Author Archives: sadie

The Devils Revolver

Book Review of The Devil’s Revolver, by V.S. McGrath

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I purchased a copy of V.S. McGrath‘s The Devil’s Revolver.

Description from Goodreads:
She is Hettie Alabama — unlikely, scarred, single-minded, and blood bound to a revolver forged by a demon.

The first book in an epic, magic-clad series featuring the Wild West reimagined as a crosscultural stereoscope of interdimensional magic and hardship, The Devil’s Revolver opens with a shooting competition and takes off across the landscape after a brutal double murder and kidnapping — to which revenge is the only answer. Hettie Alabama, only seventeen years old, leads her crew of underdogs with her father’s cursed revolver, magicked to take a year off her life each time she fires it. It’s no way for a ranch girl to grow up, but grow up she does, her scars and determination to rescue her vulnerable younger sister deepening with every year of life she loses.

A sweeping and high-stakes saga that gilds familiar Western adventure with powerful magic and panoramic fantasy, The Devil’s Revolver is the last word and the blackest hat in the Weird West.

Review:
A YA novel that avoids a lot of the common YA traps. I’m not entirely sure I even realized this was going to be YA, that the protagonist is 17ish, when I started it. (Yes, it’s in the blurb, but I didn’t reread it between buying the book and actually reading it.) Even once I did realize, I never felt Hettie fell into the simpering, angst-filled role that annoys me so much in so many YA stories. What’s more, while there is a male character that MIGHT later fulfill a romantic pairing, this story wasn’t cluttered up with ill-timed youthful luuurve.

I did feel Hettie’s obsessive determination wasn’t wholly explained. I mean, yes, she wanted her last family member saved, but she seemed a little too driven and compulsive. This may have been because the reader is never really given the opportunity to see Hettie interact with Abby, so Abby is forever a theoretical motivation. Also, I felt some of the magic system was a bit hand-wavy.

I enjoyed the writing, which I found clean and easy to read. It have enough Western slang to give it character, but not enough to clutter the narrative. All in all, I enjoyed it and would happily read another McGrath book.

A not-review of Dragons of Wales, by Andy Frazer

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This isn’t so much a review as just a brag about, “Look at this cool thing I got.” Look. Look. Look!

It’s even signed and anyone who knows me knows I love a signed book. I hoard them like some sort of jealous dragon, which is an apt description considering.

I came across Andy Frazer and his Dragons of Wales through Twitter. I quickly fell in love with the little guys and gals. So, I followed to the Kickstarter and gallery/shop, where I ordered a couple books. Yeah, a couple; I have a some Welsh friends who will be getting a copy for Christmas. (Good thing they don’t read my blog.)

The book is small, only about 80 pages of A5. But it’s full color and just a lot of fun. Frazer’s dragons are small themselves, bird-like. Each stunning (and to-die-for cute) picture is accompanied by an interesting little ornithological-like description which include a mix of information about plumage, preferred environment, behaviors, mating, size, diet, etc. It’s a conversation starter, for sure. My coffee table is improved by its presence.

At this point I’d love to add a bazillion pictures of brightly colored, itty-bitty Welsh dragons, but I’d feel obligated to ask Frazer’s permission to do so, and I don’t want to have to ask permission. Because then it would feel like I’m doing a promotion and this isn’t a promo. It’s just me squeeing over pretty dragons. And I’d feel all sorts of awkward and fan-girl being like, “Um, Mr. Frazer, Sir, can I litter my blog with your hard work? No, no, I can’t pay you or anything. But it’d be exposure.” Um, no. There are plenty of images available if you check out the Twitter or Artstation link, above. You should check it out.

I’ll just include one to give you an idea of what they look like (and hope I’m not violating a copyright or anything). This is the Zara of Zacmik. I chose it because I like the name.

There, see I have a cool new thing. *Smug*
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Ok, I’m not really smug. That would be an unattractive characterization. But I’ve very happy.

Marked by the Werewolves

Book Review of Marked by the Werewolves, by Meg Ripley

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I received an Audible credit for a copy of Meg Ripley’s Marked by Werewolves box set.

Description from Goodreads:
I never imagined the drama that would ensue once Dwight stepped into my life. 

All I wanted to do was to make a name for myself–to claim my little piece of the pie–and buy the neighborhood bar I’ve been working at for the last few years. Little did I know that I’d be attracting the Wolf Brotherhood into my life. 

They want to stake their claim on my bar, but just because they’re the most feared werewolf biker pack in Portland doesn’t mean that I’ll just roll over and let them have what they want–not without a fight. 

Well, I went a little too far one night and really ticked them off, and now Dwight has this twisted plan to stage my death to get the ‘Brotherhood off my back. He’s my maker, and my lover, so I should be able to trust him–and God, there’s just something about the fire in his touch that makes my troubles melt away; something about his deep, alluring gaze that pulls me in every time–but Dwight also happens to be a member of the ‘Brotherhood…

Now my sister Sera is getting roped in on the drama, and they’d better not lay a finger on her. Rumor has it, she’s teamed up with a rival pack to get to the bottom of my “death.” 

They’ll stop at nothing to take me out, but I’m tired of being their victim; the Wolf Brotherhood has no idea what’s about to hit them. 

They’ve messed with the wrong chick this time.

This box set contains all three stories in Meg Ripley’s werewolf romance series, Packs of the Pacific Northwest: 

Book 1: Claimed By The Wolf Brotherhood 
Book 2: Werewolf Baby Daddy 
Book 3: The Wolf Pack’s Revenge

Review:
I don’t usually use star ratings on the blog, though I often begrudgingly  assign them when I cross-post to other sites. But for this one, I think I need numbers.

Overall, I’d give this compilation a 2.25. But I’ll discount the first ‘book’ and its rating and round up to 3. Below you’ll find my thoughts on the individual books. Veronica Holly did a fine job with the narration. I noticed a couple hiccups toward the end, but not enough to really bother me.

Claimed by the Wolf Brotherhood
1*
Not a story, barely even a prologue. If I was incline to rate it on its own, as opposed to part of the boxed compilation of books 1-3 I have, it would be very low indeed. It’s basically useless on its own.

Werewolf Baby Daddy
2*
Not an abysmal showing, and not outside what you’d expect from a fated mates werewolf novella. But full of shallow, undeveloped characters, insta-love, sex=relationship, no world-building, a shadow villain that you won’t even know at all if you haven’t read the useless-on-its-own-but-apparently-vital-this-book-so-why-is-it-seperated-out 30 page prequel, Claimed by the Wolf Brotherhood, and a cliffhanger. So, not a real winner but again there is a whole sub-genre of just this sort of pared-down stories that some people seem to like. I was pretty meh about the whole thing and bitter about the 30 page “book 1.”

The Wolf Pack’s Revenge
2.5, round up to 3*
Better than the first two “books.” I put that in quotation marks because “book 1” isn’t a book by any definition I can imagine and I’m irritated by this trend authors seem to be developing of publishing teasers without accurately labeling them as such. But none of these stories stand alone, so I can’t just pretend it didn’t exist. Either way, The Wolf Pack’s Revengeis an improvement. The writing is better and it was a more complete story than either of the previous stories. The characters were still shallow, though I have to admit to liking how caring the heroes are (no alpha A-holes). The plot was still thin. But it is still only a novella, so what can I expect. All in all, ok if you like this sort of pared down story.