Elise Kova: The Alchemists of Loom

In the first in a new series, Elise Kova takes the reader to with world of the Loom, ruled from above by the Dragon King:

Ari lost everything; friends, her lover, her way of life, when the five guilds resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now she uses the skills she learned in the resistance, her ability as an engineer and magical talents to be the White Wrath enemy to every dragon and known for contributing to a thriving underground Dragon organ market. That is until she meets Cvareh, a Dragon who claims to be on the side of those in Loom and he is willing to bargain something very precious, a wish,  if Ari is able to get him to the alchemists so that the resistance can start again. Ari knows she cannot trust Cvareh, and that the task may be near impossible as assassin after assassin is sent after Cvareh by the Dragon King, but a wish from a Dragon can give Ari the one thing that she desires most and hopefully the freedom for Loom.

I do not read many fantasy genre novles, but I was drawn to this book first for by the cover, second by the description of the book and third I haven't read a fantasy book in quite some time so I was excited to try something different. Kova uses a tried and true premise to frame the world and story around; one society/culture/people oppressing and abusing the other and those that try to take the power back. This is done in a completely fantasy world that had some very interesting and disturbing elements (think Frankenstein/plastic surgery to the extreme) and the thirst for power that goes along with it. Loom is divided into 5 different Guilds (Raven, Rivet, Alchemist, Revolver and Harvesters) and where you are born is what specialty you will grow up perfecting, if you show any sign of weakness or do not live up to the Dragon's standards you are killed (this mainly happens to children). Loom supports The Dragon's world above with the introduction of machinery and some magic, it were these aspects that the Dragons became aware of Loom and wanting to possess and control it. With all the machinery and magic this novel does have a very steampunk feel to it, especially with Ari and her engineer abilities.

I really like Ari as a main character, she is strong, confident, smart, often thinks the worst about people, has a past that we don't know too much about but she has a caring side especially when it comes to Florence. Florence is an awesome sidekick to Ari, she just needs to gain confidence in herself. She is probably the character that grows the most in this book, as she is forced in to circumstances that she has never been in before and many of them are a true test for her character both physically and morally. Cvareh is a good counter point to Ari with his obsession with things that are pretty and complaining about his clothes getting dirty or having to wear clothes out of fashion. He truly shows the differences between Loom and Nova. It is also interesting to watch Cvareh grow as a character as he tries to survive not only the threats on his life from other Dragons and Ari but also trying to navigate a new world in Loom.

I find that Dragons does not seem to be an apt description of the characters just based on the cover art of the books in this series, but also how they are described in the book. To me they seem that they would be more of Elfin or Fae or some other magic creature that Kova could have created. Based upon descriptors and the fact that they do not have wings or the ability to fly or shape shift in to what I would call traditional Dragon form. You say Dragon to someone we will probably all come up with some sort of similar image, and what is presented in this book is not that image. Maybe the reason they are called dragon is explained in the next books in this series but I think that is a slightly misrepresentation of these individuals.

I also could have done without the romance aspect that is hinted at. I mean why does there have to be a romance element? Ari and Cvareh they dislike each other in every way, yet drawn to the other individual as well. Why cant they just not like each other but are forced to work together for a common goal, why does that have to lead to attraction????

I still have a lot of Why questions after reading this book, which is not a bad thing as I know this is a series, however, quite a few of those questions are world based, so there are a few things that are not so clearly set out. I found the characters in this book to be very interesting and why I kept turning the pages to see what they would do next. I look forward to reading the second book in the series and hoping some of my questions are answered. 

Enjoy!!!

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Hollie Overton: The Walls

In her second novel Hollie Overton takes the reader inside a destructive relationship:

Kristy Tucker is the press agent for the Texas Department of Corrftiown. This means that she gets face to face with some of the worst criminals in the state as most of the men she deals with are on death row and she feels she can tell who the worst people are. When Kristy meets Lance, her sons’s martial arts instructor she is leery at first but soon Lance wears her down and Kristy believes she has found the one. She could not be more wrong; Lance is a monster, full of physical and verbal abuse. Lance is also a master manipulator and has everyone convinced even Kristy’s family that he is a saint. Kristy does not know how much more she can take, but she has to be willing to take things in to her own hands; Can she get away with murder?

This is the second book that I have read by Overton and I appreciated that it was a completely different story than the first. This book did not go in the direction that I thought it would, especially based on the title and cover of th book but I think the title has more to do with the walls that one creates around the self in order to survive and not the walls of the prison where Kristy works. Overtone does not spend that much time having Kristy at work especially in the latter half of the novel. So if you are expecting a prison type novel this is not what you are going to get here. It also takes a bit for the overall story line to get going and I had to go back an read the premise of the book to see what was supposed to happen in this book. As you r was farther in to the book you understand why Overton took the time to develop the relationship between Kristy and Lance as well as how Lance is going to fit in with Kristy’s family.

I personally do not think that I could do Kristy’s job, not only dealing with inmates on death row but also the families that those men have affected. This would take a toll on any person and that Kristy does this job very professionally speaks to her strength as a character. She is also a fantastic mom and daughter as she puts their needs way above her own and her want/need to portray that everything is perfect. It is these two strengths that start he to take action and start to make plans to make sure she never gets hurt again.

This book is not going to be for everyone and it definitely will have some trigger moments for individuals as Overton does not shy away from the domestic abuse that Kristy suffers, both verbally and physically. It also highlights what an individual is willing to go through in order for those that she loves can retain a normal life and so she chose to suffer in silence. This book really shines a light on domestic violence and the secretive nature that it can take on as even those close to you do not know what is going on.

This was a good read that was a bit slow to start. You will like Kristy as a character and her struggle to find love and then stuck with a man that is abusive towards her. I look forward to seeing what Overton comes up with next.

Enjoy!!!

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