This was the second instalment of Mark Holloway’s The Soul’s Aspect trilogy. The series is old school dark fantasy. It was an action fantasy with tonsThis was the second instalment of Mark Holloway’s The Soul’s Aspect trilogy. The series is old school dark fantasy. It was an action fantasy with tons of twists and turns to keep the tale interesting.
The first book was a coming of age epic fantasy tale with a few dark twists at the end. That meant this book dealt with those consequences and was more focused on the impending war and the power grab by the Seer Monks.
It was a solid enough story. Like the first book things started a little slow and sluggish but the story built to an intense crescendo and ended with a bunch of intense happenings and more shock twists and turns.
This is a fairly dark fantasy series but it is balanced out by the fact that it has some likeable characters that are easy to root for.
All in all this was a solid middle book in the trilogy.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Joel Jackson. He did OK with the audio but sounded a little lispy for my liking. I’ve gotten used to him over the course of the series. ...more
This was an old school coming of age fantasy series. Feels like the first one I’ve read in ages and, happily, it was a good one! It was traditional epThis was an old school coming of age fantasy series. Feels like the first one I’ve read in ages and, happily, it was a good one! It was traditional epic fantasy but also surprisingly dark in tone and content while still getting that balance right between the hope and despair to stop the story tipping into the sort of ultra-nihilistic grimdark nonsense that plagues so much of the genre today.
The story and world had a familiar feel to hardened readers of the genre but both were crafted well enough to engage me and eventually fully suck me in as the tale seemed to get better and better as it progressed.
This was a single POV fantasy story. We followed a young small town healer, Kehlem, as his life took a bunch of interesting and unexpected turns. It was a tale of three parts. The first was our introduction to Kehlem and gave us a glimpse into his life living with his father and learning the family trade of healing. We also learned that Kehlem had an illness of his own he was living with. Things took a turn when an Aspector (a mage) turned up in his village and took an interest in him much to his father’s horror. This phase of the story was a tad slow but did give us a great glimpse into Kehlem’s life and personality.
The second part of the story saw the setting shift from Kehlem’s small town in Casserea to a mage school in Vin. It was there we learned all about Aspecting and about some truths about the nature of Kehlem’s kingdom. As a Casserian Kehlem was not particularly welcome in the prestigious mage school thanks to the fact that Vin had conquered Cassera a generation previously. There was racism and the like to be dealt with. It quite enjoyed this phase of the story. There was plenty of fun stuff happening and we got to meet a few fun support characters who became like found family to Kehlem. The standouts were Broch, Thain, and Kit. There was plenty of typical mage school hijinks but always hints that some darker stuff was going on under the surface that Kehlem and most of his friends were a little too naive to fully grasp.
The third phase of the story was full of dark twists and turns as the true nature of both the magic academy and Kehlem himself got revealed in an intense sequence of absolutely shocking revelations and happenings. It made for addictive reading!
The world building was solid in this book. As the story progresses we learned of the uneasy rule of the Vin over the conquered Casserans. The magic was also pretty cool.
I loved the mix of hope and despair in this book. It was a dark fantasy world where bad things definitely happened but it was not all bleakness and nihilism as Kehlem and his friends were likeable enough characters that were easy to root for even if they could be a little naive at times.
All in all I felt this old school coming of age fantasy tale recovered from a sluggish start to become an engaging and exciting read. It was a pretty short tale and I’ll definitely be pressing straight onto the sequel as this is the first old school traditional fantasy book I’ve read in what feels years that has actually fully engaged me!
Rating: 4.5 stars. I’ll round down to reflect the sluggish start but it was definitely pushing towards 5 star level in the later stages when. Things got crazy!
Audio Note: This was narrated by Joel Jackson. He did OK with the audio but sounded a little lispy for my liking. ...more
Throne of the Secrets is the second book in the Prince of Sin series, which is a spin-off series from Kerri Maniscalco’s excellent Kingdom of the WickThrone of the Secrets is the second book in the Prince of Sin series, which is a spin-off series from Kerri Maniscalco’s excellent Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. The first book in the original trilogy was very much a dark YA murder/mystery horror tale with likeable characters and a hint of romance. The two sequels went full on racy romantasy with hints of intrigue and mystery. With the spin-offs Maniscalco had got the blending of all those genres absolutely perfect. We get an enthralling blend of racy romantasy, mystery, intrigue, and some hints of dark horror and that perfect mix made this tale an engaging one from start to finish!
I think it was a great idea by Maniscalco to pivot the spin-off books to the traditional romance genre format setup. Each new book has a new lead couple to follow. It keeps things fresh and Maniscalco has a great talent for creating interesting secondary characters in her stories so I love the fact some of them are getting the chance to shine as leads in their own books!
Throne of Secrets had Gabriel Axton, the infamous Prince of Gluttony, as the lead. The extravagant Demon Prince drew his power from overindulgence but liked to feast on a lot more than just food with women and adventure just as high on his list of priorities. Just as the tale gets started Axton finds his court in trouble as his alliance with the Ice Dragons takes a potentially deadly turn that could lead to a disastrous war. He needs to find out what has gone awry with the Dragons all while trying to keep his subjects in the dark so as to not inspire a potential panic in the populace. It is a task that would have been a lot easier if not for the fact his long term rival, gossip columnist Adriana Saint Lucent, has caught the scent that something is amiss and is driven to expose Aston’s secrets!
The whole tale was a lot more fun and engaging than it sounds. Maniscalco has a super engaging writing style and both Axton and Adriana were super easy characters to like and root for. They also had fantastic chemistry as irritated rivals who were reluctantly attracted to each other. I loved the rivalry and the banter between the pair. They wound each other up but remained likeable and easy to root for at the same time. I loved how the whole romance played out. The pair had great chemistry and seemed to benefit each other even beyond just the physical attraction.
I liked the mix of romance and intrigue we got in the tale. I also really like the world. The bulk of the tale took place in Acton’s demon court. It was a wonderfully lavish and decedent place but it also had hints of gothic horror that reminds us this was a dark world.
Another great aspect of this series is how well Maniscalco does at making the supporting characters seem like potentially interesting leads in their own right. I’m sure we will get books for the four other Demon Princes but the Vampire Prince, Blade, feels deserving of his own tale as did Adriana’s sister Eden. Even some of the rival love interests from various courts were painted as potentially intriguing characters even if they were just not the one for Axton!
I was sucked into the drama and emotion of this tale from start to finish. This is the fifth Kerri Maniscalco book I’ve read this year and she might be my absolute favourite new-to-me author of all of 2024 and just one of my favourite authors of the year in general. I loved this book and just love the series in general.
All in all I really loved this spinoff from the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy and hope we get many more books from this world as I’m practically bursting to read about the rest of the characters stories!
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Marisa Calin and Shane East. Callin did the Adriana POV segments with East doing the Gluttony POV segments. They were both solid narrators. I preferred Calin of the two but that might just be because I’m used to her from the original trilogy but both did a good job. I do not mind duel narration for split POV stories but I often feel like it is a wasted opportunity on the production side not to have all the male and female dialog done by the appropriate narrator regardless of who’s POV the story is coming from. It did not hurt the story but it could have improved the cohesion and consistency of the narration. ...more
This was a solid second instalment in AK Cagginacio’s Villains & Virtues series. The series feels like a fun blend of YA adventure fantasy, slow burn This was a solid second instalment in AK Cagginacio’s Villains & Virtues series. The series feels like a fun blend of YA adventure fantasy, slow burn romantasy, and Disney movie parody. There is romance, humour, adventure, and a ton of magic and over the top fantasy creatures and characters!
The story was just a continuation of what we got in the first book. Now that Amma has troubled Damien with pesky emotions he decides that trying to get his talisman out of her without killing her is the preferable option. We got a series of quests with the goal of freeing the talisman from Amma without it killing her. We met a bunch of new characters and creatures along the way.
It was not quite as much fun as the first instalment but it was still enjoyable enough. Some of the setup novelty has worn off, and the quests were so-so, but the slow burn romance remains very strong and the characters are still a ton of fun.
I still really like both Damien and Amma as characters. They are easy to like as individuals and their slow burn romance is super easy to root for as the duo have great chemistry and feel like they both genuinely like each other and benefit from having each other in their lives.
The tone of this series is usually light and fun but there is always a hint of darkness just under the surface in this over the top fantasy world.
This instalment felt less like an romantasy version of Ella Enchanted than the first book but still retained the feel of a slightly dark and much more romance focused Disney parody. Which is something I actually quite enjoy about this series!
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: This was performed by Ellen Quay and Seth Podowitz. I felt like both narrators did a good job. I’m still not a giant fan of duel narration when the production does not utilised consistent narration for all the dialogue regardless of which character is the POV lead. It feels like a waste of having multiple narrators. ...more
This was the second instalment of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy. Sadly, it was not quite up to par with the quality of the first book. IThis was the second instalment of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy. Sadly, it was not quite up to par with the quality of the first book. It was weird as it actually eliminated a major issue I had with the first book (all the magic inspired sexual assaults) but was let down by new issues that hindered the story and just ended up being a slightly less enjoyable and engaging tale overall.
As always with Guy Gavriel Kay the quality of the writing is undeniable. His lyrical style draws you into the world of Fionavar with its richly detailed landscapes and evocative imagery. Kay's ability to evoke a palpable atmosphere of both melancholy and hope is a particular strength of his that has been evident in all five of the books of his that I’ve read to date. If there is a downside to the writing in the Fionavar books it is the fact that it can feel a tad overwrought at times especially when it leans in to the mysticism inherent in the story.
Despite the beauty of Kay's writing The Wandering Fire had issues in its handling of certain thematic elements, particularly love and sex. While these themes are prominent elements of the story their execution often felt hollow and lacking in nuance. Relationships between characters sometimes felt weirdly transient and insignificant and intimate moments felt more disposable than emotionally impactful in most instances. Sex in Fionavar had a vaguely misogynistic and disposable feel to it and Kay never sold me on the fact that he understood the difference between love and lust which I felt detracted from the overall impact of these particular themes and relationships in the story. (view spoiler)[Frat Boy Kevin literally fucking himself to death was the ridiculous icing on the cake in that regard. (hide spoiler)] There was also a random musing by a character observing that there would be a lot of pregnancies after a festival that summed up how sex and romance were dealt with in this story. No shit there would be a lot of pregnancies with the orgies going on! Which just hammered home the disposable nature of the sex and the fact that most of the male characters, including all the leads, did not give a shit that they were likely dead beat dads multiple times over. That sat poorly with me but I get it is likely a particular pet peeve. Also annoyed me that the women of this old school medieval fantasy world were so free with their attitude towards unmarried sex given the likely childbirth mortality rates and the fact that practically none of the fathers were sticking around to deal with the consequences! Not that Kay ever bothered to deal with any of the consequences of anybody’s actions outside of the Jennifer story arc.
One of the most significant departures from the first book in the series was the increased emphasis on Arthurian mythology. While Arthurian legends are undoubtedly fun and interesting I felt their increased inclusion damaged this tale and made it feel less original than what we got in the first book. (view spoiler)[The actual appearances of Arthur and Lancelot, as well as the revelation of Jennifer as a reincarnation of Guinevere, felt more like fan service than crucial elements of the story and was just a bit crappy to be honest. Last thing this series needs is Jennifer caught up in some tragic Arthurian love triangle in the final book! (hide spoiler)]
Another aspect of The Wandering Fire that was problematic was the frequent shifting of points of view. While I feel multiple perspectives can definitely offer insights into different characters and plotlines and add great depth to a story in general the rapid changes in perspective in this story made it a little difficult to follow especially in the audio format. The overabundance of minor character perspectives lead to a sense of fragmentation. Which made it tough to emotionally engage with a lot of those lesser characters and their individual arcs. I did like some of the minor characters and story arcs but felt like we got too much of them and that the POV segment shifting was just too rapid. Sometimes characters were barely getting a paragraph before we were off to the next one. It was a definite problem.
Despite these issues there are still moments of brilliance in The Wandering Fire that hint at the potential for a decent story but they just get a little overwhelmed by the negative aspects of the story. Which is disappointing as I really wanted to enjoy this one more but felt like the plot we got was just a lot duller than what we got in the first book.
Jennifer had a terrible story arc in the first instalment and I feared the worst in the early stages of this one as things seemed to go from bad to worse. (view spoiler)[The pregnancy arc ultimately unfolded in a fashion that was not anywhere near as bad as I was expecting and we actually got an interesting new character out of the story arc that hints at interesting possibilities that may lie ahead in the final instalment. (hide spoiler)]. I was happy that whole arc played out better than I anticipated and feared.
All in all The Wandering Fire was more negative than positive. While it showcases Guy Gavriel Kay's undeniable writing talent and evokes a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere, its flaws in thematic execution, overemphasis on Arthurian mythology, and problematic narrative structure ultimately detracted from the story. I’ll probably not read the final instalment as my interest was definitely waning towards the end of this one and that is a shame as I feel like there was definitely potential for a good old school portal fantasy in here somewhere but it just never fully materialised in this second instalment.
Rating: 2.5 stars. I’m rounding down to 2 stars as finishing this became a bit of a chore despite the fact that it was not a particularly lengthy novel.
Audio Note: I’m still not a fan of Simon Vance. I never warm to characters he is voicing and his droning narration style sucks the life out of stories for me rather than breathes life into them! I also feel like the rapid fire, and short, POV shifts made things confusing in audio as there was not enough done on the production side to emphasise them. You can see the paragraph breaks in written format but we need better breaks to emphasis them in audio than we got here and in the first book....more
This was a solid sequel to an OK slow burn romantasy series. The series offers mystery, some intrigue, plenty of action, hints of slow burn romance, aThis was a solid sequel to an OK slow burn romantasy series. The series offers mystery, some intrigue, plenty of action, hints of slow burn romance, and cool dark magic.
This instalment felt like a bottle episode of a TV show. Quinn, Lazarus, and the rest of Lazarus’s followers pitched up in a new kingdom as Lazarus continued his quest to make allies to strengthen his claim on his own throne. This time he had to win over a Pirate Queen…which proved more difficult than he anticipated!
It was an OK story. We got some progress in the Lazarus/Quinn romance but it is still pretty slow burn. Not that I’m too bothered by that development. I like both of them well enough as individual characters but I’m still not feeling any real chemistry between them as a couple!
The new kingdom we visited was interesting enough. We got a bit of intrigue and a hard to win over potential ally.
I’m warming to the secondary characters the more I read of this series which is good as I was unsure of them for a lot of the first book.
All in all this was OK. I’m not sure if I’ll read more or not. I got the first two books via the Audible Plus Catalog but I actually have to spend precious credits on the rest of the series and a full credit on a 6.5 hour third book that will likely be a plain old 3 star read does not seem great value to me. I might pause this series for now and return if it pops up on sale or in the Plus Catalog at some point.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: The narration by Amy McFadden was solid....more
This was an OK slow burn romantasy. It had mystery, plenty of action, hints of slow burn romance, and plenty of cool dark magic.
I’ll admit I was hookThis was an OK slow burn romantasy. It had mystery, plenty of action, hints of slow burn romance, and plenty of cool dark magic.
I’ll admit I was hooked by a publisher blurb that claimed this book was:
“Throne of Glass meets Black Jewels in this twisted yet alluring dark fantasy tale.”
It definitely never lived up to that bold claim but it was readable without being particularly special or memorable. The premise was fun enough. Quinn Darkova is a former slave whose life takes another turn for the worse when a stranger witnesses her losing control of her dark magic and nearly killing a man. That stranger is the mysterious Lazarus Fierte and he uses the situation to coerce Quinn into his employment. He needs her dark powers to help secure his own position in court!
Quinn and Lazarus were likeable enough but a flaw of the story was definitely the fact that I was never truly sold on the romantic chemistry between the duo. They both had really cool dark magic though that gave them a darker edge than your average romantasy leads. Quinn’s magic fed on folks fears and she could often lose control while in the grip of her powers and tend towards cruelty and violence. Dark Maji going mad and having to be killed was a pretty common thing in this world!
The world seemed a fun enough place but the worldbuilding was definitely a bit of a weakness as it was a bit simplistic and vague for my liking. It made it tight to really picture this world. Which was weird as the authors did a really good job making the magic seem cool and tangible.
All in all this ended up an OK read. I’ll press onto the next book for sure especially since this one felt like it was mostly set-up for larger stuff to come.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: The narration by Amy McFadden was solid. ...more
This was a weird dark fantasy romance. The premise was really fun but the story never quite managed to hit the heights its cool concept promised. It wThis was a weird dark fantasy romance. The premise was really fun but the story never quite managed to hit the heights its cool concept promised. It was just OK. The story was a mix of romance, humour, and plenty of monster related violence!
Homily is hunting the shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Which would have been good to know for Shesheshen before she befriended and fell a little in love with the women considering Shesheshen herself is that shapeshifting monster. Shesheshen just has to find a way to convince her human love she has never cursed anyone in her whole life and survive her new girlfriends murderous family who seem hellbent on exterminating her.
It was a really fun idea. Shesheshen was suitably alien in nature but still fairly easy to root for despite her tendency for munching on humans! Homily was also easy to like so it made rooting for the developing romance between the lonely and slightly antisocial monster and the downtrodden Homily pretty easy.
The shapechanging nature of Shesheshen was pretty gruesome in practice but I did really enjoy this fresh and more monstrous take on the shapeshifting creature!
I’m honestly not sure why this one did not fully work for me as it had all the ingredients to be just the sort of tale I love. I guess I was just never fully sucked in by John Wiswell’s writing style. The tale was OK but I was never fully sucked into it or particularly emotionally engaged by the happenings.
The themes the story explored were enjoyable enough as it touched on love, loneliness, legacy, and toxic family and the trauma that can cause.
All in all this was OK. I really loved the idea of the story but never fully gelled with the reality of it. That said, this was still readable.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Carmen Rose (Heather Wilds). I’m a fan of hers so enjoyed the performance. ...more
This turned out to be a pretty good portal fantasy. It offered a nice mix of action, adventure, romance and slice of life. It also had a decent balancThis turned out to be a pretty good portal fantasy. It offered a nice mix of action, adventure, romance and slice of life. It also had a decent balance of gritty and hopeful moments.
The premise was intriguing. Years ago, emissaries from another world, called Geamhlúrt, arrived on Earth looking for help to save their world which was being overrun by monsters. In the end, they created an online game, Gleamheart, which mimicked the abilities and conditions which the Geamhlúrtan powered heroes had to face, using it for research and to find suitable candidates to be summoned to Geamhlúrt as replacement heroes. Now, desperate for help, the Geamhlúrtans have summoned thousands of unsuspecting gamers to their world in new, super-powered bodies.
The summoning to a new world is a pretty big shock and a transition for the humans even with their new bodies and superpowers and that possessed the powers and appearance of their gaming avatars. It is especially disorienting for our lead character, Angela Fury, because even with the careful selection process by the Geamhlúrtan in place to prevent just such traumatic transitions she finds herself in the female body of her gaming avatar not the male body she is familiar with from her old life back on earth!
The tale turned out to be a very enjoyable read. Angela had to deal with being torn to a new world, being gender swapped, and with coming to terms with the fact she and the others had just been uprooted and conscripted to fight monsters in a world that was losing the war against them.
I really enjoyed this one. It was a great portal fantasy. It had a typical LitRPG setup with gamers being sucked into a game world but once summoned there was no stat system so this played like a regular portal fantasy. The fact the world was real also added the true stakes to the happenings which added emotional emphasis to the events. The world was a fun one with cool magic and monsters.
I liked Angela as a lead character. She was easy to root for as she was mostly a good person just dealing with some crazy happenings as best as she could. She did end up as one of the more powerful summoned but was definitely not overpowered and had to join and work with others to have the numbers necessary for dealing with hordes of deadly monsters. I also quite liked the fact that a lot of what made Angela a natural leader was tied to who she was as a person and not to her superpowers.
I also really liked the pacing of the story. We were not immediately thrown into monster battles. The humans got summoned to a training area and had some time to adjust to their new bodies, powers, and circumstances. There was also a bit of mystery as the Geamhlúrtan were low on folks who could communicate in English and mostly just left the humans to deal with things on their own which lead to a lot of confusion and some early issues as the humans basically had to build their own society.
I actually liked the realism in the way the humans did not always find it easy to deal with their new lives and how it was difficult to adjust to a new world when they could not communicate with the locals due to the language barrier.
This was just a really fun tale that mixed action, adventure, slice of life moments, and even some romance as the humans adjusted to a new world and had to deal with the responsibilities that came with their powers while simultaneously dealing with some resentments over the summoning!
Angela was an easy to root for main character but the book also benefited from having some decent secondary characters to support her. Those main secondary characters all had distinct personalities of their own and their own individual powers and magic.
All in all this was a really fun portal fantasy with a gender swap twist that ended up just being a small element in a very interesting portal fantasy.
The ending was a tad abrupt but I guess that is the result of this being a web serial rather than a typical novel. I’ll absolutely press on with the next four parts of the serial in the next book bundle as I definitely want more of this world and story!
Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audio Note: This had no audio unfortunately. I listened via the Alexa option from Kindle. It is definitely not the same a proper narration but it was tolerable. If this gets a real audio I’ll definitely buy it as I’m 100% sure a proper voice actor could really enhance the listening experience. ...more
This was a decent character driven UF series with a strong slow burn romance subplot. It was a solid offering!
We got a single POV story that we joineThis was a decent character driven UF series with a strong slow burn romance subplot. It was a solid offering!
We got a single POV story that we joined just as our lead character Fire Clan Mage Fiona Ember’s life goes awry. Her team were sent on an assassination mission to eliminate a group of rival Water Mages. They failed and Fiona, the only survivor of her Fire Clan team, ends up a captive of the Water Clan Mages. She expects torture and execution but instead her Water Clan interrogator, the notorious Auspex who possesses the gifts of precognition and mind-reading, offers her a chance at life. She just has to prove she can offer the value to him that he sees in some of her possible futures!
It was a pretty fun tale. The Auspex had a terrible reputation but it was, mostly, a front so it was pretty easy to root for both him and Fiona as he coaxed her over the trauma of losing her team and with basically living life as a captive with the constant threat of slavery and death hanging over her if she does not live up to the terms of their deal.
The tale was a tad dark and Fiona did have to push through some trauma and anxiety but that was balanced out by the core group of characters being pretty likeable and easy to root for once everybody got over the awful way Fiona got introduced to them and by the found family and slow burn romance elements offering a good bit of positivity to the story.
All in all this was a fun tale. Nothing special but definitely very readable and I’ll press right on with the second book in the series.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: Ali Dane did OK with the audio. ...more
This story was a parody of classic power fantasy anime tropes. I’d have said a classic battle Shōnen parody but there was a bit too much sexual innuenThis story was a parody of classic power fantasy anime tropes. I’d have said a classic battle Shōnen parody but there was a bit too much sexual innuendo in the comedy for that to be strictly true.
The premise was fine. Squirrel Beastkin, Lucia, ends up getting selected to be the next companion of a recently discovered magical sentient sword despite only being on the quest to find it as a slave of the true adventurers. From there she grows ridiculously in strength and rampages across the land.
The idea behind the story was fun but the execution was poor. The comedy was more miss than hit. Which was a big problem as this parody was heavily driven by the comedy as there was not much depth to the worldbuilding, plot, or characterisation. The writing was also not great.
My biggest issue with the story ended up being the characters. They all sucked. Lucia and her magical companion had potential and were initially mildly amusing but the charm wore off pretty quickly and it was apparent both were horrible people. We jumped from one mindless slaughter to the next and I had a hard time caring about both the characters and the story in general. All the other characters in the story were completely throwaway and forgettable.
All in all this was pretty bad. I’ve no chance of reading more books in this series.
Rating: 2 stars
Audio Note: Mare Trevathan went full over the top anime in style which fitted the story but definitely added to making Lucia extra annoying to deal with. ...more
This was a solid third instalment of S.J. Boyce’s Wraithblade series. This series is an action fantasy set in a fairly dark fantasy world but one thatThis was a solid third instalment of S.J. Boyce’s Wraithblade series. This series is an action fantasy set in a fairly dark fantasy world but one that never gets to grim thanks to having a few likeable characters and a tad of humour to lighten the tone from time to time.
This third book was mostly just Conner going on a few quests and building and growing his power. The same was true of his companions and his main enemies!
It was readable enough even if for some weird reason I always seem to take a while to get sucked into the flow of these books. Once I get sucked into the story I tend to find them fast paced enough. Which is impressive considering this tops 30 hours in audio!
I feel like this instalment did a good job of developing the dragons and the Connor/Quinn slow burn romance.
All in all a fun enough read.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Audio Note: This was narrated by Wayne Mitchell. I thought he did OK but can definitely see folks having a few issues with him. He was very melodramatic in terms of his performance style. He also struggled a bit voicing the female characters. He also read a tad slow so I got on better by boosting the playback speed to 1.25 regular rate. All that said, after listening to the guy for 90 hours over the course of this series I’ve gotten used to him! ...more
I’ve not much to say about this second instalment of David Drake’s Lord of the Isles series as it was pretty much just a straight continuation of whatI’ve not much to say about this second instalment of David Drake’s Lord of the Isles series as it was pretty much just a straight continuation of what we got in the first book and was similar in quality.
The series is typical old school 80s or 90s epic fantasy. It is a multi-POV tale following 4 late teen kids as they get plucked from their backwater village and in an epic battle between good and evil. It was a story full of action, adventure, magic, demons, even more weird fantasy creatures, and a touch of romance.
It was an OK second book. I still found this a slightly disjointed and confusing tale but I do feel like there is the building blocks of a good story in here somewhere if only Drake could put it together consistently.
Rating: 2.5 stars. I’ll round up to 3 stars here on Goodreads but have to admit I’m on the fence about picking up the third book or not.
Audio Note: Michael Page is a competent narrator but hopelessly miscast in this role. All four lead POV characters are teens and page sounds like he calls Methuselah a spring chicken! ...more
This fourth instalment of the Restart Again series was a solid entry in the series. Not quite as strong as the third instalment but better than the seThis fourth instalment of the Restart Again series was a solid entry in the series. Not quite as strong as the third instalment but better than the second instalment.
The premise of this series is fun. Our main character, Lux, finds himself in a new fantasy world isekai style. The problem is this is the third time it has happened to him and he still has no idea why! There is also the fact that with three previous worlds and lives behind him Lux is getting frustrated about losing the folks he cares for in those other worlds. He is also growing tired of being caught up in the sort of Chosen One nonsense that has got him in trouble in his two previous worlds!
This 4th book had Lux and his team resting a bit, doing some more magic and fighting training, and then getting on the road to deal with the next artefact before it came with an issue.
The story was fine. The slice of life stuff and character relationships are the best bits of the series. The action can actually be really dull and boring. Which is weird as the premise seems like it should be a lot more fun what with the magic being fairly cool and with Lux having to deal with two weird mystery entities that constantly plague his mind.
This was OK but nothing special. I’ll read the 5th instalment if one appears in audio.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: I do feel like Alex Knox does a great job with this series. Decent general narration voice and very solid with the dialogue. ...more
This third instalment of the Restart Again series was probably the best one yet. It felt like it got the balance right between the plot/action elementThis third instalment of the Restart Again series was probably the best one yet. It felt like it got the balance right between the plot/action elements of the story and the romance/slice of life elements of the story.
The premise of this series is fun. Our main character, Lux, finds himself in a new fantasy world isekai style. The problem is that this is the third time it has happened to him and he still has no idea why! There is also the fact that with three previous worlds and lives behind him Lux is getting frustrated about losing the folks he cares for in those other worlds. He is also growing tired of being caught up in the sort of Chosen One nonsense that has got him in trouble in his two previous worlds!
This third book had more slice of life stuff as Lux settled into his new home and developed his relationships with his new family and friends. It is a tad low key and slow paced but pretty fun. We also got a lot more progression in the development of Lux and Lia’s magic. Some action as well as some new monsters emerged that had to be dealt with.
It was a solid third book. Not my favourite series but it is readable enough stuff.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: I do feel like Alex Knox does a great job with this series. Decent general narration voice and very solid with the dialogue. ...more
This second instalment in the Restart Again series was not quite as enjoyable as the first instalment. The premise of this portal fantasy/isekai remaiThis second instalment in the Restart Again series was not quite as enjoyable as the first instalment. The premise of this portal fantasy/isekai remains fun with our lead character, Lux, not being your typical type of lead character thanks to the fact that his patience is wearing thin on the idea of being dragged from world to world now that he is on his 4th life with no idea why it is happening to him and with memories of all the folks he misses from his old lives!
The first book was very much a slow paced slice of life type of story but this second book tried to pivot towards a bit of quest action. It ended up being a weakness for the book! Sure we got some plot and story momentum but the quest and action were a bit dull and uninspiring. Turns out I actually prefer the slice of life stuff even if it can feel like absolutely nothing is happening in the story except characters chit chatting and travelling!
This story in this one focused on Lux and Lia being dragged before the King of Yoria and being forced into going on a quest to a neighbouring kingdom where reports of uprising and strange creatures were emerging. It ended up being a bit…meh.
As always this series works better for the reader if you imagine it as a crazy anime style story rather than trying for any sort of realism because the character interactions and dialogue are decidedly more anime in tone and feel than realistic. That said, it is worth noting the story can still get a touch dark at times.
Another thing worth noting is the fact this series is basically just one long serial with no clear break points. Which is to say both books in this series have ended with cliffhangers.
All in all this was an adequate read. Started OK but definitely ended a bit dull as we got bogged down in the action/plot. I’ll press on to the next book and see if the story can get back to what made it fun in the first instalment.
Rating: 2.5 stars. I’ll round up to three stars.
Audio Note: Alex Knox gave a pretty solid performance of the audio. ...more
This portal fantasy/isekai had a fantastic premise but never quite managed to fully deliver on what it promised due to average writing and a lackadaisThis portal fantasy/isekai had a fantastic premise but never quite managed to fully deliver on what it promised due to average writing and a lackadaisical pacing.
The premise really was fun. We joined the tale as the lead POV character Lux was just being dumped into his third new life and third new body! It soon becomes apparent that Lux is angry and frustrated by the situation and unsure why it is constantly happening to him. Life in a new fantasy world was fun at first but has grown tiresome now that he has people he misses in his previous lives! In this new life Lux is determined to keep his head down and stay out of the spotlight to avoid the sort of Chosen One nonsense that did not work out well for him in two previous lives.
The tale should have been really fun but Adam Ladner’s writing never quite managed to fully engage me and the pacing was really slow. This first book was basically just a small introduction to the new fantasy world (typically old school Isekai medieval fantasy setting complete with demihumans), a prison break, and a road trip. The quest state of the story was just beginning to get introduced right at the end.
We got glimpses into Lux’s three previous lives via some reminiscences about his original life on Earth and flashbacks to his two previous lives on different fantasy worlds. I felt the flashbacks could have been more expansive. We learned a bit about Lux’s lost first love and that the second world he landed in was not a pleasant world. We also got a glimpse into how he learned some basic magic and combat skills that has lead him to be a bit more prepared for this 4th life!
Despite some serious flaws the story was still an OK read. Lux was a likeable enough lead even if he did come across as a bit dim. The other characters were a bit simplistic and unnatural in their motivations and dialogue but it helped if you imagined them as weird anime characters rather than real people!
All in all this was OK. It is a fun concept with a flawed execution but I’ll press on to the second book for sure.
Rating: 3 stars.
Audio Note: Alex Knox gave a pretty solid performance of the audio. ...more
This was a satisfying ending to a trilogy that ended up being an enjoyable mix of character driven political fantasy thriller and slow burn enemies toThis was a satisfying ending to a trilogy that ended up being an enjoyable mix of character driven political fantasy thriller and slow burn enemies to lovers romance tale.
I’ve binged the whole trilogy so I’m not going to repeat the stuff I’ve already mentioned in my previous reviews. This can be quite a dark fantasy world but I did feel like this third and final book was a little softer in that regard and it absolutely helped that both Damen and Laurent showed very positive character growth over the course of the story which was one of my favourite elements of this whole series. Always nice to see characters growing in a positive direction over the course of a story!
This final book mainly to place in Akielos. It was good to finally see a bit of Damen’s kingdom and get to know a bit more about characters like Kastor and Jokaste who we had only known by reputation in the previous books.
In my opinion this final book did a great job of satisfactorily wrapping up both the ongoing story and the slow burn romance aspects of the tale. Both were handled very well.
One thing I’ve not mentioned in previous reviews so definitely will in this one is the fact that one of my favourite parts of this series is how both Laurent and the Regent used their minds to become pretty much the most powerful and proactive people in the story. I do love a story where the mind beats the sword! I loved all the twists and turns and fun plotting we got over the course of this story.
All in all a good ending to a good series. C.S.Pacat had an engaging writing style and it was always easy to get caught up in the happenings of this story. A real positive for the series was the fact that each new book seemed to eliminate some of the weaker or more problematic elements of the previous books!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Stephen Bel Davies did a decent job with the audio. He is great with the general narration but is slightly weak in performing the dialogue as he is not great a differentiating the character voices. ...more
This was a good middle instalment in C.S.Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy. This series is a character driven political fantasy thriller with a heavy focThis was a good middle instalment in C.S.Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy. This series is a character driven political fantasy thriller with a heavy focus on a dark enemies to lovers m/m romance. It also contains some really dark content such as violence, cruelty, slavery, rape, and peadophilia that can be difficult and/or disturbing to deal with but still manages to make the story work for me because the writing is engaging and the lead characters are likeable despite their flaws which makes it easy enough to root for them.
I feel like my review for the first book in this series spent a lot of time highlighting the things I had issues with or felt were weaknesses so I’m not going to go into that again as I also mentioned that my hope was this sequel would lean more into the elements I enjoyed and less into those I did not. This sequel delivered on that wish. I got less of the stuff I had issues with in the first book and more of the stuff I enjoyed.
This was a particularly good instalment for developing the slow burn Damen/Laurent romance. It was mostly just hinted at in the first book but it got a real chance to grow and develop in this instalment while still going at a slow burn tempo. I enjoyed that a lot. Pacat did a great job with the romance and selling it to me as something that grew over time. I was a little worried it might not work for me while reading the first book but it really did! It was enjoyable to follow the growing trust and companionship of Damen and Laurent over the course of this one.
The story was a tad different in this sequel. The first book was all court intrigue with it being set in the capital of Vere. This one was more of a long road trip with Laurent bound for military service at a fort at the border of Akielos and Vere thanks to a scheme of his uncle. It meant less twisty court intrigue (but not an elimination of it!) but also less cruelty and slavery and less of the Regent and his evil inclinations.
I felt like the story in the first instalment was more powerful and compelling but that what we got in this instalment was not quite on that level but was delivered in a far more palatable package.
All in all my feelings are positive. Some of the flaws of the first book remain and some of the story was not quite as intense or compelling as we got in the first book but the slow burn romance was handled very well and the story we did get was still pretty engaging and lacking some of the more disturbing elements of the first book. A good read!
Hopefully the third and final instalment delivers a satisfactory conclusion to the story!
Rating: 4 stars.
Audio Note: Stephen Bel Davies did a decent job with the audio. He is great with the general narration but is slightly weak in performing the dialogue as he is not great a differentiating the character voices. ...more
