The Watchmaker's Daughter (Glass and Steele, #1) by C.J. Archer

  

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Content: A couple of female characters are threatened with rape

 

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill.

Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won't tell India why any old one won't do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London's best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she's certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she'll find herself unemployed and homeless again - and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life.  

 

I read this with the mystery book club. It had been on my radar for a while, and I even owned an ebook version of it, but I decided to borrow the audio on Hoopla and listen to it while working around the house. I liked the concept of this book a lot, but unfortunately, I didn't care for most of the characters. I think this was exacerbated by the narrator. She made certain characters even more unappealing than I think they would have been if I had read it instead of listened to it. I just couldn't get past some of the voices she used, especially when it came to the American accents she was trying to do.

As for the story itself, I thought some of the sexual tension was overwrought. Too much time was spent on what the main character, India, felt about Matthew Glass, and not enough was spent on them actually getting to know each other. Most of the book Matthew is hiding who he is from her, and she is guessing about him. I got tired of the mysterious, yet slightly sinister air that surrounded his character. Especially since it was obvious to me, he wasn't going to be a bad person. It was eventually, very obvious to me who the villain was going to be, and I was disappointed that it was so easy to figure out.

Matthew's associates were even worse to read about. Every time one of them opened their mouth and said something, I kind of cringed, but that was a lot due to the narrator and the terrible way she spoke for them. There were also some instances where I thought things characters did were unbelievable for the time period.

If I had liked this book enough, I would have just opted to read the ebooks, instead of listening to the terrible narration, but unfortunately, I don't like it enough to spend one of my three Hoopla credits on it every month, so it’s going on the abandoned series pile.

 

 

A Song of Flight (Warrior Bards #3) by Juliet Marillier

  

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Content: Strong language

 

After a violent encounter with masked men and the sinister Crow Folk, Prince Aolu of Dalriada disappears without a trace, and his companion Galen is seriously injured.

Liobhan and the Swan Island warriors seek answers to the prince's abduction. For Liobhan this mission is personal, as Galen is her beloved brother.

While she and her team investigate, Liobhan's younger brother Brocc is in serious trouble. Brocc's secret attempt to communicate with the Crow Folk triggers a shocking incident, and sends him on a path which endangers the one he loves above all else.

What brought the Crow Folk to Erin? And who plots to use them in an unscrupulous bid for power? As Liobhan and Brocc seek the truth, it becomes clear the two missions are connected - and an extraordinary mystery unfolds.

 

I've enjoyed this trilogy right from the beginning, and this book was no exception. I ended up loving the characters so much. I think Marillier does an excellent job with her characters, from the humans down to the little fae creatures that inhabit her books. I especially enjoyed getting to see Blackthorn and Grim from her previous series again. I really liked how both series dealt with the individual struggles each of the characters had. I felt like Blackthorn and Grim had an overall message of redemption and forgiveness, and this series seemed to have an overarching theme of being true to oneself, and I enjoyed that very much. 

I liked Brocc's story the most in this book. He remained stalwart through all the trials and disappointments he went through and I felt for him. I admired his devotion to doing what he felt was right, and the love and care he had for his daughter was heartwarming. The thing with Eirne was incredibly sad to me, although not really surprising considering what happened in the last book. I struggled to understand her character, as she felt distant to me, but I'm wondering if that wasn't the point.

Liobhan and Dau were still my favorite characters of the series and I liked the way the author showed how they struggled to be apart while on their separate missions. I also thought their story-line ended perfectly in the book. The resolution with the crowfolk was also nicely done. It was nice to be able to come to understand them and what was happening with them.

This was a good conclusion to the trilogy. I think everything was wrapped up nicely, although there is definitely more room to expand on this world if the author chooses. I'm looking forward to whatever she writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with and ARC of this book.

The Second Blind Son (The Chronicles of Saylok #2) by Amy Harmon

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Content: Strong language, mild sex scenes that are mostly left to the imagination.

An insidious curse is weakening the Norse kingdom of Saylok, where no daughters have been born in years. Washing up on these plagued shores is Ghisla, an orphaned stowaway nursed back to health by a blind cave dweller. Named for a mysterious god, the boy, Hod, is surrounded by prophecy. To Ghisla, he’s a cherished new friend. To Hod, the girl is even more so. For when Ghisla sings, Hod can see.

Unable to offer safe shelter, Hod urges Ghisla onward to become a daughter of the temple, where all the kingdom’s girl children have been gathered. But because of a magical rune, the two cannot be separated, no matter the time or the distance.

Now, subject to a ruthless king, Ghisla enters a desperate world of warring clan chieftains and catastrophic power struggles. Who among them can be trusted is unknowable. So are the sacrifices Ghisla and Hod must make to defeat the cursed forces that could destroy a kingdom and the fated bond between two souls.

 

Having loved The First Girl Child, I was really excited that Amy Harmon wrote another book in the same world, and this book didn't disappoint! The story takes place concurrent with the events in The First Girl Child, only through the points of view of different characters. I fell in love with these characters just as much as I always do when reading an Amy Harmon book. I especially liked reading Hod's point of view and how he experienced things as a blind person. The bond he and Ghisla formed was special and believable considering the circumstances they were in. 

This is based on Norse mythology and has both historical fantasy and romantic fantasy elements to it. Authors, if you are going to write a fantasy with romance, this is the way to do it! I love that the romance doesn't overshadow the fantasy aspect of the book, and that it's sweet without being overly done. 

I'm not sure if Amy Harmon is going to write another book set in this world, but if she does I will definitely read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and 47North for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Fairy Tale
Content: It is mentioned that a married woman cheated on her husband, A lot of making out.


In a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods.

As dark forces close in on their village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realize the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all.

Art by Umbrafen at Deviantart.com

Art by Elena Kukanova https://www.deviantart.com/ekukanova

“There are many types of love. But there is nothing like a sister.”


This book read a lot like a fairy tale, and that included fairy tale logic, which at times had me yelling at the characters to not be so foolish. The parents of these teenage girls leave them home alone in the woods for an undetermined amount of time because they must journey elsewhere, and can't take them with them. They ask a family in the village to look in on them, but make little to no preparations for their daughters before they leave, which coincidentally also happens to be at the worst possible time. Needless to say, in no time at all the girls are in trouble. This of course is irresponsible and short-sighted on the parents part, but that's what I mean by fairytale logic. All that being said, I still was able to appreciate certain things about this book.

This is a YA novel and it does show. It's heavy with romance and feelings of self-doubt, but it also has a beautiful theme of sisterly love. These sisters are very different from each other and the older one, Liba too often compares herself to her younger sister, Laya, whom she views as more beautiful and graceful. Laya is a swan, so it's hard for Liba, a bear, to feel beautiful next to her. What I really liked was how Liba discovers that she has her own unique value and that she has her own kind of beauty. While Laya might be beautiful, she is young and impetuous, and could learn a lot from her older sister, who seems to be blessed with more common sense.

The author took some Jewish history and incorporated it into this book, which made it interesting and a bit different from other stories I've read. The theme of antisemitism was woven throughout the story. And there is real fear that the Jews in the village may not be safe for much longer. On top of this there are the mysterious fruit sellers who come to the village and seem to be up to no good. This part of the book is what kept me turning the pages.

This is a unique blend of shape-shifters, Jewish history, and fairytale. Overall I think it was an oddly different book, but not in a bad way. It reminded me of Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale a bit, but also Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver as well, but I have to say that I liked both of those better, maybe because they felt more mature.

June 2020 Book Club: His Majesty's Dragon

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Content: Strong Language



Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature.

Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
 

 

“I should rather have you than a heap of gold, even if it were very comfortable to sleep on.” 

We chose this book as our book club read for June. I had been wanting to reading this or quite some time, so I was excited to finally read it. Overall I enjoyed it, but there were some parts that were rather slow and boring. I guess I was expecting more action in a book that is set during the Napoleonic Wars, that included combat with dragons. The best thing about this book are the dragons. I enjoyed reading about Laurence and Temeraire and how their relationship grew. There were some unexpectedly funny parts that came from Temeraire's view of things that I found delightful. But while I really liked this book, I'm not sure I would want to read 9 whole books about this, especially since I've heard that the quality of the series starts to go down after the first few books. I do own the first 3 books in the series, so I may come back and read those eventually.

As far as the book club went, I think most of us liked this book, and the dragon themed refreshments were a lot of fun to create.

Here are a few pictures:

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Content: Clean as far as I can remember


At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

This book had a slow start, but once I got into it I really liked it! I will say that it's not one of those 'can't put down' kind of books, but the regency setting mixed with the magic is pretty great. I liked the fantasy and Jane Austen type mix to it. Georgette Heyer also comes to mind because of the humor. I guess this is called a fantasy of manners. I haven't read many of those. One was The Goblin Emperor -which I hated, but liked The Parasol Protectorate series -which seemed like a fantasy of manners and urban fantasy mix. I do think you have to be in the right frame of mind for this book. The writing style is hard to get into at first, but once you do it's great fun.

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Space Opera, Sci-fi
Content: Strong language, Drug use by a secondary character

 
Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead of moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.

Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.

Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

In the beginning I had a hard time getting into this book. Things picked up after Zara was chosen for the Honors, but I never was able to love this book the way I wanted to. As I was reading it reminded me of several other things I've seen and read. Sentient ships isn't a new idea by any means. That being said, it was one of the most interesting aspects of the book.

For me, Zara, as a character was just ok. I never grew to like her as much as I wanted to, and the fact that she acquired all this tech knowledge out of nowhere was not very believable. Plus, I think I'm over reading about rebellious teens. I understand why she was that way, and I felt bad for her, but I just didn't really enjoy her personality or the way she thought about the world in general. The most likable character was the ship Nadim, but the interactions between Nadim and Zara, while interesting, also felt a bit weird. To top it all off the big reveal about the mysterious long journey at the end was underwhelming and predictable.

There were also a couple of message heavy, preachy moments in the book, and it annoys the heck out of me when authors do that. Give me a story that encourages me to think instead of pounding the message into my head. That would have made a much better written book. This is a trilogy, but I think I'm good with stopping here.

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, A sex scene that is not very descriptive

 
Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

After reading Amy Harmon's fantasy novels The Bird and the Sword, and The Queen and the Cure I was eager to read this new one. It ended up not being quite what I expected. Instead of the fairy tale type fantasy feel those books had, this one is a historical fantasy that included some Norse mythology. In the beginning it seemed to lack something compared to The Bird and the Sword, but eventually, as I read on I began to see that this story was something special on its own. It was rather slow paced at times, but for the most part that worked well for this story. Once I got to the last part I saw some glimmers of the same magic that made up The Bird and the Sword, so this book may be a bit different, but it's still very good.

This story is wrought with heartache, but also wonderful triumphs. This is a story about a cursed land and the people who live there and endure. The characters Bayr, Alba, Ghost, and Dagmar became very dear to me. The way their lives intertwined was at times wonderful, and at times heart breaking. This is also a story about love, and there was more than one beautiful love story here.

First there is the love of a parent for a child.

“I am yours, Bayr. Always. My heart is yours. My spirit is yours, and even when I’m dead, I will refuse Valhalla, and I will follow at your heels, watching over you.”

Then there is the forbidden kind of love that burns unrequited.

“You make me want to be seen,” she said, and his gaze shot to hers, searing, searching. “I have always seen you, Ghost.”

And there is the one that grows from childhood friends to romance.

"There is no Alba without Bayr,” she whispered. “Not now. Not then. Not ever again.”

There are, of course, also the characters that do terrible, despicable things, and at times my heart broke for my beloved characters as they went up against the terrible things they had to endure. But as always the best fantasy stories break your heart before you get to the end. Amy Harmon did not disappoint with this story. She has now become a favorite author of mine. There is so much to love about her stories, and this one was no exception. I've yet to read any of her non-fantasy books. but I plan on giving them a try.