Smoke Eaters | Sean Grigsby

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

It's the year 2121 and firefighter Cole Brannigan is literally one week from retirement when he receives his last call. Confirmed, no dragons. At least, until a dragon shows up anyways. Instead of dying, however, he is found to be resistant to smoke and fire and ends up recruited into the Smoke Eaters, a special branch of the firefighters dedicated to fighting dragons. He's old, and everyone admits that, but there are too few Smoke Eaters and they need all the help they can get. Now he has to survive Smoke Eater training, dragons, wraiths, a mayor with a vendetta, and his wife's temper.

Review:

I had a lot of fun reading this book. It was one of those books that made me worry I'd miss a bus stop because it was so engaging. It's not too surprising, this book has so many elements that I love. You've got a cast of characters, with attitude and mild superpowers, who are up against ancient monsters, robots and a corrupt government. Seriously, what's not to enjoy?

The world this takes place in is a very interesting blend of fantasy and science fiction. Using contemporary understanding to make futuristic weapons to fight off ghosts and the dragons those ghosts summon was interesting. And not just the weaponry, the armor was also really cool. I loved that, as advanced as the suits were, they were still realistic. The comparison was made to an Iron Man suit, but one that only has so much power to it. It makes the world feel that much more possible to me. Especially when Grigsby puts his actual firefighter experience to play. I've learned a bit more about fire than I had known before and plenty more about the day-to-day of being a firefighter.

And, of course, there's the dialogue. There's plenty of humor throughout the book because it's written from Brannigan's perspective, but the dialogue is where it really comes through. The Smoke Eaters live up to their motto of "Sink or Swim". I will admit, a few times I felt Brannigan was overdoing it in terms of speaking his mind or always putting himself in the line of fire with little thought to collateral damage (he costs the people around him). But, I suppose, that's his character. He's an old man set in his ways of running towards danger and calling people out on their bad habits that could get others killed.

That being said, I did get more into this story than I thought I would. I really hope there will be more books set in this world. If not, I'm still looking forward to more books by Grigsby. 4.5 hoots!

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25 Ways to Kill a Werewolf | Jo Thomas

Summary:

Elkie Bernstein and her childhood best friend Dave Williams are play fighting in the woods when they suddenly get attacked by a giant mongrel. When the mongrel accidentally gets impaled on one of their spears, they see the mongrel form turn human. After that, more and more show up ready, willing and able to kill her.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book. It's kinda simple in nature, there's no global conspiracy or league of werewolf hunters or anything like that. It's just Elkie, trying to live her life while under constant threat of werewolf attack. No one besides her and two friends seem to know that werewolves exist and since the bodies revert back to human at death, who'd believe her? 

Each chapter is titled after a different method of death and it became interesting to try to figure out how some of them would work. Don't get me wrong, Method 3: Train was pretty obvious. But Method 8: Chocolate Spread had me wondering. I found the story and methods of death to be very creative. While it got old for Elkie pretty quick, it didn't get old for me!

And I am so glad we get to read the story from Elkie's perspective. She is such a good character. She has times where she gets frustrated because she has no idea why she's the one being targeted, but she always moves forward. It takes her a while to move sometimes, but she's able to prioritize. She didn't get the chance to leave the tiny village out in Wales, but she's still able to grow and find happiness in her life. She didn't get to be an academic like Dave, but maybe that's for the best. 

I did worry that there was gonna be a love triangle, but it ended up being more of a "she's mine" kind of scenario with the guys while Elkie stopped wanting to have anything to do with them ages ago. I really do feel bad about what Dave does, and I was seriously hoping he would die from being maimed by a werewolf. Seriously. I told friends and family I'd be upset if he didn't die by the end of the book. While I didn't get what I wanted, I did end up getting a much better, and more fitting, ending. 

There is no question that this was a good book for me to pick up. It's a bit of a new adult book (a lot of talk of sex, but it's only in passing) and there is a lot of death (but nothing's ever graphically depicted). So if you're sensitive to those things maybe not the best book for you. 

However, if you're interested in a strong female lead who is able to survive 25+ encounters with werewolves while still making her life what she wants it to be, pick this up. I think you'll like it. 4.5 hoots!

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The Villain's Sidekick | Stephen T. Brophy | Mini-Review

Review:

This book is only about 100 pages, yet in that short amount of time, Brophy creates an engaging, memorable story with a surprisingly sympathetic main character. HandCannon works for The Eye and he's messed up, yet again, against Nightguard (the local superhero). He's given a chance to redeem himself and keep his job, but it's the same weekend that his ex-wife finally lets his little daughter visit him. I absolutely loved that HandCannon was so practical in his approach on everything. He even said he's not the monologuing type, highfalutin type. He is genuinely trying to make the best of the hand he's been dealt. This story ended up having so many things in it: action, mystery, comedy and even horror. I happily give this 4 hoots and encourage you to pick up a copy!

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New Praetorians 1 - Sienna McKnight | R. K. Syrus

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

As someone who was nearly murdered in utero, Sienna knows you gotta fight to survive. It's written into her soul by the scars she still bears from the attempted homicide. Adopted by a military couple, one of whom was the medic who saved her, Sienna grew up in North Carolina and was trained from an early age on how to survive even the strangest of circumstances. When she becomes the youngest person made Army Colonel since the Civil War and the youngest woman made Army Colonel ever, she pulls the strings she needs to get back to her mother's homeland, Khorasan, and find her cousin, the man who killed her mother and tried to kill her as well.

Review:

This novella has certainly peaked my interest and I'm definitely wanting to continue reading the following books in this series. It was a little difficult to get into at first. The first several chapters like to skip forward in time, giving us a survey of Sienna's life and the world we're in. I remember being a bit disappointed that the book didn't center around the events in Antarctica that introduced the Ansible, that is later used for Sienna's weaponry. Instead, the next chapter skips ahead to the aftermath when her team, except her boyfriend, are fully recovered and she's a Colonel. 

The story we end up getting to focus on is her first real attempt at revenge. There are some flashbacks mixed in as well as a spiritual journey when she's out cold and her body has been fused with Ansible technology. The mission that she's taken her team, The Dogs, out for is supposed to be a quick grab-and-go. It almost succeeds. Along the way we get to learn a lot of important information about her team and why they are her team. This team is crazy in a way that balances out everyone else's crazy. T-rex, Snakelips, Whitebread, Nobu and Sarge all have distinct personalities and quirks that, to me, never feel like caricatures. I really felt they were real people.

The world is near-future Military Sci-Fi so you get some interesting technologies, most of them medical and warfare. We are introduced to the world in a time when that warfare technology is going through a possible scientific upgrade, thanks to the Ansible. The medical technology was always credited to DARPA and was frequently seen due to several opening chapters taking place in a Veteran's Hospital But there were also little technologies that I liked as well. Sienna's West Point class ring will also display little holograms of her achievements in and out of the academy. The first hospital we see has service bots for grunt work (though the way Ennis treated the one, I expect a robot uprising in a future book). So the world is similar, yet different. The technology is interesting, and it feels like we're learning about the new technology at the same pace as the characters.

This was an interesting read. Once I got into the book, I greatly appreciated Sienna's intelligence. She was not a character I had to yell at for doing something stupid. Some of the transitions felt a little disorienting, but, overall, I am intrigued by this world and its characters. Each novella will take the point of view of a different character and the next character is Sarge, Sienna's adoptive uncle who clearly knows more than he lets on. 

I am very entertained by this world, despite some of the writing being a bit rough. It does get a little bloody, and there is a scene with a child bomber, so probably not a book for the faint of heart. But if you're interested in starting a new novella series in this genre, I do recommend picking this one up. It's definitely a good start to, hopefully, a great series. 3.5 Hoots!

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Moonshine | Jasmine Gower

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

Daisy Dell has just scored her first real job after college. She's a typist/secretary for Andre Swarz at Pinstripe's. Modest pay, but it helps her work towards her goal of being a Modern Girl. When she finds she works for a magician who hired her in part because of her own magic (inherited in the form of trinkets from her grandmother) she gets introduced to the world of bootleg mana and speakeasies. When an attempt is made on her life by mage-hunters, she has to seek help from her boss and coworkers to survive.

Review:

This book was not what I was expecting, and that's a good thing. I genuinely thought this was an alternate, historical fantasy that would take place in 1930's USA. What I got was a fantasy world with as much magic as any other high fantasy world, but with prohibition era aesthetics. It was really cool! 

The world is incredibly interesting and I want to know more about it. I greatly appreciated the difference in approach between Mr. Swarz and Daisy. His academic, political views of the world versus her aesthetic, social perspective really helped to flesh out the world. She's more likely to note the combined uses of magic and ogre technology where he is more likely to note the local politics and economic climate. The fact that this city of Ashland actually exists near a dying volcano that frequently covers the city in ash provided an interesting mental picture. Combine that with a culture that has incorporated (however begrudgingly) ogres and fauns, and you've got my attention. I really do want to read more about this world.

Then there are the characters. We only get to read the book from three character's perspectives: Daisy, Mr. Swarz and Ming Wei. These three are kinda all we need, though. As different as they each are, they are also surprisingly similar. All three have had to work from nothing to something, but Daisy and Mr. Swarz had plenty of family support while Wei needs to support her family. Daisy and Wei have good health while Mr. Swarz is physically disabled. Wei and Mr. Swarz are in charge of their groups while Daisy has never had any kind of influence or power. I really liked how Daisy and Wei almost bonded over their shared understanding of "a girl's gotta eat."

This book was a very enjoyable introduction to a very new world that I would really like to read more of. I'm eager to read more of Gower's works and encourage you to pick up a copy of Moonshine. 4 hoots!

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