Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture (Light Novel) vol. 4 by Mikage Sawamura: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture vol. 4 by Mikage Sawamura

This series has become a comfort reading of mine, and I read the latest volume in one sitting. In my defence, these light novels aren’t very long. Volume 4 has a subtitle Thus, the Gates to the Spirit Realm Open, which describes the contents fairly well.

It’s April and Naoya Fukamachi has begun the second year of his studies at the university in Tokyo where he studies folklore with Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki. They’ve spent most of the spring break travelling together, but Naoya is still slightly anxious that Akira won’t need his help anymore in investigating supernatural incidents. He shouldn’t have worried.

There are only two—long—chapters. In the first one, a popular story to frighten children surfaces at a workplace. In it, one summons a hag or a curse or enters another dimension if they perform required things on April 4th at 4:44—number four being ominous, as it’s pronounced like death. Four people at the workplace have performed the summons and bad things have started to happen to them.

It doesn’t take Akira long to unravel the mystery, which once again turns out to have a mundane origin. But the case proves important to Naoya, because he meets another person like him who can hear lies due to similar events as his. Having someone with whom to talk about it makes a great impact on him. He also makes an effort to become more sociable, even if it’s only with one friend.

In the second chapter, Akira’s uncle comes to visit, and Naoya learns a lot about Akira and his past—although the reader doesn’t find out until during the extra chapter at the end. He’s the only family member who cares about Akira, and he’s relieved to learn that there are people looking after his nephew.

Together with Ken-Ken, the four travel to a seaside town where fishermen claim to have seen mermaids. It appears to be a hoax, until they meet a little boy who tells them that his mother has become a mermaid and returned to the sea. Dismissing it as a story first, they soon learn that things might be more complicated than they believed. And for the first time, they may have encountered a being who isn’t quite human.

In the extra story, we learn about Akira’s youth in England with his uncle. It’s a slightly sad story, revealing sides of Akira the reader hasn’t known before, but hopeful too, as Akira heals from his trauma with the help of his uncle and his found family. We still don’t learn more about the being inside Akira, or what happened to him when he was abducted, but it’s becoming certain that the mystery is supernatural in origin. I’m eager to read more.

A Bitter Taste by Josh Reynolds: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

Bitter Taste by Josh Reynolds

A Bitter Taste is the fifth book in Daidoji Shin Mystery series set in the Rokugan Empire of the Legend of Five Rings game world. It’s an Asia inspired historical world divided in clans where honour is important, but women are equal and powerful, and same sex relationships are allowed. No knowledge of the game is needed, but the series, especially this book, builds on the previous books, so don’t start here.

This has been a favourite mystery series of mine, and I was eager to read the latest addition. And it delivered—up until the very end. The ending is one of the worst reader betrayals I’ve experienced in a while and it made me want to give the book one star instead of four it would’ve otherwise got. The three stars I gave is a grudging compromise. The following contains spoilers, so if you’re planning to read the book, skip the review.

The beginning of the book finds Daidoji Shin, the Crane Clan representative in the City of the Rich Frog, sulking, because his grandfather has ordered him to marry. He’s not eager to do so and doesn’t have a candidate in mind, let alone feelings for anyone—important to remember at the end—but the order is absolute.

His day turns to worse, when he learns that the auditor his grandfather had sent to put him to rights has been murdered and Shin is the only suspect.

It’s only the start of Shin’s troubles. His cousin has arrived to town, ready to drag him back home in chains if necessary. The only thing stopping him is the murder investigator, someone with whom Shin has had a very personal relationship. Since it didn’t end well, he doesn’t have high hopes for a fair investigation. He needs to solve the murder himself.

What starts as a straightforward murder case turns more and more complicated at every step. Shin realises there’s been a conspiracy against him from the moment he arrived to town, the roots of which stem from long before. As he unravels it, he learns that people close to him he has trusted absolutely weren’t who he thought they were, and that they have betrayed him. Unable to believe it, he allows himself to be lured into a trap to expose the people responsible, no matter what it means to him personally. After some tense scenes, everything ends in a very satisfying manner.

And then the aftermath ruins it.

The series has always focused on the mysteries. Shin starts as a gambler and someone who likes the company of women, but the mysteries always take precedence, and during the course of the series there’s been no romances. There have been a couple of characters that could’ve become the romantic interest, but nothing serious. I didn’t mind. I never liked the one mainstay possibility, and Shin’s never indicated any romantic interest in them anyway.

This was bound to change here because of the order to marry. And the appearance of the old flame was interesting. They were given their own POV chapters and proved themself to be a great potential partner to Shin. I was looking forward to it even.

And then, in the aftermath, they’re sent away without so much as a token of reminiscing and what ifs. Instead Shin, in an act of complete character reversal, betrays not only his own principles but those of his world in general by deciding that he needs to save the person who’s betrayed not only their clan but Shin too from hanging. Apparently, the only solution is to marry them. Out of the blue—because the reader has insight into Shin’s thoughts and there’s been nothing—romantic feelings are expressed. Reader is to believe they’re genuine.

I was so disgusted I would’ve thrown the book away if I hadn’t been reading on my tablet. What was the author thinking, ruining the character like this? I understand that a writer of mysteries isn’t necessarily familiar with romantic tropes, but someone who has shown they’re not worth the trust of the main character is not chosen as the romantic partner. Even if they’re about to hang. If you don’t want them to hang, then you don’t make them the traitor in the first place, because that came out of the blue too, even if I always disliked them and found it satisfying that my suspicions proved right. The character has zero redeeming qualities as is, and since there hasn’t been a romance between them before, they can go. Shin would’ve mourned a while, which would’ve made for a good start for the next book, and then he would’ve moved on. Making him a completely different person for this unworthy character was infuriating to say the least. That there was a better option available, dangled in front of the reader—unlike the other character—adds insult to injury.

Before the aftermath, I was anxious that this would be the last book in the series. Now, I don’t care. I don’t want to read about Shin who’s ready to betray his principles for a traitor, and I definitely don’t want to read about him with that person.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gravity Lost by L.M. Sagas: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Gravity Lost by L.M. Sagas

Gravity Lost is the second book in Ambit’s Run sci-fi series that began with Cascade Failure. The series is set in fairly far future in a space-faring world ruled by the Trust and the Union for profit, with the neutral Guild keeping peace between them with its rangers.

Ambit’s crew, Guild rangers Eoan the AI captain, Nash the mechanic/doctor and Saint the XO have spent months on a space station waiting for Jal, the former ranger they rescued in the previous book, to recover and connect with his family. They’re preparing to leave, when someone abducts Jal’s sister, Regan, sending the crew on a rescue mission.

Someone wants Dresdyn, the agitator the crew captured in the previous book, and so the crew has no choice than to break him free from prison, making them fugitives in Guild’s eyes. But the abductor evades them at every corner, luring the crew into a trap. They have unexpected help though: Dresdyn wants the abductor dead as badly as the crew wants to free Regan. And it turns out, the enemy is someone closer to them than any of them could’ve imagined.

This was a good book, but not quite as exciting as the first one. The entire universe wasn’t at stake, the action was more limited, and the death-defying situations were smaller, although more personal. While it was easy to sympathise with Jal’s need to find his sister, it didn’t give the reader a similar sense of urgency, and while there was a very personal betrayal again, the reader wasn’t connected with them the same way than in the previous book, where there were chapters from the traitor’s point of view even. And we didn’t learn anything new about the main characters.

Nevertheless, the world remained interesting, the characters were as loveable as before, and the narrative was rich and good. While the characters didn’t have similar arcs as in the previous book, the reader cared for them and rooted for each of them, even Dresdyn. The ending was good and left the crew in a new place. I’m interested in reading more about their adventures.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thousand Autumns Vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Thousand Autumns vol 5 by Meng Xi Shi

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu has ended with the fifth volume. It ended like it began, more focused on the politics of the empire and the cultivation world (called jianghu in this series, “rivers and lakes”, like the author explains in the afterword), and on the questions of morality and human nature than on the romance.

At the beginning of the volume, Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi help Puliuru Jian to free his children from being held hostage by the emperor, and subsequently to seize the throne. It’s a fairly fast affair, compared to some in the previous volumes.

From there, the men part ways and Shen Qiao finally heads back to Xuandu Mountain to handle the traitors in his sect and to assume the leadership once again. But he’s barely done when he learns that Yan Wushi has challenged the best cultivator in the world, Hulugu of the Göktürk Khagnate, to a duel. Everyone knows it’ll be to death, and so Shen Qiao rushes to be by Yan Wushi’s side.

At this point, I thought the romance would finally bloom, but no. Only in the final paragraphs of the last chapter does Shen Qiao show some emotions towards Yan Wushi, but it isn’t until the last of the seven epilogue chapters before the men finally become a couple. Even then, they both remain true to their characters.

The story began with Yan Wushi trying to corrupt Shen Qiao to prove that everyone would put their self-interest first, a thread that prevailed over the romance throughout the story. In the end, he was forced to admit that Shen Qiao was unique, and therefore worthy of his admiration, the basis of his romantic feelings. Why Shen Qiao would love him in return was never clear, but his ability to forgive was great and Yan Wushi managed to manipulate Shen Qiao into missing him. Of the two, Yan Wushi changed more, but only with Shen Qiao. Their coming together was kind of cute, but if the reader is looking for high emotions, great declarations, and carnal relations, they’re bound to be disappointed.

The main story is followed by several short stories that show that while the men never settle down to living together, they remain a couple and always return to the other after roaming the empire. The stories aren’t very romantic or emotional either, but they show cute glimpses of the men’s lives from past and future.

Despite the lack of great romantic emotions, I was satisfied with the ending and the series as a whole. It remained true to its premise, the political plots were interesting, and as I realised early on that the romance wouldn’t be there, I wasn’t disappointed with what I got. I’m happy where the men ended up, and the lives they live seem interesting and rather carefree. After everything they went through, they deserve happiness.

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka

An Inheritance of Magic starts a new series of the same name by Jacka. It’s set in present-day London where the world of magic called drucraft is semi-hidden from ordinary humans—though I don’t see how it’s stayed hidden, considering its importance to institutions like NASA and the military.

Stephen Oakwood is in his early twenties and without a direction in life. He’s had a series of odd jobs to stay afloat after his father disappeared a couple of years earlier, and affinity to magic. But without money, he hasn’t been able to do anything he truly wants, like trying to locate his father (his mother has left when he was a baby) or improve his skills in magic.

Out of the blue, a young woman shows up and tells him he’s connected to one of the important families in the magic world he knows absolutely nothing about. She needs him as leverage in an in-house inheritance battle, but when it turns out he might be more powerful in magic than her, things turn violent. It’s the jolt he’s needed to find his focus. Abandoning everything else, he focuses on his drucraft to be able to defend himself in case her violent thugs return—which they do.

This was a mixed read. I almost abandoned it at the beginning when it took its time to get to the point. It picked up pace and became interesting, if a bit action movie cliched, when a loved one’s (cat in this case) horrific fate pushed the protagonist to action. In a true action movie fashion, Stephen decides he needs physical strength and armaments in order to take down his enemies, even though he is told that he might focus on outsmarting them instead. What follows is the classical training montage. Only, it takes the rest of the book.

There really is no proper plot, just Stephen learning drucraft. At no point is he moving the story forward to direction he needs to go (the half-hearted attempts to locate his father don’t count); he’s only reacting to events. The plot about succession battle in the House Ashworth happens behind the scenes, and the entire book is preparation to something that never comes. Stephen is given a chance to best a few thugs, followed by a slap on a wrist by the grownups, and sent to home to sulk. And that’s the end.

Nevertheless, I persisted to the end. I liked Stephen, even if he was a bit of a sulky baby in his dealings with other people, especially women. His love for his cat made up for a lot. But I disagreed with his notion about what he needed. I never root for the strongest character but the smartest, and he’s never the smart one. The magic system was interesting with its limitations, and the narrative pulled me in easily. I might read the next book too, just to see if that one actually goes anywhere.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

The Night Ends with Fire is a Mulan retelling set in a secondary world that resembles ancient China. It takes the premise of Mulan and the name of the main character, Hai Meilin (once even using the alias Mulan), and sets her on a more fantastical and less heroic path.

A war is about to break between three warlords, and all men are drafted. Meilin’s father is a violent opium addict and he has no intention to serve. Meilin is forced to marry an old, violent man, and to escape her fate, she disguises herself as a man and joins the war.

She soon discovers that it’s not easy to be a soldier. But she has help. Prince Sky takes interest in her solitary training and starts to train with her. But more importantly, she’s possessed by an ancient spirit of a dragon that offers her help when she needs.

But it’s not a noble dragon, and the help comes with a price. She doesn’t mind. She’s not a noble person either. She’s greedy and selfish, and willing to do anything to survive.

She’s not the only person in possession of a powerful spirit. The enemy army has one too, and she and her dragon make it their business to destroy the other spirit. It’s not an easy or straightforward path to a victory. And she’s not the only one after the other spirit.

This was a good story. It avoids the most clichéd YA tropes, although the narrative and the main character are a bit childish. There’s a hint of romance, even a triangle drama, but it doesn’t dominate the story or serve as the driving force of Meilin’s actions. She’s not a good, moral, or noble person, and the dragon spirit makes the most of her greed to bend her to his will, but it was easy to sympathise with her need to be free from the fate chosen for her as a woman. Incidentally, the book is very western in its philosophy, emphasisng freedom and individual choice over family and duty (unlike in Mulan). If you’re looking for an Asian take on Mulan, this isn’t it.

The love interests weren’t good or noble men either, and it was difficult to choose between them. One was bland and the other came across as a boylove MC, and I was surprised to find out he wasn’t gay. The magic took a heavy toll, and it wasn’t an all-powerful force that she could use at will, which was good.

The book was a bit too long and complicated though. The plot kept twisting and turning, bringing new players in the game, and making life unnecessary difficult for Meilin. Regardless, I found myself slightly bored with the middle part of the book, and it was difficult to care for the story or the people. The adversary wasn’t interesting enough, despite his destructive power, and the hunt was oddly secondary, with other people doing the work behind the scenes. In the end, he was a rather pitiful creature and his demise didn’t feel a triumphant victory.

The biggest twist was saved for the end. The world is stacked against Meilin, and it finally catches up with her. But she’s not about to give up. How she will survive is the story for the next book. I’d be interested in reading more.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter, Vol. 2 by Yatsuki Wakatsu: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Other World's Books Depend on Bean Counter vol 2 by Yatsuki Wakatsu

Volume 2 of the light novel has a subtitle Church Management Support Plan. Kondou Seiichiro, the Japanese accountant who was accidentally transported to another world with the young girl who was their Holy Maiden, has his hands full of work that’s mostly his own doing. But he doesn’t know how to rest.

In this book, Seiichiro is sent to audit the church. It’s a dangerous place for him as it’s full of magic that he’s deadly allergic to, and Aresh Indolark, the young commander who has made it his business to keep Seiichiro alive, isn’t happy. The two are now living together, thanks to Aresh’s high-handed manners, but while the commander has feelings for Seiichiro, the older man’s feelings aren’t clear even to himself.

Aresh is right to be worried. Things don’t go smoothly and Seiichiro uncovers an embezzlement plot that leads to a magical attack on him. But Aresh, the only person who can heal him, isn’t home. It may be that a young, handsome priest who resembles Aresh will have to step up for the healing. And, as those who have read the books know, that involves sex.

This was a fun volume. Seiichiro is much like he’s been, fully focused on his work and ignoring his health. He’s growing accustomed to Aresh’s healing methods, but as he intends to return to his own world, he’s not willing to start a relationship. But feelings get in the way, and even Seiichiro is unable to ignore them. There were some sweet and heated moments between the men, and the end left them in a new place in their relationship. Will that lead to Seiichiro deciding to stay, or will he want to leave home anyway?

There were some new side characters that were interesting, and the old ones, especially Norbert, featured too. There’s a chapter at the end of the book from his point of view as he continues to report to the king. The ending wasn’t a cliffhanger, but it left things in an interesting place and I’m eager to read more.

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

Fourteenth Mercy Thompson book is a good addition to the series and a welcome interlude after the previous book. Mercy is suffering from consequences of the artefact that took her over, and no one can help. But when her brother by the Coyote, Gary, needs her help, she puts her issues aside and heads to Montana with Adam.

An artefact has been stolen from the Frost Giant and until he gets it back, he’s going to bury the mountains in snow. That’s not even the worst part: if the ritual where the artifact is needed isn’t performed, the world will end. No pressure.

Despite the high stakes, the case is relatively easy to handle for a change. There isn’t an overwhelming evil to kill and even the main adversary is a fairly benign creature. It takes a bit of a toll on Mercy nonetheless, but she has good help too.

On top of the main story, there are random side stories that don’t seem to have any importance, and minor characters’ points of view glimpses. They add to the length of the book, but don’t really offer anything to the overall story, except maybe the one about Sherwood. My only gripe is that despite it taking place in Montana, not a single member of Bran’s pack made an appearance. All in all, a less intense but interesting addition to the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Case File Compendium Vol. 2 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Case File Compendium by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

In volume 2, He Yu, the university student with a rare mental disorder, and Xie Qingcheng, a professor of medicine and He Yu’s former doctor, continue their toxic relationship. And it gets really bad here.

The beginning is fine, and it seems the men will slowly but surely work through their misunderstandings, hatreds, hurts and homophobia into a friendship of sort. But then the shadowy criminal organisation on the background decides to purge their ranks at the university campus, and the men get drawn in.

Xie Qingcheng realises these are the people who killed his parents and he’ll stop at nothing to find the truth. But the organisation isn’t willing to divulge it, and they throw Xie Qingcheng under a social media bus. The video they surface makes He Yu question everything that took place when Xie Qingcheng was his doctor and he comes to a conclusion that the only person who he thought cared for him never did.

It leads to his mental disorder to flair up, and to a huge confrontation with Xie Qingcheng. What follows is a graphic, very much non-consensual bedroom scene that destroys what goodwill Xie Qingcheng might have built towards his former patient. He’s a proud, unyielding man, and it’s difficult to see how their relationship could recover from this.

This was a good volume, but sad and uncomfortable. We learn more about He Yu’s childhood and it makes one want to throttle everyone who was responsible for his wellbeing. That he’s as functional as he is, is a miracle. The way he chooses to act out his pain isn’t acceptable, but it’s in line with his character and the men’s angry relationship and powerplays, and it fits the tone of the book insofar as such actions can, leaving the reader both sad and angry. That being said, if such scenes make you uncomfortable, you can skip it. The aftermath is understandable even without reading it.

The background story with the organisation is a bit over the top and sort of unnecessary, even if their actions push the men around. And there was a revelation about it that I didn’t see coming. The cast of characters was smaller than in the first volume, keeping things simpler, the plot was more straightforward and advanced in a fast pace, and the ending wasn’t a cliffhanger, though it didn’t conclude anything either. And I absolutely have to find out how anything can be salvaged between the men after this volume.

Ballad of Sword and Wine Vol. 1 by Tang Jiu Qing: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Ballad of Sword and Wine by Tang Jiu Qing

Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu is the latest Chinese boylove series translated by Seven Seas. It’s set in a secondary world that resembles ancient China with its culture, but with a completely different geography. The book even comes with a helpful map.

A war has almost ended in defeat when Prince Shen Wei shamefully fled before the enemy before killing himself. All his family has died too, except the youngest, illegitimate son, Shen Zechuan. He’s fourteen and hasn’t even met his father, as he’s been raised by his shifu, Ji Gang. Nevertheless, he’s been brought to the nation’s capital to face death for what his father has done. But political machinations and the Dowager Empress intervene, and he’s confined to a house arrest instead.

Xiao Chiye is sixteen and a son of another warrior prince. His family had to step up to defend the nation when Shen Wei fled. He’s a volatile young man and he hates Shen Zechuan for what his father has done. But political machinations catch him too, and the reward he’s granted to command the useless Imperial Army is in fact a prison for him too, as he’s basically held hostage in the capital to keep his family from revolting.

The main story starts five years later. Tides turn again, and Shen Zechuan is released, much to the dismay of the nation. Xiao Chiye’s hatred hasn’t eased at all, and he makes it his business to make life difficult for Shen Zechuan. But the emperor is dying and he doesn’t have children. People have started to take sides, and Xiao Chiye has his own player in the game. And behind the scenes, helped by his shifu and an old teacher of the former crown prince, Shen Zechuan is working on his revenge.

When the plot comes to a point, the two young men find themselves on the same side and Shen Zechuan ends up saving Xiao Chiye’s life. Their lives become tangled, but their animosity doesn’t ease. The problem for Xiao Chiye is, however, that he’s finding himself attracted to the younger man. For his part, Shen Zechuan is willing to make most of the attraction to get his revenge. It’s a game about power and manipulation that slowly comes to a point.

This was a great book. The two men were very similar in how they gave the world to understand they are useless while hiding their true strength and intent. Shen Zechuan is a dainty, beautiful man who seems to be plagued by an ill health. But he’s traumatized by the war and almost sociopathic in his behaviour when he finally has the chance for revenge. Xiao Chiye pretends to be a wastrel and  drunkard, while he’s reorganising and training the Imperial Army for a coup.

Court intrigue dominates the plot, but the relationship between the two men is its backbone. It’s in no way romantic in this first book. Both are using the other for their own ends, and neither trusts the other. Xiao Chiye is open about his lust, but determined to control it. Shen Zechuan doesn’t feel the same, but in a fit of anger, he’s willing to push things to a point. The book ends with a bedroom scene, quite literally with a climax. It’s a slightly odd choice, but kind of works well with the tone of the book, and leaves the reader desperate for more.

The book is well written and doesn’t suffer from the over-abundance of telling instead of showing like so many of these Chinese BL series. Court machinations and background stories are handled in the dialogue, there are no repetitions, and the story advances in a fast pace. The opening chapters have some descriptions of torture, and there’s a very disturbing scene of animal cruelty in chapter 18: Donkey Roast, which you can easily skip, though it’s referred to later. All in all, one of the best BL series translated so far. I’ll definitely continue with it.

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

Moonstorm starts a new Lancers YA sci-fi series by Yoon Ha Lee. It’s set in New Joseon, an empire inspired by the Korean past. It’s a collection of moons and artificial planets orbiting together in Moonstorm, what seems to be a vast asteroid field of sorts filled with ether where people can survive for a moment, instead of void. The empire is held together by gravity that is created by peoples’ adherence to rituals and respect for the empress.

But Moonstorm has rogue moons and planetoids in random orbits too. They belong to clanners who hold their gravity with different rituals and don’t bow to the empress. The two different gravities don’t mix and the two sides are at constant war.

Hwa Young is ten when her clanner moon is destroyed by the empire. As the sole survivor, she’s taken to New Joseon and given an education as the ward of the empress. She’s made a conscious decision to become a good citizen of the empire and hide her clanner past, because she wants to become a lancer in the empire’s military, a pilot of huge mechas that operate in space.

At sixteen, she’s unexpectedly given a chance to enter the lancer program. And that, inevitably, leads to her going to a battle against the clanners. It’s all very abstract to her, until it turns out that it’s her former home she’ll be attacking against.

The war isn’t going as well for the empire as the news propaganda gives to understand. Hwa Young is forced to consider the possibility that the empire isn’t entirely right. And it turns out, there’s such thing as too much devotion.

This is a great start to a series. Lee has once again created a world that is unique and interesting, and which has an integral role in the story instead of being a mere prop, although the Korean elements could’ve been brought out more clearly. The mechas with their sentience are more interesting than usually too.

Hwa Young is a fairly typical YA heroine, a headstrong loner who makes emotional decisions at wrong moments. There’s no romance; a good decision, although she seems to be eyeing someone in that light. I hope it doesn’t lead anywhere, as I didn’t really feel the pairing. Side characters were interesting with lives of their own.

The ending leaves Hwa Young in a completely new place in the world. It’ll be interesting to see where that’ll lead.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

p.s It’s seldom that a book has two such vastly different cover images. I chose the YA version that brings out the Asian characteristics of the story. The other is more hard-core sci-fi with completely different vibes:

 

Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Hell for Hire by Rachel Aaron

Hell for Hire starts a new Tear Down Heaven UF series. It’s set in a modern-day Seattle and a world where humans are ignorant about the supernatural around them. It’s not a fun or good world for non-humans. 5000 years ago, Gilgamesh conquered the Paradise that held both heaven and hell, killed its rulers and enslaved all demons. Magic is strictly regulated for warlocks and sorcerers. Only Blackwood witches hiding inside magical forests are allowed to do free magic. And they’re all women.

Adrian Blackwood has been given to warlocks as a child to train with them, a concession Blackwood witches do to keep their freedom. But he escaped and trained as a witch, and the warlocks have hunted him ever since. He’s come to the other side of the States to Seattle to grow his own Blackwood forest, to lure the warlocks there and fight them once and for all.

He hires security that turns out to be four free demons who really shouldn’t exist, as all are enslaved by warlocks. Their leader, Bex, turns out to be more than meets the eye, and she draws the ire of the heavens on them too in addition to the warlocks. Fighting Gilgamesh is something she’s been doing for a long time, but for the first time, she has magical help.

This was a good start to a series. The world is interesting and based on a fresh mythology, and Adrian’s magic is fascinating. Adrian and Bex are great characters with backstories that were only brushed here. A romance may be building between them, but it’s only hinted at here. Side characters, Bex’s demon team and Adrian’s familiar Boston, remained a bit one-dimensional, but perhaps we get to know them better in following books.

Nevertheless, this didn’t hit me quite as hard as Aaron’s previous UF series set in post-apocalyptic Detroit. The pace was slow, the third person point of view was distancing, and there was no proper plot that the characters would be driving, just events. This is sort of a two-act book, where there is preparation for an event that is known from the start, and then the event, the final battle. No highs, lows, or turning points in between. It feels short an act and low on emotions.  The ending is good though, and sets the war to come. It’ll be interesting to see how the odd group pulls that off.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

Dreadful is a delightful debut novel by Caitlin Rozakis. It’s set in a rather embarrassing castle of Dread Lord Gavrax, an evil wizard who has lost his memory. He has no recollection of his past, let alone that morning, which turns out to be very problematic. Because his past self has made some plans.

Gav, as he decides to call himself, is middle-aged and not very successful dark wizard or respected among his peers, as he soon discovers. But he’s feared by his goblin staff, which embarrasses him greatly. He’s also embarrassed by his choice in décor and clothing. But he soon finds out Dread Lord is only as dreaded as he appears.

He seems to have some anger management issues he doesn’t know the roots of, but which make him want to burn people around him to death, something he struggles to overcome. He also has a village to manage that is very poor thanks to his past self’s lousy decisions, which he decides to rectify. And worst of all, he has a princess in his dungeon.

His past self has teamed with other dark wizards for something nefarious he doesn’t remember. It involves the princess that his current self has come to like and respect quite a lot. So, it’s up to him to rescue her or failing that, she’ll have to rescue herself. Easier said than done when heroes from all over the kingdom are rushing to her rescue by trying to kill him, and dark wizards more powerful than him are determined to stop him.

This was a fun story with all sorts of shenanigans that kept me guessing to the end. Gav stumbles in and out of problems that are mostly his past self’s making, with rather surprising results. Along the way, he comes to learn a lot about his goblin staff and women, whom he suspects his old self had no respect for. He’s earnest about his desire to change for the better, but it’s not easy. And all the while he fears that if he gets his memories back, he’ll revert to his old evil self.

Gav is rather endearing in his quest for redemption. It isn’t easy and involves a lot of soul searching and some hard conversations with the princess who holds him accountable for his past self. His constant commentary about women’s looks and bodies became a bit off-putting at some point though, as if they only exist to be looked at despite his attempts to see them as people with agency. His friendship with the princess is fairly one-sided, it seemed, and she never quite becomes what she could be. The goblin staff, on the other hand, is delightful in their earnest willingness to help him change.

The ending is good and, since this appears to be a stand-alone, conclusive. Gav rises to the occasion in a manner I didn’t see happening at the beginning of the book, and the story leaves everyone in a better place. All in all, a good story of friendship and redemption that will delight me for a long time.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

I’ve been waiting for a good western take on Asian isekai genre for so long that I eventually had to write one myself. It’s such a popular genre in Asia that it’s surprising it hasn’t taken in the west. The few western versions that I’ve read have tried to imitate the originals, but they lack the charm and whimsy. But now there’s How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler. It takes the idea of isekai and makes it thoroughly its own.

For those not familiar with the term, in isekai light novels and mangas a person from the modern world is transported to a secondary world, a book, game or fantasy world, either bodily or as a character there, and has to adapt to a new reality. Sometimes there’s a time loop element where the character starts over every time they die. Sometimes their life is improved by the change, sometimes they set out to make the changes themself with the knowledge they have.

Davi is from the modern-day US, she thinks. She doesn’t quite remember anymore, because she’s been in a fantasy world for a better part of a millennium. She was brought there by a wizard as the saviour of the humans from the Dark Lord, and has died hundreds of times in the service of the Kingdom, only to return to the moment she arrived to this word to start again.

Now she’s had enough. Clearly, she isn’t the saviour, because she hasn’t managed to save the Kingdom in all this time. It’s time to switch teams to the winning side. She’ll become the Dark Lord. Easier said than done, because Dark Lords aren’t human. They’re wilder: orcs, werewolves, snake people and other humanoid beasts that don’t look at all like human. But she has an ace in her sleeve. She can pass as a wilder the way humans can’t.

It takes several efforts—and deaths—to get the ball rolling. She recruits a small band of orcs and sets out to build herself a horde to attend a convocation where they choose the next Dark Lord. The way is difficult, geographically and politically, but she prevails, liberating the oppressed and growing her army as she goes—mostly accidentally. And the farther she advances, the more important it becomes that she doesn’t die. Because then everything will reset and she’ll have to start again, and the events have been so fantastical that she couldn’t possibly recreate them again.

But the possibility of starting over is there. Until it isn’t.

This was a great start to a series. Davi is a fairly typical sarcastic UF heroine who runs a constant commentary (in footnotes, which was a tad difficult in an ebook) and references pop culture she really shouldn’t remember, as she doesn’t even remember where she’s from. She’s probably not entirely sane, but who would be after being tortured to death several hundred times, but she’s clever and tenacious. However, part of her grit comes from the knowledge that she can just give up and start again. Until she can’t. The paradigm change is hard on her, but she’s not alone to handle it.

In her quest to become the Dark Lord, Davi accidentally builds herself a family. They’re supposed to be minions, but they’re friends and lovers (she’s permanently horny). The side-characters remain a little distant, as Davi is very self-absorbed in her narrative, but they’re nice and more humane than the humans she’s tried to save all these centuries.

The book is a bit too long though. It’s heavy reading with all the gore and commentary, and the plot advances slowly. Part of the charm of light novels is their shorter length and longer series that don’t really mind pesky things like story arcs. It might’ve worked here too, if it hadn’t been necessary to bring the first book to a turning point to suit western traditions. Now it took me surprisingly long to wade it through to the end.

Ending isn’t a cliffhanger, but it puts Davi on crossroads in her quest. It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll handle the turn her life has taken.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

The Brides of High Hill is book five of The Singing Hills Cycle of stand-alone fantasy novellas set in an empire that resembles ancient China. I haven’t read the earlier stories, but that wasn’t necessary, although I might have appreciated some elements more if I’d read them.

Cleric Chih finds themself travelling with a family who is escorting their daughter, Pham Nhung, to be married to a wealthy man. The daughter has insisted they accompany her, and they have agreed. Their job is to collect stories, and this is a good opportunity, even though their neixing, a memory spirit that looks like a bird, isn’t with them on this journey to record the stories. The reader is given a notion her absence is meaningful, but nothing more is said about it, other than that Chih misses her.

The bride-to-be is in high spirits, both eager to be married and frightened of the prospect. Chih does their best to support her. But the moment they enter the estate of the groom who is several decades older than Nhung, Chih gets a notion things aren’t as they ought to be. Reader soon suspects this is a retelling of Bluebeard, with scores of missing wives. But when the monsters appear, rather abruptly, they come from a different direction entirely.

This was a delightful, slightly spooky novella, easily read in one sitting. Chih was an interesting character, even though we don’t learn much about them. They are a recurring character though, so earlier books might have more. Their struggle to get out of the web they don’t even know they’re in is fairly abrupt, and the reader is taken slightly by a surprise, but it worked for a story this length. The atmosphere could’ve been spookier though, as the novella is advertised as a gothic mystery. Now it was a fairly pleasant read with a gory end. But I’m intrigued enough to check out the earlier stories in the series.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Husky and His Wite Cat Shizun vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

The most satisfying volume so far, emotionally. It’s the wedding of Nangong Si, Chu Wanning’s former disciple, and Song Qiutong, Mo Ran’s wife in his previous life whom he hates. The reader was given to understand already in the previous volume that something big was going to happen during the wedding, but it went beyond even that.

The pre-wedding feast is ruined by accusations of a masked intruder, that Song Qiutong has not been chaste and that she’s carried a relationship with Nangong Si’s best friend, Ye Wangxi, who saved her from being sold as a slave. That led to a stunning revelation that I didn’t see coming. But it was only a start.

A rift opens to a demon realm, and when Mo Ran and Chu Wanning go to investigate, they learn it’s done by the enemy they’ve been chasing for years. But the truth behind their identity is nothing either them or the reader expect, and the reason for their actions comes a bit out of the blue. But what is revealed causes a literal inferno that sends everyone to fleeing for their lives.

Mo Ran and Chu Wanning take shelter in a remote fishing village and there we finally come to the best part: feelings. Both are really bad expressing them, and both believe their feelings aren’t returned, so there’s a lot of angst to get past before we get a confession. Nothing happens, but it’s very satisfying nonetheless.

There’s no cliff-hanger ending this time, but nothing is solved yet. And the way things were left, taking back their confessions is entirely possible too. I’ll have to read on to find out.

The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish vol. 1 by Xue Shan Fei Hu: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish by Xue Shan Fei Hu

I bought this book solely on the title, The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish. I had to find out how that could possibly be a romance. I hoped for a bonkers story. What I got was rather sweet.

Li Yu is an 18-year-old man from modern China who has been reading a historical novel about a tyrant who butchers his way on the throne. Next thing he knows, he wakes up in the book’s world as a humble carp who is about to be eaten, first as a soup and then by a cat. Only a chance in the form of the fifth prince Mu Tianchi, also called Prince Jing, saves him from that fate. And that’s not all. Li Yu is part of a computer game where the system gives him tasks. His main task is to stop Prince Jing from becoming a tyrant. If he succeeds, he can become a human again.

Prince Jing is twenty and the only surviving son by the empress and therefore of higher birth than the other princes, but he’s mute and so isn’t considered a successor for the throne. But he is the tyrant who will take the throne by force. Armed with his knowledge of the story from the book and his cute antics as a fish, Li Yu sets out to complete the tasks given to him. As a reward, he gets all sorts of useful things. One of them is the ability to turn into a human for an hour each day.

The story is mostly about palace intrigue. The second and third princes compete for the throne and they’re not above treachery and tricks. But thanks to Li Yu, their plans go wrong one after another. He ends up changing Prince Jing too, who spends more and more time with his fish. The prince is also hunting for a mysterious young man who shows up in his room at oddest times, only to disappear without a trace. The first volume ends when he finally figures out who the mystery man is.

Li Yu was a fun character—and a very odd fish. He can survive out of water amazingly long times, and jump out of his tank whenever he wants. Prince Jing came across rather lonely, which is mostly his own making, as he drives everyone away. His muteness isn’t a gimmick that is overcome in convenient places. He has a eunuch who speaks for him.

The man and the fish form a friendship of sorts, and the prince might even be having romantic feelings for the young man visiting his rooms. They’re vague and innocent though, and nothing more than a drunken kiss takes place. But was it the boy or the fish who did the kissing, Li Yu would very much like to know.

This was a funny, coherent, and well written story, which isn’t always the case with web novels. There are no repetitions or inconsistencies, and the pace was good. It ends with a small cliff-hanger in the middle of a scene, and I absolutely have to read more.

Death in the Spires by K. J. Charles: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

Death in the Spires is excellent historical fiction and an enjoyable murder mystery. It takes place in the early 1890s Oxford and London in 1905, and follows Jeremy Kite, a government clerk who loses his job when an anonymous letter accuses him of a murder that took place in Oxford ten years earlier. Incensed, he decides to investigate once and for all.

Jem is a son of a factory worker, who with the help of a scholarship manages to get to Oxford to study mathematics, an achievement that was out of grasp of most working class people at the time. He’s short, clubfooted and doesn’t know the rules and manners of the place that is mostly populated by upper class white men who do not tolerate difference. He doesn’t have great expectations for his time there, but on his first day, he meets Toby Feynsham, a grandson of a marquis who takes him and other unusual people—for the era—under his wing, like a black man studying to become a doctor, two women (one of whom is Toby’s sister) and an (almost) openly gay man.

Against all odds, Jem has magical time in Oxford with his group of friends. He excels in his studies and even participates in activities like the rowing team. And then, three years later, right before the finals, Toby is murdered. It happens after a huge row between the group, and in a manner that the friends know that only one of them could’ve done it. But they keep their mouths shut and the murder goes unsolved. It breaks the group and they never meet again.

Jem’s life is destroyed by it. He has a breakdown and can’t graduate. He works for pittance at jobs he hates, and every now and then gets fired when rumours about the murder surface. So he starts to investigate, even though everyone he contacts tells him to leave be. To his surprise and sorrow, while the rest of the group seem successful, the murder has ruined their lives too, one way or another. And no one wants to talk.

Jem returns to Oxford, reluctantly, and connects with his old love, which somehow makes things worse, as Nick is among the suspects too. Little by little, he forms a picture of what took place. It turns out, Toby wasn’t the wonderful person he believed and may even have brought the death on himself, and all his friends had secrets that could’ve made them the killer. But no matter the reasons, Jem knows only truth will release their group from the limbo their lives have become. Not everyone agrees, and Jem’s life is suddenly in danger.

This was a wonderful, melancholy story of friendship, lost loves and missed chances. Like in Brideshead Revisited, the reader gets a vivid glimpse into a lost world of aristocratic academia, and the contrast with Jem’s dreary later life is great. Jem with his health issues is a lovely, dignified character who carries the story perfectly. His friends, flawed and all, are people who matter to him greatly. The reader doesn’t really want anyone to be the killer, to see them hang, and neither does Jem.

Luckily, this is a story where truth and justice aren’t the same thing. We get both. The ending is absolutely satisfying, and it leaves the reader with a hope that from now on, Jem’s life will improve and everyone will live happily ever after—whatever that may mean for them.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.