Ahoy there me mateys! Reading the mechanical a second time was just as good as the first. The series is set in an alternative universe (the New World) with steampunk like mechanicals (Clakkers) who are the slaves of the humans. A Clakker has gone rogue and is sentenced to death by being recast in the forge. Another Clakker, named Jax, witnesses the execution and his life will never be the same.

The opening paragraph of the first novel was fascinating and it only got better from there. The writing is just intricate, engaging, and wonderful. Jax is a fantastic character who struggles with himself and his place in society. The novel deals with complex issues like the politics between the French Catholics and the Dutch Calvinists, questions of the soul, and the indignities of war. It is a fantastic mixing of history, steampunk, magic, and in-depth characterization.

The story is told from several points of view. I adore the French spymistress, Berenice, otherwise known as Talleyrand. She is feisty, clever, and driven. I also love the poor Captain of the French army in exile named Longchamp. He faces impossible odds with his own quirky version of dignity. And, of course, Jax is my favorite as his perspective is always changing as his experiences change him. His voice throughout the tale is especially strong. I highly recommend this novel.

If you liked this post see my other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

The second novel was a decent second novel. I am glad that I read it. Of course a lot of it dealt with a siege of the French holdout. And I usually would be happy without sieges. However, the book was still fairly fast paced. How Longchamp deals with the siege is wonderful throughout. Really the highlights for me of this novel are Jax and Berenice. Jax for his view point and Berenice for her plot twists.

All in all, it was a wonderful day of reading and I highly recommend this series. As much as I wish, this review does not deal with how awesome the book really is because it would spoil things. I certainly want the next novel.

To see the full review of both the first and second novels visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

I received this young adult epic fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is my first official review of an ARC (Arrrrr!) on my blog.

the demon girl’s song (Susan Jane Bigelow)

Title: the demon girl’s song

Author: Susan Jane Bigelow

Publisher: Dreaming Robot Press

Publication Date: currently September 25, 2016

ISBN: 9781940924151

Source: NetGalley

I have to say I was super excited to get this novel as the concept sounded rather fascinating. And I am so glad I read it. I loved the main character, Andín. Through no fault of her own, Andín ends up with a crazy old demon trapped in her head and has to deal with the consequences. These consequences are harsh.

Andín starts out as a simple village girl with a wish for a brighter future. She wants to go to university and study and travel. Her da tells her that he is not sending her. Then the demon happens. This book was full of surprises and plot twists. But basically the story revolves around how the demon changes Andín and what she does about it. And that idea is really what makes this book so interesting. I do not want to be a spoiler so I won’t get into how Andín and the demon thing resolves, but I have to admit it was quite something. So much so that I had to explain how the book ends to a much entertained first mate just to try and express how awesome I thought this relationship and resolution was.

Now, I didn’t think the world building was particularly interesting in that most of the towns and villages and countries sound the same. But I liked some of details in the story. For example, technology is shifting and we have railcars and airships and electricity moving on up. Politics are changing too. One of the more interesting characters that we see in brief is a woman championing for women’s rights. Then there is the question of emperors vs. more democracies. And yet you still have demons and religious superstitions in society as well. Oh and some happy diversity in this novel as well which I always love.

The ending of this book also just sort of made me happy in its unexpectedness. It is the kind of ending that makes you go “huh?” and yet seems perfect in its oddness and choices. So much so that I continue to let thoughts of it bounce around in my head. You see the “big conflict” to save the world really takes forever to appear and yet I didn’t care because I was enjoying Andín and the demon. Oh and Yshe. She is an awesome secondary character. There are hints about how you think the ending is going to go throughout. There are magic and dreams and coincidences. And what is happening to the world is interesting and intricate. I am just rambling now but it’s that kind of reading experience. An odd book that was super fun to read and is super hard to explain in coherent terms. Well at least for me. So read it when it comes out and let me know how it makes you feel. Maybe ye can put it into words better than this captain. So lastly . . .

Thank you Dreaming Robot Press!

To see this review on my blog visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/09/on-the-horizon-the-demon-girls-song-susan-jane-bigelow/

Ahoy me mateys! Yet another wonderful sci-fi novel by this author. I just loved the whole scenario that has been set up. A terrorist attack with major unintended consequences. The main character, Finn was just fabulous. I have to admit that the idea having my dead alcoholic grandfather hitching a ride in my body and taking over completely creeps me out. But that is one of the best parts of the novel – the different personalities of the hitchers and how their hosts react. The ending of the novel was unexpected and thought provoking. I didn’t really care about the Toy Shop and comic part of the plot but it didn’t detract from the story for me. I won’t get into more details cause that would spoil the fun. Read it for yourself . . .

This review was first posted at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! This is a fantastic young adult alternative history book and represents another port plundered. Basically this is a book about World War II that has “soldier girls” fighting on the front lines. I tend to read non-fiction novels about the Second World War with a few notable exceptions like The Book Thief and Catch 22. But this book caught my eye and sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a shot.

I have never read anything by Mr. Grant before and I certainly enjoyed this book. The voices of the young women soldiers are unique, thoughtful, and from different perspectives. From common riflemen to medics to intelligence officers and from Jewish, African-American, white viewpoints, there is a little bit of everything in this novel. I was very much wrapped up in the characters and was glad to know this is the first book of a series.

In addition, this book is filled with facts about the war and American history that I have little knowledge of despite history and Holocaust classes. These tidbits like the Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia or the Tulsa Race Riot in Greenwood not only showed gaping holes in my knowledge but lead me down the interwebs in search of even more information than the book provided. I always love fiction novels that do that.

I will certainly be reading the next book in this series.

This review was first posted on https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/