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REVIEW: Spectred Isle by K.J. Charles
Green Men: Spectred Isle – K.J. Charles
Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense…except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.
Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there’s something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.
Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.
First, isn’t the cover art gorgeous! <3<3<3
This book gave me happy goosebumps. This book also spooked me although I am rarely spooked. This book gave me a pleasant case of book hangover. Therefore I declare this as K.J. Charles’ best book to date.
The story is told in dual POV of Saul Lazenby, a disgraced archeologist and Randolph Glyde, an aristocratic arcanist. Both lonely men, both war veterans dealing with the pain and trauma of war. The two kept meeting at certain places and their mutual attraction was undeniable. I enjoyed their banter and Charles’ brilliance at creating dialogue and prose had me mumbling some lines and chuckling at the clever turn of phrase. Randolph is what is usually described as sardonic and tends to evade questions. But when he does say what he really thinks, usually when talking to and about Saul, I can’t help but internally squeal because it’s clear that he loves/adores/worship Saul. Saul is what is described as a tender but scarred soul. I greatly admire him and his resilience. He was just suddenly thrust into another war he had no idea existed but he didn’t back down. Sometimes in a love story, I tend to love one of the pair more than the other but here, I love them both so much.
The rest of the Green Men deserved books of their own. Sam is getting one (hooray!) but I am conflicted because it’s m/f. Yeah, OK, they can’t be all gay as much as I want them to be. Barney and Max definitely should have their own HEA (love ‘em!).
The world building and the magic system are awesome! Rooted in myths and folklore, seamlessly integrated into post-world war 1920s and very convincingly delivered. The time and place was very palpable and imagining the War Beneath and the Great Summonings scared the hell out of me at 3 a.m.
Please do read this book even if you are not into MM.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: Time for Heroes
Artist: The Libertines
Album: Up the Bracket(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35118935-spectred-isle)
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The Raven Cycle: The Dream Thieves – Maggie Stiefvater
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…
Not gay per se but I love Ronan and he swings that way so this is highly recommended. Actually, I didn’t notice that he was gay until I read the reviews but he was always been my favorite of the four boys so it’s a nice bonus. I liked this second book better (possibly my fave in the series) as I now have a clearer grasp of what Gansey was all about (I struggled with that on book one) and we get to know Ronan’s family and why he’s so damn angry all the time. Ok, it’s not just all Ronan and his family. Adam has his issues. Blue is still great and Noah is Noah. The adults have more active roles. The Grey man is worth getting to know as well. I could say something about Gansey too but really, I just adore Ronan.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17347389-the-dream-thieves)
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Live people ignore the strange and unusual
Handbook for the Recently Deceased -
REVIEW: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Gansey is different. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been told by her psychic family that she will kill her true love. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
I actually avoided reading this book because of what’s written above. It is seriously a very misleading blurb that makes the book sound like it is a romance-driven, reverse harem story about an annoying, oh so special girl whose main concern is whether to kiss a boy or not. So I stayed away despite some very positive reviews.
I finally decided to give this one a try after seeing pictures of people shipping Ronan and Adam and finally noticing that it has a GLBT tag in Goodreads. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it enough to buy the rest of the books although I felt a nagging feeling that something was a little off. I like all the characters. I don’t know why Ronan is so angry but I see him as a punk and I love punks. Gansey’s tendency to unwittingly offend people through unfortunate phrasing is something I also suffer from. Noah is precious and Adam is nice. Blue is a level headed, sensible type who can make her own clothes. And I am so glad nobody’s forcing the romance angle, nobody got on my nerves, they can speak Latin, they got their own HQ and the ending is bam!
Now to what’s nagging me about it all. The book reads like a story with British characters but speaking in American English. All that tea, all those eccentricities (especially the women), all those posh private school boys in their uniforms, the woods, the atmosphere, that dead Welsh king, it gave me a British book feel. It’s not necessarily something that detracts from my enjoyment of the book but sometimes I get disoriented and realize that this is all in Virginia.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462-the-raven-boys)
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Book Haul for June and July
The City in the Autumn Stars – Michael Moorcock
Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin – Boris Akunin
Luka and the Fire of Life – Salman Rushdie
Illustrado – Miguel Syjuco
The Sunday Philosophy Club – Alexander McCall Smith
Q – Luther Blisset
The Underneath – Kathi Appelt
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I miss libraries and the smell of old books…
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Book Haul
Baby Cakes – Armistead Maupin
The Kingdom Beyond the Waves – Stephen Hunt
Lost Girls & Love Hotel – Catherine Hanaran
Montmorency: Thief Liar Gentleman? – Eleanor Updale
Trash – Andy Mulligan
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I always carry a book with me so when my life sucks I can escape to a new one.
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I want this book!
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What Your Favorite Kids Book Then Says About You Now
