Well, if this wasn’t a ride. The book starts in the Kiln where Xie Lian and White No-Face are supposed to fight it out, but after the build-up of the previous book, it was over rather fast. A lot of action follows, as Xie Lian and Hua Cheng try to stop White No-Face’s plans to destroy humanity.
And then, we finally learn the identity of White No-Face. I for one was gobsmacked. It was more interesting than learning what he wants with Xie Lian. Things get rather difficult for all gods, with an epic battle following. Everything rests on Xie Lian, but before he can find a solution, the book ends.
This volume was full of action and not so much about romance. But Xie Lian is more comfortable with showing his emotions with Hua Cheng, and everything was cute and sweet. A lot rests on the last volume. I can’t wait to read it.
All the Dead Shall Weep is the fifth book in Harris’ alt-history western series, Gunnie
Rose, set in 1930s America that’s been divided to small, lawless countries.
After the events of the previous book in the point of view of Lizbeth’s sister,
Felicia, the story returns to Texoma and Lizbeth’s hometown Segundo Mexia,
where she has settled with her husband Eli, the grigori prince from the Russian
governed San Diego.
But all is
not well. Lizbeth has recently suffered a miscarriage and Eli doesn’t seem to
care. The arrival of Felicia and Eli’s brother Peter push things to a point,
and Eli leaves to his home in San Diego, taking Peter with him. The things he
says before he goes indicate that he’s not coming back.
Lizbeth and
Felicia are left behind; Felicia mainly because her growing powers as a grigori
mean she’s not safe in San Diego. But turns out she’s not safe in Texoma
either. Word of her powers have spread and a magic family after another sends
their most eligible members to woo her—and not all of them do it nicely. People
are targeting Lizbeth too, on top of which a strange militia keeps attacking
her hometown.
After
several books, the world is familiar and the backstory has grown interesting. Lizbeth
is as tough as ever, but with a vulnerable side too. Felicia’s death magic is
terrifying, but it’s not a complete cure-all, as the story shows. The narrative
alternates between the women, giving the inner thoughts of both of them—and
they both have a lot on their plates. Death still comes easily and is easily
cast away, but only when it’s about people trying to kill them.
This was a fast-paced,
quick read and another excellent book in the series. However, I was a little
disappointed with how things were solved between Lizbeth and Eli. It seemed a
bit of a copout after everything she went through. The addition of details from
Europe, like Agatha Christie’s books and Hitler seemed a bit superfluous, but
they help to ground the story in its era and promise interesting things to
come. I’m looking forward to reading more.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Guardian: Zhen Hun is urban fantasy set in an imaginary Dragon City in modern China, with
references to party politics and complete with a nepo hire, when a nephew of a
high-up party official is given a job at the Special Investigations Department,
the supernatural division of the Ministry of Public Security.
Guo
Changcheng is a recent college graduate and a shut-in who has no idea what he
has been signed for. Learning that some of his coworkers aren’t human, or even
alive, is a bit too much for him, but after the initial blackout, he promptly
(timidly) sets out to work, only to spend most of the book fainting, screaming,
and crying. But he has an empathic nature and isn’t quite as hopeless as his
boss originally feared. And after encountering some really bad ghosts, his
coworkers don’t seem so scary anymore either. The only one who frightens him is
his perfectly human boss, Zhao Yunlan.
Zhao Yunlan
is the Director of the Special Investigations and in charge of investigating
supernatural crimes. He’s in his early thirties, a handsome and temperamental chain-smoker
and a bit of a player. He’s also the Guardian to the Soul-Guarding Order, which
allows him to freely move in all three realms (heaven, mortal realm and the
netherworld) and hobnob with the people there, like the Soul-Executing Emissary
feared by everyone but him.
The book
consists of two stories. In the first, Guo Changcheng and Zhao Yunlan
investigate a murder of a university student that’s supernatural in origin. At
the university, they encounter Shen Wei, a handsome, mild-mannered young
professor whom they end up pulling into their investigation, mostly because
Zhao Yunlan is attracted to him at first sight. But the professor isn’t what he
seems, as the readers are soon shown.
The second
story takes place in the mountains after an earthquake. Wang Zheng, a ghost
employee at the SID, is from that region and she wants to return to rebury her
bones. By coincidence, Shen Wei is going there with his students too, and
the two parties travel together. But things aren’t how Wang Zheng has let them believe, and Zhao Yunlan ends up needing the help of the Soul-Executing Emissary
to get everyone home safely. And once there, it’s finally time for Zhao Yunlan
to confront Shen Wei to find out who he truly is and if he’s as indifferent to Zhao
Yunlan as he pretends to be.
This was an
excellent book. The mysteries weren’t complicated but they were suitably scary.
Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei were interesting characters, and even though there
wasn’t as much interaction between them as I wanted, theirs is clearly a
romance larger than life. Side characters were fun, especially Daqing, a
talking black cat who is thousands of years old. There was a lot of information
about Chinese mythology, but I would’ve wanted more about the everyday Chinese
life too. The book ends at a natural point with a promise of interesting things
to come. I will definitely read more.
The second
volume of Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu, a xianxia set in alternative 7th
century China, picks up where the previous left, at the banquet where stunning
revelations have ruined the party. Battle after battle ensues, barely giving
the reader time to adjust. In the end, Shen Qiao has to step in to save the
night and reveal who he is.
Pace calms
a little after that, but not by much. The narrative is much tighter than in the
first volume. The politics of the backstory have been set aside, the cast of
characters is smaller, and Shen Qiao has a clear goal: finding his treacherous friend
who poisoned him. He parts ways with Yan Wushi, only to have the man return in
his life in a most unfortunate manner possible.
It’s clear
by now that this isn’t a love story. It’s the story of Shen Qiao’s trials and
tribulations. He’s tested time and again, beaten to near death, only to rise
back up and grow even stronger. Yan Wushi barely makes an appearance, and there
are no scenes from his point of view. But I still read it like a love story,
rooting for the pair, only to have my hopes crushed.
Even
without a romance, it’s a wonderful story. Shen Qiao is a great character with
excellent morals and kind personality. It’s wonderful to follow his journey. Yan
Wushi is ever the schemer and it’s difficult to get a hang of him. The volume
doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but there’s a promise of an interesting story
to come. And I haven’t given up on Yan Wushi yet—and neither has Shen Qiao. I
absolutely have to read more.
Thornhedge is a good retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It’s short, but it has everything a story needs: a sweet, resolute heroine and a hero who believes in her, great emotions and a happy ending.
Toadling is born human, but she’s replaced with a changeling right after birth and brought to the fairy land where she grows up being loved. Then, one day, she’s brought back to the human world to keep in rein the changeling who has replaced her. But it’s easier said than done. Out of options, she spells the changeling to sleep for eternity—until a kind knight arrives and frees them both.
This was a quick read that left me feeling happy. Toadling was delightful, and while Halim was a somewhat forceful character who did what he wanted, he learned to listen to her in the end. I don’t think the story improved for being set in the ‘real’ world instead of a fairy tale land though. The historical references tended to yank me out of the story. But if you want a quick, cute read, this is for you.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
