Random Book Review- The Vale Chronicles, Joel Abernathy

It's been a while since I posted a book review, and I have to be honest, it's mostly because I haven't read anything lately that was more than just "okay," and really worth recommending.

BUT, the Vale Chronicles duology by Joel Abernathy was amazing. The first book is Puppet Master, and the second is Enemy Lover.

The characters are unique and interesting, the world and mythology are new and intriguing, and the love story(s) are bittersweet and a little twisted and just so perfect. There are only two books in the series, and it's complete. So you also get a good long read, without the fatigue that can set in when a series stretches out too long. You can check them out here.

Random book review: Black Dog Blues

Black Dog Blues

Can I just have a gushy, girly book-nerdy moment here?
I. Love. This. Book.

The world building in this story is AMAZING. The author basically took real-world California and fantasy Faerie and SMASHED them together. As in "the merge," and event where the two worlds violently merged and resulting in a human/fae war that makes this world in some places almost post-apocalyptic, and in others filled with lush futuristic beauty... it's amazing. Have I said amazing? It's also filled with action, violence, romance/sexual tension, emotional pull, and just a lot of fun (driving a mustang through a dragon-infested desert on the way to an elvin city while outrunning the monster dogs of the wild hunt anyone?). I've read another of Rys Ford's books, Dim Sum Asylum, and really enjoyed that too. She has a magical way of taking the sparkly fae and making them all gritty and edgy. Love it.

The Kai Gracen Series: Book One

Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.

It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.

But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.

No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old either and it doesn’t look like Kai will be the exception.

Random Book Review- By Fairy Means Or Foul (A Starfig Investigations Book)

I loved this book so much I don't know where to start.
Evil unicorn? Check.
Half-dragon, Half-fairy hybrid investigator? Check
Human slave who's about to slip his bonds and kick some serious ass? Check
Absolutely absurd names for everything and everyone? Check

This book is fantasy, adventure, gay romance, and almost has an urban fantasy feel at times. It's also hilarious.

The last thing half-dragon, half-fairy private investigator Twig Starfig wants to do is retrieve a stolen enchanted horn from a treacherous fae, but there’s no denying the dazzlingly gorgeous unicorn who asks Twig to do just that. Literally, no denying, because compelling the reluctant detective is all part of a unicorn’s seductive magic. 

To add to his woes, Twig is saddled with the unicorn’s cheeky indentured servant, Quinn Broomsparkle. Dragons are supposed to want to eat humans, but Twig’s half-dragon side only wants to gobble up Quinn in a more . . . personal way. Making matters worse, it’s obvious the smokin’ hot but untrustworthy sidekick is hiding something. Something big. And not what’s in his trousers. In the PI business, that means trouble with a capital Q. 

Throw in gads of zombies, a creepy ghost pirate ship, a malfunctioning magic carpet, and Twig’s overbearing fairy father’s demands to live up to the illustrious Starfig name. Naturally, an old but abiding enemy chooses this time to resurface, too. Those inconveniences Twig can handle. The realization he’s falling for a human who isn’t free to return his affections and whose life may hang on the success of his latest case? 

Not so much. 

Random Book Review: The Stormlords

I recently finished reading The Stormlords, by Ravon Silvius. Review below. 

This book is built on an interesting premise and world. In this world, the planet is plagued by "heat spells" which are periods of intense heat that are, essentially killing the planet and its inhabitants. Enter the storm lords, secret magicians who can manipulate the weather and bring storms to break up the heat spells and bring rain to the parched world. 

The story centers around a boy who cannot speak, and who is accused of murdering his parents by stealing their precious water during an intense heat spell. He learns he may be a storm lord and is taken away by a magician to train. 

But he isn't quite what they thought he was. And he might be a danger to the world. 

There is M/M romance in this book. The book isn't fast paced. It isn't full of action and suspense. If you are looking for that, you might find it slow. I found it charming, in its own way. It was a fantasy book with a bit of an almost sci-fi feel at times. The relationship betweent the storm lord and his new apprentice is sweet, slow, and gentle. There are no raging alpha males or dramatic misunderstandings. It is just a steady build to the main character discovering who he is and his place in the world. 

I also really loved the main character and the fact that he was mute. Spoiler: the author didn't magically restore his voice. And that won points in my opinion. I love to see characters with real challenges. 

Random Book Review- Hexbreaker Jordan L. Hawk

I just finished Hexbreaker by Jordan L Hawk.

I loved the world building in this book, and the great juxtaposition of coppers, magic, and alternative culture in 1890's New York.

This story is a sweet M/M romance between a witch and a cat familiar--but it's far more complex than that. I thought it rich on all levels, delivering history, fantasy, romance, mystery and explicit steamy sex.

I really can't say much more that that without giving away the plot elements. I will say I read it in one day because I couldn't seem to put it down.

Random Book Review: Venom and Vanilla

I recently read a book that I have to share with you. Venom and Vanilla, by Shannon Mayer, is a unique urban fantasy with and awkward heroine and enough goofy humor, action, and magical creatures to keep me reading past my bedtime.

If you want a sterotypical gritty urban fantasy, this is not it. If you enjoy something new and different, and at times wonderfully odd... then this is your book! Alena is a bakery owner who is in the final stages of a terminal disease. She is offered a cure--to be turned into a supernatural creature (or as she calls them, a Superduper). The only problem is that Alena and her whole family are members of a religion that believes supernaturals are evil creatures who by their very nature are damned. Take a heroine who refuses to curse, but is now inhabiting the body of sex incarnate. Throw in a few deranged Greek Gods and a questionable, if sexy, vampire. A perfect recipe.

Fail your way to success!

April A to Z Blogging Challenge, hosted here.

My theme this year is exploring the link between mental health and creativity. See my stance on this here.

 F is for Failure    

When you are working on improving any area of your life, you risk failure. In fact, most self-help gurus, psychologists, and mental health professionals will tell you that you can't grow WITHOUT it. It is our challenges that help us grow. One of my favorite sayings, attributed tot he buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh "No mud, no lotus."

If you work on accepting failure as a part of growth, of "forward failing," as Tony Robins would say, you become better able to navigate the ups and downs of life while still steadily moving forward .

How does working on this trait in yourself help your writing or creative endeavor? Well, it's obvious--when pursuing any dream, you are going to fail. A lot. All you have to do is perform an internet search for writers who faced a ton of rejection and you will get countless stories of famous people who were told their work was crap, unpublishable, worthless only to later go on to make millions of dollars off said crappy work.

Writing is a constant battle between the certainty that you have created something amazing and the pain of every rejection or negative review. Go ahead and fail. Who cares? Lots of very successful people fail at things every day. But they KEEP TRYING. Keep moving, no matter what your goal and you are bound to get there. Give up and you never will.

Go forth and Forward Fail your way to victory, my friends!

Random Book Review: Broken

I just finished devouring the third book in Jex Lane's Beautiful Monsters series, Broken... and it was amazing.

These books are not my usual fare. Full of blood, violence, torture, sex, and pain, they draw you in to a world where vampires and incubi/succubi are at war. And Mathew, an abomination of an incubus turned vampire is caught right in the middle.

At times I hate the characters. I want to slap them. Scream. Put the damned book down as Mathew endures progressively worse heartbreak and physical pain with every installment.... but I just couldn't put them down. And this latest book  is the best one so far.

The only complaint I have about this book is I want more of Hiroto, fox spirit turned incubus-employed-vampire slayer.

This seems to be a  series that grows in strength with every installment, and  I can't wait for the next one, promised for 2018.

Random Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle- Book Versus Film

I first came to the magic that is Howl through Miyazaki's animated film adaptation. Since I watched the movie before I read the book, I admit there might be some bias here, but these are my thoughts. Typically I'm a "the book was better than the movie" girl. BUT, in this case while I enjoy the book, the movie will always be one of my all time favorites.

Howl's Moving Castle, the book by Diana Wynne Jones:
This book is uniquely written. It has fantasy and magic and a unique main character who believes any adventure she engages on is doomed to failure because she is the eldest daughter and everyone knows the eldest always fails at adventure...
The book contains more magic, in a way, more worlds and covers more real estate, let's say. But I found the plot at times confusing, not very coherent, and a bit meandering. I felt there wasn't really a big "point." Mostly it was Sophie rambling. Even the romance is more a faintly implied thing than an actual occurrence. You kind of think Sophie and magician Howl might grow to like each other despite their constant bickering, but it doesn't really develop much. Until at the end they hold hands and grin at each other and so they must be in love? ... meh.

Howl's Moving Castle, the movie by Hayao Miyazaki:
There is more plot to this story, more purpose. Howl's character has more depth, as you see that what appears superficial in him is actually hiding many things--a curse, a missing heart, and his ongoing attempts to save the world from self-destructing in war. Sophie's character is more fun in the movie somehow... perhaps because you see her as intrinsically kind and pragmatic, rather than intrinsically dull and lacking in redeeming qualities (which is how she sees herself). The romance between Sophie and Howl is also much more well done in the film (like it actually exists-cough). The other pieces of the plot, including the witch of the waste, the missing prince, etc. are make much more sense in the film than in the book.


So, there you have it. The book is okay. The movie is magical. If I had to choose, I would choose the film every time. But I think the book is still worth the read simply for it's uniqueness.

Random Book Review: Wolfsong

So, I am devouring books lately. This one was hard on me. Mostly because I couldn't STOP reading the thing and it cost me sleep. Books will be the death of me.

I reviewed one of my all time favorite books last year by TJ Klune, The Lightning Struck Heart here. This book is just as amazing, but in a completely different way. The tone is nothing like LSH, but the author's awesomeness remains.

Wolfsong has this tone about it, this submersion in the character's voice and in his head that is beautiful and perfect and  straight to the point. It is a werewolf book, but like no other I've ever read, infused with Klune's amazingly awkward and TRUE hilarity, but also with a depth of emotion that was staggering. Loved it beginning to end. I am still amazed how he packed this massive story, spanning 10-12 years into one book in a way that didn't drag on, but that makes you feel like you've been following these characters for years. I felt that same awful sense of "oh no, it's over and now what will I do?" that I feel when a really good 15 book series I've been reading for years ends. It was that good.

So, enough with the gushing. Go read Wolfsong now.

Random Book Review: The Magpie Lord Series, by K.J. Charles

It's been a while since I shared what I've been reading--and it's been a really mixed bag lately! Currently I'm re-reading Howl's Moving Castle... but I digress.

This post is about a wonderful little trilogy (with some related books I haven't read yet) that I found and had to share with the uninitiated.

Romance, magic, men in dashing suits, and a bit of horror... what more could a girl want?

I won't say much about this series other than to say I loved it. This author builds a wonderful world and some really interesting characters who's flaws make them even more endearing than their good points. I love flawed characters :)

Check  the books out here

Random Book Review- The Lightning-Struck Heart

I cannot even begin to tell you how in love I am with this book I just finished, The Lightning-Struck Heart by TJ Klune.

The main character (a 20 year old gay male wizard who quite often sounds like a 16 year old girl) spoke my language (yeah, I'm a 30-something mundane female... I might have issues).

I laughed out loud until tears streamed down my face EVERY SINGLE TIME I picked up this book, starting in the opening chapter when the main character and his gay unicorn argue over the top of the villain's monologue and completely ruin his triumphant gloating, an onward into the main character's reminiscing about the day his mentor found him in the slums, a scene involving pink boots made from succubus tears and the threat of exploding nipples.

The blub for the book sounds kind of confusing and doesn't, in my opinion, do the book justice. BUT: The humor is amazing (if you are into bad puns, sex jokes, and sarcasm--spoiler, I am.). And under all the humor is some really good writing and an awesome love story, even though I sometimes had to cover my face while roaring with laughter because...I just couldn't meet the main character's eyes anymore. Essentially it is this:

- a young wizard apprentice who is as awkward and embarrassing as he is powerful
- his two best friends- a gay unicorn without a horn and a half-human, half-giant who doesn't understand sarcasm
- his amazingly awkward crush on a certain dashing Knight Commander (who just got engaged to the crown prince...oops)
- General rollicking hilarity
- Heart-strings and feels.

I can't tell you how much I think you need to read this book right now. 

I will be patiently waiting for the next installment, which has been promised for 2017... and by patiently I mean: is it there yet, is it there yet? ISITTHEREYET?!

Random Book Review- Half A King by Joe Abercrombie

Book reviews aren't something I do often...if ever...on my blog. But I just enjoyed this so much I had to.

I want to preface this by saying that I am a romance/fantasy/paranormal/magic/adventure sort of girl. Straight up or "hard" fantasy usually isn't my thing. (Though I am a LOTR geek- but that predates being legally old enough to buy smutty books...) So it is amazing to me that it dawned on me to even try this book--let alone love it.

The thing that caught my attention when browsing in my local used book store was the beautiful cover.
Then I read the description- a one-handed weakling of a prince that everyone hates is suddenly king? Well, okay! I love an underdog.

But it was more than that. This book was engaging from the beginning to end. It is full of twists and turns, and watching the main character grow into a "deep cunning man" is absolutely amazing. I won't say too much more because I don't want to ruin the plot. Just read it!

I would have liked more romance... .but that's just me.

I thought the twists were well over by the last chapter, but the author kept me going "What?!" til the last page. Wonderfully executed.

And even better, if you are daunted by fantasy- it isn't a long book, for it's genre, clocking in at just 345 pages.