Ahoy there me mateys! This be the third book of a quartet. While I try to post no spoilers, if ye haven’t read the previous two then ye might want to skip this post. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

I love the Murderbot! I thought the first novella was basically perfect and loved the second just as much. This one was almost as good. The plot was a little vague but I didn’t really care. I thought it has a fabulous beginning and I love how the Murderbot continues to explore its identity and ponder its future. Like ART in the last novella, this one also has fantastic robot interactions. Only Miki, in this one couldn’t be less like ART. I just adore all the varied and nuanced robot personalities. I don’t want to get into too many details because it is better for the reader to savour on their own. Read about the Murderbot and fall in love.

Side note: There be one more novella scheduled in the series that arrives in October. I need it now!!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys!  This was a hard book to wrap me noggin around.  For one thing, I thought it was a standalone.  It is, apparently, the first in the series with two other books currently listed.  It felt like a book two.  I felt like I was dumped into the world and was missing a ton of backstory and world building that I should already know.  The buildup was meandering.  There were lots of introduced side characters that were not explored at all.  Also way too many descriptions of clothes, objects, etc.  The book was better than okay but less than good.

The main character, Emiko, is given a quest with a tight deadline but the pacing and plot lead to very little suspense.  Forty-eight hours seemed to take several weeks.  Emiko is also in the dark about her own talents and, given the non-subtle hints everywhere, she should not be so obtuse.  The cover-ups are blatant and the overall feeling when I finished was that the plot was a tease and rather dissatisfying.  The ending was drawn out unnecessarily.  And there is a love-triangle being set-up.  It felt like this book could have used a lot of trimming.

That said, I did like Emiko and enjoyed her character overall.  I also liked the death god.  The magic was fun and I would like to see more of sentient San Francisco.  And the foo lion was awesome and could have been used at lot more.  I also loved the librarian and the library itself.  I do want more answers about Emiko's talents and about her mother.  I am not adverse to reading the next book.  I just hope it has better editing.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review,

Ahoy there me mateys!  This begins in 1898 in rural Pennsylvania and gives the gripping tale of how Peter loses his parents.  Then it jumps to 1905 where Peter is living at St. Vincent’s Orphanage.  The orphanage is in a secluded valley and is run by harsh priests.  Punishments and starvation conditions abound.  Life is no real joy but Peter is almost grown and trying to determine whether he should stay to be a priest or leave.  He has hope, despite the circumstances, and cares immensely for the other boys.

The plot begins as straight historical fiction showcasing orphanage life, the coming winter, and the various relationships of the boys.  Then one night the local law enforcement bring a sick man for treatment.  Soon after, the boys start acting out of character and violence begins to take hold.  What exactly is going on and will anyone make it out alive?

The book is told from multiple points of view even though Peter is the overall focus.  Father Andrew is the friendliest priest who cares for the kids but won't stand up to the mean head priest, Father Poole.  Johnson is a man serving a life work sentence at the orphanage in exchange for being kept out of prison.  He is nasty and complicated and has a rather horrible perspective.  David is another orphan whose complicated relationship with Peter is part of the undercurrent of how the events unfold.

The supernatural elements of this book were creepy, violent, and often gross.  That said, the book was engrossing and I read it in one sitting.  The blend of historical fiction and horror was extremely well done.  I found Peter to be an excellent character to cheer for even if there wasn't much happiness in the book.  The ending surprised me a bit in how much of a downer it was even if it felt truthful to the book's nature.  The treatment of the orphans was extremely hard to read about and the adults did not end up being sympathetic.  I recommend this book to those who like their horror and can handle harsh themes.  Arrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I didn't read the blurb because the cover says it all.  Awesome author and aliens.  Yup.  Beam me up.  This had such a fantastic fabulous beginning.  It made me laugh.  Francie doesn't believe in aliens until getting abducted by one! Francie, the main character, was a hoot.  So was the rest of the gang that ends up involuntarily joining her.  This is a cute, fluffy feel-good story.  It is a first-contact story with a side of romance and a dash of western and sci-fi movies.  I didn't get all the references but was certainly entertained by those I did recognize.  It was a fast, if somewhat rambling, read that made me smile.  I am glad to have read it.  Arrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ahoy there me mateys! As usual SMG's newest novel is a five-star read.  There is just something so compelling about her weaving of horror, history, and fantasy together.  This book takes place in 1993 in Mexico City.  Montserrat and Tristán have been friends forever.  Both have a love of horror movies and both work in the 'biz.  Tristán was a soap opera actor whose star has faded.  Montserrat is a sound engineer who is fantastic at her job but is being pushed out of the boys club.

The two movie fans are super excited when they meet Abel Urueta, a director, whose work they love.  They want to hear the story of his last unfinished horror movie.  Abel is happy to share his stories and tell them about the curse relating to his uncompleted work.  He asks Montserrat and Tristán to help him.  The duo is happy to humor Abel for the chance to see the small piece of salvaged film.  Only problem?  The curse seems to be real.

I really loved Montserrat in particular.  She is no nonsense and intelligent. Tristán is a bit of a jerk who I didn't relate to at first but rather liked in the end. Their interpersonal relationship is the highlight of this novel.  I did also like the foray into both the occult and into the history of film.  I love when I find meself looking up facts as I read and it enhancing the story.  I don't really watch horror movies (especially Mexican ones) but found the story of this cursed film to be highly engaging and excellent.  Also loved the ending.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ahoy there me mateys! So this is a book where the premise sounded fun but I did not love what the author chose to write.  There be spoilers ahead!

The Setting:  Who doesn't love horror on the high seas?  I loved the idea of a creepy cruise ship.  Problem was it felt like the author had never been on one before.  There were lots of descriptions of dining rooms and pools.  Not much that felt like a real ship.  Example: the captain's quarters would likely not be right near the bridge or accessible (ever) to tourists.

The Premise: The idea is that students are going to spend a semester (Seamester) at sea on the cruise ship where then things go wrong.  First of all the book takes place in the first week of the cruise between ports one and two.  Secondly there is no actual idea of what classes or life would be like.  I thought it was going to be a bunch of students who learn about jobs aboard or sea life or the environment or something.  Turns out ALL the students (except the main character) are rich kids whose parents pay for them to be out of the way.  They spend their time drunk, eating, or supposedly joining tourist activities.  Lame and unrealistic.  What is the point of that for a semester?

The Main Character:  While all characters are vapid one-dimensional idiots, the main character is something truly horrible.  Liv has no real personality.  She doesn't use her brain, whines, and dwells in lust.  She spends a ton of time thinking about clothes and how poor she is.  The author tries to go for a "unreliable" narrator.  Problem is the reader quickly knows what is happening and who the bad guys are.  So Liv screams her accusations everywhere, second guesses herself, and believes the adults ridiculous explanations.  Her best friend is one of the missing and she can't focus on that.  The bad guys should have immediately murdered her for being trouble.  I wanted to her shut up and to stop being a moron.

The Solution:  Of course the captain and some parents were in on it.  Of course the social media influencers (the Sirens) are real sirens.  Of course people have to be sacrifices to the sea for the sirens to keep their power.  How Liv and idiot love interest didn't see this was beyond me given how much evidence there was.  Also why did the students need to be the sacrifices?  The sirens switch out a couple of folks during the course of the book with no consequences.  Why not kill crew members?  Or steal people from shore?  It didn't seem to matter who they killed.  Just the number of people killed.  I finished this because I was hoping for an interesting twist or some answers.  Nope.

The Ending: The book literally stops with Liv and dumb love interest stuck in a lifeboat wondering if they will survive.  The end.  No closure.  Is the fire going to swamp the cruise ship?  How is the whole thing going to be explained to the authorities?  Nada.  I thought/hoped that my e-book was missing a chapter.  We don't even get an answer on the weird squid creatures on board.

I ended this book being irked that such a premise ended up with this plot.  I wanted an actual horror book set on a cruise ships - mythical creatures optional.  Stay away from this and read Mira Grant's into the drowning deep instead. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  Sleeping Beauty with a fantastic twist!  This is a lovely Kingfisher book (as usual).  What happens when the princess in the tower is the evil one?  This isn't the story of the princess but of Toadling, the stolen child tasked with a christening blessing that goes wrong.

Toadling was a wonderful character.  She may not be the best person for the job but she is tenacious in trying to do her duty.  I loved her time spent as a toad.  The descriptions made being a toad sound delightful.  Toadling is not beautiful, powerful, clever, or even fully human anymore.  She is endearing and a new favorite.

This is a character study and a commentary on fairytales.  I loved how this book dealt with the fae and changelings.  I loved the knight, Halim, and how he wasn't at all like the stereotypes.  This had commentary on family ties, love, and the ramifications of power.  Also loved the author's notes.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for me review.

Ahoy there me mateys! Sign me up for snarky AI.  Scorn reboots, after having zir chassis destroyed on the moon, only to find ze is missing 10 days and has no idea why ze was on the moon in the first place.  Ze knows that ze was investigating a news story but has to backtrack to find out what and why.

I enjoyed Scorn and zir distain for humans.  I loved the world building showcasing what a future Earth run by corporations looks like and how technology is used in society.  It was nice that humans were not the focus.  The interactions between the various non-humans were the highlight for me.  I loved the weather station, MATt.

I did not particularly find the "murder" mystery to be interesting though I enjoyed watching Scorn work.  The other theme of how Scorn dealt with his mothers was also not really to me taste.  I did end up loving Scorn even if the plot in general was just okay.  This is the second novella I have read by the author and I am looking forward to reading more by her.  Arrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for me review.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I really enjoyed the first book in this series.  Though that book could be a standalone, I was happy to pick up the sequel.  The blurb for the second book is filled with spoilers and a bit misleading.  The pirate-king doesn't appear in this novel at all!

This was a good bridge book.  The highlight for me was seeing Thing (the ship) navigate its existence and the choices it chose to make.  The novel sets up a cliffhanger ending with no real idea of where the story will go next.  That said, I be excited by the possibilities.

The plot was a bit light.  The majority of the first part of the novel felt like no plot and and all character angst which I don't tend to enjoy.  Captain Niko is fretting about her past and loses a lot of her strong leader characteristics.  While I understood Talon's pain, how he deals with it and how the crew fails to notice grew extremely tiresome.  Talon's choices were beyond stupid.  Atlanta also spends time trying to figure out her purpose.  Her journey was a bit more realistic to read about because she was trying to make progress.

The second half was filled with a lot more action and sped by.  I really loved the moments of humor (Thing's logo being a favorite).  It may seem like a more negative review but I really did enjoy this quick read and really want to know what happens next.  Arrr!