Short reviews

I've got a bit behind, so here's a short reviews post - aka: Me, catching up with myself.

Strong Signal by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell

Garrett is marking time as a mechanic in the army; waiting till his last tour of duty is finished so he can head home, find a job, start a life. Kai is a gamer with severe social anxiety - he makes a living streaming games on Twitch. Kai and Garrett meet when Kai kills Garrett's character in a game they both play.

They start talking, and one thing leads to another IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN

I really enjoyed Strong Signal - both men are damaged in different ways but find a way to work with their issues in order to be together. Also, uh, nakedness. IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN (youknowwhatimean)

Rotten Beast (novella) by Mary Pearson

Rotten Beast is set in the same universe as the Jenna Fox trilogy. It's a standalone - well, short story really, about Ally who is opposed to the  way scientists interfere with the natural progression of life. Then, one day, she wakes up to find her parents have gone against her wishes and turned her into the very thing she hates most. Ally must learn to come to terms with her new reality.

I loved the first book in this series - The Adoration of Jenna Fox, and enjoyed the subsequent two books. Rotten Beast is a nice addition, though I wish it was a bit longer.

Scrap Metal by Harper Fox

A year ago, Nichol was living his dream - he'd escaped the small Scottish island of Arran to study at university, leaving the family farm in the hands of his mother, brother and taciturn uncle. But then fate tapdances, and Nichol finds himself back on Arran, grieving for his mother and brother and trying to get along with his uncle. Then, one night, a fugitive called Cam breaks into oneof the farm sheds ....

This was so good. Like. So many feelings. And Nichol and Cam are great together and even taciturn old uncle Harry is a fully realised character. Once again, warning for the naked touching. :)

Dragon Age: Magekiller #4 by Greg Rucka, Carmen Carnero and Michael Aityeh

Dorian!!!!!!!! Dorian!!!!!!!!!!! I mean. Um. DORIAN!!!! Wait, no. Marius and Tessa have joined the Inquisition and have been sent to the Hissing Wastes to investigate pockets of Venatori. Between the sand, sand and more sand, Tessa flirts with Charter, and we meet - DORIAN. DORIAN IS IN THIS ONE - and Bull's Chargers, and Rocky blows up a thing and DORIAN. There's another cliffhanger, and also, Dorian. :D

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

I fully believe, when Mr King is on hisgame, there are few who can even claim to strike the match to light the candle to match him. And this is Mr King at the top of his storytelling game.

Book 2 of The Dark Tower finds Roland losing some fingers to charming creatures called lobstrosities, and also calling the Three to him. And the way the Three are called is some peak Stephen King, let me tell you. The Tower is no closer, but the people, ah, it's the people that make the journey memorable....

 Eye of the Labyrinth by Jennifer Fallon

This is book 2 of the Second Sons trilogy and it's a good'n. I read the whole book in about two days, something I don't do very often these days.

Dirk Provin sets off to the ancient temple of Omaxin in the company of Tia, a girl who seems to actively hate him (until, of course, she doesn't IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN) to see if he can figure out the secret of the labyrinth that will predict the next Age of Shadows. Meanwhile, the Lion of Senet - basically the guy in charge of everyone - is trying to find Dirk in order to make him over in his own image. Which Dirk doesn't want. He just wants to live his life and solve maths problems.

Intrigue, romance, villains, heroes ... heroes forced to make what could be seen as villianous choices ... it's all right here.(I'd warn for the naked, but they kind of draw a tent flap over that, so no need).

Short reviews

October (Toby) Daye is many things; Private investigator. Fiance. Mother. Half Daoine Sidhe ...

When Toby falls foul of a bad man during the course of an investigation, she loses 14 years of her life - including her family. Determined not to fall in with the Fae again, she sets about carefully constructing a normal life.

Unfortunately, the Fae are not done with Toby, and when an answering machine message binds her to find out the murderer of the Countess Winterrose, Toby finds herself reluctantly drawn back into the world she had deliberately left behind her.

I have to admit, I don't read a lot of urban fantasy. I'm super-picky about certain genres and this is one of them, simply because of the sheer volume of paranormal romance in the genre. (Romance, in itself, isn't really my thing. Very specific criteria have to be met for me to enjoy a romance novel). But. I started Rosemary and Rue, and found myself drawn into Toby's story.

There's a lot of world-building but it flows seamlessly along with the story itself and didn't detract from the mystery as Toby races against time to find out whodunit.

The plot thickens in issue #3 of Magekiller, as Tessa and Marius find themselves garnering the attention of a nascent organisation battling to save Thedas: The Inquisition.

We find out  a little bit more about Tessa's past, and the story moves along as Tessa and Marius stumble across demons spitting out of Fade rifts all over Ferelden. It's an interesting addition to the series, but I'm ready to see the story move along. Love love love Tessa, though. :D

Ah science. So much science. So. Much. Science. During a mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is left behind after an accident on the surface means that his crew assumes he's dead.

He's not, and so begins Mark's struggle to stay alive on Mars long enough for rescue.

There is. So. Much. Science. Did I say that? Especially in the early going, and I found it a bit of a struggle to be honest, but once NASA gets involved, and theres more than just Mark talking to himself about potatoes, things start moving pretty quickly.

It helps that Mark is something of a smartass, which leavens the seriousness of the overall storyline and makes the science-y bits easier to get through. Entertaining, though.

Short reviews

So far for 2016, I've read five books. Rather than let them pile up into a force of unknown strength and then collapse on top of me. I see you coming, books. I have your number.

First up, The Gunslinger, book one of The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I am Determined to read this series this year. De-ter-mined. It will happen.

I read the first three many years ago; I have vague memories of heartbroken me after my first marriage broke up lounging on the couch and reading The Gunslinger. (I also read Dune at that time.)

The upshot is I remembered almost nothing, so it was just like starting over. And. So far so good? I found it a bit of a slog, to be honest, especially for such a short book, but. This is my quest. My 2016 journey. I will do it. I will take the Ring to Mordor. *clenches fist*.

Next up was The Distance Between Us by L A Witt. Ethan and Rhett are splitsville after 10 years, but they own a house together and selling it wouldn't make the money they need. Enter Kieran, to help speed the process up (aside: Kieran is my brother's name. It was VERY STRANGE reading about someone called Kieran being banged six ways to Sunday.)

So. Anyway. Kieran moves in and he's like, super-hot and both Rhett and Ethan start banging him (of course) then someone has the idea of sharesies! And so threesomes happen and ... uhm.

I enjoyed it, I did, it's a fast read, uncomfortable associations aside, but I thought Rhett and Ethan needed a better emotional payoff for a reunion than "let's bang the hot room-mate until inconvenient feelings resurface."

(I'm reading book 2 now; there's five total in the series, each one focusing on different characters. Book 2 focuses on Kieran. Good times, good times.)

Then we're on to Dragon Age: Magekiller 2, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Carmen Carnero. In book two of this five-book graphic novel series, mercenaries Marius and Tessa - who have made it their life mission to eradicate blood mages - have been tricked by the Archon of the Tevinter Imperium into doing a job for him, involving a cult called the Venatori.

It's all very fast-paced and kind of chasey-chasey and it's set juuuuuust before Inquisition - actually, the end of book #2 lines up with the start of Inquisition, and I'm excited for issue #3. I like it a lot - especially Tessa, who's narrating the story, and catching glimpses of the Imperium is super-cool. (Especially given the distinct possibility DA4 may be set there.)

Fourth for this year, is Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon, book one of the Second Sons trilogy. Oooh, I liked this. I liked this very much of a lot. Intrigue! Magic! SCIENCE! Dodgy cults! Dodgy cultists! Likeable characters! Unlikeable villians! I'm a simple girl, and I like it when fantasy does what it says it's going to on the tin. (Don't get me wrong, I also like it when fantasy looks at the tin, says "I LAUGH AT YOUR TIN" and then goes and builds a new tin .. I'm getting off track). Lion of Senet is about the second sons of, well, the Lion of Senet (VILLAIN) and the second son of the Duke (GOOD GUY BUT NOT ACTUALLY THIS PARTICULAR SECOND SON'S FATHER /SCANDAL/) who become friends, and there's a king in hiding (who IS the other second son's father ... DUN DUN DUN) and a madman who's also a genius and clever people and the Age of Shadows is coming ... and this is not very coherent but I liked it a lot.

Fifth, so far, and very much NOT the least of them, is Shadowshaper, by Daniel Jose Older.

Sierra is your typical 16-year-old - she hangs out with her friends, she paints giant murals on abandoned buildings ... at least, until one of the murals starts crying. Then, Sierra discovers a whole world out there she knew nothing about, despite it being steeped far in her family history.

If anyone reads this post and  you read one book from this list, read this one. It's so, so good. Sierra is a fully realised character and watching her come into her own shadowshaping power is an amazing thing. It's visually stunning (I mean, for a book? You know what I mean) and the story is solid and the cover is beautiful, and look. Just do yourself a favour. Read it.

Two short reviews

It's 1904, and Archie Curtis - two years out of the war, angry and without purpose, finds himself driving to an isolated country house.

He's determined to get to the bottom of what he believes is sabotage - a rifle misfiring during the war took most of the fingers from his right hand, and the lives of many of his men.

Following a lead, Curtis heads for Peakholme House, a pile built in the middle of nowhere with all of the mod cons, where he believes he will find the answer to the sabotage.

What he finds, however, is much more, in the figure of Daniel da Silva - described in the goodreads blurb as "Effete, decadent, foreign, and all-too-obviously queer, the sophisticated poet is everything the straightforward British officer fears and distrusts."

However, when sexual attraction smacks Curtis over the head, things start going a bit, er, south. *Cough*

Daniel is of course, not entirely what he seems on the surface, and soon both men are embroiled in blackmail, billiards and of course, pantslessness.

Think of England is a relatively short book, but I did enjoy it a lot. Especially Curtis' evolution, which was handled very nicely.

I may have mentioned Dragon Age once or twice. Possibly. Maybe. Anyway. Dark Horse has launched a new graphic novel series set in the Tevinter Imperium (which excites me GREATLY because of the speculation that the next game might be set there) and it follows a pair of mercenaries who are pledged to tracking down and eliminating blood mages.

They're offered a job, and are, of course wary. The whole thing screams IT'S A TRAP but they've also been told hey, there's a magister who's sacrificing children. It's up to you but ... so they take it and hey, IT'S A TRAP.

And THEN the bloody thing ended! I tapped the "keep reading" button like an idiot, but of course the first issue only came out yesterday so I'll just have to wait.

It's off to a solid start, though, and I'm excited to dig in and learn more about the protagonists - and the Imperium.