Tag Archives: urban fantasy

Shiv Crew

Book Review of Shiv Crew (Rune Alexander #1), by Laken Cane

Leave a reply

Shiv crewI picked up a copy of Laken Cane‘s Shiv Crew when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Rune Alexander wants to get through her days doing her job, which is protecting the humans against the myriad of supernatural creatures, known as Others, who exist uneasily in a human’s world. 

But she is unstable and damaged. She realizes how broken she is even as she continues to submit to the unspeakable things her lover does to her, craving desperately the strange peace she finds in the aftermath.

When she discovers things are not as they seem and a faceless human is torturing the supernatural groups in her city, she and her crew must break the rules and begin to protect the Others from the humans. 

But as the darkness inside her becomes stronger and she ends up on the wrong side of a battle she must not lose, who will save Rune from herself?

Review:
This is one of those middle of the road books that has a decent plot idea and the writing isn’t bad, so it tricks some readers into thinking the book is good. It isn’t. Now, before anyone accuses me of cruelly trashing the book, I’ll reiterate, It’s not bad either. It’s just ok. But it could have been so much better.

My main issue is that the book is a bit of a one trick pony. Rune Alexander (not be to confused with Lex, which is so expected a nick name that it belonging to another character is confusing) is an angry woman…that’s about it. That anger makes her strong, makes her stupid, makes her friends, makes her enemies, makes her weak. It’s pretty much the core of what she is and that’s just not enough character development to make her relatable. And if she’s undeveloped, the others are paper cut outs. What’s more, it’s this anger that moves the plot and saves the day. That’s not really enough to carry a believable story either.

That plot too is thin. The villain is obvious from the very beginning and there are no real unexpected twists. Rune defeats enemies she really shouldn’t be able to. She intimidates others for no apparent reason. She is pathologically loyal to her assistant for a reason we’re never given. Followers of the enemy defect and come to her, with no explanation. There is some weird sadism/masochism thing going on that just felt like the author trying to give the book some edge. A romance of sorts sparks at the very end out of nowhere. There’s a bit of a deus ex machina ending.

The thing is, a lot of these same points have potential to make for interesting contributions, but instead they’re like dough balls falling to the floor. Just kind of landing with a resounding splat and laying there. Present and accounted for, but of no use. For example, big men being loyal to and taking orders from a woman they’re protective of is a sexy button for me. I love big dangerous men submitting to a woman. I just do. This book has several of them, one even literally presenting himself at her feet. I should be thrilled. But we get no history. We see no reason these men are so dedicated to Rune (and visa versa). It’s flat. Rune is basically the Trump of the book, talking a big game about how awesome she and her team is, but not really giving anything to back the statement up.

Again, not bad. It’s an enjoyable read. But it’s full of holes and doesn’t withstand scrutiny of any sort.

Book Review of The Temptation of Dragons (Penny White), by Chrys Cymri

Leave a reply

The Temptation of DragonsAuthor, Chrys Cymri sent me an e-copy of her urban fantasy Penny White and the Temptation of Dragons. At this, the time of posting, there is also a giveaway running to win a paperback copy. If it wouldn’t be greedy to try and win a copy of a book I already read, I’d so be entering that. You should too.

Description from Goodreads:
Bishop Nigel smiled at me. ‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’

When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky.

As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires.

That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…

Review:
Oh, I really quite loved this. It was fresh and light-hearted, even with the occupational heavy topic. It had an unusual heroine, being that she was a 36-year-old, ultra geeky, Whovian, widowed vicar. I just adored her. There were interesting side characters. There was a mystery that was interesting enough to engage me and leave room for other things. There was a very mild romantic sub-plot that never came to a head or eclipsed the rest of the story and involved two very different males (though not as a love triangle, as neither relationship progressed far enough). There were grammar jokes and Bechdel test reverences and the book wraps up, while allowing for future adventures. All good things.

I only have two real complaints. The first is that I was very distracted by the logistics of inter-species relationships and marriage.  There was no sex in this book and I don’t really anticipate there being any in any future books. It’s just not that kind of book. But if you’re going to posit marriage between dragons and humans or elves and unicorn, I would like to know how biology is worked around or what compromises are made in the relationship. While I got the sense you were supposed to suspend disbelief on the subject, I found the hanging question quite distracting. Secondly, I did not feel that the brother and his guilt excused his very poor, almost cruel behavior. Perhaps I just don’t have enough Christian forgiveness in me, but I finished the book still feeling cheated and indignant on Penny’s behalf.

I should also mention the faith aspect of this book. Since the main character was a vicar, her faith was obviously important to her and there is quite a lot of it in the book. This is a sharp edge for me to walk with books. I don’t consider myself Christian and I hate, HATE being preached to in my fiction. But this book managed to portray Penny’s faith, integrate it into the story, and even cause me to tear up over it at one point, without it ever feeling didactic. I cannot tell you how refreshing that is.

Trailer Park Fae

Book Review Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged #1), by Lilith Saintcrow

Leave a reply

Trailer Park FaeI borrowed Trailer Park Fae (by Lilith Saintcrow) from my library, mostly just because of the cover is so pretty.

Description from Goodreads:
Jeremy Gallow is just another construction worker, and that’s the way he likes it. He’s left his past behind, but some things cannot be erased. Like the tattoos on his arms that transform into a weapon, or that he was once closer to the Queen of Summer than any half-human should be. Now the half-sidhe all in Summer once feared is dragged back into the world of enchantment, danger, and fickle fae—by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife. Her name is Robin, and her secrets are more than enough to get them both killed. A plague has come, the fullborn-fae are dying, and the dark answer to Summer’s Court is breaking loose.

Review:
So, this was not what I expected. I was expecting a light urban fantasy. It was, instead, a fairly dark read, which to be fair is kind of the more traditional Sidhe kind of story.

I’d still have been cool with a dark tale, though. I like gritty things. But this was just so darned slow. I mean, things happened. People died. There was a whole coup even. But it was all narrated in such a plodding, overly verbose, flowery, ho-hum kind of way that it felt dull. Plus, I wasn’t really feeling the lack of pay-off in the end. I liked the characters and it’s an interesting plot, so I can’t say I didn’t like the book. But I’n not sad to be finished with it either.