Tag Archives: urban fantasy

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.

first to burn

Book Review of First to Burn (Immortal Vikings #1), by Anna Richland

Leave a reply

I purchased a secondhand, paperback copy of First to Burn (by Anna Richland) in a physical store.

The cover of First to Burn

Description from Goodreads:

A soldier with secrets

Immortal Viking Wulf Wardsen once battled alongside Beowulf, and now serves in Afghanistan. He’s trusted the mortal men on his elite special operations team to protect his secret, until an explosion lands Wulf in a place more dangerous to him than a battlefield: a medevac helicopter.

A doctor with questions

Army captain Theresa Chiesa follows the rules and expects the same from others, even special forces hotshots like Sergeant Wardsen. She’s determined to discover the secret behind his supernaturally fast healing, and she won’t allow his sexy smile to distract her.

An enemy with nothing to lose

Even as Theresa’s investigation threatens to expose him, Wulf is stirred by her passion. Dreaming of love and a normal life, he wants nothing more than to build a future with her. But the lost Viking relic needed to reverse his immortality is being hunted by another—an ancient enemy who won’t hesitate to hurt Theresa to strike back at Wulf.

Review:

Pretty good for what it is. But what it is is a bit of fluff. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters and the humor of the Special Forces men. I liked that the heroine was a soldier herself and came back strong after a fairly traumatic injury. I liked that the hero wasn’t an alpha A-hole and was really responsive to any ‘no’ she uttered, without any guilting or attempted manipulation.

I did think the narrative had too much going on, the whole immortality schtick wasn’t well enough developed to actually be needed, and the villain was defeated too easily. Also, the little bit of light, kinky play as therapy irritated me. Despite all that, I’d read more of the series and certainly more by this author.

the sinners

Review of The Sinners (The Sinners Series #1), by Daniele Lanzarotta

Leave a reply

I received an Audible code for a copy of Daniele Lanzarotta‘s The Sinners. It’s narrated by Cindy Kay, Jason Clarke.

Description from Goodreads:

Liam and his childhood best friend Rebecca were raised in a small town. Now living in the city, as roommates, they encounter more challenges than the average college student.

When faced with the reality of having to quit school and move back home, Liam and Rebecca get an odd invitation to move into a mansion with a group of extremely wealthy guys from the college. Liam knows it’s all too good to be true, but he gives into Rebecca’s pleas to take the offer until they get back on their feet.

Weeks turn into months, and as Liam discovers the truth of what happens within those walls and Rebecca finds herself in the middle of a dangerous game between lust and envy, their lives quickly spiral out of control.

Review:

This simply wasn’t very good. To be fair, part of my disappointment is that the last paragraph of the book’s description made me think it would be erotica and it’s 100% not. All the sex is fade to black and there’s not even that much. Nor is it a romance. Being as Rebecca’s role seems to be limited to the girl the boys sleep with, but she bounces from one to the other. The whole thing is basically unbearable though because it’s so full of red flags that no one (not even someone in dire straights) would put themselves in the position. That goes for moving into the house, falling for the first guy and then the second, and then the decision she makes at the end. None of it is believable for a girl who is shown to be pretty savvy in general.

Then there’s the consideration that, in order for the events to happen as they did, several characters had to have complete personality shifts and act out of character. Plus, Rebecca is mysteriously special, such that someone’s curse doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. It all just reeks of the often-cited and hated “she’s so special without actually being special in any way” trope. (And yes, I know I used special 3 times, but I emphatically hate the “she’s so special for no reason” trope.)

I might have given it three stars though, if not for the end. For most of the book, I couldn’t tell you for 100% certainty who the main character is (which makes a book hard to connect with). But what happened at the very end really was too much. It may have clarified who the main character was meant to be, but it made the whole plot feel pointless to me. I disliked it in the extreme.