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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Krampus in Books
Dec 17, 2018
A dark fairytale with occasional illustrations
Let's head into Christmas with something out of the ordinary, shall we? This was one heck of a dark fairytale, set in West Virginia, in a town where everyone knows everyone and the head of police is in cahoots with the local crime lord.
The story opens on Christmas Eve with Jesse Walker, failed husband and father, depressed, alone, and contemplating suicide, until he sees Santa Claus attacked and fleeing into the sky, leaving behind his magic sack. What he doesn't know is that Santa's attackers are mostly after the magic sack, and what he thinks is his salvation turns out to be what traps him into everything that follows.
And what follows is a thrillride! Jesse is roped into being one of Krampus' servants, along with his belsnickels, people Krampus has lent a portion of his magic to. The magic twists them into fur-covered monsters, but also grants them healing and near-immortality.
Between trying to rekindle the lost traditions of Yule and hunting down Santa Claus to end him for good, Jesse also struggles to save his wife and daughter from the possibly-murderous cop they're living with.
By the end of the book I wasn't sure who to cheer for, other than Jesse and one of the belsnickels, Isabel. But Krampus? He might be right, but is he good? I'm not sure. Similarly, except for his millennia-past misdeeds, Santa is good NOW. But I'm not sure he's right. In an ideal world, the two of them could come to some compromise and apologize to each other, but this is a dark fairytale, so of course that's not the case!
I enjoyed this book, even if there wasn't a lot of happiness in it. It definitely embodies the Appalachia Gothic idea.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
The story opens on Christmas Eve with Jesse Walker, failed husband and father, depressed, alone, and contemplating suicide, until he sees Santa Claus attacked and fleeing into the sky, leaving behind his magic sack. What he doesn't know is that Santa's attackers are mostly after the magic sack, and what he thinks is his salvation turns out to be what traps him into everything that follows.
And what follows is a thrillride! Jesse is roped into being one of Krampus' servants, along with his belsnickels, people Krampus has lent a portion of his magic to. The magic twists them into fur-covered monsters, but also grants them healing and near-immortality.
Between trying to rekindle the lost traditions of Yule and hunting down Santa Claus to end him for good, Jesse also struggles to save his wife and daughter from the possibly-murderous cop they're living with.
By the end of the book I wasn't sure who to cheer for, other than Jesse and one of the belsnickels, Isabel. But Krampus? He might be right, but is he good? I'm not sure. Similarly, except for his millennia-past misdeeds, Santa is good NOW. But I'm not sure he's right. In an ideal world, the two of them could come to some compromise and apologize to each other, but this is a dark fairytale, so of course that's not the case!
I enjoyed this book, even if there wasn't a lot of happiness in it. It definitely embodies the Appalachia Gothic idea.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2275 KP) rated The Magic Square in Books
Jul 16, 2021
Who Made the Body Appear at the Magic Convention?
Eli Marks and his uncle, Harry, are out of town at a magic convention. They’ll be spending a lot of time in the dealer’s room so they can sell Harry’s new two-volume book about his time as a magician, but they are hoping to catch a few of the panels, and the evening sessions. The entire convention is surprised when famed mentalist Gerhardt performs the first night. However, Harry’s friend Abe is less than happy since he’s had a running feud with Gerhardt for years. That feud is public knowledge, so when Abe returns to his hotel room that night to find Gerhardt’s body in the bathroom, the police consider him a strong suspect. Can Eli figure out what is really going on?
I always forget how much I enjoy these books until I am sitting down reading a new one. It was great to slip back into Eli’s world. Since we are out of town, I did miss some of the series regulars, but it did give us more time to get to know the new characters, who are quite strong. The story moves forward at a steady pace, with clues sprinkled into the talk of magic. I did finger the culprit a little early, but I wasn’t completely certain until we reached the suspenseful climax, and I was having such a good time I didn’t really care. While there is talk about magic, we don’t get any illusions spoiled here, but it might inspire you to try to learn a little on your own. If you are a fan of these books, you’ll be glad you picked up this volume. If you haven’t met Eli yet, you’ll be hooked faster than you can say “Abracadabra.”
I always forget how much I enjoy these books until I am sitting down reading a new one. It was great to slip back into Eli’s world. Since we are out of town, I did miss some of the series regulars, but it did give us more time to get to know the new characters, who are quite strong. The story moves forward at a steady pace, with clues sprinkled into the talk of magic. I did finger the culprit a little early, but I wasn’t completely certain until we reached the suspenseful climax, and I was having such a good time I didn’t really care. While there is talk about magic, we don’t get any illusions spoiled here, but it might inspire you to try to learn a little on your own. If you are a fan of these books, you’ll be glad you picked up this volume. If you haven’t met Eli yet, you’ll be hooked faster than you can say “Abracadabra.”
Natacha (374 KP) rated The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) in Books
Jun 29, 2019
A nice easy read
This was another book that I wanted to pick up when I got back into reading but I ended up reading The Name of the Wind instead. I should have picked this one up...
This was an easy and interesting read. We have a strong female main character and we see that through her actions and not just because the author tells us so.
Things that I liked:
-Lia. She is strong, stubborn and she cares a lot about her friends.
-The mystery of who is the assassin and who is the prince. I thought that was a nice idea, it kept me guessing for a little but if you pay attention to a couple of details you'll guess who is who.
-Love triangle. Yes, that's an unpopular opinion but well-done love triangles are my guilty pleasure.
-Lia's actions have consequences that she needs to deal with.
Things I didn't like:
-This is the first of a trilogy so this was mostly to get to know the characters. The majority of the book is Lia getting on with her new life in Terravin and getting to know Kaden and Rafe, and falling in love. So not too much action.
Worth mentioning:
-If you like complex magic systems in your fantasy book this is not it. There is not magic as see in epic fantasy. The gift that some people have in the book, is another way to say that they are some kind of psychic. They can see into the past and future, sometimes with the help of the dead. And that's all we get magic wise., so don't go in expecting complex magic systems.
This was an easy and interesting read. We have a strong female main character and we see that through her actions and not just because the author tells us so.
Things that I liked:
-Lia. She is strong, stubborn and she cares a lot about her friends.
-The mystery of who is the assassin and who is the prince. I thought that was a nice idea, it kept me guessing for a little but if you pay attention to a couple of details you'll guess who is who.
-Love triangle. Yes, that's an unpopular opinion but well-done love triangles are my guilty pleasure.
-Lia's actions have consequences that she needs to deal with.
Things I didn't like:
-This is the first of a trilogy so this was mostly to get to know the characters. The majority of the book is Lia getting on with her new life in Terravin and getting to know Kaden and Rafe, and falling in love. So not too much action.
Worth mentioning:
-If you like complex magic systems in your fantasy book this is not it. There is not magic as see in epic fantasy. The gift that some people have in the book, is another way to say that they are some kind of psychic. They can see into the past and future, sometimes with the help of the dead. And that's all we get magic wise., so don't go in expecting complex magic systems.
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Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Witches Gone Wicked in Books
Jun 11, 2019
All Clarissa wants to do is become a powerful witch, learn about her mother, and find her high school sweetheart, Derrick.
But it’s not that simple when she’s all but banned from using her volatile magic, her mother was apparently an evil dictator, and her high school sweetheart was swept away in a tornado. Oh, and she caused the tornado.
But, now that she’s a teacher at Womby’s School for Wayward Witches, she might have a chance to actually become part of the Witchkin community and achieve her goals.
Despite everyone despising her because of her mother, she’s making new friends like Josie, a video-gaming witch who loves all life, and Khaba, a Djinn with a kilt fetish. She’s also getting attention from the very sexy Julien Thistledown.
If only that jerk Felix Thatch would stop patronizing her and let her learn about her mother.
Witches Gone Wicked is essentially Harry Potter fanfiction,which had me skeptical at first, but it was really entertaining at the same time.
Womby’s is the Title I version of Hogwarts. It’s for witchkin too poor to afford other schools as well as ones who were kicked out of other schools. Clarissa, being an art teacher, feels the strain of this with an annual budget of $20. The previous art teacher apparently had the students make mud pie art because of lack of supplies. I really liked the idea of a Title I Hogwarts and found the entire school and the staff really interesting.
Josie and Khaba are really funny and entertaining. Khaba is a bit of a stereotype, but I didn’t mind it that much. Josie was fantastic. Gotta love someone who loves all life and has the guts to treat spiders like puppies.
My favorite character is perhaps Felix Thatch. He’s very sexy and funny and I love almost every scene including him. He’s definitely not a people person by any stretch, but he has a lot of integrity as a teacher and a person that Clarissa just refuses to see.
Clarissa is actually one of my least favorite characters. Her dislike and suspicion of Thatch is near identical to Harry Potter’s dislike of Snape. The only problem is she’s a full-grown woman!
Clarissa has a tendency to blindly trust everyone nice to her, not thinking for a second that anyone has ulterior motives. And she despises Thatch for being brutally honest with her despite proving time and time again that he has integrity as a person and a teacher.
Felix Thatch does the following:
Trains Clarissa to use her magic (granted, the principal ordered him to)
Emphasizes the importance of people wanting to take advantage of her
Makes students write apology letters to her
Lets one of his students read in his classroom during lunchtime
Expresses concern over said student’s habit of hugging male teachers because someone might try to take advantage of her friendly nature.
Meanwhile, Clarissa thinks Thatch:
is secretly trying to kill her
might be trying to enslave her using sex magic
condones student and teacher relationships
It’s completely insane! Hey, who’s the most likely to take advantage of you? Maybe not the guy who keeps warning you about people taking advantage of you.
Clarissa is sometimes funny and relatable. I like how much she cares about her students and her patience with the troublemakers in her class. That’s actually really admirable.
But half the time she’s juvenile and irrational and I just want to shake some sense into her.
She’s the daughter of a powerful witch who apparently terrorized the Witchkin community with evil and forbidden magic. Clarissa never knew her birth mother personally, but she’s treated with suspicion and fear because her mother killed and ruined the lives of basically everyone.
Because of her lineage and her volatile magic, Clarissa is under constant threat of being fired from Womby’s, drained of her magic, and turned into a Morty (Muggle).
So you think she would be really careful, right?
Lol no.
Clarissa goes around saying she wants to be the most powerful witch ever, uses magic when she’s not supposed to, and makes plans to break into the library’s restricted section. It’s a freaking miracle that she didn’t get drained and turned into a Morty.
Here’s another thing: why doesn’t she want to be drained? I really don’t get it. Because of her magic and her mother:
everyone hates her
her sister died
her high school sweetheart blew away in a tornado
Womby’s almost burned down
anyone can turn her into a sex slave
As far as I can tell, there are very few benefits to her having magic and a staggering amount of drawbacks. Call me a defeatist, but if I was Clarissa I would be begging to be drained. Her conviction that magic is her true identity isn’t good enough for me.
All in all, this book is definitely three out of five stars. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and really like Thatch. Some of the magic concepts are surprisingly sexy, which I definitely enjoyed. I just don’t like Clarissa.
But it’s not that simple when she’s all but banned from using her volatile magic, her mother was apparently an evil dictator, and her high school sweetheart was swept away in a tornado. Oh, and she caused the tornado.
But, now that she’s a teacher at Womby’s School for Wayward Witches, she might have a chance to actually become part of the Witchkin community and achieve her goals.
Despite everyone despising her because of her mother, she’s making new friends like Josie, a video-gaming witch who loves all life, and Khaba, a Djinn with a kilt fetish. She’s also getting attention from the very sexy Julien Thistledown.
If only that jerk Felix Thatch would stop patronizing her and let her learn about her mother.
Witches Gone Wicked is essentially Harry Potter fanfiction,which had me skeptical at first, but it was really entertaining at the same time.
Womby’s is the Title I version of Hogwarts. It’s for witchkin too poor to afford other schools as well as ones who were kicked out of other schools. Clarissa, being an art teacher, feels the strain of this with an annual budget of $20. The previous art teacher apparently had the students make mud pie art because of lack of supplies. I really liked the idea of a Title I Hogwarts and found the entire school and the staff really interesting.
Josie and Khaba are really funny and entertaining. Khaba is a bit of a stereotype, but I didn’t mind it that much. Josie was fantastic. Gotta love someone who loves all life and has the guts to treat spiders like puppies.
My favorite character is perhaps Felix Thatch. He’s very sexy and funny and I love almost every scene including him. He’s definitely not a people person by any stretch, but he has a lot of integrity as a teacher and a person that Clarissa just refuses to see.
Clarissa is actually one of my least favorite characters. Her dislike and suspicion of Thatch is near identical to Harry Potter’s dislike of Snape. The only problem is she’s a full-grown woman!
Clarissa has a tendency to blindly trust everyone nice to her, not thinking for a second that anyone has ulterior motives. And she despises Thatch for being brutally honest with her despite proving time and time again that he has integrity as a person and a teacher.
Felix Thatch does the following:
Trains Clarissa to use her magic (granted, the principal ordered him to)
Emphasizes the importance of people wanting to take advantage of her
Makes students write apology letters to her
Lets one of his students read in his classroom during lunchtime
Expresses concern over said student’s habit of hugging male teachers because someone might try to take advantage of her friendly nature.
Meanwhile, Clarissa thinks Thatch:
is secretly trying to kill her
might be trying to enslave her using sex magic
condones student and teacher relationships
It’s completely insane! Hey, who’s the most likely to take advantage of you? Maybe not the guy who keeps warning you about people taking advantage of you.
Clarissa is sometimes funny and relatable. I like how much she cares about her students and her patience with the troublemakers in her class. That’s actually really admirable.
But half the time she’s juvenile and irrational and I just want to shake some sense into her.
She’s the daughter of a powerful witch who apparently terrorized the Witchkin community with evil and forbidden magic. Clarissa never knew her birth mother personally, but she’s treated with suspicion and fear because her mother killed and ruined the lives of basically everyone.
Because of her lineage and her volatile magic, Clarissa is under constant threat of being fired from Womby’s, drained of her magic, and turned into a Morty (Muggle).
So you think she would be really careful, right?
Lol no.
Clarissa goes around saying she wants to be the most powerful witch ever, uses magic when she’s not supposed to, and makes plans to break into the library’s restricted section. It’s a freaking miracle that she didn’t get drained and turned into a Morty.
Here’s another thing: why doesn’t she want to be drained? I really don’t get it. Because of her magic and her mother:
everyone hates her
her sister died
her high school sweetheart blew away in a tornado
Womby’s almost burned down
anyone can turn her into a sex slave
As far as I can tell, there are very few benefits to her having magic and a staggering amount of drawbacks. Call me a defeatist, but if I was Clarissa I would be begging to be drained. Her conviction that magic is her true identity isn’t good enough for me.
All in all, this book is definitely three out of five stars. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and really like Thatch. Some of the magic concepts are surprisingly sexy, which I definitely enjoyed. I just don’t like Clarissa.