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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Jingle Jingle Kill by C. Quince (Excerpt)
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COVER REVEAL: Handle With Care by Hayden Stone
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BOOK BLITZ: How To Date A Prince by Hayden Stone (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: A Bright Celestial Sea by Chani Lynn Feener
A Bright Celestial Sea – Chani Lynn Feener
Pryor Oro came to the Olympus to find a missing Imperial, not fall for one.
On the space station Olympus, a disappearance and a theft has captured the attention of the Intergalactic Police Force. Assigned to the case, Pryor heads to the World Ship in order to search for a missing prince. While there, he’s forced to work with the Emperor, Wystan Aurelius, who seems to never let Pryor out of his sight. Confused over why a man he’s never met is acting so possessive, Pryor’s urgency to solve the case and get away from Olympus and its ruler intensifies, even as the unruly Emperor starts to grow on him.
Wystan Aurelius finds life on a World Ship dull, until Detective Pryor steps onto his ship, and into his territory.
More concerned with discovering who has stolen missing medical technology, Wystan couldn’t care less about a vanished prince from another planet. At least, not until he sees how invested in the case Pryor is, and realizes how upset he gets when he doesn’t have the Detective’s full attention turned his way, and his way only. Wystan finds himself at a crossroads. Force Pryor to accept him by telling the truth? Or win him over the old-fashioned way?
Wystan’s secrets could unravel everything, but he isn’t the only one hiding things. Pryor’s privy to some classified information could end up turning the entire galaxy for a loop. Together, the two must navigate through their emotions and the seedy underside of Olympus to solve the case before it’s too late, and life, as they both know it, is altered forever.
A Bright Celestial Sea is another book written by Chani Lynn Feener in the same sci-fi universe as Between the Devil and the Sea and A Sea of Endless Light. It does not have a name yet, but I’ll call it IPF-verse since the Intergalactic Police Force is one thing common with the other books. Also, the MCs are IPF detectives with secrets they desperately want to stay buried.
The opening puts us right in the thick of things. From what I could suss out, a member of the Tiberian imperial family, nephew to the Empress, is missing. A critical illness, a top-secret nano-technology, and a classified medical procedure were uncovered. There’s an assassination attempt, and either imperial twins, sons of the Empress, might be involved, but then they were supposed to be dead.
All of this happend in Olympus, which is the world ship of the Vexans.
I spent half the book untangling the convoluted plot. For one, I was confused by all the names that came up. I was audiobooking this, and the Tiberian Imperials had very close-sounding names that I didn’t immediately realize there were several of them.
Roth is the nephew, the party boy wasting Tiberian tax money on lavish shindigs across the galaxy. Rath is his twin and is said to have died at birth or missing (I’m not sure). Ross is the twin most favored by the Empress, so he’s spoiled rotten. Rune is the unwanted, sickly spare.
The world-building was just enough to establish there are world ships, essentially artificial planets, and Olympus is ruled by twin Vexan emperors Wystan and his sister. The two alternately ruled every six months. It seems the Tiberians and Vexans are born in pairs, and this is a key element here.
Also, Vexans have the most beautiful eyes, which are the color of galaxies. The cover grabbed me with the image of Wystan and his eyes.
It helped that I had read the other books, so I was able to piece together the setting. Similarly, we have an IPF team led by Detective Pryor Oro and Inspector Castor (forgot his last name). Immediately, sparks flew as Pryor butted heads with the cocky and shamelessly flirty Wystan, who made it clear he wanted the detective.
Also, Pryor is a Tiberian, and saying the case hits close to home is a gross understatement, as we later discover.
The author was building some delicious antagonistic USTs, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it. I was too busy trying to understand what was going on. This is also the very thing that makes the mystery so compelling. I was in the dark until the bad guy showed his cards.
The second half was full-on squee-tastic BL manga vibes, with my favorite childhood connection trope working its magic. Because Pryor was that abused young boy Wystan wanted to protect once upon a time ago, and adult Pryor is strength, competence, and hurts rolled into one irresistibly gorgeous package.
The detective is still dealing with PTSD and amnesia, and the emperor is that possessive, adoring seme patiently waiting for his hot/cold yet can’t stay away uke, to remember and/or admit they knew each other as children. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt to shower the overworked detective with TLCs and assist, a.k.a. insert himself in the investigation whether the detective wants him to or not.
This part tied beautifully with the mystery, giving us an edge-your-seat villain showdown and a slow-clap-worthy takedown of the person who hurt Pryor the most. It was fanfuckingtastic! And so satisfying, especially knowing what Pryor had gone through. It totally made the book for me!
A Bright Celestial Sea is a story of unwanted children, secret identities, and inescapable ties. The “cold open” and figuring out who’s who took some time for me before the story hit its stride. But I’m thrilled I stuck around. Ultimately, It was a rewarding experience.
Overall, a complex mystery and a sweet sci-fi romance between two men who shine the brightest at their most vulnerable.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Celestial Bodies
Artist: Ghost Data feat. Jovani Occomy
Album: The Occulus Occult
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A BRIGHT CELESTIAL SEA: Kindle | Audiobook
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Timeslot Paradox by Jeff Womack (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: Iguana by Vincent Traughber Meis (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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COVER REVEAL: How To Date A Prince by Hayden Stone
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Specimen by C. Quince (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Elixir of Strife by Nazri Noor
Stolen Hearts: Elixir of Strife – Nazri Noor
Water, water, everywhere.
Leon Alcantara and Maximilian Drake have barely caught their breath after saving the city from an untimely fate. Now the Jade Spider has a new assignment. A local magical plant shop has requested a strange elixir, the liquid essence of purest water.
In pursuit of the ocean potion, Max stumbles upon a tormentor from his past. Leon faces the challenge of hosting a second dragon, a legend much closer to home. And the mysterious Masques are more watchful than ever, shadowing the boys at every turn.
But strangest of all is a fresh spate of elemental anomalies in Dos Lunas. Life or death, sink or swim, Leon and Max must rise to the challenge — or drown under a tide of wicked magic.
Nazri Noor’s stories are full of cocky but lovable magical boys and their misadventures. Stolen Hearts is another urban fantasy series featuring two witches, Max Drake of the prominent Brilliante clan and Leon Alcantara, son of a Filipino immigrant and last of the long line of Alcantara bruhas. They partnered to work as finders of magical artifacts in Dos Lunas.
In the second book, Elixir of Strife, the two witches were commissioned to find the Essence of Water. This magical elixir can be added to a potion, making it more potent while multiplying it infinite times. Their clients were Daniel de Lion from the de Lion clan and a demon hag who called herself Edelweiss. The two were agriculturists or, in Edel’s case, “hagriculturist.”
Dan de Lion is the more difficult of the two, arrogant and impatient. I thought he might be connected to Leon since their names are too similar. Edel turned out to be a potential ally. She’s growing the “evil olive,” a magical olive so potent that a drop of its oil could have some interesting, if dire, results.
This part piqued my interest, and I really thought the evil olive would have a more significant effect on the proceedings. Sadly, it was underutilized. I’m hoping it will reappear in future books because some events and characters from the first book were referenced or made their reappearance.
The humor is one of my favorite aspect of the writing. The internal dialogues, particularly Leon’s, amused me to no end. Leon, like many Filipinos, is extra scrappy and resourceful, able to repurpose any handy material for his magic. Most of his education came from his late bruha mother and, not born with a silver spoon, learned to be exceptionally creative with limited magical ingredients.
I loved how the author incorporated Filipino culture and lore into the story. There were moments when Leon would be reminded of his native country, and his reflections were often both nostalgic and humorous. It was also fitting for him to finally acquire a water dragon from the Philippines.
In the original Filipino lore, Bakunawa is a dragon who swallows the sun or moon, causing the eclipse. In this context, he becomes a powerful water dragon who swallowed the ocean. I’m excited to see more dragons in future books! I’m living for the anime vibes!
Max is no slouch either with his badass diamond-based magic. So far, he relies on his tried-and-tested spells, but I’d love to see his magic evolve. This rich boy knows he has looks, power, and resources, and while he’s not pretending to be humble, he isn’t one to brag unnecessarily. As one of the old magical families, Max has connections and friends he shares with Leon.
Guillotina is Max’s bodyguard and best friend. She packs one heck of a punch! Johnny Slivers is a bar owner and music geek. Loved his powers! He can manifest deadly pins, hence the name. Roscoe is Johnny’s boyfriend and is equally powerful, able to create hexes.
The most intriguing characters will always be the Jade Spider and the Mask. Spiders are information mongers, and there are several kinds. The ones we know are the Quartz Spider, who was a bad guy, and the Jade Spider, who is currently a sort of handler for Max and Leon. She may be allied to them now, but she pinged my “spidey senses.”
The Masks are magical police, seemingly omniscient and always mysterious. Their masks have a crescent design, and they appear and disappear like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. They have taken a particular interest in our boys. I want a book about the Masks!
I have always loved that the author’s works are action-packed, as they remind me of anime fight scenes. This installment is more subdued in terms of action and the plot was a bit too expected, but there was enough spells and sass to satisfy my otaku self.
Elixir of Strife explores the intriguing world of liquids, encompassing everything from water manipulation to perfumes, potions, cocktails, salt water, and even urine. While the author’s style is already recognizable, leading to a sense of predictability, one thing’s for sure: it’s hella fun and solidly entertaining!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Something in the Water
Artist: Kami Kehoe
Album: Something in the WaterP.S.
Even if each book has a different mission, Stolen Hearts should be read in order. Dos Lunas is where it’s at and Max and Leon’s (mis)adventures start in Hex and the City.
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ELIXIR OF STRIFE: Kindle | Audiobook
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Winner Takes It All by Ivy L. James (Excerpt & Giveaway)
