Saturday, September 30, 2023

20 Fun Facts About "Steal The Morrow" by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt




The city may be dangerous, but it holds his only hope…

Abandoned on a remote highway after bandits murder his parents, young Olifur finds safety with Fritjof. The gruff woodsman teaches him and other orphans to live off the land. When Fritjof falls ill, Olifur will risk everything to save his mentor—even travel to far-off Melar seeking a doctor.

However, the city of Melar is more perilous than Olifur imagined, and doctors aren't cheap. His quest leads him first to a hazardous job working on the elevated trains high above the city. But the dangers in the clouds are nothing compared to those on the ground. Olifur soon finds himself ensnared in a web of professional thieves, and he must think fast if he is to survive the day and bring the much-needed aid to Fritjof before it is too late.

Schmidt reweaves Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" into an exciting tale of integrity and perseverance in this gaslamp-fantasy adventure.

Book Link: mybook.to/stealthemorrow

Series Link: mybook.to/aclassicretold

  1. I had never read Oliver Twist until I decided to retell it for this project. I was quite familiar with the story, having watched various movie versions and directed the play at the school I taught at, but this was my first time reading the actual novel.

  2. My original goal when I sat down to write the story was mostly to save Nancy, as she is the only character in the book who comes close to being 3-dimensional, and she gets quite a raw deal from Dickens.

  3. My dad actually wrote the outline for this book. I knew that I wanted to redeem some of the villains from the original plot and give them better roles, but even after reading the whole book, I was feeling at a loss for ideas. I chatted with my dad on the phone about it one evening, and several hours later he sent me a fairly complete outline, which I followed pretty closely for the rough draft… several things changed in the edits, though.

  4. There are two Easter-egg characters mentioned in this book that readers of the Turrim Archive series will recognize.

  5. When Olifur shows Nneka some tricks for keeping animals away from her plants, that is completely wishful thinking. I would really love to know Olifur’s secrets, as the wildlife in my neighborhood make it impossible for me to have a successful garden.

  6. In the original rough draft, Fritjof dies rather than falling ill. This created a problem in the story, because Olifur absolutely refused to leave the forest and go to the city, where he needed to be for the second half of the book. My content editor recommended having Fritjof fall ill and need expensive medical care, and that solved the problem.

  7. While I did change many things, there are definitely some places I tried to weave in staying true to Dickens’ original story. Olifur getting framed for picking a pocket he didn’t pick is there, as well as him getting abducted by the thieves and them wanting to use him to help them in their heist.

  8. Another main goal I had in this story was to prevent Olifur himself from being a helpless little waif-child. I wanted him to represent a stronger, more self-sufficient sort of character.

  9. From the get-go, I knew I wanted to redeem Fagin and Dodger. This was mostly due to the fact that the version of this story I grew up with was the musical, Oliver! and I fell in love with both of those characters there. The book versions are far more despicable and you sort of feel that they deserve the endings they get… but for the sake of the musical versions, I wanted to change their arcs. Fagin’s arc became a complete mirror image, in which he actually saves orphan boys and teaches them truly useful skills, as well as how to live honorably. Dodger’s story became more one of redemption.

  10. Because Steal the Morrow is set in the city of Melar in the world of my Turrim Archive series, I had to give it a slightly Nordic flare. Observant readers will note the dirt (rather than cobblestone) roads, the wooden construction of the buildings and their tiled, rather than thatched roofs, and the various baked goods (pepperkakor, saffron buns, and apple tarts) scattered throughout the story.

  11. Since I had already done most of the world-building for the Turrim Archive, setting the story in the country of Malei meant that I just had to include the malkyns and grymstalkers (two breeds of giant cats that people can ride).

  12. I knew I had to get the, “Please, sir, can I have some more?” line into the book somehow (after all, what is Oliver Twist without it?) but I did not expect it to end up where it did.

  13. I dedicated this book to my sister, because she is the sweetest person I know.

  14. Fritjof’s malkyn is named Bet because there is a Bet in the original novel.

  15. My kids are all in archery, so when I was trying to think of things Fritjof could teach Olifur, the idea of him making his own bow jumped into my head. I knew a lot of the basics about shooting a bow and arrow, but actually learning how to make one required rather a lot of research!

  16. I named the nearby town Elbian because I love Stephen R. Lawhead’s “Song of Albion” series and this was my little way to nod to him.

  17. I often have little jokes with myself inside my books. The conversation Olifur and Aric have about what life would be like with the train roads being built on the ground is one such place.

  18. I really hope that my readers laugh when Dojhur tells Olifur that both his parents died before he was born.

  19. Writing Bale Sowke was extremely difficult for me. I have a much easier time writing villains who want to rule the world, or villains who are just insane, but writing someone who is just truly, truly unkind was very tough.

  20. My dad wrote the last line of this book. It is meant to be a kind of parallel to the end of the Creation account in Genesis, where God declares what He has made to be “good.”

Monday, July 17, 2023

Reader's Review: "King of Hearts" by Patricia Loofbourrow


Synopsis from Amazon:

She knows she's been framed. Getting anyone to believe her is another story.

Thousands of gentlemen have gone bankrupt in Bridges and trouble brews between the Diamond and Spadros crime families. Yet the city is united in its desire to exact vengeance for those murdered in the zeppelin disaster.

Penniless and alone, private eye Jacqueline Spadros confronts the lowest point of her life. Seen as an accomplice in the financial crisis and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Jacqui faces trial in front of a hostile jury - and could receive the death penalty.

Jacqui knows she's been framed by the illusive Red Dog Gang. But will the jury believe her?

>>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

What does one do when one has a massive, tangled web of intrigue, murder, and conspiracy that's supposed to be spread over the course of thirteen books, yet one has managed to pack such epicness into the first three books that there needs to be a moment to build up the background and lay the footwork for future shenanigans without completely running the overall plot off the rails, nor does one want to lose the reader's interest, but it has become necessary to essentially hit "pause" on the big and flashy points of near-peril and fill a book in itself with character development, callbacks to previous plot points, and set things up to really start taking off in the ensuing books?

If you're Patricia Loofbourrow, you take the opportunity to place everything that has happened in the last three books into the context of a highly-public trial. I've been watching random episodes of Law & Order lately, so this kind of felt like par for the course--but at the same time, Loofbourrow's finesse for placing clues and revelations exactly where they are needed in the narrative, her penchant for hinting at something bigger going on beneath the surface, and her willingness to put main character Jacqui through some very desperate experiences added just that extra bit of flair that made it less about the trial, and more about the continued threats from the Red Dog Gang.

Removing Jacqui from the glamorous fakery and shiny veneer of civility she experienced in high society marks an interesting turn for the rest of the series. She's left Spadros Manor with no intention of ever returning to her position as Mrs. Anthony Spadros, she's striking out on her own now... or at least attempting to, if she can wether the charges being brought against her.

In the midst of trying to get out from under the Spadros roof, Jacqui has to face charges brought against her, blaming her for the catastrophic events at the end of Queen of Diamonds. Meanwhile, she has to figure out who she can trust around her, and keep the ones who she knows she can't trust at bay--a fitting conundrum that keeps a reader's interest in between the court scenes.

The "action" in this installment may be emotional and psychological rather than physical, but the energy keeps flowing all the way through. We see the fallout from past choices, and moves in play that will impact the future--just like a real card game!

This series just keeps delivering one fantastic twist after another. The world-building, the character development, and the twists and turns keep coming! King of Hearts gets a well-deserved *****5 STARS***** and I can't wait to continue on in this series! Team Jacqui all the way!

Further Reading: (Also By The Author/Steampunk/Investigations)
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
       -Gutshot (Novellette) 
       -The Alcatraz Coup (Novella) 
       -Vulnerable (Short Story) 
       -Jacq of Spades 
       -Queen of Diamonds 
       -Ace of Clubs 
The Alexander Legacy--Sophronia Belle Lyon
       -A Dodge, A Twist, and A Tobacconist 
       -The Pinocchio Factor 
The Jill Andersen Series--J. D. Cunegan
       -Bounty 
       -Blood Ties 
       -Behind the Badge 
       -Behind The Mask

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Reader's Review: "A Change In Crime" by D. R. Perry


Synopsis from Amazon:

In one night, change comes with the strike of a match as Leo Riley loses everything.

Giacomo Bianco's hitmen burned his home to the ground with his family inside. Leo will pay any price for his revenge. He will need power. Oguina, the mythical woman turned monster, can give it to him. But at what cost?

Bianco gazes into an abyss that stares back. His fall to madness is a one-way trip Leo aims to stop at all costs before Bianco kills again. In his quest for vengeance, Leo teeters over that same cliff.

Monster and Mafioso fight for dominance over Fall River's streets. Bianco’s got more up his sleeve than anyone suspects, including the means to make his power absolute. Even new powers and strange allies might not be enough to ensure Leo’s victory.

Who is the real monster? Bianco, Oguina, or Leo himself?
>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

This is my first D. R. Perry book, although not my first vampire novel!

That being said, the vibes in this book were absolutely on point! From the unscrupulous Mafioso and his shady dealings with a rogue “Changed” (the in-universe term for fanged, predatory immortals), to a young man’s quest for revenge against said Mafioso, to the Changed crew making the discovery that there exists a weapon that can defeat them…

On the surface it reads like your typical Prohibition-era crime noir novel, but with the vampire elements stretching back the Crusades and earlier, their inclusion adds a deft sprinkle of fantasy that infuses every scene with the notion that absolutely anything can happen.

Perry’s characters are varied in their personalities and moral codes. Not everyone beholden to the Mafioso agrees with his methods, and not all the Changed view the mortal humans in the same way.

There’s plenty of brutal fights, death, rebirth, shape shifting, speakeasies, and a labyrinthine hedge maze—but there is also character development, thought-provoking discussions on guilt, morality, redemption, and revenge, and on the whole a fantastic vampire tale for those who love a good monster novel without the angsty, brooding romance angle.

I rate A Change In Crime a solid *****4.5 STARS*****, and I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes crime noir and vampires, but prefers a story without a steamy romance as the main motivation. This one wins!

Further Reading: (Vampire Novels/Crime Noir/Other Immortal Cryptids/Shapeshifters)
Alexi Sokolsky: Hound of Eden--James Osiris Baldwin
        -Burn Artist 
        -Blood Hound
Judah Black Series--E. A. Copen
       -Fortunate Son (prequel novella) 
       -Guilty By Association 
       -Blood Debt
The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster
     -City of A Thousand Dolls 
     -Empire of Shadows 
The Therian Way--Kimberly Rogers
       -Leopard's Heart 
       -Wolf's Path 
       -Tiger's Shadow
The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird 
       -Ashes of the Firebird 
       -Rise of the Firebird 

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Reader's Review: "Undying Light" by Aurora Wildey

Synopsis from Amazon:

A violent attack could have marked Kaela Morrow’s end, had Terran Montgomery not intervened. The mysterious stranger, with powers of his own, saves her but is badly wounded in the process. Fearing his injuries could prove fatal, Kaela risks everything and uses her powers of light to heal him.

If discovered, they would be hunted and killed. With their secrets and their lives in each other’s hands, Terran vows to keep her safe. With no other options, Kaela reluctantly agrees.

Yet there is another.

An immortal named Seth Lazarus senses Kaela’s presence as one of his own kind, the first newly born in millennia. After another attempt is made on her life, Seth offers Kaela refuge and a job to keep her close enough to protect her, while searching for a way to teach her about her true parentage. If only Terran were not standing in his way…

No one is what they seem. Danger is closing in from all sides. How can Kaela decide who to trust with her life… when the two men protecting her don’t even trust one another?

>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

A few times since starting this blog, I've been contacted by authors who want to send me copies of their books to review. Most of the time it's an open solicitation, sometimes I put my bid in and say I'm interested (and then proceed to not get around to reading it until years later...) but this was one of those times when the author herself requested my services. I opted to insert the book into my planned TBR, and when the time came, I read it. Fun fact: this is actually the closest to a book's release that I've ever actually been able to have a review ready, so YOU'RE WELCOME!!

This story managed to be interesting right from the very start. The first character you meet is definitely a werewolf, but Wildey manages to imply the fact, as he hunts and dispatches his quarry. The second character you meet is the female lead, and while she is a teenager with a unique superhuman ability, again Wildey lets the revelation unfold naturally, implying it all while presenting us with a perfectly normal teenage girl struggling with the loss of her mother and the subsequent emotional distance of her father. A third main character is introduced, and the overlap between the three characters becomes plain. The stage is set, and the intrigue begins!

Now, normally when a book has two male characters and a teenage female character at the forefront, the story might follow a predictable pattern: the female character has something that sets her apart from "other girls" and she is immediately smitten with one male character, while the other is more ardently pursuing her from the sidelines. The tension increases as she seems to be getting attention from someone she has no interest in, while the one she wants seems only to push her away. Purely based on their physical descriptions it becomes obvious which guy the author wants us to root for, which one the girl will inevitably end up with, despite any reader who forms an opinion to the contrary...

To be honest, I spent the first few chapters waiting for it to do just that so I could cringe and move on--but then I was just so fascinated by the side characters and intrigued by the actual story, that I just kept right on reading!

Kaela's story twists and tangles itself around the two strangers who enter her life and become intrinsically involved with just about every part of it--meanwhile side characters give actual stakes to the characters, provide an extra dimension to keep them from being too entangled with just themselves, and add their own splash of color to the plot, besides! Undying Light sustained my interest all the way through, keeping me interested as Kaela's life is threatened by a known criminal, thus making it necessary to move her somewhere safe--a haven both Terran and Seth are only too willing to provide, at the exclusion of each other. On top of that Kaela has her own secret that she's been keeping from everyone around her... except Terran, who finds out, and Seth, who knows more about Kaela's origins than even she does. And that is only the beginning!

Undying Light is an excellent start to a series, sets up plenty of material to explore, and does a good job letting the reader become acquainted with the characters, so that watch their stories unfold feels natural and organic, and we're picking our own sides, as opposed to whatever side the author picks for us! In light of all that, I rate it a solid *****4.5 STARS***** (less half a star because of the threads that were left incomplete by the end of the story!) and I can't wait to see how the Stella Maris series develops from here!

Further Reading: (Urban Fantasy/Balanced Heroines)
The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way 
       -The Truth 
       -The Lie
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
       -Gutshot (Novellette) 
       -The Alcatraz Coup (Novella) 
       -Vulnerable (Short Story) 
       -Jacq of Spades 
       -Queen of Diamonds 
       -Ace of Clubs
The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair
The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird 
       -Ashes of the Firebird 
       -Rise of the Firebird 
Talented Series--Amy Hopkins
     -A Drop of Dream 
     -A Dash of Fiend 
     -A Splash of Truth 
     -A Promise Due

Friday, April 28, 2023

"Paws" For Thought: Book Blog Tag!

Designed by me. Photo Credit: Unsplash

 
Thank you to Raina at Enthralled By Love for tagging me!

The puppy: illegally cute, will eventually grow into it’s paws and ears, will chew your shoes,
possibly your clothes and the table legs and demand all your attention before curling up to sleep exhausted.
Photo Credit: Unsplash 

1. The most recent book that you read and loved

The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky. I picked up this book as a freebie during a random giveaway event, because your girl loves a good retelling, and with this one seemingly focusing on Wendy herself as the main character, I hoped it would be good.
I won't spoil too much about it, since you can read the full review by clicking >this hyperlinked text<, but suffice to say that it was a brilliant re-telling and all the references were absolutely on-point!


The Retriever: intelligent, hard working hunters with a love of life.
Believed to have originated in Scotland.
Photo Credit: Unsplash

2. A book that was carefully planned, clearly well researched and was intelligent and thought provoking 

Diamond Stained by J. M. D. Reid. I had a lot to say about this book and its world-building (which you can read by clicking >this hyperlinked text<) in my featured review, but suffice to say, the thought-provoking nature of the conversations and observations between the main characters, the pacing and the development of the characters themselves as they go on an entire arc, with so much more adventures left open to exploring in further installments, I really thought of this book first when I read the prompt!


Poodle: the aristocrat of the canine world. 
A proud and elegant athlete. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

3. A book with a beautiful cover. 

Time Tree: The Emergence
by Lisa Rae Morris. I can still remember the day I was sitting across from my friend, a housewife and mom of three, and listening spellbound as she expounded upon an "idea for a novel" she "just happened to have on hand"... and the more she talked about it, the more I was like "You have to write this!" And so she did, and I couldn't be prouder of her, because now it's a trilogy with some gorgeous covers. So what if I've only read the first one? I have the others, and I'll get to them (hopefully sooner rather than later!) If you want to find out what captivated me so, you'll have to read my review by clicking >this hyperlinked text<, and believe me, you won't be disappointed in the least!



The German Shepherd: an all-purpose working dog,
loyal and courageous.
Photo Credit: Unsplash

4. A book that gave you a strong case of the heebie-jeebies.  You needed all your courage to pick this one up. 

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. This one was a completely random recommendation from a total stranger, and a completely accidental first encounter with "grimdark fantasy"--I tended to be a pretty squeamish reader up to that point, shying away from anything too graphic or visceral because of the images it left in my brain, so when the person was describing the novel to me, I was picturing one thing in my head... and when I read it, I found it to be quite something else! Yes, there were the "medieval fantasy archetypal characters, but in a modern post-apocalyptic setting with like skyscrapers and electricity and stuff", as was first described to me, (that's not too much of a spoiler... you'd just have to read the book itself to find out how the author combines those two images!), but at the same time... there's murder and cussing and uncouth behavior and creepy imagery and altogether stuff that made getting through those first ten chapters a struggle... but the thing that kept me coming back was the amazing prose of the narration, and the intriguing nature of the plot, the mystery surrounding it all, and the one or two characters with enough redeeming qualities to keep me invested in their ultimate survival! This series ended up becoming the gateway to a few more trilogies by the author that I ended up finding much more enjoyable, and one that I don't hesitate to recommend to friends whom I know would enjoy that sort of thing!


Lakeland terrier: a "big dog in a small package"
Photo Credit: iStock

5. A book with great characters  

The Firebird Fairy Tales by Amy Kuivalainen. This one, I'm excited to hype all over again, because shortly after I read the trilogy for the first time, the author ended up needing to pull it out of production and I waited at least a couple years for her to re-release it. By now, the whole trilogy is available once more, so you can read them all and hopefully you'll be as enchanted as I was! You can read my review of Book 1 by clicking >this hyperlinked text<, the review for Book 2 is at >this hyperlinked text<, and the review for Book 3 at >this hyperlinked text< to get specifics on what I enjoyed each time, but for the sake of this blog hop, I will say that the varied and intriguing cast of characters this author included in her books has a lot to do with how much I enjoyed it!


Rottweiler: descendent of the Roman mastiffs,
playful and protective. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

6. A book based on ancient history. 

Interesting that the Roman empire should be mentioned, because although the book that springs to mind is not exactly based on history, it's definitely set in an historical period! Ancient Rome, to be precise! The Stories of Togas, Daggers, and Magic series by Australian author Assaph Mehr is a delightful mashup of the standard "paranormal investigator" fare... meshed with ancient culture and its associated superstitions! I've read two books in the series so far, Murder in Absentia (which you can find the review >here<) and In Numina (which you can find also >here<) and every time, I get vibes of contemporary "wizard investigating paranormal crimes", but set securely in a culture well-researched and long-extinct! It's brilliant.


Greyhound: gentle and independent, a dog that embodies the saying
"form follows function." Bred for speed. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

7. A book that was fast paced and kept you racing to the end. 

The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore. 
Oh yeah, if there was ever a series that kept me spellbound until I finished it... I read half the first book before watching the film adaptation (which, even at that point, was a sore disappointment!) and I had no idea that it was going to be a series until I found it at a bookstore... alongside two more books! "Oh joy!" I thought, "It's a trilogy!" I trundled my way through it, returning to the bookstore day after day until I reached the end of book 3... and discovered a cliffhanger!! I had to wait months for each ensuing book to come out, and when they did, you can bet I read it as quickly as possible, only to discover yet another cliffhanger until I reached the last book in the series! But if there was ever a series worth plowing through, it would have to be this one!


Dachshund: these dogs are not necessarily built for speed but they are relentlessly persistent. 
Quite often known as "the sausage dog." 
Photo Credit: Unsplash


8. A book that made you hungry; this is a book that you need to stock up on treats before you crack it open. 

Goode-Grace Mysteries/What The Chat Dragged In by Cyn Mackley The second title is more a recent read than the series mentioned first--but the recipes are definitely more plentiful, since it features a food blogger! I don't know why Mackley chose to include so many tantalizing dishes in her books, but holy moly, you're really going to want to stock up on the snacks, because the dishes she describes will have you salivating! Cakes, breads, pastries, salads--everything you could think of, all unique and inventive, and charmingly described! Read my reviews of the Goode-Grace Mysteries by clicking >here< for Book 1, and >here< for Book 2, and read my review for What The Chat Dragged In by clicking on >this hyperlinked text.<

The Mixed breed: Or “Heinz 57” as its sometimes affectionately known, this is a dog of indeterminate breed.  Generally speaking such dogs are believed to live longer and suffer less hereditary diseases. Photo Credit: DepositPhotos

9. This is a book with a bit of everything going on. Could be lots of different elements/POVs or a collection of stories.
 
The Chronicles of Lorrek by Kelly Blanchard. 
This series really does have it all! It starts out your typical sword-and-sorcery setting, with castles and wizardry and magic and battles... but then as the series develops and expands, there's cyberpunk thrown into the mix, with mech-suits and artificial intelligence... and then it hops off-world with the use of spaceships as the simple beginnings of different continents on the same planet expands to whole galaxies that are connected to one another! Yet in spite of it sounding like the series spreads all over the place, Blanchard manages to keep things relevant, with each of her characters serving a specific purpose, and even the function of the new technologies fitting seamlessly alongside the magic elements, as well! To read my reviews on each book, just click >here< for Book 7, the most recent book I have reviewed in the series, and scroll to the bottom for access to all the others!


The French Bulldog: enjoying great popularity at the moment. Playful and adorable and loved by
City dwellers who have less space. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

10. A book that is irresistibly cute. 

Verona: The Complete Mermaid Tales
by Pauline Creeden. 
At first glance, it may seem like a contemporary re-telling of The Little Mermaid... but Creeden infuses her story with popular local Virginian legends, especially concerning the wild ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague (for example: the ponies are rumored to be sympathetic to Merfolk, since their keen senses can detect the presence of werewolves and issue a warning) It's a sweet tale, full of endearing characters, and a story that will have you gasping at each plot twist and give you a warm, bubbly feeling as you read it! To check out my complete review of all the books, click >here<


The Portuguese Podengo: alert and independent.  A breed of hunting dog believed to have descended
from dogs brought to Portugal by Phoenician merchants. 
Photo Credit: Dreamstime

11. A book that is a standalone. 

Black Train
by Clareesa Savka. 
This is another book by a friend of mine, sort of like if Hunger Games was told in more of an allegorical sense. This community is restricted to living in the massive Train Station, assigned to clean the windows of the train and shovel coal for the train, but never allowed to ride the train... unless they are given a ticket, and those people are never seen again. It's a simple premise, but Savka does well with it, giving readers a cast of diverse and unique characters, with their own goals and personalities, and the choices and struggles they face are very much relatable. You can read my full review on my blog by clicking >here<



The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: the nobility of Dogdom with a silky coat,
mild temper and graceful athleticism. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

12. A book with Kings and Queens or something historic.

Bhinian Empire Duology by Miriam Forster. This was one I acquired early on in my book-blogging days due to a "friend-of-a-friend" connection to the author... and I confess, I waited way too long to read it! When I did, though, it was shortly before I actually discovered a copy of the book itself at my local library, and as for the story... It was far from disappointing! A kingdom of shifters, intrigue between royal families, conspiracies and peril at every turn--this duology colorful and while its social structure is more reminiscent of Eastern empires than Western kingdoms, it fits the bill for this category and I definitely recommend it! To read my reviews for both books, just click >here< for Book 1 and >here< for Book 2!


Old Faithful:  This is the dog that has been your steadfast companion over the years. Lies with it’s head on your foot so that it knows when you move, scents you out no matter where you are and waits patiently.  Is the first to greet you in the morning and the last at night and is always happy to see you. 
Photo Credit: Unsplash

13. A book that you’ve read many times, you could pick this book up and just let the pages fall open to where they may and dive right in. 

The Princess Bride
by William Goldman. 
This is one of those stories that I grew up watching as a film so many times that I could probably quote the entire thing from memory, never realizing that it was an actual novel that existed. I remember reading it for the first time, and enjoying it so much that I was rolling on the floor laughing at some scenes--and not all of said scenes were even in the film itself! It's near and dear to my heart, as a campy, flamboyant fantasy classic that, really, everybody should read. (And if you've read it, you should know what I mean when I say: Chapter 4 is my favorite!)

<><><><><><><><>

So there we go, a list of thirteen recommendations of books I've read--I hope I've contributed to somebody's TBR list at this point!
Speaking of recommendations, I'd like to tag the following bloggers, and I highly recommend that you check out their responses to this tag!

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Reader's Review: "Tree of Bone and Mist" by Melissa E. Beckwith


 
Synopsis from Amazon:

Looking for clues to a past she cannot remember, Rhiannon stumbles into a dangerous new world. Can she survive the evil that hunts her long enough to fulfill her destiny? 
Suffering from vivid nightmares, Rhiannon Kossi is sure that she’s been lied to about her childhood. Seeking the answers to long forgotten questions, she is mysteriously taken from her quiet, simple life on a Montana cattle ranch and thrust into a new, violent world where she is forced to either fight or die. In her quest for answers to her past Rhiannon must accept hard truths that will forever change the course of her life… that is, if she can stay alive.
>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Chalk this up to one of those I picked up during a giveaway event, it looked really cool and I started following the author... and then just kept postponing reading it again and again, until finally it comes time!

The very first scene is stellar, setting up the world, the antagonist and protagonist, in absolute heart-thumping intrigue. Then the scene switches to a young woman in a cabin on a farm with a pet wolf--in rural Montana?? From that point, I knew it was going to take me a while to warm up to this author's style. Just how easy is it to domesticate a wolf, and why a wolf, in particular? Why not just a wolfdog or something more credible? Main Character Rhiannon (love that name!) is set up as someone who just wants to find her dad and stay out of trouble, and this leads her to a portal that brings her into this alternate world--which makes for a fairly straightforward portal fantasy, right? Except that the author seemed a bit indecisive about the actual age of her main character.

When she's panicking about being in a strange world all of a sudden with everyone depending on her as some mysterious savior of some sort, or adamant about finding her father, it feels like she could be in her mid-teens. But then there are events that happen, situations she finds herself in that are in no way suitable for a mere teenager (including, but not limited to: unwanted sexual advances, going berserk and killing grown men on multiple occasions, and getting her clothes ripped off to display a birthmark on her chest) that make me think that she could be in her early twenties, which would make this more "Young Adult" or even "New Adult" and less "Middle-Grade" than I was expecting. I mean, I guess I should have been more aware of the fact that the series is called "The Sword of Rhiannon", but at the same time she is presented as someone very scared and remarkably tender-hearted, in no way a killer until she starts... you know... killing. The way, too, that Rhiannon is brought from "rejecting the call" to "accepting her fate" happens very fast and very near the end of the book, almost too late, as it were... She left a lot to be desired, as far as main characters go!

But I have to say, the fantasy world-building itself was everything I hoped for. I loved the rich lore, the different biomes, the varying vistas described over the course of the story. The antagonist, as mentioned above, is well-written as well, and if it were anybody else I just wish it could have been populated by more varied and interesting people! The epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch, as well. It lent an air of ancient mystique to the whole vibe of the book--although it didn't do much to help me understand what was going on any better.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I'd say Tree of Bone and Mist earns itself at best a ****4 STAR**** rating. Good world-building, the dialogue wasn't too forced or contrived (maybe repetitive sometimes when Rhiannon would still be trying to figure out what was going on...), the conflict and resolution did their jobs, and the plot did deliver on the premise.

All I know at this point is that this is definitely a book that is setting up the rest of the series. I can only hope that the downsides to this story are the result of "debut novel jitters" and perhaps as the series progresses, the writing improves as well--but at this point, I am honestly not as invested in the success of the protagonists as I'd like to be, and I could take or leave the series.

Further Reading: (Tough Heroines/Compelling Plots/Portal Fantasies)
The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way 
       -The Truth 
       -The Lie 
The Untamed Series--Madeline Dyer
       -Untamed 
       -Fragmented 
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
       -Gutshot (Novellette) 
       -The Alcatraz Coup (Novella) 
       -Vulnerable (Short Story) 
       -Jacq of Spades 
       -Queen of Diamonds 
       -Ace of Clubs 
The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair
The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird 
       -Ashes of the Firebird 
       -Rise of the Firebird 
Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland 
     -Dance Into The Wyrd
The Portal Prophecies--C. A. King
     -A Keeper's Destiny 
     -A Halloween's Curse 
     -Frost Bitten
Talented Series--Amy Hopkins
     -A Drop of Dream 
     -A Dash of Fiend 
     -A Splash of Truth 
     -A Promise Due 
The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster
     -City of A Thousand Dolls 
     -Empire of Shadows