Tag: novella
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Review: SPECTR: The Complete First Series by Jordan L. Hawk
Includes the titles: Hunter of Demons Master of Ghouls Reaper of Souls Eater of Lives Destroyer of Worlds Summoner of Storms Honestly, my review can be boiled down like this: I purchased the series as a full set, but the books were so good that I didn’t want to pause…
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Review: Not Quite Beast (Not Quite #2) by Kaye Draper
This is a solid continuation to Sam’s story, action-packed and filled with answers to some questions while teasing even more questions that need answers. Draper also expands upon her world-building and introduces an intriguing political element to the plot line. I look forward to seeing how Sam and their “guild”…
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Review: Not Quite Human (Not Quite #1) by Kaye Draper
Kaye Draper’s latest urban fantasy/romance series is going to be another hit for me, I think. This author includes a note in her book blurbs about being tired of tropes, and she puts her money where her mouth is — once again, the characters in this story were unique, fascinating,…
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Review: Fates, Fins, and Fangs (Gods & Demons #1) by Kaye Draper
I tore through the Gesa’s Menagerie series while home sick a few months ago, so it seems appropriate that I would start this next series while working full-time from home during a pandemic. This novella was a wonderful afternoon of escape, full of intriguing characters and excitement. The author states…
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Review: The Dragon Mistress: Book 4 (Eburosi Chronicles #11) by R.A. Steffan
As is typical for me with the books in this series, I devoured this installment in a single evening. This story does an excellent job of tying up multiple story lines and plot points, beyond the obvious of the overall “get Rayth’s throne back from his evil brother.” Frella finally…
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Review: Silver Shark (Kinsmen #2) by Ilona Andrews
I enjoyed this Kinsmen tale much more than the first. While this book is a romance, it certainly doesn’t start out feeling that way. I’d even argue that this is a solid science-fiction story that just happens to include romantic elements as part of the plot. The world-building regarding Claire’s…
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Review: The Armored Saint (Sacred Throne #1) by Myke Cole
I got pretty burned out on reading epic fantasy once I started paying attention to diversity within the pages, so I’m always thrilled to find an offering in the genre that bucks stereotype. Add a dash of steampunk and I’m hooked. Its easy to draw “Joan of Arc” comparisons to…
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Review: Strange Dogs (The Expanse #6.5) by James S.A. Corey
This novella is a beautiful vignette about early life on Laconia. It doesn’t answer many greater questions about the ecosystem of this world due to the limited point-of-view of the main character. But it answers quieter questions about how Duerte came to power and how he imposed his views on…
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Review: Wolfromance (Reluctant Necromancer #3) by Kaye Draper
I understand that authors are always warned not to “info-dump” to their readers, that they should include the information the reader needs to know naturally through the story. But there’s a downside to that, when so many things are going on that everyone EXCEPT the main character knows about. At…
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Review: The Vital Abyss (The Expanse #5.5) by James S.A. Corey
This novella in the midst of the epic saga of The Expanse fills in some interesting blanks. It explains the missing years of a relevant character’s life and how he eventually ends up where Our Heroes encounter him again. It also shows the evolution of the character and his history…
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Review: All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells
This novella has won ALL OF THE AWARDS, which makes it difficult to review. There’s not much I can add to the discourse about it that hasn’t already been said, and it doesn’t need the advertising help. But it was a wonderfully fun read, so if you’re one of the…
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Review: Gods of Risk (The Expanse #2.1) by James S.A. Corey
This novella brings us back to the series roots of interstellar events occurring as a backdrop to regular people’s normal lives. But this normal person is the gifted sixteen-year-old nephew of Bobbie Draper, so how normal is he? Certainly normal enough for some health doses of adolescent angst while he…
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Review: Ghostromance (Reluctant Necromancer #1) by Kaye Draper
I probably shouldn’t have read this so close on the heels of Draper’s previous reverse harem series, Gesa’s Menagerie. I prefer Gesa as a character to Esper, but that doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong with Esper. I got a bit tired of her “Woe is me, I’m so ugly”…
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Review: Gesa’s Menagerie #2-#9 by Kaye Draper
Usually when I read series, I try to break them up with other books so that I don’t get burned out. But sometimes a series is less of a series and more of a really long epic book broken up into eight separate novellas. And sometimes I get sick and…
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Review: Gryphon’s Pride (Gesa’s Menagerie #1) by Kaye Draper
The author warns in the book description that this is “not your typical reverse harem.” I would also happily argue that this is not a typical romance or typical urban fantasy. With that combination, I was immediately sucked into the world-building, the plot, and the characters. Gesa is the “strong…
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Review: The Churn (The Expanse #3.5) by James S.A. Corey
Despite it’s placement in the series order recommended by Goodreads, I’m glad that I read “The Churn” after book 8, Tiamat’s Wrath. Names are important in this book, and Amos hasn’t always been known as Amos Burton. In a way, this novella is as much about Earth as it is about…
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Review: Silent Blade (Kinsmen #1) by Ilona Andrews
This is an older book by the authors, and I’m impressed by how far their writing ability has come (though this wasn’t poorly written by any means). They’ve always been excellent storytellers though, and this novella stands out in this regard. The society worldbuilding here reminds me a lot of…
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Review: A Little Light Mischief (Turner Series #3.5) by Cat Sebastian
This story can be read without the others in the Turner Series, though I highly recommend them. It also shows how women have both more and less freedom to choose their paths in life during this time period. Molly and Alice are both trapped by financial circumstances, but their ability…
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Review: The Rat-Catcher’s Daughter (Lilywhite Boys #0.5) by K.J. Charles
One of my favorite things about K.J. Charles’ writing is how she weaves together emotion, intrigue, and suspense. Another of my favorite things is how she inserts non-straight and nonbinary characters without unnecessary fanfare into historical fiction that too often lacks such representation as it it never existed before the…
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Review: The Portrait Problem (The Galipp Files #3) by Jamaila Brinkley
Disclaimer: I am friends with the author; however, I bought the ebook for full price. The Galipp Files are a solid trilogy chronicling the evolving relationship between Anastasia and her partner-turned-fiance Simon. Along the way, they solve magical crimes in their version of not overly-magical London. My biggest complaint about…