Category Archives: books/book review

Book Review of Elaine Corvidae’s The Sorceress’s Orc

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I grabbed Elaine Corvidae‘s The Sorceress’s Orc off of the KDP free list. I’m so glad I did.

Description from Goodreads:

Giavolo: proudest of the city-states and home to the great university, where the Magical Sciences are taught alongside more mundane studies. The city has been at war for longer than any of its inhabitants have been alive.

Giavolo: proudest of the city-states and home to the great university, where the Magical Sciences are taught alongside more mundane studies. The city has been at war for longer than any of its inhabitants have been alive.

Vervain: Mistress of the Magical Sciences, she is dismayed to find herself assigned a bodyguard after divination reveals an ill-defined threat to the university’s teachers. Even worse, the bodyguard is an orc.

Riyu: Vervain’s orc bodyguard is determined to save her life—if she’ll let him.

Brighthand: When this sinister figure attacks the university and kidnaps Vervain’s partner, it’s up to Vervain and Riyu to get him back…or die in the attempt.

Review:

This is the first book by Elaine Corvidae that I have ever read. I am definitely a new fan. I loved, loved, loved this story. It’s not often that I all out rave about a book, but this one deserves all of the praise I can lavish on it. Vervain was a sharp tonged professor of the Magical sciences with a razor wit and a scathing attitude. I loved her. She let off some zingers that kept me laughing. She reminds me of what I imagine Minerva McGonagall would be like if she never got flustered and got frustrated enough to speak her mind. Vervain had that same kind of dedicated academic spinster feel to her. But she never held back, not in her words, deeds, or feelings. She spoke her mind, did what she felt was right, and followed her heart at all costs. How could I not love her?

Then there was Riyu…SWOON! I never would have expected myself to fall in love with an orc, but I just couldn’t help it. He was marvellous, calm, loyal, dedicated, built (if a little green and tusky), gentle and soft-spoken, despite his capacity for violence and accepting of his situation. My heart broke for him a little when he related himself to the male in the tale of the Storm Witch. The interaction between him and Vervain was priceless. Corvidae really managed to provide a lot of information about his mood or true feelings through subtle hints such as the position of his ears and such. It made him feel very expressive, even if he didn’t actually say much.

There were a few areas that I would have like explored a bit more. What happened to Cardamom or was there an significance to the earrings Riyu wore,  for example? It makes me wish for a continuation of the story. But really I’m thrilled that it is a stand alone book. Everything I read lately seems to be part of a series. It is refreshing to finish a book and story at the same page. I will DEFINITELY be checking out more books by this author.

Book Review of Marie Harte’s Tip of the Spear

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I grabbed Marie Harte‘s novel, Tip of the Spear from the Amazon KDP free list recently. Who wouldn’t want to read something called an Amazon Western? It could have been anything and I was intrigued from the get go.

Description from Goodreads:

After people polluted the planet beyond recognition, the sky rocks came and reduced the world to rubble. Yet mankind refused to die, and the world was reborn. Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws rule.

1. Procreation is necessary, not optional
2. Women are a precious commodity
3. Harm the earth, lose your life
4. If it can eat you, it will

Welcome to the New West, where the Nature Laws dictate who lives and dies by the way they treat the land, carnivorous horses and blood trees are accepted mutations courtesy of the sky rocks, and the Impact Zone separates the earth-friendly territories of the West from a more sophisticated, steam-powered East. Women are rare commodities, living in extended families with more than one husband, and children are a necessity in a world where sterility is often the norm, not the exception. Life is full of challenge, romance and adventure. Something one courageous, wounded Amazon will find out first-hand.

Thais (Tay-iss) lost her mother, her queen, and most of her tribe at the hands of brutal foreigners, all while she enjoyed a respite from duty. But the young Amazon with vengeance in her heart refuses to lose anything else. She’ll bring back the queen’s stolen crown or die trying. Life in the Territories has its perils: the Nature Laws, carnivorous beasts, and treacherous men who survived the Time of Dying. One man in particular, a warrior in his own right, has an odd effect on her senses. She comes to desire him, to trust him, and she doesn’t like it. Men are good for war and breeding, neither of which Thais has time for, not when she’s so close to finding those responsible for the crown’s theft. In the course of her quest, Thais finds much more than atonement for her troubled past, but a pure and lasting love, if only she has the courage to accept it.

Review:

I’m really torn about how I feel about this book. On one hand I really liked the story and the characters. Thais was strong and independent. I loved every one of the Dakota clan and the bad guys were all suitably evil in their own unique ways. I even appreciated the dystopian world building that Harte did. The environment was distorted and appropriately foreign, while still being geographically recognisable.

However, on the other hand, I had a really hard time actually reading the book. I’m not a prude and I like a smouldering sex scene as well as the next reader. Hell, that’s why I picked up a book by Harte in the first place. But while I get that this is a predominantly male, post-apocalyptic culture and language may have taken a resultant nose dive, the language in the book is really coarse. I mean like “I want to fuck you,” “fill you pussy,” “pound your cunt,” kind of crude (even when speaking to women who are apparently adored). What one likes or dislikes is, of course, an individual preference. For me this was not sexy, not sexy at all. It grated on my nerves endlessly that a strong Amazonian woman would allow herself to be spoken to in such a degrading manner, even if she didn’t really know any better.

Further, before reading the book, the synopsis’ rule number 2 (Women are a precious commodity.) made me think women might have a respected place in this society. That’s actually a large part of why I chose to read the book now instead of letting it rest in the TBR list. I was disappointed. They were almost exclusively raped, shared, or whored. Unfortunately rule number 1 (Procreation is necessary, not optional.) might better read, sex is necessary, not optional. Women really didn’t have a choice in the matter. Every single one of them felt like a sexual victim.

Now, there was plenty of sex to be had here, but there was plot too. So while I was uncomfortable with Hinto’s language and the treatment of women in general there was quite a lot I liked about this book too. Hinto, was pretty darned sexy (pending he kept his mouth shut). He was big, strong, talented, kind, honorable, and falling hard for the girl whose independence he respected (even as his actions sought to hobble her). His internal dialogue as he tried to come to terms with his own complicated feelings for Thais were the best part of the book, followed closely by his interactions with his family. I also liked Beast a lot. You wouldn’t expect a ‘horse’ to have much of a role to play, but he did.

There was a general theme of loyalty and the importance of honour and duty. This is something I always enjoy in a book. Tip of the Spear didn’t disappoint in this regard. Those who were honourable took their responsibilities seriously. How could you ever fault someone for that? This extended to the importance of bearing children. I liked that the men were all really excited about the thought of fostering offspring. Sexy daddies…yum. 

I wish the next book (Bite of the Blade) was out. I’d give it a read. Once I’ve walked away from the series, however, I seriously doubt I’ll ever remember to look for it again. Oh well, my loss I guess. 

 

LARP: The Battle For Verona

Book Review of Justin Calderone’s LARP: The Battle For Verona

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Author, Justin Caldrone, sent me an e-copy of his novel LARP: The Battle For Verona.

Description from Goodreads:
Dennis and his friends have been LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) since high school. Now, in his 20s, Dennis is seriously considering giving up LARPing for good. He’s tired of dealing with his overzealous friend Mark; he’s tired of his older brother Brad’s constant put-downs; and he’s tired of the fact that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Check that. Not a girlfriend, but the girlfriend. Alyssa—the one woman he’s been pining over for years.

Dennis and his fellow LARPers have never been considered cool, in their small island community of Verona, located off the coast of Washington State.

But all of that is about to change . . .

While Dennis and his friends are attending a big LARP tournament on the mainland, a rogue terrorist group of Mongolians in medieval garb, led by an American madman, invade Verona and take its citizens hostage—including their families and friends.

When the LARPers find out what’s happening in their home-town, they do what any dedicated LARPer would do: they put on their armor, strap on their swords, and fight their way home—LARP-style!

Review:

Larp: The Battle For Verona is utterly ridiculous. 🙂 A small island off the coast of Washington State is occupied by an invading horde of medieval Mongols…riiighhhtt. Then a group of local Live Action Role Players ride in to save the day, not the US military, militia, or even the freakin’ Boy Scouts, but LARPers….Ooookaaay. But all of that is written on the back of the book, so you know going in exactly what you are going to get. This is the type of book you pick up because of the absurdity of the story, not in spite of it.

For me the whole point is being able to abandon myself to the unpredictable nature of the characters who find themselves in a completely unforeseeable circumstance. LARP doesn’t let you down in this regard. Dennis, Freddy, Mark, and Jen a good fun. As semi-professional twenty-somethings they each embody their time. Dennis is stuck. He can’t seem to find meaning in his mundane life. Freddy is struggling with an ethnic identity. Mark hasn’t quite managed to grow up and Jen is determined to find respect as a ferocious woman (as opposed to a pretty lady, or worse, Daddy’s Little Girl). These are characters you recognise from life. You see them day in and day out. Watching them each overcome their own uniquely modern problems has a certain gratifying feeling to it, as does seeing them concur the external problem.

I did find that the book repeated itself a lot and this got a little tiresome. It also felt like everything wrapped up a little too well. I’m all for a happy ending, but it all became so hunky-dory that it felt a bit like a veneer. This was only a small irritant on an otherwise really enjoyable read however.