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Merissa (13555 KP) rated Bound in Flame (The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society #1) in Books
Aug 3, 2020
Bound in Flame is the debut book by this author and is also the first in The Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society series. Set in the early 1900's we find out about the Suffragette movement as seen by a young (eighteen-year-old) Letty. She wants to go to school and become a vet although she is not sure that it's possible. Instead of being a woman with her feet set firmly in logic, Letty finds out that she is one of the magical Gates and her powers, her flames as she calls them, are not just there to get her into trouble. Letty knows who she is and also knows what she is up against, more so than Timothy, our main male, in some cases.
This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.
I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
This is a wondrous tale of a time gone by, told with a sense of gentility. It has a historical setting but with fantasy elements. I have no idea if the settings, dates, occasions, people, etc. are real but, to be honest, I don't really care either. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of this story, with the wonderful characters you learn about.
I thought this was a brilliant start to a series I want to read more from. Thoroughly enjoyable, a good long story to sink into, with settings and characters that leap off the page. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
She’s the One Who Thinks Too Much (War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters #1)
8.0
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It’s the 1200’s, and the small realm of Ilari has had peace and prosperity for generations. That...
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The Wolf in the Whale
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'IMAGINATIVE AND COMPELLING' Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters Series THERE IS A VERY OLD...
Historical Fiction Mythology
She's the One Who Can't Keep Quiet (War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters #5)
8.0
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Do you know what your problem is? Celestine, the fifth of seven sisters, is tired of hearing...
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Skull's Vengeance (Curse of Clansmen and Kings #4)
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A Celtic warrior queen must do the impossible—defeat her sorcerer half-brother and claim the...
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She’s the One Who Won’t Behave (The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters, #6)
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Gypsum, the sixth of seven sisters, has always been a rebel. Yet no one thought she would go so far...
Historical Fantasy
The Old Dragon’s Head
8.0
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The Great Wall of China may be constructed of stone and packed earth, but it is home to a...
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ClareR (6037 KP) rated The Silence Factory in Books
Jul 16, 2024
I’m an arachnophobe. I run from rooms when there’s a particularly large spider around - and I still loved this book. I have to admit, I did have to visualise them as chunkier and furrier with fewer legs. Web-weaving Jack Russells, if you will 🤦🏼♀️ But that’s the joy of reading!
A factory in Telverton seems to have acquired a particular breed of spider whose web, when spun into a silken fabric, can bring silence to the person/ people sitting inside. However, if the fabric is the other way round, it produces sounds that can make people go mad (they don’t make too much of that fact). So, no the best factory to work in, then!
I enjoyed the two timelines: the discovery of the spiders in 1820, told through the journals of Sophia Ashmore-Percy; and the manufacture of the silk in a factory town decades later along with an audiologist who goes to work for Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy. He has the task of helping Sir Ashmore-Percy’s deaf daughter to hear.
I love how Bridget Collins mixes historical fiction and fantasy, and makes it all seem perfectly reasonable. There’s a lot to be said in this story about taking advantage of people for profit (in the factory in particular) and how nature can be used for man’s own ends, regardless of the consequences. Humans aren’t painted in the best of light, and I actually felt sorry for the spiders 🕷️🕷️🕷️
Still don’t like spiders though.
A factory in Telverton seems to have acquired a particular breed of spider whose web, when spun into a silken fabric, can bring silence to the person/ people sitting inside. However, if the fabric is the other way round, it produces sounds that can make people go mad (they don’t make too much of that fact). So, no the best factory to work in, then!
I enjoyed the two timelines: the discovery of the spiders in 1820, told through the journals of Sophia Ashmore-Percy; and the manufacture of the silk in a factory town decades later along with an audiologist who goes to work for Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy. He has the task of helping Sir Ashmore-Percy’s deaf daughter to hear.
I love how Bridget Collins mixes historical fiction and fantasy, and makes it all seem perfectly reasonable. There’s a lot to be said in this story about taking advantage of people for profit (in the factory in particular) and how nature can be used for man’s own ends, regardless of the consequences. Humans aren’t painted in the best of light, and I actually felt sorry for the spiders 🕷️🕷️🕷️
Still don’t like spiders though.
Merissa (13555 KP) rated Lord of Whispered Shadows (The Demon Reflected #1) in Books
Dec 13, 2025 - 10:34 AM
LORD OF WHISPERED SHADOWS is the first book in The Demon Reflected series, set in a historical fantasy setting, where demons and mages are known about.
Archie is the youngest son of a noble family, second cousin to the Crown Prince, and his mother is desperate to marry him off. It becomes clear that the reason for this is that the eldest son, Charlie, who is a complete douche, has no intention of caring for his brother once he inherits. Or, indeed, even his mother. So when Archie accidentally summons and makes a deal with a succubus, you can only imagine how it will work. Especially when it is not common knowledge for two men to be together.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, seeing it through Archie's eyes as he gains small moments of pleasure from Damaris... and I don't mean between the sheets. I loved the romantic gestures, the ones Damaris knew Archie wanted, so he gave them to him. Like being walked home, for example. It was so sweet! Of course, it was also steamy in places, but nothing too far, as most of the time it faded to black.
I can't wait to continue with the royal intrigue and shenanigans in this series, and I'm really hoping for more Archie and Damaris too. Definitely 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!
Dec 11, 2025
Archie is the youngest son of a noble family, second cousin to the Crown Prince, and his mother is desperate to marry him off. It becomes clear that the reason for this is that the eldest son, Charlie, who is a complete douche, has no intention of caring for his brother once he inherits. Or, indeed, even his mother. So when Archie accidentally summons and makes a deal with a succubus, you can only imagine how it will work. Especially when it is not common knowledge for two men to be together.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, seeing it through Archie's eyes as he gains small moments of pleasure from Damaris... and I don't mean between the sheets. I loved the romantic gestures, the ones Damaris knew Archie wanted, so he gave them to him. Like being walked home, for example. It was so sweet! Of course, it was also steamy in places, but nothing too far, as most of the time it faded to black.
I can't wait to continue with the royal intrigue and shenanigans in this series, and I'm really hoping for more Archie and Damaris too. Definitely 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!
Dec 11, 2025
Ross (3284 KP) rated Cold Iron (Masters & Mages #1) in Books
Jan 22, 2019
Elaborate prose and an unsettling amount of "wait and see" damaged my enjoyment
This book feels like your standard coming-of-age fantasy - young man from a simple village finds himself in the big city destined for greatness and surrounds himself with strong watchers while he grows into his potential. It is that and it is so much more.
The story that is told is how Aranthur, this young man (selected from his village to attend the big city university) finds himself in the midst of conflict and significant events in the empire's changing status. The idea of fate dictating that this one man would be at the centre of things (see Wheel of Time) is not one that is explored here. While it is hinted at (he is frequently told off for ending up in unusual circumstances), it isn't overly laboured. Nobody tells him he was chosen or anything like that. Instead he gradually learns that he has found himself at the centre of political intrigue, plotting, counter-plotting, conspiracies and war.
This book is not about Aranthur. He is just the focal point of the book, the story is so much bigger than him. This meant it did at times become a little hard to take that he always just happened to meet the right person, go to the right place at the right time in order to witness or participate in a number of significant plot events. In hindsight, this is largely all explained as some hidden agenda and him being put in those places to make those decisions but at the time it was a little jarring.
The narrative is more akin to Robert Jordan than many contemporary writers - so much overly elaborate description of people, places, clothes, horses, weapons etc. At times this adds to the reading experience but I found it over-used and made the book feel like a much longer read (I was shocked when I found out it was just under 450 pages - it reads like around 700). Also, so much of the narrative is in either italics (to show it is a magic/majick/magik delete as appropriate) or is in some odd variation of French ("gonne" for gun, "quaveh" for coffee etc) to become irritating. At times the book is more like a decent fantasy tale or conspiracy and intrigue which has been edited by a historical re-enactment nut. Given this is fictional and the world is the author's to do with as he wishes, forcing some historical accuracy at the expense of reader enjoyment seemed an odd decision to make.
The magical system seems fairly standard fantasy fayre, albeit it is not described or explored in any detail, people just suddenly do things which haven't previously been mentioned. A large aspect of the book is Aranthur's being chosen to translate an ancient text to decode the magical secrets hidden there. I think in all he decodes three of these, and uses them, but there is no mention of them until he has to use them in a fight. It could just be that I have been reading a lot of LitRPG recently, where every spell is described in intimate detail and its uses are discussed way in advance of being needed in combat, but I felt like it was something of an afterthought or rescue from a plot dead-end ("oh sod it, say he done a magic").
While I did enjoy this book on the whole, the narrative style and the focus being on clothes rather than describing the interesting aspects of the world were to its detriment. Also, the book is written as two "books" (chapters), the first "book" covers around 80% and all in one long chapter without breaks. To my mind, ending there would have sufficed. The final 20% in "book 2" felt like part epilogue, part sequel and should maybe have been split as such.
My advice to anyone reading this, is to suspend disbelief that little bit further and trust that things do largely get explained satisfactorily before the end.
The story that is told is how Aranthur, this young man (selected from his village to attend the big city university) finds himself in the midst of conflict and significant events in the empire's changing status. The idea of fate dictating that this one man would be at the centre of things (see Wheel of Time) is not one that is explored here. While it is hinted at (he is frequently told off for ending up in unusual circumstances), it isn't overly laboured. Nobody tells him he was chosen or anything like that. Instead he gradually learns that he has found himself at the centre of political intrigue, plotting, counter-plotting, conspiracies and war.
This book is not about Aranthur. He is just the focal point of the book, the story is so much bigger than him. This meant it did at times become a little hard to take that he always just happened to meet the right person, go to the right place at the right time in order to witness or participate in a number of significant plot events. In hindsight, this is largely all explained as some hidden agenda and him being put in those places to make those decisions but at the time it was a little jarring.
The narrative is more akin to Robert Jordan than many contemporary writers - so much overly elaborate description of people, places, clothes, horses, weapons etc. At times this adds to the reading experience but I found it over-used and made the book feel like a much longer read (I was shocked when I found out it was just under 450 pages - it reads like around 700). Also, so much of the narrative is in either italics (to show it is a magic/majick/magik delete as appropriate) or is in some odd variation of French ("gonne" for gun, "quaveh" for coffee etc) to become irritating. At times the book is more like a decent fantasy tale or conspiracy and intrigue which has been edited by a historical re-enactment nut. Given this is fictional and the world is the author's to do with as he wishes, forcing some historical accuracy at the expense of reader enjoyment seemed an odd decision to make.
The magical system seems fairly standard fantasy fayre, albeit it is not described or explored in any detail, people just suddenly do things which haven't previously been mentioned. A large aspect of the book is Aranthur's being chosen to translate an ancient text to decode the magical secrets hidden there. I think in all he decodes three of these, and uses them, but there is no mention of them until he has to use them in a fight. It could just be that I have been reading a lot of LitRPG recently, where every spell is described in intimate detail and its uses are discussed way in advance of being needed in combat, but I felt like it was something of an afterthought or rescue from a plot dead-end ("oh sod it, say he done a magic").
While I did enjoy this book on the whole, the narrative style and the focus being on clothes rather than describing the interesting aspects of the world were to its detriment. Also, the book is written as two "books" (chapters), the first "book" covers around 80% and all in one long chapter without breaks. To my mind, ending there would have sufficed. The final 20% in "book 2" felt like part epilogue, part sequel and should maybe have been split as such.
My advice to anyone reading this, is to suspend disbelief that little bit further and trust that things do largely get explained satisfactorily before the end.