The Elf Tangent
is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in a world not connected with any of Buroker’s
many earlier worlds. It’s a low-tech, (almost) non-magic world where human
kingdoms occupy one part of the continent and elves another, which is about as
much as the reader learns about it.
Aldari is a
princess who is sent to the neighbouring kingdom to marry a prince there to
gain her kingdom an ally against another kingdom. She’s not entirely happy to
leave her family behind, but she knows her duty and isn’t about to rebel. She
already is a rebel of sorts to her father’s views, as she is a scholar of some
renown under a secret pen name. Only the name isn’t as secret as she thought.
The elves have a need for her special skills and so they kidnap her en route to
her wedding.
Leading the
elves is Captain Hawk, who is determined to save his people from what is essentially
a zombie infestation, elves turning into mindless killers. To do that, he needs
an access to a laboratory that caused the plague, but it’s protected by puzzles
that only Aldari can solve.
The plot is
kind of simple, but the road to the happy ending is perilous. During many
attacks and hardships, through mutual rescues and facing foes together, Aldari
and Hawk grow to care for each other. So, instead of fleeing at every chance—which would’ve been dangerous anyway—Aldari decides to help him
voluntarily.
This was
pitched as a fantasy romance, but it’s very, very light on romance. Not even at
the end are feelings brought up, and there’s nary a kiss. Romance is more a
garnish, and a way to explain why Aldari would help her kidnappers. Aldari and
Hawk are both a bit bland—the side characters are much more interesting—and they only come to life during
action scenes.
Good thing,
then, that the book is heavy on action. There’s constantly something going on,
swordfights and pirates, zombie elves or plots against Aldari and Hawk. The
pace is fast, and the events kept me reading until small hours. It’s a good
book, but if you’re looking for great emotions, this isn’t for you. Friends of
good, solid high fantasy will like it though.
Mind over Magic starts Witch in Wolf Wood,
a new UF series by Lindsay Buroker. Like her previous series, Death Before
Dragons, it’s set in Washington State, near Seattle, but while it has
werewolves, it’s not immediately obvious if it takes place in the same world.
The book is described as paranormal women’s
fiction, meaning it’s aimed at a more mature audience. Morgen, the protagonist,
is forty-something, newly divorced computer geek who’s just lost her job. Inheriting
her grandmother’s house in the middle of nowhere might be her chance for a
fresh start.
Turns out it makes things even more
complicated. The house is guarded by a grumpy werewolf whose self-appointed task
is to make sure that the new owner doesn’t sell the place. There are plenty of
takers though, and one of them might have hastened things up by killing Morgen’s
grandmother.
This is a good series starter, and it’s
different enough from DBD that it doesn’t feel like a repeat. Morgen isn’t a
tough and practically unbreakable assassin of supernatural creatures. She’s
introverted and perfectly ordinary human—only it might be she isn’t. The book
is told in third person in her point of view, which makes her feel slightly distant,
but there’s enough background information to make her interesting. Armin the
werewolf is grumpy and not very talkative, and we don’t learn much about him
yet. There’s mystery and some mayhem, but it’s dealt with a real-world fashion,
with cops and accountability. There isn’t romance—yet—and while it’s sort of
stand-alone, the ending is open enough to build a series on. I will definitely
read the rest too.
Death Before Dragons series comes to an end
with the ninth book, Secrets of the Sword III. It’s been a fast-paced and
exciting UF series full of mayhem, explosions, and dragons, with a side-order
of romance and family issues. I’m sad to see it end, but it leaves us in a good
place.
For the past three books, Val, the half-elf
assassin of the criminal supernatural creatures, has tried to learn how to use
the dwarf-made sword she’s acquired from a creature she killed. Here, finally,
the dwarf expert comes to teach her. Too bad it’s the week before her wedding
and she’s got her hands full with wedding guests who arrive a week early and
the change of wedding venue, thanks to Zav, her dragon fiancé, killing a cow
that belonged to the owner of the first location. Luckily, goblins come to an
aid with an ideal location in the middle of nowhere where Zav’s dragon kin can
hunt and play as a preparation for the wedding.
But Val can’t just concentrate on her
wedding. Trolls are on a warpath, bombing her café and kidnapping Reb, the troll
boy she’s helped before. And they have more explosives, so the chances are good
that they’ll attack the wedding too.
With all that going on in the book, it’s
not a wonder the wedding itself is more of an afterthought, with only a few
pages devoted to it at the end. But at least the dragons enjoyed the troll
hunt, which finally pleased Zav’s haughty mother. And there was a few sweet
moments too--but nothing too sappy.
The book ends with everyone in a good
place, but also as they’ve always been. It’s not a final goodbye when you know
the lives of the characters will continue even without you. And maybe there
will be more books in the future too, picking up where this one left. I’d love
to read them, but for now, I’m happy with how the series ended.
I took a few weeks off from this blog for a summer vacation and
so haven’t updated anything since June. I didn’t stop reading though. On the
contrary. Here’s a quick recap.
False Security by Lindsay Buroker
False Security by Lindsay Buroker continues her exciting UF
series Death Before Dragons. In this fifth book, vampires are going missing,
including Val’s vampire friend; Val accepts a job as a bodyguard to a tech
billionaire, Zav takes her to the realm of elves to see her father, and Val
ends up with roommates—and a new house too. For a woman who’s kept people at
arm’s length, she’s building a nice new family for herself. Zav talks a lot
about vigorous mating, now that he’s officially claimed her, but nothing really
happens. There’s a lot of action, like always, and the final battle has bears
and naked vampires in it. You don’t want to miss it. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)
Twisted Twenty-six by Janet Evanovich
Twisted Twenty-six is the latest in Janet Evanovich’s
long-running Stephanie Plum mystery series. The series has felt tired for quite
long now, but here it returns to its old form—to an extent. The stakes are
genuinely high, violence has consequences, and humorous incidents don’t
dominate everything else. Stephanie takes stock of her life, giving an
impression of continuity between the books, which is usually lacking. Lesser
side characters, Connie and Stephanie’s parents included, have actual roles.
And the ending hints at the same story continuing in the next book. I’m really
looking forward to it. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
False Value is the eight book in Rivers of London series by
Ben Aaronovitch, and it doesn’t let down. I had a brief scare at the beginning
that Peter wouldn’t be his usual copper self, but luckily that didn’t turn out
to be the case, as he’s undercover. The first part of the book was slightly
different than usually, as it was told in alternating chapters in the present
and the past to set up the reason for Peter’s latest assignment. Once that was
over, the story advanced in the usual meandering manner where the reader isn’t
entirely sure what’s going on until it’s all over. There was a bit more Beverly
in this book than before—she is pregnant after all—and she is becoming a real
person, but the other side characters remain a bit two dimensional. This
includes the staples like Nightingale and Sergeant Guleed. There was some
mayhem at the end, but Peter managed not to destroy half of London this time
round. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or not about that. (4/5 stars on
Goodreads)
Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid
Engagement and Espionage is a spinoff of Winston Brothers
series by Penny Reid and starts a new Solving for Pie series. It features Cletus, the devious mastermind in hillbilly’s
body, and his betrothed Jennifer the pie queen, and it’s a mystery, not romance—most
of the time. The mystery of strangled chickens wasn’t terribly difficult to
solve, but Jenn’s strained relationship with her parents took some work. And
the two of them just couldn’t catch a break, mostly because Cletus couldn’t see
past his romantic machinations. It was fun and emotional, like Ms Reid’s books
usually are. I’ll definitely read the next book. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)
Queen’s Gambit by Karen Chance
Queen’s Gambit continues Karen Chance’s Dorina Basarab UF
series. It’s the fifth book, but as the series is parallel with Chance’s other,
longer series, it feels like Dory’s been around forever. The book has a
promising start: a sneak attack separates Dory and Dorina, giving the latter a
body of her own. From there, we follow two separate adventures, as they both
try to figure out what has happened, why and by whom, and how to get back
together again.
Unfortunately, instead of a proper plot, we have endless
battles in both storylines, some of which don’t really have anything to do with
the actual aim of the book. And then the book ends without any conclusion to
either story. Dory ends up where she began, practically none the wiser, and
Dorina’s story ends with a kind of a cliff-hanger.
Of the two stories, I liked Dorina’s better, as she has for
the first time a chance to reflect her weird existence within Dory. Dory’s
storyline evolved into endless discussion about her marriage with Louis-Césare,
which got old after a while. The only good thing I can say about it is that they
managed to talk things through and reach some sort of understanding.
This was not my favourite in the series by any means. But
these books have had greatly uneven quality before, so I’m not giving up yet.
And the way Dorina’s story ended, it gives me hope that the two series will
connect properly for the first time in the next book. We’ll see. (3/5 stars on
Goodreads)
The Enforcer Enigma by G. L. Carriger
The Enforcer Enigma is the third book in San Andreas Shifters
M/M paranormal romance series by Gail Carriger, writing as G.L. Carriger. It’s
been a while since I read the previous book, but it felt like coming home, warm
and cosy. The characters and the entire pack are coming together nicely and
they’re not constantly on defensive anymore, which changes the dynamic of the
story.
Perhaps that’s why it felt like the love story of Colin and
Judd took a backseat to the main plot. It was a nice mystery plot that was
solved really fast, but I really would’ve liked to read more of the lovely
pair. That said, the two stories went hand in hand, there were really good
moments between the pair and it felt believable all the way. Colin opened up
nicely and Judd finally found his home in Colin. On top of that, Trick was a
great new addition to the group and I’ll definitely read how it’ll turn out
with his bear in the next book. (4/5 stars on Goodreads)
On top of these books, I read a few I’d received free from
NetGalley. I’ll write separate reviews of those later.
It’s been three weeks since I updated this blog the last
time, so this is going to be a long post of everything I’ve read since.
I’m not sure why I bother reviewing Nalini Singh’s books
anymore. They’re all great. Five stars. Even if the plot in some is slightly
thinner than in others, she has the amazing ability to write unabashedly
emotional characters who manage to convey their emotions straight to reader’s
heart. Alpha Night is no exception.
It’s the fourth book in the Psy-Changeling spin-off series
called Psy-Changeling Trinity. It’s again set in Russia, this time with a wolf
pack there. Selenka is the alpha of the pack and Ethan is a damaged Arrow (as
if there were any other kind). The book starts with a mating bond forming
between the two at the first sight, and takes the romance from there. Obstacles
on their path rise from Ethan’s mental damage that can only lead to death, on
top of which the enemies of Selenka’s pack move in on them. And then there’s
the larger plot of the psy-net unravelling, which may lead to the death of the
entire psy-race. There are high emotions and a great reward at the end. All in
all, a perfect romance novel.
The Graveyard Shift by Darynda Jones
It’s not the only book I’ve read since my last blog post. Darynda
Jones published a short romance set in her Charley Davidson world. The Graveyard Shift takes place a few years after the final book in the series and
features Garrett Swopes, a PI friend of Charley’s who has one task: keep
Charley and Rey’s daughter safe. And then she disappears. Out of options, he
seeks help from the mother of his son, whom he resents for various reasons.
It’s an opportunity for a second chance romance for them. However, the book is
curiously thin on romance—though there’s of
course a happily ever after ending. The main focus is on Beep, the daughter,
and what happens to her during her absence. Basically, the book sets up the
next phase in the series. So, even if the romance is a bit dull, the book is
essential reading for anyone who wants to keep reading the series.
The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole
The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole is a delightful love story between two people who are both recovering from an
accident that has affected their memories, but with a twist—revealed in the title—that
one of them is a biomechanical human, basically a replicant from Blade Runner.
It’s set in somewhat dark future, after WW3. America is run by an organisation
called Hive that controls people, or at least its employees with AIs, robots
and fear. The focus is on the love story though, emphasised by the fact that
the two never leave the apartment complex where they live. There’s a mystery
unfolding on the background that upends both their lives when its revealed,
done well-enough that I never even suspected it. Quite a lot was left
unexplained in the end though, so I assume there will be a series focusing on
other characters mentioned in this book. I’d read them.
Firelight by Kristen Callihan
Firelight by Kristen Callihan was a
disappointing historical fantasy romance that I gave only three stars
to. Two people with curses they want to keep hidden from the world and each
other fall in love and then have to save the world from the Big Bad. There was
a bit too much artificially forced secrecy between the two, and the falling in
love seemed to happen outside the narrative and was simply given to the reader,
but the plot was interesting and the solution to the curse was unique. I liked
Archer and Miranda, didn’t instantly guess who the baddy was—or why—and approved the way the day
was saved in the end, but the narrative dragged and the outside threat to the
couple never felt immediate. The main character of the next book was introduced
in this one, but I didn’t like him and I probably won’t read his story.
Changeling by Molly Harper
Another historical fantasy I read is
Changeling by Molly Harper. It’s a delightful middle grade story of a servant
girl who learns she can do magic in a society sharply divided to haves and have
nots based on their ability with magic. It has everything such a book needs: a
rags to riches story, adventure, making new friends in a boarding school for
witches, and even a little romance. Sarah/Cassandra is a good-hearted girl who
learns to survive in her new reality with the help of a magical book and her
two new friends. I’ll definitely read the next book too.
Elven Doom by Lindsay Buroker
On top of these romances I read Elven Doom by Lindsay Buroker, a fourth book in the Death Before Dragons urban
fantasy series. It’s yet another solid four star book from her: action packed,
funny and romantic. Val and Zav’s romance should’ve moved to a new level, but
things are ruined by Zav’s sister. Also the dark elves are ready to destroy the
world. The book has a slight wrapping-things-up feel to it despite leaving
much unsolved, but I hope this isn’t the last we hear from these characters.
Things are just getting interesting. I also read a collection of short
stories and scenes written from Zav’s point of view called The Forbidden Ground,
which was a nice addition to the series. I’m not sure if it’s on sale yet, as
it was a newsletter gift from the author to her readers.
These books were joined by three I
received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And, honestly, two of
them weren’t anywhere near being published yet. Calypso’s Heart by M.C. Solaris
resulted in my first ever one star review on Goodreads (I usually never write a
review if it’s going to be that bad) based on the eight chapters I managed to
read before giving up in rage. Paradise Rising by P.G. Shriver got two stars,
but only because I actually finished it. Into the Black was a fairly
interesting sci-fi mystery/romance I gave three stars to. Nothing terribly
wrong with that one, but it failed to properly engage my interest. You can read
my Goodreads reviews by clicking the name of the book.
All in all, a busy and interesting
month of reading. NetGalley has definitely broadened my reading habits with
books that I might not otherwise choose to read. If I’m not always happy with
them, I at least learn a lot from them for my own writing. And that can only be
a good thing.
My Lindsay Buroker binge continues
with three books. Deadly Games and Conspiracy are books three and four of The Emperor’s
Edge series, and Tangled Truths is book three in Death Before Dragons series. So
far, I’ve been happy with both.
While the two series are set in
completely different worlds—Emperor’s Edge takes place in a
steampunkish world with magic and Death Before Dragons in our world with addition
of otherworldly creatures—they have some similarities.
The main couple consists of an extroverted woman and a highly secretive,
unemotional man/male; there’s a larger plot going on in the background that the
main character tries to unravel, and both have action and mayhem aplenty.
Romantic stories advance in glacier pace, although a bit faster in case of Val
and Zav in Death Before Dragons who don’t have the baggage of past misdeeds
between them like in the case of Amaranthe and Sicarius in The Emperor’s Edge.
Tangled Truths by Lindsay Buroker
In Tangled Truths, Val has to face both
her past—i.e. ex-husband and teenage daughter—and dragons bent on revenging the death of Dob. The latter
seems to be easier for her, as she isn’t one to contemplate her emotions. And
she has an assignment that for once doesn’t require her to kill anyone, which
takes her a little out of her comfort zone. But Zav is there to help, if
reluctantly, and the ending takes their relationship to a new level.
Deadly Games by Lindsay Buroker
In Deadly Games, Amaranthe’s group
becomes involved in investigating the disappearances of athletes competing in important
games. When two of her men are taken too, it takes the case to a different level—at the bottom of a lake. The additional point of view is
that of Basillard, the former slave. He has learned that Sicarius has killed
the ruling family of his people and wants to avenge them. But when they are
both held captive, he changes his mind. And he has an important role at the
end, when he gets to meet the emperor, who has an odd request. He wants
Amaranthe’s group to kidnap him.
Conspiracy by Lindsay Buroker
In the next book, Conspiracy, the group
sets out to fulfil the emperor’s request. It’s not easy, especially since he
has to be taken from a moving train full of soldiers. The group is experiencing
internal strife too. Akstyr, the magic practitioner, is planning to sell
Sicarius to bounty hunters, upsetting the rest of the group when they learn of
it, and Sicarius goes on a killing spree that upsets Amaranthe and complicates
their mission. On top of that, Forge, the group working against the emperor, is
moving to overthrow him and they have technology unlike anything that has been
seen in the world where everything works on steam. And then the book ends in a cliff-hanger
when the action is at its peak. Luckily the next book picks up with the same
exact scene—I already checked.
All in all, both series remain
satisfying and I’ll continue with my binge. In addition, I’ve acquired several
other series by Buroker, so I won’t run out of reading any time soon.
I’ve been on a Lindsay Buroker binge
this past week, after getting hooked on her Death Before Dragons series. I
subscribed to her newsletter and was given a four book bundle of her fantasy
books (she writes sci-fi too) as a thank you. I picked The Emperor’s Edge,
which starts a series with the same name. It’s her first book, and while it’s
not perfect, it’s interesting and good. I instantly continued with Dark Currents, and then read a short story The Assassin’s Curse.
The Emperor’s Edge is set in Turgonia, a steam-punkish
empire, but not an alt-history/pseudo Victorian one. Technological advancements
are based on steam; there are trams, cars and factories among other things, but
society’s norms aren’t Victorian. Women handle the commerce and have consequently more freedoms, and men the war.
Society is divided to the warrior caste and the rest. Magic exists, but not in
Turgonia where it’s been banned.
Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker
The main character is Amaranthe Lokdon.
She’s an up-and-coming enforcer, one of only a few women in the police force.
She comes to the notice of the young emperor Sespian and through him the man
who is holding the emperor’s reins. The regent
sends her to kill Sicarius, the most notorious assassin of the empire. Things
get a bit out of her hands and before she knows it, she’s a wanted criminal
running from the emperor’s soldiers. But she also discovers a plot to kill the
emperor and decides to clear her name by saving him. For that, she enlists
Sicarius to help her.
During the course of the book,
Amaranthe builds a team of very different people to assist her, and they become
the heart of the series. In the first book, they manage to save the emperor,
but end up all being wanted by the law. The second book sees them attempting to
clear their name by thwarting a plot to poison the drinking water of the
Turgonia’s capital. They face magic wielding shamans and weird magical beasts
and machines. And form tight bonds.
The Assassin's Curse by Lindsay Buroker
The main relationship is building
between Amaranthe and Sicarius. He’s a very difficult person to get a hang of,
but she’s persistent. Already in the second book she confesses her feelings for
him, which was faster than I anticipated, considering that there are nine books
in the series. But it suits her character. His answer definitely suits his.
Based on two books and a short story,
the plots evolve around economy, which is a refreshing change to all the fantasy series about conquer and war. The main villains don’t come from the outside, but from
within the city. There’s a faction of business leaders who are plotting to
overthrow the emperor. I’m guessing the truth of the organisation won’t be
unravelled until the last book. And I’m guessing it’ll take that long to clear
Amaranthe’s name too. I’m not sure it’ll be possible to clear Sicarius’s. The
plots are a bit all over the place and the pacing is slightly odd; the books
tend to end before I would expect them to. But these are minor details that
haven’t marred my enjoyment of the books. I already have the third one waiting.
Battle Bond is the second book in
Buroker’s Death Before Dragons series. It starts almost right after the first
book with references to it and the aftermath still going on. Val is as
sarcastic and kickass as ever, but her sessions with the therapist are starting
to have a hold. She even goes to yoga, although that doesn’t end well. Zav the
dragon is his arrogant self, but he starts to warm up to Val a little. We also
learn that dragons are perfectly capable of relationships in their human form,
which gives hope for a future romance between Zav and Val. There is some build-up
to it in this book, but nothing major yet.
The plot is full action from the start. A new dragon shows
up, killing humans, and both Val’s boss and Zav want him gone. And a group of
shifters is harassing Val’s weapons supplier, so she’s helping her too. Neither
task goes well. Val gets her ass handed
to her many times before everything is solved. Luckily she heals fast. However,
the way she deals with the dragon causes a rift between her and Zav, which
might spell trouble for her in the future. I can’t wait to read what happens
next.
I’m over a month behind posting book reviews here on my
reading blog. I spent a better part of February without finishing a single
book I began to read. Partly it was because the books were disappointing and I had
to give them up. Partly it was because I had other commitments that ate into my
reading time. Because of that, the previous post here is from January 21st, and
the first book I finished since that was on February 19th. The gap in posting
is just laziness. I’ve managed to read five books, so here’s a recap.
This is book ten in Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series.
Despite the length of the series, apparently only three months have passed,
which is difficult to believe, considering everything that’s happened. In the
past couple of books there has been a major war brewing, and this one ended
with a big battle, though not the war-ending one. All the books do. Other than
that, it was slightly mismatched. It began with one plot that was made out to
be a big deal, but ended up as something completely different, with the
original plot brought up as an afterthought in the epilogue. Still, it was
better than some of the books in the series—which I love, by the way. It
was evenly paced with slower chapters here and there where the reader can catch
their breath, and there was an exciting development considering the main trio, Cassie, Pritkin and Mircea. And now that Chance is publishing the books herself, we don’t have to wait years until the next one.
Becky Chambers’ books are always
lovely. Nothing dramatic ever happens, there’s no drama between characters and
everyone is always nice. Small frowns are dealt with hugs. There’s very little
plot in them too, but since I know to except that, it doesn’t usually
matter. But this book is basically a report of what four people sent on a
scientific mission to exoplanets did and saw. Nothing else. There’s a small build-up
for drama when the earth stops communicating with them, but it’s soon brushed
over. What disappointed me with this one, however, was the ending. It tries to
be ambivalent, to leave the fate of the characters to the reader’s imagination,
but it comes across as a copout, as if the author hasn’t bothered to take
responsibility for her creation. Other than that, it’s an imaginative,
well-written book like all her books, and kept me entertained up until the
disappointing end.
This was the first book in Jones’s new series toted as women’s
paranormal romance, a crossover between women’s fiction and paranormal romance
where the heroines are over forty. It was a fast-paced and easy to read. The
main characters, Defiance and Annette feel familiar from Jones’s excellent Charlie
Davidson series, with a similar friendship dynamics than Charlie and Cookie and
a habit of drinking all the coffee, so I loved them instantly. And if Defiance
isn’t an ADD personality like Charlie, she isn’t exactly fully focused either.
This isn’t a laugh-out-loud kind of book like the other series, but it has its
funny moments.
However, the book feels incomplete. It’s like I was reading
the first third of a longer book, with the characters being introduced and the
basis of the plot set. And then it ended. There are two more books coming and
I’m guessing the main action happens in those, but I can’t judge this book
based on what I don’t have.
I also have a small issue with Defiance’s age. She's
supposed to be forty-four, which is fine (I like reading characters my age). But
she has no past and she behaved like a twenty-something, with no wisdom or
experience gained. If the point of this series is to have middle-aged heroines,
I’d like them to show the life they have lived. They should
feel and act differently from the twenty-year-olds. But I liked Defiance and if
I imagine her to be twenty-something, I can forget all the rest. And since the
book ended with a whopper of a cliff-hanger, I’m definitely going to read the
next book.
It’s refreshing to read about a culture
that I know nothing about, Diné/Navajo in this case, even when it comes added
with apocalyptic and fantasy elements (or especially then). Maggie was a great main character,
damaged and angry, and she didn’t miraculously heal during the first book—at
least not without a heavy price. Kai started as a one-dimensional hunk and
turned out to be much more. The mystery plot was a bit light and somewhat
confusing, but it got solved in the end too. And luckily there was the first
chapter of the second book added to the edition I read, so that I didn’t have
to wait in agony to know what happens next. I will definitely continue with
this series.
This was invigorating like dragon’s
blood. I really like a tough heroine who
goes through a book kicking arse, and getting hers kicked in return. Val is as
tough as they come, but she pays for it too: her stress-levels are so high she
has developed asthma and needs therapy, both of which are well integrated into
the story. She has some other issues as well, mainly that she has had to
abandon everyone she loves, a daughter included, so that they won’t be killed
because of her job as a monster slayer.
The story itself is fairly straightforward. Val needs to
find a cure for her boss who has been poisoned with magic, and clear both of
their names in the process. Her path to it is littered with creatures from other
realms who are bent on killing her. Making matters worse is a dragon who wants
to use her as bait to lure in more creatures who want to kill her. It is action
from the beginning to the end.
As this is the first book in the series, there is some world-building
and character introductions, but everything is done organically along the
story. No backstory is given for why the world is populated with creatures from
other realms; it’s a fact of life for the characters. As a first person
narrative, we get only Val’s thoughts on things, and other characters remain
slightly distant. But they are all interesting. My favourite is Zav, the
arrogant dragon law-enforcer. The book hints that some sort of romantic bond
will form between him and Val, but there was no romance yet. All in all, a
great start for a series and I’ll definitely read the next book too.
Books 4-8 of 60 (I’ve had to lower my reading challenge target from the original 65.)
