Gypsy Madden's Blog
May 18, 2023
Book Review: Wilde Magic (Ashcroft Academy - Book 1)
Wilde Magic (Ashcroft Academy – Book 1) by K.M. Charron
3 stars
Category: Teen
Summary: When Ainsley’s father commits suicide in a trance, Ainsley refuses to let it rest and tries to figure out what caused his suicide, tracing it back to Ashcroft Academy, which he had been investigating. The school is populated solely by mean girls, who spend the entire book dwelling on petty dramas and trying to bully and hurt each other.
Comments: I loved the first chapter! Absolutely adored it! I kept thinking about it long after I read the sample. But then I sort of lost it on my Kindle because the description didn’t really match the first chapter. The description though does fit the rest of the book. While the first chapter had me wrapped up in the mystery of what was her father doing to get himself cursed that way, what mystery had he uncovered, and I felt for Ainsley to watch the impending doom as her favorite parent did the unthinkable while she tried to stop it but couldn’t reach him. The rest of the book focuses on mean girls bullying other girls and the girls getting bullied. As a person who got bullied in school, I hated every minute of it. Rather than focusing on Ainsley, the book switched perspective and setting to Sydney, the main queen bully of the school. I hated her, even with her controlling, demanding mother and father hooked to life-support. She was vile, repugnant, and I hated that we had to spend the larger portion of the book from her perspective as she bullied and belittled other characters, including targeting Ainsley. There are actually a handful of guys in this, but I honestly can’t tell one from the other since they are barely one-line mentions. Same with Sydney’s cronies. They were just names that oddly tried to add some diversity to, but they are switchable and nothing makes them standout and nothing actually makes them diverse except the mention of their nationalities. The school is an average private school and hardly any time is spent on the classes. There is a hidden place within the school called The Nest where a handful of students learn magic. And Sydney and her cronies basically use their magic to keep the average students in line. Like if someone shows an interest in one of the guys, they use magic on them. If they take a dislike to a student, magic is used on them. It felt really petty compared to the beginning. I was really looking forward to a book starring Ainsley as she infiltrates a Harry Potter type magic school to uncover evil sorcerers while discovering her own magic, entirely from her viewpoint, while dealing with the death of her father. That was the book I wanted to read. But instead this book focuses on Sydney, who I couldn’t stand, and she really didn’t improve any (except in the last two chapters where her attitude does an unexplained 180 for no good reason). Some of the reviewers said it picked up at the halfway mark (that was when Ainsley finally got past being a new student and started to actively poke around). I personally didn’t think it picked up any and still remained irritated at the book.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that I won’t be picking up future books in this series. I’m actually surprised I bothered to finish this. I was very tempted to delete it after Sydney’s first chapter and I’m now regretting that I didn’t.
3 stars
Category: Teen
Summary: When Ainsley’s father commits suicide in a trance, Ainsley refuses to let it rest and tries to figure out what caused his suicide, tracing it back to Ashcroft Academy, which he had been investigating. The school is populated solely by mean girls, who spend the entire book dwelling on petty dramas and trying to bully and hurt each other.
Comments: I loved the first chapter! Absolutely adored it! I kept thinking about it long after I read the sample. But then I sort of lost it on my Kindle because the description didn’t really match the first chapter. The description though does fit the rest of the book. While the first chapter had me wrapped up in the mystery of what was her father doing to get himself cursed that way, what mystery had he uncovered, and I felt for Ainsley to watch the impending doom as her favorite parent did the unthinkable while she tried to stop it but couldn’t reach him. The rest of the book focuses on mean girls bullying other girls and the girls getting bullied. As a person who got bullied in school, I hated every minute of it. Rather than focusing on Ainsley, the book switched perspective and setting to Sydney, the main queen bully of the school. I hated her, even with her controlling, demanding mother and father hooked to life-support. She was vile, repugnant, and I hated that we had to spend the larger portion of the book from her perspective as she bullied and belittled other characters, including targeting Ainsley. There are actually a handful of guys in this, but I honestly can’t tell one from the other since they are barely one-line mentions. Same with Sydney’s cronies. They were just names that oddly tried to add some diversity to, but they are switchable and nothing makes them standout and nothing actually makes them diverse except the mention of their nationalities. The school is an average private school and hardly any time is spent on the classes. There is a hidden place within the school called The Nest where a handful of students learn magic. And Sydney and her cronies basically use their magic to keep the average students in line. Like if someone shows an interest in one of the guys, they use magic on them. If they take a dislike to a student, magic is used on them. It felt really petty compared to the beginning. I was really looking forward to a book starring Ainsley as she infiltrates a Harry Potter type magic school to uncover evil sorcerers while discovering her own magic, entirely from her viewpoint, while dealing with the death of her father. That was the book I wanted to read. But instead this book focuses on Sydney, who I couldn’t stand, and she really didn’t improve any (except in the last two chapters where her attitude does an unexplained 180 for no good reason). Some of the reviewers said it picked up at the halfway mark (that was when Ainsley finally got past being a new student and started to actively poke around). I personally didn’t think it picked up any and still remained irritated at the book.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that I won’t be picking up future books in this series. I’m actually surprised I bothered to finish this. I was very tempted to delete it after Sydney’s first chapter and I’m now regretting that I didn’t.
May 13, 2023
Book Review: Darkblood Academy (Book 1: Half-Blood)
Darkblood Academy (Book 1: Half-Blood) by G.K. DeRosa
5 stars
Category: Teen/YA
Note: I obtained a free copy via Prolific Works. This is also set in the world of her Hitched series and is a continuation of a bunch of the characters from that series.
Summary: Orphan Luna Hallows is approached by Kimmie-Jayne the star of the Bachelorette-style reality TV show Hitched (from G.K. DeRosa’s Hitched series) in which all of the bachelors trying to win the bachelorette’s hand were all different types of supernatural creatures). Kimmie-Jayne tells Luna that not only are they half-sisters, but their father is an incredibly powerful warlock and they want to take Luna to the supernatural realm and train her in a private academy in case she inherits any of their father’s numerous powers. She will be the first mostly human student at their academy. But being mostly human, the demons decide that she is an easy target and start sending assassins after her before she becomes a threat.
Comments: This is a spin-off of the Hitched series by G.K. DeRosa, featuring cameos by Kimmie-Jayne and a bunch of the bachelors. Ryder, her demon bachelor practically co-stars in this. I haven’t read any of the Hitched series, nor do I intend to. (You don't need to have read the Hitched series to follow this.) I hate reality TV competitions, they always seem trashy, forced, overly-orchestrated, and superficial, and this didn’t convince me otherwise. However, I am a fan of Harry Potter magical academies. The school itself wasn’t anything special and we don’t even get to see Luna in any of her magic classes which really detracted from the magical-ness of the school. It just spent the time on two classes: magical creatures – like Hagrid’s class in the Harry Potter movies. It even has a scene just like the Hippogriff scene in Prisoner of Azkaban. And Combat. Her Combat class (which most of the book time was spent on) felt like it was inspired by Rose’s Combat classes in The Vampire Academy series by Rachelle Mead. So, while the classes weren’t that magical and felt borrowed from other book series, and her bubbly roommate Cinder felt close to Enid from the Wednesday series (which I know is coincidental since I’ve had this sitting on my Kindle long before the Wednesday series was released). There is a forbidden romance in this where Luna is attracted to Ryder, her half-sister’s demon bachelor, now her Combat class instructor and it’s expressly forbidden for relationships between instructors and students, which she complains about constantly and itches to disregard the order (you’d think it was torturously impossible for her to just wait the three years for graduation. -Which makes her come across as whiney, spoiled, and immature). The other students are interesting, specifically the seven, and after a while I did itch to get to know them better. (On the bright side, this doesn’t seem to be going down reverse harem territory, which I had worried it would do since the blurb made it sound like she would become involved with the seven and a large percentage of these supernatural academy stories are reverse harem style these days. But half the team are girls, and the guys don’t seem particularly interested in her).
In all, I thought it kept a nice pace. I was intrigued by the characters and though the school and the including of every type of supernatural creature and the normal girl having to navigate the supernatural world and be a chosen one with unknown powers was rather stereotypical, the interactions of the characters and adventure did make it feel fresh and the author did try to make it feel different from the usual supernatural academy books.
5 stars
Category: Teen/YA
Note: I obtained a free copy via Prolific Works. This is also set in the world of her Hitched series and is a continuation of a bunch of the characters from that series.
Summary: Orphan Luna Hallows is approached by Kimmie-Jayne the star of the Bachelorette-style reality TV show Hitched (from G.K. DeRosa’s Hitched series) in which all of the bachelors trying to win the bachelorette’s hand were all different types of supernatural creatures). Kimmie-Jayne tells Luna that not only are they half-sisters, but their father is an incredibly powerful warlock and they want to take Luna to the supernatural realm and train her in a private academy in case she inherits any of their father’s numerous powers. She will be the first mostly human student at their academy. But being mostly human, the demons decide that she is an easy target and start sending assassins after her before she becomes a threat.
Comments: This is a spin-off of the Hitched series by G.K. DeRosa, featuring cameos by Kimmie-Jayne and a bunch of the bachelors. Ryder, her demon bachelor practically co-stars in this. I haven’t read any of the Hitched series, nor do I intend to. (You don't need to have read the Hitched series to follow this.) I hate reality TV competitions, they always seem trashy, forced, overly-orchestrated, and superficial, and this didn’t convince me otherwise. However, I am a fan of Harry Potter magical academies. The school itself wasn’t anything special and we don’t even get to see Luna in any of her magic classes which really detracted from the magical-ness of the school. It just spent the time on two classes: magical creatures – like Hagrid’s class in the Harry Potter movies. It even has a scene just like the Hippogriff scene in Prisoner of Azkaban. And Combat. Her Combat class (which most of the book time was spent on) felt like it was inspired by Rose’s Combat classes in The Vampire Academy series by Rachelle Mead. So, while the classes weren’t that magical and felt borrowed from other book series, and her bubbly roommate Cinder felt close to Enid from the Wednesday series (which I know is coincidental since I’ve had this sitting on my Kindle long before the Wednesday series was released). There is a forbidden romance in this where Luna is attracted to Ryder, her half-sister’s demon bachelor, now her Combat class instructor and it’s expressly forbidden for relationships between instructors and students, which she complains about constantly and itches to disregard the order (you’d think it was torturously impossible for her to just wait the three years for graduation. -Which makes her come across as whiney, spoiled, and immature). The other students are interesting, specifically the seven, and after a while I did itch to get to know them better. (On the bright side, this doesn’t seem to be going down reverse harem territory, which I had worried it would do since the blurb made it sound like she would become involved with the seven and a large percentage of these supernatural academy stories are reverse harem style these days. But half the team are girls, and the guys don’t seem particularly interested in her).
In all, I thought it kept a nice pace. I was intrigued by the characters and though the school and the including of every type of supernatural creature and the normal girl having to navigate the supernatural world and be a chosen one with unknown powers was rather stereotypical, the interactions of the characters and adventure did make it feel fresh and the author did try to make it feel different from the usual supernatural academy books.
April 25, 2023
Book Review: The Vanishing: A Wonderland Adventure
The Vanishing: A Wonderland Adventure by Rebekah Lewis
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length
Summary: During a bar night with her friends, Cadence was talked into doing a snipe hunt. During her drunken wandering through the nearby woods, she finds a cat with an oddly large grin. He deposits her at the feet of a handsome man dressed in odd, outdated buckled boots. He claims she’s in Wonderland and that he is Gareth, the slayer of the Jabberwocky and she has two days to decide if she wants to stay. Of course not, but Gareth really shouldn’t have to be tied to a lady of the red queen’s court and be forced to give up adventuring. And Cadence would quite like to have more adventure in her life.
Comments: Oh ugh. That was a horrible cliffhanger to leave us on. Thankfully I already have the next book in the series. I picked it up originally because I like the author and I can’t resist anything set in Wonderland. And I did love that the author tried to add as many names and creatures from Lewis Carrol’s Wonderland as possible without feeling the need to update into modern realism. She just let Wonderland be as crazy and exotic as the original Lewis Carrol story. So I thrilled at every mention of Jubjub birds and mome raths and bandersnatchs and, of course, the infamous Hatter and ever-present tea time. Though Cadence is Mary-Sue everyday person bland and author insert, I still loved the romance with Gareth. I also loved all of the crazy touches, like Hatter’s measuring. I am quite looking forward to the next book, since it’ll be a much longer foray int the author’s envisioning of Wonderland.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length
Summary: During a bar night with her friends, Cadence was talked into doing a snipe hunt. During her drunken wandering through the nearby woods, she finds a cat with an oddly large grin. He deposits her at the feet of a handsome man dressed in odd, outdated buckled boots. He claims she’s in Wonderland and that he is Gareth, the slayer of the Jabberwocky and she has two days to decide if she wants to stay. Of course not, but Gareth really shouldn’t have to be tied to a lady of the red queen’s court and be forced to give up adventuring. And Cadence would quite like to have more adventure in her life.
Comments: Oh ugh. That was a horrible cliffhanger to leave us on. Thankfully I already have the next book in the series. I picked it up originally because I like the author and I can’t resist anything set in Wonderland. And I did love that the author tried to add as many names and creatures from Lewis Carrol’s Wonderland as possible without feeling the need to update into modern realism. She just let Wonderland be as crazy and exotic as the original Lewis Carrol story. So I thrilled at every mention of Jubjub birds and mome raths and bandersnatchs and, of course, the infamous Hatter and ever-present tea time. Though Cadence is Mary-Sue everyday person bland and author insert, I still loved the romance with Gareth. I also loved all of the crazy touches, like Hatter’s measuring. I am quite looking forward to the next book, since it’ll be a much longer foray int the author’s envisioning of Wonderland.
April 23, 2023
Book Review: The Winding Road Between
The Winding Road Between by Melody Taylor
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Spin-off to A Dark and Twisting Road
Summary: After being raised by his fae father in the realm of Faerie, this is Malthiar’s coming-of-age story as he goes to the human realm to meet the mother who rejected him as a child. But he chickens out and wanders from place to place hooking up with various girls and trying to get his questions about human life answered.
Comments: I loved Malthiar in the earlier book with his awkward oddness. Honestly, I had been expecting more of a Harold and Kumar road trip, seeing the world, taking in the sights, and having hilarious awkward encounters while coming-of-age. And he does go to some far-flung places where he tries to figure out what makes humans human and how the faeries differ from them and how he overlaps the two. Where I adored the first book with Alexa having to go to the faerie realm to rescue her friend and the other encounters she had in her past which was thrilling with the dangers and new fantastical things around every corner. This one, however, felt very light on the fantasy with Malthiar spending the bulk of the time in the human world, drifting lazily through life as if he had all the time in the world (which as a mostly immortal being he did have). I was honestly hoping for more of him meeting Alexa, to really explain their history since it sounded like she had seen him on numerous occasions, but she’s only in for a single brief cameo scene (which feels like it contradicts the earlier book). Honestly, I tired quickly of his focus on hooking up with girls and sleeping with women (which felt like it contradicted the earlier book since from his awkwardness, he seemed like he was virgin in his hesitant-ness), especially since he never seemed all that attached. I was also irritated with his constantly putting off meeting his mother for years and years, passing by her on the street numerous times, etc. So, as he learns to blend in with human society, it made him like any other human character living in the human world, and I just overall prefer more actual connection and fantasy with the books I read. And I had really been hoping for an explanation on his outdated white poet shirts he wore constantly in the first book.
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Spin-off to A Dark and Twisting Road
Summary: After being raised by his fae father in the realm of Faerie, this is Malthiar’s coming-of-age story as he goes to the human realm to meet the mother who rejected him as a child. But he chickens out and wanders from place to place hooking up with various girls and trying to get his questions about human life answered.
Comments: I loved Malthiar in the earlier book with his awkward oddness. Honestly, I had been expecting more of a Harold and Kumar road trip, seeing the world, taking in the sights, and having hilarious awkward encounters while coming-of-age. And he does go to some far-flung places where he tries to figure out what makes humans human and how the faeries differ from them and how he overlaps the two. Where I adored the first book with Alexa having to go to the faerie realm to rescue her friend and the other encounters she had in her past which was thrilling with the dangers and new fantastical things around every corner. This one, however, felt very light on the fantasy with Malthiar spending the bulk of the time in the human world, drifting lazily through life as if he had all the time in the world (which as a mostly immortal being he did have). I was honestly hoping for more of him meeting Alexa, to really explain their history since it sounded like she had seen him on numerous occasions, but she’s only in for a single brief cameo scene (which feels like it contradicts the earlier book). Honestly, I tired quickly of his focus on hooking up with girls and sleeping with women (which felt like it contradicted the earlier book since from his awkwardness, he seemed like he was virgin in his hesitant-ness), especially since he never seemed all that attached. I was also irritated with his constantly putting off meeting his mother for years and years, passing by her on the street numerous times, etc. So, as he learns to blend in with human society, it made him like any other human character living in the human world, and I just overall prefer more actual connection and fantasy with the books I read. And I had really been hoping for an explanation on his outdated white poet shirts he wore constantly in the first book.
April 16, 2023
Book Review: Heart's Mission (Hearts Below 0.5)
Heart’s Magic (Hearts Below 0.5) by Meredith Hart
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained a free Advance Review Copy from the author.
Summary: Princess Elanerill has in stereotypical fashion decided that she doesn’t want to be treated as a pawn forced to be quiet, meek and marry for political advantage. She knows her land is dying and the only hope for it is to break the barrier separating her world from the portion of the land that fell into the underworld. But, rather than bringing down the barrier, she falls into the underworld. She is immediately taken prisoner by Oren, captain of the King’s guard, who happens to be in the outer fringes wasteland trying to recruit a sorcerer for the king’s cause. Oren must do his duty and bring the princess before his king.
Comments: This is a novella to entice us to read this series. And there is action, adventure, romance, people who should be enemies warming to each other, and adorable humor. I loved Oren’s awkwardness. But for a novella, it took me forever to read through this. It felt like skin and bones. The world didn’t feel fleshed out around them. It felt like a hasty sketch. A tavern, woods, even the castle felt very devoid of description and very generic that didn’t make it stand out from any other medieval fantasy book. I like to feel like I am in the world and see new sights and have adventures with the books I read. The setting just wasn’t there and the plot was just basically travel together through the woods *yawn*. Usually on epic journey books we’re treated to wonderous sights and experiences along the way. There was nothing in this. The most interesting thing they did along the way was to face a shadowy wolf-creature (definitely the highlight of the book). The characters felt like caricatures/stereotypes. The princess was the usual generic privileged, beautiful, overly sheltered who didn’t want to be used as a pawn. And Oren was the typical stoic, honorable guard captain. (Though I did love his initial interaction with Rowan). Even the twist of Oren’s station was something I predicted from the start, because he wouldn’t have been a suitable match for the princess without it. Once we got to the magic at the end, it was muddied and ambiguous, which doesn’t bode well for the magic in the other books.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella-length. I obtained a free Advance Review Copy from the author.
Summary: Princess Elanerill has in stereotypical fashion decided that she doesn’t want to be treated as a pawn forced to be quiet, meek and marry for political advantage. She knows her land is dying and the only hope for it is to break the barrier separating her world from the portion of the land that fell into the underworld. But, rather than bringing down the barrier, she falls into the underworld. She is immediately taken prisoner by Oren, captain of the King’s guard, who happens to be in the outer fringes wasteland trying to recruit a sorcerer for the king’s cause. Oren must do his duty and bring the princess before his king.
Comments: This is a novella to entice us to read this series. And there is action, adventure, romance, people who should be enemies warming to each other, and adorable humor. I loved Oren’s awkwardness. But for a novella, it took me forever to read through this. It felt like skin and bones. The world didn’t feel fleshed out around them. It felt like a hasty sketch. A tavern, woods, even the castle felt very devoid of description and very generic that didn’t make it stand out from any other medieval fantasy book. I like to feel like I am in the world and see new sights and have adventures with the books I read. The setting just wasn’t there and the plot was just basically travel together through the woods *yawn*. Usually on epic journey books we’re treated to wonderous sights and experiences along the way. There was nothing in this. The most interesting thing they did along the way was to face a shadowy wolf-creature (definitely the highlight of the book). The characters felt like caricatures/stereotypes. The princess was the usual generic privileged, beautiful, overly sheltered who didn’t want to be used as a pawn. And Oren was the typical stoic, honorable guard captain. (Though I did love his initial interaction with Rowan). Even the twist of Oren’s station was something I predicted from the start, because he wouldn’t have been a suitable match for the princess without it. Once we got to the magic at the end, it was muddied and ambiguous, which doesn’t bode well for the magic in the other books.
April 13, 2023
Book Review: Zero Hour (Order of the Dragon - Book 0.5)
Zero Hour (Order of the Dragon – Book 0.5) by Tina Glasneck
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Novella-length
Summary: After the death of her estranged father, Leslie attempts to resurrect him using the ancient tome passed down through her family to gain some closure after his death. But the resurrection spell calls all of the supernatural monsters in the world to her like a magnet. And they are intent on killing everyone around her to get to her and the tome. As part of a clandestine supernatural law enforcement, Killian is assigned to find what has all of the monsters so agitated.
Comments: The first chapter was epic! Totally made me an instant fan! I loved how gutsy and irreverent Leslie was, marching into the funeral, surrounded by family all resentful of her, and attempted to wake her father from his casket. And I loved all of the dirty details of her family and her father’s life. And then the body in the casket moved.
And then we switched to Chapter 2. A standard run-of-the-mill clandestine supernatural law enforcement headed by wolf-shifters, dragon-shifters, and vampires *yawn*. It’s always those three. If I had a dime for every clandestine supernatural law enforcement I’ve run across in indie fiction, I’d be rich. And Killian is the stereotypical handsome, aloof, toughest of the toughest, best of the best, with a royal pedigree *yawn*. All the history and names and supernatural politics suddenly get dumped on the reader and I just started skimming chapters *double yawn*. Leslie, sadly, after her epically gutsy beginning turns into a damsel-in-distress, just standing there stupidly as creatures attack. Zero Hour doesn’t entice me to continue the series that this is a prequel for. I think I really lost respect for Leslie when it got pointed out that her objective for raising her dad from the dead was closure. Seriously Lady? You tried to change the laws of nature just so that you’d feel better about his death? Of all the Karen things.
4 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: Novella-length
Summary: After the death of her estranged father, Leslie attempts to resurrect him using the ancient tome passed down through her family to gain some closure after his death. But the resurrection spell calls all of the supernatural monsters in the world to her like a magnet. And they are intent on killing everyone around her to get to her and the tome. As part of a clandestine supernatural law enforcement, Killian is assigned to find what has all of the monsters so agitated.
Comments: The first chapter was epic! Totally made me an instant fan! I loved how gutsy and irreverent Leslie was, marching into the funeral, surrounded by family all resentful of her, and attempted to wake her father from his casket. And I loved all of the dirty details of her family and her father’s life. And then the body in the casket moved.
And then we switched to Chapter 2. A standard run-of-the-mill clandestine supernatural law enforcement headed by wolf-shifters, dragon-shifters, and vampires *yawn*. It’s always those three. If I had a dime for every clandestine supernatural law enforcement I’ve run across in indie fiction, I’d be rich. And Killian is the stereotypical handsome, aloof, toughest of the toughest, best of the best, with a royal pedigree *yawn*. All the history and names and supernatural politics suddenly get dumped on the reader and I just started skimming chapters *double yawn*. Leslie, sadly, after her epically gutsy beginning turns into a damsel-in-distress, just standing there stupidly as creatures attack. Zero Hour doesn’t entice me to continue the series that this is a prequel for. I think I really lost respect for Leslie when it got pointed out that her objective for raising her dad from the dead was closure. Seriously Lady? You tried to change the laws of nature just so that you’d feel better about his death? Of all the Karen things.
February 13, 2023
Book Review: Hidden in Darkness (Darkness - Book 2)
Hidden in Darkness (Darkness – Book 2) by Nora Ash
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Serial/Novella-size
Summary: Our intrepid blogger reporter Katherine decides to take matters into her own hands and do some actual investigating. Which takes her across town to do some interviewing and uncover a larger conspiracy involving a special project attached to the mayor. The mayor just happens to have a fancy dress party coming up and she arranges a press pass to it to cover fashion while snooping. And to her amazement, she finds both of her friendly costumed supers in attendance.
Comments: I liked this section more than the first section since it followed Katherine in being typical Lois Lane pro-active and not being a mere damsel in distress. While I’m still not a fan of how the story focuses on her weight and calling her chubby all the time (seriously, what does the writer have against being chubby?) This one had less interaction with her two costume-clad crimefighters, but I liked that it got her out of her apartment (which she seems to spend and inordinate amount of time in), and shows us that there are other sections to the city beyond just her crime-riddled neighborhood. And we briefly get to see her Batman lover actually out in the world, outside of his Batman costume.
5 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Serial/Novella-size
Summary: Our intrepid blogger reporter Katherine decides to take matters into her own hands and do some actual investigating. Which takes her across town to do some interviewing and uncover a larger conspiracy involving a special project attached to the mayor. The mayor just happens to have a fancy dress party coming up and she arranges a press pass to it to cover fashion while snooping. And to her amazement, she finds both of her friendly costumed supers in attendance.
Comments: I liked this section more than the first section since it followed Katherine in being typical Lois Lane pro-active and not being a mere damsel in distress. While I’m still not a fan of how the story focuses on her weight and calling her chubby all the time (seriously, what does the writer have against being chubby?) This one had less interaction with her two costume-clad crimefighters, but I liked that it got her out of her apartment (which she seems to spend and inordinate amount of time in), and shows us that there are other sections to the city beyond just her crime-riddled neighborhood. And we briefly get to see her Batman lover actually out in the world, outside of his Batman costume.
February 5, 2023
Book Review: Hawthorn Witches Omnibus - Book 1
Hawthorn Witches: Demons and Dracaena, Sorcerers & Sumac, Werewolves & Wisteria (Hawthorn Witches Omnibus Book 1) by A.L. Tyler
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: This is a collection of 3 short novellas.
Book 1 – After being targeted by a bully at school Anise’s friend Bianca suggests she use her deceased aunt’s spell book to summon a demon. Charlie shows up, ready and willing to do all in his power to help them with their problem. But when the bully winds up in the hospital and he turns Bianca into a cat since he needed a corporeal form to exist in their world, Anise makes a bargain with him.
Book 2 – Anise finds she’s being stalked by a powerful warlock turned demon who, like Charlie, is a former lover of her aunt Kendra. And the warlock isn’t above using the classmate Anise has a crush on, turning him into a werewolf and sending him to Anise’s apartment where everyone was holed up under protective spells.
Book 3 – Kendra is finally back and treating Anise like she’s a child and has Charlie wrapped around her little finger.
Comments: I loved Charlie! He was absolutely hilarious! I loved all of his odd habits and willingness to do things, just to prank Anise, like having to get dew drops from a flower at first light, so he pulls her out of bed at two in the morning to teleport her into a field (did we forget to let her put on shoes?) when he could really teleport her anywhere and didn’t really need it done in the dead of the night. I loved the relationship they had. Kendra, However, I hated on first impression. I hated her dismissive attitude of Anise and how Ani’s sister worshipped her. And I hated how Kendra was completely okay with Ani and Lyssa having to take care of her mess with the warlock. And I really hated how she had Charlie wrapped around her little finger like a lap dog, using sex to control him, which lessened my opinion of him. What a repugnant character and I didn’t get why the others worshipped her. I’m dying to continue this series, though I’m not looking forward to more of Kendra.
5 stars
Category: YA
Note: This is a collection of 3 short novellas.
Book 1 – After being targeted by a bully at school Anise’s friend Bianca suggests she use her deceased aunt’s spell book to summon a demon. Charlie shows up, ready and willing to do all in his power to help them with their problem. But when the bully winds up in the hospital and he turns Bianca into a cat since he needed a corporeal form to exist in their world, Anise makes a bargain with him.
Book 2 – Anise finds she’s being stalked by a powerful warlock turned demon who, like Charlie, is a former lover of her aunt Kendra. And the warlock isn’t above using the classmate Anise has a crush on, turning him into a werewolf and sending him to Anise’s apartment where everyone was holed up under protective spells.
Book 3 – Kendra is finally back and treating Anise like she’s a child and has Charlie wrapped around her little finger.
Comments: I loved Charlie! He was absolutely hilarious! I loved all of his odd habits and willingness to do things, just to prank Anise, like having to get dew drops from a flower at first light, so he pulls her out of bed at two in the morning to teleport her into a field (did we forget to let her put on shoes?) when he could really teleport her anywhere and didn’t really need it done in the dead of the night. I loved the relationship they had. Kendra, However, I hated on first impression. I hated her dismissive attitude of Anise and how Ani’s sister worshipped her. And I hated how Kendra was completely okay with Ani and Lyssa having to take care of her mess with the warlock. And I really hated how she had Charlie wrapped around her little finger like a lap dog, using sex to control him, which lessened my opinion of him. What a repugnant character and I didn’t get why the others worshipped her. I’m dying to continue this series, though I’m not looking forward to more of Kendra.
February 2, 2023
Book Review: Shades of Darkness (Darkness Series - Book 3)
Shades of Darkness (Darkness series - Book 3) by Nora Ash
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella/Serial length
Summary: Blog reporter Katherine faces yet another superpowered person in her apartment threatening her after uncovering that the mayor has plans for a superpowered weapon created by the company her Batman-like lover heads. She knows she definitely can’t trust him now, though she had been leaning toward his scary persona being just a façade since he seemed to genuinely care about her. But the Superman-like superhero with a tie to her has proven to be a fickle jerk as he spends a night with her and then treats her like a meaningless one-night stand.
Comments: While I love anything superpowered with the colorful costumes, and I do love romance, I’m still feeling a bit let down by this series. I don’t mind that everyone is the basic stereotype of Batman, Superman, and Lois Lane, but in a modern world with cell phones and blogging, and with a twist of PNR with the cliched mates and feral marking like this is cliched werewolf fiction. Where I feel let down is that Katherine isn’t bothering to get to know the guys at all beyond sex. She knows their costumed personas and that’s it. It’s a very superficial relationship and pretty much treats the guys as if they aren’t anything more than their costumes and powers.
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: Novella/Serial length
Summary: Blog reporter Katherine faces yet another superpowered person in her apartment threatening her after uncovering that the mayor has plans for a superpowered weapon created by the company her Batman-like lover heads. She knows she definitely can’t trust him now, though she had been leaning toward his scary persona being just a façade since he seemed to genuinely care about her. But the Superman-like superhero with a tie to her has proven to be a fickle jerk as he spends a night with her and then treats her like a meaningless one-night stand.
Comments: While I love anything superpowered with the colorful costumes, and I do love romance, I’m still feeling a bit let down by this series. I don’t mind that everyone is the basic stereotype of Batman, Superman, and Lois Lane, but in a modern world with cell phones and blogging, and with a twist of PNR with the cliched mates and feral marking like this is cliched werewolf fiction. Where I feel let down is that Katherine isn’t bothering to get to know the guys at all beyond sex. She knows their costumed personas and that’s it. It’s a very superficial relationship and pretty much treats the guys as if they aren’t anything more than their costumes and powers.
January 22, 2023
Book Review: Prisim (The Color Alchemist - Book 1)
Prisim (The Color Alchemist – Book 1) by Nina Walker
3 stars
Category: YA
Summary: This is a dystopian world where color can be manipulated by magic to do certain things depending on which color is used. All Jessa ever wanted to be was a loving daughter, devoted older sister, and a professional ballerina. But when she accidentally manipulates color during a performance, she is immediately apprehended and sent to work in the color guard because the king suspects she can manipulate red, which is extremely rare and has all sorts of applications against enemies. The rebellion, charges Prince Lucas to befriend Jessa and bring her onto their side. And so the tug of war over Jessa’s abilities begins, when all she wants to do is return home and continue being a ballerina.
Comments: I obtained the trilogy collection, but I won’t be going any further than this first book. The magic system in this book is a fascinating/original one with plenty of imagination put into deciding what each color could be used for. And the intrigue was fascinating, like what was going on with Lucas’s mother, what the government was lying to them about their world’s history, what the world was like beyond the city, etc. But the magic itself is rather muddied and generic since it’s basically just described as using ones will and intentions to draw the color off of the current object and guide it to where it’s needed. The book felt long and very little happened during it. The book was set almost exclusively within the palace. Her training session scenes were a joke. I mean, it was like they would discuss color for a bit then break for a meal or take the rest of the day off. Or she would manipulate one thing, and then take the rest of the day off. Is that how training went for other guards, do you think? Though I liked Lucas for the most part, being caught between a rock and a hard place, and I liked Sasha, what colored my opinion against the book the most was I took a dislike to Jessa the heroine. She was frivolous, selfish, self-centered, rather dumb, convinced things could go back to normal if she could get out of there (like they wouldn’t arrest her up if she got out), convinced that the whole idea of people having to either be in the guard or jail didn’t apply to her, convinced she ought to be able to talk to her family daily even though no one at the guard had any contact with their families. I kept reading in the hopes she would mature and understand basic concepts, but she kept whining throughout the book. For her age of 17, she came off really childish.
3 stars
Category: YA
Summary: This is a dystopian world where color can be manipulated by magic to do certain things depending on which color is used. All Jessa ever wanted to be was a loving daughter, devoted older sister, and a professional ballerina. But when she accidentally manipulates color during a performance, she is immediately apprehended and sent to work in the color guard because the king suspects she can manipulate red, which is extremely rare and has all sorts of applications against enemies. The rebellion, charges Prince Lucas to befriend Jessa and bring her onto their side. And so the tug of war over Jessa’s abilities begins, when all she wants to do is return home and continue being a ballerina.
Comments: I obtained the trilogy collection, but I won’t be going any further than this first book. The magic system in this book is a fascinating/original one with plenty of imagination put into deciding what each color could be used for. And the intrigue was fascinating, like what was going on with Lucas’s mother, what the government was lying to them about their world’s history, what the world was like beyond the city, etc. But the magic itself is rather muddied and generic since it’s basically just described as using ones will and intentions to draw the color off of the current object and guide it to where it’s needed. The book felt long and very little happened during it. The book was set almost exclusively within the palace. Her training session scenes were a joke. I mean, it was like they would discuss color for a bit then break for a meal or take the rest of the day off. Or she would manipulate one thing, and then take the rest of the day off. Is that how training went for other guards, do you think? Though I liked Lucas for the most part, being caught between a rock and a hard place, and I liked Sasha, what colored my opinion against the book the most was I took a dislike to Jessa the heroine. She was frivolous, selfish, self-centered, rather dumb, convinced things could go back to normal if she could get out of there (like they wouldn’t arrest her up if she got out), convinced that the whole idea of people having to either be in the guard or jail didn’t apply to her, convinced she ought to be able to talk to her family daily even though no one at the guard had any contact with their families. I kept reading in the hopes she would mature and understand basic concepts, but she kept whining throughout the book. For her age of 17, she came off really childish.
