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LieSmith

Book Review of LieSmith, by Alis Franklin

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LieSmithI was granted a copy of Alis Franklin‘s LieSmith from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Working in low-level IT support for a company that’s the toast of the tech world, Sigmund Sussman finds himself content, if not particularly inspired. As compensation for telling people to restart their computer a few times a day, Sigmund earns enough disposable income to gorge on comics and has plenty of free time to devote to his gaming group.
 
Then in walks the new guy with the unpronounceable last name who immediately becomes IT’s most popular team member. Lain Laufeyjarson is charming and good-looking, with a story for any occasion; shy, awkward Sigmund is none of those things, which is why he finds it odd when Lain flirts with him. But Lain seems cool, even if he’s a little different—though Sigmund never suspects just how different he could be. After all, who would expect a Norse god to be doing server reboots?
 
As Sigmund gets to know his mysterious new boyfriend, fate—in the form of an ancient force known as the Wyrd—begins to reveal the threads that weave their lives together. Sigmund doesn’t have the first clue where this adventure will take him, but as Lain says, only fools mess with the Wyrd. Why? Because the Wyrd messes back.

Review:
I thought that this was quite clever. That alone would be enough for me. But paired with how darned CUTE Sigmund was, makes it’s a real winner for me. I just wanted to grab all his über-geeky, low self-esteem (what he would call realistic self-appraisal), hipster envy, good boyness and hug it and love it and call it George. I adored him. Plus, he’s a not a cookie-cutter, Ken-shaped, white main character. He’s plump and dark. Maybe with some Maori ancestry, but that’s never clarified. I loved it, even more since this was played all sorts of cool, as if it wasn’t some rare gem to be treasured when found in a book.

The story itself is quite convoluted and, honestly, readers would be well served to have at least a basic understanding of Norse mythology. I’m not saying that it’s not understandable if you don’t, but I think it will be more enjoyable if you do. But beyond the story of the machinations of the gods there is a lot to enjoy here. The romance is slow and sweet. It never progresses beyond a kiss, but it’s obvious the end goal is love not lust. *sigh* And there is just tons and tons of Gamer/Trekkie/Trekker/Ringer/comic book/Star Wars/DnD/etc nerddom to revel in. It’s glorious in its own way, but not over-played. Plus, Sigmund is never disparaged for his interests. In fact, he’s quite comfortable in who and what he is.

With the tangled plot, I did find it a little hard to keep up with on occasion, it seemed to slow down and drag for a while in the Helbleed, friends accepted the impossible with aplomb, and the ending is left a little ‘we’ll figure it out eventually’ open. But for the most part I found this a really enjoyable read.

Prosperity

Book Review of Prosperity, by Alexis Hall

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ProsperityI received an ARC of Alexis Hall‘s Prosperity from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
A breathtaking tale of passion and adventure in the untamed skies!

Prosperity, 1863: a lawless skytown where varlets, chancers, and ne’er-do-wells risk everything to chase a fortune in the clouds, and where a Gaslight guttersnipe named Piccadilly is about to cheat the wrong man. This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart.

Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless.

Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe.

This volume (available in print, and for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition.

Review:
Honestly, I’m not normally what people might refer to as a gusher, but this book is LUSH! There are moments of such painful poignancy that I literally found myself momentarily devoid of reason.

It’s not perfect. It took me a long time to get comfortable with Piccadilly’s dialect and at times I thought it was overplayed. I really wanted to see Byron Kae’s happily ever after and there is a lot of empty space between the bits we know about the characters. But it’s close enough for jazz.

What it is that I love so much about this book isn’t necessarily the aetherpunk or krakens or action. It’s not the romance (if that’s the word for it), though that’s wonderful. It isn’t even directly the characters themselves, though they’re worship-worthy. It’s the brutal honesty of those same characters’ fragility. Yes, I know, it’s an oxymoron. But read the book; you’ll understand.

The mixed up crew of the Shadowless inhabit a world in which they won’t allow themselves the comforting self-deceptions we all so often clothe ourselves in. What would life without your mask feel like? As a result these same miscreants sometimes ring with peals of emotions so pure they put me in mind of crystal bells wrung by aery angels draped in the gossamer threads of God’s tears…or some such bollox. You get the point. I felt for these characters. And you see fairly early on that whatever happily ever after they may get aren’t the ones they want. But you root for them anyway.

Now, the whole thing isn’t to be taken too seriously, ’cause the book is also damned funny in an occasionally dry, very British way. But it’s self-aware enough to play with the expectation it builds in the reader, slipping punchlines in unexpectedly. Not often, or not often enough to be predictable, but there all the same.

Goodreads says that this is the 205th book I’ve read this year and this is probably one of, if not my absolute, favourites. It wasn’t at all what I expected and I’m so glad for that. Go read it right now!

Review of books 1-4 of Poppy Dennison’s Triad series

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I picked up Poppy Dennison‘s Triad Series from my local e-lending library.

Mind MagicDescription:
Magical species must never mix. According to the rules, Simon Osborne should ignore the children’s cries for help. After all, they’re werewolf cubs, and he’s an apprentice mage. But for once in his life, Simon breaks the rules and rescues the cubs, saving them from a demon intent on draining them of their magic.

Of course, all actions have consequences, and Simon’s bold move earns him the displeasure of his peers and the attention of the cubs’ alpha, a man named Gray Townsend.

The last thing Gray needs is a mage in his life, but Simon did save his son. Since Simon is now a friend of the pack, Gray doesn’t have much choice about it—or the forbidden attraction that goes along with it. Unfortunately for the alpha, he needs Simon’s help to track down the demon behind the kidnappings—before it strikes again. Simon and Gray must join forces to protect the pack, even as they struggle to resist the temptation that threatens to destroy them both.

Review:
A lightly amusing book but heavy-handed and inelegant. It was well edited, but the writing was really stiff. Names were used far too often to feel natural and the plot progressed seemingly without need of the characters. Certainly, they never appeared to put much effort into anything, as problems were so easily overcome.

While both Simon and Gray were likeable characters, everything about the book felt rushed. The romance was almost instantaneous, with no buildup at all. The fights were won in a matter paragraphs. The bad guy was defeated almost effortlessly. And the vast majority of the book was dedicated to domestic affairs—BBQs, sleeping arrangements, bonding with children, getting to know relatives, etc.

If you’re looking for an action-packed m/m PNR, this is not the book for you. If you’re more interested in comfortable, heartfelt declarations of eternal love, it might be. Me, personally, I have very little use for so many floating hearts and flowers.

Body Magic

Description:
A pack is only as strong as its weakest member. Rocky Harris knows how the system works. He’s been on the bottom rung his whole life. But when his alpha consigns him to the High Moon Pack to help them improve security, he finds his beliefs not just challenged but outright assaulted.

Cade Montgomery’s confidence took a hit when the pack’s cubs were kidnapped on his watch. He’s prepared to do anything to protect his family, even if it means working with Rocky. Maybe Cade doesn’t trust Rocky, but with the turmoil surrounding pack Alpha Gray’s unpopular decision to break tradition and mate with a mage named Simon, Cade knows more threats are coming.

Then someone declares war on shifters and puts the entire pack in danger. Cade and Rocky will need each other’s strengths to survive the impending battle—and the power of their growing attraction.

Review:
This book had a few qualities I love finding in m/m romances—a romantic lead that’s not cookie-cutter white (not one of  the main couple, but still a main character), a mixing up the standard sex roles (letting the little guy top), etc. And I honestly found the writing less stiff and off-putting than in book one, though I still think names were used too often in dialogue. So, for the right reader this will probably be a real winner.

However, despite involving werewolves, mages and vampires it still felt very, very much like the main focus of the book was domesticity. A LOT of time is spent watching Simon marvel at how wonderful it is to suddenly find himself part of a family, or how much he now loves Gray, or what it feels like to suddenly realise he’s a stepfather, etc. Which is fine, of course, but not what I would have expected from the synopsis.

Further, and even more irritating, Cade and Rocky, who I thought the book would be about, are mere side characters and their romance is little more than a distraction. I felt the same way about the ‘danger to the pack’ subplot. It was barely hinted at and overcome easily. Again, the main plot was happy homemaking. And unfortunately I’m just not into that.

Soul Magic

Description:
Blood runs soul-deep. Cormac hasn’t been the same since the night the High Moon Pack was attacked. With his magic weakened, he’s consumed by a bloodlust he hasn’t felt since he first became a vampire. His need to replenish his power makes him a danger to his last remaining family member, and his hunger makes him careless. And that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Feeding from pack beta Liam Benson was supposed to slake his appetite, not leave him craving more.

Simon Osborne and Gray Townsend are trying to fight a being history says shouldn’t exist—one with all three types of magic. The pack must use all of their resources to combat the mysterious triad, even turning to the shady Council of Mages for help. While Cormac struggles to reconcile his past failures with his current desires, Simon must attempt the impossible: an alliance between mind, body, and soul.

Review:
OK, I know that m/m romance is often (maybe even more often than not) targeted toward women and the characters and their relationships mirror m/f relationships, using a man as an avatar of sorts. I get that. I don’t read m/m romance expecting realistic gay relationships or characters. It’s a plus when they show up, but I know not to expect it on the whole.

Having said all that I was disturbed by how strongly and recognisably Simon’s character evolved into that of a mother in this book. Everything from the way he couldn’t or wouldn’t focus on anything before or beyond the safety of the children, to his propensity to cry, to his manner of overcoming the antagonist by sacrificing himself (a strong and often used trope for female characters) screamed mama and I found it an unfortunate simplification of his character. It was like all of his other character traits were washed out.

The writing here was fine. Even the tendency to overuse names/titles in dialogue, that I’ve complained of in both the previous books, only showed up in the children’s dialogue. (Though, it showed up in almost every sentence out of Garon or Riley’s mouth.) However, I have to say there was a whole lot more time dedicated to strategy planning and what-if discussions than actual action. Honestly, I was a bit bored by it all.

Further, Liam and Cormac’s relationship was at most a minor side story. There was no buildup or development. It felt like all of that was supposed to have come previously, but just because the men knew each other doesn’t mean the reader had seen a relationship develop. I’ll admit that the scene when they went hunting together was probably the hottest of the series (and it almost wasn’t even a sex scene, ’cause the following sex wasn’t as hot as the hunt), but it wasn’t enough to carry their story arc. It just felt like either a distraction from the main plot or a woefully underdeveloped story of its own. Too bad, I think they may have been my favorite pairing.

Wild Magic

Description:
Joseph Anderson was heartbroken when his childhood best friend Dominick Levent moved away. Years later, Joseph is a successful real estate broker with good friends, an easy smile, and a stunning house. When he finds a dying mountain lion who miraculously shifts into Dominick’s sister, Joseph must find Dominick and reunite him with the two young sons she left behind.

When mountain lion shifter Dominick gets a call telling him his sister is dead, he rushes home to protect his nephews and avenge his sister. Seeing Joseph brings back the feelings Dominick tried to bury and he dares to hope Joseph’s newfound knowledge of shifters means they can finally be together.

Review:
This is by far the weakest offering of the Triad series. It felt much more like an extended epilogue to address what happened to Riley’s little friends Avery and Blake (who are introduced at the end of Soul Magic) than an actual book or story of its own. Its timeline runs concurrent to most of the last book and it essentially answers the question, when Riley was being adopted by Simon, Avery and Blake were doing what?

It’s only about half as long as the other books. It also doesn’t involve a certain type of magic (mind, body or soul), which means I don’t know what the title is supposed to refer to. But worst of all, there isn’t much in line of a plot. Avery and Blake’s uncle is called back from overseas to raise them, he doesn’t know what he’ll do, his old best friend helps, they of course fall (back) in love, and eventually they merge with the High Moon Pack and have a happy ending.

Sure, it’s a feel-good, but it’s also booooring and predictable. Even worse, it doesn’t even bother with the important parts of the little bit it has. For example, after living together for a month or so while Dom tries to settle things to raise the boys Joseph takes him house-hunting. Dom finds fault with all the houses because he really just wants Joseph to ask him to stay with him. But the reader hadn’t been given even one flirty, sexy, UST, loving, etc scene. NOTHING. We’d seen Dom’s first day of work, the boys and Joseph cooking dinner with the token female BFF and that sort of thing, but nothing between Dom and Joseph. So, the reader has no emotional investment in the relationship, it doesn’t feel natural, and honestly I just couldn’t be bothered to care.

I think this series has always been about men loving their kids and families. I’ll grant that that touches an easily twanged “awww” string in me (and probably most women), but my this particular book didn’t put enough effort into the men, the kids or the family to pull it off. At the end they remained 3 distinct things and unless merged together they just don’t have any notable effect.