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The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise – Book Review

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Synopsis: Lilla is fighting on the side of the refugees from oppression. But there is a bigger war brewing on the horizon – the Era War between the two ruling archgods. It threatens not only Lilla’s home world, but everyone else’s in the Seven Galaxies. Enemies must become friends and allies in the desperate race to defeat the archgod before He finds her.

My thanks to the author and Voraciousreadersonly.com for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is an interesting mix of Sci Fi and Fantasy, technology and magic. It’s rare to see (at least for me) a good mix where it feels natural to have both.

Lilla is a great character. Often princess characters fit a certain mold. Lilla, however, suffers from anxiety and claustrophobia. I can’t think of another princess character I’ve read about that has these kinds of mental health issues. In spite of this, she had a good character. She cares for the refugees that are being mistreated in her kingdom. She can be stubborn but also vulnerable.

I felt like this world was very rich. It was easy to fall into it. My brain didn’t want to leave it once I finished the book. I expect there to be a sequel (fingers crossed).

One thing I didn’t particularly like was the way modern speech patterns were added in. Words like “duh” and “not”. I felt like this detracted from the mood a bit.

Other than that, there wasn’t much of anything that I didn’t like. The characters were all great. The story was engaging. There was a good mix of action, romance, humor and character development.

My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a nice mix of fantasy and sci fi.

Thanks for reading!

There’s No Such Thing As Monsters – by Ren Ryder – Book Review

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Synopsis: Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them have sharp teeth and beady red eyes.
New London. A thriving metropolis at the forefront of technological advancement and a shining gem of civilization.
Faeries. Whether they come off cute and cuddly or downright predatory, they all bring misfortune or are heralds of it.

Experience is a harsh taskmistress, but her lessons sink the deepest. Having been taught the lesson at great cost, Kal’s rules for dealing with faeries are simple: don’t talk to them, don’t look at them, don’t give them the time of day.

So when the Other Side comes knocking one fateful, stormy day, Kal, at first, pretends not to notice. Was forgetting this rule his folly?

His way of life is in great danger. His little sister, Sammie, a natural mage, is taken by Ouroboros, a criminal organization made up of raving lunatics that profit off the misery and suffering of others, and have everything to do with all the crimes of magic in New London.

Kal will go to any lengths to save his sister, even to his death. Accompanied by his sylph companion, a mischievous pest, Kal dives deep into the dark underbelly of the city, but are his hands enough to dig his sister out from the muck?

My thanks to the author and VoraciousReadersOnly.com for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

So, I’ve been trying for days to think of how to write this review. Honestly, I think this might be one of the worst reviews I’ve written so far. That is NOT a reflection on this book, but more on my own mental state. My brain just can’t seem to come up with good words for this, so I will keep it simple.

This is a good book. I enjoyed reading it. It has lots of action and the main characters motivations are relatable. The world is different for an urban fantasy, as it’s New London at the being of the industrial revolution instead of modern day. The dynamic between Kal and his familiar, Bell, is fun and entertaining.

One thing I had a problem with was figuring out how old Kal is. It’s never specifically said what age he is. Other people often refer to him as “kid” but there’s also mention of him growing facial hair. My guess is that he’s in his mid to late teens.

As this novel ended on quite a cliff hanger, I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel.

My rating for this novel is 3 out of 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who like urban fantasy and action packed short reads.

Thanks for reading!

Blood of the Phoenix – A Tale of Hayara 0.5 – Book Review

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Synopsis: A crown. An affair. A throne all covet.

The Bronze Age is ending. New tools are being discovered to help in humanity’s war campaigns, increasing body counts along with the chances of success. Harrania has vowed to try a peaceful approach, but not all are satisfied with this change in imperial policy.

For millennia, the Blood of the Phoenix has been the human manifestation of the symbol of Ar, the great Phoenix himself. For millennia, the royal family and the descendants of the phoenix intermarry, ensuring the purity of the bloodline. The gods, however, work in mysterious ways, forcing mankind to bend to their will. When the monarchy is threatened, and new powers rise with an eye on the obsidian throne, will the call for peace survive the cries of war? 

My thanks to the author and VoraciousReadersOnly.com for a free review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For a short little novella, Blood of the Phoenix sure packs a lot into it. We follow Aramast, a well respected general within the army but a not so popular noble with the king. He is in love with the Princess and convinced he would be the best possible candidate for the next king.

The man known as the Blood of the Phoenix is meant to marry the Princess. Though he is Aramast’s close friend, he is also Aramast’s greatest rival, one he considers killing on more than one occasion.

Aramast is an interesting character. He is a warrior through and through, seeing that the best way to protect his country is through military might. The army he leads is loyal to him and would follow him anywhere, even if it means going against the king’s orders. His attitude at times feels a little misogynistic. He claims several times to love the Princess and declared his intentions to “make her mine” though he never actually asks her to marry him, he just sort of demands it. Thankfully, the Princess isn’t a meek woman who simply rolls over and does as she is told. She holds her own with Aramast and makes him work for it.

It is clear that it is all leading up to something much larger. That being the trilogy that this is a prequel to, I would assume. From just this little taste of this world I am intrigued to continue reading.

My rating for this novella is 3 out of 5 stars and I look forward to reading the first official novel in the series.

Magic Bleeds – Kate Daniels #4 – Urban Fantasy Book Review

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Synopsis: Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle—especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.

When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years—and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father.

This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family… 

This book didn’t begin the quite the way I would have expected. It started with a bit of an emotional hit on our poor heroine.

This book was pretty action packed, and a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I felt bad for Kate many times. Her life isn’t easy and trouble has a way of finding her.

There was a part of me that really wanted Kate to walk away from everything. I wanted her to pack a bag, grab her new attack poodle and just disappear somewhere beyond all the politics and random messes that surround her. I thought it would be an interesting way to go but of course, Kate isn’t that kind of person. She will never abandon people who need her.

My opinion of Curran fluctuated a great deal in the book. I went from mildly disliking him to outright hating him to actually liking him. Will I continue to like him? Maybe. We’ll see.

A great deal happens in this book. Quite a few things change for Kate. The eventual confrontation with her biological father is looming on the horizon. 7 more books to go. What will happen next?

Get 50% off on an ebook on Book Lovers when you use my promos code JEANA50.

Urban Fantasy Book Review – Magic Bites – Kate Daniels # 1 by Ilona Andrews

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Magic Bites

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league—but she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Buy Now: Amazon

Reread: August 31, 2020

I just finished rereading this book in anticipation of reading the rest of the series. I’m glad i did.  In the 3 years it’s been since I read it, I seem to have forgotten almost all of it.

On my second time around, I loved it just as much as the first time, and my original review (below) stands. There’s little else I can say about this book that I haven’t said below.

Other than that, I am pumped to keep on with the series.

Original Review: June 14, 2017

Many Urban Fantasy novels begin with a main character who is seemingly ordinary, a college student or waitress or private investigator, etc. Suddenly, this ordinary person is thrown into a situation that changes their whole world, everything they ever believed to be true and they discover they are somehow special and possibly needed to save the world.

This novel isn’t like that.

Kate, our lovely protagonist, has known about magic her entire life. She grew up being taught about magic and the different types of magical creatures that exist. In the world of this novel, magic isn’t a secret. Some might think that the world building in this novel is flawed, that it doesn’t explain how the world works properly. Personally, I liked the way things were presented. The novel is narrated from Kate’s point of view so she already knows how the world works. It would seem out of place if she were suddenly to start explaining things to the reader. Read between the lines (as the saying goes) and the workings of this world aren’t difficult to figure out.

The plot may seem a bit generic at first. Kate’s Guardian and mentor (the last person she considers family) has been murdered and she volunteers to investigate for her own personal sense of justice. Murder and revenge is a common story, but this plot doesn’t unravel the way you might think. During her investigation, she gets tangled up with Necromancers and Shapechangers while also being pursued by a human doctor. Despite the short length of the book, nothing feels rushed and there’s more than enough action to keep a reader satisfied.

Kate is a strong, independent, kick-ass female character. She knows exactly what she’s capable of and, more importantly, what she’s not. Though, that’s not going to stop her from trying. She may not be able to defeat 8 shapechangers at once but that doesn’t she won’t take down as many of them with her as she can. She will kick ass and shoot her mouth off at the same time.

As evidenced by the fact that the series is still ongoing, there is still a lot to learn about Kate and the world she lives in.

Overall, I give Magic Bites 4.5 stars out of 5. I would have given it 5 but some of the overbearing alpha male characters were a little stereotypical.

Have you read Magic Burns? What did you think?

Fantasy Book Review – The Second Empire – Monarchies of God #4

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Summary (from Goodreads): Religious wars, shapeshifter invasions, and political intrigue drive the fourth novel of this epic fantasy series.

*** May Contain Spoilers if You Have Not read Books 1 – 3 ***

I don’t have a lot to say about this edition to the Monarchies of God. The war with the Merduks continue and come to a head. Richard Hawkwood returns from the Western Continent with Lord Murad, Bardolin and a mere fraction of the number of people they set out with. We get a brief look at what they endured during their time on the other continent and their journey home.

As I was reading this volume, I felt that the subplot of Richard Hawkwood’s journey is mostly unimportant. It doesn’t really add to the overall plot. The main focus of this volume and the one before (The Iron Wars) has been the war happening with the Merduks. Everything else seems like a side note.

Other than Corfe, not many of the characters are relatable. Most of them get so little really told about them for the reader to form much of an attachment.

The descriptions of the battles are rather engrossing. The author is very good as describing all the sounds and sights of a battle. The boom of the guns, the jar of being hit with a sword, the horror of men being torn to shreds.

I give the Second Empire 3/5 stars and am curious how this will all come to an end.