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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated A Nun in the Closet in Books
Mar 9, 2022
Laughs and Thrills
The nuns in the Abbey of St. Tabitha are shocked when they are left a house and estate in New York State, several hundred miles from where they live in cloister. However, they must decide what to do with it, so Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe are elected to head up there and get a feel for what they’ve been left. Within hours of arriving, they’ve discovered a suitcase full of cash in the well and a man bleeding out from a gunshot wound in an upstairs closet. What is happening on this property? Why was it left to the nuns?
While I have loved the Mrs. Pollifax series for decades, I have never read any of Dorothy Gilman’s non-Mrs. Pollifax books. I’m glad I decided to fix that since this one was delightful. Yes, I had the broad strokes of the plot figured out early on, but I was missing a few pieces, and the twists along the way kept me highly entertained. The characters are good. They could be a little stronger overall, but they work to draw us into the story. Since the book came out in 1975, some of the references are dated, but that’s only worth noting in passing. I appreciated how one subject was handled without the book crossing into lecture mode. And the laughs were plentiful. I was smiling each time I picked up the book knowing that I was in for more fun. A lesser authors couldn’t have pulled this mix off, but Dorothy Gilman makes it look easy. I’m glad I finally picked it up.
While I have loved the Mrs. Pollifax series for decades, I have never read any of Dorothy Gilman’s non-Mrs. Pollifax books. I’m glad I decided to fix that since this one was delightful. Yes, I had the broad strokes of the plot figured out early on, but I was missing a few pieces, and the twists along the way kept me highly entertained. The characters are good. They could be a little stronger overall, but they work to draw us into the story. Since the book came out in 1975, some of the references are dated, but that’s only worth noting in passing. I appreciated how one subject was handled without the book crossing into lecture mode. And the laughs were plentiful. I was smiling each time I picked up the book knowing that I was in for more fun. A lesser authors couldn’t have pulled this mix off, but Dorothy Gilman makes it look easy. I’m glad I finally picked it up.
A Dangerous Breed
6.0
Rate It
Book
Van Shaw’s past and present collide when an ingenious blackmailer pushes him to the brink in this...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Evermine ( Daughters of Askara book 2) in Books
Aug 18, 2022
147 of 230
Kindle
Evermine ( Daughters of Askara book 2)
By Hailey Edwards
⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s such a thing as too much change. Emma’s sister is mated. Revolution is brewing in her home realm. The last straw: her would-be mate is back from the dead and back under her skin—yet when it comes to the last five years, he’s not talking.
Desperate for a chance to start her own life, she answers the queen’s call to ensure equality for all of Askara’s newly freed slaves. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape a heartbreak in the making named Harper.
Harper loses a piece of his fractured soul when Emma walks away. His lies were meant to protect her from torturous years that drove him to the point of madness. Instead, when he comes to her a year later to help avert a crisis in a freed-slave community, the wedge those lies drove between them is firmly in place.
As their new lives collide with old wounds, they race to stop a threat that could not only destroy the queen, but send Harper back to the hell he escaped. Emma must decide if the man she still loves deserves equal rights to her heart.
This was ok. I really enjoyed book one I like the demons in this series. I just don’t know what it was about this one I just got a little bored. Im not a huge fan of Emma her character just gets on my nerves a bit! I like where the story is going so it’s a 3 star for me.
Kindle
Evermine ( Daughters of Askara book 2)
By Hailey Edwards
⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s such a thing as too much change. Emma’s sister is mated. Revolution is brewing in her home realm. The last straw: her would-be mate is back from the dead and back under her skin—yet when it comes to the last five years, he’s not talking.
Desperate for a chance to start her own life, she answers the queen’s call to ensure equality for all of Askara’s newly freed slaves. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape a heartbreak in the making named Harper.
Harper loses a piece of his fractured soul when Emma walks away. His lies were meant to protect her from torturous years that drove him to the point of madness. Instead, when he comes to her a year later to help avert a crisis in a freed-slave community, the wedge those lies drove between them is firmly in place.
As their new lives collide with old wounds, they race to stop a threat that could not only destroy the queen, but send Harper back to the hell he escaped. Emma must decide if the man she still loves deserves equal rights to her heart.
This was ok. I really enjoyed book one I like the demons in this series. I just don’t know what it was about this one I just got a little bored. Im not a huge fan of Emma her character just gets on my nerves a bit! I like where the story is going so it’s a 3 star for me.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Gypsy Origins ( All the Pretty Monsters book3) in Books
Sep 24, 2022
172 of 230
Kindle
Gypsy Origins ( All The Pretty Monsters book 3)
By Kristy cunning
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm like a snowball rolling downhill.
That's the first thing that pops into my mind when I try to explain my life. I don't know exactly "what'"I am, but I do know who I am. At least...I did.
Sometimes life sends things your way that upend everything you thought you knew, and then slings you in another direction without any sort of harness or warning.
Sometimes it drops someone like me off in the path of four wildly different monsters, who all used to be best friends, but now sort of hate each other and compete over absolutely everything, including...me.
Life would be easier if I wasn't already attached to those four monsters, but they occasionally let their guard down around me, and I get a glimpse of what has to stay hidden under all those snowball layers, since they already rolled downhill a long time ago.
I'm tired of losing people I care about. I'm tired of searching aimlessly for answers. I'm tired of not having the right questions to ask.
I do like this series. I really like the characters and storyline. The only one thing with this one was there was so much more information thrown at you and sometimes didn’t come across so clear so you had backtrack and reread a few bits. Saying that I do like the new developments and she finally tells them to man up and do what they should be doing. Looking forward to what comes next! Warning though this ends on a cliffhanger!
Kindle
Gypsy Origins ( All The Pretty Monsters book 3)
By Kristy cunning
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm like a snowball rolling downhill.
That's the first thing that pops into my mind when I try to explain my life. I don't know exactly "what'"I am, but I do know who I am. At least...I did.
Sometimes life sends things your way that upend everything you thought you knew, and then slings you in another direction without any sort of harness or warning.
Sometimes it drops someone like me off in the path of four wildly different monsters, who all used to be best friends, but now sort of hate each other and compete over absolutely everything, including...me.
Life would be easier if I wasn't already attached to those four monsters, but they occasionally let their guard down around me, and I get a glimpse of what has to stay hidden under all those snowball layers, since they already rolled downhill a long time ago.
I'm tired of losing people I care about. I'm tired of searching aimlessly for answers. I'm tired of not having the right questions to ask.
I do like this series. I really like the characters and storyline. The only one thing with this one was there was so much more information thrown at you and sometimes didn’t come across so clear so you had backtrack and reread a few bits. Saying that I do like the new developments and she finally tells them to man up and do what they should be doing. Looking forward to what comes next! Warning though this ends on a cliffhanger!
Merissa (12943 KP) rated His Boy to Cherish (Naughty or Nice Season Two) in Books
Dec 28, 2021 (Updated Jul 9, 2023)
HIS BOY TO CHERISH is part of the Naughty or Nice Season Two series, and I am over the moon to announce Jayden gets his HEA!!!!
Oh, man! I fell for Jayden in Greeking Out and my heart hurt for him because the Daddy he got was definitely NOT one on the caring scale. And it was obvious from the very beginning that THAT is what Jayden not only wants but needs.
Bless him, you find out about Jayden's life and he's had it rough but he keeps up appearances and leaves his mask firmly in place as no one wants a grumpy boy. It is up to Ben to prove to him that he wants him no matter what, through joy and sadness, through pain and sorrow, as well as good times. And boy, does Ben step up to the mark!
This has a light Christmas theme, as in they first meet on Boxing Day and their courtship takes place over the Christmas period. Ben and Jayden instantly click but both have questions -- which is completely understandable!
I loved how Troy and Apollo were here but didn't take over the story. I really want Jude to have his own too. Yes, I'm greedy!
A warm and fuzzy story that is absolutely recommended by me. It is heartwarming and sincere and left me with a huge smile on my face. Loved it!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 28, 2021
Oh, man! I fell for Jayden in Greeking Out and my heart hurt for him because the Daddy he got was definitely NOT one on the caring scale. And it was obvious from the very beginning that THAT is what Jayden not only wants but needs.
Bless him, you find out about Jayden's life and he's had it rough but he keeps up appearances and leaves his mask firmly in place as no one wants a grumpy boy. It is up to Ben to prove to him that he wants him no matter what, through joy and sadness, through pain and sorrow, as well as good times. And boy, does Ben step up to the mark!
This has a light Christmas theme, as in they first meet on Boxing Day and their courtship takes place over the Christmas period. Ben and Jayden instantly click but both have questions -- which is completely understandable!
I loved how Troy and Apollo were here but didn't take over the story. I really want Jude to have his own too. Yes, I'm greedy!
A warm and fuzzy story that is absolutely recommended by me. It is heartwarming and sincere and left me with a huge smile on my face. Loved it!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 28, 2021
Merissa (12943 KP) rated Garbage (The SPARK Files, #1) in Books
Jul 20, 2023
GARBAGE is the first book in The SPARK Files and I firstly want to say that I love these characters!
Quincy is a sentient robot, commonly known as a Spark. He goes about doing his job, not hurting anyone else, when he is attacked by a small group of Human Firsters. Yep, they're as bad as they sound! Evan stops the attack and takes Quincy home, where Quincy is subjected to a whole new world of possibilities, more than he was ever aware of.
Oh, man. This story! It is a paradox - dealing with hard-hitting (pun intended) storylines with characters too cute and cuddly... and undeniably HOT! The thing I loved the most is that both of them had insecurities. Both of them needed to work through their own personal issues. They were both there for the other and I just wanted to squidge them so badly!
One thing - there is an on-page assault and it's horrible. So incredibly well written! My eyes were leaking all the way through that scene, even as I appreciated how we managed to get a dual perspective of it. I'd just composed myself when we got the 'feet' scene when Quincy is detained. Boom! I was gone... again!
Quincy and Evan are so perfect together. I loved the whole book and can't wait to continue with the series. HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 20, 2023
Quincy is a sentient robot, commonly known as a Spark. He goes about doing his job, not hurting anyone else, when he is attacked by a small group of Human Firsters. Yep, they're as bad as they sound! Evan stops the attack and takes Quincy home, where Quincy is subjected to a whole new world of possibilities, more than he was ever aware of.
Oh, man. This story! It is a paradox - dealing with hard-hitting (pun intended) storylines with characters too cute and cuddly... and undeniably HOT! The thing I loved the most is that both of them had insecurities. Both of them needed to work through their own personal issues. They were both there for the other and I just wanted to squidge them so badly!
One thing - there is an on-page assault and it's horrible. So incredibly well written! My eyes were leaking all the way through that scene, even as I appreciated how we managed to get a dual perspective of it. I'd just composed myself when we got the 'feet' scene when Quincy is detained. Boom! I was gone... again!
Quincy and Evan are so perfect together. I loved the whole book and can't wait to continue with the series. HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 20, 2023
Debbiereadsbook (1454 KP) rated The Hitman's Omega Priest (River City Omegas #1) in Books
Jul 2, 2025
A welcome return to Arthur's omegaverse world
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I found AM Arthur through the Breaking Free series, and I loved them. Painful reading in places, but amazingly written and well delivered. I found myself comparing those books to this and found this a little . . . different. So bare with me while I try to get out of my book brain what it needs to say.
Kensley presented as omega at 14, and in this world, a male omega is shut away for his own good, forced into the priesthood. He hated it, and it never really believed, he was basically paying lip service and keeping his head above water. He never forgave his brother, King, nor Bishop,King's 2nd in command. He still grieved when he heard Bishop had died. Except why does the man standing in front of him make him feel like Bishop did? And who wants Kensley dead?
There is much darkness in Kensley's world and being a male omega puts him way at the bottom of the totem pole. But he should be safe in the church. Until he isn't and the man who comes to save him, he thought dead. But he trusts Bishop, right from the very beginning and things spiral and they have to go into hiding until Kensley is safe.
And therein lies my biggest issue with this book. We never did find out who wants Kens gone, or why. I got that the Master person wanted him cos he is omega, but still. Questions, people, my brain has questions and I cannot dig any more out, no matter how many times I type this paragraph!
So, what I did like?? So much with the steam! It does tend to take over a bit, in places though. Emotional in places, both Kens and Bishop have some deep feelings towards the other that were never resolved and this is the perfect opportunity. But there are other emotions as well, Kensley's life as a priest, Bishop's reasons for disappearing. What King will do when he finds out his best friend ahs defiled his younger brother? And that, I saw coming! I was surprised King waited, but Bishop had just been shot after all. ANd Bishop took it, like a trooper, but he made his point to King and when King sees how Bishop is with Kens gone, he really knows that Bishop loves his brother.
I did not see the thing with King and Malori coming at me. I don't think KING saw it coming to be honest! Malori will need a good deal of love to recover enough to have some sort of reasonable life and I hope King is up to the mark.
Hopefully I will get some answers in their book!
Despite the missing questions/answers to those questions, I really enjoyed this, but there are some trigger warnings and if you have any, you should check out the list.
4 very VERY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
I found AM Arthur through the Breaking Free series, and I loved them. Painful reading in places, but amazingly written and well delivered. I found myself comparing those books to this and found this a little . . . different. So bare with me while I try to get out of my book brain what it needs to say.
Kensley presented as omega at 14, and in this world, a male omega is shut away for his own good, forced into the priesthood. He hated it, and it never really believed, he was basically paying lip service and keeping his head above water. He never forgave his brother, King, nor Bishop,King's 2nd in command. He still grieved when he heard Bishop had died. Except why does the man standing in front of him make him feel like Bishop did? And who wants Kensley dead?
There is much darkness in Kensley's world and being a male omega puts him way at the bottom of the totem pole. But he should be safe in the church. Until he isn't and the man who comes to save him, he thought dead. But he trusts Bishop, right from the very beginning and things spiral and they have to go into hiding until Kensley is safe.
And therein lies my biggest issue with this book. We never did find out who wants Kens gone, or why. I got that the Master person wanted him cos he is omega, but still. Questions, people, my brain has questions and I cannot dig any more out, no matter how many times I type this paragraph!
So, what I did like?? So much with the steam! It does tend to take over a bit, in places though. Emotional in places, both Kens and Bishop have some deep feelings towards the other that were never resolved and this is the perfect opportunity. But there are other emotions as well, Kensley's life as a priest, Bishop's reasons for disappearing. What King will do when he finds out his best friend ahs defiled his younger brother? And that, I saw coming! I was surprised King waited, but Bishop had just been shot after all. ANd Bishop took it, like a trooper, but he made his point to King and when King sees how Bishop is with Kens gone, he really knows that Bishop loves his brother.
I did not see the thing with King and Malori coming at me. I don't think KING saw it coming to be honest! Malori will need a good deal of love to recover enough to have some sort of reasonable life and I hope King is up to the mark.
Hopefully I will get some answers in their book!
Despite the missing questions/answers to those questions, I really enjoyed this, but there are some trigger warnings and if you have any, you should check out the list.
4 very VERY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Mandy and G.D. Burkhead (26 KP) rated Poison Study (Study, #1) in Books
May 20, 2018
Shelf Life – The Chronicles of Ixia merits closer study
Contains spoilers, click to show
This review is for the entire Chronicles of Ixia series.
The first trilogy, comprised of Poison Study, Fire Study, and Magic Study, follows Yelena Zaltana. The second series, also called the Glass series, follows her friend Opal Cowan in Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass. The final trilogy, Shadow Study, Night Study, and Dawn Study, is where things get a bit odd. Maria V. Snyder had thrown in a few short stories/novellas throughout from different characters’ points of view. Perhaps she got bored of just sticking to one POV, or maybe fans wanted more from the other characters, so the third trilogy is from Yelena’s POV in first person and the POV’s of multiple characters (mainly Valek, Leif, and Janco, with a few others popping in from time to time) in third person.
I’m not sure which editor thought it would be a good idea to have POV switch from first person to third person in the same novel, but—yikes—is it jarring. Even with the wonky POV stuff in the third trilogy, these books are amazing and absolutely worth your time to read. Snyder’s world-building is compelling, detailed, and original. The books take place mostly between two pre-industrial countries: Ixia and Sitia. Ixia is a post-revolution country ruled by Commander Ambrose. His personal body guard and assassin is Valek. In the first novel Yelena is in prison for murder and is offered the choice to be the Commander’s food taster in exchange for her life. She agrees, and throughout the first book she and Valek begin to fall in love.
Ixia reminded me a lot of Communist Russia or China. In its attempts to throw away the corrupt government and society that came before, it has also thrown out all culture in the process. The country has been re-divided into districts with numbers instead of names, everyone is forced to wear a uniform, all art and extravagance has been destroyed, people have to have passes to travel between districts, and magic is forbidden. Anyone born with it is killed (or so the reader is led to believe). But Maria V. Snyder does a wonderful job of showing the good with the bad in this totalitarian dictatorship. Everyone has a job and nobody goes hungry, women are now equal to men, and violence and sexual assault are intolerable. This is why Yelena ends up in prison in the first place: she murdered the man that raped her. Now, this is probably my first major gripe with the series. We learn that Commander Ambrose loathes sexual assault and will execute anyone found guilty of it, but apparently killing a rapist in self-defense is also an executable offense. And all of that being said, Ambrose still has his own personal assassin. It all feels a bit contradictory, but again, that’s what I like about this series: it does an excellent job of peeling back the layers of her fictional societies and pointing out that governments and people in power tend to be hypocritical.
Now, the series name (or rather one of them) is Chronicles of Ixia, but honestly, it should have been called Chronicles of Sitia, because that is where most of the story takes place and is by far the more interesting and vibrant country. Sitia is part jungle, part desert, and full of magic. The peoples are divided into multiple clans or tribes that are all unique and compelling. In the second book, Yelena flees to Sitia after the Commander learns she has magic, and there she finds the family she was kidnapped from as a small child. They are part of the Zaltana clan, a group of people that live high in the trees in the jungle. Whenever I read about them, I would have to remind myself that they were not wood elves or dryads, because while there is magic in these books, there are no fantastical creatures: all characters are human or animal.
Another fascinating tribe is the Sandseeds, a group of nomads in the desert known for two major things: breeding super smart horses and having Storyweavers. The Storyweavers are people who have the magical ability to see the future and guide others, but who have to do it really cryptically because reasons (I appreciate that this gets pointed out by an annoyed Yelena multiple times). And of course, the Sandseed horses are fantastic; they choose their rider and able to mentally communicate with magical people. They even have their own horse names for people that they like.
Besides the different clans throughout Sitia, there is also the capitol, the Citadel, which is home to the magic school and the Sitian Council. While very different from Ixia, Sitia is by no means perfect. Its Council epitomizes everything annoying and dysfunctional about a bureaucracy. While the council members are elected and come from every clan in Sitia, they are at best useless and at worst actively impede the main characters.
The magic school is interesting, though the story doesn’t actually spend much time there. I like how magic was done in this series: it usually runs in families, most people with it have control over one or two things (ie. fire, mind-control, telepathy, etc.), but those who have the ability to master more can become Master Magicians after enduring a daunting trial. Magic is bound in people’s blood, so blood magic is a thing and is obviously bad, and magic (and a person’s soul) can be stolen using an intricate and gruesome blood ritual that involves prolonged torture, rape, and then murder.
The power blanket is another interesting concept used in this series. Essentially is resides over the entire world and is the essence of magic, so magicians can pull from it to augment their own magic. However, if they pull too much and lose control, they can flame out, killing themselves and temporarily damaging the blanket in the process. I thought this was a good literary tool to prevent magical characters from being too OP (at least most of the time).
I especially like the romantic relationships in this series. Valek and Yelena are of course the main couple. In the first book they fall in love, in the second book they get separated, and throughout the series they regularly cross paths and save one another. Yelena and Valek are heartmates, and as the series progresses they both have to mature and learn how to trust one another. My biggest complaint about the romance is that all sex scenes are just fade to black, which I personally find a bit boring.
The other major romantic relationship is between Opal and Devlen. This one was a bit awkward. Opal actually goes through a couple of guys first: a stormdancer named Kade and another glassmaker named Ulrick. And I really liked that the author included this. Many people have multiple partners before finding their soulmate, and a woman who does is not a slut. Her relationship with Devlen, however . . . Well, she’s a more forgiving person than me.
You see, it turns out that Devlen is the man who kidnapped Opal a few years earlier and tortured her because he was trying to steal her magic. But he didn’t actually enjoy torturing her and never raped her, which I guess makes it better? Well, he manages to switch bodies with Ulrick and, as Ulrick, tricks Opal into dating him, then, when he’s discovered, kidnaps and tortures her (again) to gain more power. But then she steals his magic, he spends some time in prison, and the combination of the two miraculously turn him into a good guy, claiming that magic is what made him evil in the first place.
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t completely buy his redemption arc even at the end of the third book in the Glass series, but by the ninth book they’re still together and he’s on the good guys’ side, so I guess it was real. And I have definitely watched/read much worse evil asshole to boyfriend stories. At least Devlen genuinely feels guilty for the horrible things he did in the past and attempts to make up for them, and in her defense, Opal has to do a lot of soul-searching before she can find it in her to forgive and trust him, and even more before she can develop romantic feelings for him (that aren’t based on deception, anyway). Also, Ulrick becomes a huge jerk because of his newfound magical abilities, tries to kill Opal, and later gets assassinated by Valek. I appreciate what Maria V. Snyder is trying to do here, which is to teach through her storytelling how good people can become evil, and evil people can redeem themselves and be good. Their romance was uncomfortable to read, but it was supposed to be uncomfortable, because that’s how all parties involved felt.
Now, let’s talk about Commander Ambrose. Towards the end of the first book, Yelena discovers that Ambrose is a female to male trans person. This is revealed to be why Ambrose hates magicians so much: he is afraid that one of them will read his mind and then reveal his secret (which is how Yelena discovers it). After I read the first book, I was really pleased that Snyder did such a good job of depicting a trans person, as that’s really only a small part of his character, and those who know (mainly Valek and Yelena) don’t make a big deal out of it.
And then . . . I really wish that the author would have just left the issue of the Commander being trans alone. Yelena discovers it in the first book, she keeps it to herself because it’s nobody else’s business, the end. But by creating this weird intricate background to explain why Ambrose is trans, Snyder just kind of shoots herself in the foot.
Throughout the rest of the series, I kept hoping for some other LGBTQ+ characters to show up to redeem the blunder with Ambrose. I actually believed that Ari and Janco were a gay couple for the longest time, what with their banter and often being referred to as partners. However, if this was the author’s intention, it was never really explicitly stated, and the partner thing just seems to refer to them being partners in combat and nothing else.
The first trilogy, comprised of Poison Study, Fire Study, and Magic Study, follows Yelena Zaltana. The second series, also called the Glass series, follows her friend Opal Cowan in Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass. The final trilogy, Shadow Study, Night Study, and Dawn Study, is where things get a bit odd. Maria V. Snyder had thrown in a few short stories/novellas throughout from different characters’ points of view. Perhaps she got bored of just sticking to one POV, or maybe fans wanted more from the other characters, so the third trilogy is from Yelena’s POV in first person and the POV’s of multiple characters (mainly Valek, Leif, and Janco, with a few others popping in from time to time) in third person.
I’m not sure which editor thought it would be a good idea to have POV switch from first person to third person in the same novel, but—yikes—is it jarring. Even with the wonky POV stuff in the third trilogy, these books are amazing and absolutely worth your time to read. Snyder’s world-building is compelling, detailed, and original. The books take place mostly between two pre-industrial countries: Ixia and Sitia. Ixia is a post-revolution country ruled by Commander Ambrose. His personal body guard and assassin is Valek. In the first novel Yelena is in prison for murder and is offered the choice to be the Commander’s food taster in exchange for her life. She agrees, and throughout the first book she and Valek begin to fall in love.
Ixia reminded me a lot of Communist Russia or China. In its attempts to throw away the corrupt government and society that came before, it has also thrown out all culture in the process. The country has been re-divided into districts with numbers instead of names, everyone is forced to wear a uniform, all art and extravagance has been destroyed, people have to have passes to travel between districts, and magic is forbidden. Anyone born with it is killed (or so the reader is led to believe). But Maria V. Snyder does a wonderful job of showing the good with the bad in this totalitarian dictatorship. Everyone has a job and nobody goes hungry, women are now equal to men, and violence and sexual assault are intolerable. This is why Yelena ends up in prison in the first place: she murdered the man that raped her. Now, this is probably my first major gripe with the series. We learn that Commander Ambrose loathes sexual assault and will execute anyone found guilty of it, but apparently killing a rapist in self-defense is also an executable offense. And all of that being said, Ambrose still has his own personal assassin. It all feels a bit contradictory, but again, that’s what I like about this series: it does an excellent job of peeling back the layers of her fictional societies and pointing out that governments and people in power tend to be hypocritical.
Now, the series name (or rather one of them) is Chronicles of Ixia, but honestly, it should have been called Chronicles of Sitia, because that is where most of the story takes place and is by far the more interesting and vibrant country. Sitia is part jungle, part desert, and full of magic. The peoples are divided into multiple clans or tribes that are all unique and compelling. In the second book, Yelena flees to Sitia after the Commander learns she has magic, and there she finds the family she was kidnapped from as a small child. They are part of the Zaltana clan, a group of people that live high in the trees in the jungle. Whenever I read about them, I would have to remind myself that they were not wood elves or dryads, because while there is magic in these books, there are no fantastical creatures: all characters are human or animal.
Another fascinating tribe is the Sandseeds, a group of nomads in the desert known for two major things: breeding super smart horses and having Storyweavers. The Storyweavers are people who have the magical ability to see the future and guide others, but who have to do it really cryptically because reasons (I appreciate that this gets pointed out by an annoyed Yelena multiple times). And of course, the Sandseed horses are fantastic; they choose their rider and able to mentally communicate with magical people. They even have their own horse names for people that they like.
Besides the different clans throughout Sitia, there is also the capitol, the Citadel, which is home to the magic school and the Sitian Council. While very different from Ixia, Sitia is by no means perfect. Its Council epitomizes everything annoying and dysfunctional about a bureaucracy. While the council members are elected and come from every clan in Sitia, they are at best useless and at worst actively impede the main characters.
The magic school is interesting, though the story doesn’t actually spend much time there. I like how magic was done in this series: it usually runs in families, most people with it have control over one or two things (ie. fire, mind-control, telepathy, etc.), but those who have the ability to master more can become Master Magicians after enduring a daunting trial. Magic is bound in people’s blood, so blood magic is a thing and is obviously bad, and magic (and a person’s soul) can be stolen using an intricate and gruesome blood ritual that involves prolonged torture, rape, and then murder.
The power blanket is another interesting concept used in this series. Essentially is resides over the entire world and is the essence of magic, so magicians can pull from it to augment their own magic. However, if they pull too much and lose control, they can flame out, killing themselves and temporarily damaging the blanket in the process. I thought this was a good literary tool to prevent magical characters from being too OP (at least most of the time).
I especially like the romantic relationships in this series. Valek and Yelena are of course the main couple. In the first book they fall in love, in the second book they get separated, and throughout the series they regularly cross paths and save one another. Yelena and Valek are heartmates, and as the series progresses they both have to mature and learn how to trust one another. My biggest complaint about the romance is that all sex scenes are just fade to black, which I personally find a bit boring.
The other major romantic relationship is between Opal and Devlen. This one was a bit awkward. Opal actually goes through a couple of guys first: a stormdancer named Kade and another glassmaker named Ulrick. And I really liked that the author included this. Many people have multiple partners before finding their soulmate, and a woman who does is not a slut. Her relationship with Devlen, however . . . Well, she’s a more forgiving person than me.
You see, it turns out that Devlen is the man who kidnapped Opal a few years earlier and tortured her because he was trying to steal her magic. But he didn’t actually enjoy torturing her and never raped her, which I guess makes it better? Well, he manages to switch bodies with Ulrick and, as Ulrick, tricks Opal into dating him, then, when he’s discovered, kidnaps and tortures her (again) to gain more power. But then she steals his magic, he spends some time in prison, and the combination of the two miraculously turn him into a good guy, claiming that magic is what made him evil in the first place.
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t completely buy his redemption arc even at the end of the third book in the Glass series, but by the ninth book they’re still together and he’s on the good guys’ side, so I guess it was real. And I have definitely watched/read much worse evil asshole to boyfriend stories. At least Devlen genuinely feels guilty for the horrible things he did in the past and attempts to make up for them, and in her defense, Opal has to do a lot of soul-searching before she can find it in her to forgive and trust him, and even more before she can develop romantic feelings for him (that aren’t based on deception, anyway). Also, Ulrick becomes a huge jerk because of his newfound magical abilities, tries to kill Opal, and later gets assassinated by Valek. I appreciate what Maria V. Snyder is trying to do here, which is to teach through her storytelling how good people can become evil, and evil people can redeem themselves and be good. Their romance was uncomfortable to read, but it was supposed to be uncomfortable, because that’s how all parties involved felt.
Now, let’s talk about Commander Ambrose. Towards the end of the first book, Yelena discovers that Ambrose is a female to male trans person. This is revealed to be why Ambrose hates magicians so much: he is afraid that one of them will read his mind and then reveal his secret (which is how Yelena discovers it). After I read the first book, I was really pleased that Snyder did such a good job of depicting a trans person, as that’s really only a small part of his character, and those who know (mainly Valek and Yelena) don’t make a big deal out of it.
And then . . . I really wish that the author would have just left the issue of the Commander being trans alone. Yelena discovers it in the first book, she keeps it to herself because it’s nobody else’s business, the end. But by creating this weird intricate background to explain why Ambrose is trans, Snyder just kind of shoots herself in the foot.
Throughout the rest of the series, I kept hoping for some other LGBTQ+ characters to show up to redeem the blunder with Ambrose. I actually believed that Ari and Janco were a gay couple for the longest time, what with their banter and often being referred to as partners. However, if this was the author’s intention, it was never really explicitly stated, and the partner thing just seems to refer to them being partners in combat and nothing else.
Hesitant Heart (The Hampton Road Club #1)
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Sam might be innocent, but the Roaring Twenties aren’t… Sam is used to living with lots of...
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder in Books
Oct 21, 2021 (Updated Oct 21, 2021)
Polar Bear Plunge of Death
Every December, Ocean Crest, New Jersey, hosts a polar bear plunge as a fund raiser, and this year it is raising money for a much-needed renovation for the senior center. Most of the businesses in the town are participating, and Lucy Berberian is representing her family’s Kebab Kitchen restaurant. As expected, the water is chilly, but all that is soon forgotten when the dead body of one of the participants washes ashore. At first everyone assumes that the shock of the cold water killed Deacon Spooner, but the medical examiners determines that it was murder. Lucy had recently met Deacon, and he wasn’t a nice man. When the police look at Lucy’s friend as their prime suspect, she can’t help but nose around. She uncovers plenty of motives and opportunity, but who actually killed the man?
The book starts out strong, but it loses its way, with very little forward movement and a sub-plot taking over as we near the climax. Fortunately, we do get a logical and suspenseful ending. The sub-plot, about Lucy dragging her feet planning her wedding, would have made sense if it had been weeks between books instead of months. Still, it did allow us to see some growth in Lucy and in her relationships, which I appreciated. The book isn’t overwhelming with Christmas, but it is there, and I enjoyed that aspect as well. We get four recipes at the end of the book to enjoy later. While the book could have been stronger, as a fan of the series, I’m glad I read it.
The book starts out strong, but it loses its way, with very little forward movement and a sub-plot taking over as we near the climax. Fortunately, we do get a logical and suspenseful ending. The sub-plot, about Lucy dragging her feet planning her wedding, would have made sense if it had been weeks between books instead of months. Still, it did allow us to see some growth in Lucy and in her relationships, which I appreciated. The book isn’t overwhelming with Christmas, but it is there, and I enjoyed that aspect as well. We get four recipes at the end of the book to enjoy later. While the book could have been stronger, as a fan of the series, I’m glad I read it.
