Tag Archives: self published

slippery creatures

Book Review: Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures #1), by K.J. Charles

Leave a reply

I received an ARC of K.J. Charles‘ Slippery Creatures from the author. I don’t accept a lot of books for review anymore. I simply have too many already. But Charles is one of my favorite authors, so of course, I sought this one out. But with all the shuffling of books and such between the old computer and the new, this almost got lost. That would have been a shame and embarrassing.

Description from Goodreads:

Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle’s chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.

Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.

And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.

But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.

Review:

I generally really enjoyed this. I adored Will and Kim, though I don’t felt I knew Kim as well as Will since he wasn’t a POV character. I wondered how the situation would be resolved until the end. The writing was marvelous as always and I look forward to more.

I only have one BIG complaint that keeps this from being rated higher for me. (Sorry this will be vague to avoid too many spoilers.) The synopsis refers to betrayal and I don’t think many will be surprised by it. But afterward, there came a point that Will made a decision I couldn’t accept. It’s not that I didn’t see how he might do it, certainly, Charles painted him into a corner and I could imagine a man doing what he did. But as a reader, I was still angry and didn’t want him to. What’s more, given his and Kim’s last conversation, I wouldn’t have expected a warm human welcome, but a professional one. So, the decision Will made and the action he took (while instrumental to move the plot along) didn’t feel right to me.

All in all, however, I loved this.

timberwolf

Book Review of Timberwolf, by Tom Julian

Leave a reply

I received an Audible code for a free copy of Tom Julian‘s Timberwolf, narrated by C.J. McAllister.

Description from Goodreads:

Some want peace, some want war… he just wants the damned spider out of his head!

Humanity destroyed every alien species we encountered, until we met the Arnock – arachnids that drove us insane on contact. Timberwolf was captured by the Arnock and can now “hear” the Arnock in his head. Near madness, he’s gone on multiple suicide missions and come back unscathed – the alien forcing him to survive.

Emanuel Gray was Timberwolf’s commander and mentor. A former General, now religious fanatic – Gray sees our peace with the Arnock as a sin. He’s a wanted man and hell-bent on wiping the Arnock out.

Timberwolf chases Gray to the weapons factory world of Highland. When the Arnock arrive it becomes a battle for the deadliest weapons in the galaxy. Timberwolf will have to choose between getting the alien spider out his head or taking out Gray – all while millions of lives hang in the balance.

Review:

Not bad, but not a real winner for me either. Part of the reason is that it’s plot-driven instead of character-driven. So, I never connected with any of the characters. But part of it is also simply that I felt like the plot was just leading from one fight scene to the next. I swear a good 80% of the book is descriptions of battles. I got bored with them. I liked Timberwolf well enough, as well as the side characters. But I felt the duo Villians diluted the focus of the story. The narrator did a fabulous job, however.

lowcountry incantations

Book Review: Lowcountry Incantations, by C. J. Geisel

Leave a reply

I received a free audible code for a copy of C. J. Geisel‘s Lowcountry Incantations. It’s narrated by Sommer Hines.

Description from Goodreads:

Quinn Riley has just had her life turned upside-down. Life is about to get worse…and weird.

After losing her job, Quinn Riley goes on the hunt for another boring, nine- to- five when a split-second decision to save a dog turns into a nightmare. The ghost of a stunning young woman in a blue dress starts to follow her, she is forced to move in with a stranger named Caleb, and events in her life have her questioning everything she thought she knew. With the help of Caleb, a new Psychologist turned friend, and a magical root doctor, she navigates the blessings and dangers of her new life. What could possibly go wrong?

Review:

This was ok. The writing was fine and I liked the characters well enough. But I feel like I must have missed the memo that told authors they were only allowed to write one story, the one where sexually sadistic men kidnap, rape and murder women. Bonus points if they can force the woman to flirt or pretend they enjoy it. and, sure, throw a ghost or magic in if they want to stand out. But ultimately be sure to follow the script. The man has to prey on the women and then, after intelligently avoiding the police for a while, has to become erratic in the end. Am I really the only one who sees how frequently this SAME storyline is used and is completely bored by it? I literally finished this book by force of will. When you know exactly what the plot is, point by point, because you’ve read it so many times, it’s awful hard to stay invested.

I also thought there were some problematic stereotypical representations of black characters, especially around language. But I’m not entirely sure if this is in the writing or in the narrator’s choice of how to voice the characters. She did an ok job in general. She had a tendency to pause in odd places in sentences though. Otherwise, it was fine.