Tag Archives: self published

Book Review: Rise of the Phoenix, by JL Madore

I picked up a copy of JL. Madore’s Rise of the Phoenix as an Amazon freebie, last year.

Monsters, Magic, and Mates I never knew existed.

Kia versus power pole isn’t the end I expect—it’s the beginning of… gawd, where do I begin?
Four wildly sexy males. Powers I don’t understand. And the eyes of the fae world on me as the person to unite the severed realms. No pressure.

Amusing enough, but not much more. It’s entertaining but not very deep. The plot is pretty thin, and none of the characters (the males especially) are well-developed. One is such an asshole I don’t know how the author imagines she’ll redeem him, and two are fairly inconsistent in their tone and characterization. It was the book’s general inconsistencies that really threw me though, like someone unbuckling yoga pants.

The book also is guilty of using the cheap attempted rape shtick (and it wasn’t even very well stitched into the plot). I’m not saying a book should never include rape, but I’ve found that far too often, it’s used for cheap tension. More often than not, here included, there are a million better and less over-used and common plot devices to reach for. At this point, I call it the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of plotting. It’s evidence the author took the easiest, least thought about, no-effort path. IT’S LAZY. And is that really how authors want to be seen?

Anyhow, despite how negative this review seems, I’ll read book two (I have 1-5), because I have it and I’m curious to see all the men submit.

Other Reviews:

Rise of the Phoenix by J.L. Madore – A Book Review

Book Review: Finding Salus, by Meg M. Robinson

Leave a reply

Somewhere around the internet, I picked up an Audible code for Meg M. Robinson‘s Finding Salus. On an unrelated, humorous side note, my husband’s name is Saul and I have mistyped this title as “Finding Saul” almost every single time and had to correct it.

Chloe Chadwick’s last remaining family member, her grandmother, dies in a car accident and leaves her a letter that changes everything Chloe thought she knew about herself. The letter directs her to Salus, an island off the coast of Connecticut that can’t be found on any map.

When she arrives, she learns that she’s a part of a secret world living alongside humanity, one consisting of magic, shapeshifters, and elementals, where the Greek gods aren’t just believed in, they’re actually present. But within twenty-four hours of her arrival, a man is murdered, and Chloe is the only suspect. Things only get worse when she has to learn how to control her newfound powers while simultaneously clearing her name.

But then, there’s a second murder and the pressure is on her-as well as the suspicion. With some of the unusual residents on Salus calling for her arrest, Chloe finds herself desperate to uncover the many secrets of her new home, including the killer. But will her newfound friendships and skills as a private investigator be enough?

I generally enjoyed this. I thought it got a little info-dumpy with all the magic lessons, and that slowed things down a bit. The mystery also basically solved itself when the author was ready to wrap the book up, instead of Chloe actually doing anything to solve it. But I thought the world was interesting, I liked the characters, and I’m curious to see how the romance(s) develop. (I wish it would turn into a why-choose romance. But I know better than to hope for that.) All in all, the book won’t be topping my favorites chart, but I’d happily read the next one…or listen to it. Maria McCann did a fine job with the narration.