Tag Archives: magic

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Book Review: We All Fall Down, by Rose Szabo

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I received a copy of Rose Szabo‘s We All Fall Down through Bookish First.

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In River City, where magic used to thrive and is now fading, the witches who once ruled the city along with their powerful King have become all but obsolete. The city’s crumbling government is now controlled primarily by the new university and teaching hospital, which has grown to take over half of the city.

Moving between the decaying Old City and the ruthless New, four young queer people struggle with the daily hazards of life―work, school, dodging ruthless cops and unscrupulous scientists―not realizing that they have been selected to play in an age-old drama that revives the flow of magic through their world. When a mysterious death rocks their fragile peace, the four are brought into each other’s orbits as they uncover a deeper magical conspiracy.

my review

I had a really strange experience reading this book. Whenever I was reading it, I enjoyed it. But as soon as I set it down, I was reluctant to pick it back up again. As a result, it took me an inordinately long time to finish it. And I ended up feeling so-so about it in the same way.

I love the cover; think it’s absolutely stunning. And I had so much fun reading the beginning and picking out who each character is. I thought the writing was really good, easy to follow. I thought Szabo played with the idea and ideals of gender in interesting ways, and I think they tried to do the same with race (both with actual characters of color and metaphorically with the idea of ‘monsters.’) I’m just not sure they were as successful in this latter aspect.

However, I also thought the plot slow and the ending too vague to be satisfying. So, all in all, not bad, but not an all-out winner either.

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Other Reviews:

ARC Review: We All Fall Down by Rose Szabo

Early Review – We All Fall Down (River City Duology, Book 1) by Rose Szabo (4/5 stars)

 

sapphire flames emarald blaze titles

Book Reviews: Sapphire Flames AND Emerald Blaze, by Ilona Andrews

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I borrowed audio versions of Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze through Hoopla. While these are books 4 and 5 of the Hidden Legacy series, they are also books one and two of the Catalina Baylor Trilogy.

I’m just going to write the one review for the two of these, since I listened to them back to back and they come to a satisfying stopping point.

Catalina Baylor books

catalina baylor blurbs

Oh boy, I’ve taken my time with this series. I read the first book in 2015, second one in 2017, third in 2018, the novella that comes between the third and fourth book in 2019, and now the fourth and fifth in 2021. Who knows when I’ll make it back for the sixth. Not until next year, at least, since that’s when it’s scheduled for release.

If you want to read the actual reviews, you can find them here:

Burn For Me / White Hot / Wildfire/ Diamond Fire

Luckily this was largely doable since the series changes focus and picks up with the second Baylor sister, Catalina, instead of the older Nevada (books 1-3). So, I mostly only needed to remember the events of Diamond Fire and could be hazy on the previous three books. Honestly, I think you could follow them well enough even if you hadn’t read any of the previous books, though you’d sense you were missing history.

I like Catalina a lot. I was so-so on Alessandro. I don’t feel like he was particularly well defined outside of Catalina’s longing for him and I found his arrogance annoying (even when it was clearly an act). However, as always, the writing is fabulous and I love the world Andrews has created here. I’ll be back for more.

ruby fever bannerSince Ruby Fever is book six in the Hidden Legacy series and/or third in the Catalina Baylor Trilogy, and I don’t anticipate writing a long review of it, I’ve just decided to bring it back here and add it to the post for the previous two books. (Even if it wasn’t technically even published when the original blog post went up.)

ruby fever coverAbout the Book:

An escaped spider, the unexpected arrival of an Imperial Russian Prince, the senseless assassination of a powerful figure, a shocking attack on the supposedly invincible Warden of Texas, Catalina’s boss… And it’s only Monday.

Within hours, the fate of Houston—not to mention the House of Baylor—now rests on Catalina, who will have to harness her powers as never before. But even with her fellow Prime and fiancé Alessandro Sagredo by her side, she may not be able to expose who’s responsible before all hell really breaks loose.

My review:

I thought this concluded the series well and I hope that the series picks up with Arabella and The Beast of Cologne, as the teaser suggests. However, I have to admit that I didn’t feel particularly connected to anyone in this book. I think this is just a symptom of it being a third book for the couple and a lot of the connection-making happened in previous books. But still, I was a little disappointed in that aspect of it. All in all, however, I’ll still read anything Ilona Andrews writes and I look forward to more.

magic thief

Book Review: Magic Thief, by C.C. Sommerly

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I borrowed an audio version of Magic Thief, by C.C. Sommerly through Hoopla.
magic thief c.c. sommerly

Stolen magical artifacts, missing girls, and a hot partner I don’t want, what could possibly go wrong?

Paranormal Private Investigator (PI), Rayne Martin races against the clock to solve a case that is becoming more complicated by the moment. What started as a simple missing grimoire and stolen ancestral necklace has now morphed Into a potentially debilitating new reality for magic users.

Now, young women are missing. Others are turning up stripped of their magic and raving about monsters. Stealing magic once seemed inconceivable, but it is now a very real threat. It’s up to Marty to find out who is stealing magic.

Just when she has things in-hand, a partner is forced on her. Marty never learned to work well with others, so this is the last thing she wants. He is a straight play-by-the-rules guy. There is no rule she wouldn’t break. If they can’t learn to work together, then they will fail.

When her closest friend is taken, time is running out for Marty and Lochlan to crack the case. If they can’t find the magic thief, there may be nothing left of Marty’s friend to recover.

This was a bit of a fail for me. It was almost something good, but just seemed to miss the mark. The writing was pretty good, but there were some continuity issues in the plot, quite a lot of pointless drama that just seemed like filler (I’m thinking of the whole trip with the bone man, for example), and what felt like missing bits. For example, two characters would have a conversation and one would react to something the other very obviously was meant to have said. Except, that the one hadn’t said the thing being reacted to. The scene seemed to have a chunk missing from the middle. Then, later, the narrative would act as if the information hadn’t been shared at all. It’s hard to tell in an audio, when you’re not looking at text. But I can only assume this is a matter of editing.

I did like the characters and the man theoretically being position as a love interest. Though I wouldn’t say this is a romance, certainly none develops here. All in all, a pretty mediocre experience. I might be tempted to see if the next book gets better. But unless it does, I can’t see continuing the series.

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