Kiss Hard is the
fourth book in Hard Play contemporary romance series by Nalini Singh about four
rugby playing brothers, and it’s my favourite. Danny and Catie were well
matched in temperament and current situation as athletes at the top of their game. Catie being a double amputee was
handled well from a drama point of view (no idea if it was true to life). They
were fun to be around, and the hot scenes were good. There wasn’t any huge
drama or heartbreak, but plenty of opportunities to heal, especially for Catie
who had great trust issues. I shed many tears. I hope this isn’t the last of
the series, even though there are no more Bishop-Esera brothers left.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hunters of the Lost City by Kali Wallace is post-apocalyptic fantasy for middle grade
readers. The town of Vittoria has stood fifty years behind tightly guarded
walls, keeping magically created monsters at bay, the residents unable to go
more than a couple of miles outside and only on daytime. They know they are the
last people in the world, after a magical plague unleashed by a sorcerer killed
everyone else.
Octavia is a
twelve-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a hunter of the monsters like her
mother and her recently died eldest sister. But her parents have different
ideas and apprentice her to learn magic instead. But she’s a headstrong, wilful
girl, and she ventures outside the wall anyway. There, against everything she
knows to be true, she meets a girl who isn’t from her town. Sima tells her the
world is still out there.
But instead
of haling this news as a miracle like Octavia expects, the town leader denies everything
and locks her new friend up. It’s up to Octavia to save Sima and find the truth
about the world.
This was a
good book with a solid plot about fear and how it cripples you, and people who
cling to power no matter the cost to others. I’m not entirely sure though, that
it was a good MG book.
Octavia,
despite being twelve, behaved like a much older kid, with strength and skills
to match, and ability to figure out complex issues that adults somehow had
missed. The story gave her responsibilities beyond her age, and then handed the
crucial parts for grownups to solve, sidelining her. The chapters were too long
for younger readers and slowed the pace, and I was annoyed with the stereotypical representation of Sima and her culture.
Nonetheless, as long as I imagined Octavia as a
sixteen-year-old, I was able to enjoy the story. The ending was conclusive, so
this was likely a stand-alone, but it might be interesting to read Octavia
explore the world.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
T.
Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) has an amazing ability to write adult fairy tales
that sound exactly like the stories I grew up with. The tone, pace, and tropes
like fairy godmothers in Nettle & Bone are all as should for a comforting
reading experience, no matter the grimness of the story.
Marra is a
princess who has had to watch first the beloved eldest sister and then the second
sister be married off to a prince to protect her country from invasion. If the
second sister dies too, Marra will be next, so she’s whisked off to a cloister
to keep her safe—not from the prince but for him.
Fifteen years
of secluded life later, she’s unprepared, at thirty, to deal with the realisation
that the prince abuses her sister physically and mentally, and the only thing
keeping her relatively safe is to stay pregnant. But that’ll only last until
she delivers a boy.
Filled with
anger for her sister, Marra sets out to save her with a vague notion that such
a heroic act needs a heroic journey and deeds. She meets a witch who gives her
three impossible tasks, and then decides to accompany her on the quest. Good
thing too, because Marra wouldn’t have survived without her. They are joined by
a knight with a death wish and Marra’s fairy godmother who isn’t quite what she
seems.
But it isn’t
just the prince they need to defeat. There’s a curse on his kingdom, and until
that’s dealt with, Marra’s sister and her child are as good as dead.
This was
such a wonderful book. Marra was an excellent character, slightly slow and naïve
for her age, but utterly determined to see her quest through. In the end, her
role in saving her sister was mostly about getting together the people who could
do it for her. The two old witches were brilliant and fun, and the knight a
mature man who was just perfect for Marra. The language was rich and the
narrative delightful, and if the world was a fairly generic fairy tale kingdom,
with Christian concepts like christening thrown in the mix, it didn’t affect my
enjoyment of the story.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Bone Orchard is adult fantasy at its best: dark, disturbing, and romantic, with
intriguing characters and enough political machinations to keep one guessing to
the end. It’s also a story of survival and dealing with trauma so severe that
the only way to handle it is to shatter one’s mind to several independent personas.
Charm runs
the most popular brothel in Borenguard, with the Emperor of Boren himself as
her client. But she is the Emperor’s prisoner, has been for decades, thanks to
pills that keep her and the Emperor’s family eternally young. He controls her
with a mindlock that is used for keeping those with psychic abilities in rein
and from going mad.
But she has
a way around the control. She has shattered her mind into separate personas, each with a living body of flesh she
calls bone ghosts, copies of her that don’t
need sustenance. Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain each hold a facet of
her to keep the traumatic memories of her past from overwhelming her. Their bodies
are unique creations of Lady, with whom Charm shares her mind, but who is
mostly kept sleeping because of her delicate nature.
Then the
Emperor summons Charm to his deathbed and gives her one last command: find out
who murdered him and keep his sons from inheriting the throne. The command
plunges her in the middle of political machinations and on a road that will
either destroy her mind for good—or heal it.
This was an
absolutely brilliant book. Slow-paced, but constantly moving ahead. Charm doesn’t
have an easy time figuring out what happened to the Emperor and her task is
made even more difficult when the Lady starts to fight over the control of
their shared mind. The bone ghosts, who serve the customers at her brothel, begin
to show independent streaks too.
There are
three point of view characters, Charm, Lady, and Pain who has a unique position
in the brothel as the only person who can leave the grounds. Despite being facets
of the same mind, they are different persons and have unique voices. Pain’s
path to independence and her slow-burning romance acted as a counter to Charm’s
cold determination to find out the killer and earn her freedom, and Lady’s persistent
clinging to her innocence.
Little by little, we
learn about the events that led to Charm’s mind shattering and how it played to
current political turmoil. And while none of the emperor’s sons are fit to
rule, there might be other candidates for the throne after all. This was a
stand-alone book, but I would love to return to its world and characters.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Saint Death’s Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney is a brilliant debut. It’s well-written with a
wonderfully unique world, a great main character, and a plot that doesn’t follow
the worn patterns. It’s advertised as YA, but even though the MC is fifteen in
the beginning, she’s an adult responsible for a child for most of the book. There
are some dark themes too of childhood abuse and abduction that a delicate
reader might find upsetting.
Miscellaneous
Stones comes from a long line of sorcerers who have served the ruler for
centuries with their murderous talents with magic. She’s the first necromancer
to born in a century, and it comes with a rather unfortunate allergy towards
violence and death. Even violent thoughts in her vicinity make her body break out
in real wounds in response. To keep her alive until she reaches maturity and
her full powers, the family has isolated her in their country manor. That hasn’t
stopped her big sister Amanita from torturing her for all her life, until she
mercifully left for a boarding school.
Then the
parents are assassinated, leaving Lanie to deal with a staggering debt. Out of
options, she summons Nita back. Nita promptly becomes an assassin to pay the debt.
But she doesn’t come home alone. She’s abducted a man who can turn into a
falcon to make him her husband, controlling him with his own magic. Mak hates
Nita and Lanie, but to avoid having his memory wiped, he succumbs.
The book
then skips seven years. Lanie is twenty-two and has come to her powers, though
she still has a lot to learn—mostly from a murderous ghost of the previous family necromancer. Mak
and Nita have a six-year-old daughter, Datu, who, having grown in a highly
dysfunctional environment, isn’t exactly a nice kid. Mak still hates everyone
but his daughter. And then Nita is assassinated, forcing Mak and Lanie to flee
to protect Datu. To keep her family safe, Lanie has to face the powerful enemy
who wants them dead.
The book takes
a rather winding path to where it needs to go. Mostly we follow Lanie as she
learns to be a necromancer. The book is solely from her point of view, and she
is an excellent MC, strong, resilient, and warm-hearted despite her upbringing
and the form of magic she wields. She maybe grows a bit too powerful towards
the end, but she has friends to keep her in rein.
The supporting
cast is interesting and not stereotypical. Mak was my favourite, but he wasn’t
given enough airtime. Datu as a tantrum prone, murderous kid was wonderful. The
enemies weren’t pure evil and could occasionally be allies too, and the friends Lanie made along the way were a good addition.
But I found the
romantic subplot uninspiring. It’s seldom that romances work when they’ve begun
before the book does, and this wasn’t an exception. I never felt any connection
between Lanie and Lir (the great twist at the end failed to affect me in any way because of it). Mak and Haaken would both have been perfect for
a wonderful enemies-to-lovers plot, but neither choice was in any ways utilised.
However, the way the book ended gives me hope that the childhood infatuation
will be forgotten and there will be a proper romance in Lanie’s future.
The world
is interesting and fully developed, with a rich history that is constantly
referred to, at least in funny footnotes, large pantheon of gods, and unique ways
to practice magic. Nothing is overly explained, but the narrative flows easily
and makes everything effortlessly understood.
The book
has a good ending. It’s conclusive enough to satisfy, but with a few open threads
that’ll hopefully lead to a sequel. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Black
Dagger Brotherhood series has so many books already that reading them is like
visiting a good friend you only see once or twice a year. Even a less exciting
meeting is meaningful.
Lover Arisen was a solid addition to the series. The romance between Balthazar and
Erika began already in the previous book, and it was given time to grow here,
even if the events took place in a matter of days. The demon Davina messing
with their lives didn’t make things any easier. But as far as additions to the
character gallery went, Erika was fairly unmemorable (I actually had to check
her name writing this). Balthazar had a bad-boy thing going for him with his
thieving, but that was watered down here.
The more
interesting storylines took place outside the romance. Nate’s story was good, even
with the ending it had. Davina trying to find her true love had me sympathising
with her occasionally. But since she had to ruin a true love of others to achieve
it, she didn’t turn into a sympathetic character.
Lassiter
was given proper airtime for a change. My heart breaks for him, and I hope he’ll
have his own book soon where he’ll have his dreams come true.
This book
seems like an end of a storyline. For once, there wasn’t a next one built here,
so it’ll be interesting to see where the series goes with the next book.
Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders
It’s not
often that the second book in a trilogy is better than the first, but Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak is. The world is richer, the plot is more exciting and
coherent, and the characters are more interesting, with good personal growth arcs.
The book
starts soon after the first ends. The six teenagers from earth have settled on
the ruling planet to pursue their dreams. Tina, the sole point of view
character of the first book, is in the military academy to train to be the hero
she was genetically supposed to be. However, she isn’t the POV character in
this book, and we only catch glimpses of her training and adventures through her
diary entries. Her story isn’t at the centre of the plot anyway, so the narrative
choice works well.
The two POV
characters are Rachel and Elsa. Rachel saved the universe at the end of the first
book, and she’s now living with the consequences. She has nightmares and
headaches, and she’s constantly pestered by the authorities to reveal
everything she knows about the aliens and their intentions, only she doesn’t
remember anything. And the worst of all, she’s lost her ability to make art.
When the authorities decide to take a direct route to her mind—through her brain—it’s time for her to flee.
Elsa is living
her dream, competing to be accepted in the princess programme. It’s less about
being regal and more about being able to join her mind with an ancient hivemind
species who monitor everything that happens in the universe. But most of her
time she studies the history of Marrat, the megalomaniac enemy they didn’t
manage to defeat. And now he’s been given a free range at the royal palace.
The three
girls and their friends embark on three different spaceships to find answers to
their problems, only to unite when Marrat makes his move. Once again, he
manages to destroy everything, and it’s up to the humans to fix the mess. But
this time they might not be able to. The ending was great, and promises an
exciting conclusion for the trilogy.
Like the
previous book, this was about inclusion, acceptance, and self-discovery. The
humans present themselves in various ways they have been unable to do when still
living at home, and they’re thriving. Everyone is conscious of pronouns and
asking permission to invade the personal space of others, and it happens more
naturally than in the first book where it tended to stick out. They seem to be
more mature, too, than the teenagers of the first book. They are more like adults
who actually might be able to save the universe.
But as a
species, they’re being treated as inferior. Much of the plot is about defeating
the reign of Compassion that tries to purge the universe of lesser species in
the name of freedom. Hopefully the humans will manage it in the conclusion—though it might be smallest of their
problems.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The House of Cats and Gulls, the second
book in the Dominion series, continues where the first left. Myla returns to her
hometown to face her past before it can destroy the lives of her own and her found
family. Orien, the mage, follows her to Deephaven—and has an inexplicable relationship
with her. Worried for her, hecalls Fings and Seth there too to
save her.
Fings sees
this as an opportunity to find his long-lost brother and Seth is about to face
death for his forbidden magic, so it’s a timely request. For Fings, things are straightforward:
rescue Myla and find his brother. For Seth, it’s a chance to learn more about
the forbidden magic. Myla learns that others don’t value her self-sacrifice as
much as she does, her family included. And it turns out Orien isn’t there for
Myla after all.
This was at
its heart Myla’s book. She was the reason everyone came to Deephaven and it was
her need to set things straight that drove most of the plot. It was therefore
unfortunate, that I didn’t feel that plotline at all. No matter what she did or
didn’t do, she came across as single-minded and selfish. The people she wanted
to save didn’t seem worth saving.
Seth’s path
was more interesting, even if he kept making same stupid mistakes again and
again, unleashing something he shouldn’t have. In the end, it was his book too,
setting the stage for the next one. But my favourite was once again Fings. He’s
resourceful, clever and loyal. Things didn’t go quite as he hoped, but he kept
going, no matter what it took.
I liked
this book maybe better than the first one. The plot was good, and it wasn’t
filled with unnecessary stories of the empire’s past. The ending was open
enough to make me want to read the next book too.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
