Tag Archives: urban fantasy

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Book Review: Awakening, by G. Clatworthy

I picked up a copy of G. Clatworthy‘s Awakening during one of it’s freebie day on Amazon. I did it unthinkingly, just because it looked interesting and I liked the cover. It was later that I realized that the book is another Awakening. You see, earlier in the year, I did an Awakening Challenge where I read 12 books titled Awakening. My husband joked I should read this one and call it my Second Awakening. (He and I might be the only one who finds that joke funny.) Either way, I’ve done just that.
Awakeing Clatworthy

She wants a quiet life. Then they kidnap her friend. Can she survive an encounter with a cult and a dragon or will it end in fire and blood?

Amethyst is a half-dwarf jeweler and weaponsmith who just wants to improve sales in her shop in a popular Cardiff arcade. When her best friend gets kidnapped, she’s dragged into a world of cults and dragons. Not to mention hate at first sight with an arrogant elf. Who wants a quiet life!

Gemma loves creating worlds and writes both urban fantasy and children’s books. This is her debut urban fantasy series set in Cardiff.

my reviewI liked the idea of this book. You don’t see a lot of female half-dwarves. Fae, faeries, witches, vampires—pretty willowy things, sure—but not often dwarves. And that appealed to me. I like the idea of trying to stop a crazy cult from bringing dangerous dragons back into the world. I like that the book was set in Cardiff. I like it.

But the whole thing is disastrously let down by the execution. Nothing is developed, there is no tension. The writing is perfectly readable (and fairly well edited), but such that the whole book just feels like a recitation of events with no emotions. I felt no attachment to anyone or investment in the drama. Things just happened. Meh.

I will compliment the cover though. I often complain that the characters on covers don’t match the character in the book. I can’t say that here. The cover feels very much like Amethyst. The narrative makes a big deal of her big boobs in the beginning of the book, and I wouldn’t say that cover character is busty (a detail I’m happy to skip, but I mention because it was made such a point of in the book). But other than that, it feels pretty dead on.

All in all, I’m calling this a failure for me. But I think I might be willing to give Clatworthy another chance in the future. There is potential here.

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Book Review: A Terrible Fall of Angels, by Laurell K. Hamilton

I borrowed a copy of Laurell K. Hamilton‘s A Terrible Fall of Angels from the local library.

a terrible fall of angels

Meet Detective Zaniel Havelock, a man with the special ability to communicate directly with angels. A former trained Angel speaker, he devoted his life to serving both the celestial beings and his fellow humans with his gift, but a terrible betrayal compelled him to leave that life behind. Now he’s a cop who is still working on the side of angels. But where there are angels, there are also demons. There’s no question that there’s evil at work when he’s called in to examine the murder scene of a college student—but is it just the evil that one human being can do to another, or is it something more? When demonic possession is a possibility, even angelic protection can only go so far. The race is on to stop a killer before he finds his next victim, as Zaniel is forced to confront his own very personal demons, and the past he never truly left behind.

my review

I am one of the many readers who adored the Anita Blake series until I didn’t. As a result, I avoided Laurell K. Hamilton books for quite a while. But I saw this one at the library and the synopsis intrigued me. Since borrowing a book from the library requires very little actual commitment, I gave it a go.

Long story short, I really liked this. I did think it dragged in the middle (really more like 2/3 through), with quite a few info drops. But I also realize it’s a first book in a series that needs to do some extra work in world-building. I adored Zaniel and appreciated that the ‘romance’ (if you want to call it that) was him trying to fix a broken marriage. Pretty much all the cops made me laugh and I’m interested in learning more about the College of Angels and the people Zaniel left behind.

I also liked that Hamilton legitimized basically all religions. There were gods, angels, spirit guides, spirit animals, messengers, and more. True, Angels were give prominence in the story, but I didn’t feel that was Hamilton prioritizing one religion over another. If the story (or any future one) was from different characters’ POVs different deities could be the prominent ones. Plus, the cast was as diverse as the pantheons.

All in all, a win for me. I’ll be looking for book two.

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Other Reviews:

Under the Covers Book Blog: A Terrible Fall of Angels

Review: A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton

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Book Review: Blood Witch Rising, by Joe Ulric

I received a free Audible code for a copy of Blood Witch Rising, by Joe Ulric. It was narrated by Christopher P. Brown.

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A storm is brewing, and the world isn’t ready for it. Join Jack Ladd as he sheds light on the hidden world of magic and monsters. A world you already live in, but do your best to ignore.

Ages ago, the earth was cut off from other mythical realms in order to protect it from the depredations of the Asgardians. Now, a portal discovered in the Pacific Northwest is seen by a mysterious group as an opportunity to reverse that ancient act.

Aided by a sometimes helpful—but always irreverent—spirit familiar, Jack leaves the comfort of home to stop that from happening. His roommate Joshua, a Native American shaman, decides to come along. Big mistake. They are forced to navigate a world where refugees from the fabled Norse realms have been living in hiding since the bronze age. Old racial tensions and mistrust complicates this task as they take on nightmarish creatures intent on showing us how insignificant we are.

When Jack inadvertently uncovers secrets from his past, he must question his closest ally’s motives and decide if he is on the right path.

One thing is certain: should he fail, all manner of legendary beings could quickly overrun the earth. Beings still angry at being kept out of their playground for over five thousand years.

my review

I won’t go so far as to say that I disliked this. I didn’t. But I wasn’t particularly keen on it either. I finished it merely to have finished it.

I found the pacing inconsistent, the villains opaque, the characterizations shallow, and the world vague. The result was that I never felt deeply invested in the story or the characters. I also felt very much like there should be a previous book. There was just so much history merely hinted at—Jack’s brief military career, how he came to live and work with the dwarfs, the purpose of both all his combat and black smith training, how and why he chose to bond with a spirit familiar, him and his ‘aunt’s’ relationship, etc. I felt like a big chunk of the story was missing.

Having said all of that, I did like Jack. He was noble and tried doing the right thing in difficult situations. I thought the idea of dwarfs and elves in the modern world was interesting. And I appreciated the diversity in the cast. All in all, I think this book just needs to find it’s proper audience. Like I said, I didn’t think it was bad. I just didn’t think it worked particularly well for me.

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