L.K. Evans's Blog, page 17

Review of The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley

3 out of 5 Stars

I’m frustrated. I really wanted to love this book. The story was there. I liked it. I enjoyed it. But for some reason, I just couldn’t get fully engrossed in it.

I picked this up for a book club read (it’d already been on my to-read list for some time), and I opened it interested from the start. I liked the book description and didn’t think I’d have an issue falling in love with it. I must say, the book description fit well with the story, which I did enjoy and was the only reason I kept reading. Throughout the book, I was curious to see where everything was heading. However, I could easily put it down and often my mind wandered while reading. Why? It was my lack of attachment to the characters.

Now, I’ve said I liked the story. It has some palace intrigue, fighting, some tense moments, and the writing itself was wonderful. I found the slarn creatures to be delightfully wicked and the whole part of Valyn’s test was interesting and had the fastest pace of the book. Kaden’s story was very slow and we hardly were with Adare, though if we were I’d probably find it a little slower as well. As many know, I love me some good magic and this book had a very interesting magic system that I enjoyed immensely. Though we didn’t get to see it a lot until the end, I can see how it will play a great role in future books. I’m excited to read more about it.

I cannot complain that there wasn’t character development, especially with Kaden. I thought he changed the most. For me, they just weren’t as emotionally charged as I like my characters. There wasn’t enough inner turmoil for me to really sympathize with their situations. Towards the end, I started to care more for Valyn and Kaden, which is why I’ll be picking up the second book; probably not right when it’s released, but I’ll read it at some point. I can see a great story coming our way, and I hope with how the book finished that we’ll have some insight into Valyn’s… let’s just say, changes.

So, overall, good story, decent character development, great writing, and an enjoyable read. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy.

Where to find Brian Staveley:

Website

Goodreads

Amazon

Charity Promotion Ends Today, But We’re Not Done Yet!

Sadly, we didn’t come close to our goal. We’d have to sell a ton today to even scrounge up $50. However, I’m not one to give up. I had high hopes of raising a good chunk of change for the ASPCA and I plan to give it another try. So, I will run a second charity promotion in early June. I’ll also be working out a way to offer a free giveaway of a signed paperback (shipping cost paid for by me). The details will be posted here within the first week of June. Please stop by and see how you can help the ASPCA and win a print copy of Keepers of Arden. Until then, I’ll have some more reviews posted. I’ve been in a reading frenzy since I’m trying to take a month off from editing book 2 so I can tackle it with a fresh set of eyes. I’m finding it rather difficult to not open the file. Reading is the only way I can keep my mind off of it.

I’m ecstatic to report that Keepers of Arden is available on Kobo (finally), and the paperback is available on Barnes and Noble. See the My Books tab for purchase links. And if anyone has another website they purchase from that my book isn’t listed, just visit my Contact Me page and shoot me a note or add a comment and I’ll work to get it available where you buy.

That’s all for now! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Review of The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

4 out of 5 Stars

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The story is immensely entertaining and keeps your mind working to try to figure out what is going on. I must say that it took me a while to settle into the setting of the book. This is the first fantasy book that keeps close to christian religion. It kinda threw me for a bit. I wasn’t expecting God and Saints to be mentioned and thought I had stumbled into a historical fiction book. But then magic came and I got lost. So, when you read this, I’d suggest going into it with that tidbit in mind. Once I got over it and stopped trying to tie it into what I know of religion, I read much faster and enjoyed it way more.

The magic in The Red Knight was interesting and I enjoyed how Cameron presented it when the characters were using it (there’s a format change that helps the reader know). It was explained well enough, but has plenty of room to grow, and as the book progresses we continue to learn more. Loved that.

There were several POV’s in this book. I’ve said it before: I enjoy multiple POV’s. However, The Red Knight had one too many for my taste. I can understand why Cameron added them. Everything comes together in the end and if you didn’t have those POVs the story wouldn’t be as engaging. They are needed, but I must admit I grew rather bored during some of them.

The Red Knight, or Captain, was my favorite character. Cameron did a incredible job giving the reader tidbits of delightful information about the Captain throughout the book. By the end, I think I figured it out, but there is obviously room for more clarification and to prove me wrong. Furthermore, there is enough left open that the next book is sure to have the same delightful hints sprinkled throughout. This was my favorite part about the book, thus why the Red Knight is my favorite character. It was like watching condensation evaporate on a window. Sauce and Bad Tom were also entertaining and I enjoyed their POVs. I was indifferent to the rest.

I very much enjoyed the cast of creatures used in this book. And we even got a POV from a handful of them to show how the opposite side thinks and feels.

There were some odd sentences and some typos, which normally I don’t notice in a book. Also, there was a hefty amount of description sometimes, but it’s easy to skim those parts and not lose any valuable information.

About the only thing I didn’t like was the lengthy siege and some defense/offense strategies that didn’t snag hold of my attention. I had a hard time visualizing stuff sometimes, battles and scenery included.

Now, I’d go out right now and buy book two, but I’ve got another read to do for a book club and I don’t have time to tackle another monster of a book. This one was long, and because of my lack of imagery, it took me a while to read it. So I must forgo book 2 for a bit until I catch up on some of my reading. But I won’t be waiting long. I must know more about the Red Knight!

Overall, if you enjoy a more military type fantasy, you’d probably love The Red Knight. If you don’t, but you love a good character, you’d probably do just fine with this book. I did.

How to find Miles Cameron:

Website

Goodreads

Amazon

Review of War of the Black Tower by Jack Conner (All 3 Volumes)

First off, there are still 8 days left to participate in my charity promotion for the ASPCA. See details here. Secondly, I’m reviewing all three books at once for the War of the Black Tower series.

Overall, I’ve rated each book 3 out of 5 Stars

Part One

This was a nicely fast paced read. There was action from beginning to end. I like action, so, naturally, I liked this story. I don’t have tons to say about this book. The plot was nothing incredibly new, which never bothers me. As I’ve said, it’s characters that will get me to love a book. While the characters in War of the Black Tower are not developed to my taste, there was still enough to keep me interested in the series. Matter of fact, I was invested at the end of book one and immediately bought book two. Why? Well, though Baleron wasn’t as intense of a character as I would normally flock to, he had just enough to hook me to the story, which, as I said, moved fast so it made up for Baleron’s slightly above average appeal to me.

I wish I would have been shown more of his “roguishness” from the beginning. He might bed a married lady, but I never got a feel for just how horrible that was for the world I was in. I did enjoy reading about his desire to please his father, and his continual failures to do so. It made you want to cheer for the guy, even if you wanted to slap him at the same time. The other characters did nothing for me. I wasn’t drawn into any other stories, but what happened to Baleron in the temple interested me enough to keep reading the series. I wanted to see how it would play out.

It states clearly in the title that this is a dark fantasy. It has some great, incredibly entertaining gore (I’m a girl who loves my gore), which pleasantly surprised me. There is sex and torture, so if that’s not your thing, I’d steer clear. I will say, there were some amazing descriptions in this book.

Overall, a quick, entertaining read.

Part Two

Sooooo, I might be saying some tiny tidbits that could be considered spoilers (but, after all, Baleron is referred to as the “doomed prince” in the description).

I had a harder time making it through this book compared to the last. The story moved fast, just not in the way I like. The middle was more focused around sieges, so I tended to get bored at times. It takes a lot to keep me interested in full scale battle scenes. Again, nothing incredibly new in regards to storyline, but I still enjoyed where it was going.

Once again, I felt a pang of sympathy for Baleron in trying to win his father’s approval, and in this story, we get a good look at the King of Havensrike. Despite myself, I kinda liked him. He was a hard ass, a complete jerk to his son, but I found myself liking him. I liked the dragon, but everyone else stayed below my radar.

In the beginning, I was really drawn into Baleron’s Doom. I found it interesting to see where it was heading. Towards the end, I was growing increasingly annoyed with it. It seemed to not be taken as seriously as it should, and many horrible things could have been prevented. Still, it intrigued me enough to overlook that stuff and still enjoy the story. I will say, there was one development that totally caught me off guard, something I never saw coming, and I loved that part!

Once again, this is labeled as a dark fantasy and rightfully so. There is rape, torture, and wonderfully gory scenes.

So, overall I’m starting to lose a bit of interest, but I went ahead and bought the third book. After getting this invested, I need to know the outcome.

Part Three

Well, it’s over and none too soon. It’s a story of confrontations, death, and torture. Again, I may mention stuff that could be considered spoilers.

First thing I must mention here is that I’m thoroughly annoyed that no where on the book cover does it give you the volume number. Sure, it’s in the description when buying, but once you have all three in your Kindle library, there’s no way to tell them apart. Having the same cover and title doesn’t bother me at all, but the volume number should be listed on the cover somewhere!

At this point in the story, I’m done with the Doom. It is so ridiculously obvious, yet everyone still lets Baleron into their confidences, a nasty idiocy that started showing itself in book two. Now, it’s full blown lunacy! I’m sitting there rolling my eyes. Sure, give Baleron a sword and see what happens, you idiots.

That said, there are some very sad scenes in this book and it truly earns its place in dark fantasy. Still loved the gore. And despite my beefs with parts of the story, I really felt bad for Baleron and the stuff he had to endure.

The ending was drawn out. I was 70% in and feeling like at any moment it would be the final confrontation. Be prepared for a lengthy string of climatic events.

Also, I felt everything got a little redundant in the writing and story. After reading all three, it kinda seemed like we never moved anywhere. The characters never really changed, except maybe Baleron. Yet, do we really know? We never saw him placed back in a comfy home with all the old temptations to see if how he perceives himself in book three is actually who he turns into. Again, I never got the feeling we evolved completely. Furthermore, there was nothing new to the storyline. Same ol’ good guys, same ol’ bad guys. I didn’t really learn anything new, there wasn’t a lot of character growth, and nothing shocking. Well, one thing might be considered shocking, but I kinda saw it coming, so it didn’t surprise me as much. I guess, in the end, I just wanted something a little more complex to separate each book.

So in conclusion to the overall series, they were incredibly fast reads (average of 250 pages each), and it was an entertaining story that helped me get through a rather lazy weekend.

Review of Resurrection Man by Sean Stewart

Just a reminder, only 10 days left until my charity promotion ends. See details here. Now, on to the review!

4 out of 5 Stars

I liked this book. I must say, the beginning dragged for me a bit. It took me until about 60% in until I’d moved to the edge of my couch and shooed away anything/one who interrupted me. It was a short read but was crammed full of a lot of imagery and very poetic prose that had my heart aching. Towards the end, it even managed to form a lump in my throat. Let me give you two examples of some of Stewart’s beautiful thoughts, though there are so many I’d like to provide but I fear I’d give away the whole book:

Sarah grunted. “People don’t have fates.”

“No: fates have people,” Jet said, suddenly serious. “It’s quite, quite different.”

There is a class of walkers who share a certain camaraderie. We are not drunks, tramps, hookers, cops, priests, party-goers or night-shift workers: we are merely outsiders. On the rare occasions when we meet we acknowledge one another with a tiny tilt of the head, or a quick nod; but each of us carries his or her own solitude. We are invisible and we cannot be touched.



At some point, I’d like to reread this book now that I know a bit more and have a clearer picture of the world and angels. I think I missed a lot at the beginning that would be neat to uncover.

Overall, the story was very interesting, and though the world was earth, it was a very unique take. Meaning, it was more of the history that changed the present day and it did not use a futuristic spaceship setting. I’d have a hard time cramming it into the sci-fi category, but I’m not sure where else it would fit.

Anyways, the story had me wondering what in the hell was going to happen. I had so many questions, I didn’t even know where to start. It wasn’t a book that fed you what you needed to know in an orderly and concise manner. That said, I wouldn’t consider this a light read. My recommendation is to pick this up and spend some quality time with it. I think you’ll get more out of it. Admittedly, I don’t think I digested all I should have when I read this.

The characters were interesting, each living within their own haunted house of horrors. I found it fascinating to get to know them and what made them tick. Jet was my favorite, but Dante was right on his heels. This book had some great character development.

The only reason this got 4 instead of 5 stars is simply because it took me so long to get into it. So while the ending was satisfying, moving, and just damn beautiful, I wish I would have been more invested in the beginning. If I had been, I bet those welling tears would have spilt over.

In the end, I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants a serious read with stunning prose and some damn intense emotions.

Where to find Sean Stewart:

Website

Amazon

Goodreads

Promotion for Charity Starts Today!

I just wanted to throw out another reminder about the charity promotion for Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1.

Run dates: 05/01/14 thru 05/15/14

Charity: ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Goal: Raise $1,000 in two weeks by donating 100% of the profits of any ebook sales of Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 to the ASPCA

Best places to purchase: Smashwords & Kindle (both of which provide the highest royalty rate). Also see the My Books tab for additional retailers.

In addition, I’ve got a giveaway of a signed print book running on Goodreads for the month of May. Click here if you’re interested in entering.

I’m excited to see if we can reach the goal and get some money over to a good cause. If anyone has questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email (booksbylkevans@gmail.com), contact me on Twitter or Facebook, or fill out the Contact Form here on my website.

Thank you to any and all who participate in this promotion as it means a lot to me.

It happened! That means, it’s promotion time!

Time to celebrate! I’m finally in print! To say I’m excited is a drastic understatement. So what does this mean? Well, sit back and let me share.

Because I’m excited, ecstatic, thrilled, delighted (I could go on with every word my thesaurus can come up with, but I think you get the picture), I’m going to run a little charity promotion for my ebook in celebration of the print book. I’d love to do a promotion for the paperback, but you wouldn’t believe how expensive those things are!

Anyways, for those of you who follow me, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of pretty much any and all animals (excluding monkeys, cockroaches, crickets, and grasshoppers). Therefore, I wanted this promotion geared towards our furry, scaly, and slick friends. There are so many charities out there that I would love to support, and I plan on doing one of these promotions with each book I release, so hopefully we’ll have a variety eventually, but for this one, I’m going with the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They’ve done some amazing work and I donate to them whenever I can.

So, here’s my plan. For the first two weeks in May, I will donate 100% of the profits I get from all ebook sales for the Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 to the ASPCA. The start of the promotion begins this Thursday, May 1st and will run until Thursday, May 15th. In order to receive the highest royalty, I ask those who can to purchase from Smashwords, Amazon secondly. Those two offer the highest percentage and will get us the most money towards our donation. I’d love to sell 500 copies which would put us around a $1,000 donation, hopefully more depending on where people buy from. So that’s it regarding the promotion. If anyone has questions, just post a comment or shoot me an email (booksbylkevans@gmail.com).

I’ve updated the My Books tab to reflect where you can purchase print copies. Right now, there are only two locations, but in a month that should expand to Barnes & Noble online. I’m also doing a giveaway on Goodreads starting the 1st of May for a signed copy.

That’s about all I have for now. On Thursday I’ll be posting a reminder and also adding this to some of my groups on Goodreads.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Keepers of Arden Updates!

I’m very excited to announce the ebook version of Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 is available on Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, and coming very soon, Kobo. Keep checking back on the My Books tab for updates on where you can purchase Keepers of Arden.

Now, as crazy as this sounds, I’d like to suggest to those interested in purchasing Keepers of Arden to hold off for a bit. Once I approve the print proof of the book, I’ll be running a little ebook promotion geared towards a charity of my choosing. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer (another week or two if everything goes well with this last proof). I’ll be sure to post here when the promotion starts and I’ll be doing some giveaways for a signed print of Keepers of Arden. So stay tuned!

As for book 2, I’m in my second to last final edit before I ship it off to a professional editor. I’m rather excited about it. To give a juicy little tidbit, Salvarias uncovers one of the powers mentioned in book 1 and it’s anything but benevolent. Wilhelm also discovers a long forgotten power of his own. Not to mention, both brothers will confront something horrible from their past. Though book 2 is longer than the first, it spans a mere 3-4 months compared to book 1′s eighteen years.

I would like to apologize for missing my usual post on Monday. Vacation robbed my reading time and tossed me in disarray. I’d like to say I’m getting back on track, but that’d be a terrible lie. May and the early part of June will be insanely busy and I fear I’ll miss more posts in the future. So, I apologize for those in advance.

I’m beyond excited for Friday, June 6th when I’ll be going to Phoenix Comicon and meeting two amazing authors: Patrick Rothfuss and Zachary Jernigan. For those of you who follow my blog, you might remember that Mr. Jernigan is the founder of SSFFHWA, a group I’m very honored to be a part of. I just got the hardback of No Return and he’s promised to sign it when I meet him. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my tongue to work and carry on a half-intelligent conversation with him. As for Patrick Rothfuss, I also received hardbacks of The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fears. I’m not sure I can get them signed, but I certainly hope so. Shamefully, I admit I haven’t read A Wise Man’s Fears because I don’t think I could manage it without having the last book in hand. So I’m waiting. Not sure how I’ll explain that if I get a chance to talk to Mr. Rothfuss. Regardless, I’m ecstatic that I’ll have an opportunity to meet them both.

That’s about all I have for now. Stay tuned for further updates and some more book reviews.

Review of the Apprentice by Deborah Bickmore

3 out of 5 Stars

Oh, where to begin… This books was a fast read and mildly entertaining. I’d be hard pressed not to like a book centered around magic. Mages have always been my favorite characters in books, so when I saw this inviting cover, I snagged it right up.

First, I liked the mysteriousness of Corwyn… in the beginning, that is. I liked his character. He was confident and his actions hinted towards something interesting, something more than what we were seeing through Jaimah’s eyes. I was intrigued by him, which is the only reason I kept reading.

Jaimah started off interesting. She was uncertain of who to trust, torn between the two, in the dark, and frightened. I didn’t mind her being weak, cause I held out hope that she’d end up being a strong character. However, less than half way through, I was ready for her to stop her internal, repetitive ramblings. It got on my nerves and slowed the story. It was the same feelings, the same uncertainties, rehashed over and over. I skimmed. A lot. I won’t tell you what happens to her, if she becomes all I’d hoped. I don’t want to spoil anything.

The ending (the last quarter or so), dragged for me and it was the most action packed part of the book (which is surprising since I adore action). I was ready for it end and for resolution to be found. If the entire book would have been shorter, I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, it just seemed full of awkward interactions between all three characters, and then a drawn out conclusion in the end.

Some of Bickmore’s descriptions were quite lovely, and several times I was impressed with her ability to describe sensations.

Overall, a fast read, one to waste away a few hours. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible.

Where to find Deborah Bickmore:

Website

Goodreads

Review of Hollow World by Michael J Sullivan

4 out of 5 Stars

I’m trying to decide how I feel about this book. I definitely liked it. I definitely really liked it. But I didn’t love it. I was sad about that, too. I wanted to love it. Sigh.

First and foremost, the writing was nothing shy of brilliant. After reading the Riyria books, I was afraid I’d be faced with something different in Hollow World, perhaps fluffy prose or overly technical sci-fi jargon. I was happy to receive neither. The writing was clean, beautiful, and moving. I love Sullivan’s voice, and for those who feel the same, you won’t be disappointed.

I also appreciated the look at religion, society, and the world as we know it. It was interesting, and I had fun exploring Sullivan’s varying viewpoints of Hollow World. It was a thought provoking read. Again, very interesting.

Now, here is where I get in my own way. I’ve read a few (very, very few) sci-fi books and I’ve yet to find myself a fan of the genre. Matter of fact, there’s only one series I’ve been a huge fan of. The rest are meh and I find my mind wandering while reading. Unfortunately, Hollow World was no exception. The only sci-fi books I’ve picked up are because I love the author. To say Riyria was an incredible series would be a drastic understatement. So being in love with author, I ventured into his sci-fi universe. I can’t fault the book. There was nothing wrong with it. The characters were well developed, the world detailed and rich, and, as I said, the writing stunning… but even with all it’s qualities, I just couldn’t fall in love with it.

So, I’m left with the question of why? Why could I not love it? Honestly, I’m not really sure. I have two theories. 1) It’s a genre that is not my favorite. I’m an old Star Trek movie fan, grew up on them, love them. But I don’t think I’d enjoy the books. I’m a visual person. With fantasy, I’ve seen enough pictures, watched enough movies, that it is very easy for me dive into the world. Sci-fi is so diverse that I, sadly, lack the imagination to totally submerse myself into the world. That’s not to say I had a hard time visualizing the setting for Hollow World. Quite the contrary, actually. But still, there’s something about sci-fi that I just can’t sink into and lose myself. 2) I didn’t fall in love with a character. I liked them all, especially Pax, Vin, and Alva. Yet none of them snagged hold of me. If I’m not hooked on a character within the first quarter of the book, I’ll likely never become fully engrossed in the reading experience. Again, I cannot fault the character development. It was superb. I just didn’t latch on to anyone.

To conclude my ramblings, I think Hollow World was an enjoyable read, interesting, thought provoking, and wonderfully written. There’s some good heart in this book, and I think those who like sci-fi will probably embrace it. As for me, I promise you this: If Sullivan were to ever write another sci-fi, I’d pick it up. I think with him, I’m guaranteed something I’ll really like. And there is always the enticing possibility of falling madly in love with it.