Collared by T.A. Moore

Collared by T.A. Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I read a book in one sitting, but I devoured this book in one session.

Jack, a damned ex-priest, is not a hero by any measure, nor is his demon, Math. They are, however, bound by a great deal more than a simple contract for jack's soul. The heat between them is incandescent. And while Jack doesn't bother often with hope, he still feels like this one time, he needs to do the right thing. There's a little girl involved, an innocent.

This isn't a long book, although I wanted more of it. Ms. Moore is an artist who paints with words. Her prose is rich, and savage. It grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. I could see what she described, smell it, taste it. Ms. Moore has a gift, and while some people might think it's a bit dark, I thought it was delicious.

View all my reviews

I've been reading...

Well, reading and finally managing to review as well. So, here goes!

Sword Dance by A.J. Demas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love ancient history, and I love historical fiction, so this book seemed like a perfect read. How very right I was, because I loved this book from the very first page.

AJ Demas has created a marvelous world, and Damiskos and Varazda are incredibly well written. They have an abiding humanity, with profoundly moving pasts that make their alliance both unlikely and yet inevitable. As they grow to know more about each other, they fumble through misunderstandings, and stumble around their deepening friendship, while neither one wants to admit the attraction that is slowly building. The plot is well done, with plenty of intrigue and misdirection, and the supporting cast of characters is tremendously fun. (Personally, I adore Aradne, Nione's steward.) Maybe the villains were just a tad too villainous, but that wasn't enough to spoil the book for me at all.

I'm looking forward eagerly to the rest of this trilogy!

View all my reviews The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a sucker for historical fiction, and fantasy, and magic, and this book hit all my high points. Lots of plot, lots of utterly delicious sex, witty banter, and chills up my spine kept me reading like a greedy child. I'm late to the party, I know, but as someone else said, that means I get to read the rest of the series right away, which is the icing on my magpie cupcake.

Color me smitten!

View all my reviews

Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune

Into This River I Drown by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't think I can find enough superlatives for TJ Klune. This is the fourth book I've read by him, and once again, I'm absolutely in awe of his lucid prose, and his utterly human characters.

Benji Green is drowning, in grief, in regrets, in life. He mourns his late father, Big Eddie, with a ferocity I can understand. I lost my father five years ago, and I still talk to him. I keep an old phone so I can re-read his texts. I completely understand Benji.

Benji's need calls down his town's guardian angel, Calliel, who is impossible, and improbable, all at once. He is also impeccably human at his core, and he loves with all the innocence of a child, and all the ferocity of heaven.

There are plots, and sub threads, and I won't spoil them. There is nothing simple in this book, but I could not, or more accurately would not put it down.

Read this book, if you believe in love, and even more so if you need your faith in the power of love restored.

View all my reviews

The Dead Book - D.M. Pulley

The Buried Book by D.M. Pulley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read the book because I'd read, and loved, The Dead Key. It was a wise choice on my part.

To put it simply, I could not put this book down. I needed to find out, along with Jasper, what had happened to his mom, and I needed to know with an urgency which kept me up way too late.

The author does a wonderful job capturing the prevailing opinions and mood of the period in which the story takes place. I'm sure many readers will find the overt bigotry of some of the characters uncomfortable, but at the time, it would not have raised an eyebrow. Kudos to D.M. Pulley for not sanitizing history.

I will go back and read this book again. It's one of those books I won't forget.

View all my reviews

The Ocean at the End of the Lane review

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was astonishing, and completely engrossing. Maybe because I was one of those bookish kids myself, happier in my fantasy worlds than in the real world. Maybe it was because even in the heart of a bustling city, you can still feel alone.

The nameless narrator reminded me of so many things from my own youth, not the least of which was how much I would have wanted to be like Lettie-fearless and independent. The juxtaposition of his home life, with the discord between him and his father, and the affair with Ursula behind his mother's back, and the welcoming warmth of the Hempstock farm creates the sort of tension in a reader that keeps you turning pages. The language is almost lyrical, and the recurring imagery of the moon and the ocean adds a gloss of tranquility over the turbulence that is existence.

Love this book, love this author. Read it.

View all my reviews

Xperiment by Dan Skinner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the things I've come to enjoy in reading anything by Dan Skinner is his unflinching need to see the world as it really is, even in this not so dystopian novel. The setting is St Louis, and I'd be hard pressed to see much difference between his version and the city I could visit next week, right here, and now. It's an ugly place, filled with prejudice, and hatred, and fear, and populated by small minds and smaller consciences.

Geoff Markham is a lonely, quiet man, awkward and unsure of himself, gay in a city where he feels out of place, unattractive enough to court mockery and rejection. His boss is a bully, his job unfulfilling, and the only saving grace is being far away from his abusive stepfather and drunken mother. After a typically awful day at work, he runs home in a rainstorm, with only a newspaper to provide cover, a newspaper containing an ad which catches his eye. He can join an experiment, take supplements which will improve his health, and get paid, too. What does he have to lose?

I don't want to spoil this novel, because it deserves to be read in full, and not in a cliff-note version via review. But what I will say is Dan's eye for imagery lends a power to his words, a lyrical pull which draws you into Geoff's world. The pills open his eyes, and as Geoff discovers who he really is, I couldn't help but get lost in the gorgeous prose. Geoff finds love with a blind street musician, Chris, learns about the beauty in life, and in the process, kindles hope in his own heart, and in mine.

Dan Skinner has offered up a glimpse of a world where evil cannot triumph, as long as we are willing to embrace everything we can be, and never lose hope. It is a vision which feels all the more welcome in these strange days, when we've allowed the ugliness of which he writes to taint our world. I hope we find the same wisdom as Geoff.

View all my reviews

Things I never thought I would do...

So, today was DMCA day. I'm unpublishing myself, so to speak, on what I hope is a temporary basis. I'll find new homes for my books, and I'll tweak them a little, make them fresh again before I send them off to be read, and hopefully liked. They're MY books. It's the first step to moving forward again.

But in the interim, I'm really angry, and frustrated, and upset because I was taken in by stories and an inclination to think the best of folks. 

And also because, as a small business owner myself, I know better.

Let me say that again. I. Know. Better. I saw the signs, and I told myself, "It's publishing, it's not quite the same thing as what we do, really, it's going to be fine." Revenue flow fluctuates, but if they're putting aside enough money every month to cover royalties at the highest possible rate, plus a bit extra, they won't have a problem.

But the truth is when you stop paying people, that's a problem. 

When only one person knows how to do something, that's a problem.

When no one answers the calls, or emails, that's a problem. 

You can damned well bet if I was sick, my partner would step in, and fill in. And while I might not grab a bag of test equipment and go run an inspection, or service a panel, I make sure I have subs I can call because my clients can't wait. And I have subs I can call because they know they get paid at the end of the week, no question. NO QUESTION. They get paid before I do. That's how it works.

So if anyone reading this thinks there's still a chance Torquere will pull it out, and things will get better, think again.