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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Did It All Before by Cynthia Hamill (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: Black Moon by Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Black Moon by Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: After Felix by Lily Morton (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: After Felix by Lily Morton (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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Eidolon – E.S. Yu
When Cyrex Corp, one of the foremost bioaugmentation companies in the world, sends Vax to assassinate Zai Lumero, Vax thinks it’ll be a simple, straightforward job. Zai is only a journalist, after all, and with his bioaugments, Vax has never botched a job before. But then the hit unexpectedly goes south, and before Vax can correct his mistake and finish Zai off for good, he discovers that Cyrex has turned on him, putting him in their crosshairs as well.
With no one else to turn to, he strikes a grudging partnership with Zai to help him expose Cyrex’s connection to a missing persons case and take the company down. Getting along with a justice crusader who hates Vax’s profession with a burning passion isn’t easy—though Vax finds himself drawn to Zai in a way he never expected.
As they race against time to unearth Cyrex’s secrets, Vax can’t shake the feeling that Zai is hiding something from him. And the closer he gets to uncovering the answers—of how he’s related to Zai’s investigation, and how Zai is connected to a past that Vax can’t remember—the more he suspects that finding out the truth might destroy him.
The book caught my attention with two magic words: assassin and asexual.
Eidolon is a sci-fi book about an assassin who was hired to kill a journalist investigating the company the assassin is working for. When he tried do his job, he was in for nasty surprise.
Vax, the assassin doesn’t seem to be hard-core and deadly. He seemed more like a harassed salaryman trying to get the job done and get the boss off his back. His boss being Atali Norman, CEO of Cyrex and one hell of a manipulative bastard. When Vax was confronting Atali, I was like, just shoot him already! Don’t talk to him, he will mindfuck you! Vax then proceeded to prove himself human.
Zai, the crusading journalist, is out to uncover the nasty secrets of bioaugmentation companies.I liked that he is very dedicated to his job. Meeting Vax was like meeting a ghost but that doesn’t stop him from involving Vax in doing what he set out to do. There were a LOT of complications, personal and otherwise but Zai was, if anything, determined to do good so he made it work.
I think this should really be two stories. First is the sci-fi dystopian thread where humans were augmented with electronic parts for medical purposes or more insidiously to create super soldiers and spies.
This is a fast read and the writing was easy to go through.
I liked the world building here. It was not bogged down by info-dump but relevant bits and pieces were mentioned here and there that mesh naturally to create a good picture of the futuristic city of Orphis. There was a big mystery and some action scenes. This part by itself makes for an interesting read.
The second part was a hurt-comfort story about a man trying to deal with PTSD, depression and amnesia. This had a more contemporary feel, the futuristic elements were insignificant and barely mentioned. I liked how the mental issue and the asexuality were handled. I felt the friendship more than the romantic spark between Vax and Zai. I think Vax is in dire need of friends right now although their relationship had a good potential to be so much more exciting had the story been solely about second chances and dealing with mental illness.
Overall, I wasn’t blown away but I liked the story. The sci-fi elements were done nicely, the mystery was intriguing enough to hold my attention, the premise was interesting and the prose is uncomplicated. However, the first part and the second part seemed disconnected and I would have preferred two different stories if not a better transition/connection between the sci-fi mystery and the drama part.
P.S.
I received a copy of Eidolon from Ninestar Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
Soundtrack: Someone Great
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: Sound of Silver(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41059670-eidolon)
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Sins of the Cities: An Unnatural Vice – K.J. Charles
In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret.
Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.
Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.
But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.
The second book of the Sins of the Cities series, An Unnatural Vice centers on Justin Lazarus, Seer of London and his entanglement with Nathaniel Roy, crusading journalist. It picks up from the latter parts of An Unseen Attraction where Clem, Rowley, Mark and Nathaniel were on the business of the Clem’s family troubles.
The overarching thread of the series is the riveting mystery of who is murdering people to find information about the missing earl. Suspicious characters consulted the seer, then kidnapped him to force him to find the twins. He escaped but having no one to turn to, Justin ran to Nathaniel’s house to seek shelter. Nathaniel, his chivalrous streak a mile wide, offered his protection. Justin, unused to pure kindness, kept looking for strings attached. and Nathaniel had to keep assuring him there were none. From the get go, we know Justin Lazarus was a fraud but boy, was he really convincing. So convincing in fact that sometimes I forget that this series is historical and not paranormal. I really enjoyed the parts where he revealed his tricks to Nathaniel. Lying, cheating bastard that he is, Nathaniel still saw the good in him, his intelligence, confidence and skills. This is one of the parts I liked best. Nathaniel never lost faith that Justin could be so much more than a fake medium. But as much as I like the two characters and as clearly as I could see their chemistry, I was meh about them as a couple. I don’t know why. Bummer.
The big reveal, now that was quite something! Through Mark’s efforts, the missing Repentance and Regret were found and the chaos that ensued was a major laugh out loud moment. Poor Mark though. Can’t wait for his and Pen’s book. The Talleyfer family troubles is still far from being resolved.
Time and time again, K.J. Charles proved that she’s not capable of writing a bad story. While I am not blown away by the Sins of the Cities series, as much as I was with the beloved Society of Gentlemen and A Charm of Magpies, I think her slightly mediocre (if we can call something this good mediocre) works still read as highly enjoyable, fast paced and gripping. As expected of the author, there is strong sense of time and place. London is very much vividly present in most of her works. The cherry on top was narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davis who was a master at bringing the characters to life. His run through the entire spectrum of voices and accents was very convincing.
Unfortunately, this had to end with a cliffhanger so I recommend buying all three books before starting on this trilogy.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love
Soundtrack: Believe
Artist: The Bravery
Album: The Sun and the Moon(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32161804-an-unnatural-vice)
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The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal – K.J. Charles
A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes.
A note to the Editor
Dear Henry,
I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide.
You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told.
So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death.
I dare say it may not be quite what you expect.
Robert Caldwell
September 1914I said before I didn’t really care for Caldwell and Feximal’s romance when I read Remnant. I spoke too soon apparently. Going into this book, at first, I really didn’t but I gradually grew to like them both as characters and I’m happy that they are happy together. However, the beauty of this book is that it kept me hooked despite my initial apathy to the romance part. The stories are brilliant spins on British folklore interwoven with actual historical details. This is one of the delights of reading a K.J. Charles book. I always learn unfamiliar and sometimes obscure tidbits of British folklore and history that they never show on tv.
The Casebook is written as a collection of different stories each featuring a case Feximal and Caldwell worked on as well as updates on how their relationship developed and thrived. The last few stories were especially evocative. I have read Spectred Isle before this and recalling and connecting these two books stirred strong emotions.The ending was heartbreaking as well with war and all its consequences. I would choose to believe the editor’s note on Mediterranean cottages and ghostless quiet for my peace of mind. Simon and Robert deserved it.
Rating:
4.5 – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Weighty Ghost
Artist: WIntersleep
Album: Welcome to the Night Sky(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34680762-the-secret-casebook-of-simon-feximal)
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REVIEW: Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery by K.J. Charles & Jordan L. Hawk
Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery – K.J. Charles & Jordan L. Hawk
London, 1899. The beautiful people are dying…
A malevolent power is attacking London’s bright young things, and the only clue to what’s happening is written in ancient Egyptian script. As ghost-hunter Simon Feximal and his companion Robert Caldwell investigate the mysterious deaths, the arrival in London of a notorious scholar-sorcerer seems to hold the answer to more than one of their problems.
A quiet break in London while en route to Egypt turns dramatic for Dr Percival Endicott Whyborne and his lover Griffin Flaherty when they encounter the hostile ghost-hunter. Feximal clearly suspects the worst of Whyborne – and his flirtatious sidekick seems to think a great deal too well of Griffin…
Jordan L Hawk’s heroes Whyborne and Griffin meet KJ Charles’ occult detectives from the Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal in a mystery that takes all four lovers through the decadent underworld of Victorian London in pursuit of an ancient and deadly evil.
While I don’t particularly care for Caldwell and Feximal, I love this story as it gave me a glimpse of Whyborne and Griffin from a third person point of view. Whyborne’s view of humanity is as misanthropic and hilarious as ever. As usual, Griffin charmed his way around but his devotion to Whyborne is as strong as ever. “Gay Victorian occult investigators” should be a thing.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20880073-remnant)
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