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Sacrati

Book Review of Sacrati, by Kate Sherwood

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SacratiI received a copy of Sacrati, by Kate Sherwood, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
As an elite Sacrati fighter in the mighty Torian military, Theos is blessed with a city full of women who want to bear his children, and a barracks full of men proud to fight at his side and share his bed. He has everything he needs—until he captures Finnvid on a raid.

Finnvid is on a secret mission to prevent the Torian invasion of his homeland Elkat. Being enslaved by Torian soldiers wasn’t in his plans. Neither is his horrified fascination with the casual promiscuity of the Sacrati warriors. Men should not lie with other men—and he should not be so intrigued when they do. He definitely should not be most intrigued by the leader of the soldiers who captured him and plan to invade his home.

For Theos, everything would have been easier if the infuriating, lying, bewildering Elkati had never come into his life, but he can’t stay away. When betrayal and treachery threaten both their nations, they must work together to stop a war that could destroy their homes forever—even as they begin to question everything they’re fighting for.

Review:
I rather enjoyed this book. I did think that the way Theos treated Finnvid was COMPLETELY unbelievable for a man raised with normalised slavery. But once I deliberately forced myself to suspend that particular disbelief, I could roll with most the punches and enjoy myself.

I thought Theos was adorable—not dim, exactly, but not a man who thinks deeply either. I wasn’t as enamoured with Finnvid. I thought him a bit inconsistent. But as a counterbalance to Theos, he worked.

Unfortunately, the whole idea of what is ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’ was over-emphasised and heavy handed. Yes, I understood the message, but didn’t need it reiterated quite so often. Similarly, I think the men lost the ability to verbalise anything but “I love you” in the last ten or so pages. It got redundant.

Speaking of endings (and this may be spoilerish), forcing the two men to desire monogamy felt like an artificial machination to provide the proper type of HEA to a Western audience. It didn’t at all fit the culture as established by the author.  What’s more, thinking past the last page, it would undoubtably cause future discord and I have trouble believing Finnvid would even request it of Theos (considering the social importance of sex between male Torians). I thought it was a cop out.

So, I had a few complaints, but for the most part, the writing was readable, there was some humour, I like the characters, it was an interesting world (at least the Torian culture was, Elkat was just a hollow reproduction of the recognisable), I don’t remember any editing issues and I enjoyed the time I spent with the book. It was just plain cute. I really can’t ask for much more than that.

Book Review of Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water #1), by S.E. Jakes

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Catch a GhostI received an ARC of S. E. Jakes‘ Catch a Ghost from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Everyone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.

Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he’s determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.

Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price.

Review:

To borrow a word from my GR friend Julio, that would otherwise be foreign to my vocabulary, I found this book full of feelz. (Yeah, I know, I’m actually far too square to get away with that, but you get my point.) I felt these two fucked up, broken men. I felt these two beautifully fragile, dominant creatures. I felt these two violent, sexy males and I loved them, adored them, wanted more and more and more of them. They make a perfect pair.

Sure, the book isn’t flawless. I still have no idea why EE was even involved in Chris’ investigation in the first place, unless it was solely as a personal favour to Prophet? But even then, who conveniently knew to notify Phil in the first place? I still don’t understand why Prophet would let a 10-year-old promise to a man he knew a week dictate his life. I also thought Tom’s investigative process was ridiculously easy. Sure, you can go out in one night and get and invite to an exclusive secret club just like that, *snaps fingers for effect.* Happens to me all the time, yeah?

I’m still a little vague on what Tom’s actual history is. I got a pretty good feel of what messed Prophet’s mind up so badly, but would have liked a clearer picture of what happened to Tom, as well as Tom’s ‘abilities.’ There were a few mystery references. Who’s King, for example? And I thought that using the “I’m too high/tired/alseep/etc to care about consequences” trope to lower the mens’ inhibitions and get them into bed was cliche.

But putting all of that aside, I just plain enjoyed this read and I prioritise that above just about everything else. The writing was fine, though as it was an unedited ARC, I can’t comment on the editing. The cover is gorgeous and I’m really hoping for the chance to read more of Prophet and Tom’s story. Happy reader, right here.

Eye of the Storm

Book Review of Eye of the Storm, by Aimee Kuzenski

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Eye of the StormI received a copy of Aimee Kuzenki‘s Eye of the Storm from NetGalley. Reading it now was a bit of a cheat, since I’m only supposed to be reading books by authors I know this month. But, I gave in to reading it in the end.

Description from Goodreads:
The old gods aren’t gone. Whether you know it or not, they’re closer than a breath upon your cheek.

Alexander Sekhmet keeps to himself, far from the Machiavellian games played by his Family, and as a result he’s led a quiet ordered life. Until now.

When his legendary temper is exploited by an ancient enemy, tricking him into destroying his human identity, he takes drastic steps to protect his empire. He possesses the body of Camilla Sykes, a West Point lieutenant, and takes her identity, memories…and soul with him.

Ian Dorsey, Classics PhD candidate, has lost his job and his father in one fiery afternoon, and appears to be losing his mind in the bargain. Why else is he hearing voices that are telling him to kill his father’s client? Or are the voices coming from somewhere darker?
When gods and mortals meet, the Apocalypse follows.

Review:
This is Urban Fantasy at its best…and it really is Urban Fantasy. There is no sex and only the merest hint of a possible future (F/F) romance, so not to be confused with PNR.

Kusenski does a fabulous job of creating atmosphere and presenting the immortal gods as both all-powerful and oddly fragile. I really adored this about War. Conversely, there was nothing fragile about Camilla. But I loved her just as much. She truly was the strong female character I’m always looking for and finding myself frustrated in her absence.

There is also some marvellous dialogue. A lot of it is internal, either with oneself or with a subsumed personality, but it’s largely followable. There were numerous scenes in which characters were simultaneously holding conversations and remembering past events or conversations and sometimes it was hard to tell which passages were meant to be remembrances and which were meant to be realtime. But other than this, I thought dialogue was sharp and natural sounding. It really was a pleasure to read.

My only real complaints are that the ending felt rushed. I didn’t quite follow War’s leap of logic that brought about the conclusion. It felt very abrupt. (Though, to be fair, War was presented as a man who regularly acts before he thinks things through.) I also thought that some of the side characters, like Ian or Olivia, who played fairly important roles, felt hollow. IMO, they weren’t fleshed out enough for their significance.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and will be looking for more of Ms. Kuzenski’s writing.