Tag Archives: self published

Dragonhunters

Book Review of Dragonhunters, by Garon Whited

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I received a copy of Dragonhunters, by Garon Whited, from Netgalley. I read it on vacation, as I traveled from Tennessee to Florida.

Description from Goodreads:
You don’t become a hero for the money. The money’s nice, sure, but you become a hero because something inside compels you, drives you to it. Defending people from monsters simply doesn’t pay well enough to make it a good career move. 

As for hunting dragons… well, the money is usually good, but the job really bites. 

A group of five professional heroes goes into the lair of the dragon. Who will win? 

Spoiler: The dragon. 

But it turns out killing a hero sometimes does nothing more than make him even more determined. 

Sometimes, heroes are never more dangerous than when they’re dead!

Review:
Man, what an interesting set-up that failed almost completely for me. Look, there are a ton of really fun ideas in this book. But the writing is so flat, the dialogue so formal and fantasy-quest-like (you know what I mean) that it distances the reader so far that I didn’t connect with anyone. I finished the book feeling like I hadn’t gotten to know anyone, nor did I care about any of them or their endeavor to kill a random dragon. No one had a believable emotion. No one seemed to react at all to, you know, dying and being resurrected, or becoming the locus of four ghosts. And the traveler that caused the whole mess is never explained at all. He pops up in the beginning and then disappears, never to be seen again.

For a while, in the beginning, I thought this might be a parody of a fantasy quest story. And it might have worked in that vein, but it isn’t. It’s an attempt at a real thing, as far as I can tell, and I was just really glad to see the end of it. Perhaps there will be readers that love it. I’m not making a blanket, “It’s bad,” statement. But it sure didn’t work for me.

Book Review of Forbidden Blood, by Anna Wineheart

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I received a copy of Forbidden Blood from the author,  Anna Wineheart for the purposes of review.

Description from Goodreads:
Since he killed a vampire eight months ago, Oriel has been on the run. The coven wants him dead, and the feds want his blood to eradicate the vampires. Exhausted, he sneaks into an obscure mansion, rummaging for food. What he doesn’t know: a vampire lives there.

Three centuries ago, a human lover betrayed Seb, selling him to the hunters for some quick gold. When his chef quits, Seb is left hanging… until he finds the thief in his garage. He captures Oriel, only to discover that Oriel needs protection. And the one thing Seb wants? A purpose to his life again.

Oriel sets one condition when Seb hires him: Seb cannot drink his blood. Except Oriel’s blood tempts him from a distance, tempts him in bed. If he tastes it, he’ll be addicted, completely dependent on Oriel. And the hotter Oriel kindles his desire, the harder it is for Seb to stay away.

Review:
This wasn’t necessarily bad if you’re into the whole instant lust, instant love, instant meaningful relationship sort of story. The problem is that I really am not. What’s more, I like a little world building in my vampire stories, even novella length ones, and there isn’t any here.

For me, the problem isn’t that the story is underdeveloped, though it is, the problem is that this particular story has been written again and again and again and again and again. While the idea of a human with addictive blood might be interesting (though I’m sure I’ve come across it already) the idea of an immortal meeting their mate, falling into INSTANT sex (even though one is supposedly in fear of their life) and then instant love, one leaving to protect the other, the one left behind protecting the leaver in some moment of mortality, a sacrifice being made and then them making up and living happily every after, with all challenges magically swept away is just so done, I mean DONE. To call this story predictable is an understatement. I had hoped for a lot more out of it.

The writing and editing were fine.

Crying For The Moon

Book Review of Crying For The Moon, by Sarah Madison

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I borrowed a copy of Crying for the Moon, by Sarah Madison from Hoopla, through my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Vampire Alexei Novik may have the teeth and the coffin, but he’s given up the lifestyle for an old fixer-upper in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Weary of his past, Alex plans to keep to himself, but it seems his sexy, new neighbor, Tate, can’t take the hint—a good thing, since it turns out he’s handy for all kinds of things around the house. Tate even gets along with Alex’s werewolf friends, though one of them pointedly reminds Alex that their friendship is a bad idea. 

If a platonic relationship is a bad idea, the growing attraction between Tate and Alex is a disaster waiting to happen. Loving Tate will draw him into Alex’s dangerous world, and Alex is torn between having the relationship he’s always craved and keeping Tate safe. Tate won’t take no for an answer, however, and seems to handle everything Alex can throw at him without blinking. Just when he thinks things might turn out all right after all, Alex’s past catches up with him—forcing him to make a terrible choice.

Review:
So that was, um, well, that was….not very good, in my opinion. Look the writing is mechanically fine, but the story is flat and dull. There is almost no conflict. Only one bit pops up predictably (because the reader sees the obvious foreshadowing) out of nowhere (because it’s not there and then it is for no real reason) and then is defeated in no time at all (because of course it is). There are large chunks dedicated to unimportant things and, unless I was just misunderstanding what was supposed to be happening, I would advise the author to actually see an uncut penis before suggesting the things she seems to think could easily be done with a foreskin and maybe a penis in general if she imagines someone could blithely stick their tongue down a urethra. I’m just sayin’.

I did like the characters and the representation of werewolf pack behavior and the interesting lore around the vampire’s coffin. I didn’t really approve of the Alexi’s solution at the end, but that’s neither here nor there. I think this is a case of just not a good book for me. I’m sure others might love it.

Bonus side note: I especially cringed when I hit this sentence: “Her sculptured cheekbones and rich, café au lait coloring gave her an exotic look that made her stand out among women in general, but among Nick’s friends, she was clearly the diamond in the rough.” The author managed to use a food reference to describe a black woman (who was of course from New Orleans), squeeze the dreaded ‘exotic’ word in there to fetishize her, and then topped it with a cliche, all in one sentence. I’m a bit iffy about the ‘stand out among women in general’ too. So, that whole sentence left me agape.