A Promise of Fire » Book Review

Ellen and I were both DYING to get our hands on an ARC copy of A Promise of Fire when we saw the slew of 4-5 star reviews from reputable bloggers. Unfortunately, we didn't feel the same kind of magic that they did. Ellen disliked it (to put it mildly) and she already wrote up a review (HERE) detailing her less-than-stellar opinion of the book.

Fortunately for me, I didn't despise it quite as much as she did. But I definitely agree with all the issues that Ellen brought up in her review.

Catalia

Our main character, Cat (as she likes to be called), is 23 years old. I didn't figure that out until I started writing this review! She talks like a petulant 15 year old. During her inner monologue, she frequently uses words like 'gah' and 'gag'. If I was playing a drinking game, I would be drunk in 3 chapters flat. Okay, okay. I'm a lightweight. BUT STILL.

"Thanks the Gods. Gag!
Sort of.
Except not at all.
Gah! I'm going insane!"

SHOOT ME.

The synopsis calls Cat smart-mouthed.

I wouldn't say that the words coming out of her mouth are... 'smart'. It's mostly a constant stream of 'I hate you', 'get lost' and 'let me go'. Look, I love a witty character. I LIVE for banter and sexual tension. She talks for the sake of saying words and to antagonize others. I should pull out quotes, but gaaahhhhh I don't wanna! (See what I did there?)

One of my bookish pet peeves is when a character claims that she is secretive and guarded and yet can't seem to keep her mouth shut and spills her secrets anyway. This happened NUMEROUS times. For example, even when she clearly makes everyone around her promise to keep her secrets from Griffin's family, SHE IS THE FIRST ONE TO BLAB IT OUT. It took about 10 minutes into dinner for that to happen.

Uh huh. Guarded. Secretive. I see it. Of course the BIG secret needed to be kept because how else can we stretch it into a trilogy?

My other pet peeve is when self-sacrifice is taken to the extreme (*cough* Supernatural *cough*). Cat is supposed to be a strong, badass woman with amazing powers. And sure she makes use of some of them, BUT TO THE POINT OF DEATH. This happened not once, not twice, but a total of THREE times. She gets completely conked out and needs Griffin to take care of her. That seems to be the feminist response to the damsel in distress trope. We can't have the female be completely incompetent... so let's make her snarky and powerful, but still need a man to save her from the aftermath of it to keep the romance alive!

Why a 3 Star Rating?

For all my griping, I did enjoy the read. It was frustrating at times, and cringe-worthy at times, but I kept going and I was always interested to see what was going to happen next. Even though Kato & Flynn (the other members of Griffin's personal team) were practically identical characters, I ADORED the brother/sister relationship they had with Cat.

Even though I found the romance problematic and Griffin a little too high-handed, I was still invested. Until a certain plot detail cropped up. Then I totally lost it. [spoiler]Magical sexual healing??? WTF! Poseidon sent Cat a magical jizz man to heal her?![/spoiler] I managed to get through it though. Thank god for Ellen.

Even though I firmly believe that this book didn't have to be stretched into a trilogy, I am still willing to give the next 2 books a shot. Hopefully it gets better from here.

A Promise of Fire releases today. Happy reading everyone!

The Butterfly Garden » Book Review

The Butterfly Garden was my first read for Booktubeathon 2016, and it made for a wonderful start! I started it at around 10pm and finished it a few hours later (around 1 am). So I have officially completed challenge #2, which is to read a book after sunset.

The Butterfly Garden

Trigger warning for rape and abuse.

I found this book to be an eerie and suspenseful read. I've always had a bizarre fascination with crime cases, especially those that involve long-term kidnapping and cults. Perhaps that would explain my dedication to Criminal Minds. This is a story about a girl, who identifies as Maya. She is a survivor of the horrors of the garden.

I'd highly recommend not going into this book with too much information or expectations. It's how I personally prefer to read thrillers, and it has served me well so far. But if you prefer to know a little more about this book, then keep on reading!

"Some people stay broken. Some pick up the pieces and put them back together with all the sharp edges showing."

The novel is told in two alternating perspectives. First we have the FBI agent (in third person POV), followed with Maya's perspective told in the first person. I really enjoyed that structure because it kept me guessing about Maya's motivations and her reliability as a narrator.

I LOVED this novel, as much as you can love a book that has such triggering and horrifying contents. I really connected with all the characters, and the story was moving. The pacing was excellent. I could not put this book down! I made my sister bring me dinner so I wouldn't have to go downstairs and take time away from reading. Yup, I'm that kind of big sister.

This was on its way to being a stellar 5-star book for me. Unfortunately, the ending was little... underwhelming. I expected more from this story and was left wanting. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for an engrossing thriller-esque read. You won't be disappointed!

This book is currently available for free via Kindle Unlimited.

July 20th, 2016
UPDATE: There will be a companion novel out next year, entitled Roses of May, and while it’s not a direct sequel, we will be following our Butterflies and FBI team for a time. The bulk of the story shifts to a new case, a new story, but some things don’t leave us so easily. Is it surprising if Butterflies have a way of lingering?

I'm so excited for the sequel! I will be grabbing it as soon as it releases.

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What are your favorite mystery/suspense/thriller books? Let me know! I'd love to check them out.

Rat Queens, Vol. 1 » Graphic Novel Review

I have owned the first volume of Rat Queens for over a year now. I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up!

I ADORED it. It is dark, gory, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. The artwork is stunning, and I loved the diverse group of women that made up the squad of Rat Queens.

Our Rat Queens

Betty



Betty, our Hippy Smidgen Thief, was dueling it out with Dee for my favorite character. She had some of the funniest lines, and she never failed to make me laugh.

Dee



Dee, our Atheist Human Cleric, is my official favorite. She has badass healing powers, and her social skills speak to my soul. This panel is my absolute favorite. That is straight up me at a party. Also I have to admit, I do have a teensy girl crush on Dee. BUT WHO WOULDN'T, amirite?

Hannah



Hannah is our Rockabilly Elven Mage. And she is SO COOL. I mean, look at them tats.

Violet



Violet, our hipster dwarven fighter, is a kickass fighter. And according to this installment, she and Dee have the most interesting backstory by far.

These women are unapologetically themselves. They are bawdy, vulgar, arrogant and badass. They aren't wearing skintight spandex, their bodies look like the bodies of women. I shouldn't be this excited by something this simple, but you don't often see women represented in graphic novels/comics in a realistic manner.

The volume was quick-paced, it threw you into the action right away. While I usually enjoy that, it did take me a while to recognize the individual characters. I also didn't necessarily feel like all of the characters were developed equally. I had a harder time getting to know and remember both Hannah and Violet. Hopefully that will be rectified in the next installment!

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Are there any graphic novel series that you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

Poison or Protect » Novella Review

Hooray for my first 2016-release read!

I am officially a die-hard fan of Gail Carriger's. I started off this year by reading her Parasol Protectorate series, and followed up with her Finishing School series. And I plan on reading her Custard Protocol series in July, which is when the second book Imprudence releases. I will read ANYTHING this woman writes. Also, not to toot my own horn, but she does follow me on Twitter and Instagram which made me squeal in delight when I saw my notifications.

I just adore her. And her cat is gorgeous, not that that's relevant to her writing...

The Novella

Poison or Protect (a stand-alone romance) is the first installment in the Delightfully Deadly series which will feature the graduates of Mademoiselle Geraldine's. Our first heroine is Preshea Buss, who was initially introduced in the Finishing School series. She was a catty, spiteful, unlike-able girl who has grown into a dangerous and wealthy woman. On her mission, she meets an attractive Scottish soldier named Gavin Ruthven.

Even though I knew I would enjoy the book because of the familiar world it was set in and the appearance of some of my favorite characters, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually LIKED Preshea. She is very self-aware, intelligent, and skilled at her chosen profession. She knows her flaws, and she makes no excuses for them. Her maturity and evolution throughout the novella was not reserved simply for Gavin, but allowed her the ability to form healthier relationships with others.

"Always, there was a tiny part of her that wanted to kill any man she knew. On principle."

Gavin was just a kind, gentle, and swoon-worthy character that complemented Preshea perfectly. Once I started reading the book and realized it was more romance-focused, I was briefly disillusioned. I expected a rake, or one of those regency romance rugged alpha Scotsman tropes that I had left far behind. But that's not who Gavin was at all, and I found it extremely refreshing.

Note: Not that there is anything wrong with the rugged alpha-man stories! I do enjoy a good bodice-ripper romance once in a while. It's just that as I've grown older and figured out my personal wants and desires in a partner, I realize that I actually don't find those kinds of men attractive in real life. And the feminist in me occasionally rages against their behavior.

"He liked knowing she could kill him."

The romantic/sexual scenes were well-written and enjoyable. And honestly, I don't really know what to say beyond that.  It's a sex-scene guys... fill in the blanks :P. I guess what I'm saying is, if I had the opportunity to have a little fun with Gavin, I would not turn it down. Every woman should be lucky enough to have a little Gavin in their lives. *swoons*

The espionage/mystery element of the book was not fully explored to my satisfaction. But I understand that with this being a novella, the author had to narrow her focus and not bite off more than she could chew. I encourage everyone to download a copy of this ebook. At the very least, it would give you an idea if this author is worth adding to your TBRs.

Happy Reading, everyone!