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Book Review: Sairō’s Claw, by Virginia McClain

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I received a copy of Virginia McClain‘s Sairō’s Claw as part of Storytellers On Tour‘s book tour when it was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight.

Sairo's Claw

Sairō’s Claw
by Virginia McClain
Series: Gensokai Kaigai (#1), Chronicles of Gensokai (#3)
Published: May 7, 2021
Genre: Fantasy, Action-Adventure, LGBTQ, Seafaring Adventure Fantasy,
Samurai-inspired Fantasy
Pages: 471
CW: Violence

POSSIBLE ULTIMATE TOUR EXPERIENCE TICKETS: An Unforgettable Sidekick, Represent, Under The Sea, It’s All About The Journey, That Ship Has Sailed, Love Actually, The More The Merrier, The Pack Is Back In Town, Blood Suckers, A Villain You Love To Hate

Blurb:

An action-adventure fantasy romp featuring sword lesbians, sea battles, and a grumpy wolf spirit.

Torako has done many things to protect the valley that she calls home, but she’s never looted a corpse before. So when the katana she steals off the still-cooling body of a bandit turns out to be possessed by a grumpy wolf kami, she can only assume it’s because she’s somehow angered the spirits. An impression that’s only reinforced when she returns home to find her wife abducted and her daughter in hiding. But angry spirits or no, Torako isn’t about to let bandits run off with the love of her life, even if it means taking their 3 year old on a rescue mission.

In all Kaiyo’s years as Captain of the Wind Serpent she has never once questioned her admiral’s orders. So when she receives the command to abduct a civilian scribe with the help of fifteen felons, she registers her objections, but does as she is bid. Yet, as the mission unfolds, Kaiyo finds herself questioning everything from her loyalties to her convictions.

As Torako and Kaiyo’s fates cross like dueling blades, their persistence is matched only by their fury, until they uncover a series of truths they may never be ready to accept.

Goodreads / Amazon /
Bookshop (Hardcover) / Bookshop (Paperback)

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My Review:

I generally enjoyed this and have many good things to say about it. But let me get the grumble out of the way first. This is labeled (Gensokai Kaigai #1). But what it very clearly is is book one of a spin-off of Chronicles of Gensokai. I say “clearly,” not only because I’ve looked it up and know, but because the book felt, almost start to finish, like a spin-off of something else.

I don’t actually think this was meant to be hidden knowledge (which I do sometimes think when I find myself in this position), but I mention it because I would not suggest reading this without having read the Chronicles of Gensokai first. It’s followable, but I definitely feel like I missed something because I did.

sairos clawOk, with that out of the way, lets get to all of the ways I loved this book. McClain can write. I mean really write. The text is clean and easy to read from the first page to the last. The characters are fun and there’s quite a lot of subtle humor involved. If I had any talent at drawing I would create fan art of Torako and Tanaka. Plus, the book is just fun and full of a fairly diverse cast.

I did think the child needed to be a little older than 3-years-old to be believable, five maybe. She’s too articulate and focused for a 3yo, even an exceptionally talented one. The two arcs of the story are such that the book feels like two separate stories, rather than two parts of the same one. The book basically starts with Kaiyo’s character. But Torako, who is the first person named in the blurb (who’s name is, in fact, the first word of the blurb) doesn’t show up until page 129. That’s a long time to go before meeting a main character. The book felt like Kaiyo’s book up until that point. Then it felt like Torako’s for a while, and then Kaiyos. Both plots were interesting, but they didn’t feel like part of the same work until near the very end.

I liked the book, though I was confused at times due to not having read Blade’s Edge and Traitor’s Hope. I’d be interested in going back and reading them and I think I accidentally own one other unrelated McClain book. Since I now know I like her writing style, I might just move it up the TBR.

Author Info:

Virginia McClain is an author who masqueraded as a language teacher for a decade or so. When she’s not reading or writing she can generally be found playing outside with her four legged adventure buddy and the tiny human she helped to build from scratch. She enjoys climbing to the top of tall rocks, running through deserts, mountains, and woodlands, and carrying a foldable home on her back whenever she gets a chance. She’s also fond of word games, and writing descriptions of herself that are needlessly vague.

Virginia McClain
Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

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my luck

Book Review: My Luck, by Mel Todd

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I was initially offered Mel Todd‘s Twisted Luck series for review, but I declined since I’m pretty much off YA books lately and NA books have an about 50/50 chance of feeling very YA (in my experience). There is a very thin line between a late teen and an early 20-year-old, after all. However, after Inherited Luck (book 4 of the series) was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight. I decided to give the series a shot after all and borrowed and audio version of My Luck (book one) through Hoopla.

My luck mel todd

I’m not a mage, but that won’t stop me.

Cori Catastrophe. They call me that sometimes, and I hate to admit it, but it isn’t wrong. Things go weird around me. Electronics die, things break, and if something odd happens, I seem to find it. Finding another dead body just made me late to work.

Nothing will stop me from getting my degree, getting a job, and getting away from this tiny town – though leaving my best friend will hurt more than anything else. Reality seems determined to make reaching my goals impossible. The dead guy had my name in his pocket, my best friend emerges as an archmage, and my parents – well let’s just say leaving them behind is one of the best parts of getting away.

So be it. Not being a mage means I’ll have to struggle to succeed. No matter how weird things get, I’ll make it. I lost my brother and I’ll probably lose my best friend to the world of magic. All I can do is depend on myself.

my review

This might be a little spoilery. I don’t think I say anything that you wouldn’t guess from the blurb, but be warned.  Plus, I make a few assumptions. But I’m fairly confident in my assertions.

I am struggling to figure out how to describe my experience with this book. The writing is perfectly readable. I listened to an audio version, so I can’t comment on editing, but I didn’t catch any obvious mishaps. So, the book isn’t a mess. But it’s 359 pages long and literally moves the plot forward zero percent. The character is in the exact same position (in the larger plot) at the end of the book as she was in the beginning. We follow all her personal dramas and accomplishments, from class to internships to work, but not the VERY OBVIOUS magical issue that is the larger plot and mystery. Cori hasn’t really even acknowledged that there is a mystery, not really! And these are my biggest issues, lack of plot progression and the obviousness.

There is a really interesting magical world here, complete with bureaucracy and international standards. What is happening around Cori is VERY OBVIOUSLY not normal. Her own reluctance to acknowledge this is hard to believe, even when she has her emotional outburst about it. But that everyone around her, several of whom basically tell her to her face she’s magical and almost all of whom suggest she get tested for magic, also just ignore this is beyond the pale. She is surrounded by mandated reporters, people who are legally obligated to report unregistered magic (and child abuse/neglect, but that’s another issue). That not one of them called and reported her, forcing her to get tested, is 100% not believable.

So, the whole premise of the book, that she doesn’t know she has magic, is unsteady and compromises the whole thing. In fact, I’m stating here she has magic, but even by the end of the book neither she nor anyone around her has acknowledged it. It got to the point that I literally rolled my eyes every-time something obvious happened, another person said, “get tested,” and Cori responded with I’m not magic, end of story.

I’m actually interested in knowing what happens. But I’m not willing to commit to reading another book knowing that the author is willing to dragggggggg the plot out as long as she has. Will I read the next book  only to find Cori and everyone around her with their head STILL in the sand? That would be too frustrating to handle. I almost can’t handle this book ending with them still sucking soil.

So, as I said, I’m struggling. I don’t think the writing is bad. I like the world. But this 359 page book functions as little more than a prequel to the series and that’s a structural decision I’m not wiling to submit myself to further.

As for the narration, it started out pretty rough, honestly. But Juliet eventually seemed to find her stride and it smoothed out.

my luck mel todd

I’m trying this new thing where I link other reviews of books for comparison’s sake.

My Luck by Mel Todd – A Book Review

Declan Finn

 

dragon(e) baby gone

Book Review: Dragon(e) Baby Gone, by Robert Gainey

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Dragon(e) Baby Gone was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight. And though I didn’t agree to review it for a tour, I was provided a free copy for my participation. If I’m honest, the cover doesn’t light me up, and I might not have paid it much attention if Robert Gainey‘s interactions in the post’s comments weren’t so genuine (as I discuss here).

Dragone Baby Gone

Overworked. Underfunded. Outgunned. Sometimes the greater good needs a little help from a lesser evil.

“Dragon is hard to overcome, yet one shall try.”
– Nowe Ateny, Polish Encyclopedia, 1745

Diane Morris is part of the thin line separating a happy, mundane world from all of the horrors of the anomalous. Her federal agency is underfunded, understaffed, and misunderstood, and she’d rather transfer to the boring safety of Logistics than remain a field agent.

When a troupe of international thieves make off with a pair of dragon eggs, Diane has no choice but to ally with a demon against the forces looking to leave her city a smoldering crater.

Facing down rogue wizards, fiery elementals, and crazed gunmen, it’s a race against time to get the precious cargo back before the dragon wakes up and unleashes hell.

Oh, I had so much fun with this one. There’s no romance, it’s pure action adventure urban fantasy and it’s a rollicking good time. You’ve got diversity in the cast. You’ve got snarky heroines and sarcastic demons. You’ve got a whodunit mystery and a race against the clock to avoid death and destruction plot line. You’ve got sharp writing and clean editing. Sure, things get a little ridiculous at times and maybe it’s a little hard to believe Morris survives all the crazy antics, but roll with it. It’ll be worth your time.

dragon(e) baby gone

As a bonus, since this is still running over on Sadie’s Spotlight. There’s a giveaway too. (I hope no one minds me sharing it here.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lastly, I’m trying this new thing where I share links to other reviews of the books I read for comparisons sake. I’ve yet to decide if this will be a permanent feature, but I’m testing the idea. Today, I hit my first snag when I realized Dragon(e) Baby Gone doesn’t actually have a lot of blog reviews yet. So, it was a struggle to find one. But I persisted and succeeded.

Helen Johannes’ Blog