Author Archives: sadie

fierce firls

Review of Fierce Girls, by Mike Adams

Author, Mike Adams, sent me a copy of Fierce Girls.

Description from Goodreads:

“I love being a Marine but there are days…We may have a lot of the same problems in 2122 we did a hundred years ago but back then the Gul brothers weren’t paying lots to see my head on a spike! Not that I was born yet but that’s not the point! So I’m a pretty good shot and Rick is even better. Did I ask daddy Gul and his boys to go on a rampage? No, I didn’t! But now we have to leave the planet and go to the New Hope colony where the locals like to eat people!” –Staff Sergeant Susan ‘Molly’ Bennett, USMC

The story of the alien Rift invasion of the New Hope Colony begins on Earth in 2122 when all too familiar problems and events cause a chain reaction that will have repercussions on two worlds. Fleeing for their lives and to protect his family Navy, Lieutenant Paul “Rick” O’Brien and Marine Staff Sergeant Susan Mollison “Molly” Bennett will have to board a starship for the long voyage to Earth’s first extrasolar colony under new identities. There they will join the Colonial Rangers, the international military force designed to protect the colonists from the planet’s ferocious predators, not to deter an alien invasion.

The female-loving Logistics officer O’Brien and superb marksman and the courageous Marine recon squad leader form an unbreakable bond forged under fire that will serve them well as events unfold around them. The circumstances that send them to the New Hope Colony will also have a profound effect on the other members of the O’Brien/Cassidy family and especially Rick’s daughter Ciara as well as on the colony where they find refuge.

Review:

This was not a winner for me. The book is titled Fierce Girls, and there are a number of fierce girls in it. But if you asked me who the main character is, I’d tell you it is Rick O’Brien (the only male). He is the primary idea man, it’s his family the book centers on, and he’s the primary instigator of action. He‘s the main character of a book called Fierce Girls

And it’s not surprising. Because honestly, you can feel that this book is written by a man, despite the title. It’s in the aforementioned focus on the male. The way he’s affectionately referred to as a womanizer. The subtle gun worship (or at least shooter worship). The white knight syndrome as Rick saves all the women. The way he’s described as super respectful of women, but still laughs at sexist jokes. The way every mention of Molly (an accomplished Marine) includes how attractive she is, calling her “pretty Bennett” and usually includes mention of her clothing (or lack thereof). The way the book couldn’t get to the end without putting that pretty, self-sufficient woman in a position to possibly be raped. And the whole weird kumbayah, love fest all the women seem to engage in whenever they were all together. As a woman who has a mother, aunt, sister, female friends, nieces, and daughters (one of each Ciara’a age) very little of that felt realistic. It read like some uber stereotyped version of idealized womanhood.

But being written by a man wouldn’t be an indictment if the book didn’t simultaneously feel so much like author wish-fulfillment—Rick, after all, is the most handsome, smartest, bravest, most talented, most skilled, most sought after man in the universe—and have an incredibly unlikeable main character. Rick, after all, is the most handsome, smartest, bravest, most talented, most skilled, most sought after man in the universe and it makes him painfully smug and arrogant.

Then there is the actual writing. It’s mostly ok, but there were some irritants. Everyone talks with exclamation points, there are a ton of info dumps (usually in the form of dialogue that reads like a lecture), there’s too much telling as large chunks of time and events are glossed over, there’s some weird bolding and italicizing going on, it’s repetitive, and names/titles are used too frequently.

But worst of all, the plot is a very loose weave. For over half the book, I didn’t even think there was one. Eventually one kind of coalesced, but the book would have been significantly improved if the first half was a lot tighter and the last half had a point beyond “look how awesome Rick is.” Readers are introduced to a million characters, many of whom we don’t need to know, and some of whom go by as many as three names (before also changing their names in the latter half of the book). It confusing and, I hate to say it, boring.

I understand that this is the first in a long series (22 books to date). So, some leeway can be given for setting the ground for the rest of the series. But for me, I didn’t particularly enjoy this first one, so I’m not interested in 21 more.

Matchmaking Beyond the Veil

Book Review of Matchmaking Beyond the Veil, by Mara Townsend

I’ve had Matchmaking Beyond the Veil, by Mara Townsend, for a while. I think I picked it up as an Amazon freebie.

Description from Goodreads:

Endure the company of his rival…or suffer ghostly retaliation.

Emery Belmont is a snarky, uptight realist who likes his life ordinary. Like any skeptic, he’s content using mundane explanations to write off signs of paranormal activity. That’s no longer an option when the spirit haunting his house wrecks his new kitchen, forcing Emery closer to facing the supernatural truth. Desperate for a new handyman, he unknowingly hires his hot ex-rival from high school to fix it. Paxton Santos, Emery’s former lacrosse team captain, followed in his father’s footsteps to take over the family business. Annoyingly, Emery requires his talented hands more than he needs to keep Paxton out of his life. However, getting Paxton to leave after the repairs may prove difficult with the meddlesome ghost taking a shine to him, which Paxton seems to take in his grating, good-natured stride, remaining irritatingly unruffled by numerous weird occurrences.

Emery is bombarded by mysterious paranormal hijinks, keeping Paxton at arm’s length, and deciphering things that aren’t quite what they seem. There’s nothing Emery hates more than an unfinished puzzle. In his determination to solve this one, Emery reluctantly opens himself up to new possibilities all while trying to remain firmly rooted in life the way he prefers it—orderly, logically explainable, and, above all else, ghost-free.

Join Emery and Paxton as they face off with a spirit that has no limits to how far it will go to push them together, enduring locked doors, faulty plumbing, and sharing a bed. Together they are determined to navigate their way out of this mess using any means necessary to send the ghost packing. Will they make it out of the traps awaiting them before their pesky tormenter gets any other ideas to make things worse and further blur the line between them?

Review:

Soooo, I hated this book. That’s a pretty blunt, but true statement. I finished by force of will alone and I frequently felt like I would never reach the end. The problem was that I simply HATED the main character. Emery was selfish, snobbish, and self-centered. And he was just as selfish, snobbish, and self-centered at the end of the book as he was at the beginning. He didn’t even grow as a person or character. The fact that the Paxton was too much of a kind himbo to realize Emery was actually being cruel doesn’t make Emery’s abusive behavior less horrendous. And Paxton was a gem. I didn’t want to see him saddled with Emery in the least.

Then there were the completely graceless changes of mind on Emery’s part. He spends his whole life hating his high school rival (who holds on to shit like that) and then SUDDENLY out of nowhere decides it was all one-sided and in his head. What’s more, he thinks Paxton is the same as always. So, kind and generous and giving? If that’s how he’s always been, how am I supposed to believe anyone (except maybe a selfish, snobbish, and self-centered asshat) would think him the machiavellian villain Emery was supposed to have believed him to be. It was 100% unbelievable. The transition between never being willing to enter a relationship and desperately wanting one with Paxton was just as sudden. And the reason Emery never again wanted a relationship was never addressed, despite being harped on forever.

If you’re hoping for some good paranormal fun, don’t look here. It doesn’t even enter the book until the halfway mark and then it’s ridiculous. All in all, I am really glad to be done with this book and I will not be continuing the series.

light of lights

Review of Light of Lights (Rules of Vengeance#.5), Giacomo Giammatteo

Giacomo Giammatteo is an inst-buy author for me. So, when I saw Light of Lights as a freebie, a few months back, I snagged it.

Description from Goodreads:

The seven worlds of Neltsar are in turmoil. War has devastated the largest cities, and the most powerful of the demigods are locked in a fierce battle. As casualties mount, Antar, the strongest of the Lights, makes a decision to use weapons that have been banned for millennia. The results are devastating.
See what happens when the Light of Lights breaks all the rules.

Review:

Meh, it was OK. I love Giammatteo’s mafia novels, so I thought I’d give his sci-fi a chance (though it turns out to be more fantasy). It was fine, but I felt too much like I’d been dropped into the middle of something; never quite grasping the breadth of the plot or feeling attached to any of the characters. And since it’s also a prequel, like I never quite reached an end either. The writing and editing, however, are as good as ever.