The Gospel of Loki – Book Review

The Gospel of Loki

(Loki #1)

by Joanne M. Harris

★★★★

Expectation

The Gospel of Loki was a book that caught my attention when it first came out now six years ago. I loved the theme and was intrigued by the main character Loki. Also I should mention that in the see of British editions of books this one was had of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen. The more I looked at it the more I liked it! I got it right away but have not picked it up for reading until now. And the only reason it finally got to the top of my TBR was because I pulled it out for my TBR Jar Draw challenge – you can read more about that HERE.

Summary

By the time this book finally got my reading attention I already read Neil Gaiman’s Nordic Mythology and the whole Magnus Chase trilogy. Why is this important? Well most of the plot is quite the same as Nordic Mythology and the same plot twists are mentioned in Magnus Chase trilogy as well. It as a bit like reading something I already read in a way.

The narrator Loki and his perspective gave the book a new life though. Anyone who likes Tom Hiddlestone’s portrayal of Loki will like this book as well. The stories from the Norse mythology are told trough Loki’s perspective and he is an excellent commentator for fabulous and surreal nature of these stories. He starts off as humble and attention seeking creature and rolls off to bitter highs and entertaining lows.

Conclusion

As much as the stories in this book were mostly already known to me I liked that this book has a different approach to Ragnarok. I liked the witty and sarcastic wording and the dry humor. I truly believe that the author has captured the spirit of Loki in this book and has managed to make it more endearing to the readers despite some obvious character flaws that are morally wrong or at least questionable. My favorite thing about it that it has a sequel and that I already have ti on my shelf! The are both very beautiful books I love having on my shelf!

I can honestly recommend this book to all those who like to read more from Norse mythologies and like the character of Loki.

Shifting Shadows – Book Review

Shifting Shadows

by Patricia Briggs

★★★★★

Expectation

I’ve taken my time reading this short story collection. For years I owned it I only read two stories and one of those I did read I kept coming back to more than once. Every time I read a new Mercyverse book I get really excited and want to read more. Sadly my waiting time between the books sometimes extends for over a year since I buy mass market paperback editions with US publisher covers. This can sometimes influence my reading interest. Last Mercyverse book I’ve read was earlier this year – Burn Bright of the Alpha & Omega book series.

Summary

This time I decided to read all the stories from the first one. The first story kinda gave me trouble since it set the pace for all the others. In comparison to the other stories, this one is a longer and kinda darker. All the stories have some heartwarming elements among the darker themes and characters, but the first one ended a bit frustratingly to me. And this I believe is the reason I had trouble to keep reading the stories in order. The stories are also set in a timeline with the book series. They mostly follow characters that don’t get to tell the stories from their point of view in the both book series – Mercedes Thompson book series and Alpha & Omega book series. Notable exceptions are: Alpha and Omega story that is an introduction to Alpha & Omega book series and the Hollow story which is a short story with Mercy as the main character.

1. Silver – Melancholy but worth it! This short insight into Bran and Samuel’s past raised more questions than it actually answered.
2. Fairy Gifts – I loved the angsty feel of this story. The characters had a very short page time but seemed so alive to me. It was short and sweet.
3. Grey – Loved it. Kinda romantic vampire theme. Awesome read for October and November!
4. Seeing Eye – This story reminded me how much I enjoy the author’s writing style. The story was full of anticipation for me. I had forgotten how these characters fit into the Mercy Thompson universe. Their intro story was bittersweet. I loved it. I would love to read more on them.
5. Alpha and Omega – I first read this story in On the Prowl collection years ago. It was an amazing introduction to a new series. Since then I’ve came back to reading this story many times. There is something about it that makes it special for me. For a very long time this story has been an only story I’ve read in Shifting Shadows collection.
6. The Star of David – I sometimes forget that the world the author created is so rich in supernatural elements and the Wizard in this story took me a little by surprise. The story was kinda melancholy but full of positivity.
7. Roses in Winter – I’m glad that Kara got some spotlight but reading about Asil was a pleasure in on itself. It was an experience to revisit Asil as a character especially since he’s been having more appearances in Alpha and Omega series as well. It has also been great to see how Bran runs the packs.
8. In red, with pearls – Warren is such a lovable character. This story had me expecting some noir detective plot. I thought the story was very intriguing.
9. Redemption – There are so many opposites about Ben and how his character reacts. I enjoyed this story. The IT theme was cool and I loved it.
10. Hollow – From all the stories this one seemed a bit unpolished. I guess all the other characters were so much engaging to read since they were presented form a different perspective. This is the only story that has a character of Mercy as a leading character. I guess I expect longer and more complicated stories when Mercy is involved.

Two bonus scenes:

Silver Borne bonus with Samuel and Ariana was a pleasure to read. I kinda missed not being able to read more about them getting together again. A background info on them just going off on a honeymoon was definitely not enough.

Night Broken bonus with Adam and Coyote with Mercy in the hospital was unbelievably sweet!

Conclusion

It took me by surprise how easily I can get into these stories and how a completely unknown character can seem so close. These characters are so easy to relate to and to understand their motivation. I think this collection serves to make a rich supernatural world the author has built even better and more layered. It is great to see how much effort the author puts in all her characters. I loved this short story collection and I’m glad I finally read it! Another thing that surprised me that I loved all the stories!

I have two new books from Mercyverse to look forward to:

Storm Cursed ( Mercy Thompson Series book 11)

Smoke Bitten ( Mercy Thompson Series book 12)

I’ve pre-ordered Storm Cursed and the mass market edition I go for is coming out in by the end of January next year. Smoke Bitten is being published in March as a hardcover edition and I will be waiting for it to come out as a mass market paperback probably sometime next year…

Suddenly – Book Review

Suddenly

by Candace Camp

★★★

Expectation

I picked up this book for my TBR Jar Draw in October. This book surprised me. It surprised me to get it back form someone I supposedly borrowed it to – I never remembered owning it in the first place. In my curiosity I did something I don’t normally do – check out reviews of others. The reviews I ended up reading were quite harsh on the main female character. I did not have high expectation from this book because of it.

Summary

My copy of the book is what some would call – well loved. Edition is old enough to drink alcohol in most of the countries of the world and then there is the unmistakable yellow color on the pages of the book.

I could not help but notice some differences in writing style of a historical romance book from the nineties in comparison to the some books that were written in the last decade. It is very subtle, but there is a general pattern to the female heroins in historical romance fiction then and now. I love it when romance authors like to add some historical facts and interesting details to their work. Romance is still in the center of the story but the characters tend to flare into quirky a lot more in newer books than they did just ten years ago.

I was surprised to find that I disagreed with the harsh reviews and opinions about the main female character – Charity. I had to cringe on the cheesy name. The main male character – Simon Dure was only slightly developed and as the rest of the characters did not have much substance to him. I might have been too used to some more complicated plot twists and deeper characters. This book caught me off guard with more simple approach. Even with that said I cannot claim the book was boring or simple. The tropes it follows were more common decade and a half ago but they were well executed.

Charity is blond, too good to be true, fair, only slightly naive, and very much competent to fend of physical attacks. She is also completely virginal and unaware of her own beauty. Simon is a thirty year old widower with short temper and rumors of have murdered his own first wife. Their steamy scenes were a bit exaggerated for my tastes but were interesting enough.

Neither one of the two characters is developed enough to have earned their flaws and character motivation. In this sense the book seemed a bit underdeveloped. As for the plot – that is something completely different. There are enough twists and turns in the plot to have made it interesting form me to the very end.

Conclusion

I might have had a different opinion of this book had I not been prepared for the worst. The cover was cheesy and while I wondered about the elements on it and how they fit in the book I was glad it was not just another cover with a woman and a man in some strange pose. I liked this book better than I expected. I liked that the plot was more than two characters meeting and falling in love until they get married. I might even think it made me look at the genre in a different perspective. All in all I’m glad I have read this book.

Stray – Book Review

Stray

(Shifters #1)

by Rachel Vincent

★★★★

Expectation

I was looking for a good urban fantasy series with a strong female lead. This book drew my attention few years ago when I first came across it on a friend’s GR feed. I liked the general description and supernatural elements that were announced. It took me years to finally get the actual copy of the book and read it.

Summary

Supernatural elements revolve around a groups of cat shifters – werecats, that are indigenous to American continents. I liked the little info on the backstory that author slipped in trough main characters musings. The main character is a college age female werecat Faythe, that is trying to get more independence from the rest of her werecat family.

At first her absolute persistence of having as least possible contact with the rest of her family comes out as annoying and whiny. She is multiple times mentioning how she had ran away in the middle of the night and how her efforts at being independent are thought to be childish and dramatic. Trough the book Faythe is slowly learning to approach the subject more clearheaded and get more approval and independence.

“The moment the door opened I knew an ass-kicking was inevitable. Whether I’d be giving it or receiving it was still a bit of a mystery.”
― Rachel Vincent, Stray

One of the first things that made me enjoy the book was a dedication at the beginning that included another favorite author of mine – Kim Harrison. The writing style did not disappoint. I liked how the author did not shy away from uglier issues and themes like rape. But the aggression issues sometime seem like they just fly past unnoticed. There was something empowering in how the main character handles herself in trouble but her actions seemed a bit confusing for me outside of the emergencies.

Conclusion

I got exactly what I wanted from the first book of the series and I have sequels on the way already. I enjoy the energy main character has and will be continuing reading the Shifters book series.

Lost Boys – Book Review

Lost Boys: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance

(Crazy Vicious Love #1)

by Eva Ashwood

★★★

Expectation

It has been a while since I’ve read something on my Kindle and while I scrolled trough some new recommendations this book caught my eye. I was in the mode for something angsty and smuty and this one fit by the description. A Reverse Harem Bully Romance in the title got me interested to see how a contemporary and relatively new author would make it work. I even went all in and bought it after reading the sample.

Summary

A Reverse Harem them is often done in anime with a generally comedic and silly touches. I usually liked how it was done in urban fantasy setting with some exceptions. Matriarchy is rarely done right in literature because for most of our patriarchal upbringing it is difficult to grasp.

But onto the book in question…

Most of this first book in the series is an introduction and setting the characters in the required situation that would justified the taboo of polyamory. While the female leading character Cordelia gets plenty of pagetime since the book is written from her point of view I felt like it was missing on character depth. Her evolution form a puppet of her estranged parents to someone who decides to fight for what she wants is somewhat sudden. The “sink or swim” situation she gets herself in might account for it but it seems a bit lacking in the end. I am trying to leave out any spoilers and this will seem vague without them…

The characters were interesting enough. I resented the author a bit for leaving out the color and depth from most of them. Characters had potential for much more angst and a bit more of the backstory would have made a big difference to the flow of the book.

The male characters were stereotyped so that that their description did not cover more than some basic physical traits as hair and eye color with mandatory ripped bodies. There were some hints as to character traits but nothing to set them apart in a more memorable way.

As I’m writing this, the second book “Wild Girl” is not out yet.

Conclusion

I have respect for writers for trying out taboo themes. There was a lot of angst in this book and the suspense was keeping me on the edge half of the book. The lack of character backstory made them seem shallow and their action had less sense for it. The overall impression left by this book was that the author could not move past the frugal writing style often used in short smut stories to make this book rise above it and give it life and more meaningful story. That’s a shame since the character had potential for more than just being described as physically pretty.

 

All These Things I’ve Done – Book Review

Finished reading

All These Things I’ve Done

(Birthright #1)

by Gabrielle Zevin

★★★★

Expectation

I’ve had this book for years. I got it as a gift quite a while ago. I liked the YA futuristic approach but never thought about this book as a part of a series I would like to read some day. It was only a book I became interested in after I read another book by the same author – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I loved the bookish components of that book and it’s plot. – the main character is a quirky book store owner and each chapter had a sort of review of a short story by a different author. I love short stories and I thought it was beautifully written book. The way it was written spoke to me about authors passion toward books and stories and I loved it! The reason I picked up this book to read was that it fit to my Summer reading challenge 2019.

You can check out my review on The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry HERE.

Summary

All These Things I’ve Done is first book of the Birthright trilogy. It is a young adult sort of dystopian story of a sixteen year old daughter of a “crime lord” family that is in the business of producing and dealing chocolate. The story is set in a 2083 New York with a bleak setting of a world where chocolate is illegal but the alcohol is not! Main character Anya or Annie is going to a private high school and describes herself as a good catholic girl. Both of her parents are dead, her guardian is a grandma that is practically on her deathbed, her older brother is suffering from brain injury from an accident her mother died in and her younger sister is a naive romantic plagued with nightmares after witnessing her fathers death. This story is so full of angst and the title refers to all the things Anya does while she takes care of her family.

In Anya’s world chocolate and coffee are illegal and are described as a drug inducing elements. These are not the only things that make Anya’s world depressing – the plants, animals are scarce, museums and historical locations are sold and turned into clubs and bars, information and communication is heavily taxed and water is billed my literal drops which makes showers rare commodity.

The characters are extremely likable – even the villainous ones!

Story is written from Anya’s point of view and she often talks from narrators perspective to the reader with sarcastic remarks. Her Daddy quotes provide a long list of wise sayings and witty remarks I loved reading and I even had to write some for future contemplation.

“Daddy used to say that calling a person a romantic was just another way of saying he or she acted without regard for conseqences.”

“Tragedy is when someone ends up dead. Everything else is just a bump in the road. For the record, that was something Daddy used to say.”

“It’s a weakness to apologize before hearing what the other person’s grievances are. You don’t want to end up creating new grievances where there were none to begin with. Another Daddy-ism, if you hadn’t already guessed.”

“Daddy always said that an option that you know to have a bad outcome is only a fool’s option, i.e., not an option at all. And I liked to think that Daddy hadn’t raised a fool.”

Conclusion

I have no idea where I’m going to find next two books from this series but I consider them definitely worth my reading time. At times the plot reminded me of being invested in a Spanish soap opera with lots of characters who scheme all the time and tragic underdog heroes with religion as a prominent guide to favorable outcome. The religious point would normally annoy me but for some reason it fit to the characters and the story nicely. The drama, tragedy and angst made this book a riveting read and completely surprised me with intricate plots and enigmatic character motivation.

Suddenly You – Book Review

Finished reading

Suddenly You

by Lisa Kleypas

★★★

Expectation

I was intrigued by bits and pieces I’ve heard about this book. This is not my first Lisa Kleypas book. I am a great fan of her Wallflowers book series. This book came up a few times I was looking up for historical romance books. I was drawn to this book by the somewhat different introduction for historical romance genre – “old spinster” hires a male prostitute for her 30th birthday…

Summary

Admittedly, the back of the book introductions sounded quite cheesy and scandalous. A thirty year old unmarried woman author in 19th century London decides to hire a male prostitute and experience what making love feels like.

As much as I find this – treating yourself for your own birthday thing – endearingly powerful and logical, the gift in itself was remarkably thought out as much as an unmarried spinster of that time could devise it. The plot twist was interesting enough to keep me going.

I made quite a few breaks while reading and I can partially put the blame on that my feeling that this book felt big in the sense of all that has happened trough the story. Some characters made me suspicious for being to nice and that made me feel bad about how jaded I seemed to myself.

What keeps me interested in these historical romances is usually the drama and this book had drama aplenty. What was different though was how some life altering events gotten blown over with almost no drama at all.

Had I not recently had a heated discussion on a topic of historical romance genre I might have had a completely different review of this book. What changed and came into focus were historical romance imperative – a must have happy ending.

Happy ending aside there were some serious themes that were provided with less page time than the steamy sex scenes. This was done in such an obvious way that I just had to stop and wonder at it. Some themes made me cry a bit and the offset and complete contrast between the two made me uneasy. This has not made the reading of this book an experience I hoped it would be. And sure there were some occasional comedy thrown in to the mix but not nearly enough comic relief by my opinion.

Conclusion

I liked many parts and themes this book introduced. Some were quite serious and heavy but were maybe gotten over with too lightly…I had a sense that for some reason I did not think it was well rounded in the topics it brought out. Book seemed a bit short for everything that happened in it

Maybe it is a blessing when one can pass the difficult themes in as lighter way as it was portrayed in this book…

 

 

Sweet Ruin – Book Review

Finished reading

Sweet Ruin

(Immortals After Dark, #16)

by Kresley Cole

★★★★

Expectation

As I have already mentioned my motivation while buying this book was largely due too being a long time fan of the series. This book is one of the more recent additions to my collection from this summer. I actually started reading it only because I am really looking forward to the book Shadow’s Seduction that is the next one in the Immortals After Dark book series. I had no particular expectations and I really wanted to be done with it so I could continue with the Shadow’s Seduction and the second book from the Dacian storyline.

Summary

Again I feel compelled to clarify a bit on the progress of the book series I am reading. Immortals After Dark started out back in 2006. with a first book A Hunger Like No Other. I am very glad that it was not the first book from the series I’ve read since I did not think that much of it after did read it. For me the first was actually a prequel story Warlord Wants Forever. I still find it that it perfectly summarises the tone and the theme of the whole book series. And the premise which is neatly tucked in packages of steamy and fantastical books with highly eroticized characters is strong and simple:

There is someone for everyone

Trought the books in this series a long line of fantastical characters  of all kinds come to life. And for all of them there is that special someone who is made to be their other half. There is something endearingly comforting in this underlying theme of each of seventeen books so far. The characters and the mythology of the worlds that these characters come from is rich and impressive. While most of the creatures have some root in known myths some are more original than others. At the begining of each book there are few quotes from the “Book of Lore” and they are usually a little snippets that provide information on the type of characters that will be focused on in the book ahead.

While I have some characters that I love more than others most of the characters and their love stories have some part to play in the bigger background plot that spans trough each book and builds on the mythos of the Immortals After Dark universe. Some books end on a cliffhanger and some provide a bit more subtle transition from one pair of characters to the next.

Puzzle is not made by me!

The steamy scenes of all pairings are definitely mature in content and the amount of swear words trough the books is high. Some scenes are downright porn. Yet with all things considered there is something lovable about these books. I enjoy the badass female characters that are fearless and downright unstoppable when it matters the most. Humor is tinged with sarcasm and action is out of this  literally world.

Conclusion

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. When I started reading it I did not care much for the characters but by the end of the book I grew fond of the main characters. The story was filled with sexual tension. There were some crude moments in there but it all fit quite nicely. The story added to the backstory of the series and it was interesting to read the scenes from different perspectives. I love how intricately the characters grow trough the books and enjoy when they reappear from book to book.

The Frog Prince – Book Review

Finished reading

The Frog Prince

by Elle Lothlorien

★★

Expectation

I had high hopes few years back when I first found out about this Kindle freebie from some friends at Shelfari (still miss Shelfari). It is one of the first Kindle freebies that I downloaded in general. For some reason I thought this story as a part of a magical fantastical universe since the author did some other fairy tale retelling like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Pulling this title for my October TBR Jar Draw was a surprise as well since I thought all my TBR Jar Draw titles were physical  copies only.

Summary

The initial surprise effect got me into reading. First half of the book I felt like I was missing something. I kept waiting for some fantastic element to lift up the book as a whole. I found much of this book to be chaotic. The main character was highly unusual in its quirky composition. Character as a whole seemed forced in the cliche of many seen before funny traits. the problem was that there were so many quirky things that it was hard to keep up with them all. For this reason the character seemed off and I as a reader had problems with connecting with her.

What kept me giving this book more chances was the expectation of the fairy tale elements. When reading fantastic literature I try to keep an open mind and figure out the authors ideas and world building in general. The fantastic elements never came though. The story introduced a royal family Habsburg Lorraine heir and the most fantastic thing that happened is Austrians voting back their monarchy to something like that of Great Britain.

Schönbrunn Castle, Wienna, Austria

Conclusion

While the first half of the book was chaotic the second seemed a bit more composed although this might be due to the plot and character familiarity. There were so many missed opportunities for this book to be amazing and informative. I even held back at “curtain down” love scenes. The more I think about it the more I’m inclined to lover the rating even further just for all the unused potential in the story.

The Uncommon Reader – Book Review

Finished reading

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett

★★★★

Expectation

This book was a book club assignment. When it first came out I was not that impressed with it. It looked fancy and it was presented like a book lover book. But somehow I just was not interested enough to pick it up. What I liked about it now was the small size and page count.

Summary

First of all the Croatian translation of this book was a bit special. The hardcover edition had covers of red velvet. The spacing and the letter size was very luxurious as well. I actually felt spoiled using the book marker ribbon that was a part of this book. It was amazingly practical. It is in all a very beautiful edition.

“Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting.”
― Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader

At first I wanted to make a list of all the books and the authors that the main character started her love of reading with. But soon it was obvious that there were too many of them and the list would be irrelevant. Reading is a personal activity and our choice of books should not be evaluated by anyone but ourselves.

Conclusion

The authors background in play writing was obvious. Plot wise I would have preferred to see this book as a play. Other than that, the evolution of a reader was nicely depicted. I could summarize this book by a quote: