A Picture is Worth...

Uh Oh, Jethro's been fighting again. Why'd he get that shiner? Or who's gonna kiss it and make it better? Or... Tell us in 100 to 1000 words (drabbles are fine, really) and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.

The rest of us will dream about undoing that remaining strap.

No Such Thing by A.M. Arthur

Title: No Such Thing
Author: A.M. Arthur
Buy at Carina
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: not listed
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 67k works
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf,


Twenty-two-year-old Alessandro Silva knows that returning to tiny Perch Creek to help his foster mother was the right thing to do. With no degree and a delinquent's reputation, he's lucky to have landed a job waiting tables. But not everyone is happy he's back, and the only thing keeping his move home from being a total bust is his boss's hot brother.

Jaime Winters spent most of his life watching the world go by, first from a series of hospitals and then from behind big stacks of textbooks. Studying is easier than facing the fact that years of heart failure means he's still a virgin at twenty-three. Until the new waiter in his sister's diner awakens desires he'd long ago given up on.

The last thing Alessandro wants is to fall for someone as fragile as Jaime. And Jaime may have a new heart, but he's scared of what giving it to another person would mean. Their no-strings-attached, instructional approach to sex keeps emotion safely at bay, until a secret from Alessandro's past forces them to confront their feelings in the present...

Review:

I had wildly different reactions to different aspects of the story. Some of them were good, some meh, and one blew my socks off.


The main story line, that of Alessandro and Jaime, was actually the biggest meh—yes Jaime’s gay, yes he’s completely inexperienced, yes Alessandro can cure him of that, and of course they will both fall in love. Nothing exactly wrong with it, aside from a certain paint-by-number effect as each lesson is laid out. But still, not especially gripping. Jaime’s heart transplant serves mostly as a vehicle to get him to 23 and never been kissed. Kind of a wasted opportunity—any feelings he has about living on someone else’s heart or the more practical aspects aren’t strong on the page.

Alesandro’s past as a troubled teenager in the foster care system and how it’s affecting his life now made me sit up and take interest. He can both see himself in his youngest foster brother and try to mentor him to a better path. Unlike Jaime’s heart transplant, ten year old Tony, his actions and his attitudes matter to this story. He makes Alessandro pop as a character and as a good man who might not always have been so good. An old high-school nemesis lives in town, and while by himself he’s only 2.5 dimensional, he also prods Alessandro into examining moral choices.

Another good aspect is that there is a sense of the characters having lived before they arrive on the page, rather than coming into existence where the book opens. This is largely a function of interactions with secondary characters. Eunice, the foster mom, and Jaime’s sister Shannon were fully fledged people and added to the depth of story.

Where my socks and I parted ways: Alessandro takes Jaime to a club in Wilmington. This was the standout section of the book, and the reason I will return to this story. Both in the club and after they leave it, the actions and interactions are one of the most amazing demonstrations of caring, concern, uncertainly, blossoming, and hawt sex ever. It’s perfect within the framework of their relationship. Anyone who wants to whine about cheating here should quit clutching their pearls so tightly and go back to reading het. It isn’t cheating, it is growth, and it’s beautiful all the way around. The reviewer who never bookmarks has this section bookmarked.

The book had a feeling of unevenness that plateaued out at a higher level past the midpoint, so while the first half didn’t do a lot for me, the second half certainly did. The club scene especially, and while I want to rate high for that alone, the rest of the book isn’t really keeping up with it. This is the first book I’ve read from this author, but it certainly won’t be the last. 4.25 marbles



In a separate but related note, Carina needs a good swift kick in the ass for that cover. One of the characters is of Brazilian ancestry and is mentioned explicitly as having dark hair and caramel-toned skin. Not only is that cover whitewashed with two generic white boys, but the picture and titles are made of fail. Readers, it’s not the author’s fault a diamond has been packaged in an old Big Mac wrapper.

It actually looks like Carina is either trying to choke this book or find out how poor a presentation readers will tolerate. The publisher didn’t bother to upload an excerpt to ARe, or to proofread the product description on their own site.

The Forester by Blaine D. Arden

Title: The Forester
Author: Blaine D. Arden
Buy at Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Nathie
Genre: fantasy
Length: 18,600 words
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf,

Blurb:

Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith. Worse, a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit: Kelnaht's former lover Ianys, who once betrayed him, and the shunned forester named Taruif, who is not allowed to talk to anyone but The Guide, their spiritual pathfinder. When Taruif turns out to be the only witness for the crime, Kelnaht has to keep Ianys from sacrificing himself and losing his daughter, while at the same time realising he'd gladly sacrifice himself to end Taruif's loneliness.


Review:

This short piece (novella?) packed quite a lot into the slender word count. We are introduced to the society of elves, who have a hierarchy and rules that cannot be bucked, and members of their society who cannot stay within the strictures.


Kelnaht is our POV character—he’s working with clandestine information and evidence detected by observation, magic, and deduction to find the killer of another elf. Suspicion falls first on Taruif, who has some scandalous tragedy in his background that caused him to be placed on the furthest fringes of this society. He’s an easy target—too easy, and Kelnaht refuses to be lured down the obvious path. The blend of magic and forensics was interesting: no wand waving and poof! the answers appear, but thought and legwork were also required to solve the murder mystery.

The elves’ society is extremely conservative and has tied itself in knots regarding the practitioners of certain specialties: the elders want to punish and ostracize, but they can’t do without the skills, and make proviso for getting the outcasts to keep serving the community. I found this very vexing, and the Guide, who knows all, sees all, talks to everyone, and says nothing about those conversations, seemed to be a good guy but definitely is helping the society have things both ways.

The coming together of Kelnaht, Ianys, and Taruif is complicated by personal history and by convention. Kelnaht has reason not to trust Ianys, and no particular reason to trust Taruif, and lusts after him more than actually knows him. It’s tough when one partner isn’t actually supposed to speak to anyone. The relationship is at its earliest stages here and will be developed further in the second volume of the series, which I plan to read soon. The three of them together are lovely, and the author isn’t reaching for too much, too soon, or too easily for them.

If I have issues with the book, one is the same problem the characters have with the way their society is structured: perhaps I am meant to chafe as they do. I’m still scratching my head over Taruif’s explanation of the crime for which he’s shunned. Where was the truth seeker then? This felt like a real gap in an otherwise well-knit plot. Kelnaht seemed a little absent in his own work—almost all the actual work got done by his apprentice.

I applaud the author for giving us a lot of worldbuilding in a tight space, and for showing us three lovers-to-be without pulling an HEA out of thin air. I’m looking forward to the next book. 3.75 marbles

A picture is worth...

I"m going to be very distressed if no one can explain why this lion's mane is in curlers. A hundred to a thousand words pretty please?

See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details, and the rest of us are going to go O_O.

Thorns by Feliz Faber

Title: Thorns
Author: Feliz Faber
Purchase at Dreamspinner
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Genre: contemporary, sports, interracial
Length: 240 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print

How can love between two men possibly be responsible for a horse’s death during the Kentucky Derby? Reporter Will Yeats wants to know the truth.

Seventeen years ago, a love affair between a jockey and a horse trainer and a tragic accident on the racetrack scandalized the horseracing world. But Nic Pithiviers and Louis Meerow seem to have no desire to set the record straight: they refuse the interview and send attorney Francis LeBon to question Will’s motives.

Francis has a special place in his heart for Nic and Louis, who taught him to take pride in himself as a gay man, and he’ll stop at nothing to protect them from a gossipmongering reporter. However, Francis doesn’t expect the reporter’s honesty and genuine determination to exonerate two men falsely accused… or the growing attraction to Will he feels.

While visiting with Nic and Louis at their horse training center in France, Will uncovers a web of intrigue, secrets, and old lies, and he unwittingly sets a series of perilous events into motion that not only threaten to destroy his budding relationship with Francis, but Nic and Louis’s decades-long commitment as well.

Review:

Fans of Dick Francis will delight in a racing based novel, and fans of mm romance will appreciate that instead of 12 pages of the hero getting beaten up, we have the MC getting smexed up by a hot lawyer.


Will, the reporter, is put off balance by Francis, the lawyer sent to warn him off investigating the decades old accident and the two men who took the brunt of the scandal. Falling hard where he’s never given his heart, Will reminds himself that it might not be mutual. Francis is a hard one to read—while he’s there, he seems very into Will, and when he’s on the other side of the ocean, he’s very, very absent.

Nic the trainer and Louis the jockey have old secrets, some of which they share, some they hide from one another. They’re delightful, complex, and both loving and strangely fragile. Given they had more screen time than Will has with Francis, they nearly stole the show. Their stables, La Thillaye, is financially shaky, and they are justifiably worried by the string of incidents that peck away at their resources.

Will’s POV lasts from beginning to end, and Francis is absent physically and emotionally for much of the story, which made the external plot of the old disaster and the current training and racing schedule seem much more important than the romance. Will is both a guest and a nuisance at the stables, but finds ways to make himself useful. I particularly liked his intervention with a track official.

A few of the conflicts were the sort that could have been solved with one sentence of clarification before they became traumatic, which bothered me, but with those as immutable events, how both Will and Francis coped was understandable, even if one or both of them should have been smacked upside the head. Neither one is entirely clear on what is business, what is personal, and if those two spheres intersect, or if that should matter.

The secondary characters were vivid and interesting, each with a part of the story to advance. The setting was lovely—the stables redolent of horses and lads calling to each other in French, the town of Deauville with its beach umbrellas and sassy denizens, and the track, where so much rides on the fragile cannon bones of the thoroughbreds.

I was disturbed by the flirtation between Louis and Will—while some attraction was understandable, the degree seemed to go beyond appropriate. Nothing came of it, fortunately. Another diversion in another direction was only the product of a lonely man who's been offered no commitment. One culprit was a little too easy or Dick Francis has me too well trained, but when asking cui bono? it helps if there’s more than one cui to bono. The long ago mystery had more threads to unravel.

The book was smooth and enjoyable, in a setting that went beyond the mundane. I was left with hope for Will and Francis, who did finally get his head out of his butt with a resounding pop, and for Nic and Louis, who have a new phase of their life together to explore. I wish them all happiness, fast horses, and well groomed tracks. 4 marbles

Slushy slogs and diamonds on the ground

Just so you know, I’ve been getting corrupted at Chuck Wendig’s blog. After I read him, I cuss a lot more, and let slip weird and personal bits of information that may not be strictly true. While I don’t really believe his story about the garter snake and the serving spoon, my little ditty about the socket set and the VCR might possibly be true. Or not. Well.

Lately he’s been going off on the self-pubbed volcano of crap. I can sort of see it. His plea for self-pubbers to take some pride, get some edits, make a nice cover, write a blurb that entices, really is in a lot of people’s best interests to listen to. Of course the comments that followed were kind of harsh. Like, I won’t read indie ‘cause it’s all kinds of crap.

I’m not too worried about it on our end of the genre spectrum here. I read indie books. Jordan Castillo Price self-pubs. Josh Lanyon does too now. Never heard anyone complain about their quality. They’re pros, they work their publishing like a business, they do the right things to create a lovely chunk of entertainment. And a lot of other folks I read do it too. Because there are some great pieces out there that didn’t go through an imprint, from authors who take pride.

Of course, I see some of the volcano spew too. Some from authors who should know better. From writers I really did think knew the difference between its and it’s, or that sentences need punctuation on the ends. Be glad I don’t name those names, they make me talk like Chuck Wendig and then I say things like fucking fuckbasket.

Some indie writers have asked me to read their work, and I have. Some I plan to read again. Some I probably shouldn’t have said yes to. Some I’ve declined. Some indies I’ve bought. I buy a lot of books from a lot of authors.

Some I’ve opened the file on and thought oh no, there went my remaining sanity, and closed it again. If you don’t believe that a good cover and a good blurb matter, yes, they do. If, against my better judgment, I look past an eyesearing cover (which in mm is relative, I know) and a blurb of stones and errors, the story tends to match. I try to weed these out early. They aren’t all indie, either, which is another fucking fuckbasket.

One problem I do see as being more of an mm indie issue is that a complete story arc may or may not be in there. If the book is clearly One Big Book divided for manageability, and does have some completed plot arc as part of the bigger situation, that’s cool. But if the books are short and really should be all three together for a plot arc, that sets me off. I stopped reading fanfiction because I got so tired of a neat set up that got abandoned before the plot really started, and a lot of “Book 1”s seem like more of the same, only with money.

Chuck Wendig didn’t really address that volcanoes make diamonds too. There are some spectacular indie things out there. And they aren’t too hard to find. Here’s three of my favorites, some I’ve reviewed, some coming soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's right about this? All three books are clearly marked as going together, they have a great story, lovely covers, pretty formatting, and just in general show how it's done right.

This Digital Box Set contains all three volumes of the Impulse trilogy: Inertia, Acceleration and Velocity.

DRAWN TOGETHER BY IRRESISTIBLE FORCES

Quiet, grounded Detroit handyman Derrick Chance isn’t looking for a relationship. After spending his twenties recovering from a series of tragic losses, he’s content with his insular existence and not interested in risking the possibility of another.

Stylish accountant Gavin Hayes has every reason to avoid entanglements, too. Fresh out of an abusive relationship with a world-class manipulator, he questions whether he’s ever going to be fit for another partner. At the very least, it will be months before he knows just how big an issue his future health will be if he tries again.

But when a series of home repairs unexpectedly turns into an extravagant game of flirtation, they discover that the last thing they thought they wanted is the one thing they can’t live without. As the autumn months pass and they wait for the final verdict on Gavin’s health, the two wounded men learn to open up, to let someone into their lives, and to trust again. But when Gavin’s dangerous ex re-enters the picture, will their new and fragile bond withstand the final test? 

Find at Amazon. I reviewed each book separately. Might as well get the set, you'll start and want to finish right away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's done right?  A complete plot arc, it stands alone, even if it's better in order, the tale is fast paced and gripping, we CARE about these two guys and besides, Lucky's the  funniest pain in the ass ever. Also I want to lick the cover. Review to follow.

 Renegade biker. Drug runner. Recovering addict. Wanted by the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. But he isn’t a crook, he’s the law.

SNB Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper.

Cyrus is everything Bo Schollenberger isn’t, including the badass enforcer for a smuggling ring. He establishes pecking order with his fists and doesn’t take shit from anybody, not even the undercover agent who comes to help his case.

Simon “Lucky” Harrison’s always been the best, whichever side of the law he was on. Former trafficker turned SNB agent, he damned well ought to be undercover in this motorcycle gang, instead of hanging around the office going crazy with new policies, new people, and “inter-departmental cooperation” that sticks him in a classroom. Yet he’s passed over for the SNB’s biggest case in decades in favor of the rookie who shares his bed. A man Lucky thought he knew.

When survival depends on a web of tangled lies, lines blur, worlds collide, and a high stakes game turns friend to foe. Lucky knows the difference between Bo the agent and Cyrus the outlaw, but does Bo?
 Find at Amazon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's done right: a hotdamn of a standalone story, where the stakes are higher than just getting shoved out of the closet, a great setting, and a paperback copy that looks as good as anything on my shelf. Review to follow.

Pro cyclist Luca Biondi lives for the race. For the star of Team Antano-Clark, victory lies within his grasp—if he can outdistance 200 other hopefuls, avoid suspicion from race officials, and keep his lieutenant more friend than foe. Luca also has secrets, and eyes for amateur cyclist and journalist Christopher Nye.

Christopher understands Luca’s need to keep their relationship under wraps, but chafes at hiding in the shadows of his lover’s career. He’s ready to cheer Luca’s victories, but he knows too well how triumph can turn to tears. While Christopher’s heart sees Luca the man, his inner journalist—and his editor—sees the cycling world’s biggest scoop.

From the jagged curves of the Colorado Rockies to the viciously steep Belgian hills, Luca can ride out any bumps—except rumors about his loyalty.

A few words in the wrong ear could crash everything. With miles between them, hints of scandal, and Luca’s fierce need to guard his reputation, a journalist might have to let go of the biggest story of his career or risk forcing his lover to abandon the race. Christopher and Luca face a path more treacherous than any road to the summit in the Italian Alps.  Find at Amazon
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Notice I didn't say anything about the editing. That's because nothing sticks out, these three (5?) books are all coherent and proofread to a fare thee well.  So there, Chuck Wendig.

If this is indie, I like it.

Happy Valentine's Day

A Picture is Worth...

A picture is worth a thousand words, but this one's only half a picture because the whole one is behind the cut where it won't get me in trouble. I think. Even if it is all Qing dynasty and historical and such.

Here  *blush* is the rest. Would someone like to do us a little ficlet about these two? See How Thousand Word Thursday Works if you're inspired.(100 to 1000 words is great!)

Zipper Fall by Kate Pavelle

Title: Zipper Fall
Author: Kate Pavelle
Purchase at Dreamspinner
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Genre: contemporary, mystery
Length: 350 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print


Wyatt Gaudens, an advertising executive and adrenaline junkie, has fine-tuned the art of breaking and entering into apartments, misusing his considerable rock climbing skills. Once inside, he steals a pretty, shiny thing or two. When his friend Reyna complains that her jerk of a boss makes her workplace a living hell, he breaks into her boss's home to get even. More than any other pretty thing, what really catches his eye the most is her boss, Jack.

Working hard to overcome his own lingering problems, investment specialist Jack Azzuri focuses on his second chance at making his business grow. But grief for his sister, Celia, recently killed in a suspicious climbing accident, sabotages his attempt to start over. When he meets Wyatt, he's strongly attracted even though Wyatt is the last person he should associate with. With Jack's explosive temper and Wyatt's adrenaline addiction, the path to a stable relationship will be a tough climb. They might succeed if they can sort out what really matters, as well as learn to take the good with the bad. Wyatt hopes to speed their progress by solving the mystery that’s weighing Jack down: how did Celia really die?

Review:

I have seldom been as perplexed by a book as I am with this one. Maybe I should put it on the “Guilty Pleasure” shelf, because while it had some flaws that normally send me frothing at the mouth, I ended up enjoying it a great deal.


What’s to like? The MCs, for starts. Wyatt Gaudens has both a devil-may-care attitude and a sense of honor, both tested out every time he chooses to break into someone’s home. While his overarching motivation for slipping some locks and taking a little this and that didn’t entirely make sense, it’s still good fun. The vicarious heart-pounding from following along while casing the joint, getting in, and even going too often to the well was definitely a high point. He reacts to Jack very viscerally, and has to examine his own motivations quite often. He’s fun. Occasionally not too bright, but I enjoyed his first person narration.

Jack is a force of nature, and we don’t spend any time in his head, for which I am actually grateful. He’s got some seething long term anger that I don’t want to cuddle mind to mind with, but he’s complex and balances enlightened self interest with an unique moral code that occasionally goes crosswise standard behavior. There’s explosive chemistry between them, which, oddly for me, I found engrossing enough that the external plot came as something of a shock when it reappeared. The author didn't mistake hawtsex for relationship; she made them work for it.

This story kept me off balance in a way that meant I couldn’t completely submerge in the tale. Bits and pieces of backstory got thrown in that didn’t seem to have any real connection to the story at hand, and didn’t always make sense. Motivations seemed like afterthoughts, tacked on in discrete chunks. Simmering issues got turned to a high boil and then shoved back in the fridge. New characters got dragged out of the woodwork in such a way that I had to scroll back and see if they’d swung by before, because the implications seemed to be that I should know who they are and why they belong in there. Friends of friends got dragged through by name only for no discernible reason. This all hits my converted fanfic button, a little checking, and yeah.

A couple of plot points seemed awfully familiar, but the source turned out to be another of this author’s own stories. A few were natural consequences of a particular action, but one was kind of eye-rolly both times.

Well. Like I said, I still ended up enjoying it.

Because anyone who references Bernie Rhodenbarr correctly gets two points.

The external plot, finding Celia’s murderer, had a few clues scattered here and there through the story, but didn’t actually come to the forefront until the last third of the book, and then with the air of it being something on the to do list, like getting the dry cleaning. The method was unique and referenced a lot of what went before. The howdunit, whydunit, and whodunit looked straightforward but had some good twists. I actually would have been perfectly content with the story had it ended at the 60% mark.

Basically, the problem here is of pacing, and of origins where the reader is assumed to have a basic grounding in who’s who and why they do what they do. This story would probably work marvelously in its original fandom, but as a work de novo the story isn’t entirely cohesive. I think this author can write, but I would really prefer to read something from her that owes nothing to any work but her own.

But the MCs are amazingly hot together, even if Wyatt occasionally can’t seem to find his butt with both hands. Jack clearly knows where it is. 3.5 marbles

The Queen's Librarian by Carole Cummings

Title: The Queen’s Librarian
Author: Carole Cummings
Buy at Dreamspinner
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist:Paul Richmond
Genre: fantasy
Length: 224 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print


All Lucas Tripp wants is prosperity for the tenants of his family’s estate; good weather for the harvest; suitable matches for his sisters; a little money left over at the end of the month; and more quality time with his boyfriend, Alex Booker. That’s not so much to ask for, right?

Wrong. When his sister’s new suitor suddenly disappears, Lucas is drawn into an adventure of a lifetime—kicking and screaming all the way. Magical beings who were allegedly banished hundreds of years ago are coming through portals that were supposed to be shut against them—and that’s only part of Lucas’s problem. The rest consists of missing princes, breaking and entering, suspicious magicians, well-meaning women who are far too interested in Lucas’s sex life… the list goes on. Lucas is decidedly Not Amused, but he’ll get over it someday. Probably. After all, there’s always Alex.

Review:

Regular readers here know that I adore Carole Cummings’ work, and to find a full length novel where she’d taken a light tone is a new treat! She describes this book as her antidote to living in a much darker character’s head for three books, and she’s brought us along for the diversion.

Comedy is much harder than it looks, and sustaining it for this long a work is a skill. The author isn’t going for a laugh a minute, but she takes a gentle tone that pokes fun at everything from the Jane-Austen-ish issues the main character, Lucas, faces, to his travails with another character who becomes Quite Vexed with him. I did chuckle aloud often, and yet the underlying seriousness of their quest didn’t get lost.


Lucas and Alex are an established couple, so readers looking for a classic romance of boy eventually gets boy won’t find that here. This a solid story of lovers working together to a common goal and becoming even more solid with each other. They become gently exasperated with one another, they bolster each other, and they clearly adore one another. The quest is the primary focus, a matter of great seriousness, and couldn’t be solved without both of them. Beautifully done.

The secondary characters provide their own set of chuckles, and also add to the sense of the world. Usually I get a very clear sense of how a world is organized from this author, and I hope the take-away message I got of an informal sort of court much like when King George and his family lived at Kew was the right one. The crown prince gets up to the sort of adventures courtiers and chamberlains normally prevent. Lucas’ job at the library seemed like a cross between a real working job and the sort of royal sinecure one gives the shirtsleeve relatives to prevent embarrassment. He seems both quite close to the Queen and yet at a very different social stratum from the court at the same time. Perhaps the uncertainty was intentional—it does give Lucas enough time to pursue his quest. The quest itself evolves from something rather mundane but foot-stompingly important to a matter that affects the entire society, and the complications are layered on with each scene.

I enjoyed this read greatly, and wish that a few little niggles could have been smoothed out to make it a solid 5 star read. Names for me were an issue—the character named Booker isn’t the librarian as one would expect , and I had to sort out who was who a few times too often before it all solidified. A running gag could have smoothed with repetition, instead of remaining the same road bump until nearly the end. Aside from these small jolts out of the story, which other readers may not find as prominent, I just settled in for the ride. This was a charming and humorous adventure from start to finish. 4.5 marbles

A Picture is Worth...

Somebody's thinking complicated thoughts. Anyone who wants to put up to 1000 words (flash fiction, I'm cool with a 100 word drabble or anything in between)  send your ficlet and your news to post here.

See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details. The rest of us will speculate on how warm it's getting inside that black clothing.

Pantomime by Laura Lam

Title: Pantomime
Author: Laura Lam
Buy through Strange Chemistry
Amazon buy link
Cover Artist: Tom Bagshaw
Genre: fantasy, YA
Length: 392 pages (US paper edition), 4400 Kindle locations so I’m estimating about 130k words
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.

Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.

But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

Review:

This book is not at all what the blurb makes it look like. That’s fine, we’ve seen star-crossed lovers before. We haven’t seen the premise of this book before.

There’s really no way to talk about this book without what I consider a small spoiler: Micah is Gene, Iphigenia, run away from her family before they perpetrate a massive act of betrayal upon her. This book earned its place in this review site by the gender-bending aspects of Gene’s makeup and how he chooses to deal with it. All the clues are there from the beginning, both voices are the same and in first person, so if they weren't the same person, it would be weird. The demands of being female in this society sit very uncomfortably upon Gene: being the androgynous Micah in the circus is a more comfortable if less affluent fit.


Micah takes to the circus life well, making friends, learning to be an aerialist, decoding the politics that simmer underneath the greasepaint, and even acquiring a girlfriend. The sexual aspects of their relationship are very low-key, as Micah and Aenaia keep what little they do off page. (Okay, the MM reader in me wanted more details, but this is YA and the reticence is appropriate.) His involvement in the politics of the realm, mostly as a pawn to be played, make him keep his head down and his secrets clutched to his chest, even if another sharp-eyed outcast puts two and two together.

It’s not a romance, but that’s okay, I read epic fantasy with QUILTBAG characters where romance isn’t the plot arc.


The language is lovely, the plot elements of the mysterious, departed Alder who have left remnants of their magic and their artifacts (which kind of look like advanced engineering, but here it’s magic), and the current unrest and how Micah fits into it blend together well, but more questions are raised than ever answered.

The plot crawls.

This book is 392 pages long. And it is the opening act of the story arc.

Everyone who remembers three act structure, raise your hand. The rest of you can peek here.

Some might say that this story ends on a major cliffie, but no, it doesn’t. What it ends on is the inciting incident that directs Act II. Absolutely nothing is resolved, no questions are answered, and a major plot element is resurrected at the end as actually being important rather than a bit of throwaway background. Dozens of plot elements have been introduced, nothing is done with them. Huge chunks of backstory, some only peripherally related to the current action. I read this book and finished all damned 392 pages in a fury, because I have been lied to. This is the opening book of what might be a two book arc, more probably three.

Nowhere on the publisher’s site is this disclosed. A teeny tiny note at the bottom of the listing states that there’s a second book in the series. Bullshit. It’s Act II.

The Amazon listing makes it look like “Strange Chemistry” is the series title. WTF? That’s the name of the publisher. Says so right here.

Regulars here know my feelings on undisclosed serials. Tell me what’s what and let me decide if I want to get involved. Lie to me and I will cut you.

This was sold to me as a complete, standalone story. It isn’t, and when I went to grab the blurb and publisher link off Goodreads, the truth is there to be seen, probably put there by another disgruntled reader. Book 1, book 2. Coming soon. I haven’t decided if I’m too angry to read it. I slogged through 392 pages of buildup, not complete story. And it was a slog, don't think it wasn't because each and every scene added buildup but no conclusion, no satisfaction.  It’s likely to take another 900 pages to work up acts II and III to a satisfying denouement. The payoff would have to be greater than getting that Ring through Mordor to Mount Doom.

What I’ve seen so far is okay but not nearly enough to make me anxious to spend another six or eight or ten hours plus a six month or year wait between volumes getting to whatever final resolution Laura Lam might get around to providing. I have no problem with one Really Big Book getting divided into manageable pieces. Just be open that’s what’s happening.

Life’s short. This fragment of a book is long.2.75 marbles

The Little Crow by Caitlin Ricci

Title: The Little Crow
Author: Caitlin Ricci
Buy at Amber Allure
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Genre: paranormal
Length: 85K / 246 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print

Detective Jamison Landry knew his job was never going to be easy. He’s dealt with the worst criminals imaginable and believes in his work and the community he serves. But he’s never met someone quite like Mal before.

The mysterious man, rescued from a basement in which he was chained by cultists, keeps Jamison guessing, both confuses and excites him, and Jamison isn’t sure how he feels about that. Plus, things turn from unusual to downright strange when people start insisting Mal isn’t quite human. And Jamison’s creepy dreams of crows and graveyards don’t make things any better for him.

Will Mal stay around long enough for Jamison to figure out his secrets, even learn his full name, or will this stranger leave him aching for more?

Review:

I had read the beginning of this story in it’s prior incarnation in separate sections. I was intrigued, but wanted all the story in one place. My wish was granted: this new version has the entire story arc.

Detective Jamison Landry has the strangest victim to assist, rescued from a cult intent on some strange kind of mayhem. Weird things happen around Mal, weirder things come out of his mouth. With circumstances twisting around Jamison to throw him into constant contact with Mal, he finds himself both drawn and repelled.


Mal’s pretty straightforward: he wants what he wants, when he wants it, and he’s not used to being thwarted. His offers are sincere if occasionally horrifying, and he’s almost hurt that Jamison keeps turning him down. Almost—he’s got quite the ego, and for good reason, although he does forget that a truly good man is going to have issues with such a one as he.

Mal’s much the more interesting character: Jamison’s just trying to cope, and he spends a goodly chunk of the book in a coma, and then hey, back to work and chase the suspects. I’m afraid this was a bit handwavy, even acknowledging that the doctors are going to be displeased. Mal spends a large portion of the book on an otherly plane, dealing with problems Jamison has no clue about. It’s an interesting take on good vs evil and evil as a greater good. Mal never does explain completely, though he does apologize.

Which is why, when Mal is once again in a position to express his interest in Jamison, (read “find new ways to behave like a creepy stalker”) and when Jamison has a different option for a love interest, who, really, looks like a much better prospect, the ending comes spiraling out of the blue. There’s a lot going on in Mal’s head, Jamison isn’t privy to it, and yet he reacts to achieve the ending as if he’s heard or seen or understands far more than he could possibly have. What he does know raises question about good, evil, and Mal, but I still found it an extreme stretch to get to “I love you.”

I applaud the unique take on the supernatural, and I like Mal, who veers between egotistical maniac, kind of sweet, and total pain in the ass. He does good for bad reasons and does bad for good reasons. He gets most of the character growth, and he’s much more complex than he seemed at first. I was glad to have followed his story. 3.5 marbles