Monthly Archives: October 2016

Under the Dragons Spell

Book Review of Under the Dragon’s Spell (Fires of Fate #1), by Ann-Katrin Byrde

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Under the Dragon's SpellI picked up Anne-Katrin Byrde‘s Under the Dragon’s Spell as an Amazon Freebie.

Description from Goodreads:
Coming from a broken home, Adrian’s biggest dream in life has always been to find a loving partner and start a family of his own. But when his boyfriend kicks him out, it’s starting to look like that’s never going to happen. Worse yet, he has to move in with his brother to keep from living on the street, and the prevalent bias against men with the ability to carry children keeps him from finding a job of his own. 

He’s about ready to give up hope when he finds a job offer in the newspaper searching for someone to produce an heir for a rich dragon shifter. Having a baby with a stranger, even if he’s enigmatic and hot as hell, is not his definition of happiness, but when he finds himself falling for the dragon, he starts to hope again. 

If only it wasn’t for the competition…

Review:
This is one of those books that if taken on its own is a pretty poor showing, but if viewed within the confines of the Omegaverse, with all the pre-established tropes and expectations, isn’t too bad. It seems to conform with the expected rules, even if those rules don’t always make a lot of sense.

Outside that, the writing was ok. The editing was ok. The plotting was ok, etc. All ok, not exceptional by any means, but not wholly bad either. I thought there were some holes and the characters were not true to the personality established for them. But generally, if you’re in to the Omegaverse in a big way, you’ll really like this. If not, you’ll probably think it a lack-luster read. I kind of did.

Book Review of The Brief History of the Dead, by Kevin Brockmeier

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The Brief HistoI purchased used paperback copy of Kevin Brockmeier‘s The Brief History of the Dead.

Description from Goodreads:
The City is inhabited by those who have departed Earth but are still remembered by the living. They will reside in this afterlife until they are completely forgotten. But the City is shrinking, and the residents clearing out. Some of the holdouts, like Luka Sims, who produces the City’s only newspaper, are wondering what exactly is going on. Others, like Coleman Kinzler, believe it is the beginning of the end. Meanwhile, Laura Byrd is trapped in an Antarctic research station, her supplies are running low, her radio finds only static, and the power is failing. With little choice, Laura sets out across the ice to look for help, but time is running out. Kevin Brockmeier alternates these two storylines to create a lyrical and haunting story about love, loss and the power of memory.

Review:
Oddly enough, this is the second book I’ve read in less than a month about someone being stuck, alone in Antarctica during the apocalypse (The other being Good Morning, Midnight.). I guess it just strikes authors as appropriately desolate for the end of the world. The books hold another similarity too. They both ended without quite clarifying what happened next, at the end of it all, leaving a dis-satisfyingly open ‘what if.’

Beyond the annoyingly open ending, I found this enjoyable. The writing is really descriptive and beautiful and I enjoyed the characters and its tendency to show so full a variety of humanity. There are a lot of not-quite-characters that pop up to showcase life. It also quite cleverly shows Laura’s effect on people and the city, without telling the reader about it.

I don’t want to go into too much more detail, because it’d require spoilers. But, brass tacks, I liked it.

What am I drinking: An oversized Gin and Tonic. I added too much gin and then more tonic to balance it out, then it needed a bigger glass…that’s the story I’m sticking too. More interestingly, the glass it eventually ended up in was hand-blown in Mexico and I got it through Globe-in, which is kind of cool and worth exploring if you’re into the whole subscription box thing.

Book Review of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkins #1), by H.P. Mallory

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Fire Burn and cauldron BubbleH. P. Mallory‘s Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble is a perma-freebie on Amazon (and probably other sites). I’ve had it on my TBR list for years. In fact, I thought I’d read it already. When I picked it up this afternoon, I’d only intended to read enough to remind myself which book it was, only to discover that I couldn’t remember because I hadn’t actually read it.

Description from Goodreads:
Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

Review:
Disappointing. That’s the most concise review I could write. This is one of those standard ‘woman has magical powers that she’s lived 28 years without noticing, until a man comes along and tells her about them’ books. Meanwhile, he controls every aspect of her life while refusing to give her the information she needs to stay safe and chastising her for endangering herself in ways she wasn’t told would be dangerous.

And of course these magical powers she’s gone 28 years without noticing are ultra powerful and she can defeat well trained, long experienced people without even knowing how. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s attracted to every man she meets and they all just have to have her too. But of course, she’s never noticed she’s pretty before.

What’s worse, this is a fairly long book, but almost nothing of significant note happens. Then, it ends on a cliffhanger. The whole thing bounces between rushed scenes and long stretches of ‘training’ or descriptions of what people are wearing.

Nope. I wasn’t impressed with this one.