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The KC Warlock Weekly Accused Tour Banner

Book Review: Accused, by M.N. Jolley

I accepted a review copy of Accused, by M.N. Jolly from The Write Reads. However, I later was looking for an audio book to borrow from Hoopla—to listen to as I did chores—and when I saw Accused, I thought, I might as well just listen to it. So, I went the audio book route instead. I should probably note that this book was a bronze medal finalist in the 2021 BBNYA competition, since that’s the reason for the book tour. However, I wasn’t part of the judging.

acused audio cover
My name is Levi. I’m a journalist, I’m autistic, I’m bad at magic, and I swear I didn’t kill her.

Research for the paper usually falls into a few basic patterns. Someone in the city says there’s a troll under Buck O’Neil Bridge, or they’ll call just so a friendly ear will listen to them complain about a pixie infestation.

That sort of content carries me through slow news weeks. It’s rare that I uncover a murder.

Being framed for murder, though? That’s a first.

With the Wizard’s Council hunting me for a crime I didn’t commit, I’ve got no choice but to solve the murder and clear my name. If I don’t unravel this case, nobody will, and I’ll go down for it so hard I might never see the light of day again.

my review
Some aspects of this book I really liked. I loved that Levi was on the autism spectrum and gay, but they’re just aspects of his character, same as being brunette or riding a motorcycle. There wasn’t a plot-related excuse for it or any particular drama about it. He was just allowed to be as he was. I also just plain like Levi as a character and thought the world interesting.

However, I was a little iffy with Ben—the magical equivalent of a Tinder date—being all-in for the danger and law breaking, after their first meeting with Levi. It just felt like there was a lot more trust there than there should have been. And I never quite grasped if the crime committed that led to the murder was business as usual or if anyone within the system was outraged over it. Not to mention if the perpetrators were actually caught and punished. And this left me feeling a little uncertain.

All in all, however, I liked a lot more than I didn’t and will happily read another Jolley book. (How dad-joke cheesy would it be to say it was a jolly good read?) Plus, Nikola Hamilton did a great job with the narration.

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Other Reviews:

The KC Warlock Weekly: Accused by M.N. Jolley – #BBNYA2021 Book Review!

#TheWriteReads #BBNYA Blog Tour Review – The KC Warlock Weekly: Accused by M.N. Jolley

BLOG TOUR – Review: M.N. Jolley – The KC Warlock Weekly: Book One: Accused

 

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Book Review: The Rise of Chaos, by Aeyla Reed

It would be an exaggeration to say that I downloaded this book by accident, but it wouldn’t be an untruth. I signed up for Edelweiss a long time ago, possibly even years ago. But since I was happy with Netgalley (and familiar with it), I never really explored it. Until yesterday, that is.

Let me tell you, Edelweiss may not actually be overly complicated, but it is so HUGE as to feel complicated. In all of my floundering around I ended up downloading The Rise Of Chaos, by Aeyla Reed. I mean not in an “Oops, look what I did” way; more of an “Oh, I started the download process without really meaning to commit to that…well, might as well stick with it” kind of way. I had time to backtrack, but opted not to. I let fate take the wheel, or whatever

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A perilous adventure with trouble lurking under every unturned stone.
In the world of Terae, a war-torn place ravaged by eldritch monsters and wild magick, a young officer named Airis suddenly finds herself in the midst of a rebellion in humanity’s last city. Along with two close friends, she begins a long journey to secure a home for her lost people. Amid all this: a new romance blooms, secrets of a lost empire reveal themselves, and heroes are forged in the flames of combat.

my reviewI used to read quite a lot of manga (and watch as much anime). But I’ve fallen out of the habit over the years. Lately, I’ve been drifting in that direction again and have been wanting to explore books that are manga or anime-like. I’ve seen the genre called Progression Fantasy, but there might be a more precise title out there. (Just in case the previous sentence doesn’t make it obvious, I’m not coming at this from any sort of expert position.)

Regardless, looking at the cover of The Rise of Chaos you can probably understand why I picked it up. I figured it would be an anime-like story, and it is. But I didn’t realize it is also full-on LitRPG —with all the D&D-like character mark-ups and abilities, video game-like character health bars, etc—which I’m not an avid fan of. I flat out skimmed ever time a one of these passed (and some of them were quite long):

I skipped thes

But outside of the LitRPG aspects that didn’t appeal to me, I liked the characters. There was quite a lot of cute interplay between characters and I appreciated the m/f platonic friendships and the budding f/f relationship. However, I did feel like the world was only loosely described and we’re given the framework of political upheaval and then the book settled into filler and monster-battles that did little to move the plot along…or develop it at all, really.

All in all, I’d say this was a middle of the road read for me. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t really an all out winner either.

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Other Reviews:

THE RISE OF CHAOS: Genesis

 

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Book Review(ish): Heaven Official’s Blessing, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

I purchased volumes one and two of Heaven Official’s Blessing, by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. Who could look at the cover art of that first one and not be tempted? I’m just going to go ahead and write a single ‘review’ for both books, since it’s a single continual story.


About the Books:

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Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall…and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm.

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present.


heaven officials blessing 2Xie Lian has confirmed that the bewitching youth San Lang is actually Hua Cheng, one of the Four Calamities and a supreme ghost despised by all heavenly officials. Still, he has trouble matching the terror of his companion’s reputation with the charming, clever, and protective young man he’s come to know.

When a distress signal leads Xie Lian into Ghost City, a bustling metropolis containing all the horrors and delights of the dead, he sees Hua Cheng in his element—and his true form—for the first time. But despite their chemistry and care for one another, there are missions to fulfill and secrets to uncover, and Xie Lian’s centuries of troubled history are never far behind.

my review

These are the 3rd & 4th Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù light novels I’ve read this year. I purchased everything that came out at once (Heaven Official’s Blessing 1 & 2, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, & The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System). These are the last to get read and, though I’ve enjoyed them all, I’ve been reluctant to call the post I write for each a review.

I’m not as familiar with all the expectations and norms heaven officials blessing 1 photoof light novels*, like I am regular novels. Plus, I can’t know where blame or praise should be lain—with the author and/or the translator—for language choices. I’ve seen several reviews (from people who were able to read the stories in the original Chinese) saying the translations aren’t accurate, leave things out, and/or change the relationships of some characters. And since I can’t read Chinese and can’t know, I’ve just decided to write posts expressing how I feel about what I’ve read, without actually reviewing it. It may simply be semantics, but it makes me feel better.

Anyhow, as I’ve said, I purchased the four books available as of now and I would have bought the rest if they were out. So, that ought to tell you how I feel about this series (all three actually). I’d seen season one of the Heaven Official’s Blessing anime on Netflix. But, though I thought it very pretty, I wasn’t convinced I’d love the series as much as the avid fan-base and gorgeous fan-art suggested I should. But having read these first two volumes, I think I will and look heaven officials blessing 2 photoforward to immersing myself in it…one volume every couple months for the rest of the year. *cries.* I wish I hadn’t discovered it until the whole thing was out.

When I finished volume one, I said over on Instagram that I thought the language too modern for the setting, but that I otherwise thought the series was super cute so far and looked forward to continuing. Cute to me is OK, but I do prefer my fantasy a little on the darker, edgier side. So, I was thrilled when someone commented, ““Cute”… honey, you’ve got a big storm coming 🙃🙃.” It was the piteous “honey” that really let me know I’m in for a change of tone. And having finished volume two, now, I can see some of that storm being set up and expect to enjoy watching it all play out.

As has been the case with the other Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù light novels I’ve read, it’s the characters and their interplay that makes this such a winner for me. I actually do think the language is a little on the silly side and the world is big, but vague. None of that matters though, because I read on just to see the next time Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were on page together. Xie Lian is just so blithely oblivious to Hua Cheng’s obvious attentions that I can’t help but enjoy myself. The story development (and romance) is very slow. But it’s still a fun read.

All in all, I really do look forward to finishing the series out.

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*Edit: Proving my point that I’m not well enough informed on the genre of these books to truly ‘review’ them, I received a comment over on Goodreads saying these aren’t truly even light novels (as I’ve been calling them) but a published webnovel.

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Other Reviews:

Alice Poon – Book Review: Heave Official’s Blessing

MXTX Books Vol. 1: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, Heaven Official’s Blessing ????