Tag Archives: urban fantasy

Book Review: A Key, An Egg, An Unfortunate Remark – by Harry Connolly

Lately, I’ve really been loving Paranormal Women’s Fiction, which is Urban Fantasy with heroines in their 40s. So, when I came across Harry Connolly‘s A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, with a heroine in her 60s, I just had to jump on board. So, I ran out and purchased a copy.

A MYSTERIOUS KILLING

After years of waging a secret war against the supernatural, Marley Jacobs put away her wooden stakes and silver bullets, then turned her back on violence. She declared Seattle, her city, a safe zone for everyone, living and undead. There would be no more preternatural murder under her watch.

But waging peace can make as many enemies as waging war, and when Marley’s nephew turns up dead in circumstances suspiciously like a vampire feeding, she must look into it. Is there a new arrival in town? Is someone trying to destroy her fragile truce? Or was her nephew murdered because he was, quite frankly, a complete tool?

As Marley investigates her nephew’s death, she discovers he had been secretly dabbling in the supernatural himself. What, exactly, had he been up to, and who had he been doing it with? More importantly, does it threaten the peace she has worked so hard to create? (Spoiler: yeah, it absolutely does.)

Well, this was a real winner to me. I quite enjoyed my time with Marley Jacobs. In fact, I want to be Marley when I grow up! I loved that she’s smart and capable, with a wealth of knowledge and experience under her belt. I also like that having a 20-year-old ex-soldier as her sidekick really subverts the idea of a hero. (You’d expect it be to him, after all). And the banter between the two, as well as Albert’s simple humor was great. I appreciated Connolly’s obvious attempt to highlight the invisibility of older women in society, but even I have to admit it sometimes came across with the subtlety of bull horn.

But there were a few things that didn’t work for me. As outside the mold as Marley was in some ways her character really stuck to some cliches. The worst for me was her constant use of the endearment dear. “It’s all right, dear.” “Very well, dear.” “Would you like a cup of coffee, dear.” I understand it was part of her aggressively cheerful demeanor, but it’s a huge pet peeve of mine and I’m gonna have a little rant about it.

I don’t know a single elderly woman who actually uses the endearment dear in any manner but ironically. Depending on where you draw your line on ‘elder,’ these women lived through free love, Woodstock, world wars and economic depressions. They have seen some shit and come through it. They have internal cores of steel. And this insistence in fiction that they must all be cute little old ladies who coo and call everyone dear constantly drives me nuts.

I realize that this might be regional and there might be old women out there who say it. But that it’s no where near as ubiquitous as authors seem to think it is is a hill I’ll die on. So, mega pet peeve for me. It’s just SO cliched at this point. Plus, my Kindle says dear appeared 251 times in the book and I don’t remember many (if any) that weren’t Marley using it as an endearment. So, Connolly is particularity bad about something that especially irritates me.

I also thought the middle sagged. The books starts out really strong, then turns into a series of go here, do this, go here, run there, do that, then go here again, etc. Then it picks up again at the end. Though I kind of feel like the ending undermines a lot of what Connolly was very obviously trying to do with the narrative. He set out a whole story about a 65-year-old kickass woman and then handed it all to the young man at the end. One could maybe argue the last few sentences redeem it, but I think it’s a little too vague to be given credit.

Lastly, the editing starts to deteriorate the farther in to the book you get. It’s never horrendous, but you notice.

Over all, however, I enjoyed the heck out of this.

Other Reviews

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On My Shelves: A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark

Review: A Key an Egg an Unfortunate Remark by Harry Connolly

Book Review – Guild Codex: Demonized series, by Annette Marie

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I borrowed the audio edition of Guild Codex: Demonized series (by Annette Marie) through Hoopla. I’ve seen the covers around and thought they looked cool. I put off reading the series though, because New Adult fantasy can be too Young Adult-ish for me sometimes. (There’s only a thin line between an upper teen and a lower twenties-something, after all.)

I had a whole trip with this series. I didn’t realize that it’s a spin off (or at least set in the same world as) The Guild Codex: Spellbound when I first picked it up. It’s obvious when the names are put next to one another like this, but I hadn’t been paying attention. The funny thing is that I didn’t make the connection until I’d finished Taming Demons for Beginners and went looking for book two. Then, I had to recognize that I’d actually even read book one of The Guild Codex: Spellbound (Three Mages and a Margarita), which was probably why some of the side character of Taming Demons For Beginners felt familiar. But I really was oblivious to the overlap until that moment. I had a good laugh at myself.

Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.

When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.

But I did, and now it’s too late.

This wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I found that I enjoyed what it turned out to be. I liked Robin. She was mousey when faced with confrontation, but a dragon when left to her own devices to do the right thing. Her demon (I’m not even gonna try and spell his name since I listened to the audio) was marvelously sarcastic. But what I really liked was that he wasn’t The Biggest and The Baddest. He’s plenty tough, but not brutish and more interested in being sneaky and smart than physically strongest.

As I said, I’ve come to understand this is part of a bigger world, containing several series. I didn’t know this when I picked the book up. But I also didn’t feel I was missing anything for having not read them. I understood the world, magic systems, etc. Though I will admit that a couple side characters have that cameo feel and I wonder if they are from other series.

All in all, I think dive right into book two.

I’m bound to a demon.

For my entire life, I avoided magic at all costs. Now, I’m responsible for a demon who wields magic more powerful than the toughest mage or sorcerer.

Demons are evil.

That’s what my textbooks say. That’s what I see. He’s ruthless, he’s temperamental, he’s cold. But he protects me without fail. I wonder if he’s hiding a heart behind his hostility.

My demon is a monster.

Whether he’s heartless or not, my contract with him is illegal and beyond dangerous. Together, we must find a way to return him to his own world before anyone discovers our secret. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’ve come to realize something else:

My demon isn’t the only monster I should be worried about.

This was was a fun continuation of the series. It felt a little like the middle book it is, but I still enjoyed it. I very much enjoyed watching Robin and her demon get to know one another. (Again, I’m not trying to spell his name.) We met more guild members here and that was fun too. The villain was starting to feel a little too all-powerful, but they are definite a Big Baddie. I dove immediately into book three.

I thought I understood power.

My parents taught me that magic attracts equal danger, and everything I’ve seen since becoming a demon contractor confirms it. I’ve witnessed how power twists and corrupts–and I’ve tasted power no human should wield.

I thought I knew greed.

Ambition and avarice drove my family into hiding. My parents died for someone else’s greed. I’ve never hunted anything in my life, but now I’m hunting their killer–with my demon’s help.

I thought I’d seen evil.

But with each step closer to my parents’ murderer, I’m uncovering a different sort of evil, piece by hidden piece. I’ve stumbled into an insidious web that silently, secretly ensnares everything it touches. My demon and I came as the hunters…

I sped through this series, listening to them literally back to back. Needless to say, that means I was enjoying it. Like with the previous books, I liked seeing Robing and her demon recognize and settle cultural difference. I liked Robin’s constant attempt to do the right thing in face of problems and enemies far larger than herself. I did think the uncle’s sudden change of heart felt like a drastic and unbelievable shift in character though.

I promised to avenge my parents.

But their killer is still on the loose, and he’s stolen more than my parents’ lives. Now, as he draws closer to his mysterious goals, he’s poised to destroy what little I have left.

I promised to translate an ancient grimoire.

But it holds the secrets of my family—and the secret history of demon summoning. I fear its answers as much as I need them. Who was the foremother of Demonica…and who am I?

I promised to send my demon home.

But the way he watches me, the way he protects me, the way he touches me⁠—how can I cast him away forever? I swore I would do this for him, but can I? Should I?

But I promised—and I will keep my promises even if they cost me my heart, my soul, and my life.

I found myself finishing this last book in the Guild Codex Demonized series in a shockingly short time. (I’m series. I think I finished the 4 books in 3 days!) I enjoyed it all the way to the end. I did think the ending was a little predictable and I thought there were a few too many hurt feelings and misunderstandings for two people who could read each other minds (even if only some of the time). But I also like seeing the two of them work their problems out and really come to trust one another. I’m going to have to actually come back around and read the Guild Codex: Spellbound series now. I enjoyed Three Mages and a Margarita when I listened to it in 2019. I think I meant to finish the series then, but got distracted.

Book Review: Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland

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I’m going to be harshly honest here. I’m currently reading a book I’m not particularly enjoying, but I am determined to finish it. When this is the case, I usually start a second book to alternate. I read a bit of the book I’m chipping away at and then some (or all) of another book, then more of the challenging book, etc. However, as it occasionally happens, I do not particularly like the secondary book right now, either. But I’m not going to let myself start a third! So, I found an excuse to download an audiobook instead [semantics, I know]. I borrowed Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland, through Hoopla.

Elizabeth Phoenix once used her unique skills as a psychic to help in the Milwaukee Police Department’s fight against injustice. But when Liz’s foster mother is found viciously murdered–and Liz is discovered unconscious at the scene–her only memory of the crime comes in the form of terrifying dreams … of creatures more horrific than anything Liz has seen in real life. What do these visions mean? And what in the world do they have to do with her former lover, Jimmy Sanducci?

While the police question Jimmy in the murder, Jimmy opens Liz’s eyes to a supernatural war that has raged since the dawn of time in which innocent people are hunted by malevolent beings disguised as humans. Only a chosen few have the ability to fight their evil, and Jimmy believes Liz is among them. Now, with her senses heightened, new feelings are rising within Liz–ones that re-ignite her dangerous attraction to Jimmy. But Jimmy has a secret that will rock Liz to her core … and put the survival of the human race in peril.

I really wanted to like this, and I thought, in the beginning, that I would. It started out strong, after all. But, in the end, I wasn’t impressed. The writing is fine. The narrator did a good job. I didn’t notice any editing mishaps. But I found I just didn’t like the book…or really any of the characters outside of Liz (and I barely liked her).

To anyone who has read the Anita Blake novels and remember how they went from strong urban fantasy to paranormal soft porn, this book will feel familiar. I have no problem with Liz having sex. I don’t even mind that it’s with two men or that it’s not always for joy or love but to accomplish a goal. Or that the whole plot has been set up so that she has to have lots of sex with lots of people.

What I disliked was BOTH the men she’s loving. I disliked them on principle. I disliked how they treated her. I disliked her when she was with them. The sex was super rapey…was rape. And the whole plotline is turning itself inside out to show how special she is and how everyone wants her…her special body.

The only thing that really kept me reading was to find out why a man who so obviously loved her desperately would cheat on her (in the past). But that was never addressed, not really or satisfactorily. Plus, she just up and decided to ignore it. This might have been necessary, but I wanted some closure on the issue.

I don’t think I’ll continue with the series, but I might not write Handeland off as an author to read.

Edit: I realize this whole post makes me sound really negative. I promise I’m not. LOL

Other Reviews:

I’m trying this new thing where I link other reviews of books I read, for comparison’s sake. I’m not sure this will be a permanent feature, but here are a few for now.

REVIEW: Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronicles-Volume I) by Lori Handeland

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland