Tagged: masq1
A Grave Inheritance by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London’s most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.
But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?
With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid’s fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
After having read Goddess Born, the first book in Kari Edgren’s trilogy, I was very, very excited to get my hands on A Grave Inheritance. The first book had been so great that it would be hard to top, but I had faith that she would be up to the challenge. And of course she was.
Selah is a much different character now. She’s more sure of herself and of Henry, but there are still little doubts lingering beneath the surface. Those doubts aren’t helped when Henry seems to all but ignore her for a while and chastises her for using her gift when he knows she can’t help it. Will they be able to overcome their differences? Or will the pressure from pretty much everyone in King George’s court undo the love they found back in the colonies? Especially when Julian, another descendant of Brigid starts showing an interest in Selah.
Yes, some people will probably get frustrated with Selah doubting Henry all of the time, but you have to remember that although they’re in love, they haven’t exactly known each other for a long time. It’s natural that Selah fears Henry will leave her once he goes back to his life as the King’s favourite courtier. And Henry doesn’t exactly alleviate those doubts early on. Both of them grow so much as characters throughout this book that you can hardly recognize them from how they were at the beginning of Goddess Born. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do have to say that they both change for the better.
I kind of saw some of the plot twists coming, but there were others that completely blindsided me. Especially the revelation about Selah’s family and the fact that Brigid wasn’t the only deity to have mortal descendants with powerful gifts. For a largely character-driven novel, the plot is fairly fast-paced so I really can’t complain about that. The only real criticism I have is that I wish a little more had happened in the middle of the book; it wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t exactly super interesting at times. Since that’s really my only complaint (and it’s pretty minor), I’d have to say that the plot was pretty darn good overall.
One of the things that made me fall in love with Goddess Born, aside from the characters, was Kari Edgren’s writing. It’s just as good, if not better, in the sequel. She has this beautiful way of describing things that makes you feel like you really are there with the characters; that’s rare enough in authors. What makes her writing great as opposed to good, however, is the fact that she can give a very authentic historical atmosphere. Edgren makes you really feel like you’re in England in the 1700s. I know almost nothing about the period but she puts in these little details of everyday life that it makes the story ring true. It’s quite amazing, really.
It’s not often that second books are just as good if not better than the first book. Yet here we have A Grave Inheritance, a wonderful tale of love, magic, intrigue, gods and goddesses. It’s an emotional roller coaster at times and Kari Edgren really makes you feel all of her characters’ hardships. You can’t help but get emotionally invested in her characters and that’s part of the reason why I’m so anxious for the third book. Selah’s story is far from over.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
The Rose Master by Valentina Cano
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that’s hardly the most upsetting news. She’s being dismissed from the home she’s served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she’s never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:
There’s something wrong with Rosewood Manor.
Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.
As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them–some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.
When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn’t prepared for. The creature is very real, and she’s the only one who can help him stop it.
Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she’s grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that stood out for me from the beginning in The Rose Master was the writing. Valentina Cano has a beautiful descriptive writing style that just sucks you into the world of her story. Of course it’s not as verbose as the writing style of the time, but it is different enough from most styles that you get a sort of authentic “gothic mystery novel” feel. Which is probably what she was going for, considering the plot and the subject matter.
The characters ring true both to the modern reader as well as to the times they live in. Anne is a servant at the age of seventeen and when she’s sent away to Rosewood Manor she’s on her own for the first time in her life. So you can imagine her terror when it seems like there’s something funny going on at the manor, what with the odd noises, mysterious bruises on the staff members and an absentee Lord. One of the things that I admired so much about the book is that Anne is brave and resourceful without resulting to the modern ‘kick-butt action girl’ trope that would ruin the authentic Gothic feel. She’s not helpless, but she is bound by her upbringing and the expectations of the times. I don’t want to give much away but when she finally does meet our mysterious Lord Grey, she definitely does grow out of that enforced timidity.
The plot is not fast by most modern standards but it is fascinating. Valentina Cano sucks you into her world with her writing and she is a master of suspense. Even if you’re like me and could pretty much predict the next events, you just had to keep reading to see how they would unfold. She creates an air of mystery, suspense and more than a little horror throughout the novel that I really admire her for sustaining. Sure, there are some happy parts between characters, but there’s always that ominous other lurking about on the sidelines.
Even if you’re not a huge Gothic novel fan, I can’t recommend The Rose Master enough. It is just so beautifully written and Valentina Cano does a wonderful job keeping her readers in suspense. The characters are so well fleshed out, both major and minor, that you can’t help but fall in love with them. I particularly liked Anne; she’s a very memorable main character. Basically? Just go and buy this book. I think you’ll love it as much as I did.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Harbinger by Lee French and Erik Kort
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Adjusting to her new life as a soul-bound agent of the Fallen has Chavali pushing herself harder than ever before. Between learning to fight, dealing with idiots, and climbing stairs – lots of stairs – she has little time to waste on thoughts of the future. Or the past.
When another agent fails to report in, Chavali is sent on the mission to discover her fate. Ready or not, she saddles up for a new adventure with new dangers.
The search takes her to Ket, a coastal city slathered in mystery. There, she faces ghosts from her past and demons of her future as she seeks answers. All she seems to find are more questions.
Plague, murder, lies, espionage…this city harbors much more than meets the eye, and maybe too much to handle.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the only real things that disappointed me in the last book was that we never explored the origins of the Fallen. I was expecting French and Kort to go into their mysterious origins a little bit but that never really happened, unfortunately. Their world-building was just as good as it was when they wrote the first book, but in some ways Harbinger brings up more questions than it answers. Still, I could really appreciate the time and effort they both put into fleshing out the city of Ket, where all of the main action takes place.
In the first book Chavali went through huge changes as a character. She does that here in book two but not to the same degree, really. What’s interesting is that with Harris she learns mercy and with Colby she learns that not everything is black and white and seeing the world that way can be a significant hindrance. And what was far more interesting to me personally was the way she interacted with people, helping them with their problems in an honest sort of way and caring about someone besides herself. That’s definitely a marked difference from The Fallen. She’s no saint, but I did love the way her character developed so naturally throughout the book.
The best and sometimes worst part of Harbinger is the plot. It’s the best thing because it’s much more complex and fast-paced than that of the previous book. It’s also the ‘worst’ thing because sometimes it’s too complex and there are far too many new names brought up without sufficient backstory. That’s not necessarily a major thing because it doesn’t detract from the overarching goal (find Elise and find out why she died) but it does make things more than a little confusing at some points, especially when you get everyone’s spies involved in the group’s business. I would have liked for either a little more fleshing out of each character or just fewer minor characters just to keep the plot straight.
Still, I did enjoy Harbinger on the whole. I loved Erik Kort and Lee French’s world and their world-building. Their major characters were much more fleshed out this time around and Chavali really is turning into a different person as one of the Fallen. My only real complaints were the lack of new backstory discovered and the introduction of too many minor characters without really fleshing them out. But the question is: will I be reading the third book? Of course because I want to see what happens to Chavali and the gang; I’ve come to care for them as characters.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Fallen by Lee French and Erik Kort
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
For hundreds of years, the Blaukenev clan has wandered across Tilzam, from one end to the other and back. Each wagon carries history, love, laughter, pain, sorrow, and secrets. Their greatest secret of all may be Chavali, the clan Seer.
Spirits claim/use/save/damn her.
With her gift/curse, nothing surprises her anymore, no one keeps secrets from her. She, on the other hand, has more than enough secrets to keep. Secrets of her own, secrets of her clan, secrets of the world, secrets she even keeps from herself.
There are always people who want secrets.
Some will do anything to get what they want.The Fallen is the foundation of the story of The Greatest Sin, of a world adrift from its God that desperately wants Her back. Chavali’s comfortable, predictable life will be ripped apart and burnt to ashes as she’s forced into the middle of that struggle. Change, she hates it passionately. It hates her right back.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
One of the things that surprised me the most about French and Kort’s world is how vivid it is. Even though we only see a limited bit of it through Chavali, the rich lore of The Greatest Sin as well as the obviously well thought out traditions of Chavali’s people all combine to make it a wonderful fantasy world. I personally would have liked to learn way more about the other countries and the Fallen themselves, but I think that’s for another book entirely. Still, both authors reveal enough about the world that you feel curious about it, but not lost. And that way there’s no huge info-dump right at the beginning; instead there’s a natural learning curve as the book goes on.
The characters were nothing stellar, but they were fairly good. Chavali can be temperamental and rude but I can sort of understand why when people keep touching her and passing on their thoughts without her permission. Especially when those people are particularly repugnant or are like Keino and want things that she can’t and won’t give. Still, Chavali was a very sympathetic character and when you consider just how much she changes from pampered seer to member of the Fallen, you realize she is fairly easy to relate to. Haven’t we all lost some arrogance at one point in our lives?
I can’t reveal too much about the plot without giving away some pretty important spoilers, but let me just say that while it’s not predictable, it’s not completely unpredictable. There are familiar tropes that will allow you to predict what happens next but at the same time, French and Kort mixed things up a bit by introducing the Fallen and revealing more about Chavali’s tribe. So while it’s not an on the edge of your seat plot, it is interesting enough that I wanted to read it in one session. All in all? I’d have to say that The Fallen was pretty good and I can’t wait to start on Harbinger tonight.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Flirting With Fire by Tara Quan
(Cover picture courtesy of Tara Quan’s site.)
Apprentice witch Catalina Gato is prohibited from assuming her human form in front of her new employer without his express permission. Since he doesn’t know he’s a warlock, he can’t give it, leaving her in a familiar’s limbo. To make matters worse, she’s barred from leaving his house, and her attempts to enlighten him of his true nature results in burnt notes, charred walls, and exploding laptops.
On All Hallows’ Eve, she gets one night of freedom. Deciding some no-strings-attached sex might take the edge off the intense attraction she feels for her clueless boss, she signs up for Madame Eve’s service. When she meets her masked mystery date at the Castillo Capital, she realizes she might have gotten much more than she bargained for.
After being gifted a one-night stand from his annoying best friend, attorney Leo Difuoco reluctantly ventures to the Castillo Capital to celebrate Halloween. When he meets his oddly familiar green-eyed date in a Cat Woman costume, flames literally ignite, sparks magically fly, and life as he knows it changes forever.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Having read Tara Quan’s Operation Owl, I expected Flirting with Fire to be a semi-serious romantic novel. That’s pretty much just what I got with this second book of hers that I’ve read but for some reason I just liked it much more than Operation Owl.
Maybe it was the fact that both characters are much better fleshed out, even though the book seems shorter. Leonardo is a kind of sloppy bachelor who can’t see things under his own nose, but you get the feeling that his heart’s in the right place. Why else would he care for the cat his crazy grandmother left him? Cat, on the other hand, is a much more vivid character in my mind. She’s stuck in the form of (you guessed it) a cat because she was a familiar to Leonardo’s grandmother and now Leonardo, who doesn’t believe in magic, is in control of her contract without knowing it. So she’s stuck as a cat when she goes out of the house on every night but one: Halloween.
Since this is kind of a romance, you can pretty much guess how the story goes from there when both Leonardo and Cat go out on the same night. Still, Tara Quan does a good job of building up a reasonable amount of suspense by ratcheting up the tension within both characters as well as creating some tension between the two when they meet. And of course, when the romance part finally seems to happen, there’s still the question of Cat’s contract and whether Leonardo is willing to open up his mind and believe her.
The best thing about this book is that it’s emotionally satisfying. There’s no Insta-Love, but rather an instant connection of some sort that in some situations obviously can lead to a one-night stand. So that’s more than believable given the circumstances both characters are in at the time. And by the end, you get the feeling that not only has the main conflict been resolved satisfactorily but that you can guess at what happens next to some degree. It makes for a much better ending than the usual drive off into the sunset with these sorts of things.
So if you’re looking for a good book that’s also fairly light reading with plenty of romance, Flirting With Fire would be a great place to start.
I give this book 4/5 stars.