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Book Review of Shanon Grey’s The Shoppe of Spells

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The Shoppe of SpellsI grabbed The Shoppe of Spells, by Shanon Grey, off of the KDP free list.

Description from Goodreads:
When is a whole more than the sum of its parts? 

When it has ties to the quaint little town of Ruthorford, GA, as Morgan Briscoe discovers when a cryptic message threatens to change her life forever. Morgan’s relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake. 

Dorian is running The Shoppe of Spells and despite his riveting good looks, he can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner. 

Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension. Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.

Review:
As a basic piece of fluffy entertainment I generally enjoyed this. The writing was pretty good and, though I noticed a few typos, it was fairly well edited. I liked both the main characters and Ruthorford, GA sounds like the kind of place I would love to live. I did have a couple problems with the plot, however. These may not be the sort of thing that bother everyone. I’ll just put that out there at the forefront. But I was annoyed.

First, I just didn’t understand the logic of the bio parents. They were happy with their lives, even if it was a rough life. On having a daughter born with the same abilities they choose to give her up for adoption with the expectation that at twenty-five(ish) they’ll invite her home and teach her everything she needs to know to take over for them. (Seriously? If you’re happy, why wouldn’t your daughter be?) They then take in a ward who they train all through his childhood, but as an adult he barely knows everything he needs to know to take over the family duty. Thus, inferring that a lifetime of training really is necessary to do the job. (So how was Morgan supposed to catch up?) What’s more, the abilities she was born with didn’t go away once she was put up for adoption. So they condemned her to a life as an outsider with no one to turn to for answers or explanations. NONE OF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE! Why would you do that to her? So, right off the bat I’m lost.

Second, I always have a little bit of a problem with story-lines based on the formula of ‘I’m a male so I have ability X. You’re a female, so you have ability Y. Together we have super XY abilities.’ I tend to spend a lot of time wondering how, exactly, those symbiotic abilities would develop in the first plea. Combine that with the whole paired mate element and I’m extra skeptical. It felt very much like any two moon touched individuals who got within close proximity would be attracted like magnets, regardless of their personality, personal wishes, etc. Certainly Ian inferred this to be true. How not romantic is that?

Third, there didn’t seem to be a beginning, middle and end. I don’t mean the book ended on a cliffhanger or anything. It didn’t. But it felt very much like Morgan found out she was adopted, met Dorian and then a lot of random things happened until they finally fell in love. I mean, what did Rob and all of his drama have to do with the rest of the plot, for example? I couldn’t pick out a single plot peak that felt like it marked the culmination of the action that afterwards tapered toward an ending of any sorts, if you know what I mean. It wasn’t necessarily boring, but I just kept waiting for the plot to take off and indicate what THE barrier to overcome would be…then kept waiting and waiting.

Lastly, everyone was just so darned pleasant all of the time. All parents are gloriously loving. All friends are loyal, dependable BFFs. All neighbours are friendly and helpful. The main characters flawlessly go out of their way to befriend the weak and help the needy (who then go on to become more lovely friends). There were bad things that happened in the book, yes. There was a bad guy, who in the end wasn’t all that bad, yes. But everywhere else the reader looked there was an unrelenting feel-good factor that felt incredibly unrealistic. This always irks me. I know I’m probably on my own on this one, but there you have it.

Again, as pure entertainment the book is pretty good. I just had to set some of my expectations aside to enjoy it. Some of those are personal to me and others won’t share them, so I don’t really have any problem recommending the book. Depends on the reader really.

A Hidden Fire

Book Review of Elizabeth Hunter’s A Hidden Fire (Elemental Mysteries #1)

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A Hidden FireI downloaded a copy of Elizabeth Hunter‘s A Hidden Fire from the Amazon KDP list. It’s still free BTW. 

Description from Goodreads:
“No secret stays hidden forever.”

A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mystery he’d abandoned years before. He never expected a young librarian could hold the key to the search, nor could he have expected the danger she would attract. Now he and Beatrice De Novo will follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, through the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation they never could have predicted.

A Hidden Fire is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers. It is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries Series.

Review:
For a free Amazon read, A Hidden Fire was surprisingly good. I can honestly say that the dialogue was some of the best I’ve read in a a while. B and Giovanni are quick witted and sarcastic. I really quite enjoyed their banter. I also really liked each of them as characters. Their molasses-slow romance, however, not so much. I got really, really tired of seeing them deny each other.

There were also times when the influence of other popular vampire books was a little too obvious. One particular scene really could have been cut and pasted from Twilight with little alteration beyond being in a library elevator instead of a forest. Nothing in this book is anywhere near as angsty as Twilight though. So big sigh of relief there.

I did think that it wrapped up far, far too easily. B’s computer wiz magic seemed just a little too convenient and I had a hard time accepting that she could pull it off so effortlessly and without any ill after effects. Kind of reminds the reader that main characters often have preternatural luck on top of everything else.

I’m happy to say that the book does conclude to a degree. (So many PNR these days don’t. They end on ridiculous cliffhangers that really just equate to incomplete stories.) A lot of threads are left open though. So anyone, like me, who prefers their stories in tight little packages instead of drug out across a whole series might be frustrated.

As an informative aside, the book is a really clean romance. There is no sex–a few kisses and quite a bit of longing, but no actual culmination. I felt a little cheated by this, but those who prefer to avoid the erotic should really enjoy this one.

Ghost in the Machine

Book Review of C.E. Kilgore’s Ghost in the Machine

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Ghost in the MachineAuthor, C.E. Kilgore sent me an ecopy of her Sci-Fi Romance, Ghost in the Machine (Corwint Central Agent Files #1). Though it’s also currently free on Amazon.

Overly long description from Goodreads:
“Love is like a wormhole. You stumble on to it blindly, it sucks you in and takes you somewhere completely unexpected, but you sure have one hell of a ride. You can’t fight it, because that would tear your ship apart. You can’t control it, either. All you can do is set your thrusters on glide and let it take you where it’s going to take you.”

Take part in an exploration of the heart through a richly built and diverse universe of cultures, planets and people. As a member of the Vesparian race that seeks to keep its entire existence secret, Orynn is thrown into the open by a request for help that she could not refuse. Seeking to reconcile past mistakes and gain a forgiveness she feels she does not deserve, the control over her empathic abilities is put to the test when the darkness that lives within her spirit threatens to once again destroy any piece of happiness that she allows herself to find. 

Joining a rag-tag crew of Central Agents, who are part of an organization that maintain a counterbalance against the encroaching Xen’dari Empire, Orynn finds unexpected friendship and a trust she struggles not to betray. When her heart grows an attachment for one of the crew members, a Mechatronic Automaton who reminds her of a lost and cherished friendship, the darkness within her fights against it and begins to rip her spirit in two. When another Agent tries to bring out the darkness in order to witness her races’ rumored capabilities, she is brought to the edge of the abyss within her soul. With a gentle push, she jumps.

As a Mechatronic Automaton, Ethan defines his world through a set of logically defined values and understandings. Encountering Orynn throws his system out of balance as he tries to decide if he should trust the feelings he is developing, or if he should follow the logic telling him that she is trying to control him for some unknown purpose. Should he keep her at a distance despite his want to bring her near, or should he follow the heart he swears he does not have? As his understanding of her develops, he begins to question all of his preconceived notions about both himself and the universe around him.

In his attempts to capture the Vesparian prey he has been hunting after for two decades, the First Commander of the Xen’dari fleet will stop at nothing and track Orynn to the ends of the universe. On a path of vengeance for a past he can’t let go of, he will do everything in his power to burn her world down around her feet until nothing is left but ash and the bitter taste of regret. The Central Agents’ mission to save a planet from a genetically created plague is put in jeopardy by the First Commander’s advances. The crew must fight against the unknown foe as they travel between systems in their search for the plague’s cure.

Orynn guides the crew through these systems with her knowledge of the cultures and peoples, giving the young captain a crash course in the uncommon races of the Outer Rim. Captain Hankarron Eros is in for the ride of his life as he tries to put aside his preconceived ideas about Vesparians and give Orynn his trust. Struggling with his own relationship woes and a reputation for rash and strategically lacking decisions, Hank fights to hold on to his Captain’s chair as the legendary legacy of his Uncle overshadows him. 

Ghosts of the past clash with hopes for the future in this first book of the series, set in a universe where nothing is as it seems at first glance and trust is a highly priced commodity.

Review:

I knew this was a sci-fi romance, but I was surprised to find that it was a romance first and foremost and a sci-fi second. The romance elements are a lot stronger than the science fiction. In fact, I kind of think they overshadowed it a little bit. I like a good romance as much as the next person, so I wasn’t too bothered by this. I just didn’t expect it. Though on rereading the description I probably shouldn’t have been. 

I really appreciate that Kilgore was willing to explore the concept of the consequences of actions, including inaction. I would almost call this the theme of the book. Orynn was forced to face this again and again and there were some real tragedies here. They were some of the most realistic element of the book, which is something I think some authors are afraid to allow. I’m glad Kilgore was willing to go there. I also thought it countered all the sappy, happy-happy-joy-joy of the romance. 

The crew of the Zera reminded me a lot of the crew of the Firefly. Yes, the book lacked the steampunk element, but the basic way the crew interacted, the young female engineer, their tendency to fight the good fight while functioning outside the proper legal confines all seemed very, very familiar to me. Now, I loved Firefly. I adored the characters and the way they loved to hate one another, how they ragged on each-other constantly and teased each-other good naturedly. All those elements were here to love in this book too. 

I was a little disappointed to find the all to frequently used female lead who has extremely strong abilities, but is hampered by her fragile heart. I really hate this trope, hate it. Orynn was forever berating herself or falling apart for using her natural born skills–for being who she is essentially. What’s more, she frequently compromised herself in the process, resulting in the classic damsel in emotional distress syndrome. Yep, I hate that too. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t dislike Orynn as a character. I just found myself groaning at some of her antics. She could have been a strong female lead. She should have been really. Instead she was an emotional basket case that made me want to kick her. At 200+ year old she should have figured some of this stuff out already. 

I also had a moderate problem with Ethan. I loved him as a character. He was kind, considerate, and willing to examine himself and his own motives. But he was just too human for a mecha (android), both emotionally and physically. I gather he was designed to evolve and was something of an anomaly among mecha, but he really rose above his subroutines on more than one occasion. Then there was the minor detail of sex. I can accept him being anatomically correct. His designer was aiming for realistic human form after all. I can even accept that he was able to activate that organ as any other. I was with the author up to this point. But once we reach his ability to climax, including a deposit (for lack of a less offensive description), I was lost. I couldn’t help but wonder what function that option played. It’s not like he had any genetic material to pass on for the purpose of procreation. Not to mention what was it made of…hydraulic fluid?

The writing was pretty good, especially in the second half–once the author passed the need to break up each passage to explain every new species, planet, space station, etc. (That really disrupted the flow of the first half of the book). I only have two small criticisms. One, the book could do with a little more editing. Two, the POV is all over the place. Luckily, the cast is pretty small so when you head-hop you can’t go too far. But the reader does leap from person to person a lot, often in a short space of time and with no warning. 

Despite my complaints, I enjoyed the book and would be more than willing to continue the series. I look forward to seeing how the other characters evolve, especially Merek. He was my favourite. I recommend the book more for romance fans than sci-fi fans though.

As and aside, the title makes me think of Ghost in the Shell. So I was really disappointed not to find a single Tachikoma and no reference to the Major or Batou. “Sigh* Not that I really expected any, though.