Tag Archives: Indie

Blood & Thunder

Book Review of Blood & Thunder (THIRDS #2), by Charlie Cochet

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Blood & ThunderAfter reading Charlie Cochet‘s Hell & High Water, I bought a copy of the sequel, Blood & Thunder.

Description from Goodreads:
When a series of bombs go off in a Therian youth center, injuring members of THIRDS Team Destructive Delta, and causing a rift between agents Dexter J. Daley and Sloane Brodie, peace seems unattainable. Especially when a new and frightening group, the Order of Adrasteia, appears to always be a step ahead. With panic and intolerance spreading and streets becoming littered with the Order’s propaganda, hostility between Humans and Therians grows daily. Dex and Sloane, along with the rest of the team, are determined to take down the Order and restore peace, not to mention settle a personal score. But the deeper the team investigates the bombings, the more they believe there’s a more sinister motive than a desire to shed blood and spread chaos.

Discovering the frightful truth behind the Order’s intent forces Sloane to confront secrets from a past he thought he’d left behind for good, a past that could not only destroy him and his career, but also the reputation of the organization that made him all he is today. Now more than ever, Dex and Sloane need each other, and, along with trust, the strength of their bond will mean the difference between justice and all-out war.

Review:
I liked this better than book one, probably because I was more prepared and knew what I was in for. It better fit my expectations, but it’s still not topping my favourites list.

It’s fairly well written. I kind of thoughts names were occasionally used a little too often to be natural, but didn’t think this was a pervasive issue. It just cropped up now and again. So, I basically have no real complaints about the writing. I don’t remember any big copy edit problems. So, I don’t really have any issue with that either.

It’s just that the whole thing brings out the ‘meh’ in me. Nothing strikes me as deplorable, but nothing makes me fall in love either. The closest the book comes to really piquing my ongoing interest is Ash and Cael’s possible relationship. Dex & Slone: I’m kinda done.

I feel as if the whole thing is like a high school class clown, who’s funny, but obviously trying so hard to be funny that you kinda laugh at him as much as with him and it’s just a little sad. Dex’s antics are over the top, everyone loves him (and really, who’s loved by everyone), he’s too good at his job, too loyal, too funny, too clever, etc. He’s too much.

Sloane, sexy as he is, grated on my nerves. He’s so in his head and so overly dramatic that I basically stopped caring about him. Plus, I thought poor Ash got ignored. I mean, going back to the facility was as bad for him as Sloane, but he gets no screen time for it.

Then there is the percentage of gays in the THIRDS. Now, don’t get me wrong, I read mm romance because I love them and I’m thrilled to know Calvin & Hobbs are working their thing out, Ash & Cael might finally get together, Letty is happy with her long-term girlfriend (or is it Rosa, those women are so secondary, cliché and interchangeable I can’t be sure at this point), Hudson is still pining over Hobb’s brother (and Vice versa), Taylor would love a go at Dex, etc. There appears to be one straight woman in the whole book…well and Maddox. And while individually each is hot in its own way, unless there is some reason for it, it starts to get redundant after a while.

<Don’t read this paragraph if you’re squeamish about sex talk.>If I am really honest, I also happened to think the sex in this one is redundant too. It is just all same-same. I know it seems to be a popular trend these days to cum in the mouth (at least in books, I don’t know about RL), I’m not really bothered by the act itself, but over and over to the exclusion of almost everything else? No thank you, especially when the tone trying to be set is making love as opposed to just fucking. More meh.

I also thought that the ending was anticlimactic. There was all this build-up and then just wham, we’re done. Yes, I get that this was supposed to be indicative of how much of a surprise it was to the leader of the Organisation too, but I felt cheated. Speaking of cheated, am I the only one who would have liked a little shifting in their shifter book? I wanted to see some big cat badass action, but it was not to be.

Anyhow, for a middle of the road, fun but not stellar read this one will do. I’d be happy to read more of Cochet’s reading, but she’s not on auto-buy yet.

from the ashes

Book Review of Daisy Harris’ From the Ashes

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From the Ashes

I picked up Daisy Harris‘ novel, From the Ashes from the Amazon free list. At the times of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
When an accident burns down Jesse’s apartment, he’s left broke and homeless, with a giant dog and a college schedule he can’t afford to maintain. And no family who’s willing to take him in.

Lucky for him, a sexy fireman offers him a place to stay. The drawback? The fireman’s big Latino family lives next door, and they don’t know their son is gay.

Tomas’s parents made their way in America with hard work and by accepting help when it was offered, so he won’t let Jesse drop out of school just so he can afford a place to live. Besides, Jesse’s the perfect roommate—funny, sweet and breathtakingly cute. He climbs into Tomas’s bed and tugs at his heart. Until Jesse starts pushing for more.

Their passion enflames their bodies but threatens to crush Tomas’s family. Tomas is willing to fight for Jesse, but after losing everything, Jesse isn’t sure he can bear to risk his one remaining possession—his heart.

Review:
I’m fairly torn about what I thought of this book. I really liked the characters. Tomas is pretty much everything a person could want in a lover. Yes, he has a few issues of his own, but any man who is so willing to put himself out there for the man he loves is alright in my book. And while Jesse comes across as young and naive, I also respected that he was hell bound and determined to stay independent. There were a lot of really sweet scenes. The whole, ‘you don’t have to be perfect’ thing made me sigh. There were also some cheesy ones, but nothings perfect.

But as much as I liked these aspects of the book, I also found it a little dull. There was very little angst. The two characters met, had an instant attraction, were forced by circumstances to choose to live together, and seamlessly fall in love. It was all just a little too easy.

But I also have this vague uneasy feeling about Tomas’ issue. I don’t want give too much of a spoiler, but Tomas has a problem respecting men he has sex with and what that means as a gay man. While I understand this wasn’t actually meant to be judgemental, rather a challenge for Tomas to overcome, it still made my skin crawl a little. Plus, he seemed to get over it fairly quickly in the end, all things considered.

The writing and editing were both fine and I’d be more than willing to pick up another of Harris’ books.

The Marcher Lord

Book Review of The Marcher Lord (Over Guard, #1) , by Glenn Wilson

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The Marcher Lord

Author, Glenn Wilson, sent me a copy of The Marcher Lord.

Description from Goodreads:
Private Ian Kanters has just been initiated into the renowned ranger division of the Bevish Empire–a space-faring, Victorian-Era society. He is slightly apprehensive, however, as his first assignment is escorting a noble family on a hunting expedition. But their destination, the newly-acquired planet of Orinoco, quickly lives up to its wild reputation.

The planet’s climate is harsh and the wildlife deadly. His company of rangers is also not nearly so easy to win over as he had hoped, though he finds the nobleman’s daughter to be unexpectedly distracting. But that’s only the beginning as they trek into the vast wilderness where Ian is soon to find the adventure that he’s been waiting his whole life for.

Review:
Um, where to start. The Marcher Lord is surprisingly well written and edited, considering it’s gotten almost no attention since it was published. I liked the main characters. I thought the side characters were pretty interesting. (I was especially fond of Rory.) The alien planet kept me interested and the military bits felt really believable. But, and it’s a big but, the book is missing something important, a plot.

Well, that’s not strictly true. I think there is a plot, it’s just so slow in developing that it’s sure to take about 2,000 pages or so to get to it, meaning that this book is not a complete work on it’s own. It barely feels like a prologue actually. The book is roughly 250 pages and, while there were a few vague hints at possible political intrigue, the only action that might (depending on how it’s explained in the next book) be described as plot-driven happens in the last 5 or so pages. The rest is just soldiers on safari.

In a way, it reminded me of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. You go in expecting intergalactic sci-fi and instead find military fiction in space. Like Starship Troopers, the book is centred on a young, naive, idealistic new recruit sent out to an alien world to use all his military skills to fight non-humanoid prey. However, instead of being at war with an intelligent insectoid race, Ian and his cohort are escorting a noble on what amounts to as an African big game hunt.

That’s it. That’s the book. You spent time marching, hunting, fishing, eating, etc. In and among these really quite mundane activities you get to know Ian. He’s a really nice chap, Ian is. There’s one little twist in the female MC department, that I admit I didn’t see coming, but I also have to admit wasn’t well explained. (Someone’s attitude seemed to change inexplicably allowing Ian’s to change too.) There’s a little out of place religion. It’s part of the worldbuilding that this is a “space-faring, Victorian-Era society,” so by extension Christian. But it felt extraneous to the story. Similarly, given this is a galactic empire, it felt really simplistic that the few dominant cultures seem to only be Earthbound cultures (specifically English and French).  But there is also some interesting observations on humans and humanness.

All in all, not a bad book. Pleasant reading, but no real pay off in the end, unless you’re committing yourself to the whole series, all of which isn’t even available as far as I know. But it you liked Starship Troopers, I bet you’d like this.