Ink & Sigil (Ink & Sigil #1), by Kevin Hearne ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Mythology, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 25th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails—and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Geordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Geordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective—while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death always seems to follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.

I was a little disappointed with Scourged, the last book of the Iron Druid series, however, it was one of my favorites in the genre of urban fantasy, so when I heard that Hearne was returning to that world, I was quite excited.

First, it was refreshing having the main character older and not in his prime, although Al certainly doesn’t let age slow him down. He’s a great character who’s easy to like which I did immediately. The dialogue and story are full of Hearne’s trademark humor which helps move things along. The one issue I had was I found the villain to be rather ho-hum, but the other characters are engaging and I loved their interactions with Al. Hearne does a wonderful job building upon the mythology he created in his previous series, and this new magic that’s introduced is quite intriguing.

Overall, I quite enjoyed Ink & Sigil and I’m looking forward to seeing where this spin-off series goes. Do be warned that Hearne uses authentic Scottish dialect unsparingly, but there’s a helpful guide at the beginning. I unhesitatingly recommend this to fans of urban fantasy and mythology who like colorful characters, rich world building, and plenty of humor.

 

Scourged (The Iron Druid Chronicles #9), by Kevin Hearne ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mythology, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to Edelweiss and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

288 Pages

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns with the finale to his wildly popular action-adventure series, The Iron Druid Chronicles.

Two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan travels to Asgard and faces off against the Norse gods to try and prevent Ragnarok in the final battle for the fate of mankind.

I have to admit that Scourged wasn’t all I was hoping for, especially given that it’s the last book in the Iron Druid series. 

My first disappointment concerns Granuaile. I haven’t cared for the direction her story arc has taken in the last two or three books, and her decision making in this one just continued that. Owen however is brilliant as are the dogs and they all provide some much needed levity in this otherwise dark story.

The worst letdown though concerns Atticus and Ragnarok. Almost the entire series has been leading to this epic battle with the Norse gods, but there just wasn’t enough excitement and Atticus seemed to be missing his usual spark. The ending is bittersweet, but entirely in keeping with the events leading up to it.

Overall, Scourged had its positive moments and wasn’t a terrible read, but I wish it had maintained all of the exuberance and enchantment the earlier books. Judging the series in its entirety though, the Iron Druid is still one of my favorites and I’m sad to bid it adieu.

A Crown Of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) ~ By Roshani Chokshi – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

352 Pages

Synopsis: Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future Of of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes–a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.

Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.

Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

A Crown of Wishes is the “companion book” to last year’s The Star-Touched Queen and while you needn’t have read the first book to enjoy this, I recommend that you do because it completes the magical world-building that was first introduced in TSTQ. I enjoyed the previous book, but this was even better, thanks to its two main characters, Gauri and Vikram. They’re both feisty and stubborn and lock horns on more than one occasion, and the banter between them is clever and funny. Their romance develops slowly but believably and it seems that the reader is aware before the two of them, that they are made for each other. There’s a third character introduced, Aasha, who is quite intriguing and while quite a bit of her background is revealed I’d love to see a book or even a novella devoted solely to her. The mythology and world-building is absolutely magnificent! Chokshi really has a beautifully descriptive and vivid style of writing that draws you into the story. The competition itself is exciting and makes this a fast-paced book. My one complaint is that I thought there were a few things that fell into place a little too easily for Gauri and Vikram. Otherwise, A Crown Of Wishes is a lush adventurous tale full of magic and humor and I highly recommend it. This duology has left me eagerly looking forward to Roshani Chokshi’s next venture, The Gilded Wolves, which is due out in 2018. 

 

Her Nightly Embrace (Book 1 Of The Ravi PI Series) ~ By Adi Tantimedh – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Mythology, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Leopoldo & Co. for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

320 Pages

Synopsis: Ravi Chandra Singh is the last guy you’d expect to become a private detective. A failed religious scholar, he now works for Golden Sentinels, an upmarket London private investigations agency. His colleagues are a band of gleefully amoral and brilliant screw-ups: Ken and Clive, a pair of brutal ex-cops who are also a gay couple;  Mark Chapman, a burned-out stoner hiding a great mind; Marcie Holder, a cheerful former publicist; Benjamin Lee, a techie prankster from South London; David Okri, an ambitious lawyer from a well-connected Nigerian immigrant family; and Olivia Wong, an upper-class Hong Kong financial analyst hiding her true skills as one of the most dangerous hackers in the world–all under the watchful eye of Roger Golden–wheeler-dealer extraordinaire, and his mysterious office manager, Cheryl Hughes.

Thrust into a world where the rich, famous, and powerful hire him to solve their problems and wash their dirty laundry, Ravi finds himself in over his head with increasingly gonzo and complex cases–and the recent visions that he’s been having of Hindu gods aren’t helping. As Ravi struggles to stay ahead of danger, he wonders if the things he’s seeing are a delusion–or if he might, in fact, be an unrecognized shaman of the modern world…

Before I start my review, I have my confession to make. The main reason why I requested this book was the cover. The eARC actually only shows his face in shadows, but I looked it up on Goodreads before I requested it and saw this lovely cover. I have had a crush on Sendhil Ramamurthy since I first saw him on the tv series Heroes. Not only is he gorgeous, but he has a lovely voice/accent, and he’s a great actor. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that somebody would come up with a new series for him to star in and…Yay! Not only is this the first in a trilogy, but it’s also in development for a tv series with one of the producers being none other than Idris Elba. I’m such a happy camper! Okay. Now to the book, which I quite enjoyed. Her Nightly Embrace is actually made up of four different stories/cases, although they’re all tied together. Ravi is the narrator, so everything is seen through his eyes. I absolutely love his character! He’s a former teacher who’s recruited by the Golden Sentinels private investigation firm, which at the onset seems like a rather odd fit, but wait until you meet the other, ahem, quirky employees. Ravi is not only dealing with some of the more unsavory methods his new employer uses to solve cases, but he’s also juggling his demanding family and these visions of Hindu gods he keeps seeing. These visions are tied directly to his internal struggles over the morally and legally ambiguous lines he’s being asked to cross. To be honest, even at the end I wasn’t sure if these are hallucinations or if Ravi is a shaman. It makes me feel better though that he doesn’t seem to know either. Not only is he supremely likable, but he’s highly intelligent as evidenced by the many internal monologues he has. While his morals are high, he never comes across as being too preachy. Instead, he winds up being the moral compass of the agency, which is a good thing given that most of the other employees are unapologetically corrupt. The other characters are quite interesting, but there’s not enough of their backstories told. I’m hoping that we’ll learn more about them in the forthcoming books. There’s a brief kind of awkward romantic relationship that Ravi has with a woman who pops up in the first story, but it mostly takes a backseat to the rest of the story. The cases themselves are interesting and balance suspense and violence, with plenty of humor. Her Nightly Embrace may not be for everyone. The scenarios are a little out there, as are the characters, there’s a few plot holes, and the format reads almost like a screenplay. But in the end I thought it was a fun read that had me laughing out loud more than once. I’m looking forward to not only the second book, but also the tv series, when I’ll be drooling over Sendhil being on my tv screen once again. Only when my husband’s not in the room of course!

Northwoods ~ By Bill Schweigart – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Cryptozoology, Horror, Mythology, Native Americans, Science Fiction, Suspense

Thank you NetGalley and Hydra for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 1st, 2016

Synopsis: Ex-Delta Force Davis Holland, now an agent for the Customs and Border Protection, has seen it all. But nothing in his experience has prepared him for what he and the local sheriff find one freezing night in the Minnesota woods.

Investigating reports of an illegal border crossing, the two men stumble across a blood-drenched scene of mass murder, barely escaping with their lives…and a single clue to the mayhem: a small wooden chest placed at the heart of the massacre. Something deadly has entered Holland’s territory, crossing the border from nightmare into reality. 

When news of the atrocity reaches wealthy cryptozoologist Richard Severance, he sends a three-person team north to investigate. Not long ago, the members of that team–Ben McKelvie, Lindsay Clark, and Alex Standingcloud–were nearly killed by a vengeful shapeshifter. Now they are the walking wounded, haunted by gruesome memories that make normal life impossible. But there is nothing normal about the horror that awaits in the Northwoods.

Northwoods is a solid sequel to The Beast of Barcroft, that adds new characters while still managing to further developing returning favorites. While this can work as a standalone, you’ll get much more out of it if you read the first book.

Lindsay and Ben are both back, although they’re still dealing with the trauma and fallout of the previous events of last year. As in the previous book, things go better for them when they’re working together. Unfortunately for much of the book they’re separated, with Lindsay teaming up with Alex Standingcloud–also returning from the previous book–And Ben partnering with former Delta Force commando and now Customs and Border Patrol Agent Davis Holland.  Also making an appearance is charming but still untrustworthy billionaire and cryptozoologist Richard Severance. My one disappointment with this book is with the exception of a flashback to how Alex and Richard first met during a Wendigo investigation there’s not really much done with his character. I’m hoping more is revealed about the enigmatic scientist in the next book. The plot is incredibly fast paced, and although there’s many things going on such as: Native American myths, Jinn, and Ghouls, everything comes together in the final chapters. The ending perfectly sets events up for the next book which I can’t wait for.

Northwoods is an exciting tale that I finished in one sitting. Bill Schweigart is fast becoming a favorite author for me in the genres of horror and science fiction. If you’re a fan of authors like Stephen King and Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, and you’re looking for something new, try this author. I guarantee you’ll be hooked!

 

 

 

Homunculus and the Cat (The Omnithion Cycle Book 1) ~ by Nathan Croft -3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Humor, Mythology

 I received this e-book from NetGalley and Curiousity Quills in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Just a typical kitten saves the afterlife story, dddisguised as a book about death. In a world where every culture’s mythology is real, Medusa’s sisters want revenge on Poseidon, Troy is under siege again, and the Yakuza want their homunculi (mythological artificial humans) back. Near Atlantis’ Chinatown, a kitten and her human campaign for homunculi rights. Against them are Japanese death gods, an underworld cult, and a fat Atlantean bureaucrat. The main character dies (more than once) and a few underworlds’ way of death is threatened. Also with giant armored battle squids.

You know that saying, “everything but the kitchen sink”? This is basically what Nathan Croft has done. He’s mixed just about every fantasy and mythological trope into one story, and therein lies the problem. The idea behind the book is clever, but the result is confusing and has left me conflicted in regards to my feelings toward it.

The main character is an adorable winged kitten who has just begun the first of her nine lives. She sacrifices that life when she saves the life of a homunculus. Thankfully, she has eight more to go. She teams up with Tyro who is determined to fight for the civil rights of the homuncului. This quest sends the pair all over the known world, and quite a few other ones. During their travels they meet all sorts of gods and goddesses, mermaids, dragons, fey, vampires, and just about everything mythological and fantasy figure and creature you can possibly imagine. The problem is that there are so many characters, and different POVs that I almost instantly became lost. Because the cast is so large, there really isn’t any room for actual character development. This also makes the plot seem fractured in places which adds to the confusion.

What is especially frustrating is that I think this book would have worked much better if the author/editor had been a little more choosy about who and what was going to be part of the story. I’m a firm believer in “quality over quantity”, and I think this adage could have served a purpose here. That said, the story is quite imaginative, and has plenty of action which makes it a fairly quick read. There’s also a lot of wry humor which helps balance some of the darker, more disturbing moments. Underneath the fantasy elements there’s a very serious political undercurrent involving the groups against the supposedly “soulless” homunculi and those who are trying to help them. This has a direct correlation to some of the social injustices taking place today. I found myself wishing that the author had focused on this a little more.

Overall Homunculus and the Cat is a flawed but still enjoyable story that will appeal to teens and adults who enjoy light-hearted fantasy and are looking for something a little different. If you like the irreverent humor of Piers Anthony’s Xanth series, I definitely suggest you try this. It is the first book in a planned trilogy and despite my reservations, I’m interested in seeing where Nathan Croft goes next with this.