The Demon of Synar

Book Review of The Demon of Synar, by Donna McDonald

Leave a reply

I grabbed Donna McDonald‘s The Demon Of Synar from the KDP free list.

Too long description from Amazon:
Being captain of his own rescue ship is the kind of life Captain Liam Synar always dreamed of living. Being a master of his family’s hereditary demon was never in his plans because his brother had been trained for the purpose. Yet what choice did his father have when Conor’s evil came to light? Reluctant or not, Liam is the only Synar left to rule Malachi. Now his exiled brother hunts him to capture the demon while Liam stays on the run and saves Peace Alliance ambassadors in his spare time. As if that isn’t enough trouble to handle, his mate, Ambassador Ania Looren, now unknowingly hosts his family’s demon inside her body. Liam sent Malachi into her to save her life after Conor’s men almost killed her. And though Liam hadn’t wanted to, there had been no choice but to abandon her two years ago. His plan of keeping both her and the demon safe from Conor had worked, but his success at hiding what he’d done has finally reached an end. His next rescue has to be his estranged mate before Conor finally figures out the truth.

After accepting only one mate in her long life, Ambassador Ania Looren is now wishing the number had remained at zero forever. Mating Captain Liam Synar is turning out to be the worst mistake she ever made. Something happened after Liam abandoned her, something more than just the pain of losing her chosen male from her life. Something about his absence has stripped away the peaceful enlightenment she struggled years to achieve. Now she can’t meditate, can’t pray, and her compassion for other creatures seems to be dying. She is becoming again the kind of person she’s spent her existence trying not to be. On top of that, she’s been accused of murdering three males who attacked her and her family. She doesn’t even remember what happened that day. Now Liam is back and demanding she go with him to his ship. What choice does she have? Ania reluctantly agrees because it’s a better fate than being arrested and put through social reconditioning on her planet. The half life she’s been living for two years is no more worth keeping than her mating commitment to a male who obviously hadn’t wanted her after all.

Review:
The Demon of Synar is not what I expected at all. From the synopsis, I thought it would be a paranormal romance of sorts (albeit set in space), maybe even an M/M romance since Malachi is obviously male. It is neither of these things. I suspect there will be more romance in future books, but there is almost none in this one. Despite that, I really like the story, the characters, and their special differences. It’s fast-paced and engrossing.

What I didn’t like is that the book is the first in a series, but at 125 pages it barely scratches the surface. With multiple planets, species with different abilities, and then all of the personal drama that makes up the plot it is far from complete. Even skipping two very important years in the beginning the book still ends with what is essentially the beginning of the story. You meet the characters, become familiar with the environment, and come to terms with the challenge…and then it ends…on a solemn declaration of the task at hand no less. As a bait and switch, it’s pretty effective, though. It’s well-written and engaging, so I really want to know what happens. Undoubtedly, I’ll end up buying the second (probably more) in order to satiate the need to see it through and enjoy every word of it. But no matter how much I enjoy the story there is something that rankles me about having to buy two books to read one story.

Addendum: Reviews for the second and third books can be found on Goodreads:

The Demon Master’s Wife
The Siren’s Call

Book Review of Rogue Hunter: Quest of the Hunter, by Kevis Hendrickson

Leave a reply

Author, Kevis Hendrickson, sent me an e-copy of the sci-fi novel Rogue Hunter: Quest of the Hunter

Description from Goodreads:
Zyra Zanr is the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy. Criminals everywhere cower at her name. During the attempt to capture a notorious fugitive, she stumbles onto a conspiracy to murder the senators of the InterGalactic Alliance. Behind this plot is a clandestine force seeking to destroy not only the InterGalactic Alliance, but mankind as well.War looms on the horizon as Zyra collides with this deadly force threatening to rock the very foundations of time and space. Zyra’s quest to uncover the mastermind behind this plot will pit her against an evil menace beyond her wildest imagination. Only Zyra can save humanity from an impending holocaust. Victory will mean the salvation of the human race. Failure will mean the end of all that Zyra holds dear.

Review:

Zyra Zanr is one tough cookie. She is willing to tackle challenges on a galactic scale with almost no-one covering her back and manages to survive time and time again. Rogue Hunter: Quest of the Hunter tells her story admirably. It starts on a high note and maintains it throughout. Zyra is an interesting character and I loved the men in her life. They each have a little something to appreciate about them. There are a few too many ‘and then she suddenly saw a …’ — insert miraculously placed laundry shoot to dive down, convenient atmospheric control panels to change air content and kill pursuing aliens, willing pilot to rescue you at the last second, etc. Similarly, Zyra’s talents seemed to be almost boundless. She is faster, stronger, smarter than almost everyone else. While I accept that as the ‘Grande Dame Bounty Hunter’ that is to be expected, credibility is stretch a little too thin when she and her unaltered equipment are still hacking computer 300 years in the future. Does technology not progress in the future universe?

There is a pretty drastic shift in the book and plot about half-way through and I don’t feel like the second half holds up as well as the first. This is largely because [without giving too much away] she looses contact with all of her friends leaving almost no-one for her to interact with. Therefore the story becomes much more heavily dependent on description of feelings, thoughts and actions than on the direct interaction of characters. Despite this, a lot of ground is covered and the action continues. This is the first in a series of books focusing on Zyra. (At least I think it is the first. There is definitely room for prequels.) Arcs are left open and there are definitely unanswered questions at the end. But there is more than enough here to keep the reader interested. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next instalment.

Draykon

Book Review of Charlotte English’s Draykon

Leave a reply

I won an ecopy of Charlotte E. English‘s Draykon from Mostly Reviews.

When shy and retiring Llandry Sanfaer discovers a mesmerising new gemstone, she suddenly becomes the most famous jeweller across the Seven Realms. Demand for the coveted stone escalates fast; when people begin dying for it, Llandry finds that she herself has become a target. 

Lady Evastany Glostrum has her life in pristine order. Prestigious, powerful and wealthy, she is on the verge of crowning her successes with the perfect marriage. But when her closest friend is murdered for the jewellery she wears, Eva is drawn into the mystery surrounding the curious “istore” gem. 

The emergence of the stone is causing chaos across the Seven. Gates between the worlds are opening at will, pulling hordes of creatures through from the shadowy Lower Realm and the glittering Uppers. As Eva works to discover the culprit behind the spreading disorder, Llandry must learn the truth about her precious istore stone — before she herself becomes a victim.

Review:

I love the cover of Draykon and was really looking forward to reading it. I have to be honest though, I gave a little groan in the beginning. The first page or so did nothing for me. The language was very flowery. A number of fictional plants were mentioned with little indication of what they were and the word ‘with’ was used six times in the first paragraph. I was worried. I needn’t have been. It settled down very quickly, becoming quite enjoyable. 

The story is split between two main characters, Eva and Llandry. Both of whom I engaged with, but I would have enjoyed a little more indication of which of the two is supposed to be the MAIN character. I think it’s supposed to be Llandry, but not feeling uncertain about it left me with divided loyalties. I also very much liked their male companions (Tren and Devary). Tren had an especially appreciable sense of humour. It might sound strange, but I really liked that these characters weren’t all amazingly talented 18 year olds. Devary and Eva are both represented as 40ish, while Llandry and Tren are both in their twenties. It feels so much more believable when characters are old enough to have become masters of their skills through training, practice and determination, rather than innate talent (which is all too young characters have time to develop). 

The environment of The Seven Realms (and beyond) is described quite vividly, though it has a tendency to change, which can be confusing. However, this very changeability is an important aspect of the story. It’s worth getting you’re head around. Many, many plant and animal species are mentioned and the reader is left to flesh a lot of them out on their own. This is fine. I can extrapolate what a Nivven is supposed to be by the fact that they are ridden and used to pull carriages. Some were not so clear. I spent much of the book thinking a deafly was an animal, or maybe an insect, for example. It’s not, it’s a flower, the sort one tends to find painted on china. 

Draykon leaves you hangin’ when it ends though. The whole thing culminated splendidly, but ends before anyone has any answers (or the reader knows what happens to Llandry after the big reveal). That irked me. Of course I want to know what happens next. That’s to be expected from the first book of a series, but Draykon literally ends at what I’d have expected to be the peak of the plotting graph. That’s difficult…and annoying. Despite this, I would still recommend the book to anyone who likes fantasy.