Tag: Romance Page 1 of 2

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Mercury’s Shadow by P. J. Garcin

On February 14, 2023

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for P.J. Garcin’s Mercury’s Shadow. Be sure to watch https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next few days to see a lot of bloggers write interesting things about it. Mercury’s Shadow was a finalist for the 2022 Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award, so you know there’s a lot of good to be said about it–but before getting to the spotlight for it, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.

BBNYA:

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Book Details:

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action Adventure
Age Category: Young Adult/New Adult
Publisher: Rawktron Productions
Release date: July 5, 2020
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 308 pages

About the Book:

One man’s lust for power threatens the future of humanity—can a young girl from the outer system stop it all?

Imogen “Chim” Esper is thrust into the center of an interplanetary conflict when her family is torn apart by the cruel and indifferent Kardashev Corporation. Forced to run, along with her robotic best friend, Chim struggles to find her place in a society that is poised for revolutionary transformation.

The Kardashev Corporation dominates all commerce and politics in the solar system. Its megalomaniac CEO, Alton Neal, is hell-bent on transforming society by capturing the full energy output of the sun through the creation of a Dyson Swarm.

Citizens of Earth and the stations throughout the system must band together to protect access to the lifeblood of the system or risk becoming permanently enslaved to the Kardashev Corporation.

Mercury’s Shadow is a thrilling adventure that blends real science, big ideas, grand adventure and high stakes to introduce a new heroine and a deep universe that will leave readers asking for more.

Book Links:

Amazon.ca ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

PJ Garcin has been writing stories, music and games for most of his life. He writes from the beautiful east coast of Canada where he has worked extensively in video games and technology for the past 20 years. Picking up a long running writing thread, he recently completed the first book in the Kardashev Cycle — Mercury’s Shadow.

The Kardashev Cycle follows the rise and expansion of the dominant Kardashev Corporation and its near universal control over the solar system. The first book in the series, Mercury’s Shadow, introduces the young Imogen Esper — a resourceful young girl from a mining station in the asteroid belt who finds herself caught up in an interplanetary conflict when her father is injured during a routine maintenance mission. The second book, Chimera’s Prism, continued the adventure in 2021.

PJ is a regular speaker at technology conferences on topics ranging from interactive narrative to machine learning. He has an undergrad degree in English, Rhetoric and Professional Writing as well as a Master’s degree in Communication.

He worked as Executive Producer in games on titles that sold more than 27 million units in total. He worked on large franchises such as FIFA, Madden, and Guitar Hero while helping to launch successful indie franchises like The Golf Club (now PGA Tour) and Infinite Air. He currently works as Director of Product Management for an open-source-focused SaaS company.

Website ~ Twitter ~ TikTok ~ Instagram ~ Facebook

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Sacrifice by Vicky Walklate

By HCNewton

On February 8, 2023

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome and help kick-off The Write Reads Blog Tour for Vicky Walklate’s Sacrifice. I’m a couple of days late with this–the email slipped by me. Better late than never, right? (no, not really). Be sure to watch https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next few days to see a lot of bloggers write interesting things about it. Sacrifice was a finalist for the 2022 Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award, so you know there’s a lot of good to be said about it–but let’s start with a word about BBNYA.

BBNYA:

Book Details:

Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Release date: June 14, 2021
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 238 pages

About the Book:

Dragon gods rule the realm, demons lurk in the shadows, and a sorcerer hides a dangerous secret. A war is brewing in Jothesia, and the gods have no idea.

Being selected as human sacrifice to the immortal dragon shifters is supposedly an honor, but rebellious Libby doesn’t see it that way. When the sacrificial ritual goes badly wrong, she finds herself in a reluctant alliance with eldest god Rhetahn. He’s grumpy, cynical, and utterly exasperating …and she can’t get him out of her head.

Rhetahn knows there’s something wrong with this sacrifice, and it’s not just her infuriating stubbornness or the way she makes his jaded heart skip a beat. When terrible misfortune befalls his brothers and renders him powerless, his only choice is to unite with Libby to seek answers.

As they set out on a dangerous quest across the realm, the compelling attraction between them is undeniable, yet doomed. To recover his magic, regain his strength, and prevent the demons from seizing power, Rhetahn needs her blood. He must kill her at the end of their journey, even if it breaks his heart to do so.

But a terrible power lies hidden in Jothesia, one that could destroy everything the gods have built. Libby and Rhetahn’s forbidden relationship may be the realm’s only hope against utter ruin.

Book Links:

Amazon.ca ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads

About the Author:

Vicky is a romance, fantasy and historical fiction author from Norfolk, UK. Along with Sacrifice, she also published a monster romance novella last year, and her latest book, a Regency mystery with romantic elements, is out now.

When she’s not writing she transforms into a giant bookworm, eagerly devouring books of all kinds, especially romance.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Catch-Up Quick Takes: Some Lighter Reads/Listens

By HCNewton

On December 29, 2022

In (Auto)Biography, Audiobook, Humor, Non-Fiction, Urban Fantasy

I just don’t have a lot to say about these books, so let’s take care of them briefly. The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Working It Out

by Jo Platt

DETAILS:
Publisher: Canelo
Publication Date: February 3, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: October 1-3, 2022

(the official blurb)
Platt’s voice is great. All the characters were great (well, maybe all but one of them were). But the story just fell flat for me over and over again. The resolution just made me mad. The behavior of the protagonist was supposed to be cute and endearing–but it only served to annoy me. If you take this cast of characters, mature the protagonist a degree, and put them in the service of a better novel, I’d have loved it. But…bah. It was an okay way to burn some time in a hospital waiting room (which is where I was), but that’s about it.
2 Stars

Slaying Monsters for the Feeble

by Annette Marie, Cris Dukehart (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Guild Codex: Demonized, #2
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication Date: Feb 4, 2020
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hrs., 27 min.
Read Date: October 6-11, 2022

(the official blurb)
I wasn’t sure how this series was going to really go after that first book, but I’m really pleased by this one. I particularly enjoyed the way that this fits in with the other series in this ‘verse. The action was good, the magic interesting, and the characters grew on me (or continued to, I should say).

I’m not particularly a fan of the friendship/affection/whatever between Robin and Zylas. But I don’t hate it, so there’s that.

This is one that I think I need to see through to the end before I decide about individual books–are some of these plotlines a waste of time? Are they going somewhere satisfying? Are they just going to prove frustrating? It’s too hard to tell. I think I’m going to end up thinking of this positively, but I can’t be sure yet. (I’m a little worried they could end up in the same spot as the Ella Grey series)

Cris Dukehart continues to get the job done and keep the books interesting.

3 Stars

The World’s Worst Assistant

by Sona Movsesian

DETAILS: 
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 5 hrs., 25 min.
Read Date: October 11-12, 2022

(the official blurb)
Sona Movsesian has been Conan O’Brien’s assistant for years–his friend, too. Listening to the two of them on his podcast, you can hear the affection–and get caught up in their odd communal humor. I’ve also listened to enough of her that it feels strange to refer to her as anything but Sona.

The book gives a brief biography of Movsesian before moving into her time working various low-level jobs in television before getting hired by O’Brien as he started to move his show and family to California to take over The Tonight Show. We get a look at some of what happened to him there and then what they did afterward–both professionally and personally.

Essentially, this is a book about Movsesian and her good friend and boss–how much fun they have together, some of the amazing things she’s gotten to do, and the people she’s gotten to meet because of their jobs.

You start off listening to this book (I imagine), because of her boss and wanting to hear what it’s like to work with him–even if you’re the worst assistant in the world (how do you keep the job in that case?). You end up listening to the whole thing because you can’t help but like Movsesian and want to hear her tell stories about her life and laugh along with her.
3 Stars

Declassified:
A Low-Key Guide to
the High-Strung World
of Classical Music

by Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch

DETAILS:
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 6 hrs., 48 min.
Read Date: October 14-18, 2022

(the official blurb)
This would be tough to describe even if I was doing a full post, not just a quick take. I had a lot of fun with Warsaw-Fan Rauch’s book.

The behind-the-scenes bits about classical music, orchestra, and the education/training involved for today’s performers was great to hear. The jokes, snippy bits, and history of classical music, composers, and various instruments (and those that play them) were a special kind of geeky fun that I appreciated (not as much as someone who’s seriously played and/or studied, I’m sure, but enough for me).

The personal material didn’t do much for me–I don’t know her enough for that to have mattered (and didn’t get enough reason throughout the book). But it’s easy to get over that and focus on the highlights.

This was a pleasant time (and a little educational, too). Give it a listen.
3 Stars

Rebel with a Clause:
Tales and Tips from
a Roving Grammarian

by Ellin Jovin

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 7 hrs., 38 min.
Read Date: October 18-19, 2022

(the official blurb)
Um…this isn’t as clever as it thinks it is. Maybe, maybe, if I knew who Jovin was before starting this book, I might have a different take. It feels like such a bunch of inside jokes–the kind of stories that fans of someone well-established might relish, but new readers wouldn’t. On the whole, it wasn’t about her points about grammar or language usage (see Dreyer or Favilla for a couple of examples of how to do this), that drove the narrative and humor of the book. It was harder to define, it was more how odd people thought it was that she was traveling around the country giving her opinions on the sidewalk or finding people who cared enough to discuss it.

While picking up the anecdotes for this book, Jovin and her husband were making a movie about her grammar table. That movie might be more entertaining to watch, and I plan on doing that someday. I think it might work better as such–sort of a “man on the street” kind of thing that can work well (see countless talk shows and Youtube series for proof). But this was just dissatisfying.

(also, I wasn’t crazy about the narration)
2 1/2 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Crossing in Time (Audiobook) by D. L. Orton. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine, Erin deWard: This Romance/SF is a Wild Ride!

By HCNewton

On June 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction

Crossing in Time

by D. L. Orton, Noah Michael Levine (Narrator), Erin deWard (Narrator)
Series: Between Two Evils, Book 1

Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs., 17 min.
Rocky Mountain Press, 2015

Read: June 4-5, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Typically, when I post about an Audiobook, I close with a discussion about the narrator(s). But I’m going to start with it this time because Levine and deWard did such a great job, they’re the highlight of the experience for me.*

* This is not a slight against the novel. They were just that good.

In my experience, when there is a male narrator and a female narrator—the female will read all the narration and dialogue in the female character POV chapters, and the male will read all the narration and dialogue in the male character POV chapters. But here, deWard reads all the female dialogue, no matter the narrator (and vice versa). That’s a nice touch, and once I got used to it, I really appreciated it. Particularly, it helped the conversations between characters feel like conversations—there was a little bit of talking over each other, and so on. And when the two laughed together? That was either fantastic work by the narrators or by the editor (or both).

Levine, particularly when he was narrating the main male protagonist, sounded like a guy recounting a story from his past to a friend—and I could’ve listened to him all day. deWard was almost as good (the main female protagonist character was never as relaxed, so it would be out of character to sound that way—so it may be unfair to compare like that). They both made all the characters come alive (even the few I’d rather hadn’t)—and made the experience richer.

This is a Romance/Science Fiction story. It’s heavy on the romance (too heavy for my taste) and the SF is a wild, multi-dimensional/time travel story with the fate of the human race (throughout the multiverse) hanging in the balance. Orton typically balances the focused story on the central romance and the wider, all-humankind story really well—but she has a tendency to over-focus on the love story. That’s going to delight many readers/listeners, but it was a stumbling block for me. Both are told with heart and humor (not getting in the way of drama), that will suck you in and not let you go.

I don’t really know how to summarize the setup of the book in a paragraph or two—and the Book Blurb gives away a bit too much (but really is an entertaining blurb), so I’m not going to get into it more than I did in that last paragraph. Just trust me on this—if you like the feel of what I’m describing, give this a shot.*

* Or, fine, read the Spotlight where I’ve copied the Blurb.

The characters—from minor to major—are wonderfully drawn and fully-developed. There are a couple of characters that are technically allies to the protagonists (and humanity in general, but function largely as antagonists. And man, I really didn’t like them at all—just as I wasn’t supposed to. But those that you were supposed to like? I just wanted to spend more time with them all—the point-of-view characters in particular.

There are some wonderful dogs throughout the book, and I fully expect that they’ll be pretty important before the trilogy ends. For those of you who prefer felines, there’s one of them, too—and the inclusion of the inferior pet doesn’t hurt things at all.*

* Man, I hope that comes across as tongue-in-cheek.

As I said, this is the beginning of a trilogy and ends in a way that practically demands moving on to the next volume as soon as possible (which is easy as the entire trilogy is published)—while not really a cliff-hanger, it sure works like one.

This was a fun novel—even if it’s not really my cup of tea. I’d probably give it a 3-3 1/2 Stars, a fun read that I’d recommend…but that narration knocks it up to 4 (maybe I should give it a 4 1/2), a strong recommendation from me.

There’s a little too much romance in this Romance/Science Fiction for my taste—but it’s a compelling and entertaining read full of wonderfully drawn characters. I strongly recommend the audiobook, but if that’s not your thing, I expect the print edition will almost be as good.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Crossing in Time (Audiobook) by D. L. Orton. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine, Erin deWard

By HCNewton

On June 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Ultimate Blog Tour for Crossing in Time by D. L. Orton. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine, Erin deWard. This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post and then my take on the audiobook coming along in a bit. Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?

Book Details:

Book Title: Crossing in Time by D. L. Orton. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine, Erin deWard
Publisher: Rocky Mountain Press
Release date: April 30, 2019
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook
Length: 559 pages/ 10 hrs and 17 mins

Book Blurb:

When offered a one-way trip to the past, Iz sacrifices everything for a chance to change her dystopian future—and see her murdered lover one last time.

After a perilous journey through a black hole, she wakes up on a tropical beach, buck naked and mortally wounded—but twenty years younger! With only hours to live, she must convince an enraptured but skeptical twenty-something guy to fix their future relationship and thereby save the planet (no one is quite sure why.)

But it’s easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that’s a heartbreaker, save the world or not.

Across the infinite expanse of space and time, love endures…

(Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough.)

About the Author:

DL ORTON, THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the BETWEEN TWO EVILS series, lives in the foothills of the Rockies where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops.♂

In her spare time, she’s building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry.

Website: http://www.DLOrton.com.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Reposting Just ‘Cuz: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2019

In Authors, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, P-U, Rainbow Rowel

The second re-run from 5 years ago this week is from Rainbow Rowell, before she discovered she could make a lot more money on the YA market than she can with “Commercial Women’s Fiction” or whatever silly marketing label this got. I miss that Rowell, oh well.

Landline

by Rainbow Rowell

Hardcover, 310 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2014
Read: August 13, 2014

If the last few years have taught us readers anything, it’s that if you want quirky, honest, heart-felt romance with real (and usually moderately overweight) people and solid laughs, Rainbow Rowell will consistently deliver for you. And if you don’t think you want that, after you read her, you’ll realize that’s just what you wanted after all. She has two YA books and now two Adult books to her credit. Her latest, Landline delivers the typical Rowell magic in her story, but this time she included something else: actual magic. Sort of.

Georgie McCool is half of a pretty successful TV writing team who are thiiiiis close to being much more successful, all they have to do is crank out a handful of scripts in the next couple of weeks and they’re in a great position to sell their first series. The catch is, this involves working over Christmas — despite Georgie’s plans to go to her mother-in-law’s in Omaha with her husband, Neal and their two daughters. Georgie says that she can’t pass up this opportunity, so Neal and the girls go off without her.

Georgie sees this as a regrettable occurrence, but one of the sacrifices she has to make to get her dream show made. Her mother, step-father and sister see it as her husband leaving her, and Georgie ends up staying with them. Which gets Georgie to worrying — especially when she can never seem to reach Neal on the phone during the day. At night, however, when her iPhone battery is dead, she has to resort to the landline in her old room and she ends up talking to Neal back before they got engaged.

Don’t ask. It makes no sense. She never bothers to explain. And it doesn’t matter. Georgie eventually figures out that’s what’s going on and she rolls with it, and the reader does, too.

These conversations, as well as the absence of her family, lead Georgie on a path down memory lane, reflecting on the beginning of their relationship and how it changed as they did. Maybe Neal had made a mistake choosing her. Maybe she’d ruined her life (and his) by choosing him. Would they have both been better off going their separate ways? Or was there something worth fighting for now? Would that matter? The clock is ticking — for Georgie’s marriage (both now and then) and her career. Is she up for it?

The tension is real, the apprehension, fear, and self-doubt (for starters) that Georgie is wrestling with is very obvious and palpable. Yet while focusing on this, Rowell’s able to create a believable world filled with a lot of interesting people. There’s Georgie’s partner/best friend, Seth and another writer on their current (and hopefully future) show — and Georgie failing to hold up her end of things there, as much as she tries.

Then there’s her sister, mother and step-father. They’re much better developed (probably only because we spend more time with them). Her mother’s a pretty implausible character, yet not a cartoon, she’s a pug fanatic, married someone much younger than her, and generally seems really happy. Her sister’s about done with high school and is figuring herself out (and mostly has) — she’s a hoot, and my biggest problem with the book is that we don’t get more of Heather. Not that there wasn’t plenty of her — and it’d require the book to take a far different shape. We get whole storylines about all the non-Neal people in her life, little vignettes showing us their character, giving us smiles in the midst of Georgie’s crisis, like:

“Kids are perceptive, Georgie. They’re like dogs”–she offered a meatball from her own fork to the pug heaped in her lap–“they know when their people are unhappy.”
“I think you may have just reverse-anthropomorphized your own grandchildren.”
Her mom waved her empty fork dismissively. “You know what I mean.”
Heather leaned into Georgie and sighed. “Sometimes I feel like her daughter. And sometimes I feel like the dog with the least ribbons.”

Not only do the supporting stories, or even the little moments like this fill out Georgie’s world and make it more interesting, they provide a breather for the reader from having to deal with the disintegrating marriage.

I know some people think we spend too much time in flashbacks, where Georgie’s remembering how she and Neal met, got to know each other, and started seeing each other, etc. But we need that. If all we get is Neal in the present, or past-Neal on the phone, we’re not going to care enough. Especially in the first couple of scenes we get with Neal, it’d be real easy to see him as unsympathetic — the guy holding Georgie and her career back. We need these flashbacks so the reader can sync their feelings about Neal with Georgie’s, so that when we read something like:

Georgie hadn’t known back then how much she was going to come to need Neal, how he was going to become like air to her.
Was that codependence? Or was it just marriage?”

She needed him.
Neal was home. Neal was base.
Neal was where Georgie plugged in, and synced up, and started fresh every day. He was the only one who knew her exactly as she was.

find ourselves agreeing with her, or at least seeing why she says it.

At the end of the book, there’s a lot of plot lines dangling — some very important ones, actually. Enough so, that normally, I’d devote a paragraph to complaining about it. But I won’t this time — it works for Landline. There’s a lot for Georgie to work out herself, she’s really only settled on the one most important thing, leaving the rest to be resolved another day. And that’s got to be good enough for the reader.

Not her best, but Rowell on an off day is still really, really good.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

The Bucket List by Emily Ruben

By HCNewton

On June 21, 2017

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The Bucket List

by Emily Ruben

eARC, 383 pg.
Inkitt, 2017

Read: June 14 – 19, 2017

I am absolutely not amongst the audience for this book. I knew that from the title alone, much less the description. Still, I’d read Ruben’s first book and enjoyed it and was curious about her take on this idea.

This is basically a take on the dying teen romance, with a splash of the Rob Reiner movie. I’m tempted to go on a rant about the whole dying teen romance idea — The Space Between Us, The Fault in our Stars, and the like — but I just don’t have the energy. I don’t get it, it seems like a highly artificial way to inflate drama. But whatever — just because it’s an overplayed idea, that doesn’t mean the book can’t be good.

Besides, the central characters in this book are 20 and 21, so by definition this is different.

Leah is surprised one day to find the new guy moving in next door is her old best friend that she hasn’t seen for 5 years. Damon (think Ian Somerhalder) is glad to see her, but before they renew their friendship, has to warn her that he’ll be dead within a year and a half. He has some sort of brain tumor (Ruben intentionally gives few details about this) that cannot be treated. Leah decides that she’ll do what she can to renew their friendship in the time remaining.

Soon after this, the two decide that he’ll write up a Bucket List and that each day, they’ll cross an item off of it until it’s too late. This will lead to all sorts of travel, adventure, changing of existing and/or new romantic relationships and (this isn’t much of a spoiler, you can tell it’ll happen from the get-go) their eventually falling in love.

The worst part about this book is how everything that happens to them is the best, the greatest, the ____est (or the worst). Leah and Damon live in the extremes — they never have a normal day, a blah experience. It’s just too much to handle — a few things that are okay, a few things that aren’t bad mixed in with all this would make this easier to read. Yes, you could say that given the heightened situation, everything they do is given a hint of the extreme, but still . . .

The tricky thing with Damon having an unnamed disease — it’s hard to have any idea how realistic this is. But a brain tumor that causes organs to decay before death, necessitating an ethically/legally-questionable euthanasia method is stretching things beyond the breaking point. Beyond that, the amount of money that these people spend is utterly unbelievable — talk all you want about plundering no-longer-necessary college savings, it’s just not something I could buy.

There’s an element of charm to the writing — but I don’t think that this is as charming as Ruben’s first book — there’s something appealing about the earnestness of her writing. But this just wasn’t for me. Although he probably didn’t say it, Abraham Lincoln is often quoted as reviewing a lecture by saying something like, ” People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” I feel like that about this book — if you can find a grain of salt big enough to help you swallow the unbelievable, if you can tolerate the excess of superlatives, and like a love story in the face of certain doom, this is probably a pretty entertaining book. Was it for me? Nope. But I didn’t hate it and can understand why many would.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the publisher in exchange for this post — I do appreciate the opportunity, even if it doesn’t come across that way.

—–

3 Stars

The Golden Spider by Anne Renwick

By HCNewton

On November 18, 2016

In Fiction, Steampunk

The Golden Spider

by Anne Renwick
Series: The Elemental Web Chronicles, Book One

Kindle Edition, 484 pg.
Anne Renwick, 2016

Read: October 26 – 27, 2016

Wow. Next time some author describes their book as a “Romance,” I really need to ask some follow-up questions before I say yes. Technically, Renwick said “Steampunk Romance,” and I figured it’d be something like The Parasol Protectorate or The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. And it was. But with a whole lot more time on the love story — and a whole lot more description of what a couple of consenting adults consented to.

The central technology — the titular Golden Spider, is just great. One of the niftiest pieces of Steampunk tech that I’ve run across. I have no idea where Renwick is going with it, but I’m pretty sure she’s going somewhere based on the title of the series. Other than that — and a couple of other examples of medical technology — the technology and whatnot are pretty standard-issue Steampunk. Oh, and there are krakens everywhere — I liked that.

Medical student and borderline-scandalous daughter of a member of the gentry, Amanda, is being blackmailed by her father into marriage — he’ll let her go to school as long as she gets married. Her prospects aren’t that bright (if you ignore those who wouldn’t let her study/practice medicine). Lord Sebastian is one of her professors, as well as a leading medical researcher — and a secret agent for the queen — he’s a busy guy. They’re both incredibly attracted to each other, but squabble almost instantaneously and continually. Is it a law that every Steampunk romance start with two people being attracted to each other and sniping constantly while denying said attraction?

Anyway, this one plays out just as you’d expect — but maybe a little faster.

The adventure/mystery is pretty fun, but the solution is pretty obvious, and the rest is pretty predictable. But the characters’ interaction makes up for most of the predictability. In addition to Amanda and Sebastian, we have another prospective suitor or three for Amanda, Sebastian’s much more interesting and/or obvious action hero partner, Amanda’s family, and another scientist or two. None of these characters are great, but Renwick uses them well, and the result is fast-paced and entertaining.

Again, this is a romance, so certain things are going to be accentuated. One of those things, it seems, is sex. There was a lot more of it than I was prepared for (but, I want to stress, that’s on me) — and unlike the last few books I’ve complained about with excessive bedroom activities, Renwick’s scenes are worth reading — well, okay, skimming. I’m not sure why she didn’t think her characters deserved a little more privacy, but what’re you going to do?

I had a heckuva good time reading this — and I expect the same would be true of fans of Gail Carriger, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris, Kady Cross, or a handful of other authors I can’t think of at the moment. Renwick drinks from the same wells as the above — but she’s her own author, don’t expect a carbon copy. If you can handle Steamy Steampunk, give this one a shot.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for this post — you have my thanks, Ms. Renwick.

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3.5 Stars

I Was a Bitch by Emily Ruben

By HCNewton

On October 12, 2016

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

I Was a Bitch

by Emily Ruben

Kindle Edition, 401 pg.
Inkitt, 2016

Read: October 3 – 4, 2016

There’s a moment in teen comedies where the ugly duckling (who’s become the beautiful swan, backstabbed/betrayed/turned on/disappointed their life-long friends and become a real jerk) is forced to realize that what they’ve become and what they’ve done — from The DUFF to Can’t Buy Me Love and all points between (and probably points earlier), this is a standard and pivotal plot point. Can this be done in a tired and clichéd way? Yup, and regularly is. Can this be done in a creative and worthwhile way? Yup. But it’s hard to pull off.

And then Emily Ruben comes along and does this in a creative and worthwhile way — and makes it look like a walk in the park. Don’t get me wrong — making something look that easy takes a lot of work, I know this. But Ruben makes it look effortless. And one of the many creative things she does with this is who she has tell her protagonist that she’s become a bitch — herself.

Lacey comes out of a coma that’s lasted months and doesn’t remember the last couple of years. She starts using context clues, Facebook, utter strangers appearing in her hospital room, text messages, etc. to start piecing those two years together. What she learns about herself does not please her. She’s in shape — beyond that, she’s in great shape and dresses to flaunt it. Her “friends” are equally hot, as shallow as you’d expect and just nasty to others. Her boyfriend might as well be wearing a Kobra Kai uniform. She’s hidden some aspects of her personality — her sense of humor, kindness, clumsiness, intelligence, bookishness — and replaced them with, well, not much.

But there’s this Finn guy — who no one seems to know, but he sure seems to know her. Possibly more attractive than her boyfriend, definitely nicer than anyone she’s not related to. Just who is he, and what is he to her?

Lacey continues to investigate these questions (and more) while she recovers, goes through physical therapy, and returns to high school. And once she gets some answers — and some of her memories — about who she had become in the last two years, she has to make some decisions about who she’s going to be from now on.

We don’t get a full explanation of why Lacey took the steps she did to become who she became — but we get enough (and I think Lacey feels the same way). I like the fact that we are left with a few “i” not dotted and a handful of “t”s not crossed. Ruben had to resist a good deal of temptation to keep things vague at points — kudos to her.

I have a growing impatience for books who maintain dramatic tension through characters not having the guts to be honest with each other, to ask a question, to make a confession (not to a crime, but to something that’ll be uncomfortable) — but that’s just me. My notes are full of me complaining about Lacey ducking opportunities to have these conversations. By having her character take this road, Ruben doesn’t do anything that 97%+ of writers in all media wouldn’t do — sure, it’d be nice if she swam against the stream, but I can’t fault her too much for this.

Outside of those books where the parents/a parent/guardian/older family member turn out to be the villain, I can think of few worse parents than Lacey’s. I get that after a few months, they can’t afford to spend all day at the hospital — they have to work to pay the bills. But there are plenty of hours in the day for them to get over there after work — they regularly spend days without visiting her. And big brother comes back from traveling the world to be with her during her recovery — and he’s barely a presence. Sure, this gives time for her to deal the memory thing and the romantic problems, but it’s just done in a way that infuriates parents — there’s no way that any parent worth their salt isn’t around more. (it doesn’t get much better once she gets out of the hospital, either).

I loved Lacey’s voice, her interior monologue — who she really was. Her use of the phrase “Neville Longbottomed” to describe her physical changes is one of the best things I’ve read lately. I had a lot of fun reading this book and expect I won’t be alone.

As a forty-something father of four — I’m so not the target audience for this, possibly the furthest from it. But I gotta say, this was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book by Inkitt in exchange for my honest opinions.

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3.5 Stars

Genrenauts: The Complete Season One Collection by Michael R. Underwood

By HCNewton

On October 10, 2016

In Genrenauts, Michael R. Underwood, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U, Science Fiction, Western

Genrenauts: The Complete Season One Collection

by Michael R. Underwood
Series: Genrenauts, #1-6

Kindle Edition, 544 pg.
2016

Parallel to our world are various worlds populated by fictional characters in a wide variety of genres (Western, SF, Romance, etc), and when things go wrong in the stories, things go wrong in our world. For example, broken Romance world stories = higher divorce rates here. In this world, there are a number of teams of story specialists who shift to the other worlds to fix the stories and set things back on course here. Leah Tang — a struggling stand-up comic by night, struggling receptionist by day — is the newest recruit. Join her as she learns the ropes, rights wrongs, struggles with ethics, and gets shot at while cracking jokes.

Originally printed as 6 episodes in 5 novellas, now collected in one season-long omnibus, Genrenauats as become one of my favorite series this year and I’m glad to get one more chance to talk about it with the release of the collection this week.

There’s a great cast of characters here, all of which deserve the reader’s time and focus. For example, I was tempted to not-really-ignore, but relegate Angstrom King to back burner status in my mind. He’s the leader, he points the team in a direction, but the real excitement’s with the rest. This was a mistake on my part — think of him like Capt. Picard. Sure, for the most part he sits around in his ready room with some Earl Gray (hot) — but really, some of the more interesting things that happen in he series are because of his actions. King’s not Jean-Luc, but there’s a similar quality.

I love a good team — fiction, TV, comics, you name it — the interaction, the teamwork, the dynamics, there’s really nothing like it. There’s a great team in these novellas — some of the intra-team camaraderie got pushed aside for a little romance that doesn’t really work for me (but I get why it would for others and appreciate the way Underwood’s tackling it). Overall, it’s built on solid interactions and relationships that have plenty of room to grow and develop over the many seasons that we hopefully get of this.

Each adventure gives Underwood an opportunity to talk about various genres — to talk about the clichés, tropes, archetypes, pluses, minuses, and so on of each genre. And one visit to each won’t be enough to fully explore these. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not talking Master’s Theses-esque discussion, he jokes about them, plays with them, sometimes turns them upside down while telling his tale.

The collection includes:
The Shootout Solution — We meet Leah Tang, Angstrom King and the rest of his team. We’re also introduced to the concept of Genrenauts, Story Worlds, the effects that they can have on our world — also, we get a pretty decent story in Western World. Not bad for 148 pages. (For more details, you might want to read my original blog post, my blog post about the audiobook)

The Absconded Ambassador — The team goes to Science Fiction World to help out on a DS9-like Space Station. On the verge of a major treaty being finalized and signed, the Terran ambassador has been kidnapped. It’s up to King and co. to rescue the ambassador and keep the shaky alliance from crumbling in her absence. We learn a little more about everyone, and while having a lot of fun with genre conventions. ( my original blog post, my blog post about the audiobook)

The Cupid Reconciliation — The team gets back up to full strength in time to go rescue a Rom-Com gone awry. Underwood really lets things fly when it comes to observations about the genre and playing with conventions while using them for comedic — and narrative — value. Also — a couple of seeds that were planted in the first two novellas are watered enough that you can see season/season-plus story arcs beginning to grow. The series took a big jump in quality here. ( my original blog post)

The Substitute Sleuth — A Police Procedural needs some help, a no-nonsense cop’s off-the wall/out-of-the-box partner takes a bullet and another pair of mismatched detectives needs to come in and close the case. We get some major backstory stuff here, and the season arc is moved along nicely. The detective story itself isn’t my favorite, but what Underwood does with the tropes, themes, conventions, etc. is really good — it is more of a TV detective story than a novel detective story. Think Castle, not Harry Bosch (whoops, thanks Amazon, you ruined that point…). ( my original blog post)

The Failed Fellowship (Part 1 & 2) — This think kicks off with Leah Tang ranting about fantasy fiction and 5 episodes later, she gets to spend 2 episodes in Fantasy World, where a Chosen One with a Magic Artifact story has fallen to pieces. Leah’s in hog heaven, the rest of the team are at the top of their game and Underwood is, too. Rollicking good adventure. Best of the batch in every way. ( my original blog post)

I dig this series, and having all of the novellas in one handy collection is going to make it easier (I hope) for others to discover it — the collection is also a little cheaper than buying all the individual stories, which will also going to make things easier for people to discover it. If you haven’t dipped your toe in this world/these worlds yet, what are you waiting for?

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5 Stars