot of the trilogy. In other words, Ryan asks for the trust of his readers in order to deliver what will unfold to be a truly solid series, I feel.
Finally, it’s been my experience with Ryan’s work that he always sticks one hell of a landing, and if you need further proof, let me just say that I missed making my lunch the other day because I was so taken by those last 60 pages in the book. If you know how much of a foodie I am, you’ll know how much of a big deal that is hahaha. The book ends on what I call a short cliffhanger, i.e. the events and plot of the individual book wrap up well, but they set up the wider plot to come so that the reader can expect to hit the ground running when getting into book two, The Martyr, which I am very eager to get to as I definitely have a lot of questions brought on by Alwyn’s tantalizing foreshadowing! This time I’ll plan better so that I can have a copy in a timely manner too… famous last words where?
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
Buy from Amazon
THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•THE PARIAH•
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November 20, 2022
Review: The Wood Bee Queen by Edward Cox
Rating: 9.0/10
Somewhere in England, in a small town called Strange Ground by the Skea, Ebbie Wren is the last librarian and he’s about to lose his job. Estranged from his parents, unable to make connections with anyone except the old homeless lady who lives near the library, Ebbie isn’t quite sure what he’s supposed to do next. His only escape from reality is his deep interest in local folklore, but reality is far stranger than Ebbie can dream.
On the other side of the sky and the sea, the Queen of House Wood Bee has been murdered. Her sister has made the first move in a long game, one which will lead her to greatness, yet risk destruction for the entire Realm. She needs the two magical stones Foresight and Hindsight for her power to be complete, but no one knows where they are. Although the sword recently stolen by Bek Rana, small time thief and not very good at it, might hold a clue to their location . . . and to stopping the chaos. But all Bek wants is to sell the sword and buy herself a better life. She’s not interested in being a hero, and neither is Ebbie.
But someone is forcing their hand and playing for the heart of the Realm. Ebbie and Bek are destined to unite. They must find a way to stop the destruction of House Wood Bee, save the Realm, and just maybe save themselves in the process. All victories come at a price. The Oldungods are rising. And they are watching…
ReviewHello dear reader or listener and welcome to yet another gushing review, in this case for a book I’ve been describing as absolutely delightful since the moment I started it !!
The reasons are many, and some are inevitably very tied to personal taste but if you’ve been around my writing long enough and keep coming back then my guess is we share tastes. If you’re new to my brand of passion sharing, I hope you enjoy what you read here and keep coming back for more!
Also, the title is a bit of a pun – there was no way I could ever resist a wordplay, no way at all.
The Wood Bee Queen by Edward Cox is a standalone fantasy reminiscent of old folktales sprinkled with classic fantasy tropes and some Ancient Greek/Roman mythology homages (or Easter eggs if you like). It is also a portal fantasy, which I haven’t read in quite some time, and that definitely catered to some of the nostalgia from my early teens. Through it, Cox tackles timeless themes of good vs evil, blind religious faith, petty/whimsical gods, and the importance of stories, as well as making one’s own decisions without letting others sway you for their gain.
I could use phrases such as – an immersive narrative with truly evocative prose and a mesmerizing ambience that props up strong and memorable characters – which while very fitting and true, feel a little too formal for this tale.
Fact of the matter is there’s a warmth and magic that permeates this book, and that deserves more than the key words of literary criticism. Warmth in the relationships among characters, and in the fondness for others that drives the protagonists. Warmth in letting the memories of loved ones comfort and guide them through struggles. Perhaps one of my favorite things about the main characters in fact. Ebbie goes on a quest simply out of his loyalty and love for his friend, same goes for Bek albeit a little more begrudging initially. They don’t want to be heroes or anything but they don’t want to let others down once they’ve been trusted with things. Mainly Mai, whose grandmotherly/matronly presence felt truly special throughout, even when I didn’t think she would, for reasons too spoilery to delve into.
I also purposely waited to read this book until I’d come to my home near the sea because I felt like it would add to my experience of reading about a small seaside town in the summer. And I was right (pat on the back Eleni, very good choice on your part) between Cox’s simple yet effective descriptions, and the actual summer heat around me, I instantly fell into Ebbie’s shoes. It helped that he and I share character traits but I digress. He’s also in one of my favorite character dynamics too which is – sunshine cinnamon roll becomes best friends with a grouchy McStabby person. It will *never* get old.
Another great trope which kicks off this tale is the coup against the queendom from within the royal family. Indeed the villain is old school greedy evil and I absolutely loved her !! She was badass, she was cunning, she was ruthless. All that I enjoy in a villain that doesn’t send me into moral dilemmas (which I tend to love but sometimes you just want a bad guy you can’t root for, you know ? )
Cox managed to write into a single book a whole epic that could’ve spanned a trilogy, and he did so in a manner that felt no less epic, nor less deep, for being just the one book. As I said before, it had elements of old folk tales, both for their magic and dealing with folk from another realm, as well as that eerie dimension of scarier and darker things that lurk, reminiscent of the older tales. But there was also the touch of classic fantasy, with big battles, a quest, a coup, a big villain that is really just a pawn to the whims of a bored but cleverly scheming goddess. While at the same time being a simpler tale of young adults that are struggling to find their place or have lost their way and needed a nudge in the right direction.
In short, Cox found the right balance between emotional fantasy epic and light read which you can enjoy both in one fell swoop or take your time with, without feeling like you’ll miss or forget something along the way if you slow down.
His story and world was rich without being too dense – if that makes more sense – with characters that were all amazing and (most of them) instantly likable in a way that made you fond of every single one of them in a special way. Unless they’re the bad guys, in which case it was purely a case of, these are cool villains and I’m really liking how delightfully, ahem despicably, evil they all are!
I’m definitely very taken with this author’s voice and I’ll be looking into his other work very soon to read more of it. In fact it was a bit by chance that I found this book in the first place as our lovely The Broken Binding sent me an invite to an author panel thanks to another purchase I’d made with them. I’m so glad I attended and found yet another memorable author to add to my shelves!
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
Buy from Amazon See the Original Review Here
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November 19, 2022
Interview with fantasy romance author Grace Draven
An interview with fantasy romance author Grace Draven, who just published Raven Unveiled, the third in her Fallen Empire series.
Multiple romantasy writers and readers in a recent panel discussion on our blog listed you as a prime example of what the genre has to offer, and your success speaks for itself. How did you come to start writing fantasy romance in the first place?
What a lovely thing for those folks to say! THANK YOU! And thank you for having me here at BWG!
I’ve been a heavy reader of both the fantasy and romance genres since I was a young teen. As I grew older, I really yearned for a fusion of the two. Romance at the time was dominated by historical and contemporary, which was fine. I hoovered up both subgenres with gusto. Then paranormal came onboard, which was very exciting. Fantasy romance, however, was a unicorn, nearly impossible to find. Fantasy itself had a few books out with vague, enticing hints of romance in them – just enough to whet the appetite but never enough to satisfy.
I’m certainly not the first author to write romantasy, but being a reader who loved the idea of melding the two inspired me to write a few myself. Best decision I ever made.
Your delightful arranged marriage fantasy romance Radiance (Wraith Kings book 1) represented a big leap in your popularity, with over 50,000 ratings on Goodreads and counting. Why do you think that book in particular has been so successful—is it something that was missing from the market at the time, or was there something special about it that you felt in your bones as you were writing it, or perhaps a secret, third thing?
I wish I could say I knew exactly what made that book so successful because you can bet I’d repeat it. I think its popularity was due to a combination of luck, timing, and a market that typically saw the arranged marriage embedded in the enemies-to-lovers trope instead of the friends-to-lovers trope.
I basically write all my books based on what moves me at the time. With RADIANCE, I came at it from the idea that arranged marriages have existed (and still exist) for centuries. Surely not everyone going into these arrangements were going to resist them and/or treat their spouses as the enemy. I wanted to explore the notion of two people who understand their roles in society and accept them, are willing to give this relationship a chance. To be civil at least, friends at best. Falling in love would be the ultimate. Their journey to that last connection is point on which RADIANCE spins.
You have had great success with self-published books, but your Fallen Empire series is published traditionally. What were the biggest surprises regarding the difference between the two publishing methods?
Not a whole lot of surprises. By the time I was contracted to write for Penguin-RH, I’d already received a lot of great advice and tips from other traditionally published authors who gave me a heads-up on what to expect. I think my only two surprises were having a choice about a cover artist (I was given three to pick from) and also a choice on narrators for the audio version (unfortunately the narrator I wanted wasn’t available when Penguin-RH needed her, but they offered an alternative narrator who has done a wonderful job with this series).
You are known for writing fantasy romance with a dark side. What draws you to write these kinds of stories, and how do you think about the role of power imbalance and consent in your romances?
While I consider myself a jovial person, I’m drawn to melancholy things. As such, you’ll typically find a melancholy thread running through even my lighter stuff. I guess you can call that a key element in my “author voice.”
Power imbalance and consent are pivotal in all my stories. They’re what generate the majority of conflicts in my books—not just between my couples but between societal strata, tribes and clans, kingdoms and empires.
Do you have any hints to share about what’s coming next after Raven Unveiled?
I’m finishing BLACK HELLEBORE (a Wraith Kings novella featuring Brishen and Ildiko) for publication February 14, 2023. I also have a novella called THE HANDMAIDEN which will be in an anthology titled THE WATERS AND THE WILD – goes live in Spring 2023. And during all of that I’ll be working on THE NOMAS KING (Wraith Kings, Book #4) to be released some time in 2023. I also have two book proposals to send to my agent for possible submission to a few traditional publishers. So, a very busy schedule for the coming year.
Thank you once again for taking the time from your busy writing and publishing schedule to share with our readers, and congratulations on the launch of Raven Unveiled!
Read my review of Draven’s arranged marriage fantasy romance Radiance
Add Raven Unveiled on GoodreadsBuy Raven Unveiled on Amazon
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Review: Equinox by David Towsey
“I’ve seen the moon, whatever my night-brother might think. Pale and full; that’s how it was that morning when I woke in the forest.” – Alexsander Morden.
Synopsis
The sword shrivels to flakes of snow.
As evening falls, the city of Esteburg begins to stir. Christophor Morden, one of the king’s special inspectorate, is woken early by a call to the city prison. A heinous crime has been committed and the police suspect supernatural causes.
The law devours its history.
The investigation will take Christophor far from home, to a village on the edge of the Kingdom. There he will discover the signs of an unholy ritual that can only be performed by a witch.
The stone moves on water.
But within Christophor – as within all the citzens of Reikova – is a day brother: Alexsander, a musician who knows nothing of night. And as his night brother nears the truth, Alexsander will find himself determined to halt him.
The broken heart bleeds gold.
And all the while, the witch’s ancient and apocalyptic ritual comes ever closer to completion.
Review:
Thank you to Head of Zeus for approving me for an eARC copy of this book. This, of course, does not impact my words in any way.
Hello again dear reader or listener! I hope February has been treating you well and that you’ve had the chance to read some good books. While I’ve been mostly taking part in #FebruarySheWrote held by Benjamin of Literature & Lofi, I also got approved for this book and was so intrigued by it that I decided to read it sooner rather than later. The front cover looks amazing and evokes the premise of the story oh so well and, speaking of, what. A. Premise. Just the idea that there are two people living in one body, but that each can lead a completely different life during the day or night respectively, is so absolutely awesome that I just couldn’t wait to see how Towsey navigated the complexities of such a society. Add to that a witchy mystery and things just become even juicier!
First and foremost then, let me go for some nerdery that was rolling around my head the whole time I was reading this novel. Towsey has created a deeply atmospheric and captivating book that brought together the aging inspector Adamat from McClellan’s Powdermage trilogy, the ambience and eerie feel of the tv series The Alienist, as well as that near constant sense of the uncanny present throughout Neil Gaiman’s the Sandman comics. Talk about a right mix huh? Which is probably also why this was the kind of story that unfolds slowly, and you take your time to read. In fact, while I was always eager to continue, I felt no rush to do so either, savoring instead the ambience and pattern of nothing being quite as it appears. Of every answer actually leading to more questions. Essentially, Towsey created a supernatural/paranormal mystery you dig even though you’re a bit confused as to what is actually going on sometimes. It is a clever way to pull in the reader as they try to make sense of the clues and events but also attempt to differentiate between what is real and/or imagined or perhaps even bewitched.
Moreover, Towsey managed to write up a standalone that delivers enough worldbuilding to give the reader a solid sense of this complex way of life that is led in parallel between day and night in an alternate 18th century, but not so overwhelmingly that it would weigh the overall novel down. In fact, while he does wrap most of the story up by the end, I’ll admit I would’ve enjoyed seeing more of this world and its aspects explained or developed, since most of the plot takes place in the small town Christophor goes to investigate, over a short period of time. Plus I am still a little curious about a couple of loose threads left hanging that, granted, some were more peripheral to the main mystery plotline than others, but still important enough to warrant more attention, I think.
That said, I only have two real qualms with this book. Firstly, as I already mentioned, I was looking forward to the character work that would be born out of such a premise, and to an extent, Towsey definitely delivered. His main conflict and tension very much hinges on the difficulties that come with having two very different people share a body, as we read of the consequences brought on by the investigator Christophor seeking one specific outcome/culprit while his day brother, Alexander, is determined to prove him wrong. But at the same time I felt like this is the kind of novel that stood more steadily on the atmosphere it wanted to create rather than the actual characterization of its protagonists. I could for instance understand some relationships being made etc. but did not see or feel the chemistry behind them as much as I would have liked.
The second thing that didn’t quite land was the pace, although there’s definitely an argument to be made that that was the author’s intention from the get-go, with a deliberate jarring effect, which is also valid. Truly, as I mentioned before, this story was slow paced but not because it wasted words on superficial details, but rather because it took its time to unravel the mystery and create the atmosphere of doubt, tension, and danger that made for an enthralling setting. But then, the concluding events felt sudden and perhaps a little rushed in their hectic sequence that came to somewhat of a skidding halt and then took a couple of final measured steps towards a more poignant ending than what I was expecting. This is not necessarily a truly detracting factor as it does leave room for pondering the story long after you’re done reading it and, if I got to write out my thoughts including spoilers, I might actually make more sense of it all eventually. But ultimately, both of these aspects are what left me with the aforementioned questions, which can be very subjective to be fair. I also have the feeling, that this is a story that would work even better upon a reread, regardless of now knowing the reveal, so I’m still quite curious to see if in a future, when I do go through it again, I will feel differently!
Equinox comes out May 12th 2022 and, if anything I said has piqued your curiosity, you’ll definitely want to dip your toe in this fascinating and occasionally eerie world, dear reader/listener!
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
Check Out the Original Post here
Read Our Interview With David Towsey
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November 18, 2022
Review: Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuzniar
What is Midnight in Everwood About?Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered. At the wishes of her family, she will be obligated to marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But when a mysterious toymaker, Dr Drosselmeier, purchases a neighboring townhouse, it heralds the arrival of magic and wonder in her life. Although Drosselmeier’s magic is darker than Marietta could have imagined; when he constructs an elaborate theatrical set for her final ballet performance, Marietta discovers it carries a magic all of its own. As the clock chimes midnight, Marietta finds herself walking through a land of snow-topped fir trees leading to a frozen sugar palace silent with secrets and must find a way to return home…
Review:First of all, a thank you to HarperCollins for this advance review copy, receiving it of course does not affect my comments.
Hello again dear reader!
The other week I was in the middle of enjoying the latest in a series of epic fantasy reads when my mood reader met with my life events and they sat me down at the kitchen table to solemnly let me know I’d be unable to continue reading any of that for a while.
So then I fell back to one of my usual activities when I’m tired and just need to reset. Comfort stuff. But I also needed something new, I couldn’t just watch all my favorite Disney classics or a disaster/monster movie for the nth time. So, I took the tried-and-true formula and turned it onto my reading by going through several fairy tale retellings and a couple monster books!
As a retelling of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, M.A. Kuzniar’s adult debut, Midnight in Everwood, fit the bill perfectly. This charming stand-alone had just the right amount of wonder and magic to work as escapist fairy tale fantasy but also the right amount of darkness to remind you of the timeless “careful what you wish for” aphorism.
Protagonist Marietta wishes to escape the constricting expectations and duties of the Edwardian woman by becoming a professional ballet dancer and ever delaying her chances at marriage – to the rising frustration and chagrin of her parents who carefully and avidly navigate society in order to continuously climb its echelons. Marietta is given an ultimatum that after Christmas her dancing will be over, and she activates herself to make sure it isn’t so. After that we all know how the story goes more or less, on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve our brave ballerina is magically transported into the magical, and marzipan filled, world of Everwood where she has to navigate court politics, a budding revolution, a cruel king, and hardships she’s never even imagined. I gloss over everything to keep this as spoiler free as possible mind you, but a lot does happen and the plot is ever moving and engaging.
Kuzniar’s prose is enchanting and at times mesmerizing or even sugary. Quite literally for the latter, in fact, if you’re a sweet tooth, I do not recommend reading this book without a snack of that variety near you. I could practically smell all the different drinks and food that the author described in detail! However, Kuzniar does not only focus on food, and she has certainly created vivid and evocative settings that the reader can feel completely immersed in. I have only one real peeve with the writing in this book and that is the number of times I read the word butterscotch! I get it was a good way to describe an eye color at first, especially considering the sweets encased context, but frankly by the time I’d reached the half point of the book my eye had already started to twitch at the word.
As for the character work (you’ll know by now, dear reader, that is my main focus when reading) I can say that I definitely enjoyed the protagonist’s growth and development throughout the book, but also that, bar for a few exceptions when it came to some of the secondary characters, the rest of the cast did occasionally feel less fleshed out than I might’ve preferred. Another way of saying this is that while I definitely liked most if not all of the characters, I didn’t *love* them. That’s fine too though since it’s up to personal taste and interests, and the rest of the story didn’t actually suffer from it.
Maybe it even helped to further drive in the importance of the relationships that do get the proper development and attention, such as the one between Marietta and her brother, or later the one between her and the other two women helping her in Everwood. Brotherhood/Sisterhood is a trope I’ll always deeply love and I’m pleased to say it was done rather well here. Furthermore, this novel does indeed feel like a fist bump to feminist values and strong women in many of their different forms, which I can always appreciate.
Finally I feel like I ought to make one last disclaimer of sorts and that is that I think the story is much less of a romance than advertised, so to speak. If we want to be picky this is technically a slow burn forbidden romance, and granted, there *are* a couple of very good scenes that well and truly satisfy those tropes. But, the rest of the time, the romantic relationship felt more like an afterthought or secondary subplot, than a key element of the story. To the point where I almost got the impression that the author remembered last minute ‘oh shoot this is a romance let me add a couple things real quick’ right before the end. Truly, the captain of the King’s guard was one of my favorite characters and he does help Marietta a lot while also having some chemistry with her. But sadly he was also one of the characters I felt would’ve benefited from some more fleshing out and depth. Seen as I didn’t get into this book for the romance anyway, this didn’t bug me but, I know that other readers who do might want to know beforehand!
It is a great wintery read that calls for you to cosy up with a blanket and read it while your mug of hot chocolate or mulled wine cools down beside you.
Until next time,
Eleni. A.E.
Check Out the Original Review Here
Check Out Some of Our Other Reviews
Review: Bright Steel (Masters & Mages #3) by Miles Cameron
Review – The Lost Fleet: Incursion by Sarah Hawke
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November 17, 2022
Review: Bright Steel (Masters & Mages #3) by Miles Cameron
SynopsisEvery war comes down to the flash of bright steel, even when the air is full of magic . . .
Aranthur and his friends have come together across different continents and realms with one purpose: to strike back against the forces which have torn a hole in the heavens and threaten to rip the world beneath them apart as well.
With time running short, and treason at home, there are battles to be fought on the field, in the magical arena, and in the ever-deadly realm of politics, and they must succeed on every front or everything will fall. Victory will require enemies to trust one another, old foes to fight together, spies to reveal the truth and steadfast allies to betray long-corrupt rulers.
Is Aranthur, a twenty-year-old student, really the master strategist to bring it all together? And can he and his friends overcome aeons of lies when their plans inevitably fall to pieces? Do they even know, for sure, who the enemy is . . . ?
ReviewWelcome back dear reader to the last stop in my ride through Miles Cameron’s Masters & Mages. If you missed my ravings over the first two installments of this series you’ll find them in my reviews page. As always this is a spoiler free review as much as possible, with minor ones perhaps for the previous two books.
Overall this series has been rife with full tilt action, character and magic badassery, camaraderie moments to die for, and plenty of soft, humorous, and quiet snippets between duos or trios that warm your chest. Cameron’s world has been one that is truly so rich and evocative, borrowing from a cultural setting that isn’t used often enough in fiction (I am so not biased I promise!). It would be perhaps repetitive to rehash what I loved about the fantastical world building, character work, and wonderfully detailed writing, but all of what I loved before definitely still carried on with book three. That feel of authenticity was still there when dealing with the minutiae of armed combat and tactics, but also the little day to day things that Aranthur would have to take time for even in the middle of crises to work through. The character interactions still felt as genuine and unpretentious as can be, with some truly humorous moments interspersed in between ones of deep introspection and both internal and shared conflict that felt, if not always relatable, at the very least completely understandable and natural. And as I will never get tired of pointing out, the intimate moments between couples still as classy as ever and with a simple tenderness I really enjoyed. The latter was also valid with platonic relationships as well. We don’t give enough credit to tenderness in writing – Cameron does.
Now, for the sake of honesty I have to admit I found myself a little lost at times. Partly because I was originally buddy reading this series and then decided to finish it on my own, and partly because I was testing something out regarding my reading habits, I spread out reading the three books over the summer, with there being an accidental much longer time between books 2 and 3 (days have a pesky habit of running off when you’re not careful huh). In hindsight this was a mistake for me as I now had a bit of a hard time keeping track of the many side characters and their names, as well as with some magic system details (those did come back eventually to be fair). In other words I wouldn’t have said no to a glossary and a map for one.
But this bit is mostly on me, and it helped that I had Greek and Italian to aid me sometimes with some of the terms heh.
However, I’d still recommend reading the series in one fell swoop, especially because, if like me you can be a little scatter brained, you’ll be having moments of meeting characters you haven’t seen in quite a while and feel like the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme – oh hey this person! I remember seeing this name !! What did they do again? Or hey this battle! I remember it happening but not its many details. There’s also a hell of a lot going on at this point in the story and a lot of mentioning of particulars from earlier in the series which Cameron has sprinkled in nicely throughout with a solid amount of foreshadowing and a castle of cards like delicacy. To explain this better I could say that I could see the puzzle coming very well together but some of the smaller and yet important pieces were a little blurry because I’d not had them very present in mind anymore.
(Again this is mostly on me)
Another thing is that Bright Steel is quite fast paced and with so much going on and needing to happen. It wouldn’t do to say it feels rushed, it doesn’t, but I do think that with a world as rich as the one that Cameron created, with the amount of relevant characters he’s written in, and with the total major events that occur, this story could have perhaps benefited from the added breathing room that a fourth book might’ve given it.
I would’ve gladly spent more time with it all even if that meant going a little slower through the many intrigues and mysteries. It would certainly have allowed for some awesome characters to sink in that little bit more that would’ve helped me remember them better, even when reading the installments further apart.
Back to the happy raving, Aranthur is definitely one of my favorite characters of all time, and his wife Inoques has my love just as much. She is quite a show stealer with her sharp wit and no nonsense demeanor, but she also shines in how she deals with her immortality and not being the kind of immortal that’s the “seen it all done it all and now I’m bored” kind, but rather the opposite of “I’m still finding things to love, be surprised by, and enjoy”.
Meanwhile Aranthur is a completely different character to who he was in book one; he’s grown, hardened, gotten stronger and smarter, but also more open to listening to those around him. In fact this is perhaps my favorite thing about his character work and imo Cameron’s touch on this one was truly phenomenal. Why? Because you have a young man suddenly in charge of a whole lot of burdens and secrets, who teeters on the edge of utter cynicism and dour realities darkening his view of so many things, BUT he catches himself and doesn’t let it consume him, and rather allows his friends who have been through it all with him to share the burden – all of this while dealing with some ptsd from the events in the previous two books. Grim realities and decisions abound and he pays his emotional dues with what he’s had to do, but he’s also not given up on the little moments that matter and keep him sane. I could go on for *days* on this.
I guess the short version of all this is that actions have consequences and how you deal with them matters.
Am I reading too much into it ? I don’t think so, but that’s the beauty of subjectivity in book reading, and I found that Miles Cameron has created in this trilogy something amazing that lends itself well to this kind of pondering on social and ethical dynamics.
And hey, if that’s not your thing, there are still lots of cool monsters/demons/ magic creatures, a array of badass gunslinging, sword and/or magic wielding badasses, lots of big and small skirmishes and action sequences, as well as political intrigue and mysteries to unfold, with a sprinkling of various kinds of humor all of which lands delightfully.
Ultimately I was very satisfied with how this story concluded, and how Cameron wrapped it all up; that epilogue was rather heartwarming while also somewhat nostalgic in a way. I also know that I’ll enjoy it all the more on a reread, now that I know better too haha.
I’m extremely eager to continue reading Cameron’s work, his writing is of a kind I connect very well with, and it is very likely you’ll see me reviewing his latest work and first foray into SciFi, Artifact Space, soon!!
If you’ve made it this far dear reader, high five and thank you. Extra brownie points for you !
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
Buy from Amazon
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November 16, 2022
Review: Radiance by Grace Draven
A gorgeous fantasy romance where arranged marriage meets friends to lovers in a delightful twist on the Beauty and the Beast concept.
Radiance by Grace Draven is a near-perfect fantasy romance that hits all the right tropes while creating something new and beautiful. It does a great job balancing light and dark both literally and figuratively, though a few moments are so dark I went looking to see if I’d missed content warnings because they are both things I prefer to avoid, or at least be aware of before jumping in. There are no such warnings in the book, so I’ll offer them to you here:
Content warning for torture, mutilation, and child death.
With that off my chest, let me talk about how much I loved this book. It follows a predictable structure—this is a romance, after all, and no slight is intended because I’m 100% here for it—in which members of two warring kingdoms are forced to marry as a way to ensure peace. They develop feelings for each other over time and survive multiple dangerous situations to live happily ever after. I’ve read several books with this exact pattern, but this one stands out because both the romance and the fantasy are fully developed and deeply intertwined, then wrapped in a layer of lush prose that is as swoon-worthy as the budding love between Idilko and Brishen.
Let me drop the book’s Goodreads summary here, for context:
The Prince of no value
Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.
The noblewoman of no importance
Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.
Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.
I mentioned Beauty and the Beast earlier, but in this version, Idilko and Brishen both consider each other to be monstrous. Idilko is human and Brishen is Kai—a gray-skinned humanoid with claws and teeth and iridescent eyes. Their meet-cute takes place in the palace garden right before the wedding, where they’ve each gone to be alone, though since they haven’t met, neither knows who the other is. They strike up a pleasant conversation, which includes this gem of dialogue between them:
“You find me ugly, don’t you?”
“Hideous. A hag of a woman.”
And when Brishen asks how she finds him, she replies:
“Had you crawled out form under my bed when I was a child, I would have bludgeoned you to death with my father’s mace.”
Clearly, they were meant to be with each other. They don’t realize this for some time, of course, but they quickly develop a warm friendship, appreciating each other’s qualities while slowly becoming inured to the horror of their partner’s physical appearance. A simple enough premise, and one that could easily have felt cliché, but Draven’s character work and skill with words had me immediately invested in this couple and wondering how long I would have to wait for them to get together. It’s part of the fun of reading romance, and a skillful writer makes you forget to be impatient and lose yourself in the story, which is exactly what happened to me.
The plot itself is rather typical—I even commented to my wife at one point late in the book that there were just enough pages left for one more assassination attempt and one more sex scene, and I was exactly right. It’s a comforting formula in uncertain times, but the formula does not make the romance. The relationship does, as well as the prose, and if we’re really lucky, we get nifty world-building that not only provides beautiful scenery for our journey but also enhances the romance. Radiance has precisely that X factor, which I hunger for in fantasy romance: a fantasy world that draws you in just as much as the romance.
It’s not Tolkein-level worldbuilding, but we don’t have time for that anyway. What Draven gives us is a world of beautiful symmetry between light and dark: the humans live in the daytime world, while the Kai thrive at night. The human palace gardens are ugly to Kai, not only because of the blinding sun, but because they lack the exquisite beauty of the Kai’s lush night gardens. The Kai’s funerary ritual involves taking the light of the recently deceased and returning it to their family, and it’s one of the more moving parts of the book. Draven didn’t need this detail to make the romance work, but she needed it to make me fall in love with the fantasy, which is exactly what she did.
The worldbuilding feeds the romance as well, as Idilko has to adapt to a different sleep schedule to live with the nocturnal Kai. She must overcome huge differences in food and etiquette, along with language and dress and everything else, and this cultural adaptation was fascinating to read, with just enough detail to make it work without bogging us down in minutiae. Idilko stands on her own and makes a place in an unwelcoming Kai court, forcing her detractors to respect her through strength of will and political savvy. Kudos to Draven for getting me invested in courtly intrigue, because that rarely works for me, but I was totally into it!
All of this forces Idilko and Kai to work together, and their respect for each other grows and threatens to become something more. The pace of their relationship development is spot on, giving you just enough right when you need it. I’m not usually one for slow-burn, though it can be hard to avoid, but this was just perfectly paced for me. It’s truly a delight to read a friendship blossoming into love even as the machinations of the plot threaten to sunder the two before they have a chance to really make it work. And when they pass through the storm and finally admit what they’ve been pretending to ignore for far too long, the payoff needs to be worth it.
I’m talking about smut now, because we all need to know this going into a romance.
I won’t lie—I checked out some reviews to see how spicy this book was, and I gleaned enough to know it wasn’t going to be a let-down. The sex scenes are great, hot and steamy and thick with that emotion that’s been building up all book. I could have used maybe one more, but I’m greedy like that. It’s not going to scar you if you’re not into super explicit stuff, but Draven writes hella good smut, in this reader’s humble opinion. Here’s a little taste for you:
“Idilko came apart in his arms, her body flushed and hot, and arched until he thought he’d hear her spine crack.”
It gets more explicit than that, but I think that gives you a sense. It’s excellent.
As is the whole book, really. Radiance is a pitch-perfect fantasy romance that weaves classic material into something new and delightful. As long as you’re okay with a bit of spice and a few really dark moments, you should shove this book to the very top of your TBR because it’s fantastic.
Look for my interview with Draven in the next week!
Read Draven’s guest post Romancing the Fantasy
Buy it on AmazonAdd it on Goodreads
The post Review: Radiance by Grace Draven appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.
SIX ELEMENTALS AUTHOR INTERVIEW – Daniel T. Jackson
Six Elementals Author Interviews will introduce prospective readers to some of the best writers in their genre you may, or may not, have heard of, via a series of six questions. I encourage you to check out the work of these phenomenal creatives! Links to their websites and purchase links will always appear, accompanying the interview. Check them out!
Today I have the distinct honour of speaking to one of the most popular, emerging epic fantasy authors on the Indie scene today, Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO7) Semi-Finalist, Daniel T. Jackson!
Daniel’s currently published works include: Illborn.
P.L.: Such a privilege to be able to interview you, Daniel! Welcome to Six Elementals Interviews! My understanding from your biography is that you are living the dream of many an author, in that you left your regular job and have devoted yourself to a full-time author career? Can you tell us how that came about, and how that’s been going? What are the advantages of being able to focus exclusively on your writing efforts?
Daniel: Hi P.L. Thank you so much for inviting me to do this interview.
It has been fantastic to be able to dedicate myself to writing. When I was growing up, my dream was to be an author and a published novelist, and I wrote my first novel on an old typewriter at the age of 16 (titled Silver Knight – it is not very good, and shall forever remain unpublished!).
Unfortunately, at that time I did not have the confidence that I could make a successful career out of writing, so I embarked on an entirely different field of study and career path (more business-orientated). For the last 13 years of my non-writing career, I was an owner-manager of a couple of businesses. My work life was very busy and demanding, and while I continued to write as a hobby (and created stories for my 4 kids), I never had close to the amount of time I would have required to work on a novel.
However, throughout my life I always intended to get to a position whereby I would be able to do what I had dreamed about, which was to create stories and to write. I have always loved fantasy and historical fiction, and the idea for The Illborn Saga has been in my head for years.
In 2018, I was fortunate to be able to significantly reduce my time commitment to my business roles. At that point, I started to dedicate a chunk of my week to writing ILLBORN, in addition to volunteering more, and being able to spend a lot more time with my family.
I am quite a slow and meticulous writer, so it is definitely an advantage for me to be able to devote a significant amount of time each week to my writing. I would never have contemplated trying to create something as complex as ILLBORN whilst working full-time in another job, because I personally do not think that I would have been able to deliver the novel to the standard I wanted to achieve. It is also great that I can now find time to write without sacrificing family time.
I am loving my new role as a writer and author. I had always dreamed of creating epic stories that a wider audience would enjoy, and it has been wonderful to see the positive reaction to ILLBORN.
P.L.: Illborn is one of the hottest fantasy books out there at the moment. Numerous top reviewers have praised your debut novel, and your readership is climbing rapidly. It was one of my personal favourites and in contention for my best book of the year. From the standpoint of you as the author, what’s the big appeal for your book? Why do you think it resonates so much with readers?
Daniel: Thank you, that is very kind of you to say. I have been blown away by the reaction to ILLBORN from readers, and it has been amazing to see that so many people have enjoyed the novel and have recommended it to others.
As the author, when I set out to write the book, my aim was to create a story which I personally would love to read. As I mentioned, my favourite genres are fantasy (particularly epic fantasy) and historical fiction (particularly epic historical fiction).
I love rich, intricate, epic stories featuring interesting and diverse casts of characters. If you add into the mix features such as war, intrigue, religion, politics, love, miracles and magic, set within an interesting world and taking place over a period of years, then I am in reading heaven!
Those were my high-level criteria in crafting Illborn’s story, and I do not think that I am alone in finding those things to be of interest.
For me as the author, central to the book resonating with readers is of course whether the characters are interesting and the story is exciting. I believe that all 4 of the main POV characters of ILLBORN are interesting (with varying degrees of moral greyness), and I am delighted that the story has been able to captivate readers. I developed the plot for The Illborn Saga series over a number of years, and I believe that it is genuinely original. I also think that the central mystery differentiates the book, and a lot of effort was put into creating the cliff-hanger format for the chapters.
I also set out to write a novel which I hoped would make people feel and think. I want my writing to elicit emotional reactions in the reader, and to make them ask questions. Again, I think that is part of the reason why the book has developed a following. It has been very interesting to see some of the theories developing across my readership about what certain aspects of the book mean, along with speculation about where the story is going next. I believe that if a story and its characters can create those emotional connections, the book is much more likely to resonate with a reader and to stay in their memory afterwards.
P.L.: Religion was a very compelling and fascinating theme in Illborn, and I found the way you dealt with it to be extremely intriguing. What inspired you to address religion the way you did in the novel?
Daniel: My key question in deciding any aspect of what went into the story in ILLBORN is this; does it help to make the book more interesting and exciting? That challenge also applied to the decision to address religion the way I did in the novel.
I am a keen student of real-world history, and for much of our own history at a societal-level, war and politics are closely intertwined with religion (particularly organised religion). I therefore wanted to capture all three aspects of war, politics and religion within the story.
War and politics are fairly common themes in fantasy novels, but the treatment of religion in my novel (in particular, with the dominant religion being monotheistic) is probably a bit less well explored. That helped me to hopefully create a story which feels fresh and original.
I think it is very important for me to state that I am very respectful of faith and religion in the real-world, both at an institutional and personal level. The book is a work of fiction in a made-up world, and is absolutely not intended to be a criticism of real-world organised religion. However, in any institution (including organised religion) which has power over a population, while there will be many people who will use that power for benevolent and altruistic purposes, there might also be some who will use it for their own selfish, fanatical or even malign ends.
I hope that the introduction of religion in the story has also allowed me to raise some interesting questions for the reader. Further, it has enabled me to introduce different challenges and conflicts for the characters, than might otherwise have been possible. If those questions and challenges contribute to making the reader feel and think as they are reading, and enjoy the novel more, all the better!
P.L.: Who are some of the authors who have influenced your writing?
Daniel: Within fantasy, the three writers who have probably had the greatest influence on my writing are George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan and Tad Williams. The first three books of A Song of Ice and Fire (by GRRM) are for me fantasy perfection. Wheel of Time (by Robert Jordan) and Memory, Sorrow and Thorn (by Tad Williams) are both incredible series which I started reading as a teenager, and they are probably the ones which originally inspired me to buy a typewriter!
In historical fiction, Ken Follett and James Clavell are both writers who had a very early impact on me. I love The Pillars of the Earth series by Ken Follett (POTE and World Without End are perfect examples of blending love, war, politics and religion in an epic tale), and Shogun by Clavell is one of my all-time favourite books. The Poldark Series by Winston Graham is another wonderful series of books (Graham writes with such easy-to-read and clear prose).
The other genre I read is horror. I have read more Stephen King books than any other author, and I think he is a genius at storytelling (including epic stories such as The Stand). I have read his book On Writing three times, and I keep it to hand when editing. Anne Rice was also a big early influence, and her books are wonderful at evoking a sense of ancient mystery, power, lust and threat.
P.L.: What do you feel are the challenges with writing sweeping epic fantasy, especially a novel of the breadth, depth, and length of Illborn (coming in at around 700 pages)! What are the advantages of writing a BIG fantasy novel?
Daniel: I believe that the main challenges of writing such a long novel are to keep control of the story threads, and to keep the reader interested for the duration of the story. The challenge was exacerbated for me because I was approaching the first book in my own mind as part of a 2,500+ page full story (across the intended 4 book series), but I needed to try to make the first book satisfying in its own right.
I am a detailed planner, and I do not think I personally could have written ILLBORN with a pantser approach, because I do not believe I would have been able to keep control of the various story threads and of the interaction of the multiple POV’s.
Keeping the reader interested in such a long book (and series) presents the challenge of striking a balance between gradually telling the overarching story, and also introducing sub-stories where the reader can have some excitement and satisfaction of resolution as the main story progresses. I purposely set out to use the alternating POV’s by chapter format (with cliff-hangers) to maintain the pace of the novel and to try to address this.
The prime advantage of writing a BIG fantasy novel is the sheer scope of the story which you can try to tell. In ILLBORN, I wanted to tell a meaningful story attaching equal weight to 4 different POV’s, and I know I would have struggled to do that in 300 – 400 pages. By having a longer novel, I was able to properly introduce all of my main characters and the world they live in, and I was also able to tell an interesting story about each of them which covered an extended period of time, whilst also progressing the overarching plot.
Finally, I LOVE big novels, so that is what I always wanted to write!
P.L.: You have been extremely successful in the early stages of your career, by most people’s definition, as a self-published author, enjoying both sales and acclaim. Does this give you incentive to remain self-published? Can you speak a bit about why you elected to self-publish, and if you can, can you disclose if you plan to remain self-published? Why or why not?
Daniel: Thank you P.L., again that is very kind of you to say. Certainly, when I originally self-published the book (with no social media presence or marketing plan!), I could only have dreamed about the book achieving the success which it has had so far. That success is down to readers enjoying the story, and then recommending it to other people, and I am very grateful to everyone who has read, positively reviewed and recommended the book.
After I had finished writing the novel, I had very little idea about what to do next. I had no clue about what self-publishing involved, and I actually tried to find a literary agent and traditional publisher for the book (in the UK) before exploring the self-publishing route. The traditional route was a very dispiriting process, and I got absolutely no interest from the 10+ UK literary agents who I approached (to this day, I am still not sure if any of them got as far as reading to the end of the prologue!).
After that, following a period of self-reflection and self-doubt, I decided to self-publish, because friends and family were telling me that ILLBORN was a good story which deserved a wider audience. I also wanted to find that audience, and did not want my novel to sit as an electronic file on a PC forever, unknown and unloved.
I am so thankful now that I self-published. It has been an enormous learning curve since then (see above re: having no social media presence at my publication date, and generally being terrified of social media!), but it is wonderful to see the book gain a readership, and to receive feedback that tells me that many of those readers would like to continue with the story onto book two.
I have also overcome many of my original fears of self-publishing, and I know now that I have a route set up through which I can potentially produce and sell thousands or tens of thousands of novels worldwide in years to come, without any need for a traditional publisher.
As of today, I intend to remain self-published. As I mentioned, I have never had any interest in the book from either literary agents or publishers, so it is not as if I have much of a choice about that anyway!
I definitely enjoy the control and freedom which self-publishing offers, after having been my own boss for much of my prior career. ILLBORN was the result of my own efforts, and the sequel Aiduel’s Sin will be the same, with no one around to tell me to change things that I don’t want to change (apart from my wife and my beta readers, perhaps!). I also love being part of the indie and self-published author community, which is full of many warm-hearted people who are very willing to offer advice and help.
However, my attitude with regard to traditional publishing is never-say-never. I will not be doing any more rounds of literary agents, but nor will I ever close my mind to the opportunity which traditional publishing represents to access a wider readership. I am always happy to listen if someone has a mutually beneficial proposal for me!
Hope all of that makes sense! Thank you again for allowing me to witter on at length. I have enjoyed answering some really interesting questions! Best wishes.
P.L.: Daniel, it has been an honour to speak to you for Six Elementals Interviews! Thank you so much!
Buy Illborn here
https://www.amazon.com/ILLBORN-Daniel-T-Jackson/dp/1800462824
Daniel T. Jackson linktree: https://linktr.ee/danieltjackson
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SIX ELEMENTALS AUTHOR INTERVIEWS – Michael R. Fletcher
The post SIX ELEMENTALS AUTHOR INTERVIEW – Daniel T. Jackson appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.
