To Slay a God, by Brian Fitzpatrick

When the god of pestilence and decay seeks to enter their world to continue a path of world destruction that it has successfully completed on other worlds, Severina and her companions must destroy it before it can destroy everything. But what happens once they manage that task but die in the process. And when they all arrive in the Sunless Crossing, can they help to save the realm of the dead from a dead god that wants to take over that realm before venturing on to destroy every other world?

I read a review copy of this book and, like the previous books in the Sunless Crossing series of Black Ballad tie-in novels, this was an interesting one. I liked seeing how the characters reacted to learning not only were they now dead, but that the evil they had thought defeated was now working on taking over the realm of the dead. I enjoyed the differing perspectives from the characters. You could easily see how their lives had affected the way they viewed their deaths and afterlives.as well as the surprises that were thrown at them.

I also liked how we could see their views on multiple things changing as the characters learned more about not only their new surroundings, but about themselves along the way. I truly enjoyed the obvious character growth that takes place in this story. It is one that if you aren’t paying attention, you may not notice it, but that when you are watching to see how and if the characters grow and develop along the way, it is clearly there.

If you like fantasy stories full of adventure and that have a good vs evil theme, books that are RPG tie-in novels, and the Black Ballad RPG game then I believe you will enjoy this book. Even if you haven’t played Black Ballad or play RPG games, this is still a very entertaining fantasy adventure novel that I think many will enjoy. I recommend giving this book, and this series, a try.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Paramour Book 1: Moneta by George Bachman

Following a violent attack, Blondie lies near death. But she is not the main character in this tale: her mother Moneta is. The majority of this tale flows across two different timelines. One where Moneta is younger, and one involving her daughter Blondie at the same age. There is a parallel in these two storylines as much of Blondie’s life seems to mirror Moneta’s. Both seem to have the same interests, and they seem to often make the same mistakes.

I read a review copy of this book, and parts of this story I found to be very interesting. I enjoyed the characterizations, and the parallels between the two timelines. But I also have to warn readers that I do need to include some trigger warnings for this book. There are some incidents involving violent and descriptive sexual assault on a near-adult minor. There are some traumatic events in this story that could trigger PTSD for some readers. And there are also abusive relationships within this book.

I did enjoy much of the characterization and parts of the story, but I feel like there was too much in-depth description of the science (or made up science for this story) within the book that went far beyond my ability to comprehend. And in my opinion, these instances often dragged on for too long, causing me to want to skim over them as I was not really understanding why so much time was being spent on these specific conversations. While I do recognize that parts of them were essential to the story, I believe that shortening or condensing certain conversations would have held more fully held my interest rather than causing me to want to skim through them.

Overall, while I did have some issues with parts of the story, I did enjoy others and was often interested in what was going on, even if I didn't always understand it. Would I be interested in reading the next book in this series? Probably. I believe the second book will likely clear up some of the questions that the answers were never revealed in this book, and hopefully would explain what actually led up to the opening scene. (I have an idea about that, but I have no idea if my guess is correct, or if there are other questions that I don’t even know to ask yet.)

So while I think that some will find the technical discussions involving memory and the brain fascinating, I think that for the rest of us, if you can get past the sections that seemed to slow down my interest, and can get past the trigger warning issues within this tale, then I believe you will probably enjoy this story. It is definitely an interesting concept, even if I think some parts could have used a bit more development and refining before publication.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

The Memory Thief: Streets of Nox Valar (Chronicles of the Crossing Book 1)by CD Corrigan

Rasa fell to Ashen Fields of the Sunless Crossing with no memory of anything that had gone before. She didn’t know where she was, what her name was, or how she came to be there. She didn’t even know that she was dead. Almost immediately, she was being attacked by monstrous creature after monstrous creature, again, without knowing why. When Secan found her, she at first assumed he was another being simply determined to try and kill her and almost tried to do the same to him as she had to the other … things that had attacked her. Together, they set off to try and find a way to help her regain her memory and figure out where she belonged in the realm of those who had died. What they didn’t know was the dangerous plot that was being implemented by an Angel that endangered the balance of life/death in the Sunless Crossing.

I read an advance review copy of this book, and like the other tie-in novel to the Black Ballad RPG game, I enjoyed this one a great deal. There is a lot going on in this book, keeping the pace fast and drawing the reader of this fantasy series quickly into the story and making them want to know more about what is really happening.

Thus far, I have been enjoying this series. It is an easy read, well written, and quite entertaining. Those who enjoy role-playing games, have read any of the other Black Ballad tie-in novels, or who have played an RPG set in the Black Ballad world of the Sunless Crossing, will likely enjoy this book a great deal. It is a very entertaining story, and the realm of those who are currently dead, but aren't yet ready to enter their afterlife is a fascinating one that I believe readers will enjoy... whether they have played the RPG game itself or not.

The characters are another great source of entertainment for the reader, and I can easily imagine the difficulty in waking up with no memory only to have someone try to convince you that you are dead, even though to yourself, you feel as alive. It would be one thing to have a memory of being killed, but with no memory at all? That would be quite difficult, I would imagine, at least until something convinced you otherwise.

There are some interesting subplots in this story that I think made it a book that was quite difficult to put down, and one where I kept wanting to know what would happen next. I think that if you give this book a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Flight of Fate by Angelina J Steffort

Ayna, the Crow Queen, is currently trapped in her crow form, unable to change back to her human form after a bargain made with Sister the goddess who had at one point created a curse that punished all crow fae by not allowing them to fully return to their fae form. The bargain allowed the Crow Queen to save her people, but left her trapped as a crow. And no one seems to know how to return her to her human form. But who is it harder on? Ayna or her beloved mate Myron? Both are tormented, and unfortunately, neither of them can put all their energy and resources into finding an answer as not only are the few remaining Crows in danger, but all of Askerian Fae as well. The King of Tavros is still coming for them with the magic-dampening potion that Ephegos and the Fire Faeries helped to create. And right now, that is the bigger threat.

I read an advance review copy of this book and as I have the previous books in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Ms. Steffort has a way of drawing you into the story that lets you feel for the characters during the rough times and leaves you cheering for them at others. And as heartbreaking as much of this story often was, it does have its happy and joyful moments as well. This is a complex tale with many moving parts, and just when you think that maybe you have it figured out, something happens to show you that there is still so much more going on than you realized. (At least that’s the way it went for me.)

I do not believe that we yet have the full story of what the Brother and Sister Guardians are up to, let alone what the Human King of Tavros and the Crow warrior who turned many of the Crow Faeries against their king are up to. I believe there is more behind their alliance than we have yet learned, and I also believe that there will be more betrayals and victories yet to come for our heroes, And I for one, and very much looking forward to finding out what will happen next, as this was not the last book in this series.

The cliffhanger ending of this book was not as heartbreaking as the one in the previous book, but it does leave quite a bit open as to what will happen next. One thing is for certain, I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series. I don’t know if it will be the final one or not, but either way, it should be a very good read as well.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

To Be Fair: Illyrian Boy Series Book 1 by Julieta Moss

James is an adult gay man from the United Kingdom who is currently living in Italy. His life has not always been easy, and it seems to weigh on him a great deal. Bogdan is a sixteen-year-old refugee seeking asylum in Italy after having fled from a war torn area. To his knowledge, he has no living relatives, or at least none that he knows of who have escaped the war. And as such he is essentially considered a ward of the state (or in this case, country). But for all that he has had a much more difficult life than James, more often than not Bogdan manages to hold on to a generally positive outlook on life. But even he has his darker moments and is also tormented by nightmares of his escape to freedom.

This appears to be the story of two lost souls finding each other, though their journey along the way is anything but easy or simple and does include many missteps. I received a review copy of this book, and am honestly not entirely certain how I feel about the story after I finished reading it. While I enjoyed the ending, the journey for the characters to reach that point is a very difficult one, especially when you consider that James is an adult, and a good deal older than Bogdan. And while the physical relationship that develops between the two does not start immediately, it appears to me to be far from an equal relationship by any means even before that happens. 

Bogdan is all in, but unsure of himself, while James is lost, depressed, and has a fair number of other emotional issues that he needs to come to grips with, though neither of them seems overly concerned with the age difference between the two of them. Had Bogdan not been so young and still a minor, this would not have bothered me so much, but the fact that he was only sixteen and seeking out a relationship with an older man sets off alarm bells in my mind. Though in all fairness, the age disparity in the relationship seems not to be an issue for anyone else in the story. I’m not sure why that is, but it may be a cultural thing. I am not familiar with what the age of consent is in Italy.

This book is written by what I believe is a British author, as all the spellings are in British English rather than American English, and as such some words and phrases may appear a bit unusual to some readers if they are unaware or unfamiliar with the differences. One minor issue I ran into was that all times were merely referred to as “.am” or as “.pm” with no actual time listed. I don’t know if this was intentional or if the actual time of day in each instance was accidentally left out in the version that I read. I think that if the reader is patient, they can guess at an approximate  time for activities that were being referred to, but for me it was a mild annoyance. 

Bogdan is all in, but unsure of himself, while James is lost, depressed, and has a fair number of other emotional issues that he needs to come to grips with, though neither of them seems overly concerned with the age difference between the two of them. Had Bogdan not been so young and still a minor, this would not have bothered me so much, but the fact that he was only sixteen, and seeking out a relationship with an older man sets off alarm bells in my mind. Though in all fairness, the age disparity in the relationship seems not to be an issue for anyone else in the story. I’m not sure why that is, but it may be a cultural thing. I am not familiar with what the age of consent is in Italy.

This book is written by what I believe is a British author, as all the spellings are in British English rather than American English, and as such some words and phrases may appear a bit unusual to some readers if they are unaware or unfamiliar with the differences. One minor issue I ran into was that all times were merely referred to as “.am” or as “.pm” with no actual time listed. I don’t know if this was intentional or if the actual time of day in each instance was accidentally left out in the version that I read. I think that if the reader is patient, they can guess at an approximate  time for activities that were being referred to, but for me it was a mild annoyance.

I do also need to warn that  there are some incidents in this book that some readers may find triggering. Bogdan does have nightmares from his time fleeing a war. This book also does include a suicide and themes of emotional abuse, alcohol abuse, anxiety, depression, and bullying. For much of this story, it is not a happy book by any means. And as I mentioned above, I am not entirely certain how I feel about it. But I also do not believe that I am the intended audience for this story, and as such, that may be coloring my view of what happens within the tale. For some readers, I could easily see many of these experiences being helpful or allowing a reader to feel “seen” and less alone in the world. And this would easily be a redeeming factor of the parts that I had a difficult time reading, as those sections were not speaking to me, but very well could be helpful and meaningful for someone who has been through similar difficulties, or who is also going through a tough time themselves.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

The 5 Moons of Tiiana by PT Harry

Rez Cantor is a soldier and the captain of the guard. He has been assigned the task of protecting the princess and heir to the throne. When this story begins, the war between their worlds has been lost and in the morning they are expected to surrender to an invading empire. What the general population of this world doesn't know is that the surrender will mean the death of everyone by the invading aliens, including the princess he is sworn to protect. Rez and a select few are charged with helping the princess to escape and live somewhere in hiding off-world. However, as their ship flees the planet, the invading force attempts to stop them, firing on them and damaging the ship. While Rez survives crash landing on a distant world somewhere, he wakes completely alone, not knowing what happened to the rest of those on his ship, including the princess that he was charged with protecting, where he is, and whether or not any of the others had also survived.

This was an unusual science fiction story. I will admit that early on I felt a little confused since I wasn’t sure if this was going to wind up being solely his story of survival or whether it would find a way to tie back to the rest of those he had been travelling with. All I can say about that is that it does tie back to the stories of the others and more, but that this is overwhelmingly Rez Cantor’s story, while the others are secondary characters. Yes, they are an important part of his tale, but their stories are not the main focus of this book. While we do learn a little of what happened to each of them when their ship was attacked and they crashed, their stories are very clearly secondary plotlines in this book. (It is possible that the author may write others books focusing on these secondary characters stories, but we will have to wait and see if he chooses to at some future date or to leave the fullness of their tales of survival left to our imaginations.)

I read a review copy of this book and I enjoyed it. This was a classic science fiction story that involved other worlds and cultures as well as multiple alien species. And for those who enjoy classic science fiction, I feel that you will definitely enjoy this book. We learn a lot about the characters, as they learn much about themselves, survival, and other worlds/peoples. If you are able to read this book on a color device or tablet, I would recommend doing so as this book does contain color illustrations throughout the story that do enhance the tale by allowing you to see what the author was describing when various alien species or people were encountered along the way. If you are reading this book on a black and white kindle, the pictures are still quite helpful and very nice, but they truly shine when viewed in color.

Overall, I think that anyone who enjoys science fiction, alien worlds, alien beings, and multiple cultures or languages, will enjoy this complex and interwoven tale. I don’t know if this is intended to be a stand-alone novel or if the author intends to continue the story with another book. It does work well enough on its own, but I could easily see another book written about what happens to the main characters after the end of this tale. (And yes, I would willingly read that book as well should I get the chance.) It was an interesting and entertaining story.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

The Cost of Lies by Samantha Price

Wilma had lied about her first husband not leaving a will. And for years Florence has mourned the fact that the apple orchard she so loved was not hers, especially when Wilma married Levi and the orchard suffered due to his lack of knowledge in how to effectively manage an orchard. But now it has come out that there was a will and that all these years it had been meant to belong to Florence. Levi was furious at Wilma and told her that she needed to make it right. And then he suffered a heart attack.

As with the previous books in this series, I enjoyed reading this one. Despite any family troubles, it comes through clearly how much family means to everyone in the Baker family. No matter how angry they may get with each other, they are always there for each other no matter what.

This series makes me smile when reading it. I get drawn into each book and want to know what will happen next for everyone involved. I think that anyone who enjoys Amish romance books, any of the other books in this series, or any of Ms. Price's other books would also enjoy this story as well.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.