Saturday, December 30, 2023

The Knitting Book Blog Tag



This tag was created by Cara (Wilde Book Garden) on YouTube. I was tagged for it by Raina at Enthralled By Love


Cast On: The first section you scope out in a bookshop



When I enter a bookshop, I'll usually make a beeline for the Fantasy section, especially if they have something like a Young Adult or Teen section. Then I might meander over to Mystery/Thrillers, because I know a few authors whose works I very much enjoy. Depending on how the store is arranged, I may also peruse the Science Fiction section, in case a particular title grabs my attention. Altogether, it should keep me occupied for a while. It's rare that I go into a bookstore and don't find anything I want to own!

Knit: A super-hyped book that completely delivered for you


When Netflix announced that they were going to produce an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, I was immediately interested. It was a book that I'd seen occasionally (while checking out the Teen Fantasy section at Barnes and Noble) but hadn't read quite yet. I went into watching the show without much of an inkling as to what I was getting myself into, and utterly adored the casting! Of course, I immediately placed a hold on Shadow and Bone at the library. I'd hoped to actually pick it up before I got too far in the series, but out of three visits to the library, it was never on the shelf! Finally, it came to my turn to check it out, and I found the same scenes and characters from the show now brought to mind anew by the novel itself! I have seen adaptations done badly, so I was very pleased to find that Netflix had done the book justice, at least as far as I got in that first book. Turns out, the adaptation also included the storyline from Six of Crows as well, working in tandem, so just the first book in the Grishaverse trilogy wasn't everything I'd already seen in the first season! I'll definitely be reading more of that series, though!

Purl: A character you believe deserves more love



So many! I enjoy at least one or two characters in each of the books I've ever read, and I've noticed a trend that the characters I am most drawn to are the side characters. These are the "unsung heroes" of the book, often carrying their own arcs and backstories that we don't get to see because the author needs us to focus on the struggles and strengths of the main character--but it's often in those interactions with the side characters that we see the development of the main character. Without side characters, the book would be a dull, dragging slog through self-importance and and an echo-chamber of singular thoughts. Side note: I've read just such a book, and there was almost no character development to speak of, and the book was so insufferable that I abandoned the whole series then and there. Give me an interesting side character over the most charismatic hero, any day!

Chart: A book or author you've been meaning to read but haven't got around to


I am terrible about getting through my TBR list in any kind of timely fashion! I'm about 90 books deep, and that's just the indie books that I intend to feature on this blog under the Reader's Reviews--but I'll at least mention a couple of them here!

First of all, there is The First Binding by R. R. Virdi. Longtime followers of this blog will recognize the name for sure, but that would be from his start as a self-published indie author of a roaring good paranormal investigator series, The Grave Reports. Readers would follow the snarky main character Vince Graves, a disembodied soul doomed to inhabit the bodies of Recently-Deceased-Under-Suspicious-Supernatural-Circumstances, assigned the task of discovering the murderer and avenging the person's death, and dealing with his own personal demons along the way! I have been a fan from the very start, so when he announced that he'd been signed with Tor Publishing (a very big-deal traditional publishing house!) for an epic-fantasy trilogy, I was absolutely thrilled at the notion. I did end up pre-ordering the ebook, but it's been sitting on my queue until I can wade through all the other books I've acquired over the years. He's already gearing up to release the sequel, and I still haven't read the book I bought! What gives?

The other book I'll mention is one by a friend of mine. Many years ago she saw my blog, saw the serial stories I'd post on there, and got inspired to start blogging her own serials. There was one story in particular that I followed avidly, completely enamored with her writing style and creativity in story development. That all fades and I don't hear from her for a while.... and then lo and behold she's written her own fantasy story, a duology, in fact! The book is called Empire of Blood and my friend is Olivia Cornwell--I have no doubt she's done an amazing job with it, and I can't believe it has taken me so long to even acquire her book, much less getting around to reading it at long last! (Remember how I have so many books on my TBR??)

Whew! Maybe this confession is just the sort of accountability I need to really buckle down and read more!

Double-Pointed Needles (DPNs): A book you can read out of order AND a series people might think you can but you actually can't


Ooh, this was a hard one to answer at first because I'm one of those "weird" people who hates to read a series out of order if I can help it! I'll flat-out refuse to read a series till I can get the books in the right order! (Which means I've not read a lot of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, sorry folks!)

That being said, I did a quick Google search to see if any series I've read qualifies as those that other people might say one could read out of order. Such as a series that I, myself, have not strictly adhered to the chronological order, namely Agatha Christie's Poirot series, or Brian Jacques' Redwall series. My local library would only have a smattering of titles on hand at any given time, so for both of those it was really a matter of "Get what you can while you're here." To this day, I believe there are a handful of books in both those series that I haven't read, maybe the odd few that I never quite found during my library visits, or didn't know about to specifically place on hold--but I'm none the worse for wear, and you can be, too!

Then there's a series like Sue Grafton's ABC Mysteries series, where she has each book named for a letter of the alphabet. I started reading the series from A is for Alibi and I'm nearly done by now, but I can say that although it's in "alphabetical order", the mysteries themselves are really self-contained and only occasionally are there side characters that carry over from one book to the next, and especially there are some side characters that show up in some way in every book, so they can really be read in whatever order you find them.

Lastly, we finish with a series that definitely cannot be read out of order, and one that I think applies here very much is the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore. It may seem like a flexible series because first of all it has numbers in the titles and the numbers are not in order, but it's definitely a sequential series and there is so much happening in each book that if you want to skip ahead or if you don't know about the actual order of the books and try to read them by the order of the titles, then you'll miss large parts of the story and it won't make sense till you can put it all in order.

Cables: A book you heard negative reviews for but you ended up loving



Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It wasn't so much the negative reviews as everyone making a huge deal about the copious amounts of steamy sex scenes in it! Those who enjoyed it most were the type who enjoyed smutty romance books. I'm not really that type, but it wasn't till someone recommended it while telling me about the interesting things that happen in it--the time travel, the stunning visuals, the bravery of the main character Claire to face historical issues with modern solutions--that finally convinced me to give it a try.

I read it, and I wouldn't say I loved it the way I love stories that I would recommend to everyone else and read over and over again, but I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would! The sex scenes were definitely there, but I would say, for as many sex scenes I've read in novels that don't necessarily make a huge deal about there being sex scenes in their books, Diana's writing style was definitely not as crass as some descriptions have been. She makes a multi-sensory experience, talking about the sensations of the setting, the emotional component, and what's going on around the deed, so that someone who doesn't much care for the activity of the scene can still read the conversation happening without, as it were, "dwelling on the visuals." I heard negative things about it, but it wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, and I enjoyed it more than I expected to!

Skein: A trope you can't stand

Speaking of romance novels.... I started thinking about tropes that irked me to no end, and the ones that came to mind first all tended to be most prevalent in romance novels!

Things like "She's Not Like Other Girls", or "Always The Victim"--those tropes placed on protagonists (male as well as female) where everybody else in the world is exactly the same, BUT PROTAGONIST IS DIFFERENT, and that's what's going to kick off the action and change the world. "Always The Victim" speaks to the tropes where the protagonist is a "noble" character who is picked on mercilessly by absolutely everyone, so when it comes out that he or she is "special" or "important", he or she has to "fight to be heard" because no one takes him or her seriously and whenever something terrible happens, somehow it's always aimed at the protagonist in some way.

I get annoyed with romance novels--especially in supernatural/paranormal/anything fantasy-adjacent genres, because invariably they're going to use the "Fated Mates" trope, the one where the hardened, snarky, "strong" female type sees the ugly/abusive/secretive/"lone wolf"/outsider male "love interest" and the two of them are overtaken by "forces beyond their control" and it doesn't matter how terribly the Big Strong Important Inhumane Man behaves, the female protagonist is "consumed" by her desire for him, or "resigned to her fate" because she's his mate so she has to just take it because there's no other way.

I'll talk about two more tropes, and these generally tend to occur in novels where some kind of magic or super-power is involved: Too Important To Die, and a trope I call Boyfriends With Superpowers.
Too Important To Die is irritating because it's a character that the author is obviously attached to, so it is evident they expect the reader to care as much as they do, so much that they forget to actually put in the effort to make the reader care as the story develops... but at the same time, all the perils and death-defying situations and sacrificial moments the "chosen hero" faces that end up killing everybody around him always seem to be things that he recovers from, although he might pass out a few times. Why? Because he's "Too Important To Die." So things that would definitely snuff out anybody else, he just passes out and wakes up to go after the antagonist one more time. Or something happens to protect him so he doesn't die. Heck, I've even stopped watching certain shows because the writers decided that the antagonist was "Too Important To Die"!

The last trope I'll talk about is something I see most often in TV shows that makes me groan so hard, "Boyfriends With Superpowers." You know it when you see it: the story always begins with the protagonist and their love interest in a close friendship, maybe even an amorous relationship. Then one of them develops/discovers some Big Important Secret, like a lost fortune or superhuman ability, and all of a sudden they push their romantic partner away, saying "it's safer if we're not together anymore." Of course then what happens is the antagonist (who knows about the previous relationship but not necessarily about the breakup) ends up capturing the "normal" ex-partner, so the "hero" has to choose between revealing the Big Important Secret to the world and facing up to "betraying their loved one", or keeping that secret and losing the "most important person in their life." (who they had just broken up with, but obviously still had feelings for!) The moment I see the super-powered hero push away the love interest partner, I can pretty much predict that the partner is going to be captured or threatened somehow, and the Big Important Secret is going to come out anyway, so why didn't the characters just choose to be open about their struggles anyhow? I've also seen books and shows that have actually done this, where the couple is honest with each other, and it's fantastic and both characters are stronger for it, and it in no way inhibits the storytelling at all, so why don't more authors choose to do it this way?

Okay, rant over!

Gauge Switch: An author who is always a good fit for you


There's a handful of authors whose styles I know well enough that whenever I see the names on the spine, I can recognize them at once and know that I'm in for a spectacular time, even if I haven't read that particular title!

Five common authors whose names come to mind at once are Naomi Novik, Anthony Horowitz (especially his more recent stuff! I've tried reading some of his middle-grade titles and they just weren't as good!), Marissa Meyer, Mark Lawrence, and Cornelia Funke in particular. The vibes of their books always seem to resonate with me in a certain way. Even somebody who doesn't know me personally all that well will usually succeed in getting a book that I enjoy if it's by any of these authors!

But I am a prolific reader and I don't just go to the public library or a big-name bookstore to find authors to love! Over ten years of featuring reviews on my blog of more than a hundred titles, at least five authors stand out above the rest: Amy Hopkins, Kelly Blanchard, R. R. Virdi, Kimberly A. Rogers, and the various amazing members of the Writerpunk Press Group. I'd highly recommend anything from these names!

Stitch Marker: A specific scene that stands out to you


I'm not altogether sure I have a definite answer to this one, since my reading habits make it hard for any one scene to stand out among the rest--I tend to "vibe" with the book as a whole while I read!
That being said, as I type this one particular scene comes to mind, from Brandon Sanderson's Firefight, the second in the Reckoner Novels trilogy. I cherish the scene because it really cemented the series as one of my favorite series to use Portland, Oregon as a principal location.

In the scene, the main character David is talking with Megan, a character he's trying to get to know, while she's been fairly cold to him for a while. He has just learned that Megan can't swim and avoids going near the water for some reason. He asks her how that could be, since she's from a "port city", after all. He, being from Chicago, at least knows there are a few rivers around the city. David assumes she would have gone swimming a lot there as a kid. Megan takes one look at him, screws up her face and utters the most "authentically Portland" response I have ever read: "In the Willamette?!?!?"

Locals know why I laughed so hard when I read her reaction. That one moment stays in my memory to this day.

Yarn Weight: Bookish taste buddies

This was an interesting question, but I think I picked out a few people from whom I've had book recommendations that panned out very well! They all have blogs, and the recommendations I've seen from them are definitely worthwhile!

Novelty Yarn: A book that looked perfect on paper but just didn't work out


Oh, this one took a few tries to figure out what to answer, but I landed on the book Leviathan by Scott Westerfield.

It started out so lovely, and I do like a good steampunk adventure! He had the population divided into two factions, one that developed their "machinery" by biologically "growing" it from animals with the right sort of characteristics. These were the Darwinists. Then there were the "Luddites", the ones who used more of the conventional mechanical means for their "technology" and vehicles, with steam-powered machines and factories.

Where it "went wrong", I think, was that the whole premise of the book was that the Big Evil Luddites were dominant over the Darwinists, and had declared a war, with the "peace-loving" Darwinists seeking merely to defend themselves. The Luddites were boorish, cruel, and obstinate, while the Darwinists were community-oriented, contented, and understanding. There was no in-between, which is where I drew the line. It was very obvious which side the author wanted you to hate, and which side was supposed to be the "heroes" of the tale, and I have to say I really dislike books like that! The sort where the author doesn't let the reader identify with characters on their own terms, doesn't let the reader evaluate the characters' choices for themselves to decide who is "right" and "wrong." I came away from the book with intense disappointment, and ultimately I found nothing else in it that I would begrudgingly say made the story at all acceptable. So much so, that I would genuinely question the tastes of anyone who touts Leviathan as "good steampunk." I have most certainly read better-planned stories than that one!

Scarf: A good book for getting into a genre


I couldn't think of "good books" for getting into any of my favorite genres, so for this one I actually chose a book (or rather, a trilogy) that I feel was a good introduction to a genre I don't read very much.
That genre is grimdark fantasy, and the trilogy is The Red Queen's War trilogy by Mark Lawrence. I hadn't read too much grimdark fantasy before I read his first trilogy, the Broken Empire trilogy--and that one was intense and I found most of the characters rather disturbing, but at the same time, I kept on reading because wow, the story was fascinating and the prose was stunning!

That being said, I feel like The Red Queen's War is actually a much better introduction to the genre because first of all, it errs more on the side of humor than true violence; second, it's still set in the same post-apocalyptic world as Broken Empire, and it definitely still qualifies as grimdark in much respects. If you're looking to get into grimdark, I can't speak for any of the other authors famous for that genre (like Brent Weeks or Joe Abercrombie) but Red Queen's War in particular is a great way to find a few giggles in between the more visceral stuff that grimdark fantasy features!

Socks: An under-appreciated author who deserves more hype


Being a reviewer of indie books, I encounter a lot of authors that definitely fit this bill! But for the sake of this post, I'm going to pick one author in particular whose books I've loved, who could definitely use some extra attention from readers who've never heard of her!

Amy Hopkins is the author of the Talented series, a story I've billed as "if Hermione Granger settled down after Hogwarts and opened a tea shop where she sold enchanted teas, and crossed paths with lots of magical shenanigans in the process." I absolutely adore the characters she created for this series, so varied and yet so vivid. When I'm reading her books, I can picture her characters so clearly that even if I were to see an isolated line of dialogue, I could probably picture who said it, from the manner of speaking alone! I've read four out of the five book series, and I am so excited to read the final book! I would definitely recommend her books to anybody who likes books with quite a bit of magic, a bit of intrigue, a lot of humor, a fantastic variety of characters, and a spectacular plot line with twists that keep you guessing!

Cast-Off: A weirdly specific thing you love

Weirdly specific? I'd probably go with "books that flip the tropes." It's one thing if I am reading a character interaction and I know exactly where the scene is going to go... it's ANOTHER if I'm reading a scene and I have predictions--and then the story twists in a completely different direction! I love stories like that. I get the most excited when I encounter stories that are unpredictable, that do the unexpected, or take what other writers usually do in a story and do something completely unique. It's what draws me to certain fairy tale retellings over others, and the surest way to get me to put down a book is to make it predictable in the opening scene. (Just check out my answer for "tropes you can't stand")

Crafting Party: Tag people!

This was a very fun blog tag to do! If you're reading this and you have a blog, consider yourself tagged! And if you don't have a blog, feel free to comment with your own recommendations in any category from this post! If I see the title of a book I've read in any comments, there's a high probability that I will respond! Let's see those book titles, people!

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?

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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!)

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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!