Tag Archives: Indie

Book Review of Angela Roquet’s Graveyard Shift, Pocket Full of Posies, For the Birds

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Graveyard ShiftI grabbed Angela Roquet‘s Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. #1) from the Amazon free list. I then bought the sequel, Pocket Full of Posies. You can win paperback copies of all the first three Reaper books here.

As a side note, I just discovered she lives not too far from me, which makes her feel like a local celebrity (’cause you know I idolize authors over just about anyone else)….or maybe that idea just makes me a little bit internet-stalker-creepy. Hope not.

Description from Goodreads:
The Inferno has evolved…Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that. But when Grim promotes her to a high risk assignment, all hell breaks loose…literally.

Review:
This was a joy to read—fresh, funny, well-written, well-edited, and just plain engaging. I enjoyed Lana’s sarcastic personality and lackluster…or rather lack of ambition. She is a marvelous slacker who, despite her worst intentions, can’t help but get the job done–with a little help from her friends (and occasional frienemies). Said friends are also a lot of fun, especially Gabriel.

I occasionally had a little trouble following how things hung together. How Winston fit his bill, for example. But the general plot is an interesting one. I especially liked seeing all of the religions mashed together in a reasonably peaceful way and the politics of Eternity.

Additionally, I think it’s worth a small mention that with all the Islam-bashing that has been going on in the press and such lately, I thought it was a nice change to see Muslim characters presented as good guys. It would have taken so little for Roquet to cast them in the oft-envisioned role of villain and play to the modern xenophobic fears of the West. I was pleased to see that she didn’t.

All-in-all a fun start to a new series. I can’t wait to start book two, Pocket Full of Posies.

Pocket Full of PosiesDescription from Goodreads:
Not Your Grandma’s Afterlife…
The promise of peace in Limbo City is threatened once again, but this time the terrorists have a more specific target in mind: Lana Harvey. The up and coming reaper thought passing her classes at the Reaper Academy was going to be her biggest challenge, but when a rebel demon sends her apartment up in flames, she realizes that her victories from the previous year haven’t gone so unnoticed after all…

To make matters worse, the Afterlife Council has taken notice of Lana too. The Egyptian god Horus is blackmailing her into joining the Posy Unit so she can do an illegal side job for him, and Cindy Morningstar, Lucifer’s daughter, insists that she take a two week training course with the devilishly tempting Beelzebub, much to her angelic boyfriend’s chagrin.

Review:
I’m still really loving this series. Watching poor Lana struggling to keep it all together is a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed her strong independent spirit and how she handled the whole Maalik situation–best passage of the book, right here:

“…I’m tired of constantly having to fight with you just to live my life the way I see fit.”
“Then stop fighting me,” he said, and like it was actually a legitimate solution.

Yep, that summed Maalik up pretty well–best intentions, worst execution. Loved it.

I do have to admit I found the book to be a bit repetitive. Not just because it recapped the events of book one, that’s kind of to be expected. But because the reader is told the same general information more than once, things like Reaper’s lack of Deity rights or Josie’s strict rule-following nature. The information fit the flow of the passage each time, but it really didn’t need to be repeated.

The book also felt like a middle book, fair enough, it is after all. But while I enjoyed almost every word of it, it felt a bit more like a setup for future books than a story on its own. Here Lana struggles through her education so that she can join the Posy Unit, but it’s joining the Unit and doing things in it that carries the heft, and that’s held off for book three. It was still a lot of fun to follow her around and see her succeed, though. So I’m hoping to get my greedy little paws on the next installment of Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc.

for the birds coverDescription from Goodreads:
Lana Harvey isn’t just any reaper. She’s the new captain of the Posy Unit, a specialty group dedicated to harvesting mass quantities of souls from natural disaster sites, battlefields, and the like. The new title didn’t come without a price, though. Lana made some promises along the way, and now it’s time to follow through… even if that means putting herself in the path of the three Fates, a fickle and mighty force to be reckoned with. The Fates run a soul recycling plant in Limbo City, and if Lana isn’t careful, they just might recycle her.

Review:
This series keeps getting better and better. However, I wish I knew if it will be limited to a certain number of books (I know there’s supposed to be a 4th next year) or if it is one of those series that expands and expands endlessly. Because while this volume was a lot of fun to read, the tale shows no evidence of winding down anytime soon and I like to know what kind of commitment I am making when I dedicate myself to reading a series. Having said that, I liked this book every bit as much as the previous two (more than the second actually).

Honestly, I tend to stop reviewing the books in a series at about this point because the reviews have a tendency to become redundant or simply a way to say I liked this book more or less than the previous ones. We’ve already established that I like the story, characters, and writing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it to book three. That all remains true. I still like Roquet’s sarcastic narrative style, Lana’s personality, and all the interesting side characters. (Grim and Gabriel took especially interesting turns in this one.) I think the story is still quite interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing how it eventually works itself out.

Essentially, if you’ve liked the series up to this point you’re pretty likely to like this 3rd book too. The series maintains its high standards, too. It’s well-written and fairly well-edited. I noticed a few missing words, mostly a’s oddly, but not enough to break the flow of reading.

 

Book Review of Slippery Souls & The Forgotten Ones, by Rachel H. Dixon

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Author, Rachel Dixon sent me a copy her novels Slippery Souls and The Forgotten Ones (books 1 & 2 of her Sunray Bay series).

Slippery SoulsDescription from Goodreads:
Libby has hit a bad patch in life, and just when she thinks things can’t get any worse she’s killed in a car accident alongside her dog Rufus. During their transition to the afterlife’s Sunray Bay, Rufus somehow manages to absorb her soul – which, in turn, gives him human-like qualities and renders her soulless. Accompanied by her now talking dog, Libby tries to unravel the mystery of her slippery soul, encountering many setbacks and dilemmas along the way. She has no idea why a group of monster slayers, headed by an ex-convict, are hunting her down, and when she teams up with rogue Peace & Order Maintenance Officer, Grim, she’s shocked to discover that there’s a mob of disgruntled vampires and a very angry mayor hot on their heels too. Libby has never felt so unpopular, and begins to wonder whether it’s possible to die twice in one day…

Review:
I found that I quite enjoyed this read. Not because the plot is so seamlessly stitched together, or because of the complete absence of inconsistencies, or satisfying lack of questions at the end, because all of those aren’t actually true. But because despite my ongoing questions, the shaky way the plot holds together, and the almost miraculous conclusion the characters were witty, the dialogue snappy, and the whole adventure fun.

In the end I just didn’t care that the antagonist was overcome almost accidentally, or that I have no idea how the person who ran Libby over and started the whole affair was able to leave Sunray bay to do that, or that Vamp, Weres, Zombies and more suddenly came out of nowhere, or that Libby’s reaction to death and discovering herself in some strange world with a talking dog was ridiculously blasé. I still enjoyed myself.

Libby and her relentless libido were persistent, sarcastic and just plain funny. Krain managed to feel both evil and exasperated—a surprisingly endearing quality that made me somehow, both, like him and hope for his demise. So did Strickler for that matter. Grim was suitably sexy and Rufus provided comedic relief. Everyone involved is having an extremely bad day and the environment gives the whole atmosphere a grimy, gritty feel.

I’ve had this one on my TBR list for a while. I put it off again and again, uncertain what to expect. I’m happy to report it’s a hit. I’m moving on to book two with high hopes.

The Forgotten OnesDescription from Goodreads:
A long-forgotten-about breed of shape-shifting vampire is emerging from The Grey Dust Bowl. They harbour lots of secrets and they’ve been around since the times when Sunray Bay was known as the Isle of the Ignoble Dead. Led by a vengeful queen, they feel they’ve been hiding away for far too long, and now with an unsettling need to feed (and perhaps breed, if they’re extra lucky), they’ll do whatever they can to quench their desires. Meanwhile, Libby and Grim have taken to the underground during the unyielding conflict between vampires and werewolves. When they in a dvertently discover a zombie slave labour force, Grim is faced with a dilemma that threatens to emotionally cripple him and tear them apart. Libby isn’t about give him up easily – but soon she’s thrown into a quandary when she discovers what the shape-shifting vampires want… To go back to an earthly plane.

Review:
I’m tempted to say this isn’t a book, it’s an episode. But I’m afraid that would be interpreted as really negative. I wouldn’t mean it to be. Rather it would just be meant as a descriptive statement. You see, The Forgotten Ones doesn’t feel like a complete story to me. Granted, I still really liked the writing, the characters, the dialogue, the humour, etc but it has no beginning or end and therefore no middle either–at least not as far as the story is concerned. Obviously there is a numerical middle. 

The book picks up a day or so after the end of Slipper Souls, making SS the beginning of the story.  It then chronicles Grim and Libby’s trek toward the Grey Dust Bowl, the Blōd Vamps are introduced, Libby makes a rather startling, and somewhat far out, discover about her abilities and then, a page or so later, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. The issue is that there is never a challenge to overcome, a problem needing solving, a barrier to break through, etc. One would expect the discovery of new magical skills to be the point at which the characters start to move toward such an end, but instead that’s where to book ends. Leaving nothing to tapper off into an ending of any sort. 

What’s more, the number of threads left open and needing final attention just seem to keep adding up, with no real indication that the author intends to get back to some them. (I really hope I’m wrong about that.) There’s still the matter of establishing peace and a new leadership in Sunray Bay, the possible return of the three kings, Morgan’s fear of a returning foe, the Queen’s plan, Reeve’s need for love and premonitions, the hints that Izzy and her mother will come into the story, what Grim actually is, the God and Goddess’ drama, the question of Alex being a werewolf, and what Strickler’s role is. He played a pretty important part in book one, two really, and it’s yet to be explained how or why his actions at the end of book one led to those at the beginning of it. 

So, while I’m really enjoying the reading of Ms. Dixon’s story (she is one heck of a comedic writer) I’m left dissatisfied with the lack of conclusion. If I’m honest, there is very little that will prompt me to drop a series faster. Having said that, for those who don’t mind their stories drawn out over numerous episodic volumes I highly recommend this series. 

Eternal Samurai

Book Review of Eternal Samurai, by B.D. Heywood

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Eternal Samurai

I picked up B.D. Heywood’s erotic, M/M novel Eternal Samurai from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Tatsu Kurosaki Cobb, the last of an ancient samurai house, will not stop until he takes the head of the vampire that butchered his family. But his vow of revenge means he gives up on any hope for that once-and-forever love. Then he crosses swords with Saito Arisada, second-in-command of Seattle’s vampires and the most beautiful creature Tatsu has ever seen. The sexual chemistry between them is pure, hard, and undeniable. Unable to accept Arisada might be the killer, Tatsu begins a dangerous game. A game driven by the all-consuming thirst for blood that will force them to the extremes of love and hate.

Fukushū, vengeance. It is all that has sustained Saito Arisada for eight-hundred years. Sōhei monk turned vampire, he has searched for the returned soul of his lover who betrayed him and the Temple of Mii-dera. Arisada believes in only one thing—taking the head of the traitor. Yet, when Arisada sees that soul shining from Tatsu’s emerald eyes, his hatred shatters. He wants Tatsu in his arms and in his bed and in his heart. But Arisada’s samurai code of honor demands nothing less than Tatsu’s death. How can Arisada kill his unmei no hito—his soulmate?

From a bloody battlefield of feudal Japan to a world where humans and vampires fight for survival, Arisada and Tatsu must choose. At stake is not only love but honor.

Review:
I really quite enjoyed that, but I suspect it will have a rather small core audience. Because what it reminds me of more than anything else is a Yaoi manga. This despite it being a literary novel instead of a graphic novel. It just feels like yaoi in that strange, nebulous way of mental association.

You see, just as most fans of PNR or Urban Fantasy or even regular American M/M romance novels can often sketch out the basic shape of the plot most common to their genre of choice, this one follows yaoi’s established format in fairly recognisable ways. But you see, I like Yaoi, so I wasn’t at all put off by the similarities.

The association was undoubtably helped along by Heywood’s liberal use of Japanese terminology. No doubt my closet manga addiction and the two years I spent studying the Japanese language (which doesn’t get you very far, BTW) helped me out here. I suspect some readers would have appreciated that help, because though I knew enough to be able to pronounce the words and recognise all of the ritualised terminology (seppeku, kinbaku, kaishakunin, etc), some of the curses and a couple of the normal words (like daisuki), it felt like there were an awful lot more than was necessary. It tended to clutter the narrative at times, even when quickly followed by an English translation (which most, but not all were). If all those extra words had felt completely foreign, instead of just kind of foreign, they might have really grated on me.

Some of the English language did grate on me, if I’m honest, mostly during the extremely long sex scenes. You see these aren’t hearts and flowers, gentle, clean exploits. It’s often rough, dirty and … well, I probably can’t say realistic. It’s obviously not, but I thought the fact that things smelled, chafed, hurt, bled, and so on lent a real(ish) feel to it all. And while I appreciated this aspect of the story, some of the terminology used to create that same impression left me wanting–phrases like, piss slit or the liberal use of spunk–once or twice, fine, but over and over…not so much.

What I liked most in this story, and one more thing that reminded me of Yaoi, was Saito’s long standing, unquestioning, whole-hearted love for his unmei no hito (soulmate), regardless of the body it resides in. He pined for him for 800 years for gods sake. That’s what I call dedication and I found it to be one of the only sweet things about the story. Almost everything else had an edge of some sort.

rurouni_kenshin_by_kuraiakuOn a side note, while probably not purposeful on the author’s part, because of the red hair and scarred cheek I couldn’t help visualising Saito Arisada as Rurouni Kenshin. I found this a little distracting.

All-in-all however, while not without faults and inconsistencies, I enjoyed the read and would be up for trying another of Heywood’s works.