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thecaptainsquarters
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
This novella was quick-paced, a fast read, and fun. The story is set in 1850s Great Britain which was win number one. Win number two was the protagonist, Charlotte Gunn – intelligent, feisty, and loving (me favorite type). Win number three was the magical society set up in this book.
Charlotte is a woman who wants normal things like marrying her fiance and having a family. She also wants slightly more challenging modern things like continuing to earn her own income from her illustrations and keeping her male publishing pseudonym unknown. But most challenging off all is keeping her magic talent a secret. If it is found out, the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts will claim her and her dreams of the future will be forfeit.
Keeping her magic a secret is not so easy. Charlotte has the guilt of not joining the Society to give her parents and brother a better life as well as the challenge of holding her magic in check and not going “Wild.” However events soon spiral out of control and Charlotte has to decide whether her dreams or her realities will determine her choices.
This novella is super short at 192 pages and felt more like a set-up or prequel to a longer novel. I loved it and wanted more. Charlotte’s family members were loving, struggled, and were realistic in many of their reactions to the occurring events. The magic of the society is introduced but ye don’t get all the bells and whistles of how it works or what it can do . . . yet. The plot was predictable at a few points but I didn’t care.
The novella had a great ending, left lots of questions to be explored, and had tantalizing hints of what may happen next. Whether the next installment be a novella or (hopefully) a longer novel – sign me up!
Side note: This author sounded familiar because I had just purchased her other novel planetfall, a sci-fi, to read! Stay tuned for that review in the next log post.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!
see me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
This novella was quick-paced, a fast read, and fun. The story is set in 1850s Great Britain which was win number one. Win number two was the protagonist, Charlotte Gunn – intelligent, feisty, and loving (me favorite type). Win number three was the magical society set up in this book.
Charlotte is a woman who wants normal things like marrying her fiance and having a family. She also wants slightly more challenging modern things like continuing to earn her own income from her illustrations and keeping her male publishing pseudonym unknown. But most challenging off all is keeping her magic talent a secret. If it is found out, the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts will claim her and her dreams of the future will be forfeit.
Keeping her magic a secret is not so easy. Charlotte has the guilt of not joining the Society to give her parents and brother a better life as well as the challenge of holding her magic in check and not going “Wild.” However events soon spiral out of control and Charlotte has to decide whether her dreams or her realities will determine her choices.
This novella is super short at 192 pages and felt more like a set-up or prequel to a longer novel. I loved it and wanted more. Charlotte’s family members were loving, struggled, and were realistic in many of their reactions to the occurring events. The magic of the society is introduced but ye don’t get all the bells and whistles of how it works or what it can do . . . yet. The plot was predictable at a few points but I didn’t care.
The novella had a great ending, left lots of questions to be explored, and had tantalizing hints of what may happen next. Whether the next installment be a novella or (hopefully) a longer novel – sign me up!
Side note: This author sounded familiar because I had just purchased her other novel planetfall, a sci-fi, to read! Stay tuned for that review in the next log post.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!
see me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
Ahoy there me mateys. I couldn't get into this book at all. I was confused how a group of children could go to another state and not have demanded at least some answers as to why they were going there. Also one of the siblings is 18 so why didn't they make more fuss? I did like that the siblings seemed to truly care about each other. But overall this book did not work for me. I abandoned ship pretty quickly.
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
This novel sounded awesome. It is a sci-fi about a society with a horrible disease called Camden-Young's. This part of the blurb made me want to read it, "the stealth envirus has laid waste to 74% of Caucasians between puberty and their early thirties while the other 26% are mysteriously immune. From flu-like attacks to excruciating fevers, hair loss, blindness, insanity and death, there is no cure."
I thought this novel would float me boat. I tried to get through it multiple times but I just could not finish it and had to abandon ship at 25%. Why ye ask? Well for a myriad of reasons (in no particular order):
- The main character - I didn't hate David Stonetree but he was kinda bland. The only thing that seemed to perk him up was a car.
- His girlfriend - The person in David's life who has the disease is his girlfriend, Sharon. Ye see her in the beginning when she has just found out and then she disappears at the 5% mark. She reappears in one phone call 20% in and another brief mention at 24%. I wanted to read about the impact of the disease on their relationship.
- The 1967 Mustang - So instead of worrying about his girlfriend and her health, David wants to by a car. A car that costs as the book says "two-thirds of his annual salary . . . [and] twice what the typical family of four was supposed to survive on each year." He is obsessed with it. It is talked about a lot and in annoying detail from 20% to 24% of the book. Come on David. Get yer priorities straight!
- The corporate culture - David works for a company that produces the drug to help the symptoms of the people suffering from the disease. He gets a raise to work for the cut-throat exec that runs the company, Lane. I suppose that the author was trying to make the company culture feel realistic. What it seemed to be was just boring.
- David's morals - David has always disliked Lane and yet jumps at the chance to work for her and make more money. To . . . buy the car. When Sharon expressed surprise at this , David is "troubled by the condescending tone she used." He dismisses her entire viewpoint "as nothing more than depression over her illness, her struggles at work and a continuing difficulty with a decided jealous disposition . . . if she had only given him a little room they might by now be living together, if not engaged." Then he fantasizes more about the car. UGH.
- I read a couple more pages about a friend of David's named McReynolds who is "charmingly arrogant" and a ladies' man whose wife left him (shocker!). When David starts lamenting that he can't be more like McReynolds, I couldn't take the blatant misogyny anymore.
With so many books on the horizon, I just gave up. I wanted a book that got into the ramifications of a serious disease and its impact on both interpersonal relationships and society as a whole. This wasn't it. I want me reading to make time seem to disappear, not to accentuate every second passing. I am sad, but I couldn't fight the tide.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Riverdale Avenue Books! I may not have liked it but I am grateful for the chance to review this book.
This novel sounded awesome. It is a sci-fi about a society with a horrible disease called Camden-Young's. This part of the blurb made me want to read it, "the stealth envirus has laid waste to 74% of Caucasians between puberty and their early thirties while the other 26% are mysteriously immune. From flu-like attacks to excruciating fevers, hair loss, blindness, insanity and death, there is no cure."
I thought this novel would float me boat. I tried to get through it multiple times but I just could not finish it and had to abandon ship at 25%. Why ye ask? Well for a myriad of reasons (in no particular order):
- The main character - I didn't hate David Stonetree but he was kinda bland. The only thing that seemed to perk him up was a car.
- His girlfriend - The person in David's life who has the disease is his girlfriend, Sharon. Ye see her in the beginning when she has just found out and then she disappears at the 5% mark. She reappears in one phone call 20% in and another brief mention at 24%. I wanted to read about the impact of the disease on their relationship.
- The 1967 Mustang - So instead of worrying about his girlfriend and her health, David wants to by a car. A car that costs as the book says "two-thirds of his annual salary . . . [and] twice what the typical family of four was supposed to survive on each year." He is obsessed with it. It is talked about a lot and in annoying detail from 20% to 24% of the book. Come on David. Get yer priorities straight!
- The corporate culture - David works for a company that produces the drug to help the symptoms of the people suffering from the disease. He gets a raise to work for the cut-throat exec that runs the company, Lane. I suppose that the author was trying to make the company culture feel realistic. What it seemed to be was just boring.
- David's morals - David has always disliked Lane and yet jumps at the chance to work for her and make more money. To . . . buy the car. When Sharon expressed surprise at this , David is "troubled by the condescending tone she used." He dismisses her entire viewpoint "as nothing more than depression over her illness, her struggles at work and a continuing difficulty with a decided jealous disposition . . . if she had only given him a little room they might by now be living together, if not engaged." Then he fantasizes more about the car. UGH.
- I read a couple more pages about a friend of David's named McReynolds who is "charmingly arrogant" and a ladies' man whose wife left him (shocker!). When David starts lamenting that he can't be more like McReynolds, I couldn't take the blatant misogyny anymore.
With so many books on the horizon, I just gave up. I wanted a book that got into the ramifications of a serious disease and its impact on both interpersonal relationships and society as a whole. This wasn't it. I want me reading to make time seem to disappear, not to accentuate every second passing. I am sad, but I couldn't fight the tide.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Riverdale Avenue Books! I may not have liked it but I am grateful for the chance to review this book.
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
Damn, what a good book! The blurb does not do this one justice at all. This is a grimdark fantasy that follows Teyr Amondsen, an ex-soldier. She be awesome! Her goal is to build a trade road that will bring the communities of the Circle together through commerce and thus allow more people to prosper. While a lofty goal, her plans are threatened when a selfish warlord begins conscripting the Circle communities for his army to help take over the Circle. Teyr had put her battles behind her but she blatantly refuses to give in to the warlord's plotting. She fights back.
The highlight of this for me was Teyr's character. I admire her tenacity, grit, fortitude, and intelligence. Talk about suffering! This book is one long slog for Teyr and I was both horrified at how bad her luck was and was boldly cheering on her pure stubbornness. For all that she is a hardened fighter, her life as a merchant and relationship with her partner and his son shows her softer side. She cares for those she works with and has her own version of integrity. She is complicated and interesting. Life around her is certainly never boring.
The secondary highlight was the world building. In particular, I loved the use of plants as a major resource. Plants are a type of currency and have many uses. One is for battle brews that enrich a warrior's sight, strength, and other attributes based on what is in them. Each war band has it's own secret recipes and fiercely guard them. What was awesome is that ye have to "pay the colour" for their use. Besides causing the user to be violently ill and face potential death, the mixes also ruin the user's skin and cause a period of complete defenselessness. I just loved everything about the plant use in both war and in daily life. Add in the clan of plant users with mystical abilities and it be just plan awesome.
But besides the cool plants, I also very much enjoyed the clan structures and family bonds. I thought the world was very believable and loved that women have strong roles in many places. I loved the dual narratives of Teyr's past and present that really did set the correct tone and allowed for the reader to experience excellent character growth. And then once the timelines merge, the pace picks up and the tension increases. The epistolary nature of the ending of the book was different and perfect.
Apparently this is one of three planned companion books set in Sarun. There is another book called, snakewood, that takes place 250 years after this one. I will have to give that one a shot. Arrr!
Don’t just take me word for readin’ this book (though it should be enough!). Also check out what me crew had to say about this one:
Drew @ thetattoedbookgeek– “There is a darkness to The Winter Road and the story that Selby is telling. It is a tale fermented in misery and steeped in pain with Selby putting his characters through many a hardship. There is suffering aplenty handed out for many involved and the world is savage. The journeys undertaken are fraught with peril and the Circle is a cruel mistress for those who inhabit it. I was drawn to the darkness in The Winter Road and I absolutely loved it!"
So lastly . . .
Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
Damn, what a good book! The blurb does not do this one justice at all. This is a grimdark fantasy that follows Teyr Amondsen, an ex-soldier. She be awesome! Her goal is to build a trade road that will bring the communities of the Circle together through commerce and thus allow more people to prosper. While a lofty goal, her plans are threatened when a selfish warlord begins conscripting the Circle communities for his army to help take over the Circle. Teyr had put her battles behind her but she blatantly refuses to give in to the warlord's plotting. She fights back.
The highlight of this for me was Teyr's character. I admire her tenacity, grit, fortitude, and intelligence. Talk about suffering! This book is one long slog for Teyr and I was both horrified at how bad her luck was and was boldly cheering on her pure stubbornness. For all that she is a hardened fighter, her life as a merchant and relationship with her partner and his son shows her softer side. She cares for those she works with and has her own version of integrity. She is complicated and interesting. Life around her is certainly never boring.
The secondary highlight was the world building. In particular, I loved the use of plants as a major resource. Plants are a type of currency and have many uses. One is for battle brews that enrich a warrior's sight, strength, and other attributes based on what is in them. Each war band has it's own secret recipes and fiercely guard them. What was awesome is that ye have to "pay the colour" for their use. Besides causing the user to be violently ill and face potential death, the mixes also ruin the user's skin and cause a period of complete defenselessness. I just loved everything about the plant use in both war and in daily life. Add in the clan of plant users with mystical abilities and it be just plan awesome.
But besides the cool plants, I also very much enjoyed the clan structures and family bonds. I thought the world was very believable and loved that women have strong roles in many places. I loved the dual narratives of Teyr's past and present that really did set the correct tone and allowed for the reader to experience excellent character growth. And then once the timelines merge, the pace picks up and the tension increases. The epistolary nature of the ending of the book was different and perfect.
Apparently this is one of three planned companion books set in Sarun. There is another book called, snakewood, that takes place 250 years after this one. I will have to give that one a shot. Arrr!
Don’t just take me word for readin’ this book (though it should be enough!). Also check out what me crew had to say about this one:
Drew @ thetattoedbookgeek– “There is a darkness to The Winter Road and the story that Selby is telling. It is a tale fermented in misery and steeped in pain with Selby putting his characters through many a hardship. There is suffering aplenty handed out for many involved and the world is savage. The journeys undertaken are fraught with peril and the Circle is a cruel mistress for those who inhabit it. I was drawn to the darkness in The Winter Road and I absolutely loved it!"
So lastly . . .
Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/