Book Review: The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg

Wow, what a wild ride. The Hanging City is an exciting story with a strong theme of prejudice, but at its heart, it is about love and acceptance. Since she was twelve years old, Lark has been running from her unusual ability to instill fear in others and a cruel father who bullies and uses her power for his own gains. So desperate for a place she can call home in this drought-stricken world,…

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Book Review: Harbinger by Wen Spencer

Harbinger by Wen Spencer is the fifth book in her Elfhome series.

Harbinger by Wen Spencer is the fifth book in her Elfhome series. This book brings together a lot of characters from both Woodsprites and the short story collection Project Elfhome. Pretty much to the detriment of the overall work in my opinion. The plot is a confusion of abrupt revelations and point of view switches as the elves attempt to hunt down the oni while being seemingly unaware of the…

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REVIEW TOUR

OBSESSIVE UNION (Made 9) by Brooke Summers at The Reading Cafe:

‘dark, gritty, emotional, heart breaking’

http://www.thereadingcafe.com/obsessive-union-made-series-9-by-brooke-summers-a-review/

Novellas and a Realisation

First up I am not a writer. I do not claim to be and the couple of times I tried it was just embassasing to all. So I read, recommend and make long reviews.

As a way to combat a reading slump I’m on a novella reading binge (and because I got a whole lot free from Prolific Works). I’ve realised as i’ve been reading them how damn hard they must be to write. Such a limited word count to create characters and a plot endearing to the reader and to write a satisfying ending. They are so easy to get wrong. But so, so enjoyable if they are done right.

Hybrid Class Review: Hunter part 4

(art by Golverg on DeviantArt)

Thoughts

It’s another day 4 of a class revew special, and once again I find myself without a major topic built right into the class. I mean, I already talked about the Ward Aspects on day two, and they’re so minor that it wouldn’t have made sense to devote a whole day just talking about them. So instead, I think I’ll talk about the history and significance of both the hunter and ranger class for a moment, something that I didn’t really focus on that much in the ranger’s own special.

The ranger class in D&D, unsurprisingly, got its major start as a way to emulate the rangers of Tolkien, of which Aragorn, son of Arathorn was one, though unlike the movies, others actually do show up for minor roles here and there.

In the book, the rangers are a group of Dunedain foresters and warriors that wander the worlds and silently help defend it from evil, taking down bandits, servants of evil, and generally making the wilds, and by extension, civilizations of the world a better place with a shockingly wide network that passed along information that most people never had any inkling of, which includes their mission.

In fact, the rangers were so good at fighting the good fight without people knowing about it, let alone seeking any sort of recompence, that most common folk mistakenly believed that the rangers were in fact bandits or in league with the Dark Forces due to their reclusiveness.

This is a pretty far cry from what we’ve expected of the idea of a ranger in modern decades. The only thing these original rangers share with our modern interpretation is their mastery of survival skills and spending extended periods in the wilds. No weapon-themed specialization, no favored enemies, no spellcasting (although I guess you could say it was inspired by Aragorn’s ability to draw out the healing power of the athelas plant, the sign that he was a truly worthy king), and no animal companion.

However, as the World’s Oldest Roleplaying Game evolved, so too did the concepts, and rangers drew upon more diverse inspiration such as folk heroes like Robin Hood and actual divinities like Diana/Artemis. So you can see how they began to change from the early days to where they are now. Older rangers had to be select ancestries or alignments (thank goodness those days are over), or could just recruit multiple companions from the natural world including fey and treants, and so on.

And all of this is fine. The beauty of fiction and storytelling is that concepts evolve as familiar things are retold time and time again. Seeing this class evolve over the decades is almost a microcosm of how collaborative storytelling, which is what TTRPGS are, are changed by interaction with the players, the writers, and the culture around them.

So where does the hunter fit into all this? In truth, the hunter feels like an interesting offshoot tied to the direction that the ranger has been headed over the years. It’s a middle point between the druid and ranger in terms of nature magic, but it’s also an interesting specialization tied directly to the cool pet that rangers and druids are somewhat known for. (a pet that notably can include non-animal options like giant vermin, plant monsters, and with the help of some feats, magical beasts, neatly tying back to the former diversity of companions that rangers had in previous editions).

With that in mind, it truly is fascinating to see how this class, and indeed the entire genre will evolve in the years to come, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us!

greywaren thoughts/revew:

okay so honestly i was kind of disappointed with it all :/ like i really liked the first half of the book but there was just still so much left to deal with and so little pages left that i just got more and more worried that so many things would remain unaddressed & so much prior build up would amount to nothing etc. and i ended up being right lol. the whole book fell sort of flat to me and icl i hated the epilogue it was SO bad and terrible and lame and. it felt like she was channeling cassandra clare but worse. i also did have extremely high (to the point of unrealistic) expectations for this book BUT to be fair i had almost the same for trk and i absolutely loved it so. there’s definitely more to it overall but yeah that was the general vibe. final review: 6/10 for now

thank you so much for this blog! your recent revew on first person plural feels like exactly what i need since i've been struggling processing some memories after a traumatic move. i'll definitely look into the book! i can't wait to see what else you have in store :)

Hey anon, you're very welcome and I'm really glad my review was helpful and enlightening <3 I'm so sorry you're going through that, and in the midst of a traumatic move too :( Sending you safe hugs if you want them, anon.

When it came to processing my own memories while I was reading it, I want to preface that I was very much in a mindset of 'get it over with and show me' so I was already in a mindset looking deeper into things I knew had the potential to trigger me. Even then, I was a little surprised to see the explicit words just on the page in front of me like that.

It might be triggering, so I recommend keeping an eye on how you're doing throughout, and put the book down if you need to. Like I said, I was looking for something else to be triggered by and stick to for a bit to ignore the rest of my life. So I'd never shame anyone for seeking that sort of thing out. Old coping mechanisms are still coping mechanisms, after all. Sometimes you need to build up to the less harmful ways of coping too!

Sometimes you need something to get down to the same level as you and tell you someone else survived it too

You already said it sounds like what you need, so I trust you're taking care of yourself <3 Just know you're not alone in what you're going through all this trauma. I know you can make it to the other side. Sending you safe hugs and healing

-Belle 🌷

P.S. Since it seems to be useful, if anyone would like me to do more reviews for memoirs, I'd be happy to do so as well <3

Revewing o9a books

Revewed Love

((REBLOG)) John David corners Ebonee by her truck. After about 3-months of a conversation, he noticed she was avoiding him… “Oookayy I thought our conversation was good over these last few months… Why haven’t you called me?” “Well, I’ve been really busy. Writing this new book and taking care of my son.” Ebonee responded but she was really scared to deal with him due to her disabilities she…

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BOOK REVIEW – THE CITY OF ZIRDAI BY MARIA V. SNYDER

BOOK REVIEW – THE CITY OF ZIRDAI BY MARIA V. SNYDER

Maria V. Snyder’s skill in creating fascinating worlds with intricate societies strikes true again in The City of Zirdai. This exciting tale has several twists as Shyla struggles to learn about magic and the power of The Eyes of Tambourah, survive in a barely habitual environment, and stay ahead of the Water Prince and Heliacal Priestess who both want The Eyes for themselves. Even some of her own…

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Let’s talk about Kaz Dirtyhands Brekker

Kaz is a control freak. He needs to be in control of every confrontation, conversation and he needs to be able to control every person around him. Kaz does not act without meticulous planning. I can’t think of a single instance where he improvised. He improvised a PLAN after the Ice Court job fell apart but he was never blindly acting on instinct. Everything went according to plan, if it didn’t he had a backup plan. He’s basically a Moriarty crime boss. The spider at the center of the web and he knows exactly how each one of them dances. 

He needs control so he will never have to depend on another person for safety or food. Like he depended on Pekka Rollins. Like he depended on Jordie. He longs for someone to have his back, to have Jordie there again. He blames Jordie for leaving him alone and being foolish in trusting the wrong people. 

This character is so interesting and it’s astounding how Leigh made him so sympathetic despite the fact he kind of awful. Do I love him? Yes I do. Do I know why? No I don’t.

this year i’ve read some young adults and sadly i have to say that i didn't like them. full reviews are here. this is a recap:

to kill a kingdom, a. christo just bad ⋆

stalking jack the ripper, k. maniscalco simply horrible ⋆

the cruel prince, h. black just bad pt. 2 ⋆

and i darken, k. white intriguing but still bad ⋆⋆

an enchantment of ravens, m. rogerson not that bad but still not enough⋆⋆

sky in the deep, a. young not that bad but still not enough pt.2 ⋆⋆

I've got this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book a while ago and I absolutely loved it! I'm currently reading the second one and I can't get enough. In the first quarter of the book, I though that it was going to be about something else. There were things I didn't expect, but really liked! In the middle of the book, it became predictable but it didn't bother me. The way the book ended got me WANTING more! ♥ Details...(might contain SPOILERS) After the first book (as I got addicted to it, which happens to me a lot) I had to take a day or two off the book, to gather my thoughts and everything. For me, I kinda hate triangle love and knowing that Kali liked both Max and Kade made me slowly hate it...but as I took the off time and came back, I didn't mind. I actually started to like Max too and am currently waiting how it'll end. In some parts I was waiting for some steam (love scene or so), but the book is written for mostly teenagers and I get it can't be everywhere. After all, I didn't really need it...I got fight scenes instead, which I love. I like the way Kali's character is written and developed. She's herself, ambitious, stubborn, does things her way (which is mostly the problem for Finn and the "society") and she is selfish. I honestly really like her character, as I would probably act the same way if someone "kidnapped" my brother. Shadow Realms is a book for vampire fans mixed with love and reckless actions. It is a book that will suck you in in a few pages and you'll love it. The book is well written, meaning someone with less knowledge of english is able to read it.

(via Review: Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh)

Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh is an amazing Mulan retelling. This story is about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to get revenge on a group of men who attempted to assassinate her. The main character is brave and intelligent, and I adored the Feudal Japanese setting. This book is just so original and I definitely encourage everyone to read it.

Book Review – Eve: The Awakening by Jenna Moreci

Eve is an outcast. A chimera. After years of abuse and rejection, 19-year-old Evelyn Kingston is ready for a fresh start in a new city, where no one knows her name. The esteemed Billington University in Southern California seems like the perfect place to reinvent herself—to live the life of an ordinary human. But things at Billington aren’t as they seem. In a school filled with prodigies, socialites, and the leaders of tomorrow, Eve finds that the complex social hierarchy makes passing as a human much harder than she had anticipated. Even worse, Billington is harboring a secret of its own: Interlopers have infiltrated the university, and their sinister plans are targeted at chimeras—like Eve. Instantly, Eve’s new life takes a drastic turn. In a time filled with chaos, is the world focusing on the wrong enemy? And when the situation at Billington shifts from hostile to dangerous, will Eve remain in the shadows, or rise up and fight? —Amazon Plot Description

This book has a great balance of tension that kept me on the edge of my seat, and humor that had me laughing out loud several times. I enjoyed the characters and their witty interactions. I’m a sucker for unique world building, and really liked the foundations for the chimeras and their characteristics. The author uses an interesting term for the use of their telekinesis, referring to it as “melting,” because it feels to the chimeras as if their minds are melting or dissolving whenever they use their power. I love little details like that. The prose is well-written, there’s a nice amount of description that isn’t longwinded, and the plot flows fairly smoothly.

While there’s nothing that affected my overall enjoyment of the book, there were some elements that other readers might not enjoy. The book is usually well-paced, but the battle scenes can lag. It’s not that bad most of the time, but the final battle just goes on for so long, and it was exhausting to read. I had to take several breaks during that chapter to let my mind rest. Now while I loved the main character and her friends, the antagonists were very cliched with mean popular girls, jock bullies, stereotypical bigots, and one abusive professor who would have been so fired if he taught in the real world. It was also weird that two of the main supporting characters, Percy and Sancho, weren’t introduced until halfway through the book, and then were immediately part of Eve’s close-knit Scooby Gang (Buffy reference). You warm up to Percy and Sancho very quickly, but their introduction and inclusion in Eve’s group still felt very abrupt.

All that aside, I still loved this book. I give Eve: The Awakening 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to the next installment in the Eve series.

Eve: The Awakening is available on Amazon.com.

Jenna Moreci is a bestselling author of dark fantasy and science fiction, as well as a YouTube sensation with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The Savior’s Champion, her first novel in The Savior’s Series, was voted one of the Best Books of All Time by Book Depository. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Jenna spends her free time laughing until her face hurts with her goofball fiancé and snuggling with her tiny dog. —Amazon Author Biography

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Book Review: Ironside by Holly Black

#BookReview - Ironside by Holly Black Cruel, sarcastic, and darkly intriguing--the perfect finale to the Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tale trilogy :) #amreading #fantasy

4 out of 5 Stars The Blurb In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben’s coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing — her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can’t see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she…

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