Gypsy Madden's Blog, page 13
May 29, 2021
Book Review: Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series: Books 1-9
Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series: Books 1-9 by Jada Fisher
4 stars
Category: Middle Grade-Young Adult
Summary: In a medieval fantasy world, a young girl named Eist yearns to be a dragon rider like her deceased parents who died in a battle to defeat an all-powerful evil force known as The Blight. So, as soon as she is able to, she goes to the dragon rider school in her city and competes the entrance trials. While competing, she comes across a bully named Ain, who is determined to get her thrown out of the trials, and when she passes the trials, he works on getting her thrown out of the school. She also befriends Dille, a mysterious orphan who excels in everything, and Yachrist, the son of the elected ruler of her country. While at the school, she is partnered with a dragon as it hatches and helps and trains it as it grows, though her dragon is an odd species that barely grows. But before they complete their time at the school the Blight returns, determined to take over and rid their world of the three ruling gods, and bring Eist onto his side.
Comments: Overall, this is a fun adventure series for a young audience. It is very much akin to the Harry Potter books and to How to Train Your Dragon. Like Harry, both of Eist’s parents were killed by an evil all-powerful force, which she later goes on to face herself in an epic battle. And like Harry, she was marked by the evil force as a young child, linking them. Like the Harry Potter books, I loved the early books in this series, where Eist has lots of wide-eyed moments learning about dragons, and having fun training physically in endurance and weapons. I especially loved book 2 as the dragons grow like little children, with scenes like Eist having to feed her dragon, and the habits it picked up along the way like hoarding stuff that he’d stolen within the school dorms and she’d eventually have to return all the pilfered items. Her dragon is such an adorable character, and such a mystery that she feels so akin to with her hearing impairment and odd colored eye when everyone keeps telling her that his growth is stunted. And I loved her friends, Dille and Yachrist, which did feel like the threesome in Harry Potter in Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And Ain, was of course, in the place of Draco Malfoy and totally bullies Eist both vocally, taunting her, and physically, though he does grow up and change. Eist is rather generic main hero and even gets considered the cliched chosen one, like Harry Potter. In the first book she has this attitude issue where she sees herself as being better than everyone around her. So, she tends to focus on what she wants, without any real regard for anyone around her. It made her rather unlikeable in the first book, but she did tone down the superior attitude as she series went on, though she did keep the stubborn focus without any regard for others throughout, to the point of she’d throw herself into danger to rescue people or get things done without taking into consideration the friends she had around her and trying a team effort instead. The Blight was very akin to Voldemort and the later half of the books, like the Harry Potter books, all center on facing and defeating the Blight. I wasn’t much of a fan of the later books since magic returns to her world, magic ends up getting used as a crutch and the battles all devolve into randomly throwing around generic power blasts. And the end felt like it got solved too easily. There is a mild moment or two of romance in this, but it gets eclipsed quickly by the Blight’s obsession with Eist, all of which stay at a PG rating, though it doesn’t hold back on the violence. I didn’t much care for the ending, though it did feel like it came full circle and meticulously tried to tie up each and every thread. (I’ve heard the characters make a return appearance in the Rise of the Black Dragon series).
4 stars
Category: Middle Grade-Young Adult
Summary: In a medieval fantasy world, a young girl named Eist yearns to be a dragon rider like her deceased parents who died in a battle to defeat an all-powerful evil force known as The Blight. So, as soon as she is able to, she goes to the dragon rider school in her city and competes the entrance trials. While competing, she comes across a bully named Ain, who is determined to get her thrown out of the trials, and when she passes the trials, he works on getting her thrown out of the school. She also befriends Dille, a mysterious orphan who excels in everything, and Yachrist, the son of the elected ruler of her country. While at the school, she is partnered with a dragon as it hatches and helps and trains it as it grows, though her dragon is an odd species that barely grows. But before they complete their time at the school the Blight returns, determined to take over and rid their world of the three ruling gods, and bring Eist onto his side.
Comments: Overall, this is a fun adventure series for a young audience. It is very much akin to the Harry Potter books and to How to Train Your Dragon. Like Harry, both of Eist’s parents were killed by an evil all-powerful force, which she later goes on to face herself in an epic battle. And like Harry, she was marked by the evil force as a young child, linking them. Like the Harry Potter books, I loved the early books in this series, where Eist has lots of wide-eyed moments learning about dragons, and having fun training physically in endurance and weapons. I especially loved book 2 as the dragons grow like little children, with scenes like Eist having to feed her dragon, and the habits it picked up along the way like hoarding stuff that he’d stolen within the school dorms and she’d eventually have to return all the pilfered items. Her dragon is such an adorable character, and such a mystery that she feels so akin to with her hearing impairment and odd colored eye when everyone keeps telling her that his growth is stunted. And I loved her friends, Dille and Yachrist, which did feel like the threesome in Harry Potter in Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And Ain, was of course, in the place of Draco Malfoy and totally bullies Eist both vocally, taunting her, and physically, though he does grow up and change. Eist is rather generic main hero and even gets considered the cliched chosen one, like Harry Potter. In the first book she has this attitude issue where she sees herself as being better than everyone around her. So, she tends to focus on what she wants, without any real regard for anyone around her. It made her rather unlikeable in the first book, but she did tone down the superior attitude as she series went on, though she did keep the stubborn focus without any regard for others throughout, to the point of she’d throw herself into danger to rescue people or get things done without taking into consideration the friends she had around her and trying a team effort instead. The Blight was very akin to Voldemort and the later half of the books, like the Harry Potter books, all center on facing and defeating the Blight. I wasn’t much of a fan of the later books since magic returns to her world, magic ends up getting used as a crutch and the battles all devolve into randomly throwing around generic power blasts. And the end felt like it got solved too easily. There is a mild moment or two of romance in this, but it gets eclipsed quickly by the Blight’s obsession with Eist, all of which stay at a PG rating, though it doesn’t hold back on the violence. I didn’t much care for the ending, though it did feel like it came full circle and meticulously tried to tie up each and every thread. (I’ve heard the characters make a return appearance in the Rise of the Black Dragon series).
May 28, 2021
Book Review: Power of Three (The Brindle Dragon - Book 9)
Power of Three (The Brindle Dragon – Book 9) by Jada Fisher
4 stars
Category: YA
Note: I read this as included in The Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series Books 1-9
Summary: We’ve finally reached the last book in the series and Eist’s final showdown with the evil Blight. The three gods of her world are now trapped in human form, making them sitting ducks for the Blight, which is itching to chow down on them and become limitless in power. But Eist and all of the dragon riders are determined to keep that from happening and are still determined they can take down the Blight with the witches and new group of brindle dragons that Eist journeyed through time to save now on hand.
Comments: I loved the Three in human form! I loved their different personalities and how they really didn’t understand being human and various human concepts (like bathing and hunger). Out of the three, it felt like we really didn’t get to know the Grandfather all that well, though the All-Mother and the Storm were nicely brought to life. Of course, though, that reprieve time was short and the Blight came calling for his dinner of the Three gods (devouring humanized gods is a disgusting mental picture. It was disgusting even when it was the Titans devouring the Greek Gods). When the battle gets started it becomes yet another abstract blur of power and fighting (the cover even demonstrates that), making the final battle less than impressive. At this point Eist has become a rather Mary-sue generic over-powered chosen one with the return of magic to her world in the previous book, making solving the large problem far too easily for any real tension to have been built in this book. It felt like the ending came too easily in this installment. I didn’t care for the ending (and I’d be spoiling the ending if I told you my reasons -specifically two character names and because it felt like the author felt the need to tie up every loose thread through the length of the series here at the end which felt really forced and orchestrated). Suffice to say, if you read my reviews on the previous books in this series, you can probably guess why I didn’t care for the end). I thought it was nice that the story came full circle, but a let down that it didn’t end how I wanted it to end. At least now I can move on to something else.
4 stars
Category: YA
Note: I read this as included in The Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series Books 1-9
Summary: We’ve finally reached the last book in the series and Eist’s final showdown with the evil Blight. The three gods of her world are now trapped in human form, making them sitting ducks for the Blight, which is itching to chow down on them and become limitless in power. But Eist and all of the dragon riders are determined to keep that from happening and are still determined they can take down the Blight with the witches and new group of brindle dragons that Eist journeyed through time to save now on hand.
Comments: I loved the Three in human form! I loved their different personalities and how they really didn’t understand being human and various human concepts (like bathing and hunger). Out of the three, it felt like we really didn’t get to know the Grandfather all that well, though the All-Mother and the Storm were nicely brought to life. Of course, though, that reprieve time was short and the Blight came calling for his dinner of the Three gods (devouring humanized gods is a disgusting mental picture. It was disgusting even when it was the Titans devouring the Greek Gods). When the battle gets started it becomes yet another abstract blur of power and fighting (the cover even demonstrates that), making the final battle less than impressive. At this point Eist has become a rather Mary-sue generic over-powered chosen one with the return of magic to her world in the previous book, making solving the large problem far too easily for any real tension to have been built in this book. It felt like the ending came too easily in this installment. I didn’t care for the ending (and I’d be spoiling the ending if I told you my reasons -specifically two character names and because it felt like the author felt the need to tie up every loose thread through the length of the series here at the end which felt really forced and orchestrated). Suffice to say, if you read my reviews on the previous books in this series, you can probably guess why I didn’t care for the end). I thought it was nice that the story came full circle, but a let down that it didn’t end how I wanted it to end. At least now I can move on to something else.
May 27, 2021
Book Review: Lynxed
Lynxed by Catherine Banks
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Shadows and Stars anthology.
Summary: Alyssa is an orphan who grew up in a dangerous neighborhood. Now that she’s 18, she’s old enough to leave the orphanage on her own. Soon after leaving the orphanage, she is pulled into another world filled with castles and amazing creatures that hunt her down, and turn her over to the queen. The queen tells her that when humans from the other world are brought there, they are tested to see if they can be claimed by any of the clans residing in the new world. The queen determines that Alyssa has an odd mixture of blood, and as such several different factions decide they want her. The vampires, the witches, and the shifters all want her, though the shifter who tries to claim her points out that she doesn’t actually have blood from either of the other factions, so they obviously want her for nefarious purposes. Alyssa escapes from the castle and evades all of the factions, with the help of a lynx.
Comments: It felt like the author dreamed this story up. It feels like it’s a bunch of random dreams all patched together in a bit of a mish-mash. It’s just odd how it switches from scene to scene with no real cohesion between the scenes other than the main heroine. And it also feels like author wish-fulfilment with the heroine getting everything she would want or wish for with everyone catering to her wants (especially when she gets to the second palace) with very little adversity other than the being chased in the beginning (which is a common theme in dreams). She’s practically treated like a chosen one and said to have an extremely rare bloodline, and when she wants to train to have powers, suddenly she has power in spades and can wield it perfectly. And the name of the Lynx. Who just randomly pulls out a name like that and it’s the right one? It’s not like it’s a common name. One of the other reasons it made me think of dreams was that there is very little setting description. The palaces were never really described. The area when she was running was never described. Even the city in the very beginning was never really described other than the orphanage being in a dangerous neighborhood, and then she crossed a river and was suddenly in the upper-class neighborhood (which struck me as weird since there are usually other districts in between like a commercial district or warehouses) and the city had a name I’d never heard of, and I wondered if it was supposed to be a steampunk city or something, but I guess it was supposed to be a basic modern city. It did make for an interesting and unpredictable story, but with it being random patched together scenes, things from previous scenes just got forgotten about, like the girl she became friends with at the halfway house who got transported with her. Alyssa asked about her a couple of times when she first was at the castle, and then she escaped and the girl was utterly forgotten about. The lynx was a fun character and I did like his relationship with her. The betrayal was where things really got interesting and she actually had to come to terms with adversity, but again it was like the dream suddenly shifted and suddenly we were in an entirely different scene with even the heroine acting completely differently.
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Shadows and Stars anthology.
Summary: Alyssa is an orphan who grew up in a dangerous neighborhood. Now that she’s 18, she’s old enough to leave the orphanage on her own. Soon after leaving the orphanage, she is pulled into another world filled with castles and amazing creatures that hunt her down, and turn her over to the queen. The queen tells her that when humans from the other world are brought there, they are tested to see if they can be claimed by any of the clans residing in the new world. The queen determines that Alyssa has an odd mixture of blood, and as such several different factions decide they want her. The vampires, the witches, and the shifters all want her, though the shifter who tries to claim her points out that she doesn’t actually have blood from either of the other factions, so they obviously want her for nefarious purposes. Alyssa escapes from the castle and evades all of the factions, with the help of a lynx.
Comments: It felt like the author dreamed this story up. It feels like it’s a bunch of random dreams all patched together in a bit of a mish-mash. It’s just odd how it switches from scene to scene with no real cohesion between the scenes other than the main heroine. And it also feels like author wish-fulfilment with the heroine getting everything she would want or wish for with everyone catering to her wants (especially when she gets to the second palace) with very little adversity other than the being chased in the beginning (which is a common theme in dreams). She’s practically treated like a chosen one and said to have an extremely rare bloodline, and when she wants to train to have powers, suddenly she has power in spades and can wield it perfectly. And the name of the Lynx. Who just randomly pulls out a name like that and it’s the right one? It’s not like it’s a common name. One of the other reasons it made me think of dreams was that there is very little setting description. The palaces were never really described. The area when she was running was never described. Even the city in the very beginning was never really described other than the orphanage being in a dangerous neighborhood, and then she crossed a river and was suddenly in the upper-class neighborhood (which struck me as weird since there are usually other districts in between like a commercial district or warehouses) and the city had a name I’d never heard of, and I wondered if it was supposed to be a steampunk city or something, but I guess it was supposed to be a basic modern city. It did make for an interesting and unpredictable story, but with it being random patched together scenes, things from previous scenes just got forgotten about, like the girl she became friends with at the halfway house who got transported with her. Alyssa asked about her a couple of times when she first was at the castle, and then she escaped and the girl was utterly forgotten about. The lynx was a fun character and I did like his relationship with her. The betrayal was where things really got interesting and she actually had to come to terms with adversity, but again it was like the dream suddenly shifted and suddenly we were in an entirely different scene with even the heroine acting completely differently.
May 24, 2021
Book Review: Blood & Ink (Ink Born - Book 2)
Blood & Ink (Ink Born – Book 2) by Holly Evans
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I obtained a free copy via Instafreebie.
Summary: After the authorities started sniffing around in Boston in the previous book, Dacian and company have moved to the supernatural community in the heart of Prague. They now work under an elf named Fein who provides them with protection, jobs, and a home. Dacian feels rather stifled under Fein’s iron fist, dictating what clients he meets with and what jobs he does. And to add to the headache, the ink network is acting up, invading Dacian’s consciousness whenever it can, flooding his senses with colors which apparently are instructions from the ink network demanding that he fix the problem of art being stolen by rogue ink magicians.
Comments: If I were to akin this series to anything, it would be the Harry Dresden books. (I’m honestly not sure why this is listed in with the Vampire Thrillers since there were no vampires in this. I’m not certain why this is listed in with the Werewolf & Shifter books either on Amazon since the only shifters in this were two side characters who were hanging around as bodyguards). Dacian has a personality that reminds me of Harry. He doesn’t have Harry’s humor, but he does have the put-upon attitude, and he’s pushed into trying to solve the problems of the supernatural community. Dacian is an ink magician, which apparently is a bad thing (though I’m still not too sure why even after reading two books in the series), and in his daily work he claims to be a tattoo magician (which apparently is a perfectly acceptable thing). Basically, he can use the ink network (basically a disembodied consciousness made up entirely of emotion and color which exists on the astral plane) to bring to life the tattoos that are lurking within people. They become familiars to the people. Dacian’s tattoo familiars were running around throughout this book causing all sorts of havoc in their apartment (I love how much personality Kyra has and how she really doesn’t listen to Dacian even though she’s technically supposed to have part of his personality. She’s a cat). I’m glad that Dacian’s tattoo partner the elf Keirn had a larger part in this book and we even got to see a bit of his background, introducing us more fully to him. The magic featured in this book is rather garbled and muddied and mostly just a hodge-podge of colors, allowing Dacian to just do things (I said that about the previous book as well). I did like the community of elves though. That was fascinating even though it felt like it took time away from the direction of the story. Actually, the story itself felt like it meandered a lot. I kept waiting for the art thefts that the blurb promised and they didn’t come in until past the halfway point. Vyx is the token female character in this book (not counting a couple of female clients) and she’s really just a side character, so I was lacking a female perspective. The majority of characters in this book are gay, so hence it’s a lot of male characters. I was disappointed by the ending since the final conflict got resolved while Dacian was wrapped up with the ink network. Honestly, I miss Boston. One thing I love about the Harry Dresden books is the modern world with the hidden supernatural world to it, since the two together make an interesting clash. In this book, Prague is an ancient city with plenty of gothic architecture, making the supernatural world blend right in with it, and Dacian spends most of his time within the supernatural community, not interacting with the non-magic really at all. Like the Dresden books, he does meet and see other supernatural beings in the city, like when he goes to the goblin market. In all, with the pacing being as slow, and no female viewpoint for me to latch on to, the magical world around them wasn’t really brought to life, though I did like Dacian and Keirn’s relationship whatever it was, but I’ll probably be stopping with the series here.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I obtained a free copy via Instafreebie.
Summary: After the authorities started sniffing around in Boston in the previous book, Dacian and company have moved to the supernatural community in the heart of Prague. They now work under an elf named Fein who provides them with protection, jobs, and a home. Dacian feels rather stifled under Fein’s iron fist, dictating what clients he meets with and what jobs he does. And to add to the headache, the ink network is acting up, invading Dacian’s consciousness whenever it can, flooding his senses with colors which apparently are instructions from the ink network demanding that he fix the problem of art being stolen by rogue ink magicians.
Comments: If I were to akin this series to anything, it would be the Harry Dresden books. (I’m honestly not sure why this is listed in with the Vampire Thrillers since there were no vampires in this. I’m not certain why this is listed in with the Werewolf & Shifter books either on Amazon since the only shifters in this were two side characters who were hanging around as bodyguards). Dacian has a personality that reminds me of Harry. He doesn’t have Harry’s humor, but he does have the put-upon attitude, and he’s pushed into trying to solve the problems of the supernatural community. Dacian is an ink magician, which apparently is a bad thing (though I’m still not too sure why even after reading two books in the series), and in his daily work he claims to be a tattoo magician (which apparently is a perfectly acceptable thing). Basically, he can use the ink network (basically a disembodied consciousness made up entirely of emotion and color which exists on the astral plane) to bring to life the tattoos that are lurking within people. They become familiars to the people. Dacian’s tattoo familiars were running around throughout this book causing all sorts of havoc in their apartment (I love how much personality Kyra has and how she really doesn’t listen to Dacian even though she’s technically supposed to have part of his personality. She’s a cat). I’m glad that Dacian’s tattoo partner the elf Keirn had a larger part in this book and we even got to see a bit of his background, introducing us more fully to him. The magic featured in this book is rather garbled and muddied and mostly just a hodge-podge of colors, allowing Dacian to just do things (I said that about the previous book as well). I did like the community of elves though. That was fascinating even though it felt like it took time away from the direction of the story. Actually, the story itself felt like it meandered a lot. I kept waiting for the art thefts that the blurb promised and they didn’t come in until past the halfway point. Vyx is the token female character in this book (not counting a couple of female clients) and she’s really just a side character, so I was lacking a female perspective. The majority of characters in this book are gay, so hence it’s a lot of male characters. I was disappointed by the ending since the final conflict got resolved while Dacian was wrapped up with the ink network. Honestly, I miss Boston. One thing I love about the Harry Dresden books is the modern world with the hidden supernatural world to it, since the two together make an interesting clash. In this book, Prague is an ancient city with plenty of gothic architecture, making the supernatural world blend right in with it, and Dacian spends most of his time within the supernatural community, not interacting with the non-magic really at all. Like the Dresden books, he does meet and see other supernatural beings in the city, like when he goes to the goblin market. In all, with the pacing being as slow, and no female viewpoint for me to latch on to, the magical world around them wasn’t really brought to life, though I did like Dacian and Keirn’s relationship whatever it was, but I’ll probably be stopping with the series here.
May 22, 2021
Book Review: Connecting (Earth's Only Hope - prequel)
Connecting (Earth’s Only Hope – Prequel) by Joynell Schultz
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I’m not really certain why this is a ‘prequel’ when it’s the size of a full book since prequels are usually novella-size.
Summary: The world is about to go through an ice age in a little less than one year. Jana’s scientist parents first discovered this when she was young and warned the world. Her father knew that their best chance for saving the world was to contact alien life, and reached out via his ham radio. Now in her 20s and living with her younger brother and grandmother, with both of her parents dead, Jana’s nightly communications to the stars gets an answer from an alien named Lon. He tells her he has a way to save the Earth’s population, but he wants one thing in exchange. He wants Jana.
Comments: I loved this story! I’m a sucker for an apocalyptic, so I loved the idea of the world ending soon hanging over their heads. I loved the idea of alien life contacting us, and I loved that she couldn’t see him through most of the book and had to just imagine what he was like from the voice in her head. And I loved the idea of what the world would be like with things shutting down and people sliding into depression and people trying to carry on and others trying to answer what they would do with the remaining time they have left and the shortages (though with things being as tight as they were, it didn’t really make much sense for Jana to be driving so much). The largest problem I had with this book was Jana. She was a good narrator for the most part, swinging between hope and depression, and I loved the love she had for her brother. But there were times I wanted to knock her upside the head. Like she gets contacted by an alien who says he can save her race and that he needs to speak to the president. Does she try to contact the president or even try to figure out how she’d even go about contacting the president? No. She sits on it for several days until he contacts her again. So, when they tell her that to save the human race (which would include her brother and grandmother), Lon wants her to go with him. Does she immediately say yes? No. She wavers and argues. I didn’t much care for Lon making such a big deal of her drinking. It seemed rather unreasonable for him to insist on total abstinence from alcohol. Not that I’m into drinking, or support Jana wanting to get drunk with the world about to end, but he objected to her even having a drink at her friend’s wedding. Yes, this is a romance, and I did love the relationship Jana and Lon grew into. Lon reminded me more than a little of Doctor Who (which probably isn’t a coincidence), especially his need for a companion in his travels around the galaxy (and I know so many fan girls wanted a romance between the Doctor and Rose, so this is full-filling that want). Yes, I can’t wait to see where the story takes Jana and Lon to next.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I’m not really certain why this is a ‘prequel’ when it’s the size of a full book since prequels are usually novella-size.
Summary: The world is about to go through an ice age in a little less than one year. Jana’s scientist parents first discovered this when she was young and warned the world. Her father knew that their best chance for saving the world was to contact alien life, and reached out via his ham radio. Now in her 20s and living with her younger brother and grandmother, with both of her parents dead, Jana’s nightly communications to the stars gets an answer from an alien named Lon. He tells her he has a way to save the Earth’s population, but he wants one thing in exchange. He wants Jana.
Comments: I loved this story! I’m a sucker for an apocalyptic, so I loved the idea of the world ending soon hanging over their heads. I loved the idea of alien life contacting us, and I loved that she couldn’t see him through most of the book and had to just imagine what he was like from the voice in her head. And I loved the idea of what the world would be like with things shutting down and people sliding into depression and people trying to carry on and others trying to answer what they would do with the remaining time they have left and the shortages (though with things being as tight as they were, it didn’t really make much sense for Jana to be driving so much). The largest problem I had with this book was Jana. She was a good narrator for the most part, swinging between hope and depression, and I loved the love she had for her brother. But there were times I wanted to knock her upside the head. Like she gets contacted by an alien who says he can save her race and that he needs to speak to the president. Does she try to contact the president or even try to figure out how she’d even go about contacting the president? No. She sits on it for several days until he contacts her again. So, when they tell her that to save the human race (which would include her brother and grandmother), Lon wants her to go with him. Does she immediately say yes? No. She wavers and argues. I didn’t much care for Lon making such a big deal of her drinking. It seemed rather unreasonable for him to insist on total abstinence from alcohol. Not that I’m into drinking, or support Jana wanting to get drunk with the world about to end, but he objected to her even having a drink at her friend’s wedding. Yes, this is a romance, and I did love the relationship Jana and Lon grew into. Lon reminded me more than a little of Doctor Who (which probably isn’t a coincidence), especially his need for a companion in his travels around the galaxy (and I know so many fan girls wanted a romance between the Doctor and Rose, so this is full-filling that want). Yes, I can’t wait to see where the story takes Jana and Lon to next.
May 21, 2021
Book Review: The Death Run
The Death Run by Destiny Hawkins
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. $0.99 cents on Amazon. I obtained this via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Everyone in the Forge has no memories of before the Forge. Life is prison-like inside the Forge, and they are watched over by the Warden and his officers. The inmates are encouraged to fight each other, which is how Emma lost her eye in a fight with Myles. Every so often, four people are selected to compete in a competition, to survive a labyrinth of passage ways, armed with traps and while being hunted by zombie-like people, to reach the door at the end to freedom. Emma is determined to win her freedom.
Comments: Competitions to the death are a popular thing is scifi/dystopias these days. I could name a selection of them from The Condemned to Hunger Games. And just like the two I mentioned, the game in this one is broadcast to an audience as well. The game itself reminds me the most of Maze Runner. Just like in Maze Runner, the inmates don’t remember anything from before. I really wanted to know more about the world created in this story, but the Forge was a generic prison and didn’t get much time spent on describing it outside of how harsh the place was. The EMS (zombie?) were never explained. I still don’t even know what EMS stands for. I did like the fascinating relationship between Emma and Myles with her rage fueling her and his guilt. Zachary was rather typical and I never really felt like I got to know Glen (though I would have liked to have spent more time on him because of how the ending turned out). The story itself has a lot of tension, thrill, and violence (think a little like the first Resident Evil movie, complete with a slice and dice room). And why do girls always go for the crossbow? Ever since Hunger Games, if there’s a crossbow or bow and arrows, the heroine will almost always pick it up.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. $0.99 cents on Amazon. I obtained this via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Everyone in the Forge has no memories of before the Forge. Life is prison-like inside the Forge, and they are watched over by the Warden and his officers. The inmates are encouraged to fight each other, which is how Emma lost her eye in a fight with Myles. Every so often, four people are selected to compete in a competition, to survive a labyrinth of passage ways, armed with traps and while being hunted by zombie-like people, to reach the door at the end to freedom. Emma is determined to win her freedom.
Comments: Competitions to the death are a popular thing is scifi/dystopias these days. I could name a selection of them from The Condemned to Hunger Games. And just like the two I mentioned, the game in this one is broadcast to an audience as well. The game itself reminds me the most of Maze Runner. Just like in Maze Runner, the inmates don’t remember anything from before. I really wanted to know more about the world created in this story, but the Forge was a generic prison and didn’t get much time spent on describing it outside of how harsh the place was. The EMS (zombie?) were never explained. I still don’t even know what EMS stands for. I did like the fascinating relationship between Emma and Myles with her rage fueling her and his guilt. Zachary was rather typical and I never really felt like I got to know Glen (though I would have liked to have spent more time on him because of how the ending turned out). The story itself has a lot of tension, thrill, and violence (think a little like the first Resident Evil movie, complete with a slice and dice room). And why do girls always go for the crossbow? Ever since Hunger Games, if there’s a crossbow or bow and arrows, the heroine will almost always pick it up.
May 20, 2021
Book Review: The Accidental Adoption: A Shifter Romance Short Story
The Accidental Adoption: A Shifter Romance Short Story by Lucy Felthouse
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. I obtained this via Bookfunnel. $0.99 cents on Amazon.
Summary: Rosie has always wanted a dog and she finally feels that she is ready to share her life with one. So, she goes to the local animal shelter and looks at all of the dogs, reasoning through with herself why each one doesn’t work. That is, until she comes to Scruffy, a cute little dog who seems to take a liking to her, making him impossible to resist. The surprise is on her, when her cute little dog, turns out to be a handsome shifter in disguise.
Comments: This short romance hits all the right notes. It’s sweet, romantic, funny, awkward, and sexy. Scruffy is downright adorable as a dog. I loved how the author brought to life as practically a ball of fur and energy. And I felt for Rosie when the truth came out and her pet adoption was a sham, with him intending to escape at the first chance he could get (though one wonders when he was going to or even if he was going to since he did have chances before the point when he was caught). Rosie though I didn’t quite latch on to. She felt too persnickety. As in, when she went to the pet shelter, she wanted the perfect dog. And rather than letting her heart just decide for her, she went around the room pointing out why each dog there didn’t fit her stringent criteria. She’s one of those people who had to cross every single t and dot every single i anywhere remotely in range of her, very detail oriented, making her really tedious. When the reveal does come, rather than reacting like how a sane person would have reacted, she’s convinced she’s still dreaming. I did like adorably awkward Sawyer, who seemed rather hopeless at talking to Rosie, and caught in a weird situation. Some of his dialogue and phrasing did come across as stilted. Like who uses the term ‘familial’ outside of a science class? But, yes, I love seeing awkward characters finding romance.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. I obtained this via Bookfunnel. $0.99 cents on Amazon.
Summary: Rosie has always wanted a dog and she finally feels that she is ready to share her life with one. So, she goes to the local animal shelter and looks at all of the dogs, reasoning through with herself why each one doesn’t work. That is, until she comes to Scruffy, a cute little dog who seems to take a liking to her, making him impossible to resist. The surprise is on her, when her cute little dog, turns out to be a handsome shifter in disguise.
Comments: This short romance hits all the right notes. It’s sweet, romantic, funny, awkward, and sexy. Scruffy is downright adorable as a dog. I loved how the author brought to life as practically a ball of fur and energy. And I felt for Rosie when the truth came out and her pet adoption was a sham, with him intending to escape at the first chance he could get (though one wonders when he was going to or even if he was going to since he did have chances before the point when he was caught). Rosie though I didn’t quite latch on to. She felt too persnickety. As in, when she went to the pet shelter, she wanted the perfect dog. And rather than letting her heart just decide for her, she went around the room pointing out why each dog there didn’t fit her stringent criteria. She’s one of those people who had to cross every single t and dot every single i anywhere remotely in range of her, very detail oriented, making her really tedious. When the reveal does come, rather than reacting like how a sane person would have reacted, she’s convinced she’s still dreaming. I did like adorably awkward Sawyer, who seemed rather hopeless at talking to Rosie, and caught in a weird situation. Some of his dialogue and phrasing did come across as stilted. Like who uses the term ‘familial’ outside of a science class? But, yes, I love seeing awkward characters finding romance.
May 19, 2021
Book Review: Cat Magic (Love, Lies & Hocus Pocus - novella)
Cat Magic (Love, Lies & Hocus Pocus novella) by Lydia Sherrer
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size.
Summary: Sir Edgar Allen Kipling is wizard Lily Singer’s cat, magically awakened and can talk to her (and only her) via telepathy. With Lily and her friend Sebastian away on a trip, Sir Kipling considers it his job to patrol and protect the basement library full of wizarding books at Lily’s college. He finds odd men lurking around the all-girl’s college, some with very dangerous powers.
Comments: This was a cute little spin off standalone story. I did have some questions at the end that will probably be answered in the main series (further than what I’ve read) (as in, we never did get the name of that wizard. Nor did we really answer who the villains were, especially the main villain. And I really would have liked to know how Sir Kipling got his telepathy with Lily. Maybe it’s covered in a book I haven’t read yet. He refers to it as his Awakening, but didn’t mention too much more than that). I did like all of Sir Kipling’s views on various people and his opinions. And I loved how it talked about Lily and Sebastian, introducing them to the readers. And I loved how sneaky he thought himself and his ego and I loved his names for various things (like Buzzsaw). And I loved how he dealt with the villains using cat methods, and yet had to show the normal humans (like Lily’s assistant) that he was a normal cat and that there wasn’t anything weird going on. I was a bit bored with the plot itself though. Since it was basically to protect the library from the bad guys, and really not much else happened (though the bad guys were indeed magically dangerous and not cartoonish villains). In all, it was a cute little read, with plenty of magic, and plenty of cat-isms and cat attitude.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size.
Summary: Sir Edgar Allen Kipling is wizard Lily Singer’s cat, magically awakened and can talk to her (and only her) via telepathy. With Lily and her friend Sebastian away on a trip, Sir Kipling considers it his job to patrol and protect the basement library full of wizarding books at Lily’s college. He finds odd men lurking around the all-girl’s college, some with very dangerous powers.
Comments: This was a cute little spin off standalone story. I did have some questions at the end that will probably be answered in the main series (further than what I’ve read) (as in, we never did get the name of that wizard. Nor did we really answer who the villains were, especially the main villain. And I really would have liked to know how Sir Kipling got his telepathy with Lily. Maybe it’s covered in a book I haven’t read yet. He refers to it as his Awakening, but didn’t mention too much more than that). I did like all of Sir Kipling’s views on various people and his opinions. And I loved how it talked about Lily and Sebastian, introducing them to the readers. And I loved how sneaky he thought himself and his ego and I loved his names for various things (like Buzzsaw). And I loved how he dealt with the villains using cat methods, and yet had to show the normal humans (like Lily’s assistant) that he was a normal cat and that there wasn’t anything weird going on. I was a bit bored with the plot itself though. Since it was basically to protect the library from the bad guys, and really not much else happened (though the bad guys were indeed magically dangerous and not cartoonish villains). In all, it was a cute little read, with plenty of magic, and plenty of cat-isms and cat attitude.
Book Review: Finn MacRorie and the River Dragon
Finn MacRorie and the River Dragon by Katy Huth Jones
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Short story. I read this as included in the Hall of Heroes anthology.
Summary: With her mother nearly comatose after the birth of her latest child and her belligerent drunkard father always away on fishing trips or in the town bar drinking away the family money, it’s down to Elvina to care for her mother and all of the children. When she confronts her father for money for food for the family, he knocks her back and approaches to strike her. But before he can lay a hand on her, a man stands in his way, saving her. The king’s bard Finn MacRorie comes to her rescue.
Comments: While this story is mostly about the injustice of being a woman, having to care for the family before she’s ready, and the abuse at the hands of her father, and the abuse of other men, there is magic woven into this story with the music of Finn MacRorie that seems to be able to make everything better with an air of hope. And there’s a brief skirmish with dragons in a river that felt out of place with the rest of the story.
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Short story. I read this as included in the Hall of Heroes anthology.
Summary: With her mother nearly comatose after the birth of her latest child and her belligerent drunkard father always away on fishing trips or in the town bar drinking away the family money, it’s down to Elvina to care for her mother and all of the children. When she confronts her father for money for food for the family, he knocks her back and approaches to strike her. But before he can lay a hand on her, a man stands in his way, saving her. The king’s bard Finn MacRorie comes to her rescue.
Comments: While this story is mostly about the injustice of being a woman, having to care for the family before she’s ready, and the abuse at the hands of her father, and the abuse of other men, there is magic woven into this story with the music of Finn MacRorie that seems to be able to make everything better with an air of hope. And there’s a brief skirmish with dragons in a river that felt out of place with the rest of the story.
May 17, 2021
Book Review: Finn MacRorie and the River Dragon
Finn MacRorie and the River Dragon by Katy Huth Jones
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Short story. I read this as included in Hall of Heroes anthology.
Summary: With her mother nearly comatose after the birth of her latest child and her belligerent drunkard father always away on fishing trips or in the town bar drinking away the family money, it’s down to Elvina to care for her mother and all of the children. When she confronts her father for money for food for the family, he knocks her back and approaches to strike her. But before he can lay a hand on her, a man stands in his way, saving her. The king’s bard Finn MacRorie comes to her rescue.
Comments: While this story is mostly about the injustice of being a woman, having to care for the family before she’s ready, and the abuse at the hands of her father, and the abuse of other men, there is magic woven into this story with the music of Finn MacRorie that seems to be able to make everything better with an air of hope. And there’s a brief skirmish with dragons in a river that felt out of place with the rest of the story.
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Short story. I read this as included in Hall of Heroes anthology.
Summary: With her mother nearly comatose after the birth of her latest child and her belligerent drunkard father always away on fishing trips or in the town bar drinking away the family money, it’s down to Elvina to care for her mother and all of the children. When she confronts her father for money for food for the family, he knocks her back and approaches to strike her. But before he can lay a hand on her, a man stands in his way, saving her. The king’s bard Finn MacRorie comes to her rescue.
Comments: While this story is mostly about the injustice of being a woman, having to care for the family before she’s ready, and the abuse at the hands of her father, and the abuse of other men, there is magic woven into this story with the music of Finn MacRorie that seems to be able to make everything better with an air of hope. And there’s a brief skirmish with dragons in a river that felt out of place with the rest of the story.
