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Review: The Ruin of a Rake (Turner Series #3) by Cat Sebastian
This was a satisfying conclusion to the romantic tales of the extended Turner family. While I was concerned that Lord Courtenay wouldn’t appeal to me as a romantic lead after his introduction in The Lawrence Browne Affair, author Cat Sebastian proves a deft hand at hidden depths that do not negate any of the character…
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Review: “A Case of Spirits” (A Charm of Magpies short) by K.J. Charles
This short story was included in my Kindle edition of A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2). This delightful short story doesn’t add much to the interpersonal relationship between Lord Crane and Stephen Day, but it does show how Crane and his manservant Merrick have become intricately linked with Day’s world of magician justiciars.…
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Review: A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2) by K.J. Charles
This was not a long novel, but I think I would have devoured it just as quickly had it been twice the length. I’ve decided that I adore Lord Crane. Like any true romantic hero, he has looks, brains, and money. But his personality, lack of regard for polite society, and familiarity with the world…
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Review: The Soldier’s Scoundrel (Turner Series #1) by Cat Sebastian
I’m starting to see the appeal of romances, especially the ones where a happily ever is guaranteed. I don’t always like the emotional angst characters have to go through to get there, and I’ve discovered that I’m not a huge fan of the “you’re better off without me” trope (it hits a bit close to…
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Review: Bookburners (Season 1) created by Max Gladstone
Also written by Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty, and Brian Francis Slattery I first learned about Bookburners and the modern concept of the serial novel through a blog post at Speculative Chic. I was intrigued by both the format and the story premise, so downloaded the first season on my Kindle. It languished for a while,…
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Review: The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies #1) by K.J. Charles
Now that I’ve discovered a newfound love for queer historical romance, it was really only a matter of time before I made the jump to the urban fantasy variety. This novel was an excellent introductory choice that I devoured in the space of one airport wait + flight to Florida, and I had to resist…
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Review: Night Shift (Midnight, Texas #3) by Charlaine Harris
I quickly sped through the finale of this trilogy once it arrived in the mail. However, this was mostly to get to the end of the story rather than through any great love for the world or the characters. On the one hand, I am very satisfied with how some story lines concluded, such as…
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Review: Day Shift (Midnight, Texas #2) by Charlaine Harris
Now that I knew what I was getting into, I tore through the second book that inspired my favorite television show of the summer. If anything, this novel made me want to go back and re-watch episodes of the show to appreciate the characters more. The main plot of this book (or at least one…
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Review: Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1) by Charlaine Harris
Like The Magicians, I’m glad that I watched the television series version of this story before picking up the books. However, unlike The Magicians, it wasn’t because the screen version fixed things that I hated about the books. In this case, it was purely because writing for screen is different than writing for the page.
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Review: The Lawrence Browne Affair (Turner Series #2) by Cat Sebastian
A break from the daily routine in the form of a business trip to Seattle for the day job meant a break in my regular reading habits. Ages ago, my favorite contemporary romance author (okay, Anna Zabo is really the only contemporary romance author I really read) noted that a novel by one of their…
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Review: Patterns of Interference (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #5) by Christopher L. Bennett
Obvious benefits of a media tie-in novel are the lack of production value constraints. This means authors are free to make use of a vast array of characters and create new planets beyond the typical constrictions of special effects. Bennett has capitalized on these abilities to great extent, especially writing a familiar cast of characters…
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Review: The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro
After I finished this novel, staying up until past midnight on a work night, I posted a complaint on Facebook. Not about this novel, but about how I had over 100 more books on my “to be read” shelf, but all I really wanted to do is go back and re-read everything else in Catherine…
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Review: The Resurrection Pact (Winston Casey Chronicles #1) by Jay Smith
Disclaimer: I purchased an ebook version of this novel at release, then acquired a hardcopy version in a book trade with the author, whom I consider a friend. Once upon a time, I was one of THOSE World of Warcraft (WoW) players. Had a full-time job, but still spent 30 to 40 hours a week…
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Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I have a weird history with this book. I was utterly convinced that I’d read it before, but I remembered really bizarre parts of it, such as Shadow being cold in Lakeside and the secret of the klunker on the lake. I even watched season 1 of the new television show (enjoying it immensely), and…
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Review: Shattering the Ley (Erenthrall #1) by Joshua Palmatier
This is one of those books that I snagged at a convention after meeting the author that then sat on my “to be read” shelf for an embarrassing amount of time. When I saw the final book in the trilogy had been released, I figured it was long past time to dive in. “Diving in”…
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Review: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
This year, many of the contributors to my other blog, Speculative Chic, all set New Year’s Resolutions together. Some of them were to catch up on movies, others were to revisit an old favorite video game. Mine was to finally tackle the giant hardcover that had been anchoring my “to be read” pile since I…
