Tag Archives: fantasy

Creature of Dreams

Book Review of Creature of Dreams, by Maya Lassiter

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Creature of DreamsI downloaded a copy of Creature of Dreams, by Maya Lassiter, from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Travel photographer, Liv Hannity, forty-one, returns to her Southern hometown on a quest to find her long lost sleep. An insomniac and a lucid dreamer, Liv is used to waking nightmares–but they’re getting worse. Parasites have infested Liv’s dreams and are eating her alive. Seriously. Or, so says Grim, Liv’s childhood dream-character playmate and a self-professed demi-god of dreams. (Or maybe he’s lying. Grim loves a good lie.)

By day, Liv must sort through her difficult past, her overbearing family, her pushy best-friend, and Liv’s new, much-too-young, boyfriend, Milo. By night, Liv battles the Creeps, with Grim’s questionable help, as well as herself–because Liv might be the biggest dream monster of all.

Creature of Dreams is a funny, scary, roller-coaster about love, friendship, getting older, facing the monsters, and waking up. As well as growing up. Finally. (Maybe.)

Review:
Wow, I really liked this…a lot…and I almost didn’t read it. You learn early on that the main character, Liv, was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. I almost put the book down right then. Not because I have any trigger issues (10 years as a Child Abuse & Neglect Investigator, I’m a bit inured on that point), but because I’ve become increasingly frustrated over the last few years about how many female characters are written with a history of sexual victimisation. (I’d almost estimate it to be along the line of 2/3 the female Romance leads I’ve encounter recently.)

The problem is that it’s often only there as basic titillation, to give a male character something to heal or as a past traumatic enough to harden the character and strengthen her (often through anger). And this just pisses me off, especially that last point. As if a woman can’t just be naturally resilient. Male characters don’t have to survive some horrible trauma to become emotionally tough, why do all female characters? Gah, pisses me off. So, as a hot point issue for me, I almost just didn’t bother with the book. I’m so glad I did.

The history of childhood rape is pretty much the fulcrum on which the plot pivots. So, there is no escaping it. To be honest, I did begin to feel that, considering this is a 29-year-old trauma, Liv was a little overly focused on it. But she has come to a point in her life that she’s made a conscious decision to face her past, so dealing with it is kind of the point.

I basically tolerated that aspect of the plot, while falling in love with the characters…all of them. I cannot express how much I appreciated seeing a 41-year-old woman presented as single, without children, confident (with the exception of the issues being addressed), sexy and sexual. She was none of the things Western Culture says women ‘past their prime’ should be and I wanted to hoop and holler for her.

Then there was Pippa. Pippa, who cheerfully said all of my secret shameful thoughts on motherhood as if they were common and normal. As if the blessed ‘Myth of Motherhood’ really could be eked around without diminishing a woman. I need a Pippa in my life.

Milo…sweet, gentle, broken Milo. I don’t think it would be possible to not love Milo. And I could easily relate to his guilt and secondary trauma from witnessing atrocities. (I’m going to call it PTSD and Survivor Guilt.) Similarly, if Milo is a balm to the senses, Grim is the quintessential bad boy (even if there is nothing boy-like about him.) I enjoyed them both very much.

Books involving dreams can easily slip into too-weird-to-read territory and I’m always a little wary of picking one up, but after a rocky start, this was a complete success for me.

Wyn Dead Walk

Book Review of Wyn Dead Walk (Terrwyn Harvey, #1), by A. Rosemary Mauller

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Wyn Dead WalkTwo years ago today, I apparently downloaded a free copy of Wyn Dead Walk, by A. Rosemary Mauller, from Amazon. So, I suppose it qualifies for my TBR challenge.

Description from Goodreads:
As a practicing necromancer Terrwyn Harvey has seen things that most people only thought existed in nightmares…

and as Keeper of the Dead, supernatural sheriff of the underworld, it’s her job to keep them from discovering the truth.

A task that’s easier said than done when eight hundred year old vampire, Alexander Norris, approaches Wyn with a job offer she can’t refuse.

An illegal spell used to raise the dead has resurfaced and Wyn must find the necromancer responsible before she loses her job or worse… her life.

Review:
This book was ok, amusing in its own way, but it was not a winner for me. I thought a lot of it just barely hung together, I found the main characters annoying and I figured out the bad guys before the 50% mark. Meh.

My biggest complaint comes down to the difference between what we’re told Wyn was and what we’re shown she was. We’re told that she’s the Keeper of the Dead, essentially the über necromancer, but we’re shown that she is utterly inept.

We’re told that she’s been training in necromancy since she was born and is a child genius (thus her high position at a mere 23-years-old), but in the book I remember her using magic twice. Once she needed help with something we’re told she’s an expert at and once as more of a relaxation technique than as a skill. Not once did she use it to defend herself when attacked.

We’re told she’s taken down vampires, demons, witches, warlocks, etc. But we’re also told that her training did not include combat teachings. A fact that makes no sense since her father was also fighting the supernatural, so it seems an odd thing to leave out. Especially since when she became Keeper of the Dead, she inherited a sword held by eight generations of Keepers, inferring that fighting is an expected skill set. What’s more, each and every-time she’s attacked she almost dies and has to be rescued, at one point by a 12-year-old boy. (Because apparently even he’s better than she is.) She swings her sword twice in the whole book, despite lugging it around all the time. She’s useless.

This all made the argument that she was special, stronger and/or skilled enough to be given the highest necromancer position available and be responsible policing all activities between the living and the dead and for training all future necromancers in the St. Louis area completely unbelievable.

The vast majority of the book is dedicated to her love life; or rather to the men she lusts after and who, of course, lust after her. First, there is her long-term, on again off again, live in boyfriend who despite seeming like a nice guy gets screwed in the book. Then there is the sexy vampire. Then there is the hunky werewolf, who she randomly invites out for a drink and kisses. I have no idea why. He played no role in the rest of the book. My guess is he’s a set up for another triangle in a future book. Meh.

The writing itself was fine. It flowed well enough and other than Wyn and Alex’s constant and annoying bickering the dialogue flowed well. The book needed a serious re-edit though.

All in all, the book was entertaining enough as long as you don’t look too deeply at the logic of it.

Book Review of Wilder’s Mate (Bloodhounds #1), by Moira Rogers

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Wilder's MateI grabbed a copy of Wilder’s Mate, by Moira Rogers from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along. 

At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn. 

As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save. 

Review: (spoiler)
This story had an interesting premise and if it had another 100 pages to develop it, it might have been a good book. Everything in it happens at almost Mach speed, leaving no time for world-building, character development, back story, climbing tension, or (most importantly) believable growth of feelings and emotions.

Wilder and Satira meet. Within seconds they’re throwing insults and sexual innuendo at one another. Within half an hour they’re lusting after each-other. By the end of the afternoon they’re already progressing to suggestive touching. By the end of the next day, they’re having sex at every available moment and by the end of a week (probably less, but a few days at least) they’re madly in love and happily mated for life. At no point does the reader feel their relationship progressing. Wilder feels like he’d bed any woman available (and at the new moon, he probably would) and Satira feels like she’s out to bag herself a bloodhound to protect and care for her. But somehow we’re not supposed to see it that way, but as true lurvvve. Meh.

I have no idea how vampires came to inhabit the world, what exactly a bloodhound is, what the point of their mating frenzy at the new moon is (since it’s stated that it isn’t procreation), etc. There is no depth to the world.

I was also disgusted by the cliche use of gender roles. Bloodhounds and vampires were solely male. Vampires apparently only ‘fed’ (implying both blood and sex) on women. They enslaved men as ghouls to work for them. Women couldn’t be educated or hold careers. Thus, apparently the only purpose of females was, to use the exact words of the book, “those whose time was rented, and those who were outright owned.” I presume that included the married. And this is reinforced when the first major act of the book is for Wilder to take Satira—a smart, capable, spit-fire of a woman-to a whore house to be tarted up before they entered the badlands (i.e. the land of the male predators). Meh. No, that’s not strong enough. MEH!

I did appreciate that Satira was sexually aware and more than happy to go after what she wanted and even vocalise it. She was no shrinking, virginal violet. You don’t come across too many of those. It’s just unfortunate that she also came across as so desperate.

Even the rescue was solved with unbelievable ease. They camped out in a hotel for a few days, showing Satira off (to what point, I don’t actually know) got a lead immediately, had a quick break for 3 days of non-stop sex and then marched into town, walked through an unlocked door, for Christ’s sake, and defeated the baddie in about 15 minutes. What? Meh. The writing itself was fine, but I’ll be passing on anymore of this series, thank you very much.