John Gwynne: The Shadow of the Gods

In the first book in a series, John Gwynne takes readers on an Epic Journey of vengeance, betrayal, glory, epic battles and blood lust.

What does one say about The Shadow of the Gods? It has quite a bit of hype around it and I know for me I had high expectations going into this book. I am trying to think of the last time that I have read a fantasy book that is based on Norse mythology and it has been years but I do not remember enjoying it half as much as I enjoyed this book. 

I will say that I struggled to begin with when I started this book I was very much drawn to one POV over the other two and I was frustrated with not having more of that POV. That said the further you read in the book Gwynne knows how to draw a reader. Gwynne has writing style is very immersive, you feel what the characters feel, you see what they see, you become part of the story. That said I did not find that Gwynne went so far in his writing style that it became hard to read/understand what was going on, but I will say the world building was a little bit complicated to begin with but I was able to figure it out but my confusion may be due to the fact I do not  know much about Norse Mythology or culture.

This book has three different POV and one would be hard pressed to pick one POV that they enjoyed more than other. Though if I had to choose, I would pick Orka and her quest for rescue and vengeance.

As i kept reading I kept wondering how Gwynne was going to bring the POV together. I enjoyed that each POV was different, each is on their quest for mainly different reasons and each has a very distinct personality so that one can not confuse one over the other. Once again Orka was my favourite with her bloodlust, powerful ability with multiple weapons and full on mother/female rage on display.

The Bloodsworn are an interesting group and I wanted to know more about the other members of the group. I enjoyed the process that Varg goes through to become part of the group, the battles he faces and the comradery he begins to form with the other members. Varg also is on a quest for information and vengeance that he will everything in his power to achieve and he does not stray from these often.

For the first part of the book I felt like Elvar's story and motivation for being part of her Battle-Grim group were not really there. It felt like she did not have any desire in the world other than finding glory and maybe some sort of tale written about her. These just seemed more fickle than the other two POV that we have in the book and therefore harder to get into, but by the end of the book I was looking forward to her chapters as well.

I love the idea of the different Gods, and that there are still pieces of them scattered around this world, not just in their bones and weapons but in people who carry their blood. These people are often enslaved for their gifts and they are treated like slaves. Anyone who seems to have any bit of power seems to be sought after at any cost so that they can be controlled by others.

The last 10% of this book are amazing and crazy and heartbreaking all at the same time. Each character gets there last bit that is going to set up some major things in the second book, I can already tell.

This book is more on the High Fantasy side of things, so if High Fantasy is not your thing you may struggle with it. I cant wait to read the next book in this series, and I hope it picks up right after this one left off with that ending.

Enjoy!!!

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Kate Quinn: The Diamond Eye

In Kate Quinn's Diamond Eye, she shows what one woman is willing to do for the Country and Family she loves:

I do not read historical fiction very often but when I do reach for one, Kate Quinn has been my go to and this book did not disappoint. I think this is now my favourite Quinn novel as I Loved following Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Mila, through her time at the front to her time at America. I also appreciate that Quinn did not do choose the typical country when writing this book, she chose to feature a woman from the USSR and not a woman who was spying for the west but one that was actively fighting the Germans. Just to put it in perspective she was called Lady death and was credited with 309 official kills (and she had more unofficial ones as well)

Mila is a great character and you can understand why the USSR wanted her to be featured in the news and drum up support for the troops. She loves her country and will do anything that it takes to protect it as well as those that she loves. I love that she took up shooting so that her son would be able to learn from her and that it also served her well in the war. I do question if things were as "easy" for her with the men at the front line, but I do not doubt that she puts them in their place. I know that Quinn takes some creative liberties with the book, but I think that her depiction of what Mila thinks of the American women would be accurate and that it appears to her that in the USSR had more freedom and more ability to serve her country than the American women did.

I appreciate that Quinn does her research she knows about the important dates of the war that need to happen in this book for it to be believable. And trust me I checked to see if some of the date lined up and was questioning whether Quinn had her timeline right, and she does. 

In her previous books I was always more of a fan of the more war aspect timeline than the more present, after the war timeline but in this one I enjoyed both timelines that Quinn presented. I wanted to know what was going to happen in each and how Mila ended up in America in the first place.

As I said above, this one is now my favourite Quinn book and I am looking forward to reading more by her. Even if you do not read this book, I highly suggest looking up Lyudmila Pavlichenko just to see how amazing of a woman she was.

Enjoy!!!!

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AM Kvita: An Unlikely Coven

In her debut novel AM Kvita shows that family is not about blood but who understands you:

I love reading debut novels so I was really excited to get this book. I will admit it took me a few chapters to get into this book and characters but once story starts to unfold I was in. Kvita brings a really big question in this book, If you could have the ability to wield magic, would you want it? For Joan this is a big question, as she has never had the ability to wield magic though she can see it. It really plays on her insecurities with her family, but at the same time her not having the ability to wield magic has made her who she is.

Joan is such an eclectic character, which is a good thing. She is not a powerful witch, just the opposite, she is the black sheet in her very powerful family and they never let her forget it. But she has so much heart, really too much heart at times that it is to her detriment. Joan is loyal to a fault to those that she loves and even to her family, though they do not deserve it (other than her sister). I personally loved that Joan was not this all powerful witch, that she has to learn to do things without magic and seeking help from other is not below her like it is for other people in her family.

CZ is probably the Best best friend that a girl could have. He is also so loyal to Joan and they have been through it all. CZ has no problem prioritizing Joan in his life even over his family at times, even though Joan knows how much family is important to him (his family treats him A LOT better than hers). CZ is also a Vampire and has Vampire abilities. I love that the different factions in New York are run in a Mob mentality with the witches ruling them all, and hence why their being a spell to give non magic people magic would disrupt this tenuous balance.

I love the nod to author with her father being named Merlin, and well Merlin is basically a dick to Joan because she does not conform to her family wishes plus she questions everything that they do. She see the corruption that her family wields and she despises it.

If you are a fan of the found family trope this book does it amazingly well.

The epilogue was quite interesting and has piqued my interest in what Kvita will do next. So i am looking forward to her next book and recommend this book to those who are looking for a contemporary witchy read.

Enjoy!!!!

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Sookh Kaur: Facing Off

In Sookh Kaur’s next hockey romance books, she explores whether opposites do attract:

This is the second book that I have read by Kaur and this book got better the farther that I read but at the beginning I was not too sure about it. I did not like the time gap at the beginning. There was very little explanation as to why Adrian was so obsessed with Sonya other than she turns him down time and time again. Once they are interacting on a more permanent and personal basis you start to see more of a connection, even though Sonya denies it time and time again. 

Adrian is the best gold retriever of a man out there, with all his positivity and willing to go the extra mile for anyone. All the times that Sonya rejected him and his heart broke a little bit you just want to make him feel better. Even when you learn where all of Adrian's positivity is coming from come, he does not lose his golden retriever status. Sonya is a hard character to connect with especially at the beginning as she comes off how she wants the world to see her, tough, not giving a F and she doesn't need anyone. All she needs is ballet and perfection. You start to see who Sonya really is farther in the story and you learn it along side Adrian, even though this book is dual POV.

The trauma and mental health rep in this book was really well done and on two different spectrums. I loved the healing from trauma in this one, and even though Adrian and Sonya they have taken two entirely different paths to protect themselves from this trauma there are still some similarities between them that they can help the other with. Plus the introduction of the Yips is not something I have read in sports romance before.

I did enjoy the first book in the series more than this one. I felt that there was more of a connection throughout the book with Kavi and Dimitri (and I was glad to have the brooding guy back in this cook) and even though i was not one for fake dating, it just worked. Personally, I hope Quinn gets the next book. that is one that I need to read.

This was a good read, but not great. I think that Kaur has something here with the hockey team and the secondary characters we are getting to know in the series. I look forward to reading another in this series, and like I said I really hope it is Quinn's story.

Enjoy!!!!

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Jonathan Kellerman: When the Bough Breaks

In the first in a series, a child psychologist who may hold the key to solving everything:

Rerited (in his 30s) Child Psychologist Alex Delaware was enjoying his retirement, when he receives a knock on his door from Det. Milo Sturgis who needs Alex's help. Alex retired early and he grapples with the decision to help him, but if there is a child involved Alex knows he cannot say no. Melody Quinn, is a girl that has not had a great life and seems to be over medicated if you ask Alex, but now she is a possible witness to a murder and Alex needs to help find what is buried in her mind to solve the case. But there are those who want to keep what Melody saw buried and will stop at nothing to achieve that and other sinister secrets that have been hidden for over 40 years. Alex finds himself danger but there is no way he would turn his back on a little girl who needs his help.

This is the first book that I have read by Kellerman and it is an older one as it was published in 1985, but might as well start a series at the beginning. The question for this book is really does it stand the test of time which can be hard for crime books as technology changes. For the most part I will say that it does. Alex Delaware does investigative work and that is what I want in a crime book. I want him to follow his gut, the evidence that he is able to uncover. I don't need all the fancy gadgets to do this or get things done on brain power. Now there are things that didn't age as well but it was mainly technology based, like only having a land line and answering machine but those are minor things and don't take away from the story as a whole. Just reminds us how overly connected we are now.

I liked Alex as a main character. He is living his life in retirement but even though he seems to be enjoying it at the beginning you can tell that he is missing something in his life. I think that is why he agrees to help Milo pretty quickly without much convincing. It felt like was coming out of his shell in the book and becoming a different person, or the person he should be with the investigative side of thing. Things get a bit dark for him at times in the book especially nearing the end, but I think he makes the right choices

This book was ahead of its time when Kellerman decided that his main secondary character  is black gay detective. I don’t think this was heard of at this time in mainstream fiction and I applaud Kellerman for taking this route. I also like Milo as a character, he is dedicated to his job but also who he is as a person and he does not apologize for it.

I was able to figure out what was going on fairly early into the book but I enjoyed seeing how Kellerman put everything together. So maybe not as twisted as a crime book as I have read now a days with the advancement of technology but there is enough there to keep me interested and wanting read on in the series.

If you are looking for a crime series that is older and lots of books to keep you busy, then I suggest you check this one out.

Enjoy!!!

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Laurie Forest: The Black Witch

In the first in a series, Laurie Forest takes readers on a young woman's discovery of what is truly important in life:

Elloren is the spitting image of her grandmother, the famed Black Witch who was the hero of the Realm War. Too bad Elloren does not have half the magic that her grandmother had, in fact she has no magic at all. Elloren has lived with her brother and Uncle in a small town the majority of her life after her parents were killed and although Elloren does not have any magic, she has dreams of pursuing apothecary. When she is granted the opportunity to do so at a prestigious university. What Elloren does not realize that the world is a very different place that she thought, and her connection to the Black Witch is no a good one, especially at the university. Darkness looms all around Elloren and she has to decide which side is going to be on.

This the first book that I read by Forest and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. Forest takes on a lot in this first book, not only introducing us to the world and characters but the political strife that is occurring in this book. There are arranged marriages (wand fasting) at a young age, there is racism, sexism and homophobia all wound into this story. For any book this would be a lot but Forest tackled it in a way that it never felt like too much or overwhelming. Now are these ideas new in a fiction or even a fantasy stories, No, but I appreciate the way that Forest handles these topics and how it is wound up in the political aspects of this book as well as Elloren trying to discover who she is and what she believes in.

Elloren is an interesting character from her green skin, to her lack of power to her really just discovering the wide world around her. She id pretty naive for her age but this is due to the fact that she was sheltered her whole life. Was there sign in her small town of the racism/homophobia/sexism, yes but not to the extreme one would experience in a city. This book is written more in a YA or New Adult way and I do find that Elloren comes across younger than she is and in some of the decision that she makes, especially at the beginning of the book. I enjoyed Elloren's personal journey in this book and the decisions that she decides to make. I look forward to seeing her grow more, challenge things around her more and grow into herself.

While Elloren is the main character in this book, there are quite a few side characters that I want to know more about and I think I would like a secondary POV from a few of them. I mean not a lot of chapters but just a different perspective from Elloren's as she is learning a lot of new things first hand, it would be nice to have the perspective of one of the other races who have been living through it.

I think we can all guess who The Black Witch is going to be, I feel like it is very much implied by not only the title but what occurs at the beginning of the book, but i am interested in seeing where Forest will take the whole Black Witch aspect.

This was a great start to a series. I enjoyed the world that Forest has created (the political and corruption aspects especially), the characters, plot and magic system. I look forward to continuing on in the series.

Enjoy!!!!

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