Monthly Archives: August 2016

Wrong Side of Hell

Book Review of Wrong Side of Hell (The DeathSpeaker Codex #1), by Sonya Bateman

Wrong Side of HellI requested a copy of Sonya Bateman‘s Wrong Side of Hell from Netgalley, but it turned out I actually already had a copy I’d picked up at Amazon. Oops.

Description from Goodreads:
Hauling dead people around Manhattan is all in a day’s work for body mover Gideon Black. He lives in his van, talks to corpses, and occasionally helps the police solve murders. His life may not be normal, but it’s simple enough.

Until the corpses start talking back.

When Gideon accidentally rescues a werewolf in Central Park, he’s drawn into the secret world of the Others. Fae, were-shifters, dark magic users and more, all playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Milus Dei, a massive and powerful cult dedicated to hunting down and eradicating them all.

Then a dead man speaks to him, saying that Milus Dei wants him more than any Other. They’ll stop at nothing to capture him and control the abilities he never knew he had.

He is the DeathSpeaker. He is the key. And he’s not as human as he thought…

Life was a whole lot easier when the dead stayed dead.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed this. I found it a fun, action-packed romp through NYC’s paranormal population. Now, I also found it unrealistic, in that a group of seven took on an almost limitless enemy organization but, well, that’s part of the fun isn’t it? Who doesn’t love rooting for the underdog?

I though Gideon an interesting character and I liked his narrative voice quite a lot. Similarly, I liked the side characters, though I thought some of them could have been a little more fleshed out and the villainous cult they pitted themselves against could have done with a bit more depth. They felt evil for the sake of evil, instead of dedicated to a cause. All in all, however, I will happily read more of Bateman’s books.

Swallow You Whole

Book Review of Swallow You Whole, by Jasper Black

Swallow You Whole

I won a signed copy of Swallow You Whole, by Jasper Black, from Goodreads.

Description:
For two villainous nobles, it is a desperate means to an end. For two clever demons…it is one hell of a tax break. 

Henry and James have accidentally staked claim on the same soul. Elliot Dosett, the bitter and sickly son of a successful steel magnate, summoned a demon in hopes of solving his trouble with his father and inheriting the estate. Violet Clifton, his aunt, also summoned a demon in order to rid herself of a useless husband and take over the business he leaves behind. In order to delay her own death, she also signs away Elliot’s soul. And so the paperwork begins to fly.

Lady is a fallen angel. He is also one of Hell’s top auditors. He is sent to monitor the activity of Henry and James. Once he finds out which demon is trying to cheat Hell, his job is to send them back in chains.

Henry will do anything to avoid being reported, dragging James and Lady down the path of a capricious scheme. Yet Satan is hot on their heels and will stop at nothing to hunt them all down; even if that means interrupting God’s latest round of golf.

Review:
A point of clarification on the front end, I would not consider this a romance. Maybe I’m the only one who mistakenly thought it would be, but I don’t think it is. Whatever it is, horror-slash-humor maybe, I quite enjoyed.

I liked both James and Henry. I thought God, Satan and the other angels/sins that show up were well characterized. Violet and Elliot, the peevish, evil humans, were suitably evil. There were a few unexpected turns. The author stuck with the inevitable ending, which pleased me and there were quite a few ironic, funny moments.

I did find the fact that the celestial realms seemed to run on a different time than earth jarring and anachronistic. I understand it was purposeful, but it still pulled me out of the story. Lastly, I think it could have done with another editing pass. But the truth is I’d almost forgive it this for the awesome cover.


What I’m drinking: What the English might call Builder’s tea. One inexpensive bag of black tea, quite strong and a dash of milk. This is one of my comfort drinks. These days, I’m often off dairy. So, I don’t drink it as often. But for pure, melt into the couch relaxation, it’s my go-to drink.

A mystery!

Today, I have a bit of a mystery. My aunt-in-law is visiting from England and she wanted to buy a second-hand suitcase for her return trip, something she could use to pack the things she bought here but wouldn’t spend enough on to feel bad about trashing once she got home. So, we found ourselves at Savers, where she found a fabulous mid-century suitcase that I personally think she should keep for all eternity and I picked up a stack of Alexis Morgan paperbacks. Alexis Morgan paperbacksThe first one to catch my attention was Dark Defender, because the Arch on the cover suggested it’s set in Saint Louis, where I happen to live. I still wasn’t paying a lot of attention yet, just browsing and thinking, “Oh something set in my own city could be cool.” Then, I found another and another. And they all had stickers declaring them autographed, which finally excited me. I love signed books.  I’d found four autographed books. Score!

Here’s where the mystery comes in. They’re all signed, “To Mom and Dad.”

I stood there in the book isle, staring at this and trying to think of a way these books (and probably more that I didn’t find, since they are scattered in two different series and I suspect ‘Mom and Dad’ had one of everything) ended up at the charity shop that didn’t originate in tragedy of some sort. Did they die and someone uncaringly or unknowingly clear the books away? Did Ms. Morgan do it herself? Was there a falling out between her and the parents? Did they just not care? Did she die and they couldn’t face her books?

Now, I don’t want to make light of what might be a bad time for someone (or not, could be totally prosaic), but once this thought patter set in I couldn’t put them back. I felt like they’d already been dishonored in some fashion and to put them back would be to compound the injury.

Ok, yes, I know that’s ridiculous, but when I’m paying $1.99 a book I can afford to be sentimental about them. I’m just hoping they turn out to be good. Anyone else get this way about random things?