Fiction
Stacia Kane, Made for Sin: Free review copy. Kane’s paranormal series about a tough-as-nails magic user and her big bruiser of a boyfriend really hits my sweet spot; she’s trying something slightly different here with an opening story from the point of view of the bruiser-type. Here, magic isn’t generally known to normal folks, and our bruiser is rumored to be the son of a Las Vegas mob boss. What people don’t know is that he’s the host of a demon, who has to be fed with sins in order to keep it from taking over entirely and leaving a trail of murder, rape, and torture. When he has to team up with Ardeth, an extremely good thief, she gets right through his defenses, but that just makes her more of a target for the demon inside him. The worldbuilding was interesting, but the instant attraction seemed a bit forced, though that’s often how I feel about the romance aspects of these types of books.
Courtney Milan, The Duchess War: OK, fine. Feelgood historical romance with protagonists who have extremely progressive views and lots of banter. Minnie Lane is a spinster with a secret, and when a duke comes to town, he threatens to expose her to renewed calumny. Cute as heck.
Courtney Milan, The Heiress Effect: Another book in the same universe as The Duchess War, this time involving heiress Jane Fairfield, who has to stay unmarried so that she can protect her sister from the sort-of-well-meaning torments inflicted on her by her guardian, who’s seeking to cure her sister’s epilepsy. Oliver Marshall, the duke’s half-brother, has political aspirations, and they can’t be reconciled with Jane’s over-the-top personality. More banter, more attraction and external barriers. Frothy.
Elizabeth Knox, Wake: A small New Zealand town is surrounded by an impenetrable field; almost everyone inside dies, with the exception of a few people who came into the town just before the barrier went up. They struggle to adapt and survive; this isn’t Lord of the Flies or even Under the Dome, but they have interacting weaknesses-and the force that locked them inside has plans for them. Decently done, but not a standout for me.
Adam Rakunas, Windswept: With all the sf about corporations replacing governments, how come it’s taken this long to get sf starring a union organizer? (Further suggestions welcome.) Padma is a long-suffering, hard-negotiating steward on a planet whose sole export is fuel-grade cane, trying to scrape up enough money to buy her own refinery. For that, she needs to recruit forty more Breaches, people who leave the corporations for union work. Shenanigans ensue; it’s a good yarn, though the reader is likely ahead of Padma in figuring out the twists given that we know it’s a book and she doesn’t.
Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear, An Apprentice to Elves: Third book in their psychic wolves series. Alfgyfa is the titular apprentice, learning smithing until various crises brings her home where the Roman-like Rheans are threatening to destroy her human family. The psychic wolves play a role, as do elf politics. It’s fun worldbuilding, though the ending has a bit of an anticlimax to it. Hard to figure out how it could’ve gone well without the anticlimax given how they set the invading Rheans up as incredibly well-resourced, but still.
Sarah Kuhn, Heroine Complex: Evie is the hard-working, emotionally repressed assistant to San Francisco’s favorite superhero, who achieves local fame by suppressing the repeated, dangerous-but-not-world-threatening demon attacks that started at the same time that a few hundred people in the area got mild superpowers. Aveda (a better name than Annie) has been Evie’s best friend since childhood, and has parlayed her tiny telekinesis into herodom through intensive training and good PR. But Evie has a secret of her own, not to mention a rebellious sixteen-year-old sister she’s been trying to supervise since her mother died and her father left. And then there’s the tall, dark, and handsome dude she keeps fighting with … A fun adventure with lots of girl power and girls having girls’ backs; my biggest complaint is that everyone in the story talks the same way, regardless of age or how plausible it is that they’d be using BtVS-style quips and grammar.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.
Courtney Milan, The Duchess War: OK, fine. Feelgood historical romance with protagonists who have extremely progressive views and lots of banter. Minnie Lane is a spinster with a secret, and when a duke comes to town, he threatens to expose her to renewed calumny. Cute as heck.
Courtney Milan, The Heiress Effect: Another book in the same universe as The Duchess War, this time involving heiress Jane Fairfield, who has to stay unmarried so that she can protect her sister from the sort-of-well-meaning torments inflicted on her by her guardian, who’s seeking to cure her sister’s epilepsy. Oliver Marshall, the duke’s half-brother, has political aspirations, and they can’t be reconciled with Jane’s over-the-top personality. More banter, more attraction and external barriers. Frothy.
Elizabeth Knox, Wake: A small New Zealand town is surrounded by an impenetrable field; almost everyone inside dies, with the exception of a few people who came into the town just before the barrier went up. They struggle to adapt and survive; this isn’t Lord of the Flies or even Under the Dome, but they have interacting weaknesses-and the force that locked them inside has plans for them. Decently done, but not a standout for me.
Adam Rakunas, Windswept: With all the sf about corporations replacing governments, how come it’s taken this long to get sf starring a union organizer? (Further suggestions welcome.) Padma is a long-suffering, hard-negotiating steward on a planet whose sole export is fuel-grade cane, trying to scrape up enough money to buy her own refinery. For that, she needs to recruit forty more Breaches, people who leave the corporations for union work. Shenanigans ensue; it’s a good yarn, though the reader is likely ahead of Padma in figuring out the twists given that we know it’s a book and she doesn’t.
Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear, An Apprentice to Elves: Third book in their psychic wolves series. Alfgyfa is the titular apprentice, learning smithing until various crises brings her home where the Roman-like Rheans are threatening to destroy her human family. The psychic wolves play a role, as do elf politics. It’s fun worldbuilding, though the ending has a bit of an anticlimax to it. Hard to figure out how it could’ve gone well without the anticlimax given how they set the invading Rheans up as incredibly well-resourced, but still.
Sarah Kuhn, Heroine Complex: Evie is the hard-working, emotionally repressed assistant to San Francisco’s favorite superhero, who achieves local fame by suppressing the repeated, dangerous-but-not-world-threatening demon attacks that started at the same time that a few hundred people in the area got mild superpowers. Aveda (a better name than Annie) has been Evie’s best friend since childhood, and has parlayed her tiny telekinesis into herodom through intensive training and good PR. But Evie has a secret of her own, not to mention a rebellious sixteen-year-old sister she’s been trying to supervise since her mother died and her father left. And then there’s the tall, dark, and handsome dude she keeps fighting with … A fun adventure with lots of girl power and girls having girls’ backs; my biggest complaint is that everyone in the story talks the same way, regardless of age or how plausible it is that they’d be using BtVS-style quips and grammar.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.