Tag Archives: fantasy

black monastery

Book Review of Black Monastery, by William Stacey

Leave a reply

The Black MonasteryAuthor, William Stacey, sent me a copy of his novel, Black Monastery.

Description from Goodreads:
In 799 A.D. Viking warband leader Asgrim Wood-Nose sails his prized longship Sea Eel south along the coast of Frankia to raid the island of Noirmoutier—the Black Monastery. 

Banned from his homeland following a night of rage-filled murder, Asgrim has been declared outlaw. Unless he can raise a princely blood debt, he will never see Denmark again. When a Saracen merchant brags of a great treasure hidden deep within the monastery, Asgrim realizes fate is offering him a chance to go home again. But Asgrim has led his men into a trap: somehow, the monks of the Black Monastery have released a dark supernatural force, an eastern demon that wears the skins of its victims. Hunted by this monstrous evil and tormented by the ghosts of those he has slain, Asgrim’s only ally becomes another lonely soul, a Frankish woman abandoned by her people under suspicion of witchcraft. 

The Viking north clashes with the supernatural east in an epic historical fantasy tale of heroism and redemption in the face of unimaginable horror.

Review:
This was an enjoyable enough read once you got past the How To Build a Long Boat lesson in the beginning. I enjoyed the complexity of the main character, in that he is not a nice man. Neither are any of his men. They’re a Sword-Danes, Vikings. Murder, rape and pillage is the name of the game. But we’re given enough of a glimpse of Asgrim’s beginnings to know that he could have, in other circumstances, been a kind person. The fact that he isn’t makes him hard to relate to and empathize with, however.

The villain is truly horrific and you feel the tension it creates. However, he’s defeated in a bit of a Deus ex Machina move. There’s a bit of a sex-equals-love romance element that I didn’t feel was well developed. I found the writing repetitive, though clear and easy to read. All in all, I consider it worth the read.

Spirelli Paranormal Investigations

Book Review of Spirelli Paranormal Investigations, by Kate Baray

Leave a reply

30238037I picked up a copy of Spirelli Paranormal Investigations (episodes 1-3), by Kate Baray, when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Jack Spirelli, paranormal investigator, public debunker of paranormal frauds, and private fixer for the magic-using community has opened his doors.

Jack’s in a crunch. Since he went pseudo-public with Spirelli Paranormal Investigations, his business has sky-rocketed. Debunking the scum who prey on vulnerable targets makes up half his business now. And the rest of his time? Jack’s on speed dial with the Texas Lycan Pack, the Inter-Pack Policing Cooperative gives him an occasional ring, and anything that goes bump in the night might just call him with a job.

He needs an assistant, another investigator, and some additional muscle, but maybe the dragon who just walked in and applied will do for now.

Review:
I am on record saying I hate serializations. And it’s generally true. However, this is the sort of serial I can get behind. Each episode is a COMPLETE arc. Each is an investigation with a beginning, middle and END. So I never felt I’d wasted time on a story I was never going to see the conclusion or, which is how most serials make me feel. Praise the sweet little baby Heyzeus for that. While I didn’t find Jack or Marin deeply developed, I enjoyed them both and the way they played off each other. The world is interesting and the ‘investigations’ amusing. All in all, I call this a win.

Craving More

Book Review of Craving More (Tiger Nip #1), by Brandy Walker

Leave a reply

Craving MoreI picked up a copy of Craving More, by Brady Walker, from Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Corrine Hart is ready for few days off for rest and relaxation. At the top of her to-do list is spending as much time as possible in tiger form and doing her best to banish all thoughts of the mysterious Hunky Cupcake Guy who spent the last two weeks driving her libido insane.

Jett Montgomery-Murphy just wants to know if the tasty treats that keep showing up at work are the same ones his best friend used to get while they were in college. A trip out to Sweet Confections confirms what he thought and brings him in close contact with the one woman he’s secretly lusted after for years, his best friend’s sister Corrine.

A late night tryst leads to two tigers finding their mates and two humans unsure what to do next. Add in an overbearing brother, a best friend with her own drama, and a crazy ex-girlfriend that has a checkered past and you have a recipe for disaster.

Will Corrine and Jett be able to overcome the unexpected obstacles on their way to falling in love? Or will they throw in the towel before the relationship even gets off the ground?

Review:
I won’t lie; I read this book because I was sick of looking at the ugly cover in my TBR list. He looks like some duck-billed Cro-Magnon in that picture. Yuck. But I held out hope that the story might be ok. It wasn’t, not in my opinion anyway.

I thought the hero was a wimpy ass and every other male in the book was condescending and patronizing toward women. The women fell into only two camps. Good girls who were the potential mates of the male characters or crazy, violent bitches not worth consideration or humanity. There was no significant plot. Random things just happened. The world, despite seeming interesting, wasn’t developed enough for me to feel invested in. The characters lacked depth and I was basically bored for most of the book.