Paladins Faith : Bookish Thoughts

I had been looking forward to T. Kingfisher’s Paladins Faith and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint. Rousing plot, great characters, a sprinkle of romance and some comic relief… But this one hit me differently than the others.

It reminded me of why I love the genre.

Speculative Fiction. Fantasy in particular.

Possible spoiler alerts. Not sure where I’m going but I’m going to talk about big ideas. Ideas that sometimes need to be worked out in a setting not of our own.

Big.ideas like… Religion. The paladins in this series are berzerker warriors for the Saint of Steel who, apparently, died. Leaving them without control during berzerker episodes. But if a god can die… How is one born? And if a demon is old and wily, but actually doing good and protecting their people– is it an evil thing? Can something inherently evil do good? How, and who, makes those decisions?

And then there is the problem of people using the weapons they have. Berzerker uses sword, or axe or some other similar weapon. But what if you are not a warrior? And you need to use your own body to win the war? Oh, and add in that you are female. Does that change how you feel about it? Why?

Just some really good questions that reading this book brought up. Ideas to gnaw on for a while, ideas that are important.

Also important to note that none of this is bashed over the readers head. It is fairly natural in the course of the book.

Which makes it all the more impressive.

Things I Never Thought I’d Say

I got a KU subscription and… I like it. There’s a wide variety and no wait time like with Libby. The app glitches on me all the time, but I’m figuring that out (it puts me back, page wise, in the book so I have to find my place again. It’s workable.)

Yes, I still buy books. Ahhh, don’t tell anyone tho. But it feels good to be able to dip in and see if I like an author or not, a book or not, and return it with no hassle or financial hit. And I am finding that I’m a voracious reader lol.

Second thing… I am severely disappointed in both Net Galley and St Martin’s press. I had emailed Net Galley, asking what their position was on the whole St Martin’s press boycott going on (boycotting reviews on their titles until they address the actions of a marketing employee who has not only said atrocious things, has also picked through ARC copies as to who was approved and who wasn’t). Other people explain it more eloquently over on the Klock App. I read an ARC that comes out in January and is a St Martin’s book… And as of right now I won’t be posting anything on it. And that sucks for the author. For all authors publishing within that company. I know I’m small potatoes. That’s ok. I’ll still abide. It would have been nice to get a response from Netgalley, tho. Any response.

Since starting this, I saw an ad for that company on the Klock app and saw one of the authors was Nora Roberts. It makes me sad, so I found a reader email for her and sent an email. But as I said, I am small and she is huge. But I always thought of her as one who would stand up against that type of hatred. All the comments under that ad on the Klock app had to do with the boycott & the marketing employee.

And Booktok is weird. And I love it. First, no it is not all smut. There are accounts that are dedicated to fantasy, mystery, general fiction, sweet romance, spicy romance, all of it. It’s just that what you interact with you see more of. So if you can’t help yourself and keep commenting on genres you hate… It’s going to keep showing them to you. If you scroll on by, they’ll eventually drop off. You can find like minded people there… Even when you read a wide variety. The search bar is your friend lol.

Booktok also holds authors accountable. One just spiraled so far out of control they lost their publishing deal AFTER cover art had been released. They even had a special edition box edition signed. Gone. All because they tried to harm other authors release ng at the same time as them. I can’t imagine NOT supporting other authors. The ones I’ve met have always been so helpful and kind to a baby author like me.

So is there anything else I never thought I’d say? Well yes

Merry almost Christmas from the Midwest.

Bookish Thoughts: Priory of the Orange Tree

This is a monster of a book. But the thing is– it was only 800 and change in pages, so I’m not sure why exactly this book was soo thick. Printing options, I guess? I bought it online so, I had no clue until I received it.

And it intimidated me for a long time. Even when I started reading, it took a while to get going to where I was actively ripping through the story. 1 week to do 200 pages. The other 600 and change were completed the following week.

I would give this book… Hmmm… I don’t know. I read it. I enjoyed a lot of it, but for me I wish it had been tighter with more dragons and less of one of the male characters. If you read it you know.  You probably feel the same. But Tane did not have enough screen time.  For while her ending was beautiful, it made no sense to me. 

And I wish it did.

Bookish Thoughts: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

I spent Saturday with Marra, an unwilling Princess who assembled a merry band of assassin’s including a dust wife, a fairy godmother who is NOT as she first appears, an exiled warrior and a bone dog. It. Was. Wonderful.

I received the book at work on Thursday. As you, Gentle Reader, might understand I waited to start  this most anticipated story. The newbies are crying out “Why??!!” in dismay. It is because I knew, for a fact, that I would resent every interruption in my breaks. And the phones did ring– I was proven correct. But Saturday? The stars aligned— the Princeling even went out on an adventure with his friends leaving me the whole, glorious day to wallow in Marra’s story.

Nettle & Bone is signature T. Kingfisher. An unlikely heroine, a great support system (i.e. found family), and while some truly horrible things are going on in the story it doesn’t take away from the overall feel of the story.

It is a slim volume, clocking in at 240 pages with an Author’s Note added that tells us how story’s morph and change and gain traction in a writer’s mind. I love reading about the process, so I would probably count it as 243 pages. It is a beautiful volume, with an embossed (spoiler) on the hard cover, and beautiful artwork once you open the cover.

Why am I mentioning the length, the beauty, etc? Because the cost is 25.99 for the hardback. I know when Martha Wells’ Murderbot series first came out I struggled hard with paying the same price for a novella as a novel. I finally made peace with the situation by realizing if I had gone to the movies I would have paid much more for far less entertainment (the joke with the Princeling is that I used to take him to the movies so I could take a nap. True story). Authors deserve to be paid, as do the cover artists, editors, etc etc.

That being said, Tor Books— do better. I was pissed, mad as hell, that when I made it to page 153 there was a giant ink blot across two words at the top of the page. Further in, at pages 172 & 173 I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Nope. The printing is lighter on the left page (172) that it is on the right (173). This happened on several sets of pages. A great book was marred by poor printing. Tor Books— you need better Quality Control or to go to a printer that actually does QC.

Still love the hell out of the story and may spend today rereading it (I love the world T. Kingfisher takes us to).

Bookish Thoughts: Meet me in Paradise

Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher is one of two romatical books I’ve read lately that had something in common ( more on that later).

This book, first of all, has both romance and comedy. Falling in the chute to the plane and getting a goose egg? Check! I may have snorted quite a few time while reading this book.

Marin is our hapless heroine in this story. Marin plays it safe, never going on adventures nor even leaving her home state of Tennessee. Entrusted with her little sisters care after a tragedy while they were young, Marin takes to heart that adventures are dangerous and not worth the risk.

And then thing happen. And it is a fun read, and sexy! But there is a tremor of emotion just under the surface, something that will change Marin’s life. Just like life, this book has beauty and sorrow in it and how that characters deal with it is where I have fallen in love.

Both books had a heroine walk away from the romantic interest. Not because of a huge fight. But because sometimes in life the choices you have suck. What I love and adore, is these books have the heroine figuring it out. Coping with grief and trauma on their own, starting the healing process AND THEN bringing the guy in at the end. In terms of the story, that break was short even tho chronologically it was a while.

In the beginning, Lucas (our handsome hero) fixes almost everything for Marin. He gets her to the island. He gets her to go on adventures. Then helps her through the roughest point. But healing after that? Learning who you are and what your capable of? Proving to yourself who you are with no one else’s lense?

That is priceless.

I dislike the narrative that women need a man to be complete. This book doesn’t use it. Not even a hint. The relationship is meaningful because she can do it on her own. Lucas is the adventure she chooses.

Shards of Time by Lynn Flewelling (APRIL 2014)

Review: Shards of Time by Lynn Flewelling

 

I love Seregil and Alec. They, and their adventures, have captured my imagination and my heart. So when I heard that this was potentially their last novel, I was saddened. And then I read Rex Regis, the last in the Imager Series by L.E. Modesitt, and I was afraid of what would happen to my favorites (Alec and Seregill). I cried with frustration with Rex Regis. It was a book too far, something that should have been an extra few chapters on the last book.

I didn’t need to worry.

Although I did cry.

Several times.

This one is gonna yank you in and not let you go until the end. It takes what is best from all the varied stories and wraps them together. While it harkens back to the first trilogy, with a nod to the Tamir Trilogy, this book will stand on its own two feet. The characters feel as if they are living, breathing humans that live just beyond our sight. Which is what great fiction is all about.

And most importantly, she leaves the boys where we love them. Enjoying their life, having adventures. While the story may be over, their story is not. It’s a happily ever after for the fantasy set.

Make sure you turn the page, and read the Afterword, too. I can’t wait to see the new adventures that await us with Ms. Flewelling.

 

Wyn

Moth and Spark

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard Published by Penguin Group

 Oh my lovelies, this one is a good one. It’s currently out in hard back, but if you have a Nook you can find it front and center on the channel for Epic Fantasy and for Here be Dragons. And it is worth it.

Epic fantasy with a good whallop of romance, this is the story I’ve been dying to read. Many throw a romance or relationship into their epic fantasy, or romance writers might write with fantasy elements… but normally it doesn’t come together quite this well.

A prince with a calling he is unaware of falls for a lowly doctor’s daughter with powers she doesn’t know about. This is not a fairy tale, and they know it. Although it’s hard, they accept the situation for what it is. Then things go horribly, horribly wrong. In all the best ways.

All of the plot lines are dealt with deftly, with no strings hanging. After reading the final words what I really wanted to know was…

When’s the next one?

Because really, when you find a writer this good, they can’t write fast enough.

 

Next up this week is the open letter to Smash Words authors and a question. I’ll actually put that in the system tonight so all I have to do is hit Publish. I have several other ones that I need to do as well, including several fantasy series.