Jul 16 2024

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Novella Review: The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

Title: The Fireborne Blade

Author: Charlotte Bond

Series: The Fireborne Blade #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 2/5 stars

The Overview: Kill the dragon. Find the blade. Reclaim her honor. It’s that, or end up like countless knights before her, as a puddle of gore and molten armor. Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and made of sterner stuff. A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it’s that “die trying” is where to wager your coin. Maddileh’s tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world. -Overview

The Review:

Not what I was expecting and a bit unconventional, this was an interesting novella. I wish it had been a little more engaging.

What it had going for it was a plethora of original dragonlore ideas – stuff I’ve never seen done quite like this. So while it was an absolute standout in concept, it fell short for me in execution and pacing.

The story bounced back and forth between past events and the current happenings with the MC. The bounce happened so often that it effectively stole all momentum from the tale, and as a result I found myself struggling to pay attention. Some of the flashback scenes ultimately ended up enhancing the overall arc of the story, but not all. From a creative standpoint, I like the woven storyline and thought it was a great way to integrate all of the components, but overall, as I said, I wish it had been a little more engaging.

The MC was a bit stereotypical and I feel like I’ve read her profile countless times before. She seemed more like a vessel of perpetuating the plot rather than a character with a lot of depth and dynamics. However my biggest issue was her behavior. This novella read like a literary fiction (starring dragons) and was seemingly trying to present a few themes throughout. The MC said and did things that harmed the message plumping the narrative and also appeared inconsistent with character. It felt like she was trying to be too many things in conflict with each other. And not in an interesting, oh, this character has a lot of duality way, but more in an I’m not sure she’s fully developed kind of way.

For such a short story, I was hoping it would have more of a momentum, better character connection, and a more consistent message. In lieu of all that, I’m at least grateful for an interesting style and plot structure and liked the fresh, gritty take on dragons -> a subject in which I am obsessed, so the uniqueness was appreciated.

I experienced this story on audio and the narrator, Helen McAlpine, was adept and pleasant to listen to. I’m not sure if it was just the arc version of the audio I received or just something about the way it was recorded, but it felt about .25 slower than average, so you’ll fly through it!

Recommendations: this is a creative novella that I found entertaining in concept and technique even though it failed to draw me in. Still worth a look if you’d like a fresh take on dragonlore.

I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio, Charlotte Bond, and NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review an early copy of this novella.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, and Bee! <3

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by Niki Hawkes

Jun 7 2024

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Book Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Title: Iron Flame

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Series: Empyrean #2

Genre: Romance Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end. -Goodreads

The Review:

Worth reading as a fantasy-lover? I think so… with provisions.

While the first book had more novelty components, this sequel was actually a much more satisfying read on the whole. I think because it had a better balance of components and fewer wtf? plotting moments. It definitely reads more like a YA novel with sexual content than a fantasy novel featuring younger characters. I don’t think it will appeal to the hard-core-high-fantasy-only readers, but anyone who even remotely likes YA fantasy (I like it more than remotely) will probably enjoy it. And the romance crowd? This has got their names all over it, but I could see the first book hitting right notes more than the second book in that regard. Overall, one of the reasons this book is so popular is because of how much cross-genre appeal it has. What’s drawing ME to it? The dragons and other fantasy components, the school settings (those will always get a second look), and the fun-factor.

Thankfully, I was mostly able to turn off my critical brain in this one. There were still a couple of “how does THIS plan make any sense?” situations, but overall I got into the flow much easier than with the first book. In Fourth Wing, right from the very beginning, I thought the setup was stupid. Even after all the eventual explanations, I still can’t wrap my head around why it makes sense for any of these people to be in such powerful, close-proximity situations to begin with. But if you change that then you have to rethink your entire plot, so perhaps it’s best to just hope no one questions it too closely… ? Don’t even get me started on the core of how the school functions. Whatever. Anyway, Yarros lost my confidence early on, and while she hasn’t precisely gained any back, she’s done a good job making me care less and less about the semantics of it all. It helps that nothing blatantly knocked me off-kilter in Iron Flame, so I could finally just relax into the fun of it and experience it with some of the same delight I know others have gotten out of it since the first book. I practically flew through Iron Flame! And it ain’t short. That speaks to some great pacing.

Let’s talk about the love story -> it felt a lost less “hit you over the head,” and to my surprise, did NOT take the aggravatingly immature direction I thought it was headed. There were a few of those moments, but the author hung a lantern on it and pulled it off. The MC was able to focus a bit more on things other than the gorgeous specimen. Hence, more balance. Some of the dialogue back and forth was so saccharine and perfect that it wasn’t realistic at all, but I might be too cynical a reader for it in the first place. I just think it would add more depth to the love interest’s character to not always be the talking head of total fixation on this girl, because right now he doesn’t feel or read like a rounded character to me. Just a wish-fulfillment.

I still love the dragons in this series, even though they played a slightly lesser role in this book. Some of the most memorable ideas of the series lay with them, and I do like that we’ve gotten a few surprises in each book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and even felt invested enough to look up how many are planned in the series (5.).

Recommendations: if you like dragons, school settings, and fast-paced plots… and don’t mind explicit sexual content (bring it), give this series a try! I especially love the dragons. <3

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, and Bee! <3

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by Niki Hawkes

Apr 17 2024

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Book Review: Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

Title: Trials of Empire

Author: Richard Swan

Series: Empire of the Wolf #3

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: The third novel in an epic fantasy trilogy, which follows the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice – a detective, judge and executioner all in one. THE TIME OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND. The Empire of the Wolf is on its knees, but there’s life in the great beast yet. To save it, Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena must look beyond its borders for allies – to the wolfmen of the southern plains, and the pagan clans in the north. But old grievances run deep, and both factions would benefit from the fall of Sova. Even these allies might not be enough. Their enemy, the zealot Bartholomew Claver, wields infernal powers bestowed on him by a mysterious demonic patron. If Vonvalt and Helena are to stand against him, they will need friends on both sides of the mortal plane—but such allegiances carry a heavy price. As the battlelines are drawn in both Sova and the afterlife, the final reckoning draws close. Here, at the beating heart of the Empire, the two-headed wolf will be reborn in a blaze of justice . . . or crushed beneath the shadow of tyranny. -Goodreads

The Review:

Not quite as slam-dunk as the second book, but still a satisfying ending to a great trilogy.

I don’t often regard middle books in a series as the best, but I’ll continue to talk endlessly about how much I loved Tyranny of Faith. And it’s not that the story peaked in that book, as this final installment still had a fantastic momentum, culmination of events, and a great ending. It’s that it had less of those slow, deep character connections. It was also more bleak, not leaving much room for that great humor that tipped the second book from good to phenomenal. There were glimmers of those elements, but they were few and far between.

I liked the exploration of character and morality – a common theme in this series. This really good examination of sticking to the letter of the law vs the spirit. Is it just to break the law when it’s for a greater purpose? And who determines that purpose as righteous? I love how it looked at both sides of that argument and illustrated how it can be used for both good and evil (and a lot of in-between). A nice food for thought that added substance to an already entertaining story.

The main character, Vonvalt (who isn’t actually the POV character, but I still consider him the star of the show) was incredibly unlikable, and not written in a way where you can tell the author is making an unlikable character more appealing to the reader in a “but you’d like him if you could just get to know him” way by showing redeeming qualities. I loved it. As a result, he was one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about in ages. And seeing him through Helena’s eyes made it work even better, as it didn’t provide the reader any means to judge him by but off his actions. It’s such a creative series in that regard, with style and voice, and one of the reasons I’m looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

If you listed out all of the components in the first two books and told me to pick my least favorite one, it would’ve been the supernatural stuff. I generally like supernatural, but it felt kind of out of place in the first book and took the story away from the legal conflicts and interpersonal character work I was enjoying so much. Unfortunately, supernatural is what Trials of Empire focused on almost exclusively. It was integrated a lot more seamlessly the further I read, and overall I enjoyed it, but my lack of enthusiasm for the story to take that direction might be another reason why I didn’t enjoy this as much as I could have. Totally a preferential thing. Also, I could’ve used more time with the wolf men…

Overall, I’m happy to have read this series and, as mentioned, I can’t wait to see what the author will come out with next!

Recommendations: if you’re in for a well-balanced, totally engaging trilogy with interesting character work and moments of pure brilliance – give this a try!

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, and Spinflight! <3

I’d like to thank Orbit Books, Richard Swan, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Trials of Empire!

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by Niki Hawkes

Apr 2 2024

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Book Review: Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

Title: Demons of Good and Evil

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: The Hollows #17

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Rachel Morgan will learn that the price of loyalty is blood… Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, suspected that protecting the paranormal citizens of Cincinnati as the demon subrosa would be trouble. But it’s rapidly becoming way more trouble than even she could have imagined. While Rachel and her friends may have vanquished the trickster demon Hodin, his mysterious associate known only as “The Mage” is eager to finish what Hodin started, beginning with taking down Rachel’s power structure piece by piece. When he frames Rachel for the death of a powerful coven member and the vampire leaders in DC threaten to send a new master vampire to take the city in hand, Rachel’s friends Ivy and Pike are forced into hiding, and even her lover, Trent, finds himself under fire. With her world falling apart, Rachel desperately needs help. But with all of her supporters under attack, her only hope is to make a deal with the unlikeliest of allies… –Goodreads

The Review:

I could’ve used more demon action, but I still really enjoyed this book!

At book 17 in the Hollows series, Harrison hasn’t lost any steam, and in fact only seems to be getting stronger. There’s such a depth to her characters and world at this point that I feel more connected to them than any others in the genre. The series has a slow-burn plot - she takes her time, she lays the groundwork, and she builds momentum in a way that felt unparalleled until the most recent Dresden releases.

This series is all about celebrating amazing side characters and fun creatures. It’s so creative! I especially love the demons. Enigmatic, moody, self-serving, and delightfully unpredictable – as all good demons should be. I appreciate that they haven’t lost any of their poignancy as the series progressed.

And the spellwork!! For a series about a witch, there’s actually a ton of practicing magic. The spell crafting is detailed, complex, and highlighted often. I love learning about magical things in any context, and this series hits that craving beautifully. This particular installment didn’t highlight it as much as usual, but it was still good.

That said Demons of Good and Evil felt like a bridge novel. It tied up a bunch of loose ends and set the stage to come for one of my personal favorite story threads to finally get a moment… it’s going to be so good. I don’t actually know how many books are planned (or even if there’s yet a set number), but it definitely feels like we’re building towards one hell of a series-culmination banger of a ending. Book 18, “Demon’s Bluff” already has a cover and is slated for October 22, 2024. And she even has a new series-starter, “Three Kinds of Lucky” of the Shadow Age series that came out March 5th. All I’m saying is, I love Harrison – she’s such a trusted author that I’ll be devouring ANYTHING she chooses to write. Auto-buy status: MVP.

Overall, if you’re into a slow-burning, character-driven series that gradually builds to neck-breaking excitement that will knock your socks off… this might be a great pick. It shares a lot of the same attributes as some of my favorite high-fantasy works, which is doubtless why I like it so much.

Recommendations: You can either start the series with Dead Witch Walking -> a great story with just the barest glimmers of the amazingness to come (be patient), or even start with The Turn, a prequel novel that highlights the author’s skills beautifully while also plumping up the world-building and laying the foundation for the entire series. Love.

I’d like to thank Berkley Publishing Group, Kim Harrison, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Demons of Good and Evil (I’m late).

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, and Elizabeth! <3

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by Niki Hawkes

Mar 25 2024

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Book Review: The Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Title: The Master of Djinn

Author: P. Djèlí Clark

Series: Dead Djinn Universe #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer. So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage. Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems… -Goodreads

The Review:

A fun read…

Yet oddly not my favorite djinn book. I devoured the entire Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud recently and, as my experience with djinn books is limited, I couldn’t help but compare the two. The djinn in this universe were interesting and helped set a cool, moody atmosphere right from the start. There were some really good scenes throughout, but I couldn’t help but wish they were a little less humanoid and a little more other-worldly. They came across as slightly quirky humans with a bit a magic, but otherwise fit into society without much trouble.

I liked the characters well enough, and actually found one or two of the more minor ones stole the show – their contributions leading to the most memorable parts of the story for me. The MC was likable and adept enough without being over-the-top, which I thought a good balance.

The mystery was enough to keep me engaged through most of the book, although I have to admit I’m a tad disappointed with it. I’m discovering that I’m a bit of a mystery snob. If it doesn’t keep me guessing through at least most of the book, I get ornery. In most cases with the mystery as the secondary component to the story, I’m content with the exotic setting, fun characters, and fantasy elements. However in this case, the mystery was more than a secondary driver to the plot, it WAS the plot. And I think it should’ve required a bit more than my Nancy Drew-level detective skills to solve… is all I’m sayin.

Overall The Master of Djinn was a fun jaunt with a few good twists and I’m glad I read it. Thanks to my Patrons for going on this venture with me!

Recommendations: If you’re in the mood for a transportive, atmospheric fantasy/mystery hybrid, this is a great option, especially if you need something fun and palate-cleansing between denser reads.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, and Elizabeth! <3

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by Niki Hawkes

Mar 12 2024

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Book Review: 16 Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker

Title: 16 Ways to Defend a Walled City

Author: K.J. Parker

Series: Siege #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten. A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job. -Goodreads

The Review:

I’m going to need more K.J. Parker books to devour.

What a total delight! Written in a chronicled, sardonic tone, this was like a mashup between Abercrombie and Pratchett. There were a few brutal elements, but the levity of the tone always kept it from feeling too dark.

And I laughed out loud. A lot.

Mostly at the dry, situational humor. And it’s not just WHAT he said, it’s HOW he said it that made it funny. The writing style was easily my favorite thing about the book. Written in a chronicling fashion, it truly read like some bloke recounting a story about “that one time I…” and whatnot. The narrative switches tenses, talks to the reader, and even confuses pronouns. It’s what makes me want to read more of Parker’s works asap. I love it when authors get creative and break rules, especially when it’s done this deftly.

The main character was great, with a self-preservation streak as long as the bridges he builds, but compassionate enough to root for. And complex enough to make me internalize some of the hard decisions he faced. Superb. Parker struck the balance perfectly of slightly over-the-top characters without making them stupid. This book is such a strong perspective piece and it’s clear all of the supporting characters were made more amusing due to how the main character viewed them all. Truly immersive.

I’m really close to fangirling. I can’t wait to read more Parker and am excited to have found a new author to geek out about. Allen from the Library of Allenxandria was right!

Recommendations: If you’re having withdrawals from Abercrombie, de Castell, or Pratchett, read this book.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, and Elizabeth! <3

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