Reading Fanatic Reviews
All Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal Reviews
Lost Magic by Alexandria Clarke
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Lost Magic*
Fascinating World But Not Enough Suspense
This is the first book that I read by this author, so I’m not familiar with the entire Witch Myth series or world. I appreciated that the author didn’t start off the book with a bunch of backstory to catch those of us up who aren’t familiar with this Yew Hollow. Instead, she allows the world to unfold through the eyes of Gwen, the first-person protagonist. The author has created a fascinating world of magic. You’ve gotta love a world with a magical tree! I didn’t feel like enough happened in the story, like there wasn’t enough of a plot. The author calls it a cozy mystery, but mystery or suspense didn’t really take center stage. It felt more like a character and community study than a full-blown novel. That said, I did enjoy the world, but I was just expecting more to happen.
Ashes of Revival by Alex Shobe
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Ashes of Revival*
Not Easy to Be the Queen
In this book, the heroine is a queen in a land that has never had a ruling female monarch. The men who should be her counsel are unwilling to give up control easily. The heroine very much acts the queen at times while at others she seems too meek and subservient. I couldn’t discern a pattern to it, so it felt disjointed; I never knew which aspect of the person I was going to get. The book is written in the first-person present, which I find to be a tough perspective to read. In general, I am not a fan of the first person in fiction, though I have gotten used to it as so many books are written in it these days. But I cannot get used to the present tense being used at all times in a book. It sticks out like a sore thumb and is quite wearing to read, actually. I thought some language was too modern sounding for a book that is supposed to be medieval-style fantasy; some words seemed like contemporary psychobabble or modern business speak. I couldn’t quite get into the characters, although I could not help but appreciate Colton’s difficulties at first. The book didn’t gel for me, as I really could not come to genuinely care about the characters and what happened to them.
Enigma: What Lies Beneath by Ditter Kellen
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Enigma: What Lies Beneath*
Bonds Reinforced in Harrowing Circumstances
Abbie and Hauke have had a bond since they were children when he saved her from drowning. That comes alive when they meet again as adults when Hauke has been captured and is being kept for further study; he is due to be transported to Area 51. He is from an underwater race of beings that are unknown to humans. Abbie and Hauke are soon on the run, trying to protect each other and figure out all that is going on with the deadly virus. I like how this couple could communicate telepathically; the author made their bond, even before mating, seem very real. Abbie is a supposedly intelligent woman, but some things that she thought or said didn’t come across that way to me. I also thought that the beginning of the book was told in a too-detached fashion, almost clinical in places. The book is surprisingly sensual, and this is described in great detail. This is a very steamy read; it was a bit over-the-top on occasion. However, I enjoyed their relationship and watching the conflicts they faced unfold.
Jinxerella by Cherie Marks
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Jinxerella*
Fascinating World But Some Annoying Flaws
I loved the adorable cover on this book and found that the name of the made-up town to be amusing (although I wonder if it is as funny to people from West Virginia), and as I love paranormal stories, I had high hopes for this one. While I did enjoy the story itself, the book had some serious flaws. There is a very wrong word choice on the very first page. The use of hyphens seems incorrect, and there were other issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. A huge info dump set up the entire premise of the story immediately; the backstory and premise were not rolled out slowly, as they should be. All these things annoy me in books. I actually did quite like the heroine’s character. It’s rare to see a shy protagonist. I like the world that the author has created, but those annoyances that I mentioned earlier were off-putting.
Of Sound Mind and Someone Else’s Body by William Quincy Belle
Available at Amazon, Thalia, and Bol.de
Of Sound Mind and Someone Else's Body*
Illuminating, 18+ Freaky Friday that Looks at Social and Gender Issues
What a wholly different and intriguing book! It’s a very adult, 18+ Freaky Friday variant, with the mind-swap happening between a sex worker and a man in a corporate job. The switch happens almost right away when the man finds his consciousness suddenly in the female sex workers body while she is plying her trade. Parts of this book are highly amusing as both come to grips with their new lives in a different body. But it also gives them an awareness of the trials and tribulations of the other gender in broader society (as well as the difficulty of wearing stilettos). I really enjoyed the conversations between the two mind-swappers. The author makes many points about gender inequality and society without preaching; through the characters, he shows rather than tells. There is some swearing and crude language in the book, but it did seem appropriate in context. I found this to be an illuminating and fascinating read.
Trinity by Serena Ackeroyd
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Thalia, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, Indigo (Chapters), and Bol.de
Trinity*
Hit All the Wrong Buttons
I loved the book’s beautiful cover, and I find myself intrigued by RH books these days, so I thought I would give this book a try. I’m sorry I did. I will admit that I did not get very far because so many elements of it just turned me off so quickly. First, this book seems to assume that one has a lot of knowledge about alphas, betas, and pack structure. While I have read some shifter books, this book seems to expect more than I know from just casually reading a few books. Then there’s the swearing. I just I’m not a fan of all the profanity that seems to be in so many books these days. It’s an immediate turn off for me. Sometimes I can get past it if I believe it is necessary for characterization, but it’s a massive no-go otherwise. Then there was a talk of a lot of rapes going on. I read books for enjoyment and escape, not to be reminded how brutal life can be. Hard pass.
The Prisoner of Fate by Jacob L. White
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The Prisoner of Fate*
Girl Masquerades as Boy, Even to her Father and Siblings
This story looks to be setting up future adventures. Noah is a girl, but at the start of the story, only her mother knows this. The position of the seventh son in a family is very important, so her mother decided that she would take on the guise of the seventh son even though she is not male. Her brothers and father have no clue. She is sent off to a magical academy where seventh sons and mages are trained and treated with particular respect. But the term does not go well for her on several counts even though she does well academically Will it be found out that she is, indeed, not a seventh son? What would be the consequences, for her and for her family?
I found it hard to believe that no one in the family except her mother knew that she was a girl. It just seems that with so many people living in such close proximity that they would have to know. I don’t feel it was adequately explained why keeping it a secret was so important. To have her family actually be in jeopardy if she is found out seems extreme. Other than that, I found this to be an interesting setup for a magical world, and given the ending, I am curious about what Noah’s future holds.
Fall from the Moon by C. S. Hale
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Fall From the Moon*
Compelling Mix of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Romance
What a delightful and engaging read! This book takes the theme of time travel romance that is so popular today because of Outlander and spins the premise on its head. This is science fiction, fantasy, and time travel romance all rolled into one very well-done story. The futuristic heroine is as modern as we are and is traveling through space when she becomes marooned on a planet that is actually a Do Not Contact planet for the agency she works for. The people and culture on this planet mirror what we would call medieval on Earth. So this future woman with modern sensibilities—and with cool nanobots running around in her blood repairing her crash injuries and a communication device that can learn a new language in a few hours—is stuck on a planet with a much cruder society than she is familiar with.
The author was able to pull me right into the story with a dramatic scene of what was happening on her ship before she crash-landed. Compared to the world that she came from, this new one is so different, and she has choices that she must make right away to maintain her survival. She can be very cool and analytical at times, and she needs to be to survive both initially on the ship and on the new world. I absolutely loved both her and the hero. To add a further fantasy/mystical element, the hero believes that she is a prophesied savior, which is why he insists on marrying her when she arrives. This book was just so well done, with characters that you could relate to and root for. The heroine’s thoughts and commentary were just priceless. I really enjoyed this book.
Hunting the Beast by Anna Santos and May Freighter
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Hunting the Beast*
Not the Best Retelling of Classic Tale
I am a sucker for retellings of fairy tales, and I particularly love the story of Beauty and the Beast. I fell in love with it when Disney came out with a cartoon movie in the last millennium. So I was anticipating this version of it, but unfortunately, I found it sadly lacking. The author gave Belle some potential strengths, but they weren’t really used. The character development that we see in the original fairytale was not truly seen here. Especially Drake, the Beast, as he came across as a cardboard character and certainly not one who grew and evolved. I felt the language in this book, too, was a bit strange. The language was very simplified, as if the book is meant to be a middle-grade story. I found that tedious to read. Some word choices for dialogue, too, seem far too modern. The book feels like it takes place in a fake medieval fantasy time, so modern terms feel out of place and are actually quite jarring when read. The level of the dialogue, too, seemed simplistic and childlike, not like real people talk. This story just missed the mark for me, which is too bad as I thought the premise had promise.
The Legacy by Amelia Shaw
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The Legacy*
New Life at Magical Academy
This book begins a new series. I usually like magical academy types of stories, so I was drawn to read this one. I was particularly intrigued by the idea that the heroine considers herself to be a nerdy bookworm, and she is suddenly thrust into a magical world that she had no idea existed. In this world, she is to be trained to be a fae slayer, as her family has been such for four generations. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even get to the academy until near the halfway point of the book. The first half is spent setting up her everyday life before her parents’ announcement upends it by telling her that she will be going away to a special academy for training. While we do see a few interesting scenes at the academy, the author chose to flash forward through much of her time there, focusing on a couple of key scenes instead. I would have liked to have seen more of her regular daily life at the academy and her adjustments to this world and her role in it. That said, even though this book felt a little slow at times, I think it does a good job setting up this magical world, and I would like to see where the author is going to take this next.
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