Tag Archives: fantasy

My Lord, My Master

Book Review of My Lord, My Master (The Three Kings Series,#1), by Scarlett Raynes

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My Lord, My MasterAuthor, Scarlett Raynes, sent me an e-copy of her novella, My Lord, My Master for review. I was super excited, because I’ve been really in to M/M lately and this is the first M/M I’ve received for review.

Description from Goodreads:
A King set on ruling with absolute power no matter how cruel or high the cost. 

A fierce warrior who’s loyalty is tested when forced to confront his lust for an enemy. 

A rebel, intent on claiming the throne and willing to destroy anything and everyone to get to it. 

In an Ancient Kingdom, King Solveig rules with an iron fist. Those who are loyal, sacrifice their lives for the pleasure of his service. Those who are not- die. When his loyal right hand man, Gunnvor goes missing on a routine hunt, all hell breaks loose. A routine hunt for his King, turns into a nightmare as Gunnvor is captured. Forced to submit to his captor to survive, the line between lust and loyalty becomes painfully blurry. 

Tired of his people being persecuted under the tyranny of the sitting king, Torhild is determined to conquer the land he believes is rightfully his. The unexpected intruder challenges not only his plans but also his self control. 

Review:
OK, I’ll get this out of the way to start with. I might have been more pleased with this book than I was,  except that it is a totally cliffhanger with absolutely no resolution. I consider such books a waste of my time and tend to avoid authors I know make a habit of it. Especially considering it’s only 73 pages long. Surely the whole story could fit in a single novel if it’s being broken into chunks that small.

Beyond the cliffhanger issue, I would consider this a decent Porn With Plot read. Certainly it’s nothing more. The two characters meet, try and kill each-other, somehow (while still trying to kill one another) their feelings change from homicidal to erotic. Then the whole rest of the book is the two men raping and humiliating each-other and apparently falling in love (or something). There is no real character development, no real progression of plot, not really even much of a story. That’s not really my bag, but some of it was hot.

The editing could use a bit more attention. There were a few typo-type mistakes, the POVs jump around, and a new 1st person POV character is introduced at 80%, as is a supernatural element that hadn’t even been hinted at up until that point. The whole thing was just rushed, inelegant and abrupt. Oh, and the series title kind of gives away how the whole thing is likely to resolve itself.

So, if your just looking for something to fap/paff with and you’re into the dub-con, pick this up. But if you’re looking for a deeper read, you’ll probably be disappointed.

The Undying Legion

Book Review of The Undying Legion (Crown & Key #2), by Clay & Susan Griffith

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The Undying LegionI received a copy of The Undying Legion, by Clay & Susan Griffith, from Netgalley. I read and reviewed the first book of this series, The Shadow Revolution, here.

Description from Goodreads:
When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.
 
But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and monstrous serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic. 

Review:
Eh, this was OK. Not bad, but not as good as the first one either. I still liked the characters. I still liked that the women are fully engaged in action. I still liked the tone of the narrative and such. But, frankly, I was bored. It felt like the overly elaborate fight scenes went on and on. Then, as soon as they finally ended another started. This left very little time for the actual plot to play out and almost no time for further character growth. Maybe it’s just suffering from second book syndrome. But the brevity of this review should tell you something. I was left with so little interest in the events of the book that I’ve nothing of note to say.

The Rogue Hunter

Book Review of The Rogue Hunter, by Lynsay Sands

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The Rogue HunterI picked up a used copy of The Rogue Hunter, by Lynsay Sands, at Goodwill.

Description from Goodreads:
Samantha Willan is a workaholic lawyer. She’s grateful for some rest and relaxation in cottage country, and after a recent breakup she wants to stay as far away from romance as possible. Then she meets her irresistible new neighbor. There’s something strange and mysterious about his eyes. Is it just her imagination, or are they locked on her neck?

Garrett Mortimer is a rogue hunter. His last assignment united Lucian Argeneau with his lifemate, and Mortimer is hoping this one will be less…adventurous. He’s here to track down a reported rogue, but fun in the sun is every bloodsucker’s nightmare. Worse, he can’t seem to get his mind off Samantha, especially when he spies her skinny-dipping in the lake. After eight hundred years as a bachelor, is he ready to turn a volatile attraction into a lasting love affair?

Review:
What nonsense did I just read? I mean really, what was this supposed to be? What it was was boring and basically a failure as both a PNR and a decent mystery.

Let me start with the fact that all of the characters are paper thin—no significant history, no real emotional depth, no obvious beliefs or thoughts outside of the immediate. In fact, for most of the book the side characters just went off by themselves and left the H & h alone. So, why bother with them?

There was also almost no world-building. What little there was, explaining vampires, came at about page 300! This is probably because the book is labeled as “The Rogue Hunter (Argeneau #10) (Rogue Hunter #1).” Someone tell me what that is supposed to mean. Is it the tenth Argeneau book or the first Rogue Hunter book? Because after reading it, I’m 100% certain it can’t be both.  While I could follow the plot, it was always painfully apparent I was missing something. The world-building, as stated, wasn’t there. Probably because it was in the 9 previous books. People were referenced that the reader didn’t know,  I strongly suspect Mort was a side character form another book, etc. So, as a 10th Argeneau book, it might have been successful (I don’t know as I read it as the first Rogue Hunter book), but as a first in a series, it’s a failure.

Now let me address the mystery around the rogue that Mortimer is supposed to be hunting. This investigation literally takes up about 20 pages of this 373-page book and then it’s solved with anti-climatic aplomb. Let’s be honest, Sands didn’t set out to write about a rogue vampire and the hunters who go after it. It is just the device used to get the two characters in the same place at the same time. Disappointing to the extreme. I’d have preferred the man to have just been on vacation and Sands not to even bothered with the half-assed attempt she made at pretending this book is anything other than a romance (which is pretty sad because the romance is pretty weak too).

The romance? CHEESY! There is the cliché immediate recognition of one’s life mate (that somehow turns the tough, broody Mort into a bumbling social throwback), the fragile female in need of assistance with, you know, walking, stupid antics to get around telling the truth, the convenient ability to change people’s mind if they ask inconvenient questions (thereby negating any possible narrative tension), and true immortal love and loyalty developing in a mere two weeks. What’s more, the whole book is essentially a tease. Over and over Sam and Mort almost have sex, but don’t quite manage it. Redundant…and PREDICTABLE!

This book is little more than a collection of weak PNR tropes, and none of them were executed particularly well. But worse than any of that, is the fact that I was bored for 373 pages. This sort of book is the epitome of why I refused to read romance for 30 years of my life. I’m in no hurry to read another Lynsay Sands book. How the heck does dreck like this get published over some of the great indies I’ve read?