Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This uplifting tale of found family will restore your faith in humanity, and in your own power to work good in an imperfect world.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

One thing I found wonderfully unique compared to other found-family stories is how it follows the perspective of a parent-figure protecting children. While a coming-of-age story where young adults connect with peers can be wonderful, as a mother with children of a certain age, I found much more in common with middle-aged Linus and his sense of inviolate responsibility for the children in the orphanages he inspects.

Ah, Linus. Before we even get a hint of the found family, we're sold on our wonderful main character. T.J. Klune starts readers with Linus on the job, inspecting an orphanage for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, watching a child levitate bricks. Immediately, we see that the Department itself has its bureaucratic, soul-crushing flaws, flaws that Linus dare not recognize because that would question his entire purpose in life, but that Linus himself cares deeply for the children. This makes him perfectly suited to his job, yet at the same time, also causes him to clash with his boss and workmates.

Linus' position at work is ultimately untenable, despite the fact that he thrives on rules. When the Department hands him a top-secret assignment above his paygrade, perhaps his worst fear will come to fruition, and the mission will end with the termination of his employment--or, perhaps he will discover that the loss of his job is not his worst fear after all. For someone who cares so deeply about the children, it can't be.

The emotional depth of this story makes me thrilled to call it a slow-burn romance (M/M). The way both men put the kids absolutely first speaks volumes to their character. They have a job to do, one more prescient than the romantic attraction of two strangers who have just met. Both men protect their hearts, needing to check, first, that the other is a trustworthy partner. This is especially true for Arthur, the master of the top-secret orphanage Linus inspects. I don't want to give too much away about Arthur because remains a bit of a mystery for most of the book. And for Linus, even as he hopes that Arthur's intentions for the children are good, it's the results that matter, results that can be difficult to measure when dealing with magically powerful children from troubled backgrounds.

And did I mention that one of the children is the son of Satan? This wholesome fantasy, with its perfect touch of oddball humor, will have readers begging for more.

Find T. J. Klune on Twitter, and on his website, http://www.tjklunebooks.com/

Check out T. J. Klune's upcoming release for Fall 2021, Under the Whispering Door

Review: The Islevale Cycle by D.B. Jackson (@DBJackson)

When I first saw Time's Children come out, I snatched that baby up, and I'm glad I did. Time travel and demons with an epic fantasy adventure feel? Yes, please! Angry Robot publishes a lot of great stuff, and I see D.B. Jackson (pen name of David Coe) on a lot of people's shelves alongside my favorite books. Now I see why. 

The Islevale Cycle by D.B. Jackson delivers a gripping, well-paced fantasy adventure with compelling characters and a unique magic system.

Time's Children (book one) hooked me with its drastic magic costs, the inclusion of small children, and demons that are truly "other." D. B. Jackson takes time travel to the next level by exacting daunting costs for those who Walk through time, giving his magic system a unique feel, and keeping his human characters grounded, relatable in their struggle to outwit high odds with limited resources. 

And did I mention that there's a baby? Children are naturally left out of most adventure fantasy because they're fragile and can't stick it to the antagonist. With Islevale's themes of maturity, love, and family, including a child works excellently. In book two, Time's Demon, time demon Droë brings her own layer of complexity to these themes with her child-like appearance and her almost-love fascination with human Walker Tobias, who is actually 15 but now appears older and finds himself taking care of a baby. 

In following these themes, the Islevale Cycle includes NSFW scenes of nakedness, and scenes portraying sex, without delving into explicit erotica. Genre-wise, characters become couples or wish to become so, but the series starts with a heavy dose of adventure that drives the plot apart from romance. Sex and violence are all handled well and definitely not just for shock value. It's an adult-audience series with complex, adult views on humanity and love.

Speaking of Droë, I don't want to spoil too much, so let's just say that the demons in the Islevale Cycle give off a spine-shivering sense of "other," as one tends to do when one's sustenance is literally the years stolen from human lives. And while time demons appear humanoid, one demon type is literally a mist cloud and figures wonderfully into sailor's lore. And, of course, where there are pirates, there are also beautiful, enigmatic sea demons. Readers who enjoy fae in fiction but crave something new will love D.B. Jackson's unique demon classes.

Also, there are pirates! D. B. Jackson shows a wide range of lifestyles as his characters cross vast distances in a complex world, with a mind for how age and gender effects experiences. We start in a school for young mages but soon visit castles, pirate ships, port towns, and seaside slums, and all the nooks and crannies of human existence that those imply. There's also a bit of political intrigue, as politics underpin why Tobias Walks back in time in the first place, and how he ends up with a baby. I prefer character-driven stories, so I was pleased with how all the politics and cool magic feeds directly into character motivations.

This might sound a little strange, but I love how nice and considerate the characters are to each other. (Uh, to their friends. You know. The ones they're not murdering or getting murdered by?) The dialogue feels real and I quite enjoy the considerate attitude of POV characters for their loved ones. There are high stakes a-plenty, but characters also talk to each other like you would hope a friend would talk to you if your lives were in danger. This not only contrasts well with the demons, who are a step removed from human emotion and the workings of human relationships, but also provides depth for conflict between the antagonists and the protagonists. Without sacrificing a sense of right and wrong, D. B. Jackson shows how characters like Droë set on their paths, how they, too, fight from a sense of something good to pursue or protect.

Pick up the D. B. Jackson's Islevale Cycle and let Tobias and Droë take you on an epic fantasy adventure full of time travel, demons, and the harried pursuit of life, liberty, and love:

Book 1: Time's Children

Read an interview with D. B. Jackson based on book one here. Another interview asks about Islevale's magic system here.

Book 2: Time's Demon

Read an excerpt from Time's Demon and meet winged demons here. 
Another interview talks about time travel and how it's handled differently for an anthology David B. Coe edited, Temporarily Deactivated.

Book 3: Time's Assassin

Once you've read the books, give them some love on Amazon and Goodreads!

Like my review? Follow me on Twitter (@mrsmica), my Facebook author page, and sign up for my newsletter for a roundup of all my short story and novel reviews posted in various locations.

Best SFF short stories of 2020!

Oh, how I wish I could read every SFF short story published in 2020! If you missed these excellent stories, they're worth going back for (yes, even into 2020).

“We’re Here, We’re Here” by K.M. Szpara (@KMSzpara) is an unapologetically sweet narrative where music executives attempt to keep transgender singer Tyler and the rest of the boy band in line by removing Tyler’s voice when he goes off-script. Szpara constructs a compellingly intricate social setting where Tyler’s transgender status is openly accepted and well-known, but his affection for another bandmate pits him against unwritten rules and the unbalanced power differential between band members and their record label. Tyler’s simple need to be himself plucks the universal cord of human rights, while the tender friendship of he and his bandmates calls to our need for tribalistic support against any who abuse their power over us. Szpara’s accessible characters and solid story structure plunges readers into a compelling narrative of empathy and self-actualization.

In “Two Truths and a Lie” by Sarah Pinsker (@SarahPinsker), Stella’s help cleaning out the house of a deceased childhood friend unearths reality-shifting evidence of a past that should only exist in her web of compulsive lies. When Stella blurts out the name of a childhood show she believes she’s invented for a lark, she soon learns that not only does the ultra-creepy “Uncle Bob” show exist on VHS tapes, but that she herself has ties to the show that she has no recollection of. Stella’s memories of her dead friend Denny take on new significance as she learns more about the show that nearly every kid in town took part in. Pinsker cultivates the traditional theme of prophecy and fate into her own brand of horror, blending folk-tale elements with modern knowledge of hoarding and compulsive lying. Stella’s own tenuous grip on reality keeps readers guessing which way she’ll go until the very end.

In “Exile’s End” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (http://www.carolynivesgilman.com/), museum curator Rue finds herself at odds with a representative from a culture long persecuted for destroying their possessions. When Traversed Bridge and his people insist that burning a famous painting will release the ghost inside, Rue and the museum must decide who truly owns art, and if ownership includes the right to destroy. Gilman’s timely dive into cultural reparations brings us skillfully into the worlds of both the dominant and persecuted cultures, through the eyes of a protagonist whose wish to preserve both runs aground on the rocky shores of liberty. Sympathetic characters and gentle pacing elevate this story above a prescriptive guilt trip of dominant culture; like Rue and Traversed Bridge, Gilman leaves us to interpret the art of “Exile’s End” for ourselves.

“Flight” by Claire Wrenwood (https://clairewrenwood.com/) lays out the vivid bones of its social commentary from the start, opening with a winged mother’s decision to finally address her five-year-old son’s micro-aggressions against women. Scenes then unfold in reverse chronological order, prying back to the origin of the mother’s wings and beyond, bringing the narrative full-circle to her wingless childhood. From its brave opening to the punch at the end, Wrenwood’s delicate depiction of trauma provides readers with moving, powerful insight into cycles of victimization against women. Content warning: sexual abuse.

“What Comes Before” by John Nadas (@John Nadas), psychologist Dr. Brosz attempts to refuse the implementation of new magic-tech that claims to photograph the condition of a person’s soul, showing halos around those destined for heaven. When his patients, all violent criminals in prison, are photographed against his wishes, his superiors then expect to condemn the supposedly lost souls to a solitary confinement where there will be no rehabilitation, and therefore no danger to the public. While Dr. Bosz and his colleagues question who—or what—can possibly be trusted to sort irredeemable criminals from those who might yet be saved, the narrative poses a question of determinism, from subtle details like Dr. Bosz’ inability to quit smoking, to an inmate’s claim of undeniable impulses, to the government forcing Dr. Bosz to use the thaumatic cameras he declined. Nada’s voice is both efficient and compelling, balancing a philosophic exploration of Calvinism with a passionate, earnest character surrounded by high stakes. A haunting tale that reveals even more on the second read.

“After Me, The Flood” Elizabeth Zuckerman (@LizCanTweet) draws readers into an immersive first-person narrative of a selkie-child’s attempts to distance herself from a king who sees her as a replacement for the selkie wife who abandoned them. Unhappy on land and at the constant beck-and-call of her father, Princess Dahut promises to keep a room ready for him if he’ll build her a city on the sea, and he agrees, expending a fortune on an enchanted wall to keep out the ocean waters. Yet, this measure of freedom proves insufficient, as glimpses of private conversations with her father build on the subtle picture of familial abuse hinted at in little, casual moments from the start. It’s no accident that Zuckerman opens “After Me, The Flood” with Dahut asking her father for a story: her father’s been telling her the story of her captivity all her life. Can the brainwashing of an over-controlling father keep his half-selkie daughter from answering the call of the ocean? Zuckerman’s clever use of structure and detail transforms a classic selkie’s quest for freedom into the profound tale of a daughter discovering her magic and her Self under the suffocating oppression of those who should be her protectors. Content warning: sexual abuse.

“And The Ones Who Walk In” Sarah Avery (@SarahAveryBooks), readers follow our young protagonist beyond the charmed borders of her city’s luck spell, a journey driven by the conviction that no amount of magic safety is worth the misery of another. The inhospitable outer lands will immediately test not only her moral mettle, but her ability to survive—and her ability to empathize with those who chose to walk back into her city of misery-powered prosperity. Astute readers will recognize the reference to “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, yet knowledge of Le Guin’s story is not strictly required to plumb the depths of Avery’s subversive piece, which stands on its own. In a story with no easy answers, Avery pits her protagonist’s untested conviction against the down-trodden acceptance of those who walk back into the luckbringer’s unwilling blessing, for no one knows a more foolproof way to protect the frail loved ones that the world consumes in fire and bloodshed.

Review: Fledgling, by Octavia E. Butler (NSFW)

A masterfully written story dealing with consent, mutual need, and racism, but read further before you decide if this NSFW book is right for you.

"Fledgling" by Octavia E. Butler

Readers considering this book need to know about the "underaged" consensual sex. We learn early on that Fledgling's narrator "looks 10 or 11," and then she seeks out and has sex with a young man who firsts protests that he's uncomfortable with her apparent age. Many readers will correctly expect consent themes in a vampire book (more on that later), but that particular detail deserves mention.

Now, by the time we encounter sex in Fledling, we're made to understand that, if anything, it's the humans she meets that are at a power disadvantage--physically as well as physiologically. Later, we're told by one of her kind (an "Ina") that she's at an appropriate age for her kind to explore sexuality. Her appearance is used to accentuate her otherness, and its certainly not the first speculative fiction novel to play with the appearance and sexuality of "nonhuman" creatures. We're not surprised to learn later that our MC is much older than she appears, but its worth noting that she's physically incapable of having children yet, which harkens back to "10 or 11" territory.

Fledgling tackles a lot of fascinating power and consent issues that are expertly woven together. For example, humans become addicted to the Ina who feed on them as part of a symbiotic relationship, and these human symbionts do have to obey their vampire's commands. On a political powerplay level, our MC is genetically superior to all other vampires, yet the violent politics of ancient biogtry threaten her life from the outset. 

All-in-all, Fledgling is a powerful, engaging story about how racism unfairly puts the burden of knowledge and preemptive action on its victims, with death waiting on the other side of failure.

Butler's thought-provoking take on vampire lore questions the conflation of pleasure with need and sex, and power with the right to order and possess. Ina communities are essentially polyamorous to suit their need for several blood donors (symbionts), and symbionts receive the benefits of a longer life with faster healing. Throw a bit of ageism in there, where older Ina try to dismiss our MC as a "child" who is too mentally damaged by her trauma to testify against her oppressors, and one can see why Butler chose to create a protagonist that's younger than the elders in charge of the justice system. Since age-ism is a thing, can we call the dismissal of victims trauma-ism, or is there another term? Whatever you call it, I much appreciated how Butler wove both issues naturally into the text.

However, I would have preferred a protagonist who appeared older. That one line gave me pause and nearly caused me to quit reading, and reading the rest of the book hasn't convinced me that this detail was necessary. Having a sexually active character who appears "10 or 11" sounds like pedophilia. Many books do feature sexually active minors, but usually in the 14+ range, an age where real teens are sometimes sexually active (40% of never-married teens ages 15-19 are sexually active in the US). The only reason the book didn't lose me so early on is because I knew that the narrator would end up being older than she appeared, and I'd heard Octavia E. Butler recommended many times. While it is important to the story that other Ina see her as a child, this particular detail seemed to be designed for shock value. I fear that this detail potentially overshadows other aspects of the book. If not for this one detail, I would whole-heartedly recommend this book for anyone who does not mind the NSFW exploration of consent and need. I found the book thought-provoking and moving overall, yet this makes me want to find a similar author handling similar themes, rather than necessarily pick up another book by Octavia E. Butler.

I'm open to suggestions for further reading--either of books by Octavia E. Butler featuring "older" characters, or books like Fledgling by other authors. 

Review: Strong Fort Spathi by Heather C. Wright

Strong Fort Spathí by Heather C. Wright is a delightful ticking-clock urban fantasy with engaging characters. Although this first book stands well on its own, readers will want to see more of best friends Sinikka and Jordan, their pack, and the wolf who's fallen head-over-heels for Jordan (m/m).

https://amzn.to/2Z9zXez

Strong Fort Spathi follows werewolf Jordan as he scrambles to find his missing Spathi--his magical shield and, more importantly, his best friend since childhood, Sinikka. Jordan's only clue is Sinikka's scent disappearing into thin air and his magical bond with Sinikka, which lets Jordan know that his best friend yet lives. That small reassurance and the help of his packmates might keep him sane enough to entertain visiting Oplarchêgós hopeful Andrew Farkas, whose arrival marks the immutable start of the Dokimés, ritual paw-to-teeth contests for the title of Oplarchêgós.

When Sinikka wakes up with twelve other missing witches, she immediately realizes two things: her captors need her for a powerful ritual, and Jordan might not get there in time, if at all. Her captors know exactly how to hide her and how to force her hand, and they're ready to start now. What they don't know is that spilling her blood will give her komistês Jordan the power to find her anywhere on Earth. As the strongest and most knowledgable witch under her captors' thumbs, it's up to her to figure out a way to thwart the ritual and call in reinforcements.

Werewolf Andrew Farkas came prepared for the usual politics of the Dokimés. He did not come expecting to fall for a distraught werewolf consumed by a missing person search, in the middle of his own battle for Oplarchêgós. When Andrew offers to help search, Strong Fort pack politely declines, and his protege Tyler warns him to stay away from Jordan. As much as Andrew wishes to spare Jordan the politics of his attraction, he can't help the way his interest shows whenever Jordan walks into the room. With tension in the fort as volatile as a gathering thunderstorm, Andrew must choose his words carefully if he says anything to Jordan at all.

Strong Fort Spathí delivers an engaging read with great pacing and strong characters that could easily carry a series.

Readers will fall in love with Wright's refreshing portrayal of werewolf pack mentality that kicks toxic masculinity to the curb: Wright's werewolves cuddle and kick ass better for it, because they know that a little empathetic/platonic touch can go a long way to keeping their wolves at bay. The pack offers what we all need on some level: cooperative friendship, where members can support and care for each other without it being misconstrued as amorous. Yet, is romance banished from Wright's world? Hardly. Wright skillfully weaves in a slow burn romance while keeping the pack's puppy pile platonic. Where Jordan and Sinikka care for each other like close siblings, Andrew's infatuation enters the page the moment he walks into the narrative, promising a longer story arc that readers will want to follow in sequels.

Strong Fort Spathi offers readers a kidnapping plot that gleefully defies expectations. Sinikka is anything but a maiden in distress as the stakes rise against her and the other witches. She knows the value of her own agency even in the face of stronger magic, and her bond with Jordan is anything but a crutch. Werewolves are everything we want werewolves to be, and more. Strong Fort Spathí is a delightful urban fantasy that hits all the genre sweet spots while offering its own unique flavor.

https://amzn.to/2Z9zXez
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20982056-strong-fort-spath

https://www.facebook.com/HeatherCWrightAuthor

Review: Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier (NSFW)

I'm one of those people who covers their ears and flees into the night at the first hint of spoilers. Sometimes even the blurb on the back of the book annoys me--tell me the setup, yes, but don't mention events from half-way through the book! So, when I started Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters Book 1), I started blind, knowing only that it was historical fiction set in ancient Ireland. When I got to the Celtic fairy tale aspects I had to set the book down to squee.

Squee!

Juliet Marillier weaves this retelling in such intimate, immersive detail that calling it a fairy tell remix feels ingenuine. You'll fall in love with each character in a way that transcends the original lore while bringing you closer to mystical Ireland with every fae breath of the wind in the trees. Enter a world where the old ways are fading even as the Old Ones put in very real appearances, hooking their fingers into the paths of fate in a way Sorcha, the daughter of the forest, could never predict. Can Sorcha forge her own path through fate to save her loved ones from bitter evil?

Just as Irish fairy tales warn of deep loss (here's looking at you, Cecilia Dart-Thorton's Bitterbynde Trilogy), each installment of Sevenwaters dives deep into darkness - rape, despair, death, torture - you name it. Yet, Marillier also brings out the best in humanity through a light of perseverance and hope perhaps more powerful than the strange magics of Sevenwaters' forest nymphs and selkie caves.

Each sequel introduces compelling new characters as we follow along through the generations of Sorcha's ancestral home. Books 1-3 form their own trilogy with a fairly tied-up ending:

Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters Book 1)
Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters Book 2)
Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters Book 3)

Books 4-6 work as a separate trilogy that follows chronologically after the first trilogy. Mac Dara harasses the characters until the final show-off in book 6 and I felt the new antagonist gives this trilogy somewhat of a different feel from the first three books.  I found these books more predictable due to the formulaic nature of the series, yet I still enjoyed each one:

Heir to Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters Book 4)
Seer of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters Book 5)
Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters Book 6)

Trigger warning: This series contains a rape scene. That is why I have marked it (NSFW).

https://www.goodreads.com/series/44771-sevenwaters

http://www.julietmarillier.com/

Review: Young Miles by Lois Mcmaster Bujold

Being Space Opera, Young Miles had to work extra hard to win my interest. If a friend hadn't recommended it I never would have picked it up.

Now I'm recommending it to you.

Lois McMaster Bujold's fast-paced style beckons the reader through high wit sparked by a well-meaning sardonic character who often bites off more than he can chew. In contrast, dark moments of suicidal ideation give realistic weight to Mile's snowballing lies and the all-or-nothing risks they represent. Bujold's exemplary diction is like the written version of perfect comedic timing, layered like icing on top of expertly-woven comedy of circumstance and clashing personalities. Her deft handling of despair rounds out characters who care for the potential consequences of their actions, real or imagined. It's a rare book that can make me laugh out loud one minute and shudder in sympathy the next.

Many readers will appreciate Mile's physical limitations, his leg braces and brittle bones making him more than the odd man out in a prejudiced future where an advanced medical field lays side-by-side with superstitious mountain folk who still slaughter babies born with extra fingers and toes. Mile's differences pervade each story in both the occasional outright oppression and in the subtle, everyday experiences necessitated by walking, getting dressed, and moving through the physical world--okay, and in hand-to-hand combat.

If Space Opera is your thing there's plenty of space battles, both of the ship-to-ship and the chase scene variety. Homeworld and galactic politics give Miles a run for his money--literally. Or, more accurately, his father's money.

Young Miles is a collection of short novels following Miles from his moment of epic failure in the Barrayan Military Academy, through unexpected adventures involving mercenaries, through barren wastelands ruled by despotic military higher-ups, and most of all, through Mile's search for himself and his place in the galaxy. You can find many other books by Bujold in the Vorkosigan Series, and like many great series, there's debate as to the best reading order--chronological, or publication date? Young Miles makes for an excellent first taste of the Vorkosigan Series.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61916.Young_Miles

http://www.dendarii.com/

Review: true.love by Alethea Kontis

Alethea Kontis story true.love now appears in two great anthologies!

Game On!
 


Once Upon a Star 

True.love by Alethea Kontis weaves the wonderment of fantasy into a far-future science fiction where young Brandon spends most of his life in virtual reality while his sister plots an anti-technology revolution. Kontis' expert storytelling brings characters to life in this touching, thoughtful re-imagining of Briar Rose. True.love reads even better the second time around.

Review: The CHRONOS Files by Rysa Walker

I present to you a SF series that consumed my life from page one to the final word: The CHRONOS Files by Rysa Walker. The trilogy also has novellas that fit between each book, as well as other stories. You can read the three books by themselves or go all-out and immerse yourself in the CHRONOS universe:


CHRONOS historians travel to the past to observe history as it happens.

But Saul Rand isn't content with simply observing. His plan: reshape history by creating a new religion and then stop anyone by any means necessary who doesn't fall into line. In The CHRONOS Files, seventeen-year-old Kate travels through time to retrieve CHRONOS keys before they fall into the hands of Saul and his Cyrists, all while trying to tread through the past without erasing the memories of those she loves or her entire existence.

Timebound (The CHRONOS Files Book 1)

https://amzn.to/2WpICr4

Time's Echo (The CHRONOS Files 1.5)
https://amzn.to/2SdpXiG

Time's Edge (The CHRONOS Files Book 2)
https://amzn.to/2B5mEAz

Time's Mirror (The CHRONOS Files 2.5)
https://amzn.to/2Sasme5

Time's Divide (The CHRONOS Files Book 3)
https://amzn.to/2G9dO8j

Simon Says (The CHRONOS Files 3.5)
https://amzn.to/2G4UQiR


Timebound begins with Kate learning about her ability to time travel, her evil grandfather, and meeting a mysterious young man whom she seems to have kissed quite passionately in a wheatfield. When the timeline suddenly shifts and erases her parents, Kate finds help from a kind student at the school, Trey, and sort-of-accidentally draws him into the whole time traveling secret and head-over-heels in love with her.

More Cyrists churches pop up with every time shift, bringing their "end times" warning all that much closer to fruition. To complicate matters, Kate's missing aunt Prudence appears in the church's propaganda as a fertility goddess, and Kate's a dead-ringer for her time-traveling aunt.

Rysa Walker weaves together an immersive story where one misstep can mean erasing yourself from existence. The more Kate investigates Saul's end-time plans, the further ahead he and his ubiquitous Cyrus organization get, and the more she and her friends realize there is no perfect timeline where they all live happily ever after.

Rysa's beautiful characterization leaves us questioning the meaning of our true selves. Is it possible to fall in love all over again? How much is our experiences and choices--the ones of our current timeline? Timeline conundrums turn every character into their own doppelganger as older versions of characters pop in whenever they want to contradict their younger selves, and each time shift brings mind-bending double-memories of re-written events.

In The CHRONOS Files, Rysa brings us an addictive SF topped with delightful historical accuracy--Houdini, anyone? The World Fair? If you've ever wished you could hop back and time to experience such things yourself, this is your chance to experience them through the eyes of Kate: Timebound (The CHRONOS Files Book 1)



Find Rysa Walker on Facebook and on her website, www.rysa.com

Review: Wings Unseen by Rabecca Gomez Farrell

Wings Unseen by Rebecca Gomez Farrell is vivid fantasy with engaging characters and a rich world. Vesperi's growth from deluded and desperate victim-abuser to an actual person who can determine right from wrong was well done. Janto's time proving himself at the Murat echoes ancient legends with details like the silver stag. Serra's growth through the Order may shock readers but eventually proves her maturity. As the horrific claren bugs multiply and kill, the three must work together to rid the world of the bugs and the circumstances that breed them.


Visit the author's blog, here:
http://www.rebeccagomezfarrell.com/


Find her on Facebook, here:
https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaGomezFarrell/


Bonus: Ms. Farrell is local to NC! Love it.

Review: When Tinker Met Bell by @AletheaKontis

When Tinker Met Bell is the perfect cute paranormal romance to pick up for Valentine's Day! Find out how Tinker and Bell get around the pesky curse that keeps their species from getting together. Includes heroic antics in otherworldly settings.

You can also pick up the newest novel, Besphinxed, for Heather's redemption story. I really enjoyed When Tinker Met Bell when it first came out and immediately gave a five-star review on Amazon, but had a bit of a hiccup with scheduling this post on my blog. Now there are more books in the series you can pick up--I've enjoyed them all! The Truth About Cats and Wolves makes a great introduction to the series, and they all also work as stand-alones. What a great Valentine's Day binge!

Review: Besphinxed by Alethea Kontis

Besphinxed is my favorite book in the Nocturne Falls Universe so far. I have enjoyed reading all of Alethea Kontis' books in the Nocturne Falls Universe--they are all fun urban fantasy / paranormal romance with young protagonists and great heroines. Kontis' books fit well together by focusing on different characters whose stories intersect while maintaining their own stand-alone integrity. So while you can read any of the books on their own, you'll get a bigger kick out of reading them all. And unlike some romance stories which lean too heavily on a formula, Kontis' Nocturne Falls books weave unique, interesting plots, focusing on characters with differing life challenges and differing world views.

Now, the reason Besphinxed is my favorite (so far!): Heather, the protagonist in this book, first appears in The Truth About Cats and Wolves as a bad gal. Think selfish and cliquish, and add in magic powers you wouldn't trust someone like that to have. In Besphinxed we meet Heather and follow along as her life snowballs into an opportunity for personal growth. As we learn more about Heather, Alethea Kontis portrays Heather's dysfunctional family in a succinctly accurate way alongside more positive relationships surrounding Heather.

Besphinxed has real depth without losing the fun; We also get to learn more about Owen, the cat-shifter that's supposed to be the best friend of Heather's sworn enemy, but who finds himself inexplicably attracted to her. And let's not forget the Zombie Prom and a deadly magic confrontation at the end.

Pick up Besphinxed for a touching paranormal romance. I cried at the end!

Review: Haven Kansas by @AletheaKontis

Looking for something spooky for Halloween?

Step into Lora's life-turned-nightmare in young adult horror novel, "Haven, Kansas" by Alethea Kontis, where Lora and Erin's dreams of getting in touch with spirits and magic come true in the worst way. Lora wears black and reads about the occult, but at heart she is only a teenager living an average rural life in Haven, Kansas. Her oldest brother likes to fix tractors. Her younger brother and his friends like to pull pranks on the school. And her best friend Erin shares everything with her, including a years-long promise to keep their hands off their mutual crush. Except, Erin doesn't tell Lora where she's going that fateful night, and this innocent little secret makes solving deaths that much harder.

Also, murderous crows. Murderous crows make everything harder. The best clue Lora has is a foul-smelling, centuries-old book engraved with a single name, and meanwhile, people are dying around her.

In "Haven, Kansas" by Alethea Kontis, Lora confronts the power of hate with the help of her family and friends--not exactly your typical super-powered line-up of exorcists, but it's all they've got. Grab your copy here!

Review: UFO6 by @AShvartsman

In UFO6 (Unidentified Funny Objects 6), editor Alex Shvartsman once again delivers the high quality comedy we've come to expect from his UFO series. A good portion of UFO6 titles utilize epistolary formats for a non-traditional punchline—these stories are otherwise quite unlike each other. A wonderful collection, expertly arranged.

Stories range from the self-explanatory “Twenty-Nine Responses to Inquiries About my Craigslist Post: Alien Spaceship for Sale. $200, You Haul” by Tina Connolly to the surprisingly touching “A Crawlspace Full of Prizes” by Bill Ferris, which is a bit like if your life were a video game, while being nothing like other stories about video-game lives.

UFO6 includes heavy-hitters Jim C. Hines with parody “A Game of Goblins,” Jack Campbell with “Agent of Chaos,” in which a writer's muse forces her on a trek deep into the mountains where she coincidentally encounters Gothlack, God of Chaos, Alan Dean Foster with a Mad Amos Malone story, “A Mountain Man and a Cat Walk Into a Bar,” and Mike Resnick with a Harry the Book story, “The Great Manhattan Eat-Off,” which is as perfectly ridiculous as it sounds. If you've never read Mad Amos Malone or Harry the Book, you're still in for a treat with these two. And let's not forget Ken Liu, whose “An Open Letter to the Sentient AI Who Has Announced its Intention to Take Over the Earth” drips with sleaze.

On the hard science fiction side of things, “The Breakdown of the Parasite/Host Relationship” by Paul R. Hardy shows how a symbiote and its host can degenerate into petty arguments as fast as your roommate. The Captain reluctantly attempts to intervene as disagreements turn violent and regulations fly out the spaceport. “Display of Affection” by P. K. Sambeaux serves up a healthy dose of creepy in a world where everyone's wired into the net. Guy can't take any more of it when his mother dies, and—well, you'll never look at a museum quite the same afterward. In “Common Scents” by Jody Lynn Nye, symbiote Dr. K't'ank helps host Dena Malone solve a murder mystery with his love of stink. “Alexander Outland: Space Jockey” by Gini Koch may make you wonder if a comedic anthology could, indeed, be complete without space pirates and explosions. “Approved Expense” by David Vierling gives us a chance to live vicariously through dimension-hopping Special Operative Morgan T. Graymael as he explains his itemizations to The Budget and Accounting Administration.

Israel's lost tribe returns on a spaceship in “Lost and Found” by Laura Resnick, in which they are quite shocked to learn what's become of their temple. Esther Friesner introduces readers to the mythical Yiddish town of fools with “From This She Makes a Living?”—along with some interesting phrases, uttered at the discovery of a people-eating dragon come to town. Both Friesner and Resnick's stories treat religion with whimsical irreverence.

“Dear Joyce” by Langley Hyde turns all your fantasy tropes on their head with an opinionated advice columnist in this parody reminiscent of LOTR, if Frodo had written to Joyce. “Return to Sender” by Melissa Mead takes us back to folktale classics with letters written by giants of the fe-fi-fo-fum persuasion. “An Evil Opportunity Employer” by Lawrence Wayt-Evans pokes fun at both lawyers and secret identities as our hero tells a henchmen that he should have read the contract. “The Friendly Necromancer” by Rod M. Santos shows us the proper way to deal with those pesky Knights and Knaves riddles—with violence. Santos delivers an excellent blend of characterization, quest-like trickery, and irreverent humor.

Told in first person by the morally-ambiguous scientist who unleashed chaos on the world through humanity's greed and self-loathing, “Impress Me, Then We'll Take About the Money” by Tatiana Ivanova, Translated by Alex Shvartsman, closes out UFO6 with a bang.

Review: Stolen Legacy by @GoblinWriter

Stolen Legacy is the third book in fast-paced, smart and funny space opera, The Sky Full of Stars, by Lindsay Buroker. Stolen Legacy is just as smart and engaging as its predecessors, The Rogue Prince, (reviewed here) and Angle of Truth.

This time, trouble comes knocking on Jelena Marchenko's figurative door in the form of an unlikely treasure hunt with dubious characters, so naturally, she says yes. It can't be that bad when the contact is passed on by her experienced mercenary parents, can it? Not only will Jelena get paid as a transport/smuggler, but she will get to meet Starseers outside of her small family circle. Marchenko has always suspected that the Starseer community shuns her family, though she's not sure why. Surely it is all a big misunderstanding and she can make valuable contacts on this mission, all while aiding her fellow Starseers.

Unfortunately, the treasure hunt involves Starseer powers--a temptation that seems to affect everyone except Jelena. Space pirates are only the first of their troubles as opposition tears at the crew from inside and out. A classic SF mystery provides the bones for this adventure as well as a twist near the end, and one not quite as happy-go-lucky as rescuing lab animals. Stolen Legacy adds depth to The Sky Full of Stars universe as Jelena and her crew hop from space battle to space battle.

The Sky Full of Stars is perfect for voracious readers who enjoy smart and funny characters and plot with soul. Buroker has a great way with dialogue and a good balance of character development and long-reaching plot.

Join Lindsay Buroker's email list to keep up-to-date on her releases, and get free content. Buroker is a prolific writer with a variety of series to whet your appetite. Pick up The Rogue Prince, Angle of Truth, and Stolen Legacy now on Amazon.

Review: Angle of Truth by @GoblinWriter

Angle of Truth is the second book in fast-paced, smart and funny space opera, The Sky Full of Stars, by Lindsay Buroker. Angle of Truth is just as witty and engaging as its predecessor, The Rogue Prince, which I reviewed here.

Young Captain Jelena Marchenko would never regret saving mistreated animals from a giant corporation, but she does feel bad about the debt incurred by her family’s business from her adventures. Apparently, space bases are costly to repair--who knew?

After seeing the bill and her new monthly payments, Jelena turns to her crew for creative solutions, and soon settles on mercenary work. Childhood friend and practiced assassin Prince Thorian warns Jelena that she doesn’t have the cold, killer’s heart needed to be a mercenary, so the team settles for the most heroic-sounding mission: rescuing war prisoners.

Jelena Marchenko still has a knack for getting into trouble as she acts on her bright moral principles in a post-war universe. Angle of Truth piles space battles, magic-like Starseer powers, and witty banter onto the platter of a classic SF moral quandary: outsiders interfering in a civil war.

The Sky Full of Stars is perfect for voracious readers who enjoy smart and funny characters and plot with soul. Buroker has a great way with dialogue and a good balance of character development and long-reaching plot.

Join Lindsay Buroker's email list to keep up-to-date on her releases, and get free content. Buroker is a prolific writer with a variety of series to whet your appetite. Pick up The Rogue Prince and Angle of Truth now on Amazon.

Review: Unleash by @LaurenScribe

I was so excited for Unleash, which already had good reviews from awesome people, like:

“A visceral, heart-pounding ride of a book that will keep you guessing until the final bloody breath.” – Award-winning fantasy author Pip Ballantine (The Books of the Order, The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)

And Gail Carriger intereviewed Lauren Harris. How cool is that? So of course, I read the book, and after devouring it in two days, I can give you my own glowing review:

In contemporary urban fantasy Unleash (Spellhounds, Book One) by Lauren Harris, Helena Martin fights to break the spell binding her to her sadistic abuser, a powerful mage intent on destroying her family lineage. When well-meaning mundanes offer her a couch to crash on while she waits to contact her cousin on the run, Helena gets a taste of the normal life her abuser has stolen from her. Too bad the Guild is after her and strange happenings keep endangering her and her mundane rescuers.

Lauren Harris writes heart-stopping action scenes while delving into the emotional backlash of abuse--which for Helena includes panic attacks and a painful disconnect from your average social scripts. Readers get a good feel for how dangerous and damaging Helena's situation is, and as a result, Helena comes out on top as an even stronger character. The gritty realism of Unleash was a welcome break from the lighter urban fantasy I usually see. Flowing banter, plot twists, and pointed descriptions round out the action to make Unleash a compelling read.

The wonderfully nail-bitting world of Unleash involves ancient magic drawn through mandalas, blood magic, shapeshifting, and a powerful sorcerer's intent on hiding it all from mundanes. And then there's the heart-warming volunteer dog rescue and the rescuers who only want to give Helena a safe place to stay, away from whatever horrible thing she ran away from. Mandalas and dangerous puppies. Doesn't that make you want to dive in?

Pick up Unleash by Lauren Harris on Amazon.

Add it to your Goodreads list and give it some love there and on Amazon. Every review counts!

Join Lauren's mailing list for an exclusive prequel!  You can also find her on Patreon where followers get exclusive content.

Unjust is the cool prequel you get for signing up!

Review: The Rogue Prince by Lindsay Buroker

The Rogue Prince is a fast-paced space adventure by Lindsay Buroker. Young Starseer Jelena Marchenko captains her first mission running cargo, to prove to her parents that she's mature enough to handle the family business. Or, you know, to divert on an impulsive rescue mission to rescue abused animals from Stellacor. Whoops. Stellacor ends up being bigger than she imagined, sporting a high-security facility complete with mounted guns and secret super soldiers. And it's not just herself that Jelena drags into this--she couldn't do it without the help of her Erick Ostberg, her friend whose like a brother, and whose Starseer powers balance her own talents.

As Jelena and Erick race back in response to a family emergency, their little diversion continues to pester them with this little thing called consequences. Meanwhile, news of a friend gone rogue further complicates their return home: Jelena wants to talk to prince Thorian to find out if he's really the one behind the assassinations on the news. If they can even find him.

Jelena Marchenko has a knack for getting into trouble--much like her mom, Alisa. Witty banter,  believable family dynamics, Starseer powers and plenty of life-and-death encounters make The Rogue Prince an entertaining read, while the larger story line add depth and complexity.

The Rogue Prince is part of The Fallen Empire universe, in a timeline which begins with Star Nomad (see my review below) in The Fallen Empire Collection. It's not necessary to read The Fallen Empire Collection first, but reading one series will make you want to read the rest. Star Nomad begins it all with Alisa's quest to reunite with her daughter in the wake of chaos following the collapse of the Empire. The Rogue Prince stars her daughter, Jelena Marchenko, and the books share many characters. And let's not forget Cyborg Legacy: A Fallen Empire Novel, which goes into Leonida's backstory, a cyborg character integral to the series.

Guys, this series is FUN and Buroker is prolific, so if you like to devour your SF at a fast pace, you'll have a lot of material and you won't have to wait long for the next installment or spin-off. Buroker has a great way with dialogue and a good balance of character development and long-reaching plot.

Keep an eye out for book two, Angle of Truth--join Lindsay Buroker's email list to keep up-to-date on her releases, and get free content.



PS:
My review of Star Nomad:

Lindsay Buroker was a new author for me and I am 100% sold. I couldn't join her newsletter fast enough after reading this. Star Nomad jumps right into the action and is fast-paced throughout. Great banter, smooth character development, and a complex universe and backstory give the story surprising depth. A great mix of humor, suspense, and a splash of grim. Fans of Firefly will indeed enjoy this because it has a similar tone and tackles similar political nuances--but Buroker's work stands completely on its own. I love Alisa and Mica (the lead female characters), and I also can't wait to read more of Leonidas' story in Cyborg Legacy: A Fallen Empire Novel.

Review: Little Green Men--Attack! by @BryanThomasS @BaileyRobinW

Little Green Men--Attack! edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Robin Wayne Bailey is an entertaining collection I recently had the privilege to review for Tangent Online. However, I only reviewed the first half of the collection for Tangent. Do you think I stopped reading half-way through? Of course not! So, here's another look at the collection as a whole:


Little Green Men--Attack! from Baen, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Robin Wayne Bailey, is a collection of 18 new stories and 1 classic reprint. Each author takes the idea of little green men and runs with it in their own direction, sometimes playing with SF and conspiracy theory tropes, and sometimes shooting off into the unexpected--unless you were expecting Japanese mythological demons (“A Cuppa, Cuppa Burnin' Love” by Esther M. Friesner), or Victorian roller-skate-offs (“A Fine Night for Tea and Bludgeoning” by Beth L. Cato) complete with satirically stiff Victorian style. And speaking of sportswomen who take their sport seriously, “School Colors” by Seanan McGuire is another particularly funny story featuring a paranormal-fighting cheer leading team that may remind readers of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Turn the ridiculousness up another notch for “Big White Men—Attack!” by Steven H Silver, in which aliens the size of dust motes (Mars dust, to be precise) face off against unwitting astronauts Buzz and Neil.

Elizabeth Moon delivers plenty of creepy factor in “A Greener Future,” where an entertaining troop of little green men are more trouble than they appear. Then in “Rule the World” by Jody Lynn Nye, we get suspiciously charismatic aliens who just want to sign a peace treaty with us, but psychic cats object.

“Stuck in Buenos Aires With Bob Dylan On My Mind” by Ken Scholes is an escapist piece with a beatnik feel (beatnik because... Bob Dylan) in which the narrator is stranded on Earth with the ability to play Bob Dylan songs and speak Spanish, which isn't quite as helpful as one would think in France.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch gives us a wonderfully cynical essay from student to teacher in “Little (Green) Women," because in a universe where little green men might exist, maybe they're bizarre enough to like Little Women.

Martin L. Shoemaker's  “Meet the Landlord” is a tale of one-upmanship that zips along with clever dialogue and running jokes after invisible aliens demand back-payment for humanity's use of the moon.

Little green men can be quite belligerent in “The Little Green Men Take Their Hideous Vengeance, Sort Of” by Mike Resnick. In “Good Neighbor Policy” by Dantzel Cherry, bad attitudes are met with good ole Texas hospitality, which includes pie--the fire ants aren't nearly so accommodating. “Little Green Guys” by K. C. Ball brings us another goofy tall tale in which aliens with attitude demand help in recovering their ship.

Closing the anthology out is “The Fine Art of Politics” by Robin Wayne Bailey, an appropriately over-the-top riff on enthusiastic military who like to shoot every thing out of the sky. “Day of the Bookworm” by Allen M. Steele earlier in the line-up offers the opposite approach, where librarians handle the aliens before the military even knows about them. “First Million Contacts” by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Alex Shvartsman take the idea of appeasing aliens in another direction--what if your first alien tried to french kiss you...in Walmart?

Also included is “Hannibal's Elephants” by Robert Silverberg, a classic 1988 reprint from Omni.

From psychic cats to french-kissing aliens, Baen's Little Green Men--Attack! offers up a variety of laughs from seasoned story tellers and editors. Get it now!

Full Table of Contents:
“The Little Green Men Take Their Hideous Vengeance, Sort Of” by Mike Resnick
“Little (Green) Women” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
“Good Neighbor Policy” by Dantzel Cherry
“Stuck in Buenos Aires With Bob Dylan On My Mind” by Ken Scholes
“Rule the World” by Jody Lynn Nye
“School Colors” by Seanan McGuire
“Meet the Landlord” by Martin L. Shoemaker
“Big White Men—Attack!” by Steven H Silver
“The Green, Green Men of Home” by Selina Rosen
“A Fine Night for Tea and Bludgeoning” by Beth L. Cato
“The Game-a-holic's Guide to Life, Love, and Ruling the World” by Peter J. Wacks & Josh Vogt
“Day of the Bookworm” by Allen M. Steele
“A Greener Future” by Elizabeth Moon
“A Cuppa, Cuppa Burnin' Love” by Esther M. Friesner
“Little Green Guys” by K. C. Ball
“The March of the Little Green Men” by James E. Gunn
“First Million Contacts” by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Alex Shvartsman
“Hannibal's Elephants” by Robert Silverberg (1988 reprint from Omni)
“The Fine Art of Politics” by Robin Wayne Bailey

Review: The Truth About Cats and Wolves by @AletheaKontis plus Once Upon a Kiss

These two new releases by Alethea Kontis will entertain and nurture the romantic in you. What better way to weather these trying times? And as per usual with Ms. Kontis, the stories have a delightful depth to them, blasting through tropes even in the context of a fairy tale.

The Truth About Cats and Wolves: A Nocturne Falls Universe Story by Alethea Kontis is a fun, refreshing romantic urban fantasy following Kai Xanthopoulos, a young woman on the verge of discovering--and deciding--her fate, beginning with her inexplicable encounter with a refugee werewolf who wants the Nocturne Falls police to catch him. Finn's arrival is certainly no accident, but his connection to Kai comes as a surprise to everyone and leads to the discovery of her long-awaited powers. To add to the fun, Owen--the cat that can talk to her?--he's more than he's let on, and his secrets could mean trouble for Kai on the distant horizon.

Kontis' love story busts through urban fantasy tropes with glee. Kai is a wonderfully strong young woman, both in personality and in her emerging powers. Kai's powers give her options, as contrasted with some urban fantasy stories where the woman is constantly beholden to her dangerous companions. Furthermore, Kai's introspection--balanced well by the story's action and magic--is honest in a way that makes me want to be her. Where other protagonists might simper over the abusive bad boy, Kai evaluates her options and her emotions in a way that respects her self and those around her. As icing on the cake, werewolf Finn is not your typical 'bad' boy, either, or Kai would kick him to the curb in the second chapter.

There's plenty of magic and fun, too. Both cat and wolf carry endearing traits over to their human form. Kai's family and friends range from fairy to novice witch. Nocturne Falls is a delightful urban fantasy town (by Kristen Painter) where paranormals like Kai keep the human residents in the dark using spelled water. But of course, spelled water can't hide everything! Kai and her fae friends have to be careful not to give away the town's secret (or get in trouble with Harmswood paranormal school) as they seek to break Finn's curse.

I hope there's a follow-up to The Truth About Cats and Wolves. Kontis gives readers a light-hearted coming-of-age romance, with a tasty hint of more adventure to come.



And as long as we're talking about Alethea Kontis, here's another recent release that I couldn't resist snatching up!

Let's take a look at Once Upon a Kiss: 17 Romantic Faerie Tales anthology, with "Glass Mountain" by Alethea Kontis.

In this gorgeous anthology, an author's note accompanies each story, noting the original fairy tale inspiration and thoughts behind changes made to the original source material. Many of the original fairy tales will be familiar to readers--such as the little mermaid in "The Sea King's Daughter," a beautiful retelling by Anthea Sharp. Kontis' tale is based on a folk tale I'd never read before and is even more enjoyable for it, complete with strange spells and princesses who fall into them. The stories range in length from short stories to novellas with chapters. A very enjoyable anthology with surprising diversity in tone and subject, and a steal at its current 99c price.

Here's a fun "Fairy Tale Rant" by Alethea Kontis covering the original fairy tale, Old RinkRank. I'd never read the tale before myself and found it enjoyable to look it up after reading the anthology. Her Fairy Tale Rants were quite popular and she would love to do them again for her patreon members.

Enjoy!