Nanoshock | K. C. Alexander

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

Summary:

Riko's cred is still draining. She's losing more allies than she even knew she'd had. She's gaining more enemies than she thought possible. With the price on her head going up, she's having trouble focusing on her mission of getting proof that MetaCorp set her up and is trying to weaponize Necros. 

Review:

I have been waiting for this sequel for a while. I never forgot my joy at reading the first book. When I saw this one available on NetGalley, I jumped on it. I was not disappointed! Riko is back, doing and saying things that would make a sailor blush and living up to the title "Splatter Specialist" the whole way. And I loved every minute of it.

This isn't a book for everyone. It is incredibly NSFW and has a lot of fight scenes that made me cringe. That said, if you're okay with some gruesomeness and a lot of foul language, you'll probably appreciate the humor that permeates throughout the book. You will probably want to read the first one before you read this. There's a lot of important backstory there.

I'll admit, there were a few times when Riko's attitude and act-first-think-later personality began to get annoying, but the author wonderfully seems to know when this is happening and has another character call her out on it. This really helps with balancing Riko's obtuse nature keeping the reader from burnout. There were times it was difficult to figure out what was going on, then again, since we're reading from Riko's perspective, and she's not the brains of any operation, it kinda makes sense. 

Then, there was the ending. I'm going to avoid spoilers by not telling you a thing about the last chapter. All I will say, when I finished this book, I had a big smile on my face that only got bigger as I thought more and more about how well the ending fit. This book was an exceptional follow up to the first one and I couldn't be more pleased with it.

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The Hidden Face | S. C. Flynn

*Book provided by the author for an honest review.

Summary:

Dayraven has been a prisoner in a foreign land for 15 years. The day of his return he is disappointed. His emperor is a feeble old man who is forgetting to set the empire up for the next passing of power. Every few centuries, Akhen, the sun god, takes the form of a human, revealing himself on their 30th birthday. The next "unmasking" is only 15 years away and there are those who would use the unmasked for their own purposes. Dayraven must join with Sunniva to solve the riddles and figure out who the next Face of Akhen will be before others do.

Review:

For such a short book, there sure is a lot of story in these pages. The PDF I received had the book spanning less than 200 pages (I'm not counting the snippet of the next book). Yet in that short amount of time, Flynn was able to write up an engaging, enjoyable book. The puzzles were an excellent way of building the world, the most culturally based ones being at the start of the book. The reader gets to learn about cultural icons and whatnot while Dayraven and Sunniva work out what they mean the puzzle context. 

The story doesn't leave a lot of time for character development so much as character establishment, which makes sense, it's the first installment. Every chapter is told from another character's perspective and include a lot of flashbacks relevant to the character and the situation. But throughout the book, we mostly get an establishing of character rather than character growth. Except for Twister, he gave me quite the twist! At first I thought he would be the Gollum of the story, but by the end of it I just wanted something, anything good to happen to the poor guy. I really appreciated getting his perspective of things.

Really my only complaint about this book is the love story between Dayraven and Sunniva. Then again, I've never been much of a fan of love stories, especially not when I'm reading an adventure and puzzle heavy book. I get why they get together and appreciate that even they recognize how quickly they're falling, but still, not my cup of tea. 

There were times when I wanted to compare the book to The Davinci Code, what with a secret kept safe by Guardians that were killed and only able to pass on the secret through a series of puzzles. But this book takes place in a very different world and has very different power dynamics. This is its own world.

I really had fun reading this book and am really looking forward to the next. If you're interested in a new adventure read, I recommend you pick up a copy (it'll be coming out November 25). 4 hoots!

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The Trials of Solomon Parker | Eric Scott Fischl

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

Summary:

It's the early 1900's and Sol Parker is as deep in debt as the bottom of the mine he's working, and digging deeper. He just can't resist the dice. After a tragedy strikes the mine and he loses his only son, Sol ends up taking one more gamble when Marked Face offers him what he desires most, another chance.

Review:

This was quite the book. It took a little for me to get into it, and there were some parts that, squeamish me, had troubles with, but it was a good read. Fischl had his work cut out for him when he started changing up the timelines, but he was able to pull it off. At no point did I lose track of the story or the characters. I did have a little trouble getting into the world, but that's my own misconceptions about when the transition from wagons to trucks happened. 

I really felt for the characters in this book. Even when they were in their worst timeline, you knew that this was the magic of the different timeline. All it takes is for one thing to have changed in the past. I did appreciate that the characters kept meeting up, kept finding themselves in Butte. The author, in his notes, compared Sol to Job, but for the duration of this book, I see him as Sisyphus. At least three times we see Sol, aging as he climbs the mined out mountain, only to have to do it again. Trying a different route or a different starting point. Each time, he gets another chance to try to do things right.

Mixed in with Sol's stories are those of Billy (Sagiistoo), a Native American trying to come to terms with his abusive heritage and the abusive Christian school he went to, and the brothers Maatakssi and Siinatssi whose tragedies led to the downfall of The People. Keep in mind, Maatakssi and Siinatssi is not an actual Native legend, Fischl told it in the style of a Native legend, but felt it wasn't his place to tell a true one. The combination of these stories make for an engaging tale about human frailty and the quest for redemption, the need to make things right. 

The book isn't for everyone. There's a lot of abuse, death and cruelty. But there's also the good aspects of humanity. The camaraderie of the miners, standing up to the company so they can work in safer conditions. The love of a father for the child of his blood and the child he adopts. The sacrifices people will make to do the right thing. 

In case you can't tell, I really liked this book. I'm not usually one for historical fiction, but Fischl's books have shown to be worth making an exception. If you're okay with reading a darker book and are interested in trying the historical fiction genre, I highly recommend The Trials of Solomon Parker. 4 hoots!

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Shadow Ops: Control Point | Myke Cole

Summary:

Lieutenant Oscar Britton has just had his magical ability awaken. Unfortunately his magic is in a prohibited school meaning he is going to be sentenced to death. Naturally, he runs. After he is caught, however, he learns that he will not be put to death, provided he follows the rules and doesn't try to run again. Instead he's been recruited to a secret base in the home of magic, called The Source. Here he must learn to control his magic while trying to figure out just whose side he's on.

Review:

I've been a fan of Military Sci-Fi for a while now so I figured I'd give Military Fantasy a try. This, maybe wasn't the best book for the transition.

The world this takes place in is amazing. It's very easy to get into the swing of things, figure out the way things are, etc. Even the magical world of The Source was very well thought out and intriguing. The indigenous people, nicknamed Goblins, have entire histories and mannerisms that I would love to learn more about. The clear and blatant racism that the Goblins have to deal with daily was heart-wrenching.

Then there was the classism between those who agreed to use their magic to serve their country and the Selfers, people who refused to take the oath. Selfers were treated like dangerous criminals even after they'd learned to control their magic. They were not allowed to go home, by all accounts they were dead. Their only choice was to either be treated like a prisoner and watch propaganda videos or take the oath to serve those who had put them into this situation because of reasons beyond their control. No one can control if or when their magic will manifest, nor in what way it will manifest. But, if you show signs of magic, you're drafted, one way or another.

And these situations provide wonderful ethical debates about freedom and treatment of prisoners of wars and more!

The problem I have with this book is the characters. I repeatedly called Britton an idiot. And yes, he did most of his stupid things for good reasons (he didn't want to die, he didn't want his friend to die) but I still felt like he deserved every hit he took. And he takes a lot of hits. At the end of the book a lot of people are dead because of him. Whether they were the good guys or not, that doesn't justify their deaths, nor how they died. He, himself, points out a few times what his biggest flaw is, his pride. If he could've learned to just shut up once in a while, he might have been an okay main character.

The other characters in this book are rather one dimensional, their motivations defining who they are and what they do. Even the bad guys, on every side, are very straight forward. Almost comically so. Britton's motivations keep flip-flopping so it made it even more difficult to like him. Therese and Marty were the only characters that I actually care about what happened to them.

In the end, though, I have to give this book 3 hoots. At no point did I feel like I needed to stop reading it and, when all was said and done, I have to say I am tempted to buy the next book. It has a different main character and the author had more experience under his belt when he wrote it. If it goes on sale, I'll buy it. In the meantime, this first book of the series gets 3 hoots!

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The Mirror Empire | Kameron Hurley

Summary:

The star of Oma is rising for the first time in two thousand years. As a result, many who were considered ungifted are finding their magic. At the same time, a new enemy has been terrorizing the Saiduan to the North. They look like the Dhai, but that is all they have in common. This book follows many characters in their attempts to understand and survive in the time of Oma.

Review:

Even before I finished this book, I knew I was going to buy the next one. Or at least add it to my wishlist in case someone wants to buy it for me (Fluxxdog?). This book was bloodier than I thought it would be, but that's what happens when you have characters who can use blood magic. At the same time, it was so very, pleasantly different that I kept reading and enjoying myself.

I absolutely loved the fact that there is no one standard for "civilized society" in any of the countries represented in this book. The Dorinah are very strictly matriarchal (it's actually very dangerous for a man to go outside by himself). The Dhai are less strict on gender roles and even have five different pronouns that you can choose from for yourself. The Saiduan are more patriarchal and you will have your gender pronoun assigned to you from the three options.

As nice as those sound, the men in Dorinah are highly uneducated and are possibly even lower than the dajian (enslaved Dhai). In Dhai society the new Kai is covered in the blood of the old Kai while a feast is made from her entire body. And The Saiduan find glory in death.

There is so much of this world to learn and all of it is incredibly interesting. It wasn't just politics, either, which was my absolute favorite part of this book. The world it takes place in has very actively carnivorous plant life. There are riddles. There are magics based on the ascendance of stars and technologies and medicines built off of them. There is so much to this world and there is clearly so much more to see! This is why I need to get my hands on the next book.

Additionally, I appreciated that I never felt the need to smack sense into a character. The main reason these characters do something stupid or naive is because they've had information withheld from them. The new Kai, Ahkio, is never given the full account. Roh is never told about one of his most potent abilities. Lilia is made purposefully ignorant of her homeland. I read these characters and I think they're doing the best with what they're given.

This is a longer review than I was expecting and I still haven't said everything I want to say. To sum up, this is a great book full of dark fantasy and amazing world building. I'm very interested in seeing where this world goes. 4.5 hoots!

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The Alchemy of Stone | Ekaterina Sedia

Summary:

Mattie, one of the very few automatons intelligent enough to warrant emancipation from her creator, Loharri, has been asked by the Gargoyles to user her alchemy to help them from turning to stone in the sunlight. At the same time, the city is feeling major unrest with the current political system. The peasants are being forced into mining work since The Mechanics replaced them with automatons in the fields. The Alchemists have worked hard to gain political favor, at the cost of the lower classes and immigrants.

Review:

I'm really not sure where to begin with this book. It is a good book, don't get me wrong. The city is interesting, though I do wish we could've gotten more information about the world. The characters were interesting, though I found it hard to empathize with any other than Mattie and the Soul-Smoker. 

I truly did feel for those characters. Mattie's relationship with Loharri was so abusive and controlling that I was truly disgusted. The lengths that man went through to make sure Mattie could never truly leave him was beyond creepy. He had essentially programmed her to always think of him when she needed help. He held onto the one key that she needed to keep herself wound. He literally held her life in his hands.

"You were ill," he said, "because you went went against your desire to see me. I told you that you always must do so. Didn't I?"

Then, Ilmarekh, the Soul-Smoker, cursed to carry the souls of the dead that refused to pass on. Forced to use opium to keep them all happy. Forced to always be listening to all of their stories and needs, never a moment alone, yet always alone because the living feared him so much. The only time he can quiet the dead is when he stops taking opium. Then he has to deal with the withdrawal which is made all the more difficult by living completely alone and being completely blind.

What little lore we got on the alchemy of this city, and even less the alchemy of the world, was interesting. I do wish we could've gotten more of it. Then again, I'm always a bit of a geek for the technical stuff. It was clear a lot of the technology of this world was steam based, but very little detail went into it. The book focused a lot more on the political unrest and drama-based relationships, which are not my favored books.

This was an engaging read. I had no problems reading through the whole thing rather quickly. Never felt I needed to put the book down. It was good, just not quite great. If you're interested in steampunk drama, by all means give this book a try. For me, I'm giving it 3 hoots.

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Dr. Potter's Medicine Show | Eric Scott Fischl

*I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

This book follows three stories that tie together. The first is the story of the travelling show whose participants are tortured, sometimes literally, by Lyman, their illusionist. The second is the story of Ag and Sol, two brothers trying to prove they don't need their mother. Third is the story of Dr. Hedwith, a man trying to find the secret to immortality by any means.

Review:

I'll start with a warning that this book is not for the faint of heart or stomach. More than once I wished I wasn't eating while reading. It starts out innocently enough but there are some scenes that made me think of Red Dragon. So, fair warning, not a book for everyone.

That being said, I actually did enjoy this book a lot more than I thought I would. Yes, the book is full of dark and depressing scenes, but, thankfully, Fischl has a good number of scenes with Ag and Sol. Yes, they're pretty much comic relief, but they're are so well balanced with the darker stories that you never feel like the book is taking itself too seriously or not seriously enough. Fischl has a really good sense of balance with his characters and their stories. 

I also enjoyed how Fischl wrapped things up at the end of the book. There was enough mystery that you didn't know exactly what had happened, but enough loose ends had been tied up that you didn't feel like you were missing out. Not everyone got the ending I wanted for them but I wasn't unpleasantly surprised by the endings they received. It was a really well done book.

If you're in the mood for a darker story where alchemical studies are real, taking place in the post-civil war era, I highly recommend Dr. Potter's Medicine Show. It's a good story with great characters. 

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Rarity from the Hollow | Robert Eggleton

*This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Summary:

This book is told mainly from the perspective of Lacey Dawn, an 11-year-old girl who lives in The Hollow, a hamlet hit hard, economically and socially, by the closing of the coal mine. Physical abuse is the norm in just about every household. Fortunately for Lacey Dawn, she has a friend, DotCom who tells her that she is destined to save the universe and he has been helping her become intelligent enough to help her family and do the job she's been born to do. 

Review:

I have to admit, the first few chapters of this book were tough to read. Eggleton served as a Child Advocate for many years so he knows, almost too well, the realities of domestic abuse. If you can make it past those chapters, however, the rest of the story is an interesting adventure where the adults are childish and the child has to be the responsible one. 

Naturally, a book like this isn't for everyone. There's a lot of inappropriate humor, but it really works for this book. No other type of humor could come from this situation. I found it interesting that the humor even spread to some of the alien races encountered. I also appreciated how easily humans from a poor town were able to negotiate the best in the universe using techniques unknown to advanced alien races. 

So, while I wouldn't normally read this kind of book, I do appreciate Eggleton's style and how organically the story moves along. Again, yes, a lot of the humor is sex based, but it works for the characters involved. If you can get through the first few chapters, you'll likely enjoy this book. Also, all author proceeds are donated to child abuse prevention. 4 hoots!

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The Seventh Bride | T. Kingfisher

*This book was provided by NetGally in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Arranged marriages are nothing new. They're actually the norm for Rhea's village. But when a lord asks for her, a peasant girl, to marry him, it's out of left field. Lords don't marry peasants. No one is really happy with this arrangement, but peasant's don't say "no" to lords. The wrongness of the situation is made worse when Lord Crevan asks her to come to his manor, alone, before they are married. 

Review:

This book was a lot more engaging than I thought it would be. It had a very well balanced story. The darker parts were balanced by moments of hope. The frustrating parts were balanced by humorous moments. The characters were well thought out and highly intelligent. 

I genuinely have nothing but praise for this book. It was like a fairy tale that was fully fleshed out. There is plenty of magic, and magical animals. And while the main character needs occasional rescue, it is not a matter of waiting for Prince Charming to show up. Rhea and the other wives are all strong in their own right. They aren't all supportive of each other, but you never feel that outside help is needed. 

Overall, I highly recommend The Seventh Bride. It's a good story with even better characters. 4 Hoots!

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Chimera (Book 1 of the Weaver Series) | Vaun Murphrey

*Picture and ebook provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Cassandra has been locked up in an empty room since she was 5 years old. She has no idea where she is or why she was taken and has only vague memories of her life before. At age 13 she starts hearing a voice inside her head promising her that she is not insane and he will get her out.

Review:

I almost didn't get through the first chapter. it was that rough for Cassandra, but I'm glad I pushed through. After the first chapter, the book is highly engaging. I have a history of not liking books with teenagers as main characters, but Chimera is an exception. Everyone in this world has their head on their shoulders and is able to think things through. 

Murphrey does a good job of keeping all parts of this world working together smoothly. There is a LOT going on, and there were a few moments where I wanted to go "really? Now this?" But at the same time, nothing seemed too out there for this world. 

The book is entertaining, but I probably won't be picking up the sequel. 3.5 hoots!

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Alice | Christina Henry

Summary:

Alice once went for an adventure in the Old City only to return to the New City covered in blood with no memory of what happened, blabbering about a man with rabbit ears. She was placed in an asylum and started talking with man named Hatcher through a mouse hole between their rooms. Hatcher also has vague memories of the Rabbit and when they escape the asylum, they had back to the Old City in search of answers. Most importantly the answer of how to stop the Jabberwock. 

Review:

This book is not for everyone. It is a very gripping book, I would put it down only with much reluctance, but it's not for everyone. There is a lot of blood, right from the start, with some very graphic depictions of violence. The majority of the violence is bloody, gruesome, and nausea inducing. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

That being said, I thought this was a really well written version of the Alice in Wonderland story. The plot was well thought out. The characters were fully developed and easily related to. The dialogue was entirely natural and I felt that there was nothing left unanswered by the end of the story. I was even quite happy with the ending. I give Henry full credit for building an interesting world. I had no idea where I was or what time period I was in the entire time.

So, if you're interested in a violent retelling of a classic story, or at least have a strong stomach and are a fan of dramas, mysteries, thrillers, and the like, I recommend this book. This isn't my particular genre, I probably won't read it again, but it's good for those with a strong constitution who are fans.

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*This book was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Synopsis:

Onyesonwu is an Ewu child. Ewu are almost always the result of an Okeke woman being raped by a Nuru man. Onyesonwu is also a girl. Girls are considered lesser and are not expected to be able to control magic. And yet, Onyesonwu grows up tall, strong in body, spirit and magic. And it is her destiny to free the the Okeke from slavery and genocide at the hands of the Nuru.

Review:

If I had things my way, I never would have put this book down. Throughout the reading, I knew the book would be at least a four. When I read the ending, I had to push it to a five.

Onyesonwu is an incredibly strong female lead. She has so many prejudicial obstacles thrown at her, but rather than let them drag her down, she makes her own voice stronger. She does not follow the narrative norms of her world's Great Book. She is the lead while her male companion, Mwita, has the lesser magic. She is the loud warrior, he is the quiet healer.

Okorafor touches on so many topics in this book: war, racism, rape, and the ignorance of the people removed from these things. It was ignorance that led to so much of the hate in this book. An unwillingness to see another's perspective, or an acceptance of things, "because they are tradition." Even when the people of her home village are confronted with images of the war, the Elders say not to worry, it'll never reach the village. And the ignorance continues.

But Onyesonwu does not care for ignorance. As Okorafor states, "Onyesonwu's very essence was change and defiance." The ending of this book left me shaky and feeling as though I'd shed a hundred tears, though my eyes were dry. This book is not for everyone and can get quite graphic, but I give it a full 5 hoots and will be looking for more books by Okorafor.

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The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this book. It's so very different from my usual reads, but it was certainly difficult to put down. I almost missed a bus stop because I was so focused on the story.

The story is certainly the reason I picked up this book. It is, technically, two stories, both about a young woman on a journey. It was interesting to see the parallels, find the connections and experience their convergence. The final chapters, the meeting of the two stories, did not contain many surprises. Rather, when they were revealed, they made me feel "that makes sense."

This book is certainly not for everyone. There is violence, sex, rape, suicidal thoughts, etc. Though the characters seemed to treat these things casually, I feel Byrne wrote them well and gave them the proper context to keep them from feeling flippant. Nothing that is written in this book is done so without purpose. There is no meaningless exposition.

So, while this book is not for the faint of heart, I still appreciate it's ability to keep my interest by making me think. 4.5 hoots!

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*I received a free copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.