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Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Reader's Review: "The Girl and the Clockwork Cat" by Nikki McCormack

Synopsis from Amazon:

Feisty teenage thief Maeko and her maybe-more-than-friend Chaff have scraped out an existence in Victorian London's gritty streets, but after a near-disastrous heist leads her to a mysterious clockwork cat and two dead bodies, she's thrust into a murder mystery that may cost her everything she holds dear.

Her only allies are Chaff, the cat, and Ash, the son of the only murder suspect, who offers her enough money to finally get off the streets if she'll help him find the real killer.

What starts as a simple search ultimately reveals a conspiracy stretching across the entire city. And as Maeko and Chaff discover feelings for each other neither was prepared to admit, she's forced to choose whether she'll stay with him or finally escape the life of a street rat. But with danger closing in around them, the only way any of them will get out of this alive is if all of them work together.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

This one might have been a book I expressed interest in ahead of time. Certainly at the time, I wasn't intending to pick it up. Usually when I get a book by a new author, it's usually after I've interacted with them or a review of their book online. In this case, I went to a local craft expo intending to pick up the three books in a series I really loved--and, lo and behold, it was a "buy-three-get-one-free" deal, and the seller (an author I heartily support, and who has supported me ever since he was so supportive of me when I was just starting out as a review blogger) heavily recommended it to me, so I figured, "Why not?" I added this fun steampunk adventure with a spunky heroine and a cat with a mechanical leg to take home with me, sight-unseen!

Having read it, all I can say is, it's a good thing I love steampunk so much, because that is this book's best feature! Most of the world-building was your standard Victorian-era fare, to the point that it wouldn't really look out of place in a British period film--but then McCormack adds touches like the quasi-police force known as the Literati to bring a touch of otherworldly whimsy to the story as a whole.

The mystery at the heart of it was deliciously twisty. Plenty of conspiracies and intrigue, the story took a while to build itself, but eventually we arrived at the scene--a mother and child murdered in a swanky penthouse, and a man--brilliant inventor, notorious scientist--gone missing. The only clue is a cat left behind, with a mechanical hind leg.

That cat, and its inventor were probably the two most interesting characters in the whole novel. Possibly in a pinch, I would recall a few instances in which the main character, a half-Japanese "street rat" named Maeko, made herself relatable and almost interesting. Frankly, I cared more about her dysfunctional relationship with her only surviving relative that she blamed for abandoning her to her current situation than the two "love interests" that were made into a whole thing in this story. Frankly, I didn't know one well enough to root for him, while the other seemed a lot more interesting, but somehow the author didn't think it was in Maeko's best interest to go with him... we'll see how the "romance that doesn't want to be a romance" plays out in future installments, sure.

For all of the downplaying I've been doing, The Girl and The Clockwork Cat is some decent storytelling. I give it a *****4.5 STAR***** rating, and yes, as I mentioned, I would be interested in seeing how the series develops from there! Certainly the aesthetic and the world-building makes Clockwork Enterprises a series to watch! If you're looking for a light, fun, steampunk adventure, start here!

Further Reading: (Steampunk/Conspiracies/Teenage Heroines)

Dawn of Steam Trilogy--Jeffrey Cook
      -First Light
      -Gods of The Sun 
      -Rising Suns
The Alexander Legacy--Sophronia Belle Lyon
       -A Dodge, A Twist, and A Tobacconist 
       -The Pinocchio Factor
-Sky Knight--Sandra Harvey
-AmsterDamned--Nils Visser
-Wolves And Daggers--Melanie Karsak
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 
Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland 
     -Dance Into The Wyrd
The PSS Chronicles--Ripley Patton
       -Ghost Hand 
       -Ghost Hold 
       -Ghost Heart 
       -Ghost Hope 

Friday, December 9, 2022

Blog Tag: Get To Know The Fantasy Reader!


I haven't really gone and joined one of these outside an established group... but I've just been invited to a couple different tags, so you're getting some "insider information" on me!
The blogger who invited me was Raina Nightingale over on Enthralled By Love, and the tag itself originates as a romance reader tag, from Bree Hill on Falling For Romance.

*Quick note about the thumbnail image: I made it myself, with an AI-generated image. Feel free to use it if you are participating in this hop!*

1-What is your Fantasy Origin? (The First Fantasy you Read) 

I grew up homeschooled, so aside from the usual (Mossflower by Brian Jacques, and the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis; I actually didn't get into Lord of the Rings until later) there are two titles in particular that I know influenced my early stories. One was Brill of Exitorn by Peggy Downing, about a boy who gets conscripted to be the companion to a spoiled, selfish son of the wicked emperor who has been oppressing the land. The boy uses cleverness, honesty, and compassion to win over the "emprince", as his title went, and although he and another girl were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned when they tried to liberate others who had been wrongfully imprisoned, they manage to survive and set off to have more adventures--unfortunately, I never knew that there was more to the story, but it definitely ignited my imagination to read it several times!
The other was The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye, and trust me, I had plenty of thoughts about what I would do if I encountered a King that was secretly masquerading as a footman in his own castle! I certainly identified with the titular Princess, her being so "ordinary" and "mousy", while her gorgeous sisters didn't want anything to do with her... Feeling quite plain, myself, I felt inspired to use this to my own advantage, improving my mind and my character while not worrying overmuch about my looks!

2-If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s the trope you’d insist be in the story? 

Me? Well... That's a tough hypothetical! There are so many authors whose style I very much enjoy... but I might not survive as a character in their books! But as far as "writes beautiful prose and excellent at world-building", I'd probably go with Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Naomi Novik, or Amy Hopkins. In the scope of their books, I'd probably want the role of a wise counselor or mentor-figure, like a "fairy godmother" type. I don't always need to be the center of attention all the time, but I like having the position of influence, to be the "hub of knowledge and information", as it were. One of my favorite tropes and the one I hope is in the book I am a part of is that "Truth Wins." Like, for the discovery of truth to be the key to the undoing of the antagonist. Also, I love the "found family" trope, as well as the "strong silent softie archetype" trope, so I'd want those to be present as well!

3-What is a fantasy series you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read? 

To be honest, 2022 hasn't been my best year for reading. I've been doing a lot of discovering of new crime thriller authors, some stand-alones... but for the sake of having a response, I will say that I've at least read A Promise Due, the next (fourth) book in the Talented series by Amy Hopkins. It's an urban fantasy series that I've described as "If Hermione Granger decided to use her talents in Herbology to open a tea shop just outside London." The main character, Emma, is a "Half-Talent", where her full-magic father married a "normal" woman. As such, she's too "normal" for the magic community, and too "magic" for the normal community, she's kind of in a social limbo that tends to be very uncomfortable... particularly in the circumstance when the series starts, in which someone capable of dream-walking has been killing people off. At first she's a suspect, because her enchanted teas are a well-known staple--but as the mystery deepens, Emma figures out that the killer is going after Half-Talents like herself... and she's been getting disturbing imagery in her dreams that could indicate she might be the next target. Of course, that's just how it starts, and the mysteries just get deeper and bigger and more twisty from there. The characters and world-building are wonderful. Emma lives with her faithful dog Lenny and the "family boggart", sort of like a monstrous cryptid butler, and she meets two Talent Lords, brothers who kind of take her under their wing as an honorary sibling when she navigates the Talent high society, a Fae stylist named Bee who is absolutely delightful, a hound shifter who works on the police force... and so much more! If I were to recommend any series I read this year, that would definitely be the one!

4-What is your favorite fantasy subgenre? 

I have lots of favorites! Fantasy is definitely the biggest genre I read. Fairy tales, Portal fantasy, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery and noblebright fantasy are among my favorites. I love a good shifter fantasy as well!

5-What subgenre have you not read much from? 

Dark fantasy and especially grimdark fantasy are subgenres I have only a "dabbler's" interest in. I tend to be pretty squeamish, so if the violence is too intense and there isn't a secondary feature like amazing world-building or thought-provoking prose to kind of take my mind off the gore, then I don't enjoy it for its own sake. And I will say, that while I like romantic stories like fairy tales and whatnot, "fantasy romance" is not what I would go for, in its own right. I like romance as a subplot, but if it's the only thing the novel has going on, frankly that bores me!

6-Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors? 

One author whose books I'm always looking for, and definitely know that I want to read as soon as I see her name on it is Marissa Meyer. Her series The Lunar Chronicles was one of the first series I ever actually bought to own. I have at least one of her stand-alones, too--but I'm ashamed to admit I haven't gotten into her new series yet! (But that is to come, for sure!) In the indie realm, the author I've immediately bought when I had the money to spare and she's come out with a new book is Kelly Blanchard. I have signed copies of the entire Chronicles of Lorrek, which I promised myself I needed to read before I got her spin-off series, the Hand of Sorrow. Her books are so good, though!

7-How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, YouTube, Podcasts, Instagram, etc.)

Goodreads is usually how I find out about a lot of books, since I can see what my friends are reading and how they've enjoyed books--even titles I find randomly at the library that I find exciting, I typically look them up on Goodreads just to see what the reviews are like, and what people enjoy or object to in a given title, and what my friends have said about it. My library also has a "staff picks" shelf, where they feature books in a few different genres that staff members recommend--a few times I've found books that I ended up really liking on that shelf as well!

8-What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for? 

Well, if you'd asked me that a few months ago, I would have said The First Binding by R. R. Virdi--he's an author I've reviewed many times on this blog, ever since I read and loved his debut self-published novel. This year, he got picked up and published by Tor Books, a massive publisher, and since its release in August, the book is already making waves! By now, though, I'd have to say: Over The Moon by S. E. Anderson! She's an author I've been in a few groups with (and on a podcast panel, too!) and although I haven't read a lot of her works, I absolutely love her creativity and the ideas she comes up with. For example, this upcoming release of hers is a sort of "cyberpunk remix" of the Wizard of Oz, replete with secret royal twins, aliens and AI versions of the different character archetypes from the source material, and I'm betting there will be tons of entertaining references throughout! I still remember catching the social media update when she was talking about the concept in the "infant" stages of the idea, back when it was under a different title... and for sure I will be hyping it upon release!

9-What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest? 

That it's somehow "just for girls." Or that it's all one thing (like fairies and unicorns and dragons and tall and graceful Elves...); or even further, that it's "just escapist stories that have no bearing on reality, but are really a distraction from actual real-world problem solving."
On the contrary, I believe that fantasy is necessary because it allows one to see real-world problems out of their real-world context, so maybe aspects of that problem are more readily apparent. Reading fantasy could allow you to read a situation or an issue you may relate to, but in this new context it gives you the ability to see it from another perspective.
Fantasy isn't all castles and princesses and unicorns; it's not all girly romance and damsels in distress. Fantasy can be worthwhile for all genders and ages, not just to escape reality and chase after flights of fancy, but to exercise one's mind and learn to view situations from new and inventive ways of thinking. I've met people who only read nonfiction because they don't see "the point" of fiction... I would argue that their objection is precisely why fiction and especially fantasy is necessary, because the real world is too vast for just one way of linear thinking; we need to learn to see beyond the surface, beyond our empirical (or senses-based) interactions. Fantasy gives shape to the abstract, and allows us to grasp the invisible.

10-If someone had never read a fantasy book before and asked you to recommend the first three books that came to mind as places to start, what would these recommendations be? 

Ooh, this is a tough one! Namely because fantasy is such a broad spectrum. I might select a few from different subgenres, just to see what more I could give them. Maybe I'd start my friend out with Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis as a good portal fantasy—if they like that one, then I know that they’ll like books with lots of magic, they don’t mind talking animals, and they definitely want to see good win out sooner rather than later. 
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, I would recommend to somebody who watched a lot of Disney films growing up, but they don’t see how the fairy tales could be “upgraded” for even more entertainment. 
And thirdly, I’d want them to read Inkheart, because Cornelia Funke has an amazing way with bringing fantasy so close to the real world that it’s kind of amazing, that book in particular captures an “outsider’s” perspective of fantasy literature.

11-What is the most recent fantasy retelling content creator you came across the you’d like to shout out?

As a matter of fact, the most recent featured review I've posted here on the blog happens to be a retelling, and yes, I did enjoy it very much!
The book was Severance by M. A. Smith, and it came off as sort of a re-telling of The Little Mermaid--but very much along the lines of "if Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale had truly been told entirely from the mermaid's point of view", rather than just the surface things described as a human would. I would go on, but you can read my full review by clicking >This linked text<. Bottom line, she deserves a shout-out for her excellent work!

And finally, I'll close out this post by tagging five more bloggers to talk about their reading experiences!

Feel free to offer your own answers to any of these questions, or comment about any of these titles you've read, or you might want to read! Join the conversation!

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Reader's Review: "Severance" by M. A. Smith


Synopsis from Amazon:

With the earth long diseased, humanity has evolved back into creatures of the water. Beneath the waves, the folk, fearing the corrupted land, remain within the boundaries of their world. One among them, though, is different. One of them is prepared to make a bargain. A life for a life. A severance for a blood debt. The truth for one deep breath.
>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

For as much as I enjoy a good mermaid tale, there have only been a few that have made it onto my radar for Reader's Reviews.

One such is of course this, Severance, an innocent-looking novella that I knew involved mermaids at some point--but that was all that I knew about it. I've been looking forward to it, curiosity duly piqued--what I didn't want was just another story of a mermaid who becomes curious about the surface world and ends up falling in love with someone from there, until the twist comes and she finds out that the love will never be requited.

This is not your typical mermaid tale.

First of all, Smith sets up her fantasy world with the epic grace and poise of a master world-builder. References are made of a nuclear/radiation/pollution cataclysm that drove some humans down below the water, where the radiation couldn't reach them, and there they adapted and became the creatures commonly known as merfolk. But Smith does all this in such a way that when you are reading it from the perspective of the narrator, the young mermaid who fills the role of main character, you are plunged into the depths of The Keep and you find your breathing patterns matching those of the merfolk. The descriptions of the ravaged surface world are so real, it makes your skin crawl. You start to smell that briny sea scent.

Second, I love the detail and immersion Smith pours into her writing, using terminology and metaphors that only someone who has lived underwater would use, right down to the scientific jargon that lends credibility to her fantastic theories. This is a technique I attempted to use when writing my own retelling of Little Mermaid, but Smith takes it to a whole new level that I absolutely loved! From the technique of using kelp butter to keep her scales smooth out of the water, to referring to crucifix necklaces as "souls", everything about this story was beautiful and fascinating! The distinctive characters she has designed are pretty awesome as well.

I was spellbound through the whole thing. Severance earns itself a full *****5 STAR***** rating, and I'll add to that the Upstream Writer Certified DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED endorsement. It rings true with Hans Christian Andersen's original, but told entirely from the perspective of the mermaid herself, rather than a "land-dweller" attempting to write how one might assume a mythical creature might feel. M. A. Smith is a talented author with incredible skill to her credit!

Further Reading: (Mermaids/Fantasy/Immersive World-Building)
Verona: The Complete Mermaid Tales--Pauline Creeden
       -Scales 
       -Submerged 
       -Salt 
       -Surfacing
The Valiant Series--Joanna White
       -Hunter 
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 Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way 
       -The Truth 
       -The Lie
The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster
     -City of A Thousand Dolls 
     -Empire of Shadows 

Saturday, October 29, 2022

NaNoWriMo 2022: Announcing This Year's Novel!



Whew!! How is it almost November already?

This year has been... not quite like I thought it would be. Starting with battling Covid in January that set me back several months as my physical health recovered quite quickly, but my mental health (namely the psychological wherewithal to write) took a nosedive for several months... and then, just when I was getting to the end of a very stressful school year and looking forward to a summer of really hitting the second draft of Fugitive of Crossway very hard, my brother's health took a turn for the worse, and he passed away near the end of summer.

I've stopped a bunch of projects since then, but The Undersea Saga is here to stay, and here's why: I now see it as a small way to honor my brother's memory. It's on account of him that the piddly little stand-alone novella became a full-fledged series, anyway, and I'd hoped to be able to involve him in the development of Fugitive of Crossway as it unfolded... but although that's not going to happen, I'm still going to finish the thing, for sure!

At this point, honestly, I'm nowhere near where I planned on being at the end of last year. If everything had gone the way I'd hoped, I'd be making my final tweaks on Fugitive of Crossway, already sent it off for professional editing, and into the formatting/ design stage.

In reality... I've got three chapters actually "done", I'm headed into the really tricky part of the story that had the most changes and is definitely the middle part of the book that I'm the most iffy about... but where does that leave me for NaNo?

Why not go ahead and give myself a running start on Book 3?

That's right, folks, this November, I'm taking my first crack at Fury of Outwest, the third book in the Undersea Saga, and I'll admit, I'm excited to be able to return to actually pulling off a retelling, rather than "inspired by", as Fugitive of Crossway is!

So what story am I retelling for this third book?

Well, back when I was devising the series as longer than like two or three books, I knew that I wanted to use the four different "kingdoms" as the settings for the various books, and as such, this one would be Outwest.

This would be the most different of the four kingdoms, as it wouldn't exactly be a kingdom, per se... no kings or castles here! I envisioned Outwest as a combination of the American Wild West and the Australian Outback--just hot, desert-y landscape with scattered towns, villages, and ranches throughout, but mostly empty, barren desert.

And what sort of fairy tales take place in the desert? Why, Aladdin, of course!

This one was a bit tricky, as I'd already decided I wanted to write a "steampunk Aladdin", and I'd been jotting down plot ideas for that... but when it came to creating an "Undersea Saga" version of it, I came to the realization that there needed to be a lot more to the story than the "traditional" sense--a street rat comes across a magical item that gives him access to riches beyond reason... but then what?

In particular, I decided to gender-swap the main character. "Aladdin" became "Delaina", an outlaw who survived by raiding stagecoaches that dared cross the desert wasteland. Instead of a lamp with a genie inside... there's going to be a special "magical" device found by our intrepid protagonist, one that provides her with access to riches beyond belief. (I'm not going to go into any detail about the device, because spoilers!) I had already decided on an object back when this was "Steampunk Aladdin", but everything I'd thought of was only confirmed when I saw this premade and knew I had to have it!


I love the look of the device in her hand! I am still deciding whether to give her a prosthetic limb, so that may change by the time the cover design comes around, but there you have it!

Instead of the street rat going through all this charade to win the eye and heart of the princess of the realm... Well, that part I'm going to keep to myself for now, but here's hoping that readers will find my alternative worthwhile still! Suffice to say, I don't think this one will have much romance in it--at least, not where it is just now. I don't know, a character could crop up and catch Delaina's eye as I'm writing the thing. I only have the bare-bones notes at this point. After posting this announcement, that is next on the "writing docket", fleshing out chapter-by-chapter the notes I have. If I see fit to include a romantic subplot, I just might, but for now, it seems that Princess of Undersea is the only book with romance in it, in the series.

Wouldn't that be fitting, though? Making Ylaine and Nathan my only romantic couple in the series? I don't know. I'm still thinking on that one.

Meanwhile, there will be gunfights, subterfuge, and all manner of fun things--including, by way of connection to the rest of the series, an appearance by none other than "Calamity Jacqui" from Fugitive of Crossway. Due to the events of that book, she's no longer a performing carnie... but her role in Fury of Outwest is more that of a bounty hunter. She's been dispatched to track down and "retrieve" the thing that Delaina has... but can the outlaw last long enough to find out the truth?

Hang on to your bowler hats, everyone... this is going to be a wild ride!

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Reader's Review: "Diamond Stained" by JMD Reid


Synopsis from Amazon: 

Burdened by regrets, a disgraced guard turns to a magical blade he is reluctant to wield.

Life had gone wrong for Obhin. Once a respected palace guard, now he sells his sword as a bandit. Trapped by his missteps, he little reason for hope...

Until one young woman sees more in him.

Passionate and headstrong, Avena has no patience for bullies. Haunted by her own bleak past, the healer sees in Obhin a chance for escape...a chance for them both.

This misfit pairing must learn to trust each other as they struggle to survive in a city of poverty and vice, for dark sorcerers, underworld crime bosses, and brutal bandits scheme to destroy them.

Can they polish clean their stained souls?

>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

I've been getting more and more into the grimdark genre, in spite of how squeamish I usually am. Take any movie with above-average violence (for example, if they show the wound actually happen, or the limb actually breaking...) and I'll usually hide my face behind a pillow or turn away from the screen when I know a particularly visceral visual is coming. It's less striking in novels, as I can just "jump" my eyes right over the paragraph detailing the exact moment of injury... but still, when I have to do that in every other scene, it begs the question: am I actually reading the novel, or just skimming it, and where is the enjoyment in that?

The one thing I have noticed, though, in the really good novels-with-a-surplus-of-violence, is that the ones I will continue reading have really great prose! That's what keeps me coming back, more often than not, is the fantastic character arcs, and the meaningful, thought-provoking prose that happens between fight scenes. Those are the parts I slow down and relish; that's what I keep in my mind every time I think of those books.

Guess what? JMD Reid is one of those "good authors" I mentioned a bit ago.

This may be less "grimdark" and more "sword and sorcery with extra violence", but there is quite a bit that I absolutely loved about this book, to counter those things that came across as too intense for me! 

First, can I just rave about the magic/religious system that he's invented for this world, one based on gemstones that grant different abilities based on the type of gemstone--that's the magic part. The society views these gemstones as gifts from their deity, and the colors of each gemstone are associated with a specific virtue--and there's a whole set of religious beliefs based around that. The adherents seek to build their lives around pursuing these "color" virtues, while shunning the Black: all that is wicked and evil and colorless.

But that's just one dimension of it. Another group takes these "colors" and interprets them as "tones": the virtuous Tones exist in harmony with one another, and the Black represents dissonance and disharmony. Both belief systems stem from the desire to emulate these virtues, as a sign of their commitment to their respective deity, the highest standard of morality.

And that's just one facet of what makes this story fascinating! Another is the characters Reid has crafted: Obhin, the dark bandit with his unorthodox views on modesty and his strange personal moral code that permits him to kill and run with gruff and uncouth mercenaries... and yet wracks him with guilt the whole time he's doing it. Avena, with her deep personal trauma that colors her every step and haunts her every moment, that drives her to recklessness and danger... yet it's also that trauma that gives her such keen insight into the nature of wounds and a drive to alleviate even the hurts that the healing topaz won't reach. Normally, the two wouldn't have anything to do with each other, but their fates converge and Obhin switches from attacker to protector, as dark forces conspire to wreak havoc among the people and twist the benefits of these gemstones to amass power for themselves and accomplish their nefarious goals.

Diamond Stained is a brilliant adventure with top-notch storytelling, plot twists that will make you hold your breath, characters that make you laugh and send shivers down your spine at the sight of their name, and all-around a magnificent tale set in a spellbinding world full of richness and depth, the way a fantasy novel should be! I give it *****5 STARS***** in rating--if you're looking for a new world to immerse yourself into, and you don't mind a hefty side of graphic violence in between paragraphs of singing prose, then may I say, Welcome to Kash! The Jewels of Illumination series awaits!

Further Reading: (Sword and Sorcery/Excellent World-Building/Strong Characters)
The Chronicles of Lorrek--Kelly Blanchard
        -Someday I'll Be Redeemed 
        -I Still Have A Soul 
        -I'm Still Alive 
        -Do You Trust Me? 
        -You Left Me No Choice 
        -They Must Be Stopped 
        -Find Me If You Can 
A Tune Of Demons Series--J. E. Mueller
       -Fire's Song 
       -Spirit's Lullaby
The Jill Andersen Series--J. D. Cunegan
       -Bounty 
       -Blood Ties 
       -Behind the Badge 
       -Behind The Mask 
The Red Dog Conspiracy--Patricia Loofbourrow
       -Gutshot (Novellette) 
       -The Alcatraz Coup (Novella) 
       -Vulnerable (Short Story) 
       -Jacq of Spades 
       -Queen of Diamonds 
       -Ace of Clubs 

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Reader's Review: "Hunter" by Joanna White

Synopsis from Amazon:

A reckless young woman named Averella does what no woman has ever done. She disguises herself as a man and purposefully gets herself arrested and thrown into Zagerah. Her brother Gabriel was taken, and with his disease, he will not survive on his own. She has no idea what to expect inside the prison; all she knows is that once men get taken, they never come back.

The Hunters will find her.

Genetically altered to be faster and stronger than humans, the Hunters use their powers to find and kill every prisoner who enters Zagerah. The only ones who can defeat them, are in fact, themselves.

Jared is a Hunter. It’s all he’s known, all he remembers. He kills ruthlessly and without regret, one prisoner after another. When a new prisoner Dalex shows up, everything begins to change. Jared goes undercover to make Dalex and the other prisoners believe he is one of them, a prisoner himself.

No one knows the truth. He will trick them. Toy with them. Then, he will kill them.

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

My Review:

Going by the blurb, one might reasonably expect this story to read like a "Mulan"-type knockoff, right? At least, if Mulan met, say, Shan Yu's son and the two were plunged into an "enemies-to-lovers" type situation. Basic storytelling at its most basic, am I right?

But this is not that. From the very beginning, Joanna White gives us a story that feels familiar, yet plays out in unique and unpredictable ways. All of my expectations were blown away by the end of the first chapter, and I could just settle in to enjoy a thrilling tale with plenty of twists, and no idea where or how it would end up, eventually. Would the slaves really escape? Would Averella's identity be uncovered? Could Dalex be the one to stop Jared from killing all the slaves, or would the story end with everyone dead, and the Hunters succeeding in doing their dark master's will, with any sort of resolution left to the sequels?

White keeps the suspense going by dividing the point of view between Jared and Averella. Occasionally, readers will see the same scenes repeated from each perspective, but other times the new point-of-view picks up where the other left off--and yet no matter which way it goes, the energy never wanes. The story keeps rolling at a brisk pace, captivating the reader's attention as they piece together what's really going on as a combination of the two narratives. I really enjoyed the fact that doing this allowed the reader an extra dimension as to the motivation behind their choices and responses, one that we wouldn't get just from one perspective or another.

I also really loved the whole concept of the Hunters. Their origins, the unique superpowers they are given, and the significance behind the reason they exist. Each of them has a unique power that gives them an advantage (and White's creativity in designing each ability cannot be understated!) yet with it comes a flaw that will render all their Hunter abilities inaccessible. The fugitives take a Hunter captive at one point and then run into a choice of whether to render the Hunter incapacitated through his flaw, or let him keep his abilities, so that the fugitives could use them as an advantage against their pursuers. An extra level of intrigue that opens the door to many plot twists the reader won't see coming!

Finally, the world-building in this novel is top-notch. I could picture each of the environments clearly as I read, and the various threats and struggles faced by the fugitive slaves as they attempt to escape Zagerah were astonishing--even including some mermaids at one point! Although these Merfolk were nothing like the ones I was used to, more the conniving, vicious, Siren-type of creatures. But still awesome!

Hunter easily earns a full *****5 STARS***** and I'd even add to that an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMENDED. There are some good moral lessons to be learned in this clean fantasy adventure, all wrapped up and woven through an amazing story with dynamic characters and the potential for wonderment in every book in the Valiant series!


Further Reading: (Clean Reads/Fantasy Adventure/Awesome World-Buidling)

The Alexander Legacy--Sophronia Belle Lyon
       -A Dodge, A Twist, and A Tobacconist 
       -The Pinocchio Factor
The Chronicles of Lorrek--Kelly Blanchard
        -Someday I'll Be Redeemed 
        -I Still Have A Soul 
        -I'm Still Alive 
        -Do You Trust Me? 
        -You Left Me No Choice 
        -They Must Be Stopped 
        -Find Me If You Can 
Verona: The Complete Mermaid Tales--Pauline Creeden
       -Scales 
       -Submerged 
       -Salt 
       -Surfacing
The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster
     -City of A Thousand Dolls 
     -Empire of Shadows
Wonderland Guardian Academy Series--Pauline Creeden
       -Red The Wolf Tracker
The Time Tree Chronicles--Lisa Rae Morris
       -The Emergence

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Reader's Review: "King's Warrior" by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt


 Synopsis from Amazon:

The hope of their world rests on the steel at his side...

Threat of invasion looms. Oraeyn dreams of glory on the battlefield. Instead, he must engage in a battle of wills with a headstrong princess while ushering her to safety (and boredom) in a small village. But they must put aside their differences to save their homeland and complete the second part of their mission: seek out the legendary King’s Warrior to persuade him to take up arms once more.

When their journey leads them to the lost realm of the dragons they get more adventure than either of them bargained for!
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My Review:

There is something to be said for a good, forthright, low fantasy novel! In fact, it plays into a genre I'm just learning about, "noblebright" fantasy, sort of set up as the opposite of "grimdark." Where grimdark fantasy is depressing, dystopian, gritty, and hopeless, usually populated by thugs, thieves, duplicitous noblemen, vagabonds, and antiheroes at best... Noblebright plays into the opposites of that: the characters are typically virtuous, the setting is peaceful and picturesque, challenges do exist, but they're often morally corrupt, and the virtuous heroes and heroines band together to outsmart and defeat the wicked villains.

King's Warrior is a shining example of noblebright fantasy. King Arnaud rules Aom-igh fairly and well, the most recent in a line of kings who established the kingdom after deflecting Dark Warriors from the Dark Country and preventing them from overwhelming and subjugating the people. This is done with the help of the Dragons, who subsequently disappear after promising that, should the Dark Country threaten again, they will lend their aid.

That time is now, but where are the dragons? One person might know where they are, but no one has seen this former King's Warrior in many years. To seek out the King's former friend, King Arnaud sends his own daughter, a trustworthy squire, and the Princess' faithful maidservant. They must travel across the kingdom, braving storms, suspicious villagers, treacherous magic-users, and the first indications of Dark Warrior "strike teams" hitting entire villages and burning them down in preparation for the invasion that looms ever closer with each day they spend looking for the King's Warrior.

It's a clean enough adventure, suitable for middle-grade readers, and I very much enjoyed the plot twists and the plot that was only somewhat predictable. There were some twists that I could see coming the minute the character came on the scene and the other characters expressed their clear assumptions about said character; there were other twists that were on the one hand so delightfully unexpected that I gasped while reading, yet at the same time wondering why the pacing and the narrator kept everyone in the dark for so long.

But that, I think, is the inherent pacing problem that every noblebright fantasy adventure contends with: that protracted journey that is designed to test the predetermined mettle of every specific character, not so much because a group of otherwise-capable people traveling in this region would naturally encounter such a challenge or come into conflict with each other just so... but because there was a point to be made, and the author needed it to be "just so" in order that the point could be made. I am guilty of such a thing myself in my own writing, and I'm trying to be better, but I also recognize how jarring it is to encounter it, as a reader.

That being said, speaking of twists, there are at least three specific twists that happened that were so aptly timed, well-placed, and brilliantly-executed that I'm definitely still interested in seeing how things develop in the rest of the series! I'd give King's Warrior a modest *****4.5 Star Rating***** and I'll include an Upstream Writer Certified RECOMMENDED endorsement. I know there's more in store, from how much I loved Schmidt's short story in a previous anthology (linked below), and I can acknowledge that first books are hard, but it's a decent start, and The Minstrel's Song has only just begun!

Further Reading: (Also By The Author/Clean Reads/Noblebright Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery)
Mythical Doorways--Fellowship of Fantasy (*Contains a story by the author)
The Chronicles of Lorrek--Kelly Blanchard
        -Someday I'll Be Redeemed 
        -I Still Have A Soul 
        -I'm Still Alive 
        -Do You Trust Me? 
        -You Left Me No Choice 
        -They Must Be Stopped 
        -Find Me If You Can 
The Time Tree Chronicles--Lisa Rae Morris
       -The Emergence
The Painter Place Saga--Pamela Poole
       -Painter Place 
       -Hugo 
A Tune Of Demons Series--J. E. Mueller
       -Fire's Song 
       -Spirit's Lullaby

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 19


Part 19
"The Dean's Office"

Lewis groaned and rolled onto his side. Why was his bed suddenly so uncomfortable? He opened his eyes, rubbing away what little sleep he'd gotten. Somehow he was laying on top of his bedding, fully clothed, and his shoulders ached terribly, like he'd pulled a muscle or two.

He reached up to his shoulders and felt the small tears in the fabric. The pain that lanced through him at the mere touch of his fingertips brought everything in the last twelve hours rushing back in painful clarity. The museum!

Lewis rocketed awake and sat upright, glancing down at his hands. The Chain rested against one palm, and there was the Gyth shining up at him from the blanket down at his feet. On instinct, he went to set the two pieces of the Phantasmagyth beside each other, but the memory of the chaos the restored Phantasmagyth wrought prompted him to keep them as far apart as possible. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, noticing that he was still wearing his warehouse jumpsuit, and there were definitely tears in the shoulder. He quickly slipped that outer layer off, noting the further damage to his own clothes underneath.

A small hum of chatter had begun in his closet, and when Lewis opened the door, a whole throng of tiny bodies tumbled out, sparkling as they zipped through the air, and crawling along the ground. Every inch of space was now filled with strangely-shaped gourds, and it smelled strongly of bubblegum.
Lewis snatched a shirt and shoved it over his face, pinching his nose shut as he staggered backwards. "What the heck are those things?" he spluttered.

The elves around his feet were giggling and running through the carpet fibers. A passing fairy paused to answer his question.

"They're special houses we make for ourselves in a safe, dark place. Our word for them is misti."

"Yeah, well now my closet smells like an air freshener factory!" Lewis complained, throwing the shirt over his head and storming to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair.

Queen Evalia sat on the tile countertop, attended by a gaggle of fairies. "Ah, good morning, Lewis!" she called up to him. "I hope you slept well after yesterday's ordeal."

Lewis groaned as the smell of the misti wafted up from his own shirt. He wrinkled his nose. "Okay, but did your fairykind have to build those funny-smelling gourds in my closet, with all my clothes in there? I don't want to walk around smelling like a girl!"

Evalia tilted her head, then nodded. "Ah, you must be referring to the misti. I'm sorry, the smell is actually quite pleasant when we can spread them out over a larger area--and it is strongest when the misti are fresh. It should wear off in a few days or so."

Lewis returned to the room to fold up his ruined cover-alls and grab his backpack for the day's classes. "Here's hoping, anyway," he muttered. "I'm going to see what the damage is over yesterday's catastrophe. I think all of you should stay out of sight till I can figure out if Krasimir Schlimme is on the lookout for you or not."

He returned to the bed and put the Chain safely in the small pocket at the top of his backpack. The gyth, he wrapped in his ripped shirt and stuffed in a shoebox, which he placed on the shelf lining the top of the closet. He'd have to figure out someplace more secure for what looked like a diamond the size of his fist, but that would have to do for now.

Out in the hallway of his dorm, Lewis glanced at everyone who passed him, his ears picking up on snatches of conversations, listening to what people might be talking about. There were plenty of people mentioning "the museum", and "what the heck happened yesterday", but other than a large poster declaring that Moulton House was "CLOSED FOR REPAIRS", he didn't see much.

Out on the streets of the Browning Academy campus, it was a different story. Warehouse 31 trucks rumbled up and down, along with dumpster trucks for hauling construction debris. Lewis saw a team of Warehouse 31 workers heading toward the museum and walking past him, but when he tried to wave, one of them stopped and pointed.

"You!" she snapped. "You're that kid who did the ride-along yesterday, when the whole building went berserk!"

Lewis felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but it did seem like everyone who caught her comment was infinitely more intent on ignoring them and keeping out of it, than expressing any interest.
"Um, yeah," he stammered. "I was just going to trade in my jumpsuit--"

"Don't," she said, yanking the bundle out of his hands. "Stanley's pretty steamed; word is he's already been to the Dean and complained. You're off the roster, kid. They've never had a student ride-along go so badly. Guess you have to find a posting somewhere else." She shrugged and kept walking, taking his ruined jumpsuit with her.

Lewis stood on the sidewalk, feeling so much like a rowboat set adrift in choppy water. What was he going to do about a job, now that working at the warehouse wasn't an option? The semester had already started, but surely there were openings somewhere! He shrugged and headed to the educational facilities. If he didn't have work duties to report for, the least he could do was attend his classes for the day.

In the Algebra classroom, many students held quiet conversations, spinning theories as to what might have caused the uproar on the day before. Some chalked it up to a prank, others said that the building was old and it just collapsed all of a sudden, while others seemed to think it was sabotage somehow.

"Whatever it was," said one knowledgeable young man with sharp features and sleek, dark hair, "The museum's just going to stay closed for the rest of the year. I hear a bunch of really expensive artwork got damaged by the rumpus."

Lewis could feel his heart thumping, and he wanted more than ever to just melt into a puddle and fade away. How much longer could he hold out until someone figured out he was to blame?

After class, Lewis found Melanie waiting for him in the quadrangle just outside the building. Keats was being his usual adorable self, yapping and rolling onto his back for belly-pats.

Melanie chuckled. "Glad to see he still wants to be friends with you," she remarked. "Come with me. The Dean asked me to bring you to his office for a chat."

Lewis felt the blood drain from his cheeks. The Dean! Stanley had complained about him specifically, hadn't he? Of all the people on campus to know that Lewis Grant had caused the wanton destruction of priceless displays, the Dean would definitely know it was him--and then what? Would Lewis be expelled from Browning Academy? Would he tell Lewis' parents? Evading Krasimir Schlimme was one thing, but trying to hide the truth from his own parents? Lewis didn't think he could, if they asked him at this point.

He felt nothing but trepidation and fear all the long way to the Administrative Block at the far end of campus. Here, there were few students walking about, if any. Mostly faculty tended to have any business at all being in this region of campus, as there weren't any shops or classrooms here, just private offices.

The Dean's office was at the end of one of these buildings, with a plaque bearing his name bolted to the wall just beside the door: "William J. Rushford, Dean of Students." Lewis had only met Mr. Rushford once, at Orientation Night the year before, when he'd first arrived at Browning Academy. He remembered being intimidated by the man, almost terrified of him, but whether that was because Dean Rushford was a terrifying person, or the whole Academy experience had just been dreadfully new to the young man, he couldn't recall. But he was duly terrified now, all things considered.

Melanie led Lewis into the building, and pointed to a few chairs placed alongside the wall while she approached the secretary's desk.

"Lewis Grant is here to see Dean Rushford," she said.

The secretary nodded. "I'll let the Dean know he's here," she answered.

Melanie gave Lewis a small wave as she left. The secretary stepped softly over to the imposing door along the far wall, tapped on it, and poked her head in briefly to say something Lewis couldn't hear. After a moment, she left the door and nodded to the petrified young man. "He's ready for you," she said. "Go ahead."

Lewis took a deep breath to steady his nerves as he crossed the room and entered the door.

Dean Rushford sat at his massive oak desk, but he left his chair to meet Lewis at the front of the room with a ready smile and a firm handshake. He had brown hair streaked with silver and receding a bit from his face, but his straight teeth and clear blue eyes bespoke welcome, not disappointment.
"Lewis Grant," he said warmly, gesturing to one of the chairs placed in front of his desk. "Please take a seat. Good to see you."

Lewis swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he dropped into the seat. He couldn't keep his hands from fidgeting as the Dean returned to the tall leather armchair behind the desk. He shuffled a few papers from a file in front of him. Lewis had a pretty clear idea what those papers might contain.

"Okay, so you're a second-year student here at Browning Academy, it looks like," Rushford murmured. "Grades are looking good, class attendance fulfills expectations..." He set the paper down and clasped his hands in front of him, looking right at Lewis. "It seems that your job security is the part that you've been having trouble with. Why don't you fill me in on why that seems to be the case?"

Lewis opened his mouth, but any words he might want to say seemed to scramble on contact with his brain. "My jobs..." he stammered, but he couldn't finish the sentence. What could he say? I was just fine working in the janitor position until I found out that the artist whose exhibits I cleaned was a sadistic maniac who got away with trapping and displaying creatures from another dimension simply because they weren't human. "Well, uh, it's been... tricky, you know, sir..."

Dean Rushford nodded. "The second year is always the hardest--just when you get the hang of classes, school policy throws you another curve by adding in a work shift you have to keep track of, a job you might not have any experience in, and I know it can be tough." His eyes dropped to the papers on his desk. "Now, from what I can see here, Daniel Gilroy had no issues with your work ethic. He confirmed that you always showed up on time, and wanted to do the best you could with whatever assignment he gave you."

Just hearing the adult saying good things about him was enough to quiet Lewis' nerves.

The Dean continued. "The trouble, it seems, centers around the guest artist we allowed to open an exhibit at Moulton House. I received a letter from Mr. Krasimir Schlimme this morning, telling me that he'd found your skillset sub-par, he has accused you of stealing his artwork, of intentionally defacing some of his displays, and he seems to think that yesterday's debacle had something to do with you." He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Is there anything you'd care to explain to me? Who am I to believe? Mr. Gilroy, who says you're an admirable student and a trustworthy employee, or Mr. Schlimme, who seems to think you are a thief and a troublemaker? Don't worry; nothing you say here will be communicated in any way to Mr. Schlimme, or even Gilroy, for that matter. You can speak freely and in confidence, Lewis."

Actually I can't, Lewis thought to himself miserably. Not one syllable of his true motives could ever be shared, or else the fate of these creatures would be sealed! "Well, sir... I--" Lewis swallowed hard and tried to come up with the right words to say how earnest he was. "I would say that every time I entered Moulton House and put on the uniform, I made it my goal to do my best work, every time."

"And did you, at any point, end up bumping or breaking a display or two, no matter how slight or even accidental?"

Lewis slumped his shoulders. "There were a few times," he began slowly. "Once, when a group of children came into the space during a birthday celebration, they broke a lot of displays and caused a lot of mess. Maybe he was referring to that. There was one other time when I was cleaning and Mr. Schlimme came up behind me and I accidentally knocked a display off the wall... but he was there, and he said not to worry about it."

Dean Rushford leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin. "And at any point, to the best of your knowledge, did you ever see any displays go missing?"

Lewis gulped. How much did Schlimme really know about his attempts to rescue that first group of fairykind? "Well, um," he stammered, "The exhibit hall changed many times, and displays would be in new configurations, or whole new sets of exhibits replacing old ones, but I always assumed it was those Warehouse 31 techs that were responsible for taking the old things down and putting the new ones up. I never did anything like that, as the janitor."

A glint flickered in Dean Rushford's eye. "Except the day Mr. Schlimme was preparing to add the giant sculpture, correct? He enlisted your assistance in transporting the displaced art--"

"To storage, yes," Lewis supplied quickly. It occurred to him that in all of this he never really considered the cameras, the way they were watching him even if Krasimir or Adolf wasn't in the room. "But I never took the pieces out of the museum itself." Because they weren't pieces, they were fairies! His thoughts justified.

Dean Rushford nodded. "Yes, that does seem to coincide with what we saw on the security camera footage. Thank you for your honesty, Lewis." He clasped his hands on the desk in front of him. "Unfortunately, that brings us to Warehouse 31, and Stanley Finch's complaints. He said that you asked a lot of strange questions at the beginning, but that he never expected any issues--until the ride-along where everything went wrong. Stanley insists that he's never had a ride-along that resulted in such a fiasco, yet from everything you've told me, I can't help thinking that he's exaggerating when he tries to pin the blame on you. Again, I've reviewed the camera footage and it seems you weren't even in Exhibit Hall G when the displays collapsed. The foreman sent you to Hall B, didn't he?"

Lewis felt his spirits lift. Really, not even the cameras had noticed his little detour with the Gyth! "He did," he nodded. "I was in there when I heard all the screaming and crashing and shouting." He wagged his head. "Was anyone able to figure out what happened?"

Rushford grinned. "The safety responders found evidence that some pipes running through the ceiling and the outer walls had burst, leaking water and particulate-laden air into the building and causing irreparable damage. It was nobody's fault, really. I just wanted to see what you had to say about it." The Dean nodded slowly as he allowed the news to sink in. "Anyway, that leaves you without a job to fulfill the student-work requirement for your grades, and I'm sorry to inform you, Lewis, that there aren't currently any job openings here on campus. It's after the start of the semester, as you know, so all openings have been filled, with the exception of the warehouse tech position you are of course vacating at this point."

Lewis stiffened. His lack of employment would affect his grades? "What am I going to do, then?"

A smile flickered around the Dean's mouth. "I said there were no openings on campus, but you're in luck! There's a carnival setting up nearby, one that Browning has worked with before, and the manager has said he's willing to employ Academy students while they're here. It's more of an evening shift, you'll need to take the bus to and from campus every time, and you might have to work a few extra days to make up the hours, but the school is willing to sponsor your bus ticket and waive any missing hours, so long as you can keep the job for the duration of the carnival." He stared at Lewis with his piercing gaze. "Can you manage that? No getting into trouble this time?"

Lewis nodded. Anything to keep his grades up! "I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, sir!"

Dean Rushford grinned and reached out to shake his hand. "Wonderful! The manager's name is Mr. Thaddeus Storm. You'll report to the carnival grounds on Friday, right after your classes for the day."
Lewis stood and nodded as he shook the Dean's hand. "Yes, sir. Thank you!"

He exited the office in a much better mood than he'd been several minutes ago. Sure, it didn't sound like much of an arrangement, and leaving campus every day probably meant Lewis had a lot of late nights in his future--but his grades wouldn't suffer, and at least he'd have something to keep him busy while he figured out what to do next to help his Phantasmian friends.
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