Category: Fiction

elf-shot?

Posted on by Greig

A Red-Rose Chain

Seanan McGuire

a red-rose chainThe latest instalment of the Toby Daye story finds her in Portland on a diplomatic mission to avert war between Faerie kingdoms. Obviously this being Toby nothing quite goes to plan.
I seriously really enjoyed this book. I love the whole series so much. I’ve been rating them a bit harshly ever since I started because I’m certain that McGuire is capable of pushing her writing to another level but the consistent B+ rating doesn’t really reflect how much I enjoy these books. Or indeed how excited I am to read what happens next.

Rating: A-

merlin?

Posted on by Greig

Off To Be The Wizard

Scott Meyer

off to be the wizardThis is a comic science fiction novel about a hacker who discovers the secrets of controlling the universe via a garbage file on a server he’s broken into.
He quickly finds himself in trouble after changing reality to suit his own needs and he escapes into the past of medieval England.
The premise is more entertaining than the actual story and while I wouldn’t mind reading the sequel it’s certainly not something I’m super keen to acquire.

Rating: B-

gyro?

Posted on by Greig

Trade Me

Courtney Milan

trademeA contemporary romance novel by the author of the Brothers Sinister series.
A dirt poor and struggling student swaps lives with her billionaire tech company heir classmate.
It’s certainly well-written and readable but the tech stuff is approaching laughable and the conclusion is a bit of a mess.
I’m up for reading the next book in the series – if only to see if Milan handles contemporary romance with a more sure hand in the future.

Rating: B-

elopement?

Posted on by Greig

A Week To Be Wicked

Tessa Dare

a week to be wickedThe second book in the series begun by A Night To Surrender.
The lead female character is just brilliant. Unfortunately the story runs of out steam about halfway through and I struggled to maintain interest all the way to the conclusion.
Really with a much more brutal editor these could have been much shorter much more enjoyable reads – especially given the author’s ability to create characters you want to root for.

Rating: B-

mangrove?

Posted on by Greig

Long Way Home

Neve Cottrell

long way homeAnother free download contemporary romance. This is the story of a young woman returning to her idyllic home town and her estranged family who recovers from tragedy by rediscovering romance.
It’s not hugely well written but the characters are pretty compelling. I couldn’t say it was great but I’d certainly read another book by the author.

Rating: C

militia?

Posted on by Greig

A Night To Surrender

Tessa Dare

a night to surrenderThis is a well written historical romance with a decent story and very enjoyable leads that is just plain too long.
The female lead runs an isolated community of women who don’t fit in ‘polite’ society and whose ordered life when the male lead turns up looking for a chance to regain his command in the army.
After a certain point I felt the story began to drag and I just waiting for the resolution to happen. I would have rated it higher but for that.

Rating: B-

genetics?

Posted on by Greig

The Brothers Sinister Series

Courtney Milan

the duchess warThe Brothers Sinister series consists of four novels and three novellas. These are all expertly written historical romances featuring fascinating and compelling female lead characters.
I had read the first novella The Governess Affair a couple of years back as a free download and didn’t think much of it. At the time I didn’t really read romance of any stripe but I was interested in Courtney because of her involvement in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries fandom.
After a couple of years of reading romance I saw the first full length book of the series pop up as a free download too. This time round I thoroughly enjoyed the book and immediately shelled out for the complete series collection after completing it.
If you you’re looking for well-written, funny and insightful historical romance with really great female lead characters then read these. I would read them in order to get best sense of the time lines involved but I’m certain you could read them out of sequence and enjoy them just as much.

Rating: B+

Continue reading “genetics?”

starfighter?

Posted on by Greig

Armada

Ernest Cline

armadaCline’s second book, like his first, is guilty of rampant nostalgia for a certain strain of 1980’s US nerd culture.
Unlike Ready Player One this book has next to no charm. Ripping off sci-fi properties like The Last Starfighter and Ender’s Game left and right I found this novel to be empty of original ideas and full of clichéd characters.
The story is incredibly slight but it is very readable. I suspect I’d enjoy it more on a re-read or as an audiobook now that I know not to expect better of it.

Rating: B-

fite?

Posted on by Greig

Love Handles

Gretchen Galway

love handlesCompetent romantic comedy about a preschool teacher who inherits a sports clothing company from her duplicitous and manipulative Grandfather.
She surprises her relatives by not selling the business and instead settling in to try and save the ailing company. All this while resisting the schemes (and advances) of the ex-Olympian VP in day to day charge.
It’s a pleasant enough read – especially for a free ebook.

Rating: C