Reading Fanatic Reviews
All Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal Reviews
Carried Away by Ava S. Quill
Available at Amazon, Kobo, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Carried Away*
The Power of Music
In this somewhat confusing short story, a young woman who is a violin prodigy wins acceptance into a special music school after a brilliant audition. When tragedy strikes, she has trouble coming back to her music. What will happen when one who was blown away by her audition tries to help her find her passion again?
As someone who has played music for a long time, I found the author’s portrayal of what it is like to be carried away by music—which happened several times in this short story—to be accurate. The power of music is amazing! This story is told from the perspective of the young man who witnessed her audition and wanted nothing more than to work with her. As often happens in short stories or novellas, there was a bit of an information dump right at the start, and the time between the major performances seems was more told than shown. This story seems to take place in something other than the modern world, but I can’t quite put my finger on it just from this short story. It almost seems like a fantasy in nature than anything contemporary or historical, though it does have aspects of both olden times (like forms of address) and modern times (like references to jobs). That’s the part that made it confusing. Perhaps all will be revealed when the main story is published later this summer.
Squire Hayseed by S. E. Zbasnik
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Squire Hayseed*
Unforgiving World
At the start of this very long novel, Hayley is attempting to win a slot as a squire. After being brutalized and humiliated by one of the other hopefuls (and even humiliating herself), Hayley is chosen. This book hit on many themes, but overall, the book felt surprisingly dark. Hayley has grown up in harsh circumstances before becoming a squire, and this brotherhood (and sisterhood) of knights reveals a different kind of darkness than she has known, but darkness nonetheless. All around her seem untrustworthy, and several of them are out for blood. The world this author has created is a harsh one, and I didn’t particularly enjoy it. I don’t like books that just come across so dark and cruel. I thought the book was too long, without progressive complications to keep me interested. One thing I find myself questioning from the beginning is how a thief who was theoretically heading to the gallows was able to take part in the squire recruitment process.
I also didn’t like the swearing in this book. In general, I don’t like profanity in books unless it is used to help illuminate character. I like my fantasy books to have cleaner language, as it really does yank me right out of the story to see the use of modern profanity in a medieval-style fantasy.
Queen of the Warrior Bees by Jean Gill
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Queen of the Warrior Bees*
Little Honey (Mielitta) and Her Bees Against the World
What an unusual fantasy book! As the title might suggest, this book is about bees and so much more. Mielitta is an outcast in her city when the story begins. She was a foundling, not born in the Citadel like the others in her community. She is subject to bullying and ridicule. The Forest just beyond the Citadel is off limits and not even talked about (as it is forbidden to do so). One day when Mielitta flees the bullying, she goes out into the Forest. Her wonder is palpable as she explores this natural space. What a difference between where she has grown up and this place. While there, a cloud of bees surround her, stinging her. They actually essentially change her into a queen bee shifter with a hive mind. The bees that exist in her head continually talk to her. This metamorphosis has changed her in more than one way. With the strength of her bees within and outside her, she has courage and strength that she never had before. She actually does it shift into bee form, and she sets up the next generation of bees for her hive. This story isn’t just about Mielitta and her bees. There is greater political intrigue in the Citadel that Mielitta and her swarm get mixed up in, and several secrets come out in the end.
I thought the author did a fantastic job describing the settings, especially the Forest, and Mielitta’s thoughts and emotions. I love when thoughts would switch over to the hive mind; the bees were definitely a character unto themselves, which was an unexpected delight.
NOTE: Miel is the French word for honey, which is why I called her “Little Honey” in the title.
The Un-Life of William Moore by Dana Lockhart
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Smashwords, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
The Un-Life of William Moore*
Undirected and Pointless
I am not sure quite what to make of this book. I’ll admit I don’t usually read vampire books, but the blurb had me intrigued that this would not be like others of the subgenre. I spent a couple of hours with it, and as I sit here now, I find myself wondering what the point of the book was. In the end, I am disappointed. I felt like not much happened for the first part of the book except for the gradual teasing out of information about what vampires mean in this world. And this information was given super slowly over many weeks as the heroine dragged the information from the vampire who visited her weekly for a meal. Then as other characters became involved in their existence, things starting to get mildly more interesting. But the author didn’t really set up the changes that came in the latter half the book in the first part of the book. Yes, the vampire did mention another vampire, but he didn’t give too much information about him. In the end, this book felt more like it was setting up a vampire world more than it was an actual vampire novel, a proper story. It is more about world-building than the story. I didn’t like the end. Not at all. It made me feel like I had wasted a couple of hours. There truly was no point.
Defending Her Vikings by Skye MacKinnon
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBook, Kobo, Google Play, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, and Angus & Robertson
Defending Her Vikings*
A Little Bit of Steam in Time Travel Romance
Lainie is now back in the present with Hjalmar’s brother and mother. Time has gone by in the present, and things aren’t looking good for Hjalmar. What will they and the Archivist do to help? I enjoyed this installment of the serial. The author put a lovely little hot scene with Asger at the beginning, but there was a fun bit with the Archivist as well. The Archivist is not happy with her and all that she and Hjalmar did. The author ended with quite a fun little cliffhanger, which I am interested to see resolved. At the end, too, the author promised more in this Time Travel Academy series; I am so glad she’s going to continue it, as I have enjoyed this world she has created very much.
My Big Fat Alien Wedding by Fiona Roarke
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robertson, and Indigo (Chapters)
My Big Fat Alien Wedding*
Another Fun Trip to Alienn
It is brother Axel’s turn for romance! The woman he thinks is just a worker on board a ship visiting the way-station is actually from one of the more prominent families on Alpha-Prime. She has never fully felt appreciated there but has lived the life that has been proscribed for her—including agreeing to an arranged marriage. Meeting Axel gets her thinking about the possibilities.
This is now the fourth books that I have read in this series about Alienn, Arkansas. Like the rest, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment. There’s delightful tongue-in-cheek humor that at times borders on slapstick with great turns of phrase. The pacing of the book is right on. I love getting glimpses of the other characters I’ve come to know and love, like the other Grey brothers and their Aunt Dixie. Axel was sweet when he just fell for her so quickly, not really know that much about her. He is a simple man who just wants the woman of his dreams.
Shifters of Brigantia by Lisa Daniels
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Shifters of Brigantia*
Mega Collection of Shifter Series
Oh, my! What a fantastic box set of 12 paranormal shifter romance novellas! There are actually 3 series included, with 4 books each. I’ve enjoyed a previous series by this author, but I hadn’t read any from these series. These stories are different from your typical shifter romance ones in that there is a greater story arc that covers the entire mega-series, the classic fight between Good and Evil, Life and Destruction, and the imagined world (and its history and rules) is more complex than is typical. Even though each story is relatively short, the characters feel well developed and three dimensional. The heroes and heroines have undeniable chemistry. Some stories had a depth of emotion that I found surprising for both the subgenre and the length of the novella. I did think that the beginnings of some of them had a bit too much of an informational dump, but I tend to see that a lot in novellas, where authors seem to need to “get it all out there” so they can go on with the story they want to tell. I also thought that most of them did end a little too abruptly; again, this is something I feel like I often see in series, where the author doesn’t want to give away too much that might spoil the other books.
I did like how each of the three series that are included in this mega collection is based around the concept not only the animals—white tiger, jaguar, and panther—but also the idea that these animals represent in this world—guardian, champion, and assassin respectively. The magical women are paired with the type of hero that can best protect her and her magic. If you enjoy complex magical shifter romance, you may very well enjoy this well-written collection of series.
The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat by Brooke Shelby
Available at Amazon only (at this point)
Not with Kindle Unlimited
The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat*
Short Intro to Series
Witch Clara can’t help but interfere when her increasingly more fanatically conservative community—which doesn’t believe in vaccines—is overrun with measles cases. The healing soup she made for the children helped them, but now her secret is out!
This is a super short story that means to introduce this series. There’s not room for much depth, as you might imagine. I thought that the cat and the heroine sounded a little too much like each other; not much distinguished them. This really didn’t whet my appetite for more.
Spelling Bee by Adrienne Blake
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Spelling Bee*
Short and Sweet
I found myself to be rather charmed by this very short story that is meant to be an introduction to a greater series. I love the humor between mother and daughter as well as around the concept of the new hot Great Wizard! This can be read in under a half hour and probably even under 20 minutes. Charming, sweet breaktime fun!
Spring Vampires: Blooms of Blood by Eva Brandt
Available at Amazon only
Free with Kindle Unlimited
Spring Vampires: Blooms of Blood*
Too Confusing to Enjoy
I am not quite sure what to make of this book. I quite enjoyed the first two books of this series (the Winter portion) and the prequel that went with it. For whatever reason, I’m having a hard time getting into this Spring Vampires arc. Like with the first Spring Vampires book, I felt the world was too confusing to enjoy and understand fully. Again, the numerous odd names of peoples and places (all of which seem to have multiple names) are confusing, especially given that some of these are derived from different cultures or are wholly made up. I don’t like having to keep a notepad off to the side to keep everything and everyone straight when all I want to do is pleasure read.
Much has changed for Eranthe in this book. She was never entirely the fluffy queen that she appeared to be at the start of the previous book. Her time as a prisoner of Hades and a secret that her mother has kept making her far more complex and perhaps more suitable as a soulmate for the vampires. I’m not sure if the author intends to publish any more in the vampires’ arc; if she does it like last time, there will only be two books (this being the last). Since I did enjoy the Winter’s part of this series, I am willing to check out the Summer part of the series to see if it will re-engage me, but if it is as confusing and as strange as I found this arc, I don’t think I’ll be reading any more of this series—even though I enjoyed the start so well.
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