I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher, narrated by Joel Richards. Superb listen. Recommend.
Tag: humour (Page 1 of 2)
Monthly Mini Review
Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher – A One of my Twitter friends who gives excellent book recommendations, recently put me onto this author and I’m so grateful (thank you Aarya!). I listened to the first book in the series, Paladin’s Grace which was also fantastic, which I reviewed for AudioGals. And then I bought the ebook of this one because I wanted more.
There is a story arc over the two books about people’s heads getting chopped off but the main characters are different and there’s a romantic HEA for a different couple in each book. Still, I do recommend reading (or listening – the narrator is wonderful) to the first book first to get the most out of this book.
Istvhan is a Paladin for the Saint of Steel (who is a god but something got lost in translation regarding the name use for him) who died some 3-4 years earlier. This obviously sent everyone who served the Saint into a tailspin and left the Paladin’s bereft – those who survived at any rate. Paladins for the Saint of Steel are berserkers and it was only the god’s influence which stopped them from killing innocents. There are only 7 Paladin’s left now and they’ve been taken in by the Temple of the White Rat – a church which is all about serving people and not so much about telling them how to live their lives and making restrictive rules.
Clara is a lay sister in the Order of St. Ursa. All of the Sisters of St. Ursa have a particular ability which leads them to the order (there’s a hint in the name and on the cover too). Her convent has been burned down and her remaining Sisters have been kidnapped. She’s on a mission to find them and rescue them if she can. Continue reading
Why I read it: I am a subscriber to Ann Aguirre’s newsletter. Even though I received this in serial format, I wanted to wait to read the whole thing because I’m like that. So I bought it. It seems to be Amazon only at this point.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) He’s awkward. He’s adorable. He’s alien as hell.
Zylar of Kith B’alak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he’ll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This ‘human being’ is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.
She’s frazzled. She’s fierce. She’s from St. Louis.
Beryl Bowman’s mother always said she’d never get married. She should have added a rider about the husband being human. Who would have ever thought that working at the Sunshine Angel daycare center would offer such interstellar prestige? She doesn’t know what the hell’s going on, but a new life awaits on Barath Colony, where she can have any alien bachelor she wants.
They agree to join the Choosing together, but love is about to get seriously strange.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): This was such a fun book! Zylar is a very beta hero – his chitin (he’s a kind of insectoid alien so has what I imagine to be a thick outer shell like a cockroach’s but stronger?) might be hard but inside he’s all marshmallow. He has low self-esteem because he’s not very attractive. Barathi are prized for their colours and Zylar is a dull brown and he doesn’t stand out in a crowd. He has also always been outshone by his nest-mate (aka sibling) Ryzven (who is an asshole). It is not ever made clear just why Ryzven hated Zylar so much and that is one of my few criticisms of the story. Continue reading
Monthly Mini Review
Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert – B+ A light-hearted, funny, sexy Halloween-themed novella full of girl power where, no matter that the trope is fated mates, consent matters.
Luke Anthony is a werewolf who has the scent of his mate in his nostrils. Unfortunately, Chastity Adofo, his mate, comes from a family of Huntresses and is planning on killing him to cement her place in the family. She alone of all of her sisters has not been allowed to hunt because a witch prophesied at her birth that her first kill would “rip out her heart”.
The world building is somewhat unique among the oeuvre and very feminist – the women do the hunting and the men of the family are all caretakers and deeply in touch with their emotions. In this universe werewolves are largely solitary and, until they meet their mates, are not sexual. Luke doesn’t get an erection until he smells Chastity (and thereafter, it basically won’t go away. Of course.) Continue reading
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of With This Bling by LB Gregg, book three in her Romano & Albright mystery/humour/romance series.
Why I read it: I received a review copy from Audible Studios.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Zoe is used to taking care of herself and has long ago accepted that if anything bad was going to happen, it was going to happen to her. So when she loses her job over something most bosses would probably be happy with and her life starts going downhill from there, she doesn’t expect it to get any better.
She certainly didn’t expect any help from the loud jerk next door, but then again she has nothing to lose so puts her trust in him and hopes for the best. What she didn’t expect was the once in a lifetime opportunity that he offers her through an arrangement where they both benefit and no one is supposed to get hurt – but she should have known better because her luck has never been that good.
Like most Bradfords, Trevor has a soft spot for food, but that’s about all. He leads a pretty straightforward life and likes to keep things simple and that includes his relationships. He wants the perfect woman and knows exactly what she’ll be like. So when he discovers much to his horror that he’s thinking about his frumpy little neighbor he decides the best way to get his head straight is by working her out of his system. He’ll keep her around, but only until he finds perfection.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I admit I DNF’d the first book in this series. I downloaded the ebook but I just couldn’t get behind the superior asshat quotient of the hero. I suspect it may have been the same for me here had not picked the audio format. Trevor is a complete dick. He’s good looking, muscular, relatively wealthy (he owns a number of houses which he rents out) and women fawn all over him wherever he goes. He thinks he treats women with respect, but really, he doesn’t. They’re temporary playthings until Ms. Right comes along. Because of childhood insecurities, he’s convinced himself his perfect wife is comprised of a list of very set criteria and he’s decided he won’t settle for less.
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