Review: Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer

Spindle Fire

Author: Lexa Hillyer
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Spindle Fire #1
Pages: Kindle Edition, 351 pages
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: April 11th 2017

Summary:

Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king's headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and her voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have always been extremely close.

And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora's blood--and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.

As the faerie queen and her army of Vultures prepare to march, Isabelle must race to find a prince who can awaken her sister with the kiss of true love and seal their two kingdoms in an alliance against the queen.

Isabelle crosses land and sea; unearthly, thorny vines rise up the palace walls; and whispers of revolt travel in the ashes on the wind. The kingdom falls to ruin under layers of snow. Meanwhile, Aurora wakes up in a strange and enchanted world, where a mysterious hunter may be the secret to her escape . . . or the reason for her to stay.

Spindle Fire is the first book in a duology.

Review:

DNF 30%

I found the idea of this really enticing. But as I started reading I rather quickly realised that I don't particularly like the writing style. Yet again the world building seemed intriguing. I kept going- well to be accurate I kept struggling on. And after days of forcing myself to read and all the while becoming more and more bored I simply gave up.
It's just not for me. Too slow and the writing style is too simplistic for me.
Rating: 

ARC Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

The Shadow Queen

Author: C.J. Redwine
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Series: Ravenspire #1
Pages: Hardcover, 400 pages
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: February 16th 2016

Summary:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose

Review:

DNF

I am really sorry but I just can't. It seems that lately every YA Fantasy I pick up is like this one. Totally a struggle to get through. So I did what I rarely do and decided, I ain't gonna torture myself.
I am done.

Maybe if this wasn't another book that felt more like a chore reading, one in a long line of disappointments I've been struggling through, I might have finished it.
BUT let's face it, I know this wouldn't have gotten loads of stars from me, no matter what.
Because my biggest issue with this is the writing style.

Rather surprising considering that I have read Redwine before, and quite liked her writing style. The Shadow Queen however feel rather woody. It felt constructed. I found the dialogues most of the time annyoing. The banter way to cliche. It's like Redwine tries really hard to incorporate the world building and the way she did it just doesn't work.

It's all too cliche to start with. The plot, the characters - I was hoping for an awesome different kind of retelling. But when you look at the plot we are in cliche-ville YA. There is absolutely nothing that stands out. It could be any old YA story, it's been done a gazillion time.

Which would have not been a huge issue for me, if this had great characters... Alas. I didn't thinks so.
Then add to that rather underwhelming world building... and we have a not completely terrible but honestly a forgettable book.

Which brings me back to the writing style. Because even if with all those faults I would have still read it. But I literally dreaded picking up the novel to force myself through another chapter. And at 20% I decided that enough is enough. I really don't like the way Redwine wrote this.

Pity really, because I like Redwine (usually) and I love the idea behind this.



ARC was provided by Publishers through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

(

Review: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Seeker

Author: Arwen Elys Dayton
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Series: Seeker #1
Pages: Hardcover, 448 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: February 10th 2015

Summary:

Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.

Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.

Review:


DNF 30%

First I would actually like to comment on the way this is being promoted. Game of Thrones and Hunger Games are thrown in... And quite frankly I am a bit tired of having each and every book that has a tinge of fantasy to it compared to either of those two books. I mean, I don't wanna read another wanna-be Hunger Game ever again. So it is actually a deterrent. On top of that this has very little in common with either book. Why throw in their names? In my opinion it's a terrible marketing strategy.

I've took quite a few days to just get to 20%. The main reason for this was the writing style. It's ..just not... for me.
I didn't like the way this is written. Which is always a huge issue for me. Writing style is the most important part of a story to me. But this is not terrible or anything. It had little details I found annoying, like the author giving me the pronunciation of things.. which made me wonder two things: does Dayton think I am a buffoon? Or am I expected to read it out aloud? Mostly though I thought: Who gives a toot?
I am not a fan of the multiple storylines told by a narrator to start with, it makes it kinda hard to connect to the POV of the main characters. And this is exactly the style Dayton chose to tell the story. Another reason why I didn't enjoy this.

The world building was... interesting? To be honest, I still have no clue when this is set. I am kinda guessing it's dystopian? But seriously I am not sure. There are some cool idea's here. I like the disruptors and all that. I like the adding of different mythology. But even a third in I have no clue. I don't know what a seeker is. This is set in Scotland at first. With a kinda Medieval feel, yet with steampunk elements. And then there are some Japanese mythology like bits added... I've got hints and a load of holes this far. But while it wasn't bad, it was also not captivating or overly unique. Well. I am kinda confused about it all., actually.

The character building is probably my least favorite part of this. If this would have been a good character driven novel- I probably would have overlooked my writing style issues - definitely would have totally ignored the world building ones- but the format in which this was written was the huge obstacle made connecting with the characters rather difficult. But to be honest I didn't like any of them to top it. I found Quinn beyond naive. And frankly most of the other characters, just simply, to predictable- even when Dayton was trying to be all smokes and mirrors about it - and way to cliche. At 30% I couldn't care less about any of them.

The plot is predictable. Simple. There is a love triangle- and I knew it was coming on page 2 or 3? And as the story unfolds- very very slowly- it becomes also more predictable. Which is funny on one level, cause I have no clue what a seeker is. I would not be able to explain the world to you at all. But the story line.. kinda .. same old same old.

Which is how I felt at 30% - and at first I was going to just wait - try again later- but let's face it; Seeker and I - we are never going to gel. Hence, I decided to just call it a day.

Rating: 

(click on the name for reviews of this geek)

Review: Divine Solace by Joey W. Hill

Divine Solace

Author: Joey W. Hill
Publisher:  Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Series: Nature of Desire #8
Genre: Erotica *ADULT*
Release Date: March 21, 2014

Summary:

After too many failed relationships, Gen has settled into a quiet, acceptable life as a middle-aged single woman. But then she meets Mistress Lyda and her sexy male sub Noah, and the two of them give her a different view of “acceptable”—as well as a renewed longing for the type of love and romance she thought had passed her by.
Gen has been Marguerite Winterman’s employee at Tea Leaves for some time, and has a close relationship with the reserved, intimidating woman. It isn’t until Mistress Lyda steps into her life that Gen understands why she’s always felt safe under Marguerite’s direction. And with the intriguing Noah guiding her in the world of Domination/submission, Gen’s about to discover a new way to love—and live.
Inside Scoop: Gen’s journey includes references to male/male relationships and a beautifully erotic portrayal of two women falling in love within the ménage

Review:


DNF at 68%

I'm really sorry to say that, but for me this book was all kind of messed up. 

Even thought I couldn't finish the book, I would like to thank my friend Baba for asking me to buddy read it with her because without her, after reading the blurb I would just have dismissed the book, and I think that from time to time it's good to explore outside of our comfort zones. 

Even if girl on girl action never appealed to me, as Rough Canvasis one of my top 5 all time favorite books as well as my first MM, I though that JWH could overwrite my prejudices. Also, inAfterlife there is a short warm and playful after care scene involving Dana and the other heroines so I really thought that JWH could pull it off. Unfortunately she didn't.

I would like to start with the writing. One of the things I usually love while reading Joey W. Hill books is the beauty of her writing. I'm not going to say that it was bad because it wasn't but although there were some beautiful quotes this book doesn't have the emotional weight of some of her other books and at times the writing was kind of tedious. It's a feeling difficult to explain so I'll just say that maybe sometimes simplicity and less are really the way to go. 

Lets move to the characters. This book is a ménage so we have 3 main protagonists, Noah, Gen and Lyda.

Noah. 
"I can't," he repeated fiercely. "One person says that makes me a gift, another says I'm damaged and I'm banned from their club." His hands closed into fists. "Someone else tells me I need to be this or that, and none of it is supposed to be about me. I'm everything someone needs me to be, until I'm not, and then I can't stop it or change it. I can't think about it. I just can't."

Even though he is really messed up, as in "he truly is in dire need of a psychiatrist help" messed up kind of way, Noah was my favorite character. 

He's a hardcore submissive, which means that he doesn't do a thing without Lyda's consent. "Whatever my Mistress wants is what I wish" is his credo, the kind of sentence that totally freaks me out. 

He's teaching sailing at the community college, but also works in Lyda's nursery and has other odd jobs, so he obviously knows how to earn money but whatever he earns he gives it all to Lyda for his keep. He lives with her, in her house, but no evidence of it can be seen and all his belongings fit in a canvas bag. He doesn't do "papers", which means that among other things that even though he knows how to drive he doesn't have a driving licence. 

He is immensely charismatic and hot. And last but not least he is appallingly indifferent to what may or may not happens to him. 

"I love touching you," she said. "You're so pretty."
When he gave her a pained look, she laughed. "I didn't mean that in an unmanly way. You're beautiful, Noah. It's not just a physical thing. There's something about you; it's really kind of mesmerizing. Like a drug, but not. More like a feeling of happiness. Like being out on the sailboat when everything is working right. You're a living, breathing, perfect moment."

"He's an excessive nurturer, to the point he could be mistaken for a Dom. His form of submission is like an ocean wave, holding you down. Which makes him an excellent partner to work with a Mistress. It also makes him insanely indifferent to himself."

"The care it took to do that, to step outside oneself and make someone else matter more was something neither of her husbands had given her. Noah gave it to her in ways large and small, and the smaller things held more significance."

The problem is, nobody is taking care of Noah. He really does need help beyond what the BDSM practice can provide and it boggles my mind that nobody seems aware of it. I mean Doms and Dommes pride themselves on knowing what is good or not for their subs and still, here we have Noah, totally neglected. It hurts.

Gen.
She was a decent character but to be honest I had a hard time keeping up with her. She works for Marguerite (Ice Queen andMirror of My Soul) at Tea Leaves. She is a thirty something two times divorced woman, but for me at times she seemed old – not thirty something mature, plain old – and at other times she was acting like a teenager. 

She'd picked two wrong men. They'd reduced her to poverty, stripped her self-esteem, and made her doubt her ability to find love.
[...]She'd been a tool, a means to an end. No, worse. Betrayal meant you were nothing to the betrayer...

Because she's close to Marguerite and Chloe, she has small glimpses into the BDSM world but she never put a foot in a fetish club. She is straight, vanilla and doesn't do pain, but in less than two weeks she embraces her bi, submissive and masochist new shinny self. What. The. Hell ?!?!?!

As I said, Gen is a decent character, unfortunately she gave me a lot of WTH ?!?!?! moments. The mildest was when she assumed that Lyda washed her clothes and prepared her breakfast. I mean, hellooooo? We are talking about Lyda, here. Or did she miss how Lyda introduced her Noah? Or maybe she forgot the previous week-end she actually spent with Noah? *rolls eyes*

She divorced her two husbands because they weren't treating her right and one of them was beating on her. And in chapter six she says that she isn't into pain but during her first session Lyda flogs her really hard and at some point asks her if she wants more, and Gen actually answers "yes". Finally Noah had to use his safeword to make Lyda stop. Again: WTH ?!?!?!

If that wasn't enough, the next morning, Gen go to meet Lyda where she's teaching fitness classes, they are in the locker room after the classe and this happened:
(view spoiler) And again: WTH ?!?!?!

But whatever, let's move on.

Lyda.
What a despicable sadistic manipulative cold bitch! 

I really do love strong, independent and capable heroines but to the exception of 2, I have a hard time standing dominatrix heroines. As far as I'm concerned, they just can't pull it off. 

"A good Domme never does what a sub doesn't truly, deeply want." Whenever that kind of sentence goes out of a Domme's mouth, in 99% of the case for me it's just crap because sooner than later their actions will contradict it. And to that regard, Lyda didn't disappoint because first and foremost, if she really did what Noah truly, deeply needed she would have made him consult. 

"Taking care of his cock so I have use of it whenever I wish is an important priority for a male sub."

"You said being a Dom is about really knowing what the other person wants and needs, but what does it mean when you hold back on that, not for them, but to protect yourself? How is that different from being a cruel bastard who can't put down the cable remote and make you feel for one goddamn second like you're more special than a fucking golf match?"

"She knows how crazy it gets after she scrambles your brain. It takes time to process it all, especially at first."

Lyda invites Gen to come to The Zone, Tyler's BDSM club, telling her that she'll just watch, get a feel of the BDSM world, ask questions... But when Gen is there she takes her to a semi-private place and tells Noah to go down on her and Gen can't come unless she promises to go home to spend the night with Lyda and Noah. Another WTH ?!?!?! moment...

Four days later, she invites her again to The Zone under the guise of seeing if Gen likes to dominate. Gen is wearing a "Domme" and a "no play" bracelets, she has no more introduction to the how things are done, no safeword, no ideas about what she could expect or not during and after a session, but again, she ends up playing the sub for Lyda, being flogged and fucked while fucking Noah. 

"Diamonds," Noah snapped. "Mistress."
"A miracle," Lyda said. Gen was panting. While Lyda might not be drawing blood, Gen thought she might be, her fingers digging into Noah's chest. "The first time he's ever used it," his Mistress said. "But he used it for you. Which is good, because you've never chosen a safeword, Gen. You didn't even think about that, did you? It's why a Domme can't trust a sub to use a safeword, though you should always have one."

Oh yeah? Maybe you should have thought about it first. Such a stellar Domme indeed. And wasn't it Lyda who was talking about being aware of the body language? 

"Practice. Intuition. Trial and error. This is a consensual game, Gen. No matter what I do to you, you can end it with a single word. We call it a safeword. However, I always rely on unconscious signals first and foremost, because they're more truthful, and often come into play long before the safeword."

When I was talking about crap talk... 

Another thing that bugged me with Lyda is her unwillingness to answer Gen questions. Gen just had to trust a total stranger. Period. 

My overall impressions...

I enjoyed the moments where Noah and Gen were together because there is a real chemistry between them and their sex scenes were hot. However I couldn't stand Lyda, and all the scenes where she was involved be it directly or indirectly where just a big no no. 

At one point in the story Noah had a big crisis, that's where we learn why he behaves like he does. Lyda's answer or what I should call the diner scene is what made me drop the book definitely. Because really, there's just so much crap one can take in one book. 

I also enjoyed Marguerite, Tyler and Chloé participations. Particularly the silent duel between Marguerite and Lyda. However at +/- 68 % of the book I was also pissed at Tyler. 

Rating: 

(click on the name for reviews of this geek)

 

Review: Lawless & The Devile of Euston Square by William Sutton

Lawless & The Devile of Euston Square by William Sutton

Publisher: Exhibit A
Pages: 528 Pages (Paperback)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Summary:

Murder. Vice. Pollution. Delays on the Tube. Some things never change…

London 1859-62. A time of great exhibitions, foreign conquests and underground trains. But the era of Victorian marvels is also the time of the Great Stink. With cholera and depravity never far from the headlines, it’s not only the sewers that smell bad.
Novice detective, Campbell Lawless, stumbles onto the trail of Berwick Skelton, an elusive revolutionary, seemingly determined to bring London to its knees through a series of devilish acts of terrorism.

But cast into a lethal, intoxicating world of music hall hoofers, industrial sabotage and royal scandal, will Lawless survive long enough to capture this underworld nemesis, before he unleashes his final vengeance on a society he wants wiped from the face of the Earth?

Lawless & The Devil of Euston Square is the first of a series of historical thrillers by William Sutton set during the mid-nineteenth century, featuring Metropolitan policeman, Campbell Lawless, aka the Watchman, on his rise through the ranks and his initiation as a spy.

Before Holmes, there was Lawless…

Before Campbell Lawless, the London streets weren’t safe to walk…

Rating: DNF

Review: 

I very very rarely don't finish a book
But after 4tries I still couldn't get into it!

So this will be a really short review.
The biggest issue for me was definitely the writing style. It's just really not to my liking. But on top of that the whole thing was extremely long wound and had so many details added it became rather complicated to keep the storyline in mind.
I do get what the author was trying to do. The fact that he tried to recreate that world and tried to portrait the society at that time. But somehow it got lost in too much and it felt like he was trying to hard.
Still there are aspects I did like, the whole entrepreneurial view of London at that point. The fact that the world was vastly changing thanks to visionary inventor and investors.
I was looking forward to something in the lines of Sherlock Holmes. I love novels written in that era. But this was nothing like a Holmes story and I felt I was drowned by too much world building.

I am not rating this, since I never got past the halfway mark. I found the different slangs impossible to understand. which made this beyond difficult to read. Add to that, the slow plot and that I didn't like the writing style. And this  was mission impossible for me


ARC was provided by Publishers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(click on the name for more reviews of this geek)