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Book Review: Mates & Other Obstacles to Accidentally Saving The World, by Emma Eden

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I picked up an ecopy of Emma Eden‘s Mates and Other Obstacles to Accidentally Saving The World as an Amazon freebie, probably during a Stuff Your Kindle event.

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All I wanted for my birthday was a cake. Instead, I’m a snake… on a quest.

Yep, an honest-to-scales, snake. Did I mention I hate snakes?

Apparently not everyone does, because when my birthday explodes along with the bar, I’m stolen by a smoking hot shifter to his bear lair against my will.

I was supposed to be keeping a low, low profile before heading back to my secret human village. Instead I’m on a magical quest with Ward who claims we have a Fated Mates situation.

A what now?

I didn’t sign up for that. Or the uncontrollable shifting. Or his Goddess spritzing a rampaging shifter problem across the realm. Somehow I end up the only person who can find her relics because I maybe, accidentally, ate the first one. Though I don’t think they’re in the one bed we end up in. Which is probably a good thing since they don’t seem to fix my snake problem, they only make me stranger.

The quest wouldn’t be so bad if the whole continent wasn’t determined to separate my soul from my body. Even if I don’t trust him, sticking with Ward is the only chance I have to not be a snake and stop the realm from being torn apart by claws and fangs. What choice do I have? I’ll need to find a whole bucket of courage with some trust on the side to try out this mate thing and maybe save the Harrowlands.

my review

Meh, I mean, I’ve read worse, but this one just didn’t do it for me. It’s trying to be silly like Kimberly Lemming’s books, but it didn’t manage the balance. Yes, it’s meant to be funny and lighthearted, but it too often leaned into humor when plot or character development would have served the story better (not every time, but maybe some more of the time would have been nice). Plus, it went on far too long, considering how little variation there is in events, dialogue, or internal monologues. Frankly, the bottom line is that I’m sure this will be great for the right reader. I thought it was cute the way the characters supported one another, but I was ultimately bored with the whole thing.

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Book Review—Mates and Other Obstacles to Accidentally Saving the World by Emma Eden

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Book Review: The Inheritance, by Ilona Andrews

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I borrowed a copy of Ilona Andrews‘ The Inheritance from my local library.

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We are at war. The interdimensional invasion brought us unimaginable suffering, but it also awoke talents slumbering deep within us, a means to repel and destroy our enemy. Every day new gates open, leading to breaches filled with monsters and valuable resources. If you are a Talent, your country needs you. The world needs you. Be the hero you were born to be.

Adaline is a Talent. Ten years ago, she had a happy marriage and a job she loved. The invasion shattered both. Now she works for the government, searching the breaches for magic metals and medicine to help Earth repel an interdimensional enemy. Two kids, one cat, bills, benefits, mortgage and school tuition…Risking her life became routine.

She had gone into the dimensional gates hundreds of times. She was always well protected. This time everything goes wrong. Now Ada is trapped in the labyrinth of alien caves unlike any other. Her only companion is a scared German Shepherd named Bear. Together they must uncover the breach’s secrets and escape, because Ada promised her children that she will come home.

The future of humanity depends on it.

my review

I enjoyed this, though I kind of wish I had waited until the next one is out so that I could have read them together. What I especially liked here was just how capable Adaline was. She was a middle-aged woman doing what many middle-aged women do: just get on with the crappy situation they find themselves in and succeed through grit and perseverance. Also, there’s a good doggo (who does not die) and a setup for possible future romantic interest (or not). Did I love the way it felt like an adventure-style video game (with a tank, damage dealers, and healers)? No, not particularly. But that’s a minor irritant in the end. Mostly, I finished excited for book two.
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Book Review: Alchemised, by SenLinYu

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I purchased an ecopy of SenLinYu‘s Alchemised. Once I realized it was the published version of Manacled, which has been all over my feeds, I decided to read it. (Committing to a 1000+ page book right now is difficult.)

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Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.

my review

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Alchemised does not need to be over a thousand pages long. The world isn’t that complicated. The plot isn’t particularly elaborate, and quite a lot of the events are redundant. The emotional impact could still have been achieved in half the pages. Less talented authors than SenLinYu have achieved it. That this is the pared-down version of the fanfiction it is based on is mindboggling.

Having said all of that, I did actually enjoy the book. The writing is readable. I liked the characters. I was invested in their success. I thought the author took on some interesting and challenging topics. I didn’t even have a problem with the rape, which there is so much discourse about in the review sections (and I’m often critical of rape as a plot device in books). All in all, somewhat to my own surprise, I finished the book happy. I liked it. 

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