Tuesday, April 30, 2024

#Review - Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu #Fantasy #SyFy

Series:
 The Soulbound Saga
Format: Hardcover, 576 pages
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures

Can an orphan captive learn the secrets of the Dragon Riders to stand up and avenge his people?

Jai lives as a royal hostage in the Sabine Court—ever since his father Rohan, leader of the Steppefolk, led a failed rebellion and was executed by the very emperor Jai now serves.

When the emperor’s son and heir is betrothed to Princess Erica of the neighboring Dansk Kingdom, she brings with her a dowry: dragons. Endemic to the northern nation, these powerful beasts come in several forms, but mystery surrounds them. Only Dansk royalty know the secret to soulbonding with these dangerous beasts to draw on their power and strength. This marriage—and the alliance that forms—will change that forever.

But conspirators lurk in the shadows, and soon the Sabine Court is in chaos. With his life in danger, Jai uses the opportunity to escape with the Dansk handmaiden, Frida, and a stolen hatchling. Hunted at every turn, he must learn to cultivate magic and become a soulbound warrior--bonded to his dragon so he can finally fly!--if he has any chance of finding safety, seizing his destiny…and seeking his revenge.



New York Times bestselling author Taran Matharu’s debut adult fantasy series introduces an immersive story written in the tradition of the viral cultivation genre. Discover a rich world of magic, warriors, and dragons, in which a fearless orphan and an ambitious handmaiden flee from the empire that would imprison them, with a dream to return to their homelands and an unbreakable determination. This is an adult story featuring two teens trying to understand their destinies.

Key Characters: Jai, son of Rohan, King of the Kidra People, and Princess Erica, daughter of King Ivar of the Dansk Kingdom. Jai has lived as a royal hostage in the Sabine Court ever since his father Rohan, leader of the Steppefolk, led a failed rebellion and was executed by the very emperor Jai now serves. In this world, conquered tribes pay yearly tributes, and warriors already captured remain fettered. Tribes send their children to be raised in the Sabine Court until they reach the age of 20.

When the emperor’s son and heir is betrothed to Princess Erica of the neighboring Dansk Kingdom, she brings with her dragons. Endemic to the northern nation, these powerful beasts come in several forms, but mystery surrounds them. Only Dansk royalty know the secret to soulbonding with these dangerous beasts to draw on their power and strength. This marriage—and the alliance that forms—will change that forever. But conspirators lurk in the shadows, and soon the Sabine Court is in chaos. 

Jai is years away from his freedom, but his older brothers, Arjun and Samar, are close to gaining their freedom after years of being faithful to Prince Titus. Until Titus commits patricide against his father, Constantine. He also kills Jai's brothers and King Ivar, and most of his people in an ambush. Jai is blamed for the death of Leonid, the former Emperor, and forced to go on the run from the walled city of Latium to save his own life. Shortly thereafter, Jai finds that he has been soulbound to a baby dragon named Winter that was been born way too early. 

Jai's struggle to return to his homeland brings about a tenuous alliance with the supposed handmaiden to Princess Erica, Frida, and an old Gryphon Guard named Rufus who promises to teach Jai the secrets to being soulbound, while guiding him and Frida away from those who are chasing them including Titus, and Magnus, Lord Commander of the Gryphon Guard who helped Titus commit an act of war against the people his father was trying to make peace with. 

*Thoughts* Whenever you hand me a book that features dragons, I'm all in. It's like catnip for my soul. I absolutely adored the relationship between Kai and Winter, and look forward to watching it grow as the series continues. In this story, the Sabine Warriors are soulbound to Gryphon's but they are eager to learn how to be soulbound to Dragon's. They must cultivate it within themselves through a painstaking process. As Jai learns through a very painful process, being soulbound gives you access to Fire, light, speed, and strength. This story is dark at times, especially after Jai is captured, and tortured after being captured. The book ends on a cliffhanger that gives readers a peak into what they can expect next. 





Monday, April 29, 2024

#Review - A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen #YA #Fantasy

Series:
 Waxways # 2
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Dark Fantasy

Ren Monroe is a wolf among lions. After infiltrating one of the greatest Houses in Kathor through her successful bond with Theo Brood, she finds Theo’s father is two steps ahead. He exiles Theo and isolates Ren, strategically working to break her unwelcome grasp on his son—and foiling Ren’s first step to enacting the revenge she’s been planning her whole life.

Ren might have more resources than she’d ever imagined growing up, but she’ll still get nowhere without allies. Enter House Tin’Vori. Years ago, House Brood led an unprecedented raid to destroy a fellow House of Kathor. But a few siblings survived, and they haven’t forgotten the horrors waged against their family. Quietly, they’ve plotted their own revenge, waiting for the right moment to strike. And Ren Monroe might be their best chance.

Like fire, the Tin’Vori siblings are as dangerous as they are useful, both gifted in rare magics. Ren must decide how to unleash them against House Brood without hurting Theo in the process. Her feelings for Theo are growing past the boundaries of their bond, and Ren finds herself balanced on a knife’s edge, a breath away from immense power or utter ruin.



Scott Reintgen's A Whisper in the Walls is the second installment in the author's Waxways series. In this sequel to A Door in the Dark, Ren’s intellect and cunning are stretched to the limit in her quest to take down the system that stole her father’s life. Key Characters: Ren Monroe, Landwin Brood, Theo Brood, Dahvid Tin'Vori, and Nevelyn Tin'Vori. This story actually revolves around Ren, Dahvid, and Nevelyn as each character is fighting not only for survival but for revenge on House Brood.

After surviving the nightmare in the jungle, being only one of two survivors, and bonding with Theo Brood, Ren is trying to finish her mission of getting payback on the man who was responsible for the death of her father 10 years ago. After Theo is appointed the next watcher of the valley, meaning exile, Ren's plans take a bit of urgency to them. With Landwin demanding that Ren break the bond with Theo, and trying to catch her in a lie, Ren needs to find willing cohorts for her plans to work.

Years ago, House Brood led an unprecedented raid to destroy a fellow House of Kathor. But a few siblings (Dahvid & Nevelyn Tin'Vori) survived, and they haven’t forgotten the horrors waged against their family. Quietly, they’ve plotted their own revenge, waiting for the right moment to strike. And Ren Monroe might be their best chance. Like fire, the Tin’Vori siblings are as dangerous as they are useful, both gifted in rare magics.  

Ren must decide how to unleash them against House Brood without hurting Theo in the process. Her feelings for Theo are growing past the boundaries of their bond, and Ren finds herself balanced on a knife’s edge, a breath away from immense power or utter ruin knowing she is going to need Theo for her plans to work. To make things even more interesting, Ren's mother, Agnes, who allegedly gave up her magic, now seems to be working alongside a mysterious man named Harlow. Who is Harlow really, and what does he want?

The added narratives of Dahvid and Nevelyn make this book much stronger, while also expanding the world Reintgen created. So many things happen in this book, that you really need to pay attention. There are multiple revenge plans, surprising identities, political intrigue, betrayals, and even a little romance. And the ending? Another staggering cliffhanger I didn’t see coming as well as a death of a character which was truly heartbreaking. 





Friday, April 26, 2024

#Review - Calling of Light by Lori M. Lee #YA #Fantasy

Series:
 Shamanborn Series (#3)
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: April 16, 2024
Publisher: Page Street YA
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Dark Fantasy

In this epic conclusion to the Shamanborn trilogy, Sirscha must destroy the Dead Wood and defeat the Soulless before his magic consumes them all.

Queen Meilyr is dead, and a tenuous peace has settled over Evewyn. King Meilek's ascension has ended his sister's oppression of the shamanborn, marking a new start for the country where Sirscha, once a prisoner, has been elevated to a position as the King's Shadow. Yet, beneath the surface, tensions between shamanborn and other citizens remain high. Conflicts rage at Evewyn's borders. The Soulless still lurks in the darkness. And while some might call Sirscha a hero for allegedly killing the Queen, to many she's a monster—a soulrender just like the Soulless. Sometimes Sirscha even believes that herself.

But Sirscha recognizes the Soulless as the world's common enemy, and she is determined to hunt him down to prevent yet another war. As the Soulless reemerges and both his power and the Dead Wood grow, Sirscha knows time is running short. She'll have to trust in her true friends—and her own power—if she hopes to end the Soulless's hold over the land for good.

But when defeating him requires a sacrifice too terrible to conceive, Sirscha will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save Evewyn.



Calling of Light is the third and final installment in author Lori M. Lee's Shamanborn series. It has been two months since Queen Meilyr was stopped, and Prince Mailek returned to Vis Talwyn where he will soon ascend to King. It has been two months since Sirscha last encountered the deadly Soulless who was released from his prison thanks to the death of his brother, and now the Dead Woods stand as a greater threat than ever before, and one that is still growing, slowly but surely encroaching on the Empire’s borders. 

Rumors swirl that it was Sirscha who killed Queen Meilyr, and the only reason she accepted the role of King's Shadow was out of guilt for her perceived actions. Meilek's ascension to King has ended his sister's oppression of the shamanborn, marking a new start for the country, but trials loom large as long as the Soulless is free. And while some might call Sirscha a hero, too many others think she's a monster because she's a soulrender just like the Soulless. Sometimes Sirscha even believes that herself. 

With the Empire demanding Sirscha's head for her actions, she has little time to relax before she is off on yet another important mission to save those she loves. Sirscha questions the power she never even wanted as soulrender as well as King's Shadow. But now she may have the means to save the world by destroying her rival who is on a mission to eliminate a certain House. Sirscha recognizes the Soulless as the world's common enemy, and she is determined to hunt him down to prevent yet another war.

Even if it means making a deal with the hated Empire who wants her head. As the Soulless reemerges and both his power and the Dead Wood grow, Sirscha knows time is running short. She'll have to trust in her true friends, like Saengo, Mailek, and Theyen, and her own power if she hopes to end the Soulless's hold over the land for good. But when defeating him requires a sacrifice too terrible to conceive, Sirscha will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save Evewyn.

*Thoughts* What I really liked about this book is that it was about friendship and not romance to bog the story down. I think the relationship between Sirscha and Saengo is truly one of trust and respect, and a bit of love for each other. They have been through so much since Saengo became Sirscha's familiar thanks to a heartbreaking moment in the first story. Sirscha's relationship with Kendara is a curious one. Kendara pushed Sirscha to her limits to be her replacement as King's Shadow, and then she makes a choice that is not only shocking but awe-inspiring after Sirscha's final battle with the Soulless. The curious relationship between Sirscha and Soulless is one of two people who share the same ability but not the same goals. The intricate world-building and richly imagined setting serve as a vibrant backdrop to the unfolding drama. 




Thursday, April 25, 2024

#Review - Bound by Magic by Katerina Martinez #Fantasy #Romance

Series:
 The Shadow War # 1
Format: Kindle, 273 pages
Release Date: April 19, 2024
Publisher: Supernal Publishing 
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Fantasy / Romance

They called it the Shadow War, and it had raged for centuries.

It was a time when magical families fought to tear artifacts and powerful spells from each other's corpses, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake. It was brutal, a war waged away from human eyes.

Thirty years ago, the remaining four families came together to sign the Codex Magica Treaty, giving up their most dangerous spells and artifacts as part of the agreement. An uneasy peace was forged.

Though the other families have been quiet for years, my parents remained vigilant, constantly on guard for potential attacks. My younger brother and I have been overprotected all our lives, never allowed to leave our home for fear of what may happen to us, but I long to experience the outside world.

On the eve of my brother's twenty-first birthday, I sneak us both out of the mansion to give him a real taste of freedom. What he doesn't know is that I've already been sneaking out for months to see someone I shouldn't be seeing under any circumstances.

I should've listened to my parents.


Bound by Magic is the first installment in author Katerina Martinez's The Shadow War series. Key Characters: Beatrice Ethera, and Lucien Diaboli. Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They called it the Shadow War, and it had raged for centuries. It was a time when magical families fought to tear artifacts and powerful spells from each other's corpses, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake. It was brutal, a war waged away from human eyes.


Thirty years ago, the remaining four families (Ethera, Diverjents, Recondites, and Diaboli) came together to sign the Codex Magica Treaty, giving up their most dangerous spells and artifacts as part of the agreement. An uneasy peace was forged. Though the other families have been quiet for years, Beatrice's
 parents remained vigilant, constantly on guard for potential attacks. In fact, Beatrice and her brother Max have been prevented from going into Boston proper.


So, what does Beatrice do? She steals her aunt's powerful amulet and sneaks them both out of the family mansion to give Max a real taste of freedom. What Max doesn't know is that Beatrice isn't all that smart or secretive. She's done this time and time again and put the family in harm's way. The reason she has been sneaking out is to have sex with a boy. But in this case, she selfishly loses her aunt's pendant giving an open door to their enemies. 


You see, Lucien belongs to the hated Diaboli family led by Mason and Carla Diaboli. And, guess who ends up getting their hands on the amulet? Anyway....thanks to Beatrice, their home is invaded, her parents are murdered, and she quickly sends her brother off with the amulet before Mason can get into the family vault to retrieve something he wants badly. The Infernal Engine. So, Beatrice becomes a prisoner until she can help the Diaboli retrieve yet another artifact, this time from the Recondites.


*Thoughts* Let's get down to the reason for my rating. First, Beatrice is a selfish, inconsiderate girl who only thinks with her sex organs, not her brain. She craves sex with Lucien like other people crave caffeine or chocolate. Only, now with her idiocy, Beatrice and Lucien may be the reason why another Shadow War isn't that far off. Especially after they pissed off the Recondites. We haven't met the Diverjents yet, so let's hold off on what they may or may not do. This series is literally called a paranormal mafia romance by the author which means that readers will not only get a large amount of chapters filled with sex, but X-Rated sex. I find it funny that people have said there are likable characters in this book. The only innocent character is Max. 





Tuesday, April 23, 2024

#Review - Fair Market Value by Hailey Edwards #Fantasy

Series:
 The Body Shop # 1
Format: Kindle, 266 pages
Release Date: April 18, 2024
Publisher: Black Dog Books, LLC
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: New Adult / Fantasy

Forgot to feed your goldfish before your untimely demise? Need to jot down a will? Say a goodbye? See the Grand Canyon? Then come visit us at The Body Shop, where unfinished business is our business.

Mary Frances Talbot—Frankie—is a necromancer, probably. Hard to say since she never met her parents. She can see the dead, talk to the dead, and a few other things that aren’t strictly legal. It’s fine. No worries. As long as she doesn’t get caught.

The whole not getting caught thing was going well until Samuel Harrow blew back into town wearing a Savannah Police Department uniform. He might be a witch, but he hates magic. He’s not a fan of Frankie either. Which explains why he’s her ex.

When Frankie’s less than legal side gigs result in dead vampires, she knows she’s in trouble. 
Big trouble. And that’s before Harrow offers to help. With him waving a Get Out of Jail Free card in her face, Frankie doesn’t have much choice but to accept.

But that doesn’t mean she has to forgive. She’ll certainly never forget him breaking her heart or turning her over to the police or... Yeah. They were doomed from the start. Something tells her this investigation will be too.




Fair Market Value is the first installment in author Hailey Edwards' The Body Shop series. This is a brand-new series with a new cast of characters. The cast of characters includes Mary Francis Talbot aka Frankie (Necromancer), Josie Talbot (Dryad), Matty Talbot (Onerios), Samuel Harrow (Witch), and Carter (Redcap). The story is set in and around Savannah, Georgia. Frankie is a necromancer, probably. Hard to say since she never met her parents. She, like Josie, and Matty were orphans who grew up together and escaped to form their own family unit. 

Frankie can see the dead, talk to the dead, and do a few other things that aren’t strictly legal. It’s fine. No worries. As long as she doesn’t get caught. Frankie has created her own rules for her business: Do No Harm, Break No Laws, Honor the Donor, Secrecy is Key, and No Physical Acts of Intimacy. Frankie's business literally says that if you have unfinished business, and want to have some additional time, she will loan out a magical preserved body for spirits. 

Necromancers are normally governed by the Society for Post-Life Management, but Frankie and the Society have a love-hate relationship. She hates them with a passion. Things seem to be going well. The siblings even have their own auto shop to generate money. That is until a loaner appears to have killed a vampire, and the return of one Samuel Harrow, Frankie's ex. Samuel, now with the Savannah Police, once hated magic, but now appears to have come to use it in his new position as part of a new group. 

Harrow offers to help. With him waving a Get Out of Jail Free card in her face, Frankie doesn’t have much choice but to accept. Harrow works for a group known as 514 aka the Unmentionables along with Carter who seems to quickly take to Frankie and Josie. There's not a whole lot I can say about the group since they seem to be entirely focused on Frankie's abilities and her curious relationship to a mysterious character named Kierce.

But when it appears that spirits in several cemeteries have also disappeared, it makes Kierce worried, and for very good reasons. There are a few surprises at the end of this story that seem to have resolved open questions about villains. Frankie and Kierce have a curious relationship, and I have to ask if this is going to be a triangle with Harrow, or will the author focus on only one aspect? Josie being a dryad comes with plenty of interesting storylines. Matty being a oneiro means that he spends most of his time in people's dreams. 






Monday, April 22, 2024

#Review - Next of Kin by Samantha Jayne Allen #Mystery #Suspense

Series:
 Annie McIntyre Mysteries (#3)
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery / Suspense

From Tony Hillerman Prize-winning author Samantha Jayne Allen comes Next of Kin, a mesmerizing new novel set in a hardscrabble Texas town, where the past is never far away.

At a gathering for her cousin’s wedding party, newly-licensed PI Annie McIntyre gets asked an age-old question: what really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question is on his mind. Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change.

When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber who her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. When the brother of her client dies suddenly, his death ruled a suicide, Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried.

As Annie sets out to find who killed the brother—and stays out of sight lest she be next—she finds herself searching abandoned, overgrown fields, scouring pool halls and roadside motels, wondering if she will ever escape the sense that her world in Garnett, TX expands and contracts in off-kilter ways, growing smaller and yet still more confounding. Fearing that in a place where everyone knows everyone, your enemy is always closer than you think.


Next of Kin, by Samantha Jayne Allen, is the third installment in the author's Annie McIntyre Mysteries series. It has been a year since Annie McIntyre became part of the McIntyre Investigations as a private investigator with her senior partner Mary Pat Zimmerman with a bit of help from her grandfather Leroy McIntyre, a former Sheriff of Garnett, Texas. 

At a gathering for her cousin’s wedding party, Annie gets asked an age-old question: what really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question is on his mind. Adoptive parents don’t always want to be known or found and old wounds can be deep. 

Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change. She also takes it upon herself to find Clint's family including a brother who doesn't live that far away. When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances and it's ruled a suicide by the local Sheriff, that doesn't sit well with Annie. 

Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried. When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber whom her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. Annie also stumbles on another broken and wounded family. 

A teen went missing years ago, and her mother is still angry, broken, and blaming a certain retired Sheriff for not doing enough to find her daughter. She truly believes that if someone had listened to her years before, her daughter would have been found alive. To make matters even more disturbing, Clint vanishes leaving a message behind that says he's going to Nashville to become a country music star and breaking up with his girlfriend who seems to be neither concerned nor worried. 

And, let's not forget that Annie has a very dangerous enemy. Eli Wallace is a local drug dealer who knows that Annie is talking to the DEA about his operation. When Cody dies, Eli takes it very personally and puts Annie on notice that he's not done with her yet. Eli considered Cody to be kin, and when you mess with Eli's kin, Eli seeks vengeance on those responsible.  

*Thoughts* Even though Eli's storyline is a carryover from a previous installment, this story can be read as a standalone. There is a mystery that turns into a twisted family saga you really have to pay attention to the clues so that when the real villains stand up, you won't be surprised. I liked that Annie can rely on Leroy when she gets stuck with situations that she may or may not be able to get out of herself. I also like the relationship between Annie and her parents who seem supportive no matter what she does. 



Chapter One

I settled in behind the wheel and took a deep, rib cage–opening breath. Wyatt buckled his seat belt and I turned the ignition. We were running late to my cousin’s party after our cat, Tate, refused to let me catch him and put him up for the night. Wasn’t about to let the devil stay out past dark and end up a coyote’s supper, but he’d tried me.

Our house, a limestone seventies ranch we rented out in the country, shrank in the rearview as I pulled away. “Did you turn the hose off?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“You’re sure?”

He reached over, gently cupped the back of my head in his hand. He liked to touch my hair when I wore it down. “You’re stalling. Quit trying to get out of this.”

I laughed—he was right and he wasn’t. I wanted to celebrate my cousin Nikki and her fiancé, Sonny, but always found it hard to leave that little house behind. That slice of time between sunset and nightfall when we watered the tomato plants and peppers, talked—that was what I’d be missing. Wyatt cranked the AC and I turned down the farm-to-market road toward town. Life is long. Hard to see a shape or any kind of arc while you’re living it. I never thought I’d be living this life—a good life, but one of a million possible options. Decent options. I could’ve stayed gone after college and never come home to Garnett, and who knew what would’ve happened then. But, also, being with Wyatt felt like a cascading row of dominoes. Click after satisfying click. He was someone I felt my truest self around.

Clint, Sonny’s brother and also his best man, had offered to host a get-together for the wedding party at his place. The address was on a nice, sycamore-lined street in the older part of town. I parked in a line of cars that stretched from the driveway down the block. Smoke hazed the air, tinting the blue dusk bluer. The smell wafted over me as I got out and I straightened my neck. No crispness to the breeze, no hint of fall. This smell was an alarm sounding in the animal part of my brain. Like when our neighbors burned trash in the pasture and the wind changed course—stinging, sour. I looked at Wyatt. “Where’s that coming from?”

Wyatt stretched, swept his eyes over a sky ribbed with pink and dark purple. “Another wildfire west of town, I’ll bet.”

We’d had a long, dry summer after a wet and volatile spring. The land as it was now reminded me of the chaparral in old westerns, with its cacti, mesquite, and gnarled live oaks punctuating an endless brown. A tumbleweed had even rolled down Main Street the other day. Nights like this when it would stay a hundred out, I felt a slow-building panic, a sense of waltzing into the impending apocalypse. But that was August in Garnett every year: hot as hell and quite literally on fire. I grabbed a six-pack of Shiner from the backseat of the bullet—I drove a used Pontiac I’d dubbed the silver bullet on account of my superstitious nature and its color. Dinged up and not much to look at now, but it got me where I was going.

We cut across the grass toward the white bungalow. Wyatt’s fingers grazed mine, but it was too hot to hold hands, and neither of us were really hand-holders anyway. I moved mine to his waist, my thumb through his belt loop. The wide front porch had string lights tacked onto the railing, which a couple of old bikes leaned up against. It was crowded with cardboard cases of crushed beer cans. The front door was open, laughter spilling out. Nikki, bride-to-be, saw us coming and met us in the hall, wrapping me in a sweaty hug. She wore a white eyelet sundress that flattered her, her mess of blond curls bouncing around her shoulders. I spied her other bridesmaids not far behind, another cousin of mine using her car keys to shotgun a beer.

“What’s up?” Nikki said, a bite in her voice.

“You look great. That’s a cute dress,” I said, figuring she was nervous. “Sorry we’re late.”

A pretty woman with long, balayage’d hair met us in the hall. She twisted her hands, letting out a deep breath as though she’d been eagerly awaiting us. Tall, thin, and angular, she looked like a model. Sharp, contoured cheekbones a contrast to pillowy lips, a soft smile. She managed to pull off one of those prairie dresses that look dowdy on anyone but models. “Annie, right? Nikki’s said so much about you. I’m with Clint,” she said, leading us into the kitchen. “I’m Amanda.”

“Hey, nice to finally meet you,” I said, wiping my hand on my shorts—denim, a fashion nonchoice I now regretted—before offering it. “This is my boyfriend, Wyatt.”

They exchanged pleasantries as I looked over Wyatt’s shoulder. Clint had come in from the backyard. He sauntered through the living room with an acoustic guitar in one hand, a beer in the other. I normally would find the guitar red-flag behavior, but Clint Marshall was a real-deal musician. He’d opened for some big country acts on his last tour, and had a single on Spotify that was rumored to hit the Americana charts any day now. He looked the part of lead singer with his square jaw and handsome smile. His sandy, dirty-looking hair was loosely knotted into a bun, a strand left hanging into dark eyes. He adorned himself with turquoise rings and leather bracelets, with ink on his arms, black vines that traced his collarbone. He’d grown up around here, was around my age, our mothers had even been acquaintances, and yet I hadn’t known him before Sonny introduced us.

He laid the guitar on a stained, worn-out couch that looked like many a guy had passed out on it still wearing their shoes. The whole place had that vibe—like a house where fraternity brothers lived, or, I supposed, a band. I was pretty sure Clint had moved here alone, though, to be closer to his family. Nikki had said this was his and Sonny’s late father’s house, and it was a nice house despite the mess, with high ceilings, crown moldings, wooden built-ins. Like with the right décor it might’ve been on some HGTV special. Clint smiled and shrugged at me in the way of hello, and I nodded back.

Amanda clapped her hands together, turning her gaze on me. “Everyone like Patrón?”

“Girl, you’ve already done too much! That’s expensive, stop,” Nikki said, edging out Wyatt to stand between Amanda and me. Limes were sliced and in a neat pile on the cutting board, a dish of flaky salt beside them. There were cocktail napkins, homemade guacamole, three types of salsas, warm chips, veggie platters—all of this was on real plates, too. Despite Nikki’s protests, Amanda took a tray of shot glasses she’d been icing from the freezer and handed me the bottle of tequila. The whole presentation was a little at odds with the beer cans piling up and the lone box of Tombstone on the freezer shelf.

“We’re going to toast to you and Sonny,” Amanda said, mock stern. “In fact, Wyatt, how about you and Clint round up the others?”

Wyatt looked relieved to be given a task, and Clint clapped him on the back as they walked outside. He knew Sonny, of course, but none of the groomsmen, who were all Sonny’s friends from high school or his army buddies. Wyatt was always fun and laid-back at parties, but I knew part of his chillness was actually a preference to draw inward, be the one listening instead of doing the talking. He was curious—a quality I liked about him—though he sometimes came off as aloof or shy. There was an exuberance specific to weddings and wedding-adjacent events that tired him—tired me, too, for that matter.

I placed a lime on the rim of each glass, trying to pinpoint why I felt sheepish—because Amanda was being a good hostess, I realized. I needed to up my maid of honor game. When Nikki and Sonny got engaged last spring, I’d been openly skeptical. I knew they were in love, but worried they’d break each other’s hearts. They’d gotten engaged after only six months of dating, during which they’d split up twice. Besides that, Nikki was twenty-five, only a year and change older than me. Too young. Nikki liked to say she and Sonny kept each other on their toes, that if you fought you got to make up. Me and Wyatt, not our style. We’d been together since high school. Well, in high school, and later, after college when our paths detoured back to Garnett. The restlessness I felt about the future wasn’t him, though—I’d never wanted a relationship I had to guess at. No, my problem was like loving the wind but being afraid of flying. I’d always had a hard time being present, whether I wanted something different or was worried about losing what I had.

The rest of the wedding party trailed in behind Wyatt. Sonny took a tequila shot off the tray as I walked past him, whooped, and beat his chest. That was Sonny, happy to be here and proud to tell it. He grinned at me, giving me a quick sideways hug. I liked Sonny, I did. Even if at first I’d thought his keep-the-party-going persona made him shallow. I now saw his nature for what it was, that he was infected with a strong desire to please. He cared too much, and damn it if I didn’t know what that felt like.

“Here’s to the happy couple,” Amanda said, raising her glass.

Nikki sipped the shot. One of her false eyelashes was coming unglued and she blinked furiously, making her smile look forced. Sonny downed his and replaced it with a Marlboro, listing as he hooked his muscled arm around her. The ex-football player to Nikki’s ex-varsity cheerleader, he was also blond and tanned. Nikki had been on him to quit smoking—indoors, at least—and I braced myself for one of their play fights, likely to evolve into a real one if the tequila kept flowing.

Amanda cut her eyes between me and Sonny, giving me a knowing look. “So, Annie,” she said, raising her voice so that everyone could hear. “Sonny was telling us you’re a private detective. You must have some insane stories, yeah?”

“A few,” I said tightly. Didn’t mind talking about my work, but hated making light of the hard parts. Requests to tell crazy stories delivered in a bemused, slightly condescending tone often came to me at bars and at parties. And I got defensive, not because I was embarrassed, but because it mattered. Being a detective wasn’t a job to me; it was me. What started as a shaky-at-best situation—working for my ex-sheriff grandfather until I figured out what to do with my life—had become my life. Me, the straight-A student that always wanted a career-identity. I told myself it was ambition, this intensity, but my desires weren’t so much about competition or comparison anymore. I felt like my heart was flint in want of a whetstone. Maybe that was what people saw, what they also wanted—to glimpse the dark, to touch the sharp edges. Like a podcast come to life, they wanted me to lecture on the criminal mind in a deep, seductive voice, to give them a scare. Mostly, they wanted me to dish on other people’s secrets.

“Have you found killers and stuff like that?”

“It’s not usually like that,” I said, meeting Amanda’s wide-eyed gaze. “But yeah, I have.”




Friday, April 19, 2024

#Review - The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black #YA #Fantasy

Series:
 The Stolen Heir # 2
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Dark Fantasy

Return to the opulent world of Elfhame, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and dangerous desires, with this second book of a captivating duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black. 

An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame. 
 
Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he’s always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign—even if it means ending Wren, too.


 
With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It’s just a question of whom he will doom.

Holly Black's The Prisoner's Throne is the second and final installment in the author's The Stolen Heir duology. The first book in this series was narrated by Wren. This is narrated by Oak. Prince Oak, who 6 weeks ago was planning a treasonous plot against the High King (Cardan) and Queen (Jude), is now paying for his betrayal of Queen Suren (Wren). Imprisoned in The Ice Needle Citadel, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. 

With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he’s always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign—even if it means ending Wren, too. Wren, who has since made an alliance with the Troll Kings, has the power of annihilation at her fingertips. She can break curses and tear spells to pieces with barely any effort.

But every time she uses her powers, she loses a part of herself that she can't get back. With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, especially by Bogdana, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It’s just a question of whom he will doom. It is fair to say that with Cardan and Jude participating in this story, the story was a bit more enjoyable since Oak is a character who seems to hate himself, while Wren is on the cusp of destroying herself because of outside pressure.

Wren isn't the only one with fears and insecurities about being loved. Oak's gancanagh power makes him wonder if anyone truly loves him or if he inadvertently made them do so, even his own family. Oak, he is charming and manipulative, but he also cares about his sisters and family. Wren goes from this scared and easily manipulated girl, desperate to be loved to a terrifying and powerful monster queen, but with no resolution to her major and justifiable trust issues. I don't think I am in the minority when I say that Wren's POV would have gone a long way to understanding what was happening to her thanks to the schemes of others. 

Fact: I do not intend to read another book in this world unless I am forced to kicking and screaming. While Black is a really good writer, the need to bring back certain characters, and also add unnecessary plots grated on my last nerve. 




Thursday, April 18, 2024

#Review -Second Shot by Cindy Dees #Thriller #Espionage

Series:
 Helen Warwick # 1
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Release Date: May 23, 2023
Publisher: Kensington
Source: Library
Genre: Thrillers / Espionage

Retirement isn’t easy for a former CIA assassin. For fifty-five-year-old Helen Warwick, it may be impossible. Even Helen’s family doesn’t know the true nature of the work she’s done for decades—the secret black ops, the sanctioned executions. But her plan to spend time reconnecting with her grown children has just been blown up—along with her son’s house—by hired killers. Why is she being targeted now—and by whom?

Years of eliminating the nation’s enemies one sniper bullet at a time have earned Helen powerful adversaries. Then there are mysterious new foes, including a psychopath dubbed The DaVinci Killer, who wages a twisted war with a rival serial killer to turn murder into art. And when he sets his sights on Helen, she may very well become his next exhibit.

From homegrown spies to Russian mafia hitmen, Helen’s ghosts don’t just haunt—they kill. And staying alive long enough to make up for the past, and protect those closest to her, will take every ounce of skill she possesses…



Cindy Dees' Second Shot is the first installment in the author's Helen Warwick series. This taut, action-packed thriller introduces unforgettable heroine Helen Warwick, a highly skilled CIA assassin trying to navigate retirement, settle into a normal life, and reconnect with her family in the midst of mortal combat. After unceremoniously being forced into retirement by the CIA, 55-year-old Helen Warwick is trying to settle down in her retirement to make up for lost time with her family, and her husband. 

Helen retired as a deadly sniper for the CIA with many sanctioned executions and likely as many enemies who would love to see her gone from this world. Especially the Russians. Unfortunately for Helen, retirement doesn't last long. In fact, as soon as the story opens, Helen is dog-sitting for her son Peter and his boyfriend Liang, who works for the NSA, when a hit squad of mercenaries barge into the couple's home and starts shooting. Helen is forced to protect herself, killing three of the shooters, and jumping right back into the espionage game. 

After the fourth escapes, Helen makes it her primary goal to hunt down this man and make him pay. Someone clearly has it out for the retired government assassin. Or, was it someone else and she got in the way? Soon, Helen is pulled into another twisted investigation by Angela Vincent. Angela is a Defense attorney who has clients who were framed by a serial killer. The serial killer known as the DaVinci Killer, thinks it's cool to use body parts to recreate famous works of art and post results on the dark web.

Here, the author introduces readers to two very disturbed and twisted individuals who used the name DaVinci Killer. One is a copycat trying to outdo the original, and the other is a sociopathic killer who may go by yet another name. Both killers have some really brutal ways to kill people while impressing the sickest people in society; those on the dark web. One of the killers may be a double agent deep in the heart of the federal government who will do whatever they can to keep their identity from being uncovered.

To top it off, Helen finds herself in yet another dangerous situation when a man deep in the heart of the federal government targets Helen's former boss Yosef Mizrah forcing her to think about who in the government is a traitor. And, if that weren't enough, Helen's family is truly horrible, except maybe her daughter and Liang Chen who helps Helen even though he might be in the way of a really dangerous individual. The one positive for Helen is her relationship with Yosef which I am not sure how far the author is willing to go with it. 

*Thoughts* Some may scoff at Helen being 55 and having the skills of a younger person. This is why I like Helen even when she is complaining about the aches and pains of growing old. Who among the 55-64 crown doesn't complain about aches and pains? I am curious to know whether or not Helen will finally break down and inform her twisted family of what she did for the past 25 years. I think Liang already knows seeing he got involved in tracking down a traitor. This book kind of reminds me of the novel Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. Older women still do have skills even if the younger generation wants to put us all out to nursing homes. I am looking forward to seeing if the author can continue Helen's impressive abilities for another story.