Gypsy Madden's Blog, page 16
April 10, 2021
Book Review: Saved by the Trickster
Saved by the Trickster by Shona Husk
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella size. I read this as included in the Here be Magic anthology.
Summary: Lysanna is an immortal being called a Trickster, who performs tricks as a magician to make people believe in magic and goodness, bringing them to the Light. She works in opposition to the Speakers who preach and turn people to the Darkness. When she sets up in a new town and asks for someone to work as her new assistant, Zander volunteers. Zander is a newly fallen celestial warrior, a being made entirely of Light, who fights the beasts of darkness in the heavens. He got kicked out of the heavens by the Dragon god because of his addiction to ambrosia. Zander volunteered to be her assistant because he smelled ambrosia in her caravan, and confesses his addiction to her. Lysanna finds herself growing attached to Zander, but she knows she will eventually have to give him back to the heavens since it would work on her guilt to cost the heavens a warrior in their battle on the front lines of their war against the darkness. But Zander finds in Lysanna’s arms the joys of being human, and he sees how important and dangerous her battle with the darkness is as she wrestles back control of villages from the clutches of Darkness.
Comments: For fans of fantasy stories of angels, because that is essentially what Zander is along with a whole lot of religion being spun here. In this case, the term “Trickster” isn’t being used to refer to someone who tricks people. There are technically two gods: the God of All who’s followers spread Darkness and only believe in order and work and the Dragon god who commands the angels and spreads the Light. Lysanna was created when the Dragon god shed a scale. Basically, Lysanna, is an immortal being called a Trickster, who works as a traveling magician, bringing to people a belief in magic and with it, the warmth of the Light, battling back the Dark. Where I had trouble with this were the sex scenes. This was more sex than plot, but there was enough plot for me to overlook that. The sex scenes were more of struggles for control with her constantly tying her lovers to her bed (she apparently does this to all of her assistants with the idea of if they can’t touch her, she won’t get attached to them) or pinning them down. And that struggle for control was used to show her of her falling for Zander by when she started allowing him to hold her down, giving him an illusionary of being in control (though she was still in control and manipulating the situation) and even reached a point where neither of them were tied down and they both were able to be equal in bed, rather than a battle for who gets to be dominant. That whole struggle dims the passion that I ought to be feeling between two characters. The battle with the Darkness felt rushed, and was done in one chapter. I had found myself online when I hit the chapter before hunting through Shona’s books to see if there were more books set after this one since I couldn’t imagine her wrapping up everything in just one chapter. But she did and it does have a satisfying ending and there aren’t further books. I did love the scene where she turned her previous assistant temporarily into a skunk, which is what I expected of a Trickster. If you get the chance, I recommend checking out Shona Husk’s Goblin King prequel.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella size. I read this as included in the Here be Magic anthology.
Summary: Lysanna is an immortal being called a Trickster, who performs tricks as a magician to make people believe in magic and goodness, bringing them to the Light. She works in opposition to the Speakers who preach and turn people to the Darkness. When she sets up in a new town and asks for someone to work as her new assistant, Zander volunteers. Zander is a newly fallen celestial warrior, a being made entirely of Light, who fights the beasts of darkness in the heavens. He got kicked out of the heavens by the Dragon god because of his addiction to ambrosia. Zander volunteered to be her assistant because he smelled ambrosia in her caravan, and confesses his addiction to her. Lysanna finds herself growing attached to Zander, but she knows she will eventually have to give him back to the heavens since it would work on her guilt to cost the heavens a warrior in their battle on the front lines of their war against the darkness. But Zander finds in Lysanna’s arms the joys of being human, and he sees how important and dangerous her battle with the darkness is as she wrestles back control of villages from the clutches of Darkness.
Comments: For fans of fantasy stories of angels, because that is essentially what Zander is along with a whole lot of religion being spun here. In this case, the term “Trickster” isn’t being used to refer to someone who tricks people. There are technically two gods: the God of All who’s followers spread Darkness and only believe in order and work and the Dragon god who commands the angels and spreads the Light. Lysanna was created when the Dragon god shed a scale. Basically, Lysanna, is an immortal being called a Trickster, who works as a traveling magician, bringing to people a belief in magic and with it, the warmth of the Light, battling back the Dark. Where I had trouble with this were the sex scenes. This was more sex than plot, but there was enough plot for me to overlook that. The sex scenes were more of struggles for control with her constantly tying her lovers to her bed (she apparently does this to all of her assistants with the idea of if they can’t touch her, she won’t get attached to them) or pinning them down. And that struggle for control was used to show her of her falling for Zander by when she started allowing him to hold her down, giving him an illusionary of being in control (though she was still in control and manipulating the situation) and even reached a point where neither of them were tied down and they both were able to be equal in bed, rather than a battle for who gets to be dominant. That whole struggle dims the passion that I ought to be feeling between two characters. The battle with the Darkness felt rushed, and was done in one chapter. I had found myself online when I hit the chapter before hunting through Shona’s books to see if there were more books set after this one since I couldn’t imagine her wrapping up everything in just one chapter. But she did and it does have a satisfying ending and there aren’t further books. I did love the scene where she turned her previous assistant temporarily into a skunk, which is what I expected of a Trickster. If you get the chance, I recommend checking out Shona Husk’s Goblin King prequel.
April 9, 2021
Book Review: The Mage's Mistake
The Mage’s Mistake (The Wrong Proposal, The Wrong Betrothal, The Wrong Wife) by Stella Dorthwany
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. I obtained a free copy via Book Funnel.
Summary: Rahbi, the youngest son of the Chieftain of Cairnah and (practically a prince), enjoys being a bachelor. He loves proposing to women who will most certainly turn him down. He uses sand magic to enchant himself into feeling in love with the woman, and spends time romancing them, and his parents give him time to console his heart each time he’s rejected, allowing him time to prolong being a bachelor and keep them from pestering him to get a wife. This time, he sets his sights on his mother’s secretary, stern, dowdy Miska who is always wrapped up in work. But rather than turn him down, she says yes. But while he was throwing out proposals fraudulently, she also has plans for Rahbi, who now finds himself awkwardly engaged to Miska.
Comments: I obtained this from Book Funnel under the title of The Mage’s Mistake (which is a collection of The Wrong Proposal, The Wrong Betrothal, and The Wrong Wife). This is a cute little romance. It’s almost along the lines of a Cozy romance, except that the setting is a desert palace out of the Aladdin tale. I do love the setting. It gives the story an exotic air, along with plenty of fantasy elements, like flying carpets, and snakes with truth venom, and sand magic. In this world, everyone can do spells, though everyone has their talents. Though the magic wasn’t really explained. As in, I still don’t understand the brands. There were the healing brands, and the memory brands, which they used to work sand magic through. And there were the wedding brands. But as far as I could tell, those weren’t magic, which is where I got confused. So, I guess I wasn’t really understanding the brands. I didn’t care much for the clan politics and commerce either. I loved that Miska beat Rahbi at his own game and was going to use him as much as he had been using all of the women before him, and that she could see right through him even through to his caring heart. Rahbi is such a fun character all around. He’s rather pompous and self-absorbed (and totally knows it and jokes about it), while he cares for everyone and all animals around him, I love that he loves having fun and joking around. And I loved when he realized he was in over his head with Miska and totally off his game. And I loved the last section of the book (The Wrong Wife) as Miska has to re-discover her love for Rahbi. (But what happened to Dani?)
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-size. I obtained a free copy via Book Funnel.
Summary: Rahbi, the youngest son of the Chieftain of Cairnah and (practically a prince), enjoys being a bachelor. He loves proposing to women who will most certainly turn him down. He uses sand magic to enchant himself into feeling in love with the woman, and spends time romancing them, and his parents give him time to console his heart each time he’s rejected, allowing him time to prolong being a bachelor and keep them from pestering him to get a wife. This time, he sets his sights on his mother’s secretary, stern, dowdy Miska who is always wrapped up in work. But rather than turn him down, she says yes. But while he was throwing out proposals fraudulently, she also has plans for Rahbi, who now finds himself awkwardly engaged to Miska.
Comments: I obtained this from Book Funnel under the title of The Mage’s Mistake (which is a collection of The Wrong Proposal, The Wrong Betrothal, and The Wrong Wife). This is a cute little romance. It’s almost along the lines of a Cozy romance, except that the setting is a desert palace out of the Aladdin tale. I do love the setting. It gives the story an exotic air, along with plenty of fantasy elements, like flying carpets, and snakes with truth venom, and sand magic. In this world, everyone can do spells, though everyone has their talents. Though the magic wasn’t really explained. As in, I still don’t understand the brands. There were the healing brands, and the memory brands, which they used to work sand magic through. And there were the wedding brands. But as far as I could tell, those weren’t magic, which is where I got confused. So, I guess I wasn’t really understanding the brands. I didn’t care much for the clan politics and commerce either. I loved that Miska beat Rahbi at his own game and was going to use him as much as he had been using all of the women before him, and that she could see right through him even through to his caring heart. Rahbi is such a fun character all around. He’s rather pompous and self-absorbed (and totally knows it and jokes about it), while he cares for everyone and all animals around him, I love that he loves having fun and joking around. And I loved when he realized he was in over his head with Miska and totally off his game. And I loved the last section of the book (The Wrong Wife) as Miska has to re-discover her love for Rahbi. (But what happened to Dani?)
April 8, 2021
Book Review: Unleashed (The Brindle Dragon - Book 6)
Unleashed (The Brindle Dragon – Book 6) by Jada Fisher
4 stars
Category: Teen
Note: Serial-length. I read this as part of The Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series: Books 1-9.
Summary: Eist and her friends fly to the front line of the battle against the Blight at Margaid. Dille gets it into her head to use the magic that their group has been learning and send the Blight back where it came from.
Comments: I’m being generous with 4 stars for this one. It was probably more like a 3 for me, but the ending boosted it up to a 4 star in my opinion. You know that section of the Harry Potter books that’s a non-stop free-for-all chaotic battle against the evil forces? Yeah, that’s what most of this book felt like. It was a blur of fighting to me which I just skimmed mostly through. Yet again, Athar man-handles Eist, pulling her back, stopping her from saving someone. You know, I’m really getting annoyed at him for doing that. And again, she isn’t mad at him, which I really don’t get since Athar accuses Yachrist of being possessive and controlling of her (Athar is actually the possessive controlling one here). The ending was powerful and wrenching, but I’m not really looking forward to yet more chaotic battle scenes spanning the last three books.
4 stars
Category: Teen
Note: Serial-length. I read this as part of The Brindle Dragon Boxed Set: Complete Series: Books 1-9.
Summary: Eist and her friends fly to the front line of the battle against the Blight at Margaid. Dille gets it into her head to use the magic that their group has been learning and send the Blight back where it came from.
Comments: I’m being generous with 4 stars for this one. It was probably more like a 3 for me, but the ending boosted it up to a 4 star in my opinion. You know that section of the Harry Potter books that’s a non-stop free-for-all chaotic battle against the evil forces? Yeah, that’s what most of this book felt like. It was a blur of fighting to me which I just skimmed mostly through. Yet again, Athar man-handles Eist, pulling her back, stopping her from saving someone. You know, I’m really getting annoyed at him for doing that. And again, she isn’t mad at him, which I really don’t get since Athar accuses Yachrist of being possessive and controlling of her (Athar is actually the possessive controlling one here). The ending was powerful and wrenching, but I’m not really looking forward to yet more chaotic battle scenes spanning the last three books.
April 7, 2021
Book Review: Night's Gift (Of Cats and Dragons - Book 1)
Night’s Gift (Of Cats and Dragons – Book 1) by Carol E. Leever and Camilla Ochlan
4 stars
Category: Teen
Note: I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Young Prince Omen visits Terzikandia for the first time and escapes from the palace to explore the city. A thief steals his bracelet which was controlling his psionics, keeping him from causing major magical damage. Terzikandian crown prince Templar helps Omen track down the thief who had already sold it to an alchemist, who holds the bracelet hostage until they can enter the gladiatorial Night Games and retrieve his container of blood for him.
Comments: This is aimed at a young teenage boy audience than the couple of accompanying shorts, which were definitely aimed at a child audience. The two teenage princes make a fun partnership as they adventure through the city. Omen is desperate to get his bracelet back since he lacks the control to keep his powers in check, while Templar is looking for thrill and trouble and following the trail to get back the bracelet is definitely the way to go as it takes them to the underground tower of a famed undead alchemist, and to a giant crypt, and then to the deadly Night Games. Both of the princes ring true as young teenage boys. Omen is awkward, trying to avoid admitting to his parents his failings, excited about his new friendship, and Templar is reckless, and looking for action, and new experiences within the city that he already knows like the back of his hand. Now, had it been mentioned that there was a gladiator-style battle to the death games that the hero would obviously take part in, I would have skipped this book without even opening the first page. There are other fight scenes as well, which bored me a bit since I prefer romance in my fantasy books (there wasn’t any in this, and barely any female characters at all). But the world brought to life here did win me over. So much imagination went into creating this fantasy-filled world. Terzikandia is rich with history with being built on the ruins of a city of giants (not to mention the images it puts in the audience heads of the enormous structures that now hold multiple families and dwarf our heroes) and the uprising is in recent history so the citizens still harbor a deep prejudice against giants. The Night Games setting was richly described as well as the meeting place of long departed gods, with plenty of diverse creatures filling the stands who weren’t all focused on the games. Like I totally wanted to know more about the Feast Seekers. Even the underground tower was richly detailed, along with all the accompanying vermin and smells wafting off the undead alchemist to his horrifying project. I’m dying to know more about Templar’s Night Dweller heritage. Exactly what are the Night Dwellers? And how did Templar know everyone in the city? I’m dying to know more about Omen. He mentions quite a few times he has five bloodlines, but he never really went into any detail about them. Why is his father named after a number and interested in science in a world of magic? It did bug me that neither of the princes had guards with them. And it also did bug me that they just let the thief get away (though Templar knew the guy by name, so he could probably just have him arrested later). And though the cat is a fun character, I didn’t care for its dialogue always starting with “I is”. Talk about nails on chalkboard. And though the book collection title suggests there are dragons, they’re in Omen’s homeland and not in Terzikandia. It reminded me a bit of Robert Asprin’s Myth-Adventures.
4 stars
Category: Teen
Note: I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Young Prince Omen visits Terzikandia for the first time and escapes from the palace to explore the city. A thief steals his bracelet which was controlling his psionics, keeping him from causing major magical damage. Terzikandian crown prince Templar helps Omen track down the thief who had already sold it to an alchemist, who holds the bracelet hostage until they can enter the gladiatorial Night Games and retrieve his container of blood for him.
Comments: This is aimed at a young teenage boy audience than the couple of accompanying shorts, which were definitely aimed at a child audience. The two teenage princes make a fun partnership as they adventure through the city. Omen is desperate to get his bracelet back since he lacks the control to keep his powers in check, while Templar is looking for thrill and trouble and following the trail to get back the bracelet is definitely the way to go as it takes them to the underground tower of a famed undead alchemist, and to a giant crypt, and then to the deadly Night Games. Both of the princes ring true as young teenage boys. Omen is awkward, trying to avoid admitting to his parents his failings, excited about his new friendship, and Templar is reckless, and looking for action, and new experiences within the city that he already knows like the back of his hand. Now, had it been mentioned that there was a gladiator-style battle to the death games that the hero would obviously take part in, I would have skipped this book without even opening the first page. There are other fight scenes as well, which bored me a bit since I prefer romance in my fantasy books (there wasn’t any in this, and barely any female characters at all). But the world brought to life here did win me over. So much imagination went into creating this fantasy-filled world. Terzikandia is rich with history with being built on the ruins of a city of giants (not to mention the images it puts in the audience heads of the enormous structures that now hold multiple families and dwarf our heroes) and the uprising is in recent history so the citizens still harbor a deep prejudice against giants. The Night Games setting was richly described as well as the meeting place of long departed gods, with plenty of diverse creatures filling the stands who weren’t all focused on the games. Like I totally wanted to know more about the Feast Seekers. Even the underground tower was richly detailed, along with all the accompanying vermin and smells wafting off the undead alchemist to his horrifying project. I’m dying to know more about Templar’s Night Dweller heritage. Exactly what are the Night Dwellers? And how did Templar know everyone in the city? I’m dying to know more about Omen. He mentions quite a few times he has five bloodlines, but he never really went into any detail about them. Why is his father named after a number and interested in science in a world of magic? It did bug me that neither of the princes had guards with them. And it also did bug me that they just let the thief get away (though Templar knew the guy by name, so he could probably just have him arrested later). And though the cat is a fun character, I didn’t care for its dialogue always starting with “I is”. Talk about nails on chalkboard. And though the book collection title suggests there are dragons, they’re in Omen’s homeland and not in Terzikandia. It reminded me a bit of Robert Asprin’s Myth-Adventures.
April 6, 2021
Book Review: An Enchantment of Thorns (A Court of Fairy Tales - Book 1)
An Enchantment of Thorns (A Court of Fairy Tales – Book 1) by Helena Rookwood and Elm Vince
5 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I obtained an ARC advance review copy from the author.
Summary: Every year on the Spring Equinox every girl who has turned eighteen dresses in a white dress and a flower crown and goes to the clearing in the middle of the Folkwood on the outskirts of their small village of Rosehill where the Beast, a handsome, yet terrifying powerful fae gentlemen choses one girl and spirits her away for the tithe, never to be seen again. This year both Aster and her sister Ava are expected to be in the meadow. Aster knows the village needs her as their only greenwitch, a wisewoman versed in using herbal magic to keep the Folkwood from growing beyond its borders and keeping the fae of the forest from claiming or bedeviling any of the villagers. But she’s also determined that her sister, the prettiest of the tithe girls, will not be taken.
Comments: This is a richly detailed and imagined version of the Beauty & the Beast tale, inspired by Naomi Novik’s Uprooted. It also reminded me of Camille Peters’ Enchantment and Anthea Sharp’s Feyland books. It starts out in a small rustic remote village cut off from the rest of the world with being in the middle of a sprawling forest populated by all sorts of Irish fae creatures, like the Puca, kelpie, sprites, and plenty of others that Aster discovers. The forest vegetation encroaching on the village, threatening to swallow it whole is straight out of Uprooted, with Aster being a one-woman army trying to keep it back. And like in Uprooted, there is a tithe where one girl is picked and spirited away. From there, the book dives into the Beauty & the Beast tale as Aster tries to solve the mystery of why girls are taken each year, what is asked of her, and what happened to all of the other girls before her. I tend to grade fairy tale retellings on how much originality they have, versus keeping enough elements of the original tale to still draw some parallels between. And this successfully pulls it off, weaving its own story with plenty of surprises and new elements, while leaving bits and pieces to akin to the original tale. When people say Beauty & the Beast, there is an expectation of a romance, but the romance is rather thin in this story (I didn’t really notice any romantic feelings on the part of Thorn specifically, other than a couple of moments of jealousy). But I did love Aster for her determination, even if she does make poor choices every so often. And I loved that though she trained and operated with the idea that all fae were bad, she had to revise those prejudices and preconceived notions to understand Thorn's world. And Thorn is the usual brooding, handsome enigmatic dark fae gentleman that us indie book fans always drool over. And I loved all of the side characters from Aster’s frivolous sister Ava, to her strong hunter sister Laurel (I wonder if we’re going to get a Red Riding Hood tale starring her eventually) (though Ava was a bit like the spoiled sisters in the original tale, I loved that Laurel wasn’t), to her father the former ladies’ man, to the various servants and visitors to Thorn’s home. This book also has quite a bit of humor in it, which I adore any book that can pull it off. And I love when characters get frustrated with things. It did feel long at times as she learned about the fae world, but there were so many memorable scenes. I should warn that though there is closure on the main storyline for this book, it does end on a cliffhanger to push toward the next book in the series. And am I planning to get the next book in the series? Yes, I most certainly am.
5 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I obtained an ARC advance review copy from the author.
Summary: Every year on the Spring Equinox every girl who has turned eighteen dresses in a white dress and a flower crown and goes to the clearing in the middle of the Folkwood on the outskirts of their small village of Rosehill where the Beast, a handsome, yet terrifying powerful fae gentlemen choses one girl and spirits her away for the tithe, never to be seen again. This year both Aster and her sister Ava are expected to be in the meadow. Aster knows the village needs her as their only greenwitch, a wisewoman versed in using herbal magic to keep the Folkwood from growing beyond its borders and keeping the fae of the forest from claiming or bedeviling any of the villagers. But she’s also determined that her sister, the prettiest of the tithe girls, will not be taken.
Comments: This is a richly detailed and imagined version of the Beauty & the Beast tale, inspired by Naomi Novik’s Uprooted. It also reminded me of Camille Peters’ Enchantment and Anthea Sharp’s Feyland books. It starts out in a small rustic remote village cut off from the rest of the world with being in the middle of a sprawling forest populated by all sorts of Irish fae creatures, like the Puca, kelpie, sprites, and plenty of others that Aster discovers. The forest vegetation encroaching on the village, threatening to swallow it whole is straight out of Uprooted, with Aster being a one-woman army trying to keep it back. And like in Uprooted, there is a tithe where one girl is picked and spirited away. From there, the book dives into the Beauty & the Beast tale as Aster tries to solve the mystery of why girls are taken each year, what is asked of her, and what happened to all of the other girls before her. I tend to grade fairy tale retellings on how much originality they have, versus keeping enough elements of the original tale to still draw some parallels between. And this successfully pulls it off, weaving its own story with plenty of surprises and new elements, while leaving bits and pieces to akin to the original tale. When people say Beauty & the Beast, there is an expectation of a romance, but the romance is rather thin in this story (I didn’t really notice any romantic feelings on the part of Thorn specifically, other than a couple of moments of jealousy). But I did love Aster for her determination, even if she does make poor choices every so often. And I loved that though she trained and operated with the idea that all fae were bad, she had to revise those prejudices and preconceived notions to understand Thorn's world. And Thorn is the usual brooding, handsome enigmatic dark fae gentleman that us indie book fans always drool over. And I loved all of the side characters from Aster’s frivolous sister Ava, to her strong hunter sister Laurel (I wonder if we’re going to get a Red Riding Hood tale starring her eventually) (though Ava was a bit like the spoiled sisters in the original tale, I loved that Laurel wasn’t), to her father the former ladies’ man, to the various servants and visitors to Thorn’s home. This book also has quite a bit of humor in it, which I adore any book that can pull it off. And I love when characters get frustrated with things. It did feel long at times as she learned about the fae world, but there were so many memorable scenes. I should warn that though there is closure on the main storyline for this book, it does end on a cliffhanger to push toward the next book in the series. And am I planning to get the next book in the series? Yes, I most certainly am.
April 4, 2021
Book Review: Monsters and Mayhem (The Vampire and Angel Wars - Book 0.5)
Monsters & Mayhem (The Vampire and Angel Wars – Book 0.5) by G.K. DeRosa
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: Free on Amazon! I read this as included in Creatures of the Dark: A Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Anthology. Novella-size.
Summary: Liv and her family and her best friend Ash watch on national news as vampires invade nearby New York City. They watch shaky cell phone camera footage of vampires ripping people apart and then come the angels, streaking on the scene in bursts of light, looking like they will save the population. But instead of everything coming to a close, it turns into a war between angels and demons, with the human citizens caught in the crossfire, watching the city turn to rubble. Liv’s family, in a farming community outside of New York, prepares as if for a disaster, building a bunker in their basement, stockpiling, and hunkering down, because her father knows that it won’t take long before the war spills outside the city, and it eventually does.
Comments: I’ve definitely never read a story like this before where the main heroine of the story wasn’t in the thick of the action at all. She was a spectator during the whole of this story, just an average teenager sitting in her living room with her parents, watching everything unfold mostly on TV. And because of not having a first person on the scene viewpoint, we know absolutely nothing of what happened to spur the war between the two species, why the vampires decided to appear and take a bite out of the population, or what the motives of the angels are, if they are actually planning to save humanity, or if they are just out to kill demons. I loved her budding romance with her best friend Ash, and then deciding that through the ordeal, she really needed a friend to lean on more than worrying about how to act around a new boyfriend. I really was hoping they would work things out and just grow into a romance naturally, but it was fascinating watching the emotions play as things happened and have to deal with it with just their friendship. With our world going through pandemic, a lot of the same things happened in this novella, making it feel more real: watching it on TV, pandemonium in the stores as people get supplies, stockpiling, hunkering down in isolation as everything closes up around them, the need to see people after so long in isolation. Did it tempt me to read the book series that this leads in to? Yes. I definitely want to see what happens to Liv and Ash now that the apocalypse had fully set in and ravaged their world.
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: Free on Amazon! I read this as included in Creatures of the Dark: A Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Anthology. Novella-size.
Summary: Liv and her family and her best friend Ash watch on national news as vampires invade nearby New York City. They watch shaky cell phone camera footage of vampires ripping people apart and then come the angels, streaking on the scene in bursts of light, looking like they will save the population. But instead of everything coming to a close, it turns into a war between angels and demons, with the human citizens caught in the crossfire, watching the city turn to rubble. Liv’s family, in a farming community outside of New York, prepares as if for a disaster, building a bunker in their basement, stockpiling, and hunkering down, because her father knows that it won’t take long before the war spills outside the city, and it eventually does.
Comments: I’ve definitely never read a story like this before where the main heroine of the story wasn’t in the thick of the action at all. She was a spectator during the whole of this story, just an average teenager sitting in her living room with her parents, watching everything unfold mostly on TV. And because of not having a first person on the scene viewpoint, we know absolutely nothing of what happened to spur the war between the two species, why the vampires decided to appear and take a bite out of the population, or what the motives of the angels are, if they are actually planning to save humanity, or if they are just out to kill demons. I loved her budding romance with her best friend Ash, and then deciding that through the ordeal, she really needed a friend to lean on more than worrying about how to act around a new boyfriend. I really was hoping they would work things out and just grow into a romance naturally, but it was fascinating watching the emotions play as things happened and have to deal with it with just their friendship. With our world going through pandemic, a lot of the same things happened in this novella, making it feel more real: watching it on TV, pandemonium in the stores as people get supplies, stockpiling, hunkering down in isolation as everything closes up around them, the need to see people after so long in isolation. Did it tempt me to read the book series that this leads in to? Yes. I definitely want to see what happens to Liv and Ash now that the apocalypse had fully set in and ravaged their world.
Book Review: The Pandora Principle (Divine Resonance - Book 1)
The Pandora Principle (Divine Resonance – Book 1) by Noree Cosper
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Secret Worlds anthology.
Summary: Influential media superstar Mercer Chaplin (and noted sexy womanizer) arrives at Cassi’s school to recruit people to join his new on campus software project. Both her and her roommate have signed up to be on the project. Her roommate Serenity is a genius coder, and Cassi is a journalism major and will cover the project for the school paper. Mercer takes a special interest in Cassi and flirts with her relentlessly, to the annoyance of Serenity, who says he’s family who burned her in the past. And then Cassi’s aunt swings into town reminding her of her heritage and duty. She is a Pandoran, one of the descendants of Pandora who opened the box and let all of the evil into the world. As a Pandoran, Cassi is tasked with finding those evil spirits, capturing them, and taking them home with her to be locked away so they won’t be able to continue to plague humanity. As well as evil spirits, she is also tasked with dispatching any gods too, since they are just as evil and harmful as the spirits. And when students attached to the project start committing suicide on campus, Cassi can sense there is an evil spirit hunting them.
Comments: Honestly, from the description this sounded like yet another Buffy the Vampire Slayer wannabe. Yet another female paranormal enforcement hunter who solves everything with whatever weapons are on hand. And it was. But it also involves the Greek Gods (not just the Pandora legend), and that is a definite sale point for me. I’m not going to name names, for spoiler sake (but it did involve one of my favorite gods). Personally, this did hew more toward urban than fantasy, so we got a lot of basic relationship drama between the characters, but I never really saw Cassi in any classes, nor did I ever really understand what the software project was about. I usually prefer my books to be more fantasy than urban. There was a lot of action in this, as you would expect in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer type book, fighting against evil forces. And there was a lot of mystery since some of the characters love to keep secrets and the audience has to work out what side people are on, who really was causing the deaths, and what the relationships are, as well as having to change some pre-conceived notions. I loved the chemistry between Cassi and Mercer, the entire way through, though I got irritated at her for continually running, instead of standing her ground and facing things and trying understand. I also got irritated at her for going into dangerous situations without any backup. I know it’s spoilery, but the couple of sex scenes felt rushed. And I loved her friendship with Serenity, though at the beginning I had started to wonder if Serenity was a figment of her imagination since she didn’t seem to really interact with other characters and seemed to only talk to Cassi. I would love to see more books written and turn this into a series with more adventures with Cassi and Mercer (and Serenity). I did love the ending on this story, but there is plenty of room for a return and plenty of potential kinks to face.
(The version I read that was included in the Secret Worlds anthology had plenty of typos that needed to be fixed. We’re talking several per page. I figure it may have been a preliminary copy given to the anthology, so the actual book published was hopefully cleaner).
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Secret Worlds anthology.
Summary: Influential media superstar Mercer Chaplin (and noted sexy womanizer) arrives at Cassi’s school to recruit people to join his new on campus software project. Both her and her roommate have signed up to be on the project. Her roommate Serenity is a genius coder, and Cassi is a journalism major and will cover the project for the school paper. Mercer takes a special interest in Cassi and flirts with her relentlessly, to the annoyance of Serenity, who says he’s family who burned her in the past. And then Cassi’s aunt swings into town reminding her of her heritage and duty. She is a Pandoran, one of the descendants of Pandora who opened the box and let all of the evil into the world. As a Pandoran, Cassi is tasked with finding those evil spirits, capturing them, and taking them home with her to be locked away so they won’t be able to continue to plague humanity. As well as evil spirits, she is also tasked with dispatching any gods too, since they are just as evil and harmful as the spirits. And when students attached to the project start committing suicide on campus, Cassi can sense there is an evil spirit hunting them.
Comments: Honestly, from the description this sounded like yet another Buffy the Vampire Slayer wannabe. Yet another female paranormal enforcement hunter who solves everything with whatever weapons are on hand. And it was. But it also involves the Greek Gods (not just the Pandora legend), and that is a definite sale point for me. I’m not going to name names, for spoiler sake (but it did involve one of my favorite gods). Personally, this did hew more toward urban than fantasy, so we got a lot of basic relationship drama between the characters, but I never really saw Cassi in any classes, nor did I ever really understand what the software project was about. I usually prefer my books to be more fantasy than urban. There was a lot of action in this, as you would expect in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer type book, fighting against evil forces. And there was a lot of mystery since some of the characters love to keep secrets and the audience has to work out what side people are on, who really was causing the deaths, and what the relationships are, as well as having to change some pre-conceived notions. I loved the chemistry between Cassi and Mercer, the entire way through, though I got irritated at her for continually running, instead of standing her ground and facing things and trying understand. I also got irritated at her for going into dangerous situations without any backup. I know it’s spoilery, but the couple of sex scenes felt rushed. And I loved her friendship with Serenity, though at the beginning I had started to wonder if Serenity was a figment of her imagination since she didn’t seem to really interact with other characters and seemed to only talk to Cassi. I would love to see more books written and turn this into a series with more adventures with Cassi and Mercer (and Serenity). I did love the ending on this story, but there is plenty of room for a return and plenty of potential kinks to face.
(The version I read that was included in the Secret Worlds anthology had plenty of typos that needed to be fixed. We’re talking several per page. I figure it may have been a preliminary copy given to the anthology, so the actual book published was hopefully cleaner).
Book Review: The Trickster (The Loki Series - prequel)
The Trickster (The Loki Series – prequel) by Samantha MacLeod
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Free on Amazon! Short Story
Summary: While viewing an exhibit of the famous painter Gaugin (his former lover), Loki, the Norse trickster god, is entranced by the scent of a woman also taking in the exhibit. He disguises himself as a normal contemporary man to try to meet her, only to have her walk past without even noticing him. He stalks her over a week, trying to figure out how best to meet her, watching as other men strike out.
Comments: Hilarious! I adored this wonderful short story! There were so many great moments in this as Loki used his shape shifter talents trying to decide if he should wear a necktie to meet her or not, or shorten or lengthen his hair, only to find that he’d lost the girl while debating on his wardrobe. I will say, reading this piece, the opening of the main book in this series makes so much more sense now. Because I picked up the sample and didn’t go any further because it read like author wish-fulfillment with Loki just randomly appearing in her bedroom to have sex with absolutely no lead up or reason really as to why he was there. I just adore how self-assured and inflated his ego is, only to have her walk right by him without a second look, and he has to re-think things and you can palpably feel his growing frustration. And with the cameo mentions of other Norse deities, it has me itching to pick up more books wondering what became of them as well (like Vali. Sigyn is covered in Trickster’s Song). Though I am kind of annoyed that in all that time of stalking and studying her that he hadn’t bothered to learn her name.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Free on Amazon! Short Story
Summary: While viewing an exhibit of the famous painter Gaugin (his former lover), Loki, the Norse trickster god, is entranced by the scent of a woman also taking in the exhibit. He disguises himself as a normal contemporary man to try to meet her, only to have her walk past without even noticing him. He stalks her over a week, trying to figure out how best to meet her, watching as other men strike out.
Comments: Hilarious! I adored this wonderful short story! There were so many great moments in this as Loki used his shape shifter talents trying to decide if he should wear a necktie to meet her or not, or shorten or lengthen his hair, only to find that he’d lost the girl while debating on his wardrobe. I will say, reading this piece, the opening of the main book in this series makes so much more sense now. Because I picked up the sample and didn’t go any further because it read like author wish-fulfillment with Loki just randomly appearing in her bedroom to have sex with absolutely no lead up or reason really as to why he was there. I just adore how self-assured and inflated his ego is, only to have her walk right by him without a second look, and he has to re-think things and you can palpably feel his growing frustration. And with the cameo mentions of other Norse deities, it has me itching to pick up more books wondering what became of them as well (like Vali. Sigyn is covered in Trickster’s Song). Though I am kind of annoyed that in all that time of stalking and studying her that he hadn’t bothered to learn her name.
March 31, 2021
Book Review: Nocturne (Ballad of Emerald and Iron - prequel)
Nocturne (Ballad of Emerald and Iron - prequel) by Natalya Capello
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Lorelei, the younger daughter of the most powerful house of the land, has always been compared to her sister and fallen short. This year, her sister is set to step up to the rank of magus, while Lorelei is taking her third attempt at her first-year trial, and if she doesn’t pass it, she will be thrown out of the school. She knows she needs focus over the visions that seem to plague her, so she concocts and idea to retrieve an ancient relic, a guitar used by a famed bard who used it to entrap an evil general. She enlists the help of the fellow student who initially told her the tale, who brings along her friend who can control portals, and Lorelei’s boyfriend Arryn decides to tag along, too since Lorelei has a penchant for getting into trouble over her head. Together the team heads to a haunted ruined citadel filled with plenty of monsters.
Comments: During the first couple of chapters, I was so tempted to quit since it was the stereotypical spoiled girl complaining about failing classes, complaining about a teacher unfairly treating her, obsessing about her boyfriend, obsessing about the need to rank as well as her sister, if not prove that she’s better. And then the story suddenly turned into Tomb Raider. It was epic with monsters, adventure, and a crumbling fortress! It’s a bit like The Mummy movies with undead monsters trying to kill our adventurers. There were also points where it felt like a video game like World of Warcraft with specific groups of monsters attacking them at set places. Like the group of wolves outside the citadel, then the group of skeletons inside, then a granite guardian, and assassins, etc, but still a fun adventure.
My main complaint was that I didn’t like Lorelei. Which doesn’t sell me on continuing with the series. She didn’t seem to care about the others she dragged along on her adventure, including her boyfriend, to the point where she didn’t really care about them potentially dying, just so long as she retrieved the artifact. She’s also really over-powered, which made facing the big bad of the book done in a blink of an eye. There were things that were brought up in this, but never really addressed, like if the visions really were a past life, and what did the sister whisper to Lorelei’s boyfriend and was she coming on to him? I’m assuming they’ll probably be addressed in the main series. The ending ended on a negative note, which also didn’t encourage me to continue on. I felt sorry for Arryn since Lorelei didn’t seem to really appreciate him other than wanting to have sex with him (btw, this story is clean).
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained a free copy via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Lorelei, the younger daughter of the most powerful house of the land, has always been compared to her sister and fallen short. This year, her sister is set to step up to the rank of magus, while Lorelei is taking her third attempt at her first-year trial, and if she doesn’t pass it, she will be thrown out of the school. She knows she needs focus over the visions that seem to plague her, so she concocts and idea to retrieve an ancient relic, a guitar used by a famed bard who used it to entrap an evil general. She enlists the help of the fellow student who initially told her the tale, who brings along her friend who can control portals, and Lorelei’s boyfriend Arryn decides to tag along, too since Lorelei has a penchant for getting into trouble over her head. Together the team heads to a haunted ruined citadel filled with plenty of monsters.
Comments: During the first couple of chapters, I was so tempted to quit since it was the stereotypical spoiled girl complaining about failing classes, complaining about a teacher unfairly treating her, obsessing about her boyfriend, obsessing about the need to rank as well as her sister, if not prove that she’s better. And then the story suddenly turned into Tomb Raider. It was epic with monsters, adventure, and a crumbling fortress! It’s a bit like The Mummy movies with undead monsters trying to kill our adventurers. There were also points where it felt like a video game like World of Warcraft with specific groups of monsters attacking them at set places. Like the group of wolves outside the citadel, then the group of skeletons inside, then a granite guardian, and assassins, etc, but still a fun adventure.
My main complaint was that I didn’t like Lorelei. Which doesn’t sell me on continuing with the series. She didn’t seem to care about the others she dragged along on her adventure, including her boyfriend, to the point where she didn’t really care about them potentially dying, just so long as she retrieved the artifact. She’s also really over-powered, which made facing the big bad of the book done in a blink of an eye. There were things that were brought up in this, but never really addressed, like if the visions really were a past life, and what did the sister whisper to Lorelei’s boyfriend and was she coming on to him? I’m assuming they’ll probably be addressed in the main series. The ending ended on a negative note, which also didn’t encourage me to continue on. I felt sorry for Arryn since Lorelei didn’t seem to really appreciate him other than wanting to have sex with him (btw, this story is clean).
March 30, 2021
Book Review: The Keeper (A Brilliant Darkness prequel)
The Keeper (A Brilliant Darkness – prequel) by A. G. Henley
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained this via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Peree is the new Keeper of the new Water Bearer. The Water Bearer goes to the waterhole and harvests water for both the Grounders and the Lofties, while her Keeper shoots arrows to keep the Fleshies/Scourge (zombies) off her while she does her job. But Lofties and Grounders are forbidden to have a relationship, though Peree has a crush on the Water Bearer, watching her closely before they officially took over from the previous Keeper and Water Bearer.
Comments: I love new dystopian stories, and this one has action, and forbidden romance, and factions, and zombies. But the problem with dystopian stories is that the societies created beg for the readers to try to figure them out and find if there are flaws or not. I cracked up laughing each time they called them Fleshies. Not only does it sound like a little kid word, but as zombies, wouldn’t they be lacking flesh in places? It would make more sense to call the regular humans Fleshies, since they have flesh. There was this big deal of how hard it was to do the job of a Water Bearer, which I really didn’t get. As she was blind, the zombies wouldn’t touch her (no real reason given). So, why was it then so dangerous for her and why was she so scared of them? Why was it so hard for her? She seemed really affected by the zombie moans and the smell, but couldn’t she just plug her ears (with cotton or wax or something?) Maybe those questions are answered in the main series since that is from her point of view while this short is from Peree’s point of view. So, I really don’t get why it was such a big ordeal for her to go to the watering hole and pull up several bags of water (my opinion is that part is where the big chore should have been since that takes muscle power, but that seemed like nothing for her to do. And why don’t the zombies go into the cave the Grounders are in? It doesn’t sound like there is anything blocking them that Fennel has to move out of the way when she goes to retrieve the water. I do love the idea of putting a blind girl at the center of the story, and I love the admiration Peree has for her. And I love seeing her through his eyes. Will I continue on with the series? Yes, mainly because I like Peree and Fennel and I liked the rivalry and distrust between the Grounders and the Lofties, who both look out for their own communities. The story (which mainly covers the first meet of Peree and Fennel) ends just as the action gets started, leading into the next book, making this more of a teaser than an actual novella.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained this via Bookfunnel.
Summary: Peree is the new Keeper of the new Water Bearer. The Water Bearer goes to the waterhole and harvests water for both the Grounders and the Lofties, while her Keeper shoots arrows to keep the Fleshies/Scourge (zombies) off her while she does her job. But Lofties and Grounders are forbidden to have a relationship, though Peree has a crush on the Water Bearer, watching her closely before they officially took over from the previous Keeper and Water Bearer.
Comments: I love new dystopian stories, and this one has action, and forbidden romance, and factions, and zombies. But the problem with dystopian stories is that the societies created beg for the readers to try to figure them out and find if there are flaws or not. I cracked up laughing each time they called them Fleshies. Not only does it sound like a little kid word, but as zombies, wouldn’t they be lacking flesh in places? It would make more sense to call the regular humans Fleshies, since they have flesh. There was this big deal of how hard it was to do the job of a Water Bearer, which I really didn’t get. As she was blind, the zombies wouldn’t touch her (no real reason given). So, why was it then so dangerous for her and why was she so scared of them? Why was it so hard for her? She seemed really affected by the zombie moans and the smell, but couldn’t she just plug her ears (with cotton or wax or something?) Maybe those questions are answered in the main series since that is from her point of view while this short is from Peree’s point of view. So, I really don’t get why it was such a big ordeal for her to go to the watering hole and pull up several bags of water (my opinion is that part is where the big chore should have been since that takes muscle power, but that seemed like nothing for her to do. And why don’t the zombies go into the cave the Grounders are in? It doesn’t sound like there is anything blocking them that Fennel has to move out of the way when she goes to retrieve the water. I do love the idea of putting a blind girl at the center of the story, and I love the admiration Peree has for her. And I love seeing her through his eyes. Will I continue on with the series? Yes, mainly because I like Peree and Fennel and I liked the rivalry and distrust between the Grounders and the Lofties, who both look out for their own communities. The story (which mainly covers the first meet of Peree and Fennel) ends just as the action gets started, leading into the next book, making this more of a teaser than an actual novella.
