The Mermaid’s sister is about, well a mermaid’s sister. Clara lives with her adopted aunt, a medicine woman and her adopted sister, Maren, high in a mountain living a simple life. As Maren ages, she develops a tail and a need for water. It becomes fairly obvious that Maren’s only means of survival is to travel to the ocean and re-join her people. Clara teams up with childhood friend, O’Neill, a peddler’s adopted son (sensing a theme here?) and makes the long journey. The trip […]
A successful sequel that needs a bit of a haircut.
I liked this, even though it is pretty different from The Rook. Maybe because it’s different? Nobody likes a re-tread. Spoilers for The Rook to follow, though, so don’t read if you’re planning on starting this series. Myfanwy, the main character from The Rook, is here, and she even gets some POV, but the majority of narrative real estate belongs to Felicity and Odette. Felicity Clements is a Pawn from the Checquy, and Odette Lelefield is a Grafter. We see the story from both their […]
The Rook, take two.
Second time through this book, I thought I might add a star, but nope. This one holds strong at four because (unfortunately) it’s not quite as fun on re-read, at least in my experience, because that feeling of not knowing what’s going on and being along for the ride is now gone, and that turns out to have been the main thing I liked best last time. But by no means is that a slam on this book, it’s still really good, just not an […]
If only the hammer were his…
This is actually book 3 in the Iron Druid Chronicles. I read (listened, the only way to do IDC) the first two in the series 2 years ago. I started this one, got half an hour in, got mad, and set it aside. Fast forward two years to all of a sudden having over quadruple my old commute time, because Little Beth Ellen’s child care hasn’t switched yet. Once it has my commute will only be triple the old time. That’ll be nice. Anywho, as […]
Solid debut fantasy novel.
Blood Song is a really, really good fantasy book. Nothing it does particularly reinvents the wheel, but everything it does do is just done so WELL. It was very enjoyable to listen to, particularly since the narrator had a wonderful storytelling voice. Vaelin Al Sorna was a young boy when his mother died, and his father the Battle Lord left him at the steps of the religious Sixth Order, a group of warrior monks who fight for the Faith. Feeling abandoned and angry, Vaelin embraces […]
Fantasy novella with an adorable protagonist.
This is how you do a novella, people. I bought this on release day, actually, and I’m not sure why I waited to read it. I loved Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, and even now after reading this, I still want more from this world. But I just finished The Fifth Season over the weekend, and then I had a bad experience with another novella read for the Hugos, and this was just the perfect antidote to both of those. The Fifth Season was wonderful, but so, […]