Category Archives: books/book review

born of metal

Book Review: Born of Metal (Rings of the Inconquo #1), by A.L. Knorr & A.D. Schneider

I received an Audible code for a free copy of Born of Metal, by A.L. Knorr and A.D. Schneider.

born of metal

Her family is all that matters, too bad they may be the death of her…

Ibby’s parents gave up everything for a chance at a better life. So, after a terrible accident leaves her alone in London, Ibby works her internship at the British Museum and goes to her classes to make them proud.

She hopes to one day bring her uncle, her only living relative, to the UK. Family is what matters. But, when Ibby finds a hidden artifact and encounters a mysterious stranger in the bowels of the museum, she learns that its her lineage, the very origins of her family, that will put everything at risk. That, and metal is starting to do some pretty bizarre things around Ibby.

A powerful artifact, a secret society, an ancient evil. Can Ibby embrace her destiny as Inconquo guardian before an ages-old demon is unleashed on London?

If you love strong female characters and millennia old secrets, you’ll love the origin story of Ibukun Bashir, metal elemental. Welcome to the world of the Inconquo.

my review

I thought this was a middle-of-the-road enjoyable read (or listen, rather). I liked Ibby. I liked the immigration aspect of her character. I liked the idea of the ability to control metal. I liked her self-sufficiency and smarts. However, I never felt particularly immersed in the world. This may be because the book is a spin-off from another series (which I didn’t know when I decided to listen to it). It may be because the book is all running here, being attacked there. It never settles enough for the reader to catch a breath and start caring. Plus, there’s a pretty big deus ex machina moment toward the end.

I see several people in the reviews complaining about the narrator. I had little problem with her. I thought she was a little dry with some characters (the demon, for example), but was mostly fine. I’d listen to her again.

born of metal

the border keeper

Book Review: The Border Keeper, by Kerstin Hall

I borrowed a copy of Kerstin Hall‘s The Border Keeper from the local library.
the border keeper

She lived where the railway tracks met the saltpan, on the Ahri side of the shadowline. In the old days, when people still talked about her, she was known as the end-of-the-line woman.

Vasethe, a man with a troubled past, comes to seek a favor from a woman who is not what she seems, and must enter the nine hundred and ninety-nine realms of Mkalis, the world of spirits, where gods and demons wage endless war.

The Border Keeper spins wonders both epic—the Byzantine bureaucracy of hundreds of demon realms, impossible oceans, hidden fortresses—and devastatingly personal—a spear flung straight, the profound terror and power of motherhood. What Vasethe discovers in Mkalis threatens to bring his own secrets into light and throw both worlds into chaos.

my review

Really marvelous. Spare in language, but rich in content. Circular in a really satisfying way. And have you seen that cover? So many little details that mean nothing until you read the book and realize they mean a lot. I would have been happy with it as a stand-alone. But now that I know there is a sequel coming out I’ll be waiting impatiently.

the border keeper

wings of fire

Book Review: Wings of Fire, by Stephanie Mirro

I received a free Audible credit for a copy of Wings of Fire, by Stephanie Mirro.
wings of fire

I wasn’t always the bad guy…

Once upon a time, I was simply Veronica Neill: daughter, sister, phoenix. But now I’m all alone, and life as the Falcon—an avian shifter and acquirer of fantastical things—is dangerously sexy and fun.

Some might even call me a thief, just never to my face.

But when my latest acquisition is stolen before I arrive and a gruesome murder is blamed on me, I’ve got a choice to make: 1) get taken in by the hotter-than-hell agent sent by the Death Enforcement Agency and let them charge me with a crime I didn’t commit, or 2) wait for my bloodsucking client to realize I’ve failed at the job he hired me for.

I don’t like either door, so I’ll take the window instead: track down the real killer and clear my name.

If I don’t solve this murder, and fast, then I might just be facing a lifetime in a grim prison—or worse, a lifetime of servitude to the man who hired me, a man who’s turning out to be more dangerous than I realized. And my kind lives for a very long time.

my review

I thought this was entertaining, but a little on the shallow side. Veronica tells us she’s badass because she’s trained her whole life to be. But you don’t really feel it. It’s just something we’re told and pops up conveniently when needed. Need weapons…oh look, she has a secret stash. Need to get around a security issue…oh look, her BFF is a hacker genius. Need to fight demons…oh look, she happens to have a demon fighting sword. Need to fight vampires…oh look she happens to have wood filled bullets. But nothing about her feels like a hardened, trained warrior or someone who has had to live the sort of life that would require it.

I liked the ‘love’ interest well enough, but he’s a cardboard cutout with the personality to match. The villain is evil for the most cliched reasons ever. I bet if I told you their gender alone, you’d be able to guess their motiviations. And I’d figured out the twist at the end very early one.

And lastly, on a purely personal pet-peeve sort of level, “Wings of Fire: A Kickass Urban Fantasy With Romance (The Last Phoenix, Book 1)” is pretentious. What the hell is that “A Kickass Urban Fantasy With Romance?” It’s not part of the title. That’s not where you’d put a tag line. It’s just this random assertion in an unexpected place.

I know that all sounds negative, and certainly the book could have been less cotton-candy like, but I did enjoy it for the mere escapism of it.

wings of fire stephanie mirro