Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for a review
I was intrigued by a story that wove together a Survivor-like reality show with jury duty, wondering how one of the themes of the book - justice - would come into play within the various plot threads. The first 3rd of the book read more as a slice-of-life story than a romance, but that was fine since I like the slower-paced stories if the characters featured are intriguing. In this portion of the book, we meet the protagonist Robin's semi-dysfunctional family as well as the various members of the reality show cast in the form of Robin's memories of her reality show experience. The jurors are also introduced during this period. You can see how desperate Robin is to prove herself to her overbearing, successful brothers through her interactions and reactions to what they have to say about her performance in the Holdout as they watch the episodes. Her time on the show also makes her leery of starting a new relationship with a man because of how she was treated by Grant, a love interest on the show.
However, the sudden threat of a love triangle towards the end of the book very nearly ruined the book for me as I despise love triangles, but thankfully it was limited to one (stupid) incident between Robin and Grant after the finale show. It's one of those scenes that make you want to either grab the character by the shoulders and shake some sense into her or throw your book or e-reader against the wall! Kudos to the author for making me so emotionally invested in her characters.
Without giving anything away, I will say that all the various threads came together in a very satisfactory way in the end. I will definitely check out more of this author's books.
4 Stars
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for a review
Some mild spoilers.
I really enjoyed Ecliptic. It had an interesting blend of mild sci-fi and urban fantasy. The plot centers around an upcoming date of Dec 13, 2035 when the world is fated to come to an end. In the ancient past, Celestial beings (who are really just super advanced aliens) saved Earth from destruction after receiving a gift/price of human sacrifices and placing 12 Guardians from various alien royal families that represent each of the 12 signs of the zodiac to live as humans on Earth, reincarnating and awakening to their true natures/powers and memories when they are needed. Now that the end has come, the Guardians have split into 2 factions, one that wants to save the humans and the other that despises humans and only wants to go home - something that can't happen until Earth is destroyed.
The story reminds me a lot of Clamp's manga/anime series "X." They both have similar themes of 2 opposing "guardian" forces that are born/selected to their destinies to decide Earth's fate, as well as the reluctance of some of them to perform their duties as they should. I think if you enjoyed "X" then you'll definitely enjoy this novel.
While there were a few typos, missing words, and punctuation problems here and there, for the most part, the writing flowed very smoothly, and the formatting was good. The story is told in both 1st person through the guardian, Izie, and in 3rd person for everyone else. As a result, I felt Izie's character was a lot more fleshed out than all the rest. There were also a few scenes throughout that I wished would've been fleshed out a bit more, but that's just a personal preference as it didn't deter from the story at all. I just would've liked a little more insight to the characters' thoughts and reactions during some key scenes.
As for the ending, all I can say is thank goodness for the Epilogue because the book would've ended on a very cruel cliffhanger otherwise! I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
4 Stars
Disclaimer: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for a review
The first thing that struck me after reading the first story
in this anthology was that it was written in a style like a Grimm's fairy tale
or old fables, something that you don't really see in novels these days. Some
of the stories are set in the modern age and others are simply timeless,
stories that could have taken place in any given age. However, all of them are
written in the same, older style of writing - narrating the story rather than
showing it play out.
A lot of the stories I would classify as a type of fantasy
slice-of-life. They have no resolution to their plot, just an intriguing
snapshot in the lives of the various fantastical creatures or the humans that
meet them featuring love, loss, and their endless search for meaning.
Some of the stories that I enjoyed the most were the ones
that featured the modern, human girl, Penny and her interactions with the
erlking and fantasy creatures like trolls and ice pixies, the story of Mrs.
Winifred and her interactions with a demon stuck in the form of a parrot,
Olympia the automaton's search for a soul, the underlying melancholy of the
Dowager Alderqueen's story, and the story of the vampire Sylvester and his
interactions with Lady Death. You can't resist a story with a vampire named
SYLVESTER. The name alone adds flavor to the character!
Overall, I think fantasy fans will enjoy these stories full
of introspection and whimsy.
4 Stars
Reviews coming soon:
Bloody Mess by Joshua M. Phillips
Eden Fell by Lily
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