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.