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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: This is the Circle by Tash McAdam (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Undergrowth by Chel Hylott & Chelsea Lim (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Song Of The Navigator by Astrid Amara
Song Of The Navigator – Astrid Amara
Worst Possible Birthday: Being sold into slavery by none other than your lover.
Tover Duke’s rare ability to move anything instantly across light-years of space makes him a powerful, valuable asset to the Harmony Corporation, and a rock star among the people of the colonies. His life is luxurious. Safe. Routine.
He has his pick of casual hookups passing through Dadelus-Kaku Station. His one brush with danger of any kind—the only bright spot in his otherwise boring life—is Cruz Arcadio, a dark-haired, hard-bodied engineer whose physical prowess hints he’s something much more.
When a terrorist abducts Tover, hurling him into a world of torture, exploitation and betrayal, it’s with shattering disbelief that he realizes his kidnapper is none other than Cruz. As Tover struggles to find the courage to escape his bondage, he begins to understand the only way to free his body, his mind—and his heart—is to trust the one man who showed him that everything about his once-perfect life was a lie.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of extreme violence and assault. It also contains graphic sexual depictions. It also has a lot of birds. And pirate movies from the future. And romance.
Tover Duke loves four things: food, soccer, birds and fucking.
Tover is a navigator, one of only 42 improvisional navigators, someone with the ability to instantaneously transport anything to any part of the known and unknown universe using orbifolds he can create through vibrations in his vocal chords. He is a cherished celebrity, a demigod even to himself, whose every whim was catered to by his company, Harmony. That includes his own personal aviary because Tover is a hardcore bird otaku.
At his birthday celebration, he was held hostage by Cruz Arcadio, a Harmony engineer he had occasional hook ups with and who he had a serious crush on. He was then sold by the Pulmon Verde, terrorist soldiers from Carida, to pirates in exchange for data. His world was turned up side down. Please heed the trigger warnings because it was nasty.
I love this navigator world Astrid Amara created. The physics behind the orbitals is solid and interesting, though it would have been more so had I had some knowledge of string theory. Nonetheless, I was amazed with Tover’s teleportation powers. Like any realistically rendered superpower, it has its limitations. This being it takes up a LOT of energy which means he has to eat a lot too. At one point, it left Tover severely emaciated after jumping from Dadelus-Kaku to Carida to save Cruz. It didn’t stop him from doing it again.
I love Tover! Like every navigator, he was a diva who had questionable rock star wardrobe (snake skin pants, really?). He may or may not have been an asshole at some point in his career, but the torture in the pirate ship and the eye-opening truths he learned in Carida changed him completely.
The torture he suffered was brutal! My heart went out to him. It resulted in paralyzing PTSD. It was so bad he lost the ability to create orbifolds, the only thing he’s good at. It wasn’t just the pirates. Tover also learned the reality of his existence as a navigator. His was a story of what it means to be truly free. It was one of the most moving and satisfying character progressions I’ve ever read.
Song of the Navigator is also story of corporate exploitation. The carbon-dioxide breathing people of Carida is fighting against the terraforming of their planet by Harmony. Terraforming Carida had very disastrous consequences. Cruz is a soldier of the Pulmon Verde, a military group working to bring down the corporation. He was working undercover. He was willing to do anything for their cause.
I wanted to hate the poker-faced Cruz for doing what he did to Tover. It was a shitty, shitty thing to do. But when he showed Tover what was at stake, he convinced me it was worth it. He’s also fiercely proud of Tover’s ability and very protective of Tover’s freedom. It was his little acts of affection that made me believe he genuinely feels for the navigator.
Tover was harder to convinced. Couldn’t blame the guy (and I wouldn’t have been impressed had he gave in easily. Yes, let Cruz grovel for a bit.). He refused to see that Harmony was using him. At the end, it was the birds that finally did it. And because Tover always had to be the hero, he did what he did best and gave a grand middle finger salute to his company. Attaboy!
Favorite part:
“You didn’t react to being shot. You don’t feel anything at all, do you?” Tover hated the hurt in his voice.
“I feel everything.” Cruz stepped toward him. He said nothing more. But his eyes,they were warm now, dark and dilated. He moved so close he could pin Tover to the wall if he wanted to.
“You should show it,” Tover suggested.
And for a moment, Cruz’s visage broke. His eyes trembled and a glitter of moisture filled his eyes.
The story was a study in contrasts. Tover was an adored rockstar. Suddenly, he was a pirate slave. Then he was a beloved guest only to end up where he started. Even the settings were strikingly different, from the a highly urbanized space station, to an old pirate ship to a verdant planet. These 180-degree turns only served to heighten the gut-wrenching, emotional whiplashes I felt when reading the book.
It was a tale as old as time. Betrayal. Slavery in its many forms. Huge corporation vs the minority. Natural resources threatened by bland suburban development. Even in the far future, these are still relevant and at a galactic scale. Tover, Cruz and the Pulmon Verde made major strides in saving Carida. I had a feeling they still have a few ways to go. It’s only an HFN ending but at least Tover will not be strapped to a machine against his will ever again. He has his birds and his games and all the tamales he can eat and he and Cruz can go at it everyday.
Because Tover Duke loves five things.
P.S.
Astrid Amara books here
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine
Artist: The Flaming Lips
Album: Embryonic -
Review: Falling Sky Duology by L.A. Witt
I didn’t have much expectations when I went into this, other than it’s L.A. Witt. Her specialty is stacking the odds so high it seems impossible for the MCs to be together. Then by some miracle she brings them together in the most delicious way.
In the Falling Sky Duology, betrayal was what kept Liam Lansing and Daniel Harding apart. The need to survive and change the world was what bought them together. Everything in between was bullets, explosions, death-defying heights and one father hell-bent on having his son killed.
The books are a seamless blend of action, sci-fi and paranormal. They’re a great example of unputdownable reads that hit the ground running full speed. It’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll be picking up that second book right after the first.
1. A Chip In His Shoulder – L.A. Wit
“Contract killer” is a fitting job for a vampire, and it suits Liam just fine. Cast down from the wealth and status of the Sky for taking a human lover, Liam lurks in the poor and pollution-choked Gutter, killing to survive. Between his natural strengths and his Cybernetix mods, no mark has ever escaped him.
Liam’s ex-lover Daniel is the heir to Cybernetix—and its greatest threat. Horrified by people less man than machine and the exploitation of Gutter factory workers, he’d rather destroy Cybernetix than inherit it . . . if his father doesn’t destroy him first.
Years of anger and a heap of mods have kept Daniel and Liam apart. When Liam is hired to slaughter a man in his glass Sky tower, he walks right into a Daniel-shaped trap. Daniel’s father has betrayed them both, and only by working together can Daniel and Liam survive the coming day. They have no reason to trust each other, but as the dawn looms, a bargain that began with the simple urge to live soon reminds them of the love they once shared. Can they find each other again, or will the Cybernetix assassins find them first?
A Chip In His Shoulder is told from Liam’s POV. He receives a call from Daniel’s father contracting him to kill his son. Liam does not want to pass up on the opportunity to kill the ex-lover who betrayed him so he said yes.
The thing is, the blurb for the first book is spoiler-ish. I’m glad I went into this blind so the twists were quite effective. Obviously, had I known about the set-up beforehand I would have different expectations but I would still be curious how L.A. Witt would make it work since we all know Liam and Daniel would get back together again. It wouldn’t be MM if they didn’t.
I loved how she did it!
There was a standoff and words were exchanged.
“Oh, fuck you Daniel. Why don’t you come down off your goddamned high horse for a minute. I mean, do you have any idea what it’s like to be in hell and hold that person who fucked you over might give enough of a shit to at least try to save you?”
“Probably feels a lot like finding out the man you still love is willing to fucking kill you.”
Bam! Crackle and zing all over the place!
And then Daniel shot Liam.
Thankfully, it’s didn’t end there. More shots were fired, a heart pounding car chase and suddenly Daniel found himself somewhere he thought he would never be.
This is a short book so things happened fast. The tension was tight from the get go and the suspense never let up. The world building flowed smoothly along with the action with just the right amount of details to feel complete and build the foundations for the next book. I was completely hooked on the story. Daniel and Liam’s second chance romance was a beautiful thing to witness and they’re now up there on my fave couples list.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Falling Sky
Artist: Red
Album: Of Beauty And Rage
2. Something New Under The Sun – L.A. Witt
Liam Lansing is heir to a prominent family of bio-modified vampires. That is, until he chooses the wrong lover and is cast down to the Gutter to scrape for his life.
Daniel Harding is heir to Cybernetix and a prince of the corporate Sky. That is, until his ideology drives his father to put a price on his head, forcing him into the Gutter.
But Daniel and Liam won’t vanish meekly into the smog. Together, they plan to rip open the hidden corruption that runs the Sky—for vengeance, for justice, and for hope. They strike against the corporations in a daring raid. When everything goes wrong, Daniel must betray his core beliefs to save the man he loves and protect his dangerous secret. Only through courage in the face of death—or worse—might he and Liam change the world they live in and create something new under the sun.
Something New Under The Sun continues Liam and Daniel’s struggle to take down Daniel’s evil father. It picks up 24 hours after the events of the first book. Liam takes Daniel to meet his friend, Gizmo, the tech genius who gives him his mods and Daniel takes Liam to meet other members of his anti-mod movement, Venus and Felix. With their help they plan a strategy to obtain the UV mod and other evidence of Cybernetix’s corrupt practices.
The UV mod is something that can give vampires immunity to sunlight. The company is withholding its release in order to get more research funding from the vampires. They are also creating a virus that is harmful to vampires and then plan to create a solution to a problem they invented. All of these to bleed vampire wallets dry.
There is also the problem of unethical working conditions of workers from the Gutter who work in mod factories that the anti-mod movement wanted to stop. Since Cybernetix is one of the biggest tech factories, taking them down is the way to go.
This was as thrilling as the first book, perhaps even more so. The stakes are higher, the couple will need to infiltrate the company headquarters. They needed to sneak into Cybernetix not just once but a couple more times. First to steal the UV mod, second to get a passcode and third to rescue a hostage close to Daniel’s heart. It was one heart pounding moment after another and the close calls were too damn close.
I loved that this is written in Daniel’s POV because we can see how badass and cocky Liam really is. Daniel, who has fear of heights, struggled to keep up, but he came through 101% when Liam needed his help.
This was almost non-stop action from start to finish so their downtime was even more precious. I usually skip sex scenes but Liam and Daniel’s moments were short but beautifully written and you can really see their love for each other shining though. I like that their romance was compelling but didn’t take over the story.
Like most LAW stories, it felt like our MCs would never get peace, much less an HEA with all the explosions and mayhem she threw their way. But Liam and Daniel were nothing if not resilient and they manage to claw their way into a position that can bring Cybernetix down. It was one hell of a fight and the peace that followed made it all worth it.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Begin The Begin
Artist: R.E.M.
Album: Life’s Rich Pageant -
REVIEW: Modified And Sacred by Jana Denardo
Modified And Sacred – Jana Denardo
Lieutenant Addison Hunt is proud to serve the Confederation even if he still feels like he’s on the outside looking in. Addison was illegally genetically modified as a child, leaving him burdened with a sense of shame. Emotionally isolated from his fellow crewmen and recovering from injuries from his last job, Addison is happy to have light duty transporting an esteemed diplomat to a peace conference.
Deveral is one of the Sacred Kin, possessing a psychic ability that his people consider a spark of the divine. Like all the Sacred Kin, he’s led a sheltered life as a temple priest, but his heightened empathic ability makes him the perfect diplomat. Nervous to leave his home, he’s curious about his new companion, Lieutenant Hunt.
Not everyone wants the diplomatic mission to succeed, and a rebel faction poses a real threat to Addison and Deveral. Finding themselves cast adrift on a “lost” colony, they’ll have to fight to stay alive.
Modified And Sacred is an enjoyable sci-fi romance that touches upon religion and science. It has a lot of stuff going on from human trafficking, illegal modifications to lost colonies and sacred beings. My favorite was the Fyrians, a specie who can change the colors of their skin and hair depending on their emotion.
Deveral was a Sacred Kin, assigned to go on a diplomatic mission to negotiate with a breakaway faction. He lived a pampered life and has never been outside his planet so his survivals skills were almost nil. Dev is easy going and never shies away from getting what he wants.
Addison is a Confederate soldier nursing an injury so he was assigned a boring mission to escort the Fyrian ambassador. Turns out the mission was far more exciting than he bargained for. Their shuttle was shot down and they crash landed in an unknown colony. A big part of the novella is about him and Dev navigating the land and trying to evade pursuers. Unlike Dev, Addy was more uptight. He has secrets to keep and a job to do so he was very hesitant to complicate his relationship with the Sacred Kin who was all but ready to jump his bones no matter the danger they were in.
I like that the plot moves fast but because this is a novella, some developments were rushed. I’m all for quick reads but I think this could benefit from adding a couple more chapters to flesh out Dev and Addy’s relationship, the issue with mods, their escape from the lost colony and the ending. The backstories were interesting though they gloss over some points
The worldbuilding could also use additional details. We get a small peak at a small corner of their universe and what I saw was intriguing enough for me to read a sequel if there’s any. There were many interesting aspects I am curious about such as their governments, other alien species, technology and so on. I want to see more of the Turing crew and the Fyrians. I hope Xavi gets his own book too. Clearly, there are more stories waiting to be told about this colorful universe.
P.S.
Thank you to IndiGo for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: The Sacred And Profane
Artist: The Smashing Pumkins
Album: Machina -
REVIEW: Mnevermind Trilogy by Jordan Castillo Price
Blew me away, it did. As Elijah puts it, it was superlative!
The Mnevermind Trilogy completely sucked me into this highly immersive alt-world of artificial memories, rinky dinky tech and mnemography geeks. The world-building came together so seamlessly and intuitively, it was exactly like a mnem. The entire experience was so realistic, it even went persistent. JCP, I bow to your genius!
Other reviewers talked about the realism, I echo the sentiment. Even the language was very natural and easy to pick up, I could add it to my everyday vocabulary and it would fit right in. But the world is just one part of what makes this trilogy so good. Each book delivered heart, soul and grit. Mnevermind is one of the most addicting series I have ever read. I give it all my stars.
- The Persistence of Memory – Jordan Castillo Price
Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father’s heart.
The two of them have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like Big Dan remembers.
They’re both professionals in the memory field–they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn’t they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that’s wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation is sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn’t had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.
The Elijah character makes no sense. Not only does he claim to be straight–which has never piqued Daniel’s interest–but he’s appearing in manufactured memories in which he’s never been programmed. Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel’s desire to connect with someone clouding his own memory?
The Persistence of Memory opened inside a mnem. Daniel, a mnemographer or thought sherpa, surveys the audience of bland faces then he notices someone who stood out with his pale good looks and black clothes. The ‘man in black’ kept appearing in other mnemes where they both experienced a strong connection. The whole set-up had a Phillip K. Dick feel to it, simultaneously futuristic and contemporary. Mnemes are a very interesting concept and I love how JCP made it all plausible while deftly avoiding info-dump.
Daniel and his dad, Big Dan built their business, AdventureTech from the ground up and their relationship was one of the best things about the entire trilogy. Their struggle with the persistent mnem gripped my heart. Anybody who has dealt with dementia or Alzheimer’s knows what this situation feels like. Poor Daniel takes a lot upon himself and can’t seem to catch a break. The whole book would have felt sad and heavy if not for the sass and comic relief from Larry, Carlota and Aunt Pipsy.
Daniel’s search for the mystery person who pops up inside the mnemes led him to the mall and Elijah Crowe, a mnem expert stuck teaching dabblers at the mall. Elijah has autism and dealing with the real world can be a struggle but inside a mnem, he can access all parts of his brains. His appearances are frequently preceded by a crow or a burst of black feathers which is super cool.
I loved Daniel and Elijah’s mnem chemistry. Their real world chemistry was just as wonderful but so much cuter. Daniel sees Elijah’s worth beyond his ‘weirdness’ and I’m happy they both got a shot at happiness. But of course it had to end with a cliffhanger…
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: The Connector
Artist: The Futureheads
Album: The Chaos
2. Forget Me Not – Jordan Castillo Price
No two people are exactly alike, but Elijah Crowe is very, very different.
Elijah is on the autism spectrum, so the tasks of day-to-day life most people breeze through are a challenge for him. His career suffered because he never got the hang of schmoozing, and now his talents are being wasted teaching classes at the mall. His social circle is limited to his ex, his therapist, and a structured inclusion group at the Rec Center. The one bright spot in his life is the memory science of Mnemography.
Although he loves nothing better than devouring the latest research and tinkering with all the specialized equipment, he never clicked with any other experts in the field until he met Daniel Schroeder. Daniel runs a memory palace—he even writes his own mnems—and that shared interest alone would make him fascinating. But Daniel and Elijah met under unusual circumstances, where the statement, “I like you, and I think you like me,” held some surprising nuances.
Now Elijah suspects he’s gay, but the few prominent people in his life are less than supportive. Some are downright hostile. Elijah might not be neurotypical, but he’s plenty smart. Surely there’s some way to get people to accept him for who he is. If only he could figure out how.
Some of the most enjoyable conversations I had in my life are with people on the autism spectrum. A friend from anime conventions whom I call Sempai because he’s older, introduced me to Asperger’s syndrome. He had photographic memory and would regale me with trivia on which Kamen Rider actor appeared on which mainstream J-dorama or the possibilities of 80s and 90s cartoon crossovers. My cousin, also on the spectrum, would greet me with “it was Peter Quill’s fault” or “have you seen JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure?” and then discuss the pros and cons of each Stand. None of them asked me if I have a boyfriend, when I going to get married, what I do for a living, who’s going to take care of me if I get old and I don’t have any children or engage in any god awfully inane small talk that most people do in the name of socialization or politeness. They don’t feel the need to fill the silence. There are no hidden motives, mindfucks or sleazy innuendos. I am actually more comfortable with them than with most neurotypical people. This is probably why I love Elijah so much.
Forget Me Not is Elijah’s POV. I’m not on the spectrum but I really connected with him. His direct, no bullshit speech, his awkwardness at social situations, his discomfort at eye contact. I really hate eye contact too. I could see people’s micro expressions and they could see the flight mode in mine.
I could also see myself geeking out with Daniel and Elijah over mnemography. JCP‘s science of mnemography raises many thought-provoking issues. I am curious about Elijah’s take on privacy and ethics now that he perfected a technology that allows one to enter another person’s mnem without permission. I’m pretty sure he has a lot to say about that.
But it’s not just his intelligence and good looks that make Elijah outstanding. He is a brave, beautiful person who faced down bullies, overcame depression, worked around his difficulties, came up with out of the box solutions and helped Daniel be a little bit braver. Which is such an inspiration that when shit happens, I tell myself, if Elijah can handle this, so can I. And so now, for me, Elijah will always be Elijah Crowe
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: Senses Working Overtime
Artist: XTC
Album: English Settlement
3. Life Is Awesome – Jordan Castillo Price
Daniel Schroeder wants nothing more than to repair his father’s broken memories, but it’s been a long time since he’s thought of himself as a memorysmith. Even though convincing Big Dan of their current reality is the most painful task Daniel faces every morning, somehow life manages to prevent him from finding a cure. He needs to keep their family business running. And he needs to moonlight at a competitor’s shop to keep all his employees paid. Or maybe he’s just trying to keep himself from exacerbating the situation.
A year ago, Daniel would have presumed he was clever enough to memorysmith his way out of their predicament, but nowadays he’s not so cavalier. Playing with people’s memories shouldn’t be taken lightly, and things can always get worse. Even with the help of some of the best minds in the business, Daniel still isn’t sure how to navigate his way out of the persistent false memory that’s crippled his life. Is new programming the answer? Better gear? More money? Or is time the only thing that can heal Big Dan’s memories…if they can even be fixed at all.
What Daniel needs most is some breathing room, and Elijah Crowe is eager to provide it. Since he’s smitten with Daniel, Elijah is determined to prove himself—and he’s more than qualified to clear Daniel’s schedule by taking over some duties at Adventuretech. With the support of his new boyfriend, possibilities begin to open up for Daniel, hints of things he hasn’t even realized he’d stopped hoping for: the contentment of a harmonious family, the fulfillment of his creative expression, and a chance for a relationship with a man he loves.
This book completes the Mnevermind Trilogy.
Life is Awesome shifts back to Daniel’s POV. It is also the name of the mnem Daniel created that went persistent. Daniel was convinced it was his fault but Elijah was determined to prove him otherwise. Daniel and Elijah also tried to work out the kinks in their relationship like Elijah’s bottoming issues which makes for hella awkward and really funny sex scenes. I was also bracing myself for more painful scenes with Daniel’s mother but thankfully, it only happened once in the second book and never again. This time Big Dan was more aware of his condition. With Elijah’s help, they created anchors to help him remember, easing some of Daniel’s burdens. I started to feel a little relieved at the way things seemed to be looking up and then, shit hits the fan and the Schroeders are in serious danger of losing the business. Damn!
The learning curve was steep, the hurdles insurmountable. But instead of giving us a resolution where problems magically disappear with the help of the technology, the solutions were workarounds, but, still very clever, very satisfying and realistic. It was the kind of perfect imperfect ending for our two flawed but lovable heroes. Daniel and Elijah were made for each other. Their dynamics is one of my favorite among MM couples. I wish Big Dan all the best and I’m glad he was doing all he could to move on. Ultimately, the takeaway here is we can keep fighting for that awesome dream but sometimes it’s a matter of knowing when to stop struggling and choosing to be happy.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectP.S.
I most definitely recommend listening to the audiobook compilation Mnevermind: Remember Tomorrow narrated by the brilliant Seth Clayton.
review of JCP books here
Soundtrack: Two Kinds of Happiness
Artist: The Strokes
Album: Angles -
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT BOOK TAG
I am a big fan of the supernatural so this is my favorite book tag so far. The challenge is to pick a favorite book from the different types of creatures of the night.
Creatures of the Night Book Tag was borrowed from Dreamland Book Blog
Vampire
review here A most enjoyable and squee-tastic merger of human, drakul and exorcist. Gray, the drakul, is a cinammon roll. I never wanted him exorcised. Caleb and John’s chemistry sizzled. Add Gray to the mix and they’re a veritable thunderstorm.
Honorable mention:
review here Werewolf
review here The Bennett pack. They break my heart but I howl with them.
Honorable mention:
Zombie
review here One of the best Frankenstein’s monster-inspired stories.
“I like you.”
“Even though—”
“Yes. Just as you care for me, even though.”Gets me every time…
Ghost
review here We started on a rough patch but now I am unequivocally behind this sarcastic ghost talker detective and his dirty talking detective boyfriend.
Honorable Mention:
review here Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster
Whyborne AND Stephen Day AND Randolph Glyde. I’m sorry
not sorrybut it has to be all of them in a three-way tie.W&G review here
A Charm of Magpies review here
Spectred Isle review hereFairy/Fae
review here A beautiful cover and a charming Edwardian setting made this one of my most anticipated books. It didn’t fully live up to my expectations, but it was still magical.
Honorable Mention:
review here Demon
review here So you sold your soul to the devil. Now the devil is asking for a favor in exchange for getting your soul back. How far will you go?
Isn’t this the most fun anthology prompt ever?
Honorable Mention:
review here Angel
review here Love the story’s retro noir vibe. Charles Grimes and Tenrael’s dark romance was a powerful hook.
Honorable mention:
review here Alien
review here This has low ratings on GR but I find this a fun and over the top collection showcasing Andrea Speed’s brand of story telling.
Superpowered human
review here Charmed by Sean Crisden’s narration, I went in blind so Beraht and Dieter falling in love was a very unexpected but delightful sucker punch because all that squabbling until the very end, how will they even?! Still one of the best enemies-to-lovers story.
Honorable Mention:
review here If I were to choose what creature of the night I would be, I would either choose to be a Ladysmith Museum librarian, because a labyrinth of books! or a Green Man, because Randolph, Saul and the gang need all the help they can get. Also, deep, dark secrets of the British Isles. On the fence with the Judiciary, they’re cool but always overworked. All that paperwork will kill the fun out of being a practitioner!
What creature of the night would you want to be?
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REVIEW: Parallel Larry by Jacqueline Rohrbach
Parallel Larry – Jacqueline Rohrbach
Larry’s search for love didn’t include Greg, his regular waiter at his favorite restaurant. Always too busy daydreaming about a handsome doctor, Larry fails to notice Greg’s shy advances. But when Greg finally finds the courage to ask Larry out, he’s suddenly killed in a freak car accident. Only then does Larry realize how perfect they could have been together.
No one gets a second shot at true love. Or do they?
Inexplicably, Larry is drawn into a parallel reality, and in this new timeline, Greg is still very much alive. Here, the shy young waiter Larry knew from before has managed to live out many of his dreams. All except one: he hasn’t found love. Larry gets one more shot after all!
There are a few problems. One, Larry’s time is limited. Two, Greg has already dated the parallel reality’s Larry, and he was a real jerk. Now Larry has to prove he’s nothing at all like his evil doppelganger and that he is willing to risk everything to protect the man he loves.
He’s found Greg again. To keep him, Larry will have to stop daydreaming and fight himself—literally—not just metaphorically.
This is partly what I expected.
Parrallel Larry’s premise of a second chance romance involving a dimension jump is really interesting. Being no stranger to bizaarre and seemingly random sci-fi stories like the anime, Space Dandy, I totally buy the multi-dimensional verse, the toaster portal and the eighties obsession. I also expected it to be fluffy and cute and on those points, it delivered.
What was hard to believe was how things seemed to be too conveniently set up, like suddenly Larry had a knife in his boots or staying in the new dimension was as simple as inserting a microchip that didn’t really do anything. Don’t their government have other, more conclusive methods? While I am not really expecting something profound, I felt the story lacked a certain oomph, and its fluff and cute seemed shallow. Greg and Larry were both likable people and their romance would have been more heartfelt had it had more depth.
Overall, the execution could use some work but I think the set-up has a lot of potential and can be expanded. I am all for amping up the offbeat elements, and creating a series where multi-dimensional jumpers find love in other universes.
P.S.
I received a copy of Parallel Larry from Nine Star Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a likeSoundtrack: You’re Mine
Artist: A Flock of Seagulls
Album: The Light At The End Of The World -
Burn – Aleksandr Voinov
Flight Lieutenant Chris Waters is the pilot of a cutting-edge unmanned SAD fighter drone that is used for secret government missions. Chris is cutting-edge technology himself: his neural network is upgraded with cyber-technology and software that makes him the interface of his combat drone.
Then, something goes wrong as he connects to his drone. Haunted by strange, disorientating impressions, a so-called “ghost”, he hooks up on leave with fellow pilot Cyril for a night. But Cyril is not the man Chris thought he is, and Chris soon finds out what the “ghost” in his body really is, as well as the truth about his missions.
I am aware Aleksandr Voinov writes sci-fi but I almost didn’t recognize the story as his. Granted this is my first Voinov sci fi, I think perhaps the fact that the characters and the setting were American threw me off. I’m used to his European characters. This thing felt different. It wasn’t a dud, not the best either. It also felt like a prequel to something.
This sure packs a lot for a shortie.
It started out with Chris talking to a recorder and preening for the press which covers the world-building part. I thought it would continue in that vein, then, poof! It shifted to third person. We get burn junkies, a mystery, a one-night stand, military secrets, and a pilot gone rogue. What the titular burn is, I’m not exactly sure but Chris is addicted to it. I wouldn’t say the ending was satisfying or complete. More like, it hinted on so much more that the short story format would leave you wanting. Make this a full length novel, please.
P.S.
Reviews of Aleksandr Voinov’s books here.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Jet Pilot
Artist: System of a Down
Album: Toxicity -
Imperfect Match – Jordan Castillo Price
A man whose future is assigned – A heart that yearns to be free.
Lee Kennedy’s destiny is controlled by the Algorithm. It’s the reason he’s still in college, regardless of his good academic performance. He’s switched his major repeatedly and stalled on his Master’s thesis, but there’s only so much longer he can hold out. Because once he graduates, the Algorithm must be triggered.
Everyone in Lee’s family has allowed the Algorithm to match them with a spouse. As has everyone on his block. His neighborhood. In fact, everyone he’s ever known. Pairing with his own chosen match seems inevitable…until, at his sister’s wedding, he meets Roman.
The waiter lives in the Taxable District, a run-down neighborhood that’s only a brief train ride away, but feels like another world. The seedy District is governed by different standards—different expectations—so it’s not exactly a surprise that Roman isn’t married. But it’s definitely a shock to taste his lips.
One forbidden encounter has Lee reeling. He questions everything. His past. His future. And especially the Algorithm. He longs for the freedom to choose not only his own partner, but his own destiny.
When defying the Algorithm will cost everything—family, home, and even livelihood—is Lee strong enough to take another path?
Hmm…did I just listen to this in the wrong frame of mind or is Jordan Castillo Price off her game?
Written in the same style as Hemovore and narrated by the same person, the great Joel Leslie, Imperfect Match is a dystopian story of freedom, self-discovery and the courage to travel the road less taken.
I liked JCP’s style of avoiding info dump by delivering the information bit by bit through casual mentions or as part of a character’s thoughts or actions. This was really effective in Hemovore where the polarized world of V+ and V- cases seemed oh so real. Here, the worldbuilding was patchy. What is a boomer? What makes a boomer different from taxrats? What was that plague? What kind of government do they have? How do you tax the Taxable district when they use the barter system instead of cash? I have so many questions.
For me the Benefit district vs Taxable district conflict was just a convoluted version of your average rich vs poor conflict and I would have enjoyed the story more if it was straightforward contemporary where rich kid Lee had to slum it in some third world country. It would have made it more diverse too.
The romance was nothing spectacular. Both Roman and Lee were likable people but I wasn’t feeling too invested in their relationship. There were big chunks of the story were Roman was not even present and these chunks were the parts where Lee had his awakenings. Nothing really shocking, just a privileged person discovering that his privileges come with a price and that the other side of tracks seemed more and more appealing.
There is not much conflict. The boomers were discriminating against taxrats and Lee’s choices but Lee’s family was supportive and the taxrats were welcoming. And though Lee went against the Algorithm, there were no dire consequences.
I’d say this is okay. I didn’t hate it but this is not a JCP book I would recommend.
P.S.
Review of Hemovore here.
Review of JCP books here.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like
Soundtrack: Right Place
Artist: White Lies
Album: Friends(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39290871-imperfect-match)
