Tag Archives: romance

Stumptown Spirits

Book Review of Stumptown Spirits, by E.J. Russell

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Stumptown SpiritsI received a copy of Stumptown Spirits, b E. J. Russell, from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
What price would you pay to rescue a friend from hell?

For Logan Conner, the answer is almost anything. Guilt-ridden over trapping his college roommate in a ghost war rooted in Portland’s pioneer past, Logan has spent years searching for a solution. Then his new boyfriend, folklorist Riley Morrel, inadvertently gives him the key. Determined to pay his debt—and keep Riley safe—Logan abandons Riley and returns to Portland, prepared to give up his freedom and his future to make things right.

Crushed by Logan’s betrayal, Riley drops out of school and takes a job on a lackluster paranormal investigation show. When the crew arrives in Portland to film an episode about a local legend of feuding ghosts, he stumbles across Logan working at a local bar, and learns the truth about Logan’s plan.

Their destinies once more intertwined, the two men attempt to reforge their relationship while dodging a narcissistic TV personality, a craven ex-ghost, and a curmudgeonly bar owner with a hidden agenda. But Logan’s date with destiny is looming, and his life might not be the only one at stake. 

Review:
I have to admit that, while I didn’t dislike this, it wasn’t a big winner for me either. As much as I liked Riley and Logan (and I did), as interesting as I found the mystery (and it was), as amusing as I found the side characters (and they were), as often as I laughed (and I did ) I thought this was inelegantly written and at times just too over the top.

I completely understood that the characters were meant to be conflicted, wanting one thing but trying to do another, but the constant back and forwards annoyed me and it felt clunkily done. Logan’s internal dialogue was not enough to pull it off for me. What’s more, it all came down to an unwillingness to communicate that I found frustrating.

There was also one last twist toward the end that I thought way too coincidental and unbelievable. I don’t even think it contributed to the plot. The last event it prompted to action could have still happened without it.

All-in-all, I had complaints that kept me from loving it, but I did enjoy it. There is plenty of room between a book being a favorite and not liking a book at all. Riley was especially likable.

Snowmancer

Book Review of Snowmancer, by Olivia Helling

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SnowmancerI downloaded a copy of Snowmancer, by Olivia Helling, from Amazon. It was still free at the time of posting.

Description from Goodreads:
A partner he could trust. That’s what Prince Heir Ilyas wanted most in the world. Instead, he spent his days alone defending his future throne from his younger brothers and reaping the rewards of their estates. But when he receives his latest conquest, a slave named Jem, he’s abducted to the far reaches of a frozen wasteland to be sacrificed to Jem’s backwater god.

Someone who would see him. The one thing Jem knows he can never have. Instead, Jem walks the world searching for the sacrifice that will save the people who fear and shun him — the beautiful and proud Ilyas. Capturing Ilyas might have been simple, but keeping him safe for his god is another matter.

Trapped in their struggle and tight quarters, they’re both haunted by the whisper in each other of the warmth they dared not dream for. But nothing can stop the Dark God from coming. Nothing short of death. Can one kill the other? Or will they both be destroyed?A partner he could trust. That’s what Prince Heir Ilyas wanted most in the world. Instead, he spent his days alone defending his future throne from his younger brothers and reaping the rewards of their estates. But when he receives his latest conquest, a slave named Jem, he’s abducted to the far reaches of a frozen wasteland to be sacrificed to Jem’s backwater god.

Review:
Let me give you the perfect illustration of the type of impression this book makes. I read it yesterday, finished it about 11 and then went to bed. Until I sat down this afternoon and picked up my Kindle to find something to read, I’d wholly forgotten I read a book the day before. Nothing about Snowmancer stood out enough to be remembered without prompting, less than 12 hours later!

Now, it’s not a bad book. It was entertaining enough in a shallow sort of way. It has good atmosphere. You do feel the helplessness of the situation and Jem is a wonderful character. But I never could follow the progression from captive to captivated. Ilyas just seemed perfectly content to float along with Jem, despite threat of imminent death. His continued haughty attitude didn’t fit his situation at all and felt forced. There was basically no history to the characters and the climax/HEA was of the hand-waving variety. And I mean that as in it seemed to come exceedingly easy and without the need of further explanation and as in there was actual hand waving involved.

If you have an hour or two to pass this isn’t a waste of time, but it’s also not worth carving time out for.

Ariah

Book Review of Ariah by, B. R. Sanders

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AriahI borrowed a copy of Ariah (by B. R. Sanders) from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Ariah’s magical training has been interrupted. Forced to rely on a mentor, Dirva, who is not who he claims to be, and a teacher who is foreign and powerful, Ariah is drawn into a culture wholly different from the elven one that raised him. 

As his friendship with Dirva’s brother blossoms into a surprising romance, and he slowly learns how to control the dangerous magic in his blood, life finally appears to be coming together for Ariah—but love and security are cut short by a tyrannical military empire bent on expanding its borders. 

War, betrayal, passion, and confusion follow Ariah as his perilous journey leads him beyond the walls of the Empire, and into unfamiliar territory within himself. Along the way, he’ll discover just how much he’s willing to give up to find his place in the world, and he’ll learn what it means to sacrifice himself for freedom—and for love. 

Review:
I was a little wary picking this book up. Several people I know have read and raved about it. I think I’m a little more critical of such books, for fear I’ll get swept away with the fervor and just unthinkingly agree with the masses. But even being extra vigilant of my own feelings about the novel, I can say with certainty that I absolutely loved it.

It was not an immediate love. It took a while to settle in. The book is separated into sections in a way I find disruptive to reading. It presented characters I fell in love with and then it moved away from them. It was slow at times and I had trouble keeping track of all the ethnicities. But by the end, I genuinely, tearfully loved it.

Someone else claimed it is the queerest thing they ever read and I have to agree whole-heartedly. Not because it has male/male or female/female pairing. Not because it allowed for bi sexuality. Not because it includes gender fluidity. Not because it presented polyamory and platonic love, but because it allowed for all of it and more. Several types of identity, relationships and types of love are presented as functional, acceptable and un-exotic, along with the implicit understanding that there could be more besides; all without ever deteriorating into any kind of indictment of modern Western mores or feeling like it was just going down a laundry list of minority statuses.

The sense of inclusiveness in this book is palpable. This I think is one of the core threads of the book. It’s about Ariah, the experiences of his life and how they contributed to his becoming the man he became. But in telling his tale he invites the reader to consider those same experiences and share in some of the changes they inspired in him. I was moved by it.

In the course of this book I laughed, I cried sadly, I was anxious and angry and I ended in happy tears. OMG, please tell me Sanders has written more books. I think I need them all.