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Book Review of Lord of the White Hell, by Ginn Hale

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I went to library and checked out Lord of the White Hell 1 & 2, by Ginn Hale.

Lord of the White Hell 1Description from Goodreads:
Kiram Kir-Zaki may be considered a mechanist prodigy among his own people, but when he becomes the first Haldiim ever admitted to the prestigious Sagrada Academy, he is thrown into a world where power, superstition and swordplay outweigh even the most scholarly of achievements.

But when the intimidation from his Cadeleonian classmates turns bloody, Kiram unexpectedly finds himself befriended by Javier Tornesal, the leader of a group of cardsharps, duelists and lotharios who call themselves Hellions. 
However Javier is a dangerous friend to have. Wielder of the White Hell and sole heir of a dukedom, he is surrounded by rumors of forbidden seductions, murder and damnation. His enemies are many and any one of his secrets could not only end his life but Kiram’s as well.

Review:
What can I say, I liked it but I didn’t love it? The things I liked I liked a lot though. I liked the characters. I thought they were well rounded and engaging, even the side characters. Nestor and Fedeles struck me particularly. I liked Kiram’s tendency to speak his mind and Javier’s attempt to respect that, while still flirting. I liked the world and the setting. I liked the writing. It’s fairly simplistic, but the dialogue flowed well.

The things I didn’t like are a little less about the broad strokes though. I disliked the slow pace of the plot. If I’m honest, this is probably more a case of expecting more than the book ever intended to deliver in this department. It is largely a story about boys in a boarding school, with a little time dedicated to a larger conspiracy and I was looking forward to a bit more of a sweeping adventure. I disliked how the book ended. I understand what Hale did with the brothel scene, not only forcing Karim to acknowledge the reality of loving a man in such a repressive culture, but also the understanding of the other characters’ limited window to express affection. But I disliked it. I disliked that there are no women in the book, a couple mothers and whores are referenced but there are no female characters. I also thought the editing of the second half of the book started to falter.

I have book two and I’ll be reading it. But the series has lost a little of the luster it held when I was first starting out. Hopefully I can regain it.

Lord of the White Hell 2Description from Goodreads:

Kiram fought his family and Cadeleonian bigots to remain in the Sagrada Academy to prove himself as a mechanist and to dispel the deadly shadow curse that threatens to destroy his upperclassman, Javier Tornesal.

But when his efforts provoke retaliation, Kiram’s family and home are endangered. Both Kiram and Javier risk everything in a desperate gambit to combat the curse.

But they never imagined their battle would come so soon, or that it would be led by the one person they trust most of all.

Review:
I enjoyed this second book more than I did the first. In it I felt Javier and Kiram’s personalities came through more strongly and there was the action I was looking for in book one. I especially appreciated the way Javier is written as the sort of can-do-anything hero commonly seen in M/M but we’re also given his vulnerable, desperate side.

I was a little disappointed that the villain was so obvious. The foreshadowing for that particular twist started about 2/3 of the way through the last book. (I’m just hoping the reader was supposed to know, even if the characters didn’t.) And his defeat seemed a bit abrupt. I only have two other complaints. There are a few convenient saves in the plot, people who just happen to be in the right place to discover just the right thing to save the day. Also, Javier never fully acknowledged why Kiram pulled away from him in book one (the Brothel scene) even after he came to understand adari in Kiram’s culture and showed his own jealousies.

For the most part I ended this book quite happy. I’ll be looking for more of Hale’s writing.

Havemercy

Book Review of Havemercy, by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett

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HavemercyI borrowed Havemercy, by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Thanks to its elite Dragon Corps, the capital city of Volstov has all but won the hundred years’ war with its neighboring enemy, the Ke-Han. The renegade airmen who fly the corps’s mechanical, magic-fueled dragons are Volstov’s greatest weapon. But now one of its members is at the center of a scandal that may turn the tide of victory. To counter the threat, four ill-assorted heroes must converge to save their kingdom: an exiled magician, a naive country boy, a young student—and the unpredictable ace who flies the city’s fiercest dragon, Havemercy. But on the eve of battle, these courageous men will face something that could make the most formidable of warriors hesitate, the most powerful of magicians weak, and the most unlikely of men allies in their quest to rise against it.

Review: *possibly spoilerish*
Magical clockwork dragons, ya’ll! Magical clockwork dragons. There was no way I could pass this up once I’d discovered its existence and on the whole I really quite enjoyed it. I liked the writing style. I liked the characters…mostly. I liked the dragons. I actually liked that it had a rather slow start. On the surface, I even liked the ending.

What I didn’t like was the ambiguity around aspects of the book that I would have really liked if I had just been sure of them. Was Balfour really trans or just a man teased as effeminate because he had better manners than the rest? Was Rook and Thom’s love platonic or heading for romance? Did Hal and Royston ever consummate their relationship? Considering the book starts with a man in bed with his lover, I don’t see why we aren’t given any sort of closure on this point. When it comes to romance I feel like the book set us up for two great loves and fails to deliver either as promised.

As an aside, though not uncommon in fantasy, I have to ask, where are all the women? There are a few minor mentions of female characters, but nothing more. But for all my remaining questions, I finished the book happy.

Book Review of A Bullet Apiece, by John Joseph Ryan

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A Bullet ApieceI borrowed a copy of A Bullet Apiece, by John Joseph Ryan, from my local library. It should be noted or disclosed that Ryan apparently lives in my neighborhood. I have never actually met him, but I did once meet his wife and that is how I know about the book. So, hey there, if you’ve found this, surprise, I’m reading John’s novel.

Description from Goodreads:
All is not well in post-World War II St. Louis, and private eye Ed Darvis, a man pegged as liking justice too much, discovers there’s a fine line between solving a crime and being an accomplice.

Ed Darvis, a St. Louis private eye, is pegged as a man who “likes justice too much.” Maybe that’s why business is slow; turns out not everyone in St. Louis is looking for justice. Revenge, deceit, and a little profit-taking on the side are all too often the modus operandi of cops and criminals alike. But when a beautiful woman walks into his bland storefront agency on the seedy side of town and asks him to help find her kidnapped daughter, Darvis’s life heats up. He must use his wits to survive, jabbing and feinting with deadpan directness and cynical ease, and when that doesn’t work, delivering justice with the blunt end of his .38 revolver.

Review:
You know, I hadn’t realized it, but I don’t think I’d ever read a true Noir novel before this one. Oh, I knew what to expect. I’ve seen enough Noir movies to know what to expect, but somehow it hits you so much more strongly in writing. And this is important to note, because, though this is really quite well written, I found I couldn’t really like it.

It’s dark and gritty, which is usually just up my alley, but it’s also set in 1960 and full of just as much casual sexism (and racism) as you’d expect from the time period, not to mention having two separate horrific crimes both basically predicated on the victimization of women (which I’m just sick of in general, because it seems like 80% of the crimes in books are). And I think this is definitely a characteristic of the genre, rather than any poor choices of the author. But I got very tired of the exaggerated male gaze; every woman is described in reference to her attractiveness or the attractiveness of her parts. In fact, the main character’s attraction to a certain pair of legs starts the whole thing off. And it’s just exasperated by the classic men are heroes women are victims storyline(s). In the end, I just didn’t particularly like Darvis or his worldview.

There were things I did like. Again, I thought the writing was fun, especially if you like the Dragnet-like dialogue or the traditional ‘gumshoe.’ The descriptions of Saint Louis are vivid (I happen to live in the Lou) and I really appreciated that it’s diverse. Not all the hookers are women, for example. I didn’t figure out the mysteries, which is something I always appreciate and it’s a stand-alone book. Plus, and I know this is almost irrelevant, but I read the paperback version and I just liked the typeset and binding style of it.

So, though I learned a little something about myself and my genre preferences, I can’t really knock the book for falling outside my circle of love. If you’re the sort who enjoys Noir, I recommend picking this one up, because the only true faults I found are personal pet peeves, not quality issues. It seems very true to what I expected out of a Noir novel.