Category Archives: Challenges

Book Review of Wicked as They Come (Blud #1), by Delilah S. Dawson

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Wicked as the ComeI bought a copy of Wicked as the Come, by Delilah S. Dawson.

Description from Goodreads:
When nurse Tish Everett forced open the pesky but lovely locket she found at an estate sale, she had no idea she was answering the call of Criminy Stain, from the far off land of Sang. He’d cast a spell for her, but when she’s transported right to him, she’s not so sure she’s ready to be under the spell of another man. (It didn’t go so well last time with controlling, abusive, domineering Jeff.) If only Criminy wasn’t so deliciously rakish….

Half the inhabitants of Sang are Pinkies—human—and the other half are Bludmen, who in Tish’s world would be called vampires. But they don’t mess with any of the bat/coffin/no sunlight nonsense. They’re rather like you and me, just more fabulous, long living, and mostly indestructible. (They’re also very good kissers.) But when the evil Mayor of Manchester (formerly Bludchester) redoubles his efforts to rid Sang of the Bludmen once and for all, stealing Tish’s locket in hopes of traveling back to her world himself for reinforcements, Criminy and Tish must battle ghosts, sea monsters, wayward submarines, a secret cabal, and thundering Bludmares to get the locket back and allow Tish to return home…but has she found love with Criminy? Could she stay in Sang forever?

Review:
Meh, I found it unimpressive. It wasn’t bad. The world-building was pretty good and there was some humor. But it just was nothing new or exciting either.

I think the author was going for a strong determined heroine, but she just came across as selfish and stubborn to me. She also did a lot of crying and sleeping. There was a POINTLESS and BASELESS love triangle for a little while. I didn’t understand Criminy’s obsessive love for woman he just met. I thought the bad guy was cheesy and she defeated him too easily. But most of all I thought the whole thing felt random. They ran here and did this. Then, they ran there and did that. Then, they ran into this creature or interesting contraption. I was not overly impressed. If my library carries the books, I’d probably read another but I’m not buying any more.

As You Wish

Book Review of As You Wish, by Isobel Starling

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As You WIsh While Isobel Starling and I don’t know each other personally, we are in the same online book group together. When she posted that she had a novella coming out for a ‘Love is an Open Road‘ event, I offered to read it. She kindly sent me a copy of As You Wish for review.

Description from Goodreads:
1 wedding, 2 best men, one hell of a love story!

Declan Ramsay’s brother Oliver was marrying Annabelle Aiken at a fairy tale Castle on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland. The bride and groom decided, so that he didn’t feel left out, Annabelle’s gay younger brother Sam Should share the best man duties with Declan. 

Declan had never met the kid who was to be his joint best man.
Sam Aiken was abroad, working as an interpreter and finishing his studies. He wouldn’t meet Declan until a few days before the wedding, so the best men communicated and planned their speech by email for more than a year.

But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to realise the kid isn’t a kid at all, but a tall, blond and athletic young man. Declan is sure he’s straight, so he’s alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself.

But is Samuel Aiken all that he appears to be?

Review:
There is something about a man in a kilt. Hmmm, yes there is. Honestly, I think there is something about a man in just about any traditional costume. It seems to push the same buttons as a man in a well-tailored suit. Yum. So the very premise of this story ticked a couple boxes for me. And believe me, if kilts tickle your fancy, you need this book. There are some scenes…..

It also has two cute, likable leads. I enjoyed them and their irritation, embarrassment and eventual working out of differences.

The story kind of lost me at the end though. I understand that the ending opens the story up to further books. It would make a good series. But, for me, it was too sharp a left turn. It diverged too far from the story I had come to expect. But that’s probably a personal quibble, I’m sure others will love it.

The writing was clear and concise. There was humor, warmth and a HEAish ending. Worth picking up a free copy here.

Review of A Darkness Forged in Fire (Iron Elves #1) by Chris Evans

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A Darkness Forged in FireI got a copy of A Darkness Forged in Fire, by Chris Evans, from the library.

Description from Goodreads:
We do not fear the flame, though it burns us,
We do not fear the fire, though it consumes us,
And we do not fear its light,
Though it reveals the darkness of our souls,
For therein lies our power.
— Blood Oath of the Iron Elves

First in a stunning debut series, A Darkness Forged in Fire introduces an unforgiving world of musket and cannon…bow and arrow…magic, diplomacy, and oaths — each wielding terrible power in an Empire teetering on the brink of war.

In this world, Konowa Swift Dragon, former commander of the Empire’s elite Iron Elves, is looked upon as anything but ordinary. He’s murdered a Viceroy, been court-martialed, seen his beloved regiment disbanded, and finally been banished in disgrace to the one place he despises the most — the forest.

Now, all he wants is to be left alone with his misery…but for Konowa, nothing is ever that simple. The mysterious and alluring Visyna Tekoy, the highborn daughter of an elfkynan governor, seeks him out in the dangerous wild with a royal decree that he resume his commission as an officer in Her Majesty’s Imperial Army, effective immediately.

For in the east, a falling Red Star heralds the return of a magic long vanished from the earth. Rebellion grows within the Empire as a frantic race to reach the Star unfolds. It is a chance for Konowa to redeem himself — even if the entire affair appears doomed to be a suicide mission…

and that the soldiers recruited for the task are not at all what he expects. And worse, his key adversary in the perilous race for the Star is the dreaded Shadow Monarch — a legendary elf-witch whose machinations for absolute domination spread deeper than Konowa could ever imagine….

Review:
This was a middle of the road read for me. Some aspects of it I quite enjoyed, like the dwarf and the spectacled kid, as well as a few of the other low ranking soldiers. And I thought it had a quite dramatic ending.

But there were other aspects that didn’t work for me. There is NO chemistry in the romance, none. I thought no one reacted realistically to the odd things happening around them and I thought the battles went on and on and on.

I think I’ll probably read the next one in the series, since it’s in my library and I can do so for free, but I’m not really racing out to get it as soon as possible.