Friday, February 26, 2021

Book Review: Fantastic Hope edited by Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey

 

Fantastic Hope edited by Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey is a collection of 16 short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors. Some are well known. Others are just starting out. All of the stories are new. Included in the anthology are: Jonathan Maberry, Sharon Shinn, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Griffin Barber, Kevin J. Anderson, John G. Hartness, Patricia Briggs, Robert E. Hampson, L.E. Modesitt Jr, Patrick M. Tracy, M.C. Sumner, William McCaskey, Michael Williamson and Jennifer Schlenker, Monalisa Foster, and Laurell K. Hamilton. 

I rated all of the stories as I read them. All but 3 of them I rated as 4 stars or 5 stars. Those three I rated as 3 stars. My favorites leaned towards urban fantasy, though I pretty much liked them all. My two favorites were the story by Patricia Briggs and the story by Laurell K. Hamilton. Overall, I rate this anthology as 4 out of 5 stars. The stories are engaging and well-written. And most have a positive ending of some sort. 

If you enjoy science fiction and fantasy with a positive twist, then this would be a good anthology for you. It's also a good introduction to a variety of writers. 

Fantastic Hope was published April 7th, 2020 by Berkley Books.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #362: The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker

 



Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.


In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I— the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni—Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world.

Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, able to hear the thoughts and longings of the people around her and compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a perpetually restless and free-spirited creature of fire, imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and pretend to be human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Having encountered each other under calamitous circumstances, Chava and Ahmad’s lives are now entwined—but they’re not yet certain of what they mean to each other. 

Each has unwittingly affected the humans around them. Park Avenue heiress Sophia Winston, whose brief encounter with Ahmad left her with a strange illness that makes her shiver with cold, travels to the Middle East to seek a cure. There she meets a tempestuous female jinni who’s been banished from her tribe. Back in New York, in a tenement on the Lower East Side, a little girl named Kreindel helps her rabbi father build a golem they name Yossele—not knowing that she’s about to be sent to an orphanage uptown, where the hulking Yossele will become her only friend and protector.

Spanning the tumultuous years from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of World War I, The Hidden Palace follows these lives and others as they collide and interleave. Can Chava and Ahmad find their places in the human world while remaining true to each other? Or will their opposing natures and desires eventually tear them apart—especially once they encounter, thrillingly, other beings like themselves?


The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker is expected to be published June 8th, 2021 by Harper.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like the idea of magical beings in 1900s New York City. I want to see what happens to the golem and the jinni.  I have book one in my Kindle library waiting to be read. I expect to like it and want more. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Teaser Tuesday: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

 


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
 Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
 BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


SOME ADVENTURES BEGIN EASILY. It is not hard, after all, to be sucked up by a tornado or pushed through a particularly porous mirror; there is no skill involved in being swept away by a great wave or pulled down a rabbit hole. Some adventures require nothing more than a willing heart and the ability to trip over the cracks in the world. (24% through on my Kindle)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire is the second book in the Wayward Children series. It was published June 13th, 2017 by Tor.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!


Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #361: What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

 



Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.


Ghost hunter, fox whisperer, troublemaker.

It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged the teens return home—unharmed but vague about where they’ve been.

Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real and a posse of talking foxes that think they’re spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly—why?


What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch is expected to be published March 18th, 2021 by Subterranean Press. This is the 9th book in the Rivers of London urban fantasy series.


Why am I waiting on this book? I like that even though this is the ninth book in the series, it sounds like it could be read as a standalone. It might serve as an introduction to the series which could pique someone's interest to go back and read the series from the beginning. I want to know more about Abigail and her posse of foxes. And I want to know what's going on with the teens. I've been wanting to try this author. 


What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Teaser Tuesday: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

 



Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
 Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
 BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


 "Going back" had two distinct meanings at the school, depending on how it was said. It was the best thing in the world. It was also the worst thing that could happen to anybody. It was returning to a place that understood you so well that it reached across realities to find you, claiming you as its own and only; it was being sent to a family that wanted to love you, wanted to keep you safe and sound, but didn't know you well enough to do anything but hurt you. 
(53% on my Kindle)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is the first book in the Wayward Children series. It was published April 5th, 2016 by Tor. 

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #360: Sinners and Saints by Jennifer Roberson

 



Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

biker and a cowboy must fight the coming apocalypse in the second book of the Blood and Bone contemporary western fantasy series.

It's the End of Days, and Gabe and Remi--an ex-con biker and a Texas cowboy--have been conscripted to join the heavenly host in a battle against Lucifer's spec ops troops: demons who inhabit characters from fiction, history, myths, legends, and folklore.

But Gabe and Remi, still learning their roles, now must deal with one particular demon wearing the body of an infamous murderer: Jack the Ripper. Young women bearing the names of the murder victims killed during the Ripper's time are turning up dead, setting Gabe and Remi on a perilous path to save whoever they can, while also battling members of Lucifer's vanguard bent on killing them.

Sinners and Saints by Jennifer Roberson is expected to be published March 9th, 2021 by DAW.

Why am I waiting on this book? I liked the first book in the series. I enjoyed the blend of folklore, mythology, and religion. This one sounds like it will be a little different from the first book with the focus being on catching this Jack the Ripper. Still it sounds interesting. An excerpt is available on the publisher's website. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Teaser Tuesday: Bewitched by Darynda Jones

 


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
 Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
 BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


“I’ll be ready in forty-five. You should probably change into something less devout.”
 She sulked. “But these are my favorite sweats.” 
“They have more holes than a can of Spaghetti-O’s.” 
“And?”
(25% through on my Kindle)

Bewitched by Darynda Jones is the second book in the Betwixt and Between series. Book three, Beguiled, is expected out February 15th, 2021 from Feather & Leaf, LLC.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!


Saturday, February 6, 2021

Book Review: Betwixt by Darynda Jones

 

Defiance Dayne has pretty much lost everything except her car in a nasty divorce. Much to her surprise she learns she has inherited a house in Salem, Massachusetts from a stranger named Ruthie Goode. She gets in her vintage mint green Volkswagen Beetle and heads east. 

Defiance meets the lawyer at the house where the lawyer practically throws the keys at her in her hurry to get away from the house named Percival. Not long after that, she meets the delicious looking handyman, Roane. Soon her BFF Annette joins her at the house. People start showing up at the door asking her to help find things. They seem to think she is a witch. After some weird events, Defiance begins to think they may be right.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were for the most part likable except for her ex and his mother. We meet her family and the chief of police among others.

The style of the writing is similar to the Charley Davidson series. I had no issue with this. I enjoy that style. I had a very minor issue with the way that Defiance comes across as much younger than her 40 something years.

Plot moves along at a fast enough rate. I just wanted her to open the first file on the computer faster. I enjoyed the twists. The end was a little bit of a cliffhanger. I'm glad I'm reading it now when the second book is already available.

I gave this book 5 stars. Overall it's worth a read. There is mystery, paranormal,and a touch of romance. If you've read other things by Darynda Jones and liked them, you will enjoy this book. It's full of snark, action, and twists. 

Betwixt is the first book in the Betwixt and Between series. Bewitched is book two and is available now. Beguiled, book three, will be available February 15th, 2021 from Feather & Leaf, LLC.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #359: The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner

 



Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.

Experience an evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore in this fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.

"The Light of the Midnight Stars is storytelling as spellcasting. Rossner has conjured something vivid and wild and true.” 
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they perform small miracles and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters. 

Hannah, bookish and calm, can coax plants to grow even when the weather is bitterly cold. Sarah, defiant and strong, can control the impulsive nature of fire. And Levana, the fey one, can read the path of the stars to decipher their secrets. 

But darkness is creeping across Europe, threatening the lives of every Jewish person in every village. Each sister will have to make an impossible choice in an effort to survive - and change the fate of their family forever.

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner is expected to be published April 13th, 2021 by Redhook.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like  that the story is supposed to be a combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore. And the idea that it has a basis in fairy tales draws me. I want to know more about the three sisters and their father.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Teaser Tuesday: Betwixt by Darynda Jones

 


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
 Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
 BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


In a word, he was stunning. Because nothing short of stunning would give me pause in this particular situation. I had never, in all of my forty-plus years, thought a possible intruder handsome. The mind didn’t work that way. If it did, survival of the fittest would be a moot point. All of Darwin’s work for naught.
Then again, it could have been the kilt. (p.15)

Betwixt by Darynda Jones  was published February 18th, 2020 by Feather & Leaf, LLC. It's the first book in the Betwixt and Between series.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!