Tag Archives: fantasy

Jackdaw

Book Review of Jackdaw, by K.J. Charles

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JackdawI bought a copy of Jackdaw, by K. J. Charles.

Description from Goodreads:
Jonah Pastern is a magician, a liar, a windwalker, a professional thief…and for six months, he was the love of police constable Ben Spenser’s life. Until his betrayal left Ben jailed, ruined, alone, and looking for revenge.

Ben is determined to make Jonah pay. But he can’t seem to forget what they once shared, and Jonah refuses to let him. Soon Ben is entangled in Jonah’s chaotic existence all over again, and they’re running together—from the police, the justiciary, and some dangerous people with a lethal grudge against them.

Threatened on all sides by betrayals, secrets, and the laws of the land, can they find a way to live and love before the past catches up with them?

Review:
Charles is one of those authors I pull out when I need a guaranteed win, and I wasn’t let down with Jackdaw. In the beginning there was a moment when I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think I could overcome the horrors that Jonah’s actions had caused Ben, but Charles got me there in the end. Not because Jonah had a good enough excuse, but because his love and contrition was so obvious.

It was also interesting to see Lucien and Stephen, the heroes of the previous Magpie books, presented as villains, at least initially. When you read several hundred books a year it’s always nice to find something unusual in a book/series.

As always, the writing was superb, plotting and pacing exact, editing clean and characters fully fleshed. It doesn’t even matter that I found the final climax predictable. I still loved it I’m looking forward to more books in this series. (Please, let there be more.)

Book Review of The Bitches of Everafter, by Barbra Annino

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I’m still on my road trip and let me tell you it’s great for getting my reading done. As a bonus, I seem to have internet again, so I can still post. Just to repeat myself though, there is no guarantee I will tomorrow or the next day. So, if I stop posting it means I’ve been physically serrated from the digital teat and I’ll show back up when I reach civilization and wi-fi again. Now, on to the review.

The Bitches of EverafterI downloaded a copy of The Bitches of Everafter (by Barbra Annino) from Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
These are not the mild-mannered maidens of your childhood. These are fallen princesses and fierce women with no recollection of who they are, where they came from, or how they arrived in a mysterious town called Everafter. All they know is that they’ve been sentenced to a stretch in a half-way house by a malicious judge with an ax to grind. They’ve been stripped of their freedom, their kingdoms, and their true loves. Now, they have nothing left to lose. 

Snow White is the newest parolee to arrive at Granny’s House for Girls. It isn’t long before she learns that her housemates harbor secrets, and that the mansion itself is a meandering enigma. She stumbles upon forbidden doorways, ghostly passages, and walls that seem to breathe. Determined to find out what’s really happening inside those old walls, Snow embarks on a dangerous discovery mission. Not everyone is thrilled about her nosing around. In fact, there are some who would kill to keep the secrets that the house—and its occupants—hold. 

Review:
This was a cute idea and the author managed to pull it off, but the shtick really did get old quickly. After a while it just started to feel ridiculous. It did make me laugh more than once though and the writing is pretty good. But if I was using ratings, I would take off half a start for not being a complete arc.

For real, some people might call this a cliff-hanger, but I don’t think that’s accurate. I don’t even think precipitous cliff-hanger is accurate, because nothing wraps up in this story. It literally just ends. I firmly believe that in order to be a cliff-hanger the book needs to leave something open for continuation while some part of the story concludes, thus marking the end of the book. That doesn’t happen here. This feels MUCH more like a serial than a series and I HATE serials. Why would I want only part of a story? I won’t bother with the next installment. Because this is a trilogy, so the next one will probably be just as incomplete. (See, author-person, you’ve completely created distrust in your reader.)

The Vintner's Luck

Book Review of The Vintner’s Luck, by Elizabeth Knox

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The Vintner's LuckI purchased a physical copy of The vintner’s Luck, by Elizabeth Knox.

Description from Goodreads:
One summer night in 1808, Sobran Jodeau sets out to drown his love sorrows in his family’s vineyard when he stumbles on an angel. Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. Compelling and erotic, The Vintner’s Luck explores a decidedly unorthodox love story as Sobran eventually comes to love and be loved by both Xas and the young Countess de Valday, his friend and employer at the neighboring chateau. 

Review:
I have a confession to make. I have a secret soft spot for trashy novels. You know the sort—shallow, not particularly thought provoking, usually cheesy enough to make me snort-laugh—the literary equivalent of late night, B-grade sci-fi. The problem with such books is that they so often overlap with books I would call trash—poorly written, weakly plotted, the cheese isn’t purposeful or snort inducing. Lately, a disappointing percentage of my reading has fallen into that latter category and I decided I needed, NEEDED something with some substance. This book came highly recommended and boy did it fill the bill.

It isn’t a book you just fall into. It’s choppy, whole years sometimes covered in a page or one single event representing an entire year, as the narrative flies through Sobran’s WHOLE life. (But I have to add that the prose is stunningly beautiful.) It’s often confusing. It’s sad. It has a dubiously happy ending. But it’s also heart-felt and evocative. I teared up more than once. While I didn’t love the book until about 2/3 of the way through, by the end it had me wholly wrapped around itself.

I’ll admit that the narrative style made the characters feel distant and the large gaps in time that the characters spent apart made it difficult for me to feel their love, but I never doubted it. It just took on a form I had to think deeper to grasp. And I don’t just mean the love between Xas and Sobran. There are several types of love shown between different characters in the book, though often subtly and unremarked upon. Also, because so many chapters are presented as mere vignettes, I often was left scratching my head at the significance of certain events.

Most unusual of all, I rather enjoyed the religious aspects of the book. Xas’ relationship to/with God and Lucifer, as well as his purpose between them was intriguing. I never felt preached at, as I don’t think anyone ever preached.

All in all, I needed the ‘See, I can read smart books too’ reboot and had the added bonus of truly enjoying the read. I’m well up for more of Knox’s writing in the future.

For an alternative view, from someone who didn’t like the book but whose points I can completely take and largely agree on, check out this review. Isn’t interesting how two readers can agree on not liking certain aspects of a book, but still come away with different final verdicts.