Janine > Recent Status Updates

My Water’s Keeper by Andrew D. Meredith
A man questions the point of honor when discovering he’s going to a place where nobody will see it. I liked the presentation of how honor is presented and had interesting sections, but wasn’t fully immersed. 3/5

Barblade the Merciful by T.D. Orel
A bug-like warrior thinks about honor as he's battling humans. An interesting POV from the bug warrior and had me intrigued despite a slow start. 4/5

Primus by E.A. Hendrix
A young man takes his place in a mandatory galaxy-wide trial. I was engaged in this story from start to end and loved the characters and action. 5/5

Rain Alone is Nothing by Brady Hunsaker
A warrior fights off monsters to defend a village in grave danger. A gritty story with an interesting dynamic between fighters and ordinary villagers in the way. 4/5

Indulge the Other by Laura Pohl: A robot builds new creations over the years, which keeps being destroyed. The second person narrative works and I was intrigued by the concept. 4/5

Daughter of Time by Madeline Dyer: An experiment brings two young women from different times together to learn about connections. A fun story, but I wish some things were explained a bit more. 4/5

Do You See Me? by Isa Fiel: A young woman tries to avoid a family cure of misery or death on her 18th birthday. A interesting horror story with interesting characters. 4/5

Paper Rebellions by Rukman Ragas: A magical archivist has to fight book bans. This was okay and had some interesting concepts, but it felt too “ripped from the headlines” and was missing connective tissue. 3/5

Flying Solo by Claudie Arsenualt: In a fleet depended on dual flying, a pilot wants to fly solo. This was a fun space faring story with interesting characters. 4/5

Swordmaiden by Kalyn Joesphson: A sword creating maiden reluctant to marry opens her up to the truth of her duty. A fun fantasy story that gripped me the whole way through. 5/5

Thomas Marley’s Fake Bride by Ian M. Carlisle: A noble young man schemes his way to a fake bride. A fun fast paced fantasy and enjoyed every minute of this one. 5/5

Joust Friends by Rosiee Thor: A day at the fair brings an insight about relationships. Starts slow, but was fine with it by the end. 3/5

Preservation by Demi Ashing-Giwa: A young person rebels after being made outcast by a rich family. This story written in a love letter format had a good idea, but the story itself felt like a miss. 2/5

Lovesick by Taka Owen: A virus to make people lovesick sweeps the world. This was okay, but i didn’t entirely click with this one. 3/5

The Binding by Soumi Roy: A village’s ritual leaves those without love as outcasts, but not everything is as it seems. A interesting concept made fantastical and twist of lack of attraction. 5/5

Kimberly Ma Meets Her Match by Ann Zhao: A school-wide dating quiz turns into an exploration of romantic feelings for Kim. 4/5

I like the introduction, goes a bit about how aromantic people might be seen in fiction.

An interesting story so far.

Interesting so far, it's got a bit of an Inuyasha vibe at the moment.

The Grief Path by Amanda Auler
A widow discovers if there’s something more to him than being a warrior as he honors his wife’s final wishes. Interesting world building and loved the twist! 5/5

Discharged by ZS Diamanti
A dishonorably discharged soldier realizes that retaining his honor means more than anything, even when others punish him for it. 4/5.

Interesting to see how these games are playing out and that there's a lot of extra stakes attached that aren't just the romance.

Seems like we have a rival for this human girl for her future. I'm really intrigued so far, and loving the grumpy vs. sunshine dynamic.

Mostly having fun, but a love triangle might be coming.

Anyone have any fantasy horror recs?

Luminescent Resolve by Dan Kenner
An older man finds himself in a precarious situation as the darkest day of the year is coming. Interesting world building and ending. 4/5

Interesting so far, I'm vibing with the story of a mysterious botany school...

To First Blood by Blake & Raven Penn
A member of a warrior race obsessed with honor finds his own path as his land is threatened. Loved the action scenes. 4/5

Yikes! These bosses are grade A jerks!

I've been discovering a general issue with some Young Adult books released as of late: They feel like the teenage characters could have been aged up 3-5 years (to be early 20's) and the story would have vibed better with me and felt a bit more realistic. Shame the New Adult label went underused in Trad publishing...