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Havemercy

Book Review of Havemercy, by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett

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HavemercyI borrowed Havemercy, by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Thanks to its elite Dragon Corps, the capital city of Volstov has all but won the hundred years’ war with its neighboring enemy, the Ke-Han. The renegade airmen who fly the corps’s mechanical, magic-fueled dragons are Volstov’s greatest weapon. But now one of its members is at the center of a scandal that may turn the tide of victory. To counter the threat, four ill-assorted heroes must converge to save their kingdom: an exiled magician, a naive country boy, a young student—and the unpredictable ace who flies the city’s fiercest dragon, Havemercy. But on the eve of battle, these courageous men will face something that could make the most formidable of warriors hesitate, the most powerful of magicians weak, and the most unlikely of men allies in their quest to rise against it.

Review: *possibly spoilerish*
Magical clockwork dragons, ya’ll! Magical clockwork dragons. There was no way I could pass this up once I’d discovered its existence and on the whole I really quite enjoyed it. I liked the writing style. I liked the characters…mostly. I liked the dragons. I actually liked that it had a rather slow start. On the surface, I even liked the ending.

What I didn’t like was the ambiguity around aspects of the book that I would have really liked if I had just been sure of them. Was Balfour really trans or just a man teased as effeminate because he had better manners than the rest? Was Rook and Thom’s love platonic or heading for romance? Did Hal and Royston ever consummate their relationship? Considering the book starts with a man in bed with his lover, I don’t see why we aren’t given any sort of closure on this point. When it comes to romance I feel like the book set us up for two great loves and fails to deliver either as promised.

As an aside, though not uncommon in fantasy, I have to ask, where are all the women? There are a few minor mentions of female characters, but nothing more. But for all my remaining questions, I finished the book happy.

Hemovore

Book Review of Hemovore, by Jordan Castillo Price

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HemovoreI bought a copy of Hemovore, by Jordan Castillo Price.

Description from Goodreads:
Ten years ago, the Human Hemovore Virus blazed through the world, and left the few victims who survived unable to eat, allergic to sunlight and craving the taste of blood.

Mark Jensen used to think V-positives were incredibly sexy with their pale, flawless skin and taut, lean bodies. Not anymore. Not since he’s been stuck procuring under-the-counter feline blood for his control-freak boss, Jonathan Varga. Why cat blood? Mark has never dared to ask.

It’s not as if he’s usually at a loss for words. He can dish an insult and follow it with a snap as quick as you can say “Miss Thang”. But one look at Jonathan’s black-as-sin gypsy eyes, and Mark’s objections drain away.

So he endures their strange, endless routine: Jonathan hiding in his studio, painting solid black canvases. Mark hurling insults as he buffs the office to a shine with antiviral wipes and maps out the mysterious “routes” he’s required to drive.

Then a blurb in Art in America unleashes a chain of events neither of them saw coming. As secrets of Jonathan’s past come to light, it becomes clear all his precautions weren’t nearly enough.

Review:
This is an excellent new (or at least different) take on the vampire story. There is just so much to appreciate in this novel. It’s fast paced, though more so in the last half than the first and there is a little bit of a lull toward the middle. It’s tightly plotted with an interesting shift in emphasis between the beginning and the end.

The characters are engaging, though I never quite felt I knew Jonathan as well as Mark, the primary POV. Plus, Jonathan seemed to have a little character drift between him in the beginning and him at the end. But I very much liked them both. I also very much appreciated the sexual tension, but the fact that there is very little actual sex.

The idea of vampirism as a disease isn’t a new one, but I don’t know that I’ve ever read a book in which it is so clinically addressed. I liked it. However, for a disease with an 85% mortality rate it seemed an odd forgone conclusion that the character in question would survive. I felt very little angst around this.

All in all, I really quite enjoyed this. But I’ve yet to read a JCP that I didn’t, so no big surprise there.

In the Middle of Somewhere

Book Review of In the Middle of Somewhere, by Roan Parrish

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In the Middle of SomewhereI bought a copy of In the Middle of Somewhere, by Roan Parrish.

Description from Goodreads:
Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in.

Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him from connecting with people.

When the two men meet, their chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything.

Review:
This was one of those novels in which I adored some of it and was annoyed by other bits. And some of both features are personal and subjective. I love the whole gentle giant trope and that definitely defines Rex. But I hate when characters start throwing around “baby” this and “sweetheart” that as soon as they have sex. I liked that the characters had such visceral reactions to one another, but couldn’t really get down with the insta-lust.

Contradictorily, I love that the book was a good solid, long read but it felt a little overly long at times. I like a hot sex scene and there are some smoldering ones here, but I thought there were more than I needed. I liked that both characters had issues and problems, but I also sensed that some of the past traumas felt like throw-aways, tossed out for an interesting emotional punch but serving very little real purpose in the plot. It was like the author tried to get too much in.

I loved the language and writing here, but the repetition of stock phrases really got on my nerves. I liked and could relate to a lot of Daniel’s grad school/university experiences but also thought it read like a lecture on working for a university at times.

So, as you can see, I’m torn about how I feel about In the Middle of Somewhere, but when it comes right down to it I liked Rex and Daniel, as well as the side characters, and I’d be interested in reading the sequel(s).