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neilsef's reviews
248 reviews
Hammered by Lindsay Buroker
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a new series with new characters but is set in the same world as Death Before Dragons, so some of the characters from that series pop up here.
Matti is half-dwarf and primarily interested in her work of renovating old houses, but she also likes to help her friends and neighbours out if they encounter problems, which the authorities tend to look on as vigilantism.
The perspective of this tale is from Matti's point of view, which includes a strong dislike of the military, and by extension, Val and Willard, who make an appearance.
As always with Lindsay's books, the personalities of the characters are excellent and abound with her trademark humour and snarkiness. The plot is also well thought out and contains twists and mysteries enough to keep you fully engaged.
This is a very enjoyable read and a great start to a new series.
Matti is half-dwarf and primarily interested in her work of renovating old houses, but she also likes to help her friends and neighbours out if they encounter problems, which the authorities tend to look on as vigilantism.
The perspective of this tale is from Matti's point of view, which includes a strong dislike of the military, and by extension, Val and Willard, who make an appearance.
As always with Lindsay's books, the personalities of the characters are excellent and abound with her trademark humour and snarkiness. The plot is also well thought out and contains twists and mysteries enough to keep you fully engaged.
This is a very enjoyable read and a great start to a new series.
Malison: The Complete Series by Jonathan Moeller
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a series of short stories, with each book being around 130 to 140 pages long, which should have made them fairly quick, enjoyable reads. Unfortunately, except for the last book, they didn't come across as that gripping, which is a shame as the overall premise sounded very interesting.
The characters are reasonably likeable, though mostly shallow and underdeveloped, except for Tyrcamber, who being the main character is developed to a greater extent.
Overall, the short story format was a detriment to these tales as there is no time to develop the themes and characters to the depth they deserve.
The characters are reasonably likeable, though mostly shallow and underdeveloped, except for Tyrcamber, who being the main character is developed to a greater extent.
Overall, the short story format was a detriment to these tales as there is no time to develop the themes and characters to the depth they deserve.
Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a satisfying conclusion to the duology that starts with Elsie being exposed to the authorities as an unregistered Spellbreaker and thrown in jail.
Thanks to an appeal by Bacchus to the magistrate that bends the facts, and implies he and Elsie are engaged, he wins her freedom as long as she agrees to undertake formal training and invite the magistrate to the wedding.
The tale follows Elsie as she tries to track down Master Lily and the Opuses while contending with starting her Spellbreaker training, planning a wedding, searching for her family and figuring out who the American is.
It's an intricate and engaging web of events, filled with characters that are packed with personality, that has been a pleasure to read.
Hopefully, the Author will revisit this series in the future as it has the potential for many more rich and interesting adventures for Elsie and Bacchus.
Thanks to an appeal by Bacchus to the magistrate that bends the facts, and implies he and Elsie are engaged, he wins her freedom as long as she agrees to undertake formal training and invite the magistrate to the wedding.
The tale follows Elsie as she tries to track down Master Lily and the Opuses while contending with starting her Spellbreaker training, planning a wedding, searching for her family and figuring out who the American is.
It's an intricate and engaging web of events, filled with characters that are packed with personality, that has been a pleasure to read.
Hopefully, the Author will revisit this series in the future as it has the potential for many more rich and interesting adventures for Elsie and Bacchus.
Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I found myself liking this novel almost immediately, the writing style is so relaxed and engaging with a gentle lightheartedness to it, while also handling it's more serious themes of murder, betrayal and deception along with the subtle racial and class bigotry that was endemic in Victorian times in a well thought out and enjoyable plot.
All the characters are well conceived and brought to life, especially Elsie and Bacchus, who the story revolves around, in a tale that is imaginative, mysterious, exciting and just a pleasure to read.
All the characters are well conceived and brought to life, especially Elsie and Bacchus, who the story revolves around, in a tale that is imaginative, mysterious, exciting and just a pleasure to read.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
adventurous
dark
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had perused this book several times before finally buying it since the mixture of Mayan mythology and Jazz music, which the synopsis implied was a major part of the story, didn't strike me as very compelling, as I'm not a fan of Jazz. However, I eventually decided to give it a go, which I'm glad I did.
Apart from being set in the Jazz period, and mentioned a few times, it plays no part in the story, the Mayan mythology, however, does, and this makes for an intriguing storyline.
This is a charming and captivating tale that is character-centric, though the settings and the Mayan mythology are richly described, making this an enjoyable relaxing read.
Apart from being set in the Jazz period, and mentioned a few times, it plays no part in the story, the Mayan mythology, however, does, and this makes for an intriguing storyline.
This is a charming and captivating tale that is character-centric, though the settings and the Mayan mythology are richly described, making this an enjoyable relaxing read.
Moment of Tooth by Lindsay Buroker
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Each book in this series has been more enjoyable than the one before due to the steady development of the characters and the situations they find themselves in, with both feeling natural progressions.
This book takes a darker turn, compared to the previous ones, with an enemy from Amar's and the Lobo's past catching up to them. This enemy is a Rougarou, a type of Werewolf who is similar to those portrayed in the underworld films, but who is hundreds of years old and has magical abilities of his own. The story nicely balances the tension and darker aspects the Rougarou brings, with humour and banter to keep it light enough to be a gripping read from start to finish.
Another winner all the way.
This book takes a darker turn, compared to the previous ones, with an enemy from Amar's and the Lobo's past catching up to them. This enemy is a Rougarou, a type of Werewolf who is similar to those portrayed in the underworld films, but who is hundreds of years old and has magical abilities of his own. The story nicely balances the tension and darker aspects the Rougarou brings, with humour and banter to keep it light enough to be a gripping read from start to finish.
Another winner all the way.
Any Witch Way by Lindsay Buroker
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is another engrossing and highly entertaining read in this series of books.
Life for Morgen gets more complicated as the Lobo Werewolf pack descends on her home to repair the damage caused by Nora's firebombing and gyrocopter crash, but they also undertake significant remodelling work in the hopes of inducing Morgen to make amulets for them all, to stop witches from being able to control them. This unfortunately also has the effect of turning the towns witches against her, especially as both Olivia and Calista are spreading lies about Morgen and the Werewolf packs.
As usual, there is a lot of quirky humour mixed in with plenty of exciting action, but this also adds a darker element to the story, as more dangerous magic is used by the witches arrayed against Morgen.
Life for Morgen gets more complicated as the Lobo Werewolf pack descends on her home to repair the damage caused by Nora's firebombing and gyrocopter crash, but they also undertake significant remodelling work in the hopes of inducing Morgen to make amulets for them all, to stop witches from being able to control them. This unfortunately also has the effect of turning the towns witches against her, especially as both Olivia and Calista are spreading lies about Morgen and the Werewolf packs.
As usual, there is a lot of quirky humour mixed in with plenty of exciting action, but this also adds a darker element to the story, as more dangerous magic is used by the witches arrayed against Morgen.
Spell Hound by Lindsay Buroker
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is another enjoyable, fast-paced, exciting and engaging read, that sees Morgen trying to cope with several different problems all at once, repairing the Barn, learning more about being a Witch, protecting Witch Wood and sorting out her feelings towards Amar, all while dealing with the local Witches and Werewolves.
As always with Lindsay's books, the characters' personalities are instantly engaging and relatable too, whether they are human or not.
The only problem with these books is that they need to be longer, to eke out the enjoyment.
As always with Lindsay's books, the characters' personalities are instantly engaging and relatable too, whether they are human or not.
The only problem with these books is that they need to be longer, to eke out the enjoyment.
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The first half of this book was a struggle to get through as it failed to grasp my attention to any great degree, the second half however, was an improvement, though it was far from an absorbing read.
None of the main characters were imbued with a likeable or engaging personality, thus I didn't develop any emotional connections to them, which is the main reason I wasn't drawn into the story.
There are plenty of interesting concepts portrayed for the main magic system, which along with the setting and cultural aspects of the story, which is based on Indian/Asian civilisation, was the main reason I continued reading, as these were a refreshing change from the usual European-based cultures and mythologies.
I'm still deciding whether I will read the next book in the series, though, with the improvement of the second half of this book, I would give it serious consideration if it came up in the Kindle monthly deals.
None of the main characters were imbued with a likeable or engaging personality, thus I didn't develop any emotional connections to them, which is the main reason I wasn't drawn into the story.
There are plenty of interesting concepts portrayed for the main magic system, which along with the setting and cultural aspects of the story, which is based on Indian/Asian civilisation, was the main reason I continued reading, as these were a refreshing change from the usual European-based cultures and mythologies.
I'm still deciding whether I will read the next book in the series, though, with the improvement of the second half of this book, I would give it serious consideration if it came up in the Kindle monthly deals.
The Quantum Curators and the Fabergé Egg by Eva St. John
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I had assumed this would be similar to "The Chronicles of Saint Mary's" novels, which it is, and isn't. They both have a time travel aspect to them and they both have an institution that sends people back in time to retrieve lost artefacts, but that's where the similarities end.
In these novels, the time travelling is done in the history of Beta Earth (Our Earth) by people who come from Alpha Earth, which is an Earth with an alternative timeline, which has much more advanced technologies.
The plot revolves around the Curators of Alpha Earth endeavouring to retrieve a Fabergé egg before it is destroyed, but the only information they have is the time it will be destroyed. Meanwhile, on Beta Earth, an antiques collector has found a clue to the possible existence of a Fabergé egg and sets about tracking it down.
The resulting adventures make for a fascinating tale that combines mystery and intrigue with engaging and likeable characters in a tale that is fast, packed with adventure and drama, humour and emotion.
This was highly addictive reading and a great start to the series.
In these novels, the time travelling is done in the history of Beta Earth (Our Earth) by people who come from Alpha Earth, which is an Earth with an alternative timeline, which has much more advanced technologies.
The plot revolves around the Curators of Alpha Earth endeavouring to retrieve a Fabergé egg before it is destroyed, but the only information they have is the time it will be destroyed. Meanwhile, on Beta Earth, an antiques collector has found a clue to the possible existence of a Fabergé egg and sets about tracking it down.
The resulting adventures make for a fascinating tale that combines mystery and intrigue with engaging and likeable characters in a tale that is fast, packed with adventure and drama, humour and emotion.
This was highly addictive reading and a great start to the series.