L.K. Evans's Blog
November 4, 2024
The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I’m not even sure where to begin.
First and foremost, there’s a lot of danger in this world from the Blackened plague-like people to raiders to demons springing from cocoons and laying waste to anyone around. The tone is very bleak from the characters point of view. They’ve just bested the country’s villain and are now dealing with fallout. One might think it more upbeat, but war is a bitch, and this book doesn’t lie about it.
The pacing, for me, moves along just fine. This book rotates POV through a few characters, and I did find myself wanting to stay with two POVs in particular. The prose is quick and clean, and the world is detailed but doesn’t bog down the story.
Of course, for me as a reader, I’m completely obsessed with characters, and if I don’t get a good one, I move on, no matter how wonderful the prose or how interesting a world is presented. Characters make me read. And I loved loved loved Aranok and Allandria. Their relationship actually made sense and felt adult and real. Aranok is a sorcerer and can perform some nifty magic, while Allandria is extremely adept with the bow. They make quite the pair, and the way they care for one another was done beautifully.
I’ll also mention in regards to the women that I found their relationships with one another very real, and it made me realize how little friendships between women is done in fantasy. Not to say it isn’t, but it hasn’t been prevalent in many books I’ve read.
What got me even more excited was that a few twist totally caught me off guard. I did not see them coming, which is usually rare for me. Overall, this is a very entertaining read, and I devoured the second book and promptly went into a book hangover. By the way, the second book is even better! Now I have to wait a year for the third book and two for the fourth. A YEAR! Ugh!
August 24, 2023
Review of Someday I’ll Be Redeemed by Kelly Blanchard
Star Rating:
Pages:
468
Where to buy:
Love me a mysterious cloaked guy with magical fire coming from his hands! The book cover had me picking up this book.
Sooooo…I will admit I read book 2 and it has left me a bit wanting, so this review of book one might be colored by my feelings for book two.
I’ll be honest, there was plenty in this book that usually has me shelving it the minute too many of these things happen: There are some grammar/typo errors in this book; There are paragraph by paragraph head hopping; There are some definite “why didn’t they just do this?” moments. So why did I pick up book 2? Sometimes you just want fun magic with a fun character.
The world is…how should I describe it? Odd. There are different countries well divided up by some sort of specialty. One even has hover cars and computers and plasma guns? Yet none of the other countries know how to work any of their technology? As I said, odd. I can easily get over unbelievable/unrealistic world-building. I read fantasy; I can roll with a lot. My poor husband cannot. Needless to say, I hopped on the boat and went along for the ride.
One main reason I kept reading was magic. I love magic. All sorts. I don’t even need it to make a lot of sense. While the magic was explained somewhat, the sheer breadth of what a mage could do had me asking those “why didn’t they just” questions. That’s always the trick with powerful mages. I like limits in my magic users, which, sure, the characters got tired, but they kept going regardless.
The second reason I kept going was for Lorrek. He’s the mage. He’s got the magic. He’s got secrets. He’s got a traumatic past. Yes please!! He was fun. He didn’t brood a lot. He was on a mission. I did feel several of his choices didn’t make sense to me, but others might be totally fine with it. The hints of a horrible incident kept me very intrigued, and it was the reason I read on. He carried a heavy weight of something, and I had to know what it was.
The other characters in the book were fun, but not nearly as entertaining for me. We have Lorrek’s brothers; one looking for him, one the king, one the King’s advisor. And we have an assassin gal helping the brother looking for Lorrek. She was fun. The characters get a TON more page time in book two. So if you do pick up the second book, be aware that Lorrek hardly gets any page time until the very end. Honestly, that didn’t go well for me. I wanted fun magic and Lorrek. I got rescues and other characters. Nothing wrong with this, by all means, it’s just not what I wanted after book 1.
There is a huge flashback section that explains what happened to Lorrek which I thought could have used its own book. It seems like book 1 should have been the second book and the flashback the first. But that’s just my opinion. The flashback plays well into book 2 and drives a hefty portion of the plot.
The prose does flow nicely, and the book reads crazy quick. So if the blurb has you remotely interested, give it a go. It’ll move fast.
If you want to find out more about the author, here’s some places to find them: Goodreads | Author Website | Amazon
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
July 5, 2023
Review of A Threat of Shadows by J A Andrews
Star Rating:
Pages:
452
Where to buy:
I’ve seen this book recommended a lot lately, so I thought I’d give it a go.
This felt like an old-school quest fantasy book. Clean, super quick, and full of adventuring with quest buddies. I very much—and I can’t stress this enough—enjoyed the fact that we followed a single point of view through the entire book. I just finished putting down one book because the head-hopping from paragraph to paragraph was driving me insane. This book stayed true to a single character’s view of the quest and his thoughts on his companions, which were each fun and engaging.
As for the world, it’s detailed enough, straightforward, and very much dwarf, elf, and human focused with a few fun creatures thrown in to keep the adventure entertaining. Personally, I don’t like over-involved worlds where I get chapters of history with nothing else happening aside from back-story. This book moved forward, and history was woven in so I learned snippets here and there. The prose was smooth and kept me entrenched with the characters.
The characters themselves were fun. The dwarf is the grouchy tough one; the elf is flighty and fun; the smith and his love interest are brave; the old wizard is awkward and weird; and the main character leading the group is trying very hard to do the right thing. The group dynamic was well done, and as I said, a feeling of old-school questing companions brought together for a cause. The book moves quickly. I think I finished it in two sittings. So if you’re looking for a simple, quick, quest book, give this one a try.
If you want to find out more about the author, here’s some places to find them: Goodreads | Author Website | Amazon
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
June 14, 2023
Review of A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish
Star Rating:
Pages:
386
Where to buy:
Amazon | Kobo | Barnes and Noble
I picked this book looking for a sneaky assassin/thief/heist story. While it didn’t fit what I was looking for, it was still a fun read.
If you do want a heist or more detailed theft type of book, this isn’t going to fit the bill. It’s more focused on the organization of the thieve guilds, not the day-to-day thieving. It does have a nice pace to it. Lots of fighting—more so in the second book—and the scenes that were not focused on fighting went quickly to get us back to the action. It’s a quick read, and Dalglish’s prose was smooth and easily digested.
The world-building was just enough for me, maybe even a tad on the simpler side, but I had just come off reading The Way of Kings which is so heavily detailed in world-building that this book came in as a relief. I can’t say it’s politically focused, but it is definitely based on groups vying for power, and while that might be the focus of the plot, it didn’t feel bogged down as these plots can most often get. Again, it moves quickly.
The characters, while fleshed out to me, didn’t grab hold despite my character-driven reading preference. However, they were interesting and with the quick plot, great action scenes, and blood and guts, this was an incredibly fun read.
We follow Aaron as he discovers who he is and what he’s going to do with his life. The poor kid (13 years old) has been through a lot. He’s one of the thieve guild’s heirs and he’s expected to take over the family business. His father treats him as a business venture, not a son. You do feel for him, and oddly with all he’s been through, I would have thought to connect to him more, but I just felt a bit outside of his world. Even so, his chapters were my favorite and continued to be my favorite through book 2.
Alyssa is our second main character. I didn’t really enjoy her character as much in the beginning, but halfway through I did start to see her come alive and into her own woman. By book 2, I did end up enjoying her chapters as much as Aaron. She’s the daughter of a Trifect (one faction at war with the thieve guilds) and is naive in the beginning but is a quick learner, which I appreciated. She grows from ignorance into a woman who can see those manipulating her. I enjoyed watching her come to be her own woman, her choices made as best she could in her situation.
There are some other minor character chapters, all of which moved the story along and allowed us to understand the world and motivations of some of the characters. Again, since the plot moves quickly, you really don’t have time to be annoyed that you’re not with your favorite character.
So all that said, this is a fast-paced book not in the vein of heist and thievery but focused on factions and power. Lots of action, lots of slicing and dicing, and a decent amount of blood.
If you want to find out more about the author, here’s some places to find him: Goodreads | Author Website | Amazon
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
June 8, 2023
Review of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Star Rating:
Pages:
1007
Where to Buy:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo
I’ve had this book for awhile. To be honest, I have so many books I want to read that committing to a longer read like this one usually takes a back seat to shorter books. I’ll also warn that I read the second book and half the third book in the series before writing this review.
The pacing in The Way of Kings was, for me, pleasant. While not a fast-paced action adventure, it had enough character development and interesting world building that I didn’t find myself bored at all. However, by the second book the world building definitely increased, and by book three, I felt bogged down by the amount being delivered. If you’re not into world building, be prepared to either skip sections or slog through. However, I highly suggest clearing your schedule for the last 20% of book one and two because, holy crap, does it take off. I couldn’t put it down. There seemed to be no chapter break where I felt everyone was safe enough to leave them for a night while I slept.
The world is stunning, to me. The pictures I’ve developed in my head based on Sanderson’s descriptions paint a world of color and creatures, unique plant life and landscapes. I’ve got a weak imagination, and I’m sure a lot of the descriptions were lost on me, but those I did pick up on were fun and entertaining, especially Spren. They have rotspren which infect wounds, angerspren which bubble at one’s feet when angry, and gloryspren which circle a person’s head when doing something glorious, and so many more. They, of all the world building items, where most interesting to me.
The book follows what I would say is mainly three characters with chapters from a few others here and there that didn’t feel as fleshed out. That will change in book two and three.
My favorite character, Kaladin, got a bit less screen time than I’d have liked as the series continues. He’s a man who has been treated unfairly and has been through an ordeal. I loved to see him struggle with his slavery, his choices, and the choices of those around him. He didn’t simply brush off all his trauma and kick everyone’s ass while smiling life away. Granted, he kicked some serious ass, but he battles his inner demons. I’m always more drawn toward a character that can’t just move on, that is actually impacted and formed by their life experiences.
Shallan is our other character that we follow. In the beginning, she annoyed me to no end as she seemed the damsel in distress, and it didn’t help that her character spends a lot of time helping the world building, which is never a focus of mine while reading. By the end of the book, she wasn’t nearly as grating and by book two she definitely grew. However, because her character is looking into all the things that are coalescing into a serious problem for her world, the focus of her chapters are heavy with history and discovery. Some action, but not a lot, at least not in my opinion.
Dalinar is our third focus character. He’s a Highprince that leads a major faction in the war on the Shattered Plains against those who killed his brother. He gets us our eye on the political side of things as well as the war, along with Kaladin. Oddly, his scenes weren’t full of action, but they kept the story moving all the same. I felt he was your typical honorable military general. Nothing wrong with it at all, but not a character I’m engrossed in. That being said, I have nothing bad or good to say. His chapters moved the story and kept our eye on several balls Sanderson is juggling.
So overall, I really did love The Way of Kings, but as I continued the series, my interests have waned enough that I picked up another book. For those who love intricate worlds, I highly suggest this series. For those looking for neck-breaking speed and adventure, you might struggle with this one. This series is highly rated and recommended on nearly every post I see asking for this or that in a book. It has a lot to offer, and most seem to love it.
If you want to find out more about the author, here’s some places to find him: Goodreads | Author Website | Amazon
