More Ashes Less Stars for Dance of Stars and Ashes

I am pretty disappointed. I was so looking forward to Dance of Stars and Ashes by Nisha J. Tuli (the second in the Nightmare Quartet series). But it really was just “blah” – not terrible, but not great. Definitely not what the first book was.

This was…ok.

First, I will start with saying that I listen to this, I didn’t read it. I have limited experience with audiobooks (really only have listened to Harry Potter before) and I was reminded why. Not only did the female narrator try – very unsuccessfully – to do deep/male voices but she was soooo slow (I played with the speed of the reply but that made the issues the narrator had with voicing deep voices even worse) and so often didn’t have the right tone (based on they way the author would then describe the way the words were said) and her pronunciation, while likely more correct than the voice in my head, meant that I didn’t really know who she was talking about most of the first half-a-dozen chapters. So, not likely to listen to anything else with this narrator. And, likely to not listen to many other audiobooks. Except Jim Dale’s Harry Potter because those are just awesome.

That said, this installment was missing so much of what made the first book so amazing. It wasn’t filled with the same wonderful and luscious descriptions of things. It was missing the flowery descriptions of the setting and clothing and food and all the color that came from those descriptions. All that wonderment – up in smoke. What’s left? Ashes to fill the gap. And those ashes were made up of some sex and a lot of repetition as to how superficial our main protagonist apparently actually is.

While the gap was filled with sex, the superficial whining and repeated (too many to count) uses of the words “penetrating” and “beautiful” was a lot to take. And all Zarya ever saw in Sabin was that he was “so beautiful”. They sat across the table from each other and his gaze was penetrating, but he is so beautiful. He is such a jerk to lead her on but he is so beautiful. He yells at her and snaps at her but he is so beautiful. Get the point…?

There was no relationship development and it really detracted from my opinion of Zarya as a character. Zarya also wasn’t the kick ass heroine that the author self-describes as being who she writes about. Shure Zarya has some moments and is powerful but she is a petulant child who is more 14 than the adult she tells Row she is “now”. I am really hoping for a return to what made the first book so wonderful.

If you can set aside the whining and really crass use of some language (which doesn’t bother me per se, but the use here felt really out of place, like with the details around some of the sex scenes – which again don’t bother me but I didn’t think they were very well written and I would call them crass not sensual so I really could have done without them), the plot itself and the story, when that was the focus, was still good. So, I do still want to read the next installment. Dance of Stars and Ashes gets only 2 stars and a big bucket of ashes.

 

A Prize with Wielder’s Prize

Wielder’s Prize by Melissa Mitchell was noted by NetGalley (thanks #NetGalley for the read) as a little novella that would be one of three to make up the Lady Witch book. #WieldersPrize is the story of a Witch and her bonded Wielder. Filled with all the fantasy romance troupes, #WieldersPrize was a fun little romp. Surprisingly, while I am not the biggest fan of story telling done with time jumps, the “X years ago” way each chapter started and then finished with present day was not hard to follow and felt natural to this story.

For those who want the “will they won’t they” typical to this genre, you won’t be disappointed. And the romance takes a turn between the sheets which on my steamy scale gets a decent score for the amount of it, and the interesting way we get the steam since we never see the main characters completely seal the deal. But, it was still fun to read (and left me with the need to fan myself more than once).

The story seems like it might have legs too.  It was an interesting take on demons.  And it was full of fighting and action, and never left me feeling like the author wrote a helpless waif that wasn’t worth the time and effort.  Instead, while a typical motivation drove her, she too became (in secret) and expert with some weapons and was completely capable of holding her own.  Where she falters in that is in the bedroom – Rixon all of a sudden takes charge, but isn’t that part of what makes books in this genre such an escape from reality?  He is the hot, chiseled, quiet type except when it comes to pleasing our female character.  So typical.  But definitely worth the quick read that it is.  In fact, I am off to try to buy the second and third in the series!

Heart of Night and Fire

Wow!!! I tried to think of some catchy title but I am just so excited to write this review that I don’t want to take the time to do it. Lazy? Maybe. But I loved this book!!!! I loved the characters. I loved the setting. I love the different-ness from other stories like it. I thought it was just absolutely wonderful. Thanks so much to #Netgalley for the chance to read this!

Heart of Night and Fire (#HeartofNightandFire) by Nisha Tuli appears to be the first of 4 and I am so happy that it is. But I will admit it will be a long wait for the next ones. Last book I read that left me this anxious and eager for the next was Empire of the Vampire…

Zarya here is approaching her 21st birthday but she has lived a sheltered life, not able to stray to far from home due to a magical spell that keeps her with Row (the man raising her). One day he disappears and so does the magic keeping her stuck in her little hut. She escapes and finds herself in a city where she meets the Captain of the Guard who is also a rakshasas (kind of like a vampire) and his best friend. She and Aarav, who was an apprentice to Row, end up meeting the queen and settling in the city. And that’s where the story really takes off.

There is something going on magically and the city is in danger. It wasn’t hard to guess that Zarya will be important in the grand scheme of what ever that is – otherwise, would she really be the main protagonist – but it was still a wonderful adventure to find out why.

The story was colorful, filled with rich world building, wonderful character development and descriptions that, despite me not knowing so many of the words, was a joy to read. I could not put this down. There was action, mythology, magic… and because this was from a very different mythological system (one that I have not ventured into reading before) it was amazingly fresh and, well, just wonderful.  The images were so vivid I felt like I was watching the scene from What Dreams May Come where Robin William’s character is walking through a painting.  

Ms. Tuli was compared to Sarah Maas and that was part of why I requested this title. And while I really enjoyed the Throne of Glass series and the first 3 of the Court of Thorns and Roses, this was so very different.  The distinct differences in the mythology which serves as an inspiration and the culture that influences this gives it a very unique (at least based on the things I have read before) feeling.  The closest thing I have read to this type of mythology was the Priory of the Orange Tree and even that (while wonderful as well) was very different.  

Grandiloquent, vagarious and not-jocose; but a valiant effort by the author I guess.

Unfortunately, Ghost Tamer by Meredith Lyons suffered from a number of issues. The first was the inconsistent use of language which was a double whammy because the word choice was also so pretentious at times it was shocking.  The almost random and out of the blue use of words that normal people don’t use in conversation, and your average reader probably has  to visit dictionary.com at least a handful of times really pulled me out of the story.  

The use of words like detritus (more than once), postmortem (that one in italics nonetheless), accoutrements (to refer to a pool table?), and diaphanous. And most of the time they are used by Raely’s inner monologue when her out-loud self is so eloquent that “Holy shit, what the fuck?” is the best she can do when shocked. It just didn’t make sense. 

Then there was “jimani”. Even google didn’t help with that one. Go ahead. Google it. Or lixivier. I still don’t really know what they are.  And the terms are used without explanation as if everyone knows what they mean. It was hard to follow as a result. 

Then there is Raely and “Casper” (aka Jules). They were flat, boring, and annoying.  For a comedian her inner monologue isn’t funny at all. I kept waiting for the comedy, but it was non-existent.  There is even a scene where she laughs herself in stitches and it wasn’t even remotely amusing.  And, the story wasn’t really scary either – which I was hoping for.

As for Raely’s emotional state… well, let’s just say that was harder to stomach than the “Cajun medium” and both her speech and the role she plays in the whole story. The only survivor in a train crash and she has no problem getting on a train, only denies the existence of ghosts for about 10 seconds and then believes everything she reads on the internet. She just wasn’t a character I ever came to care about so it left me really uninvested in the story.

All in all, this was a disappointment. Since I don’t want to bash, especially since this looks like a debut novel, that’s about all I will say. On to the next thing. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it. (Although I liked the cover a lot).

 

A Carnivale of Wonderful

First, thanks to NetGalley for this one!  I was intrigued by the description but didn’t have any expectations.  Sometimes that is to the good and sometimes not – for I never seem to check Goodreads before requesting a title and that can lead to confusion on my part often when I end up reading book 3 or 10 in a series…. And for some series like a cozy that’s not a huge deal while other series… well, it can present a challenge!  But it also means that I only have the blurb in NetGalley and the cover to go on.  

My expectations for The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs were really limited to Victorian London, some magic and maybe a little romance. The first few chapters drew me in, with not a tremendous amount of action, but great tone setting and introductions to most of the main characters.  Not a lot of magic either, but there was clearly the hint of something more with each of them.  There were hints to so much as we are introduced to the setting and what will eventually be the reveal(s) if you are paying attention.  And while I was able to guess one of the little mysteries that were presented as the plot progressed, I wasn’t stressing over it because it was a glorious spectacle to try and just enjoy the show!  

There were moments when I thought that there might be either a steampunk aspect (one could argue that there was a little of this in the stage and craftsmanship of the master builder but that wasn’t really the way this went) or a religious aspect (one could also argue that the abilities and explanation give a little of this) but neither played any significant part.  Instead, it was the wonderful characters, excellent dialogue, and fresh story with twists and turns in all the right places that made this such a joy to read.  I also wondered if this was taking a turn at Jack the Ripper but that turned out to not be the case either.  Instead, a few elements of religious superstition come into play but the subtlety was masterful and not only wasn’t  preachy but in many ways is was religious agnostic since what we did see is represented in many different religions. 

I really hope the was not a one-time story but the start of something bigger because I would love to visit this world, and these characters again!

True Surprises from True North

This needs a prequel.  The prologue of True North by Q.K. Petty was so intriguing and interesting, I couldn’t wait to read the rest.  While I enjoyed the story, and hope that there are more to this series, there was so much that was unexpected (and one point that was I think supposed to be a twist but was able to see coming from a mile away; but that’s ok – it was still totally worth the read).  I would think that the opening piece about St Peter’s chains would have made a terribly interesting story in and of itself.  I didn’t expect to just into the 21st century from there.  And I certainly didn’t expect Mobile Alabama to be the setting for a story about a secret society who seeks out religious artifacts to prevent them from starting cults, or wars.  NYC, sure.  Alabama, nope!  

The mix of mystery and religion and science was reminiscent of Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.  The violence and brutality was more reminiscent, however, of R.F. Kuang (the Poppy Wars specifically).  There was certainly a fair bit of killing and torture and I cringed while picturing the gruesome scenes painted by the author.  And before you ask, yes, those are both books that I liked very much (well, the first of the Poppy Wars anyway).    

My criticism is in the laissez-faire manner in which some of the characters treat what is supposed to be this big secret – the existence of their “society”.  It feels that as an element, that was underdone.  To have no concern for the fact that Orion tells all his friends right away – its playing a little loose with the rules that would most certainly be integral to the fabric of any secret society… I also think there should have been more to Eden’s and Orion’s relationship – we really don’t see much of it for all the time they spend together.  

As for the plot – there must be more going on.  While there was a lot of action and the plot moved surprisingly fast, I did latch onto the set-up from the prologue about the purpose, and purported not so great nature, of the House of David.  And yet, there isn’t really anything in the main story to satisfy the craving that was set up by the prologue.  But, it feels like there is at least one more coming because it certainly ended on a cliff hanger.  

The characters were interesting and the story was fairly unique for something that has a Warrior Nun (season 1) feel to the it – with the religious undertones – and it sets up the question of is religion really science in disguise, or is it the other way around with some of the twists and tiny bits of science that drip throughout. Warrior Nun is a good comparison for a number of reasons – e.g., Divinium, the crown of thorns, the Halo, Shield of Faith… – as artifacts go, and the story here certainly finds similarities, but in all the good ways. I thought Warrior Nun was awesome and it’s almost like this book could occur in the same universe. I can imagine Eden running some offshoot of the Order that is not just nuns, but maybe reports to them? How cold would that be?

I am eager to read the next – I couldn’t put this one down – would really like to know what happens to Orion.  Can he be saved from his reaction to being tortured?  Will he and Eden find out more about their father?  Will they be able to be brothers?  Will they stop the evil they are facing (and which organization is really the evil here)?  I do hope there is a sequel (Goodreads lists this as “#1” of “A Series of Four Seasons” and the cover says “Book One” so I take it there will be more, but I am unable to find more info to confirm it).  For anyone who likes religious mysteries, secret societies, artifacts with power, and questions about religion vs science, this is worth the read!

Art Theft, Fire, Murder, and a Treasure Hunt! Who could ask for more?

Lady Hardcastle and Flo from A Fire at the Exhibition by TE Kinsey were a hoot!  A quaint little English village, that made me feel like I was watching a PBS/Masterpiece series the likes of Sanditon or Downton Abbey; a smart sassy Lady with her ladies maid (more companion) that made me feel like I was watching Gentleman Jack (minus the love story between the women), and a mystery that reminded me of an episode of Murder She Wrote.  What else could a cozy mystery fan ask for?  Despite the fact that I gravitate towards cozy’s that are paranormal, this was a lovely little story, with a number of excellent new words for even a serious reader (my vocabulary is pretty good when reading even if I am a speaker of simple words) and a number of British phrases that I must find a way to incorporate into my everyday vernacular!  

I picked this up (thanks NetGalley) after having just been disappointed with another cozy, realized this was well into a series, and yet had no trouble picking up the characters or setting.  And for what was a complex story, with multiple mysteries (and yet not too many even though 3 at once might seem like it borders on the excessive, it works here), it was enjoyable and fun to read.  There were great characters, with fascinating histories (which I hope to learn more about by reading some of the earlier installments that I missed), amusing dialogue, witty banter, some fascinating historical facts (I actually googled historical bicycle makers and fell down a rabbit hole reading about old British bikes), and like all cozy mysteries a bit of suspense and pure dumb luck in solving the crime.  While I guessed the “who dun it” correctly, it was fun to read the reveal and watch the characters lay it all out for the reader.   

After clearing out the NetGalley shelf I fully intend to reacquaint myself with Lady Hardcastle and Flo – hopefully to partake in some of the adventures they reminisced about in this installment!  I have yet to develop any sort of rating system for cozy’s but this would rank top scores on such a scale, if I had one!  (Only critique – needs a little more cleverness injected into the title.)

In the Wick of Time

First, I want to say that I totally understand that I have no idea what it is like to write a whole book.  It must be monumentally difficult.  And it is infinitely easier to criticize rather than attempt to write a book one’s self.  But try as I might, I just didn’t find this latest Netgalley offering to my taste.

In the Wick of Time by Valona Jones is listed on Random House’s website as “Part of Magic Candle Shop Mystery”.  It had all the great things I like about mysteries: cool cover that implies there is magical mayhem involved, a play on words title, and even a categorization as both a magical mystery but a cozy.  I admit, however, when requesting it from Netglley I didn’t realize it was book 2.  But ok, I have done that before – and oftentimes then went back and read the earlier books – so it didn’t seem like that big a deal once I realized that.  And I love a good easy read which most “cozy mysteries” are.  So I eagerly dug in.

It wasn’t long before I realized three things: (1) book one likely would have been helpful; (2) there was both too much and not enough going on at the same time here; and (3) I really didn’t like most of the characters and the plot really needed some help.  In cozy mysteries, there is typically a good bit of investigating.  Not so much here.  Most of the time there was talk about investigating, but besides one small B&E into the dead guy’s house and a trip for Tabby to visit her boyfriend in the morgue where she overheard  a conversation, there was way more complaining about being swamped with work and investigating than there was investigating.

There also was no real establishment of the rules of this universe.  And there is a fair bit that seems inconsistent.  Does Tabby’s boyfriend know she is magic?  Not sure.  There are conversations where it seems like he must be but there are also conversations (and one at the end in particular) where is seems like he isn’t.  Tabby and Sage talk about magic openly with the cops and others so easily but they don’t have boyfriends that know the details?  And as for the magic that they have… heck if I know what it actually is or what the rules are.

There wasn’t really even an attempt at an establishment of the rules of this universe.  Hoping that folks who have read book one have that background because it isn’t here.  I know that it sometimes is hard to provide the right amount of background information so as to not bore readers who have read the prior installment(s) of a series, but in cozy-land, since they are typically stand alone mysteries just sharing repeating setting and characters, it is important to make sure to fill in the new readers if they pick up in the middle.  And here that wasn’t really done.    In fact, I had to read the first few pages more than one to make sure I knew who was who and to figure out as much as I could.  For example, late in the book one of the twins notes that they can’t be aware from their street for too long.  Why?  I have no idea.  It wasn’t explained.

The mystery itself was really silly too.  It didn’t even feel like a real attempt to get a decent motive.  No spoilers here in a review pre-publication make it hard to explain more about that but let’s just say that my fist thought when the baddie was revealed was “Whaaaaat?  Really, that leads to this guys murder?”

And then we have Sage and Tabby.  Honestly, not two of the most likable characters.  Sage is whiny and selfish and just mean a lot of the time.  And no matter how often you tell me that Sage is good with plants, it won’t make me like her.  Tabby?  I got more detail about soap and candle making than of any real plot or investigation on her part.  Even the dialogue between them was old.  One interaction started with Sage being angry and red faced and snapping at Tabby and then next moment Tabby behaving like the victim of domestic abuse and excusing it and being fine with it.

Tabby might have created some great new scent for candles and soap in the book, but this is one wick that wasn’t for me.

p.s. To Whomever Came Up With the Title:  there should be some connection between the story and the pun…  there was nothing resembling “In the Nick of Time” here really – by the time we get to the big reveal it doesn’t count because cozy mysteries always have a close call for the investigator.  Better title next time.  Although the cover was cute.

Delicious Delicious Death

Thanks to NetGalley – I again stumbled upon a nice little read!  Of course I should do a little better research myself because this is also the second in a series, and this is the second time I find myself venturing into a world where I am at least one book in when I haven’t read the first.  It’s not a big deal – in act in both instances I am now going out to purchase the first book I missed.  But I do prefer to read books in order to learn some of the setting first.  

Delicious Death by Byrd Nash is also the second in a series – dubbed the Madame Chalamet Ghost Talker mysteries, there are a few things that seem to have been lost – that is, not specified – in this second installment.  Here, it isn’t a big deal for the most part.  I was intrigued by the setting – what seems to be a Victorian era fictional country similar to France.  I was intrigued by not only the main character but Madame Chalamet’s doctor friend as well.  Like with April Asher’s Not Your Ex’s Hexes, I am eager to read more of these characters and this world.  

This installment finds a Ghost Talker (aka medium), a single woman in a time where that isn’t as acceptable, attending a cooking competition being held by the country’s King, at the estate of one of the King’s relatives.  Some of the descriptions of the food being served up as part of the completion was definitely mouth watering.  And the competition was a nice little reason to bring all the characters together and definitely made for an interesting plot device.  

This seems to be what I would categorize as a cozy mystery.  It’s a fun little read, with a mystery (here, an attempted regicide), not a ton of the right facts to let even a eagle eyed reader solve it, 2 nice female characters including one where I would love to see drawings of what her outfits would look like, a hint of some romance, a ton of Victorian class snobbery and a little bit of ghosts thrown in too.  It was right up my alley!!  It also wasn’t a read that took much time, but it was fun and entertaining.  And those are the types of things I like to read best.  

Good things can come in small packages

And The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency by Peter Oxley is one of those things; it wasn’t the longest book – and felt very much like a prequel, telling us how the agency was formed.  It was interesting enough to leave me thinking that if there are more, and this is the start of a series, I will definitely read what ever comes next.I loved the Victorian setting, the dark and creepy tone.  Bart and Spencer are a funny pair too – seem like the sort who will always be getting into trouble and not often having things go their way.  But, despite being crooks, they do seem to be decent guys- mostly anyway.  The pace of the book was a little uneven with the first half being slower.  As a result, I was left feeling like I didn’t really have a great handle on how the world the story has placed the reader in came to be or what the rules of the world were.  Once the story picked up, a little more than half way through however, it didn’t seem to matter much anymore.  Although there are a number of lingering questions after the book ends (what about Milton? Who really are Thaddeus and Emerson?  How did one person survive the exercisom while the other didn’t?  Why was Tessie’s husband such an ass to begin with?  Why were all his friends ok with setting up Tessie to die?  And why did her friends turn against her?) it was still a quick and entertaining little read. I do hope to see more of the these demon hunters. 

One criticism though.  And I have said similar things when talking about books where there is a character that speaks another language too… Writing in the dialogue in the beginning in the dialect or phonetic way a person speaks gets old and tiring.  Plus, it is never fully sustainable throughout the entire book.  I wish writers wouldn’t try in the first place.  It just detracts from the story and frankly is annoying.  I think it is an attempt to put a voice of a character in my head, but I don’t need that assistance when the authori has done enough character development.