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Hercynian Forest #1
Floodlight
Panda Fowler never believed in the possibility of a supernatural world until her wife Mitzi is kidnapped and she must suspend her disbelief and jump in with both feet. She quickly learns that a world within a world exists and she, with the help of her best friends, Juniper and Valerie Gooden, must challenge this magical world to get Mitzi back.
Along the way they will learn the truth about Mitzi's heritage, and battle villians in Germany who practice the "Wolf Raven" religion that despises, among other things, homosexuality.
This story is filled with quirky characters that will keep you smiling all the way to the end.
Along the way they will learn the truth about Mitzi's heritage, and battle villians in Germany who practice the "Wolf Raven" religion that despises, among other things, homosexuality.
This story is filled with quirky characters that will keep you smiling all the way to the end.
196 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2017
8 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Reba Birmingham
11 books14 followersAuthor of the Hercynian Forest Series. Floodlight, Words on a Plate, The Wolf You Feed, Circle of Stones, and Search for the Summer Stone. Reba is an American author, attorney, and charter member of Opus Literary Alliance (OLA)
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 18, 2017
"Floodlight" is a really quirky read, for sure, but in a good way. It's a mash up of various genres: fantasy, adventure, cozy mystery, detective gumshoe, and has a female buddy movie type feel all spun together with a madcap tone. I can't say that I've come across this before.
And genre isn't the only mash up as the story is told through multiple POVs. Panda's, our sort of lead for the story, point of view is told in first person. However, throw in about twenty other characters and, from chapter to chapter, we get their POVs, too, only in third person. It sounds like it could be confusing but it's actually not at all because the author makes it quite clear where we are and who's head we're in. And, even though there's a large cast, each character is very distinct.
There were some things I felt iffy on but, overall, I liked the book.
The main core cast is Panda, her wife Mitzi, and their two friends Juniper and Valerie. I liked that the story centered on friendship and that the women were older or middle aged. I think Mitzi is the youngest at forty-three and the rest are older, perhaps into their late forties or into their fifties?
I also liked that the book had established couples instead of new romances and that Panda was a pretty ordinary person being a portly tax accountant. No super models here. Valerie is also Native American.
Imagination was delightfully abundant and there is a LOT going on that the author somehow keeps all of the elements and characters tied together. The story continually drives forward, there are a lot of twists, turns and red herrings. I really had no idea what was coming next. The read was also just amusing from scene to scene and there's definitely a kooky, zany vibe going on.
Oh, and I loved the cover. It's very fitting for the book.
The items that were iffy for me and honestly may not be issues for others...
The story has some little people for characters and, though they are important and integral to the plot, I cringed some in their initial descriptions. The word "midget" was also used once. There's also a large Samoan character that talks in a caveman like speech. I don't think it was intentional but the less flattering aspects of their depictions just stood out to me.
Even though Panda's POV is in first person and we root for Mitzi, Juniper, and Valerie, we don't get to deeply know any character. This was particularly a bit strange to me with Panda as by the end of the book I didn't know her age, appearance, or history.
For story, it was really atypically told in terms of arcs. The book kicks off with a large fantasy adventure plot but that sort of gets resolved about 2/3rd of the way through and then this cozy mystery type story set back in the "real world" is tacked on afterwards. I went into the story for the fantasy element, and I'm not so much a fan of regular mystery, so I was wondering where the story was going when we transitioned. Also, the mystery was one of those that is impossible to solve. A reader just really needs to go with the flow on this story.
If you're one of those readers that wants in-depth explanations of the fantasy elements, you won't get it. It seems we're just scratching the surface of this newly discovered fantasy world and its rules.
It felt like this is just the beginning of a much larger story. Most of the story lines are wrapped up by the end so there are no cliff hangers but there's definitely a lot more going on and I'm interested to see what's to come.
In general, this is a fun and quirky story to read and I place it in the high 3 stars.
A few excerpts from the book:
Thoughts from Panda:
'I have many different clients, but they come in two sizes: "anal" and "hot mess." He was in the latter category.'
An exchange between Juniper and Panda:
"Val upgraded us last night." (Juniper)
"How did you win that one?" (Panda)
"Safety. Rightly or wrongly, people in business class are watched over more. There may be bad guys after us." (Juniper)
"Okay!" My mood brightened. The thought of spending fourteen hours in steerage hadn't been appealing. (Panda)
"Besides, we might die and then we'd have spent our last hours being miserable." (Juniper)
A nosy neighbor:
"HELLO, IS THIS the police?"
"Yes, our non-emergency line, how can I help you?"
"It's my neighbors, the Fowlers. They're both women who are married to each other. That's legal now, I guess. Something's not right over there. I mean, not the fact that they're gay. I guess we need to adjust. It's something else."
Another conversation between the friends:
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'Er hat Tentakel und sieht aus wie ein riesiger aggressiver Oktopus?'"
"That's not a common saying back in California," I said dryly and poured more coffee.
"We looked it up online but it didn't help a great deal."
"It literally translates as, 'It has tentacles and looks like a big octopus if a bit more aggressive.'"
And genre isn't the only mash up as the story is told through multiple POVs. Panda's, our sort of lead for the story, point of view is told in first person. However, throw in about twenty other characters and, from chapter to chapter, we get their POVs, too, only in third person. It sounds like it could be confusing but it's actually not at all because the author makes it quite clear where we are and who's head we're in. And, even though there's a large cast, each character is very distinct.
There were some things I felt iffy on but, overall, I liked the book.
The main core cast is Panda, her wife Mitzi, and their two friends Juniper and Valerie. I liked that the story centered on friendship and that the women were older or middle aged. I think Mitzi is the youngest at forty-three and the rest are older, perhaps into their late forties or into their fifties?
I also liked that the book had established couples instead of new romances and that Panda was a pretty ordinary person being a portly tax accountant. No super models here. Valerie is also Native American.
Imagination was delightfully abundant and there is a LOT going on that the author somehow keeps all of the elements and characters tied together. The story continually drives forward, there are a lot of twists, turns and red herrings. I really had no idea what was coming next. The read was also just amusing from scene to scene and there's definitely a kooky, zany vibe going on.
Oh, and I loved the cover. It's very fitting for the book.
The items that were iffy for me and honestly may not be issues for others...
The story has some little people for characters and, though they are important and integral to the plot, I cringed some in their initial descriptions. The word "midget" was also used once. There's also a large Samoan character that talks in a caveman like speech. I don't think it was intentional but the less flattering aspects of their depictions just stood out to me.
Even though Panda's POV is in first person and we root for Mitzi, Juniper, and Valerie, we don't get to deeply know any character. This was particularly a bit strange to me with Panda as by the end of the book I didn't know her age, appearance, or history.
For story, it was really atypically told in terms of arcs. The book kicks off with a large fantasy adventure plot but that sort of gets resolved about 2/3rd of the way through and then this cozy mystery type story set back in the "real world" is tacked on afterwards. I went into the story for the fantasy element, and I'm not so much a fan of regular mystery, so I was wondering where the story was going when we transitioned. Also, the mystery was one of those that is impossible to solve. A reader just really needs to go with the flow on this story.
If you're one of those readers that wants in-depth explanations of the fantasy elements, you won't get it. It seems we're just scratching the surface of this newly discovered fantasy world and its rules.
It felt like this is just the beginning of a much larger story. Most of the story lines are wrapped up by the end so there are no cliff hangers but there's definitely a lot more going on and I'm interested to see what's to come.
In general, this is a fun and quirky story to read and I place it in the high 3 stars.
A few excerpts from the book:
Thoughts from Panda:
'I have many different clients, but they come in two sizes: "anal" and "hot mess." He was in the latter category.'
An exchange between Juniper and Panda:
"Val upgraded us last night." (Juniper)
"How did you win that one?" (Panda)
"Safety. Rightly or wrongly, people in business class are watched over more. There may be bad guys after us." (Juniper)
"Okay!" My mood brightened. The thought of spending fourteen hours in steerage hadn't been appealing. (Panda)
"Besides, we might die and then we'd have spent our last hours being miserable." (Juniper)
A nosy neighbor:
"HELLO, IS THIS the police?"
"Yes, our non-emergency line, how can I help you?"
"It's my neighbors, the Fowlers. They're both women who are married to each other. That's legal now, I guess. Something's not right over there. I mean, not the fact that they're gay. I guess we need to adjust. It's something else."
Another conversation between the friends:
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'Er hat Tentakel und sieht aus wie ein riesiger aggressiver Oktopus?'"
"That's not a common saying back in California," I said dryly and poured more coffee.
"We looked it up online but it didn't help a great deal."
"It literally translates as, 'It has tentacles and looks like a big octopus if a bit more aggressive.'"
November 6, 2024
I listened to Reba narrate her book. She does a good job and added to my engagement in the book. The story is a mash-up of things - urban fantasy (with good versus evil at play), cozy mystery, and expose of small-town political power plays. The POV, though easy to follow, is mixed as well with a type of storytelling omniscience. There are lots of interesting characters and happenings to keep me engaged and wanting to know more. It reads like a saga and I’ll enjoy reading/listening to more tales of Panda and Mitzi and their adventures.
November 25, 2017
I'm torn about this book that I just finished reading. I'm glad to see older characters who are at least in their 40s and maybe older. That's a pleasant change. The book was well-proofed. The plot was a bit confusing for me. The story starts in California where Panda's wife Mitzi goes missing. The search fro her takes Panda and her friends to a magical setting in Germany. Then it's a pretty standard fantasy tale but interesting enough to keep my attention. We then go from a fantasy setting with magical creatures back to California but the fantasy storyline is not resolved. Meanwhile, there are all kinds of things happening in California, including a murder mystery. There seems to be an attempt to resolve the fantasy plot but it goes nowhere, just gets more twisted. It looks like this may be the beginning of a series so that might explain the lack of resolution. I liked the women in the story so I will probably read the next installment if there is one.
February 9, 2024
As I appreciate Reba Birmingham as a wonderful human being, I was intrigued to learn she was not only a lawyer but an author too. So I had to buy this book. Well, what fun and with what creativity she presents this adventure of couples and siblings, some characters gay and some straight, in a local town full of rivalries and backstories. The two leading couples become entwined with controversy, goodness, evil, and another world. The plot unwinds imaginatively keeping my attention until the very end. Also, characters are clever in their comments on current social issues of the day. In sum, there's enough suspense and great writing that I'm committed to her series. What else could possibly happen to all these characters?!
January 27, 2020
I write with obvious bias. She's my Mom. However, that also gives me some clout because I've been there since the beginning. She's been showing me manuscripts since I was in high school, and I think by now she's poised to make a run at being a pretty good author.
This one is a fun story with a ton of personality behind it. There are lots of references to patriarchy, cultural struggles, racism, LGBTQ+ issues - and may more complex social topics - wrapped up in a tale that includes fairies, demons, and elves. Come for the quirky humor, stay for the story, and keep following her because I think this is going to grow into a fantastic series.
This one is a fun story with a ton of personality behind it. There are lots of references to patriarchy, cultural struggles, racism, LGBTQ+ issues - and may more complex social topics - wrapped up in a tale that includes fairies, demons, and elves. Come for the quirky humor, stay for the story, and keep following her because I think this is going to grow into a fantastic series.
December 30, 2017
There has to be a sequel (please)! Very easy to get wrapped up in these characters and feel connected with them as they move through two worlds. Refreshing. The story begins grounded and then opens up into ribbons of fantasy that is as much of a surprise to the reader as it is to the characters. I like this. Made me feel as if I was truly on a journey with characters I care about. Some of my favorite moments were with the funny banter between Panda and the adorable elf, Eck. I'm ready for the next one!
January 30, 2018
The Good:
- Likable main characters
- Having two lesbian married couples was refreshing to read
- Sweet elf characters
- The balance between supportive and not supportive of lesbian relationships were realistic
What Could be Improved:
- Perspective switching was confusing, at times
- Several secondary characters were forgettable
- Some of the humor was oddly placed, making it off-putting
- Errors were found throughout
- Fantasy elements weren’t always clear
Perhaps those who don’t mind the above mentioned “What Could be Improved” parts and who are pro-LGBT community would enjoy this.
- Likable main characters
- Having two lesbian married couples was refreshing to read
- Sweet elf characters
- The balance between supportive and not supportive of lesbian relationships were realistic
What Could be Improved:
- Perspective switching was confusing, at times
- Several secondary characters were forgettable
- Some of the humor was oddly placed, making it off-putting
- Errors were found throughout
- Fantasy elements weren’t always clear
Perhaps those who don’t mind the above mentioned “What Could be Improved” parts and who are pro-LGBT community would enjoy this.
September 3, 2018
I enjoyed every page. Birmingham's capacity for entwining the ordinary lives of two middle-aged lesbians who spoon each other to sleep after a long day in their tax-prep office with a mystical and dangerous world within our world is impressive. The story drives forward, revealing an ancient enmity that sweeps the heroines into an epic battle. And when good had prevailed, the women return home to eat warm, homemade cinnamon rolls. This is that sort of couple. I loved spending time with them and eagerly await their next adventure.
March 5, 2018
I'm sorry but I just couldn't get into this book. I gave it a good go, got 3 quarters through! I like the characters that have been created, it's obvious a lot of love has gone into them, but there's not much substance to them. The story itself moves along far too fast, with nothing fleshed out, explained in detail, and events accepted far too easily.
I like the concept of the story, but think it could have been done better if a longer read.
I like the concept of the story, but think it could have been done better if a longer read.
May 17, 2023
fun story!
This tale reminds me of the madcap comedies of yesteryear, of which I am truly a fan. The story bounces from one character to another, with complications piling up in the most delightful way. It is a magical story that I can hardly wait to dive back into, with the second book. Well done Reba Birmingham!
This tale reminds me of the madcap comedies of yesteryear, of which I am truly a fan. The story bounces from one character to another, with complications piling up in the most delightful way. It is a magical story that I can hardly wait to dive back into, with the second book. Well done Reba Birmingham!
December 21, 2017
I love this new Lesfic novel! It's a mixture of fantasy and reality with characters who remind me of Harry Potter mixed with solid literary writing. Reba Birmingham has mad skills! I can't wait to read the next one and I'd love to see the characters in real life. A
September 14, 2019
Wonderful characters with Fanny Flagg type dialog. Mason characters just happen to be a lesbian couple. Has elves and magic. As soon as you think you've finished the story, you get bonus content. Great debut!
November 18, 2021
FANTASTIC!!! I loved it from beginning to end. Loved the real world and fantasy world coming together and the acceptance of differences. Started "Words on a Plate" this morning!! MUST READ SERIES!!!
December 23, 2017
I totally enjoyed this fun, imaginative, and magical piece of fiction. Can't wait for the sequel.
January 26, 2023
Fun!
This is a quick, fun read, with plenty of fantastical happenings and great characters. Thank you for sharing the magic!
This is a quick, fun read, with plenty of fantastical happenings and great characters. Thank you for sharing the magic!
April 24, 2018
“Floodlight” was fantastic.
Great characters. Brisk pacing.
The shift from first person to third was unexpected, but it really worked for this story.
I loved it. Great job!
Great characters. Brisk pacing.
The shift from first person to third was unexpected, but it really worked for this story.
I loved it. Great job!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews