Tag: Indie Reviews

BOOK REVIEW: Nectar for the God

My second round with Mennik Thorn and I am thoroughly impressed.

Cover of the novel Nectar for the God, with Mennik Thorn standing at the front, magic ready in his palm

By Patrick Samphire. Find out more about it here.
427 pages

Only an idiot would ignore his debt to a high mage, and Mennik Thorn is not an idiot, no matter what anyone might say. He’s just been … distracted. But now he’s left it too late, and if he doesn’t obey the high mage’s commands within the day, his best friends’ lives will be forfeit. So it’s hardly the time to take on an impossible case: proving a woman who murdered a stranger in full view is innocent.

Unfortunately, Mennik can’t resist doing the right thing – and now he’s caught in a deadly rivalry between warring high mages, his witnesses are dying, and something ancient has turned its eyes upon him.

The fate of the city is once again in the hands of a second-rate mage. Mennik Thorn should have stayed in hiding.

Taff’s squee rating: 4 1/2 hearts!
What’s inside: The same as what we’ve found in book one! Check out my review here. On top of that, we’ve got Mennik really showing how he messes up – especially around his friends and I really appreciate how his actions have clear consequences.
Trigger warnings: More magical violence with plenty of gore. Tentacles. The setting has little mercy and children are not immune to harm.

After I put down Nectar for the God, my first thought was: Okay, I need the next one. For a bunch of reasons, too. One, I’m fond of Mennik. Two, I’m fascinated by Agatos (it’s people, it’s magic, it’s political intrigue). And three, I really need to see more Captain Gale (and find out how Mennik gets on with her in the next book).

Allow me to show you a little no context Gale:

“But it’s a god,” I said.
She smiled. “This isn’t the first god we’ve dealt with.”

Me:

Anyways! We pick up where we’ve left off in Shadow of a Dead God, and the consequences of Mennik’s actions from prior do not take long to catch up to him. And how does he meet them? Hm. I am going to say he meets a lot of them with inaction. Or at least with procrastination by means of taking on a job which has nothing to do with any of the pressing matters breathing down his neck. It’s that inaction, that avoidance, that helps us see how Mennik really is just a man who is beholden to his fears and his ego. And inaction has consequences, too, you see, and I’m always up for seeing the hero of a story realise with cold dread how they’ve just messed up and that they really have no one else but themselves to blame.

Overall, Shadow of a Dead God shows us more of who Mennik is and what drives him – and what he fears. I might go out on a limb here and say that this book may have had a theme of overcoming anxieties? Or at least face them? I don’t know, I am not very good at pointing out themes, I am mostly just here for the rides and what a ride this was.

What I am good at though (I think, maybe, potentially) is pointing out when a book is a lot of fun. And this one is a real lot of fun. The pacing continues to be tight, the mystery mysterious (but we got clues we can put together ourselves, meaning we get that wonderful AHA!! moment), and the humour has yet to miss for me.

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BOOK REVIEW: Shadow of a Dead God

Caution: Works a bit like catnip on Taff.

Cover of the novel Shadow of a Dead God

By Patrick Samphire. Find out more about it here. :3
442 pages

It was only supposed to be one little job – a simple curse-breaking for Mennik Thorn to pay back a favour to his oldest friend. But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?

Mennik has no choice if he wants to get out of this: he is going to have to throw himself into the corrupt world of the city’s high mages, a world he fled years ago. Faced by supernatural beasts, the mage-killing Ash Guard, and a ruthless, unknown adversary, it’s going to take every trick Mennik can summon just to keep him and his friend alive.

But a new, dark power is rising in Agatos, and all that stands in its way is one damaged mage…

Taff’s squee rating: 4 1/2 hearts!
What’s inside: A witty detective who cannot catch a break, a finely crafted magic system anchored solidly in its own world, charming side characters (including a young girl who’ll carve out your kneecaps with a knife if you look at her wrong), and a fast-paced and clever mystery to solve.
Trigger warnings: Lotsa magical violence with plenty of gore.

Mennik Thorn can give Harry Dresden a run for his money; not only when it comes to collecting bruises in the name of rent, but also in how he’s hell-bent on doing the right thing. He has undeniable charm. He’s funny. He’s loyal. He’s actually pretty dang good at what he does, but there’s always something waiting to go wrong and challenge him.

Shadow of a Dead God excels not only in Mennik though (which it does, his character type is like catnip for me), but it boasts a lot of intriguing characters on top of that, along with fantastic world-building. Agatos is a carefully crafted fictional city in a setting that feels alive far beyond Mennik’s (Nik’s) story, and the magic system we’re given is just chef’s kiss. And I’m not just talking about the practical applications of it, but also its origin and the consequences it has on society at large. Plus, the Ash Guard? Yeah, they’re probably one of my favourite bits about the book, and I really really really hope I’ll see more of them in the second one (which I got waiting for me on my bookshelf right now). The practical applications of the magic are fantastic, too, and Patrick Samphire has a real knack for writing action sequences that aren’t only thrilling, but which also teach us a lot about the world.

I’ve had an amazing time reading this and can honestly say it always put up a fight when I had to put it down to get some sleep. Highly recommend!

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Book Review: We Are Not Angels

Angels come to Earth to teach us a lesson. We teach one right back. It involves mercy, a lot of time spent in bed (and on a squeaky-wheeled office chair), and trust.

Cover of the novel We Are Not Angels

By Nadine Little. Buy it on Amazon! :3
203 pages

Every monster has a weakness. Even angels.

Maia loved dystopian video games but now she’s playing one for real in the streets of Edinburgh. Forced to survive a global purge as humanity’s punishment for abusing the planet, Maia dreams of fighting back instead of cowering in the shadows. When she clashes swords with Hunter, an act of mercy grants her wish.

A weapon that hurts them. A chance for rebellion.

But that act of mercy also leads to a wounded Hunter on the floor of her refuge. Can a savage warrior angel from a culture of pain and dominance be tamed by a tiny, gentle human? Or is this one game Maia is destined to lose?

Taff’s squee rating: 4 1/2 hearts!
What’s inside: Enemies to lovers, a global rebellion brought on by the courage of an ordinary young woman, sexual tension you wanna rub your face in, sex, and lovely disability and trans rep!
Trigger warnings: Violence and child death.

We are not Angels has got to have one of the best title drops I have come across in a very very long time. No, seriously, when the title got dropped I put the book down on my knees and stared at my dog with that face. You know. That face. The Oh, You face. I still think about it sometimes to this day and I think I finished reading the book two months ago?

And you know what else I still think about? How much of a fun read it was from front to back. I got excited for my bedtime reading hour every night, not only because I really needed to know what Maia would be getting up to next, but also what more I could learn about Nadine Little’s angels. There’s character and care in everything in this book; from Maia, our POV character and hero who is so human and squeaks I’m sorry at the murderous angel who just tried to kill her, to Hunter, our otherworldly warrior who knows nothing but pain and war, to Steph, who rocks a wheelchair, a rainbow wig, and who will face a monster head on to make sure everyone understands Maia’s heart is precious, all the way down to every single interaction between the characters and the world building that holds it all up.

I am very much a fan and will be carrying Maia, Hunter, and Steph around in my head for a very long time.


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Book Review: These Violent Nights

This one packs a lot more between its pages than I had originally anticipated. There’s a slow burn. There’s trauma. There’s fighting for your right to live and fighting for those you love. And magic and multiple dimensions and and and- yeah, there’s a lot. All of which adds up to a really, really fun read.

By Rebecca Crunden. Buy it on Amazon! :3

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

These Violent Nights begins with Thorn. We get to know the world through her eyes, which means we see the horrors she’s lived through and follow her as she claws her way ever forward, relentlessly seeking to avenge her parents. But we also find her doubting as she is faced with two Suriias who aren’t quite like any other. While the rest of the world seems to want her dead, these two want her to find comfort and peace.

Especially Kol.

Thorn’s drive for revenge is in stark contrast with how Kol slowly proves himself to her, whether that’s by showing her small acts of kindness (chocolate, movies, walks in pretty parks), or risking himself for her. It’s all very I’m kicking my feet under the blankets and making Taff noises and I am convinced that Thorn’s and Kol’s slow burn will forever be embedded in my memory. It’s really well done, okay? The best part? Thorn never loses sight of what she wants: freedom and the company of humans. Sometimes it frustrated me and I would have loved to shove them together and demand they get over it, but I am glad that Rebecca allowed Thorn her integrity.

And then, just when things really come to a boil for Thorn towards the middle of the book-

-we meet Lucien as our new point-of-view character. He is Surii. And he is here to show us that this one Earth full of unmeasurable cruelty is only one side of an awful, awful coin. Much like Thorn, Lucien has lived a life full of bloodshed and loss. But while Thorn only had herself and her sister to look after and was driven by the need to avenge her parents, Lucien looks after his family, his pack. His motivation is keeping them safe at all cost. Which, eventually, leads to Thorn’s and Lucien’s worlds colliding.

There’s another romance subplot woven into Lucien’s part of the story and it looks at the complicated relationship between a human and Surii from a different angle than what we saw with Thorn and Kol. This time, it felt like we focused more on the power imbalance between the two, which gave me a better understanding of why Kol often did what he did and why he didn’t press Thorn as much as he could have.

But romance is by far not the only thing this book has going for it! The world is built well; the characters that inhabit it are complex in all their flaws; the conflicts we explore prove heart-wrenching; and the eventual conclusion is satisfying.

Okay!

How many hearts does it get? 4 1/2 out of 5.

And what can you expect (or not expect)?

  • Slow burn times two :3
  • Queer!
  • Flawed characters that stick to their convictions
  • Magic! It’s mostly subtle at first, but we experience more of it later
  • No explicit sex scenes (this ace Taff is grateful)
  • Mention of sexual assault, but every instance is handled with grace
  • Flying coaches! But also steampunk trucks. Two very good things.
  • Happy Ending

Yep, I recommend this book. I really do. And I cannot wait to read more from Rebecca, honestly.

’till next time.

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Book Review: The Calling

An action-packed mystery set in an icy future in which humanity’s survival isn’t a guaranteed thing.

The Calling by Branwen Oshea

By Branwen OShea. Buy it on Amazon!

I’m slapping four and a half hearts on this one. And it looks great on my bookshelf :3

Humanity’s wake-up call. Answer it or face extinction.

When Bleu’s little sister shows symptoms of the deadly Sickness, a strange vision directs him to leave humanity’s subterranean haven and seek the cure on Earth’s glacial surface. Joining the expedition team, Bleu expects extreme temperatures, not a surface ruled by ingenious predators.

Rana and her fellow star beings have co-existed with Earth’s top carnivores since the humans disappeared. But when her peers transform into Crowned Ones, the final stage of star being development, she fears remaining Uncrowned like her parents. To prove her worth, she undertakes a dangerous mission—contacting the hostile and nearly extinct humans. But Rana’s plan backfires, and Bleu’s team retaliates.

As war with the more advanced star being civilization looms, both Rana and Bleu separately seek a way to save their people.

The Calling is a hefty adventure. It takes place after the Earth has fallen to ice and humanity has had to hide in underground havens to survive, which, by itself, sounds simple enough. But there’s a lot more to it; from humanity’s struggle in their haven (the Sickness, a dwindling gene pool, politics) to the mystery that surrounds the star beings who have lived in harmony with Earth’s remaining wildlife in the human’s absence on the surface.

And gosh, I adored the world-building on both ends: the star beings and their abilities, their culture, and how humanity has managed to survive, as well as what’s driving them to reclaim the surface. It all comes together to shape a great backdrop to the character’s adventures.

Oh! Yeah! The characters.

I think the book has two main characters, of a sort. Bleu and Rana. Most of the story centres around them, but we get to know a cast of different POV characters who provide us with a view of the story from different angles. They all bring a different flavour and show us more of the world from their unique perspective. Plus, their personalities are varied, which makes switching back and forth entertaining since it keeps it fresh. OH! AND! We get villain POV! And okay, okay, hear me out: the arguable, air-quotes open, villain, air quotes closed, of the story? I am not about to spoil a thing, but I got so dang mad at him. Furious. I wanted to grab the guy by the ankles and feed him to the book’s (adorably murderous) cave diggers. And that’s a compliment because that dude worked. He’s not evil as much as he’s committed to humanity and the survival of the species and it shows.

The book also doesn’t pull its punches: characters will die. And they’re characters that get introduced to us in ways that give us plenty of time to care for them. More importantly though, their deaths aren’t only there to have us go “Oh no!” and then move on, nope. They have consequences and they move the story forward, adding tension and conflict and I think that’s really neat.

Anyway, so, our main characters: Bleu is a young and adventurous soul who yearns for being up there. To breathe something else than recycled air. To be rid of the constricting walls. He’s also an exceptionally good brother and loves his sister dearly. The same sister who is struck by the mysterious Sickness, which threatens to kill humanity’s future: their children. Soon after, a mysterious vision strikes him, convincing him that his sister’s survival depends on him going out there and locating the cure. Rana’s, our second central character, has her own yearning to contend with. She fears she’ll never crown, a fear which preoccupied her. A lot. Seriously. She’s on about it so often I sometimes felt the urge to sit her down and tell her to take a deep breath. But it’s an understandable worry, all things considered. It’s also that fear that drives her to want to set out on a dangerous mission and to eventually be directly tied up in the disastrous first meeting between the star beings and the frightened and hostile humans. Though on a lighter note: she gets to be wooed by two young men. And it’s adorable. And the way she handles it towards the end had me enjoy her as a character even more.

And that’s it, really? I recommend The Calling to anyone who enjoys post-apocalypse stories with a cast of younger heroes who get wrapped up in a high-stakes conflict. There’s action. Gunfights. Fascinating magic. An adorable cave digger baby named Digga. Tragic world-building on humanity’s side and what they’ve got to do in order to survive. And, yeah, if you like well-fleshed-out characters and villains who all come with their individual wants and needs and goals.

Now excuse me while I order book two in the series. I’d missed its release!

Buy it on Amazon!

tafferlingLeave a comment

Short Story Review: Blackberries and Snow

By Lacey over at allnightwriting
Read it here.

It’s hot today, going to be hotter tomorrow, and now the sky is an unbroken field of haze that burns the throat as it goes down and reeks of charred wood and burnt rubber.

I‘ve never reviewed a short story before, so I am not entirely sure where to start or where to end, especially with this particular piece. There’s a lot packed into so few words, and it all comes together under the unkind heat of a world turned hostile by rampant climate change. Which, now more than ever, is a topic that very much resonates with a lot of us. Worries us, even. Though while that is a tangible theme, the story didn’t leave me feeling grim and hopeless. No. Rather the opposite. 

I feel the string that ties me to these people, to my home, acutely this morning. It’s alive, vibrant, and hooked so deeply into my heart that it’s going to hurt when I pull away.

Blackberries and Snow is a a beautiful, short eco punk story that follows a young woman in her steps over the threshold of her childhood home, and out into an uncertain, but hopeful future.

I like it, okay. I don’t really know what else to say. Lacey’s writing has always drawn me in, and I love how she doesn’t ever let us lose hope, or get lost in the darkness of an inherently dark theme. 

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